The proliferation of digital signage systems has prompted a wealth of research that attempts to use public displays for more than just advertisement or transport schedules, such as their use for supporting communities. However, deploying and maintaining display systems "in the wild" that can support communities is challenging. Based on the authors' experiences in designing and fielding a diverse range of community-supporting public display deployments, we identify a large set of challenges and issues that researchers working in this area are likely to encounter. Grouping them into five distinct layers -- (1) hardware, (2) system architecture, (3) content, (4) system interaction, and (5) community interaction design -- we draw up the P-LAYERS framework to enable a more systematic appreciation of the diverse range of issues associated with the development, the deployment, and the maintenance of such systems. Using three of our own deployments as illustrative examples, we will describe both our experiences within each individual layer, as well as point out interactions between the layers. We believe our framework provides a valuable aid for researchers looking to work in this space, alerting them to the issues they are likely to encounter during their deployments, and help them plan accordingly.


A laser-based system for absorbance measurement has been developed for use in chemical dosimetry as an alternative to the spectrophotometer. The system incorporating a Helium-Neon laser operating at 543.5 nm is designed specifically for measurement of absorbed doses below 10 Gy with the ferrous sulphate-benzoic acid-xylenol orange (FBX) dosimeter. Absorbance measurement for the FBX dosimeter is normally carried out at 540 nm with a spectrophotometer. The performance of the laser-based system in measurement of absorbance is comparable to that of a standard spectrophotometer and it is concluded that the absorbance measurement technique is not the limiting factor in the sensitivity of the FBX dosimeter for absorbed doses below 1 Gy.


The European Space Agency's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) mission is perturbed by radio frequency interferences (RFIs) that jeopardize part of its scientific retrieval in certain areas of the world, particularly over continental areas in Europe, Southern Asia, and the Middle East. Areas affected by RFI might experience data loss or underestimation of soil moisture and ocean salinity retrieval values. To alleviate this situation, the SMOS team has put strategies in place that, one year after launch, have already improved the RFI situation in Europe where half of the sources have been successfully localized and switched off.


This paper assesses the efficiency and performance of organic alfalfa farms. Data were obtained from questionnaires collected from forty farms participating in an EU-subsidized program promoting the switch to organic farming. Results obtained using the bootstrap Data Envelopment Analysis methodology show that larger farms had lower yields and lower efficiency scores and more experienced farmers had higher efficiency scores. A Tobit analysis of the impact of environmental factors and subsidies on farm efficiency demonstrates that CAP subsidies cause perverse incentives, raising questions about the efficiency of such policies for sustainable agricultural development.


Nuclear receptor 4a3 (Nr4a3) is a transcription factor implicated in various settings such as vascular biology and inflammation. We have recently shown that mast cells dramatically upregulate Nuclear receptor 4a3 upon activation, and here we investigated the functional impact of Nuclear receptor 4a3 on mast cell responses. We show that Nuclear receptor 4a3 is involved in the regulation of cytokine/chemokine secretion in mast cells following activation via the high affinity IgE receptor. Moreover, Nuclear receptor 4a3 negatively affects the transcript and protein levels of mast cell tryptase as well as the mast cell's responsiveness to allergen. Together, these findings identify Nuclear receptor 4a3 as a novel regulator of mast cell function.


This article provides a different perspective on teacher motivation through a case study of a North Cyprus public high school. It is a valuable, qualitative case study contributing to the existing literature in understanding performance management at public schools in complex socio-political environments. Current constraints create a very compelling environment to apply any kind of performance management tools in public high schools in North Cyprus. The participant group included 62 teachers. Data were collected using structured interviews. Content and narrative analyses were used to analyse the collected data. Results reveal motivational techniques employed by the school administration to increase performance and their effectiveness as well as the existing limitations to achieve motivation.


Introduction Upconversion is a very hot topic in fluorescence spectroscopy, with many exciting new applications, particularly for rare earth sciences. Upconverting materials exhibit a unique fluorescence anti-Stokes shift, which enables them to convert NIR wavelength excitation absorbance into visible shorter wavelength emissions (NIR to UV-VIS). The upconversion process involves the sequential absorption of two photons and subsequent emission of a photon of a higher energy. The most efficient upconverters are trivalent lanthanide ions due to their wellshielded 4f and 5f electronic orbitals with reduced electronphonon coupling, which minimizes multi-phonon relaxation processes and increases the probability of upconversion involving their long-lived metastable states. The research effort to design and characterize upconverting materials has been rapidly growing as numerous applications have emerged. These include designing efficient and inexpensive UV-VIS lasers, increasing solar cell efficiencies, biomedical imaging, drug delivery, optoelectronics et al. The new Fluorolog-QM spectrofluorometers, due to their modularity and advanced software and a universal interface, are an ideal choice for studying multiple aspects of upconversion. This technical note illustrates the use of Fluorolog-QM-75-21 for spectral and time-resolved characterization of these materials.


In recent, the reduction of rolling resistance of tires has become more significant in the tire industry, because it has close relation to the fuel consumption efficiency and CO2 emission of motor vehicles. Rolling resistance of tire is closely related to hysteresis loss properties of tire tread compounds. Dispersibility of filler is considered to affect hysteresis loss. Some styrene-butadiene rubbers with functional groups at chain ends have been developed by solution polymerization system (S-SBRs) to achieve good interaction with silica filler. They showed significant reduction in the hysteresis loss of silica reinforced compounds. Especially, the modified S-SBR with both primary amino group and alkoxysilyl group exhibited excellently lower hysteresis loss properties. In order to observe the dispersibility of silica in compounds with this modified S-SBR directly, the measurements of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and ultra small angle X-ray scattering (USAXS) were carried out. As the results, the excellent dispersion states of silica in the compounds with this modified S-SBR was observed, and we found that smaller size of silica aggregates could reduce the hysteresis loss to much lower level. This result coincided with those obtained by dynamic viscoelstic measurement.


Breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women, both in India & the world. Due to a lack of awareness and the absence of an organised population-based screening programme in India, more than 60% of breast cancers present in the advanced stages, with most succumbing to the illness within a year of being diagnosed.
 This mobile app aims to empower people about various aspects of Breast cancer & Benign breast disease explained in simple, easy-to-understand format.

 To help address these striking realities, I worked with a Breast Cancer Charity based out of India, to create the Mobile App - 'ABC's of Breast Health' - available in English and 11 regional Indian Languages.
 The app has an interactive 'Myths & Facts' section which is aimed at debunking many of the common myths surrounding breast cancer and ensuring that users are well informed with accurate information, thus filling a huge void in the delivery of Breast Health Care in India where counselling is not given much importance.
 A dedicated breast health helpline was launched in 2021 to further support users.

 This App is South Asia's First Mobile App on Breast Health and is also the World's first breast health app available in so many languages. Within the first month of its launch, it recorded 9000+ downloads.

 The content of the app in 11 commonly spoken regional languages has ensured that accurate information relating to breast health is accessed by women in rural India, where 70% of the population resides.


In the conventional view, the first hominid to leave Africa was Homo erectus who departed about 1 million years ago. But new evidence suggests that early Homo reached central China between 1.7 million and 1.9 million years ago—800,000 years earlier than previously thought—and that this ancient wayfarer was notHomo erectus itself but an even earlier hominid. If this controversial scenario is correct, it could mean that Homo erectus is an Asian side branch of the hominid evolutionary tree, rather than part of the African lineage that led to humans.


Information technology (IT) in general and Internet in particular has revolutionized our lives in so many ways. Business sectors as well as many others are taking advantage from Internet and other IT systems in the world. The concept of Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce) is the process of buying and selling products and services using electronic systems such as Internet. E-Commerce has been well adopted in the developed countries and is considered as a major source in improving the revenue in those countries. Meanwhile developing countries are lagging behind developed countries due to many inhibitors which hinder the process of E-Commerce adoption and implementation. This MBA thesis is a research on the status of the E-Commerce in the Iranian oil industry and the factors influencing it's adoption through the analysis and assessment of the data received from the respondent companies. A study based on the E-Commerce adoption model presented by Elahi S. with 156 questions (grouped into 14 questionnaires) was designed and sent out to 50 companies. The analysis of responds based on the Elahi model suggests that there is a strong positive relationship between the study conducted by Elahi and the one conducted by this research work. In another word, it proves that the indicators of model presented by Elahi are valid factors for the E-Commerce adoption in the Iranian oil industry. The responds from the customer-based model presented by Wei J. would identify the status of E-Commerce in the Iranian oil industry, the obstacles on it's way and the ways to improve it.


The cars of today tend to be quite heavy in the front meanwhile light in the rear, mainly due to the location of the engine compartment and powertrain in the front of the car. If the front weight of the car could be reduced, the car could be more balanced and also the most discussed parameter for cars, namely emission of carbon dioxide, can be reduced,. This study aims to investigate how to introduce a composite materials in the bonnet, with the focus on reducing the weight, while meeting important demands on the bonnet. In this study it was chosen to consider the demands related to pedestrian safety and the stiffness of the bonnet. Pedestrian safety is a complex demand saying that the bonnet should be able to absorb a certain amount of energy from a head impact without getting the pedestrian injured. From an extensive literature study three potential material structures were found to be appropriate regarding impact resistance and flexural stiffness. Carbon fibre reinforced epoxy (CFRP)/Polyvinylchloride (PVC) foam sandwich material, aluminium/polycarbonate sandwich material and Hybrix micro-sandwich material are the materials explored in the literature study to be appropriate candidates for the demands chosen in this study. As seen in recent research based on simulations of impact resistance, some materials are especially interesting. Considering those more interesting materials, it was decided to purchase and build beam sections of each material sharing the same geometry to perform impact tests in the drop tower facility at Volvo Cars Corporation (VCC) in Gothenburg. Of those three materials selected only two materials could be compiled due to the time limit of the project. The material excluded from testing was the Al/PC sandwich material. In additional to the potential stiff and impact resistant materials, also an aluminium beam was built sharing the same geometry as the other materials and the impact resistance and stiffness of samples were measured and compared with the aluminium material used in the current bonnets at VCC. Additional to the impact tests, also a three point bending test was performed on the different materials samples according to VCC and ASTM standards, in order to determine the stiffness of the structures studied. The results showed that the CFRP/PVC foam sandwich material absorbed least amount of energy at the impact test. The amount of energy absorbed was only in the elastic region of the material, but the structure did not have the ability to deform plastically. It was interesting to note that this kind of structure indicated a possibility to reduce weight, by approximately 24 % lighter than the current aluminium material. The Hybrix material combined with steel absorbed most amount of energy but was 27 % heavier than the current aluminium material. Finally, the three point bending showed that the aluminium structure had the highest stiffness of the samples studied.


In the above-mentioned article,1 the electronic version differs from the print version due to data errors in the figure. Consequently, the original title no longer accurately reflects the findings after correcting the data errors and has been changed to: "Family Physicians with a Certificate of Added Qualifications in Sports Medicine Spend an Increasing Amount of Time Practicing Sports Medicine." The electronic version on the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine website has been corrected. We apologize for the error, and we regret any confusion or inconvenience it may have caused.


We study the aggregation of monomers in an aerosol via non-dimensional Langevin simulations, in which particles remain in point contact upon collision, and report the hydrodynamic radii and projected areas of the formed aggregates with less than 300 primary particles. Unique from prior studies, in examining aggregation we monitor the evolution of the distributions of two Knudsen numbers: the traditional Knudsen number (Kn) and the diffusive Knudsen number (KnD), which both shift to smaller mean values as aggregation proceeds. As Kn transitions from large to small values, momentum transfer changes from a free molecular to a continuum process; analogously, as KnD decreases, aggregation is altered from occurring ballistically to diffusively in a dilute system. During simulations, the change in drag coefficient with both changing Kn and changing aggregate structure is accounted for. We find that as compared to completely coalescing particles (spheres), non-coalescing aggregates with the same initial Kn and KnD have KnD values, which decrease more rapidly due to aggregation; hence, aggregates are more likely to collide with one another diffusively when compared with their spherical counterparts of the same Kn distribution. Further, we find that aggregation with evolving Knudsen numbers does not lead to strong scaling between the number of monomers in a formed aggregate and the aggregate radius of gyration for aggregates composed of 300 or fewer primary particles. In spite of this, aggregate hydrodynamic radii and orientationally averaged projected areas are found to scale well with the number of monomers per aggregate. Copyright 2015 American Association for Aerosol Research


During 1989-1991, the mobile coronary care unit (MCCU) in Gothenburg answered 10,908 calls. The most frequent cause of alarm calls was chest pain (21 per cent), whereas cardiac arrest accounted for 9 and surgical cases for 15 per cent. Severe pain was most frequent among patients with chest or abdominal pain. Despite the high frequency of chest pain, only a third of the myocardial infarction cases were attended by the MCCU. Of all cases of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest where resuscitation was attempted, 26 per cent were alive at admission to hospital, and 10 per cent at discharge, as compared with 48 and 22 per cent, respectively, among the subgroup with bystander-witnessed cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation as an initial finding.


Purpose - This paper builds on the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) Report, which examined US Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs). The purpose of this paper is to provide valuable insights into the characteristics and realities of financial statement fraud in the post-Enron regulatory environment. Design/methodology/approach - This paper analyses a sample of AAERs from 2002 to 2005. It also provides case studies of an additional five high-profile case studies from that period. Findings - This paper finds evidence of changes in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) enforcement activities since the COSO Report. Specifically, it is found that enforcement activities have increased substantially post-Enron and the companies subject to AAERs are, on average, much larger, more profitable and the frauds are more substantial than those exhibited in the COSO Report. These findings suggest that the SEC has become more aggressive at pursuing larger companies for financial statement fraud in the post-Enron environment. Research limitations/implications - This paper relies on AAERs as the source of analysis of financial statement fraud, its findings must be viewed in light of the limitations of using these documents. Specifically, the prevailing prosecutions agenda of the US SEC may be reflected in these results. Practical implications - The study findings are of great practical relevance to accounting regulators and practitioners as they provide valuable insights into the nature and characteristics of financial statement fraud. Originality/value - The paper provides empirical evidence concerning the changing face of financial statement fraud enforcement and provides a more in-depth comparison of fraud than possible with most previous studies that have tended to focus on quantitative measures. This is possible because the present investigation utilises qualitative data from AAERs to supplement quantitative findings. Its originality is also due to the use of institutional theory which is not commonly applied in the corporate governance field.


Pb isotopic abundances and U-Th-Pb concentrations are reported for feldspar megacrysts from the 3.59 AE old Amitsoq Gneiss, Godthaab District, West Greenland. The distinctive Pb in the feldspars is the most primitive terrestrial Pb so far observed. It is observed in feldspars which are from different geographic localities and which exhibit varying degrees of deformation and recrystallization. This appears to be either the initial Pb in the Amitsoq Gneiss or the initial Pb only slightly modified by subsequent metamorphism in a low 238U/204Pb environment. 238U/204Pb in the feldspars is low and the corrections for in situ produced Pb are only 0.4 per cent for 207Pb/206Pb and 0.6 per cent for 204Pb/206Pb. The mean corrected isotopic abundances are 204Pb/206Pb=0.08720, 207Pb/206Pb = 1.1513, and 208Pb/206Pb = 2.7309. The feldspars contain a very small amount of easily leachable radiogenic Pb which is strongly correlated with U and which indicates the formation of U-rich phases at about 2.7 AE. The matrix surrounding the feldspar megacrysts contains Pb which is much evolved relative to the megacrysts and this matrix does not appear to have behaved as a simple closed system. Element redistribution and open system behavior at about 2.7 AE is also suggested by Pb in feldspar from a dyke cutting across the gneiss. Assuming that the Amitsoq Gneiss feldspar Pb corrected for in situ U decay was the initial Pb in the gneiss at 3.59 AE (Baadsgaard, 1973), a single-stage "age of the earth" is determined as 4.47 +/- 0.05 AE and µ is 8.5. This is indistinguishable from the single-stage age for modern rocks and is distinctly younger than the age of some meteorites. If we assume that the earth originally formed at 4.6 AE and assume that it underwent major, large-scale differentiation at a time T(D), we use the same observed data to calculate that the time of differentiation is approximately 4.4 AE and that µ for the total earth is approximately 1.6 while µ for the mantle and crustal rocks is approximately 9.5.

Pb and Sr isotopic data and K-Rb-Sr-U-Th-Pb concentration data are presented for three anorthosite complexes in West Greenland. The three complexes are the Majorqap Qava outcrop of the Fiskenaesset Anorthosite Complex, the Storo Anorthosite Complex, Godthaab District, and the Ivnajaugtoq Anorthosite Complex, Godthaab District. The Pb isotopic data yield an age of 2.8 AE for the Majorqap Qava Anorthosite and Storo Anorthosite. The Ivnajaugtoq data are consistent with a 2.8 AE age. We interpret this as the time of igneous crystallization and metamorphic recrystallization. U-Pb data indicate substantial U redistribution within the last ~100 m.y. These three complexes have very different initial Sr isotopic abundances. These differences indicate that either the anorthosites crystallized at 2.8 AE from melts with different µ's which were derived and fractionated at ~3.6AE from "normal" (i.e. µ~9) mantle material and remained isolated until 2.8 AE or the anorthosites crystallized at 2.8 AE from melts derived at 2.8 AE from "normal" mantle material and which were variably contaminated during emplacement with Pb like that in the Amitsoq Gneiss.

Included are a series of published articles which are primarily concerned with the mineralogic and petrographic characterization of lunar highland samples.


With over 300 billion vehicle trips made in the United States and 64 billion in France per year, network operators have the opportunity to utilize the existing road and highway network as an alternative data network to offload large amounts of delay-tolerant traffic. To enable the road network as a large-capacity transmission system, we exploit the existing mobility of vehicles equipped with wireless and storage capacities together with a collection of offloading spots. An offloading spot is a data storage equipment located where vehicles usually park. Data is transloaded from a conventional data network to the closest offloading spot and then shipped by vehicles along their line of travel. The subsequent offloading spots act as data relay boxes where vehicles can drop off data for later pick-up by other vehicles, depending on their direction of travel. The main challenges of this offloading system are how to compute the road path matching the performance requirements of a data transfer and how to configure the sequence of offloading spots involved in the transfer. We propose a scalable and adaptive centralized architecture built on software-defined networking that maximizes the utilization of the flow of vehicles connecting consecutive offloading spots. We simulate the performance of our system using real roads traffic counts for France. Results show that the centralized controlled offloading architecture can achieve an efficient and fair allocation of concurrent data transfers between major cities in France.


The effect of increased concentrations of potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) as a possible alternative to synthetic fungicides for controlling Rhizoctonia solani AG 4 HG-I and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum was evaluated in vitro, in this study. In addition, the effect of potassium bicarbonate on Trichoderma sp., a natural antagonist on R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum was determined. Potassium bicarbonate substantially inhibited (P<0.05) the growth of the three fungal strains. Mycelial growth of R. solani AG 4 HG-I significantly decreased as the concentration of bicarbonate increased, especially at concentrations greater than 200 mM. Similarly, mycelial growth of both S. sclerotiorum and Trichoderma sp . dramatically reduced in increasing concentrations of KHCO3. Mycelial growth of either fungi was completely inhibited when exposed to 100 mM bicarbonate. In addition, KHCO3 concentrations higher than 10 mM caused significant (P<0.05) reduction of the sclerotium formation of S. sclerotiorum . Also, sclerotium germination and de novo sclerotium formation were significantly inhibited as the concentrations of KHCO3 increased. As a result, it was concluded that potassium bicarbonate was an alternative chemical agent for  controlling R. solani AG 4 HG-I and S. sclerotiorum . Also, KHCO3 was found to have negative effects on Trichoderma sp . Key words : Antifungal effect, KHCO3, soil borne pathogens, sclerotium germination.


This study investigates institutional experience in managing rangeland in order to promote Bedouin participation in the Badia of Jordan, particularly in the area of the Jordan Badia Research and Development Programme (BRDP). It also investigates the attitudes of livestock owners towards the concept of managing the rangeland and their awareness of the importance of this concept to their life. In addition to secondary data which were available to this study, visits were made to some projects to improve the rangelands productivity and conserve nature. Discussions were held with local communities and personnel responsible. The most significant finding of this study is that the projects and trials of managing rangeland which did not involve local communities in setting objectives and implementing activities through prior consultation and negotiation, faced major difficulties in management and, therefore, in achieving their goals. On the other hand, those projects and trials, based on effective participation from local people including prior negotiation and consultation, had less difficulties in their management and, relatively, achieved their goals. In the light of learning from experience of a number of institutions in managing rangeland, trial demonstrations to integrate livestock owners in the BRDP area are presented in the concluding chapter.


The role that specific emotions, such as pride and triumph, play during instruction in science education is an underresearched field of study. Emotions are recognized as central to learning yet little is known about the way in which they are produced in naturalistic settings, how emotions relate to classroom learning during interactions, and what antecedent factors are associated with emotional experiences during instruction. Data sources for the study include emotion diaries, student written artifacts, video recordings of class interactions, and interviews. Emotions produced in the moment during classroom interactions are analyzed from video data and audio data through a novel theoretical framework related to the sociology of human emotions. These direct observations are compared with students' recollected emotional experiences reported through emotion diaries and interviews. The study establishes links between pride and triumph within classroom interactions and instructional tasks during learning episodes in a naturalistic setting. We discuss particular classroom activities that are associated with justified feelings of pride and triumph. More specifically, classroom events associated with these emotions were related to understanding science concepts, social interactions, and achieving success on challenging tasks.


Methods for the study of receptor-linked prostacyclin (PGI2) synthesis in blood vessels (from the rat, rabbit and man) and thromboxane A2 (TXA2) synthesis in human platelets were developed. The role of calcium, G proteins and protein kinase C in mediating eicosanoid synthesis in these tissues was also studied. These methods were applied in the investigation of: 1) PGI2 synthesis following hypothermic storage of blood vessels in preservation solutions used in organ transplantation, 2) the site of action of drugs known to modulate eicosanoid synthesis; for example, phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEIs), non-steroidal anti inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and copper chelators, 3) the mechanisms underlying altered synthesis of vascular PGI2 in diabetes mellitus (DM) and hepatic portal hypertension (HPH) in the rat. There were marked variations in the characterisitics of receptor-linked PGI2 release between species (human, rat and rabbit) whereas receptor- linked PGI2 release in different arteries and veins of the same species was remarkably similar. Hypothermic storage of blood vessels (rat, rabbit and human) in preservation solutions exerted minimal effects on PGI2 synthesis, a finding of relevance to transplant surgery. Apart from their accepted sites of action, NSAIDs (cyclooxygenase inhibitors) and PDEIs (cAMP elevators) were also found to inhibit eicosanoid synthesis at the signal transduction level. Copper chelators inhibited eicosanoid synthesis at the level of cyclooxygenase and lipoxygenase. In rats with DM, there were marked differential alterations of receptor-linked PGI2 synthesis in different vessels and in other non-vascular tissues (gastro-intestinal tract, urinary bladder, trachea). In rats with HPH, there were marked changes in receptor-linked PGI2 release by the aorta and mesenteric vasculature, indicating an adaptive series of events involving PGI2. The systems developed in this thesis are a convenient means of investigating not only eicosanoid synthesis but also drug action and the aetiology of vascular disease.


A layer-by-layer structure of enzyme multilayers composed of glucose oxidase (GOx) or lactate oxidase (LOx) and ascorbate oxidase (AOx) was prepared on the surface of a platinum electrode. The amperometric response to glucose or lactate was studied in the presence of ascorbic acid as a possible interference. An alternating and repeated deposition of avidin and the biotin-labeled enzymes resulted in the layer-by-layer structure of GOx/AOx and LOx/AOx multilayers. Optical and gravimetric measurements based on an ultraviolet-visible absorption spectroscopy and a quartz crystal microbalance revealed that the enzyme multilayers thus prepared consist of monomolecular layers of the proteins. The GOx/AOx and LOx/AOx enzyme multilayers were useful to eliminate ascorbic acid interference in the glucose and lactate biosensors, because ascorbic acid can be converted to an electrochemically inert form, dehydroascorbic acid, before being oxidized directly on the Pt electrode. Thus, the GOx/AOx or LOx/AOx multilayer-modified biosensors can be used to determine the normal blood level of glucose (5 mM) and lactate (1 mM) in the presence of a physiological level of ascorbic acid (0.1 mM). The effects of the number of the AOx layers and geometry of the enzyme layers in the multilayer on the performance characteristics of the biosensors are discussed.


This thesis focussed on online sexual offending, particularly the access of indecent images of children (IIOC), and whether certain risk factors associated with contact sexual offending, namely offence-supportive cognitions and deviant sexual interest (DSI), were relevant for individuals who access IIOC.

In references to offence-supportive cognitions for IIOC offenders, the issue is unclear. Research indicates that IIOC offenders do not hold these distortions, whereas the narratives from IIOC offenders indicates that distortions do exist for them. An examination of legal and illegal pornography, and its relationship to offence-supportive attitudes and sexual offence-related behaviour via a systematic review indicated that studies cited a relationship between pornography and sexual offence-related behaviours more often than a relationship with offence-supportive attitudes. However, the review found no statistically significant differences, with either outcome, regarding the number of studies citing a relationship compared to those that did not; so no consistent relationship with pornography was found. The systematic review also highlighted the difficultly in ascertaining the impact of IIOC on individuals due to the limited research comparing IIOC offenders to community controls. However, there did appear to be certain individuals for when pornography access (including IIOC) could be problematic. The case study highlighted the difference between global distortions and those specific to the offence in question, and how this might have relevance to IIOC offenders.

Regarding the second risk factor of interest, DSI with IIOC offenders is not well understood, with research indicating these offenders to be more deviant than some contact sexual offenders, whilst the narratives of IIOC offenders suggest the opposite. Within the research project, DSI was found to be salient, with IIOC offenders differing from controls on multiple measures of DSI. DSI was also highlighted within the case study, regarding its role within the subsequent crossover offending of an IIOC offender; the Internet and accessing IIOC appeared influential in the development of the client's sexual interest in children, and in turn, their contact offending.

Discussions viewed the importance of measuring DSI within risk assessment, and its inclusion within interventions with IIOC offenders. Consideration was giving to the prevention of IIOC access online to prevent the development of offence-supportive beliefs and behaviour, and to increase the protection of children.


We study image inverse problems with a normalizing flow prior. Our formulation views the solution as the maximum a posteriori estimate of the image conditioned on the measurements. This formulation allows us to use noise models with arbitrary dependencies as well as non-linear forward operators. We empirically validate the efficacy of our method on various inverse problems, including compressed sensing with quantized measurements and denoising with highly structured noise patterns. We also present initial theoretical recovery guarantees for solving inverse problems with a flow prior.


In recent years, multiprocessor designs have converged towards a unified hardware architecture despite supporting different communication abstractions. The implementation of these communication abstractions and the associated protocols in hardware is complex, inflexible, and error prone. For these reasons, some recent designs have employed a programmable controller to manage system communication. One particular focus of these designs is implementing cache coherence protocols in software. This dissertation argues that a programmable communication controller that provides cache coherence can also effectively support block transfer and synchronization protocols. This research is part of the FLASH project, a major focus of which is exploring the integration of multiple communication protocols in a single multiprocessor architecture. In our analysis, we examine the needs of protocols other than cache coherence to identify the requirements they share. The interface between the processor and controller is one critical issue in these protocols, so we propose techniques to export such protocols reliably, at low overhead, and without system calls. Unlike most prior studies, our approach supports a modern operating system with features like multiprogramming, protection, and virtual memory. Our study focuses in detail on two classes of communication that are important for large scale multiprocessors: block transfer and synchronization using locks and barriers. In particular, we attempt to improve the performance of these classes of communication as compared to implementations using only software on top of shared memory. For each protocol we identify the critical metrics of performance, explore the limitations of existing techniques, then present our implementation, which is tailored to leverage the programmable communication controller. We evaluate each protocol in isolation, in the context of microbenchmarks, and within a variety of applications. We find that embedding advanced communication and synchronization features in a programmable controller has a number of advantages. For example, the block transfer protocol improves transfer performance in some cases, enables the processor to perform other work in parallel, and reduces processor cache pollution caused by the transfer. The synchronization protocols reduce overhead and eliminate bottlenecks associated with synchronization primitives implemented using software on top of shared memory. Simulations of scientific applications running on FLASH show that, in many cases, synchronization support improves performance and increases the range of machine sizes over which the applications scale. Our study shows that embedded programmability is a convenient approach for supporting block transfer and synchronization, and that the FLASH system design effectively supports this approach.


Australia's Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel, says he's confident the federal government will accept his advice when he delivers his review into the National Electricity Market next year. His preliminary report released last Friday said an emissions intensity scheme was the best way to address the problems facing the NEM - but the government has rejected adopting such a scheme. It's the first time Dr Finkel has spoken publicly since that report was released.


Current paradigms of bone marrow failure (BMF) pathophysiology suggest that immune-mediated destruction of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) drives acquired aplastic anemia. In contrast, loss of HSPCs due to senescence and/or apoptosis causes BMF in inherited BMF syndromes. In this issue of the JCI, Casado and colleagues challenge this dichotomous conception by demonstrating that NK cell–dependent, immune-mediated hematopoietic suppression and HSPC clearance drive BMF in Fanconi anemia (FA). They show that genotoxic stress upregulates natural killer group 2 member D ligands (NKG2D-L) on FA HSPCs leading to NK cell cytotoxicity through NKG2D receptor activation. Inhibition of NKG2D–NKG2D-L interactions enhanced FA HSPC clonogenic potential and improved cytopenias in vivo. These results provide alternative targets for the development of immunosuppressive therapies to reduce HSPC loss and mitigate the risk of hematologic malignancies in FA.


The aim of this paper is the application of the KULTURisk regional risk assessment (KR-RRA) methodology, presented in the companion paper (Part 1, Ronco et al., 2014), to the Sihl River basin, in northern Switzerland. Flood-related risks have been assessed for different receptors lying on the Sihl River valley including Zurich, which represents a typical case of river flooding in an urban area, by calibrating the methodology to the site-specific context and features. Risk maps and statistics have been developed using a 300-year return period scenario for six relevant targets exposed to flood risk: people; economic activities: buildings, infrastructure and agriculture; natural and semi-natural systems; and cultural heritage. Finally, the total risk index map has been produced to visualize the spatial pattern of flood risk within the target area and, therefore, to identify and rank areas and hotspots at risk by means of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tools. Through a tailored participatory approach, risk maps supplement the consideration of technical experts with the (essential) point of view of relevant stakeholders for the appraisal of the specific scores weighting for the different receptor-relative risks. The total risk maps obtained for the Sihl River case study are associated with the lower classes of risk. In general, higher (relative) risk scores are spatially concentrated in the deeply urbanized city centre and areas that lie just above to river course. Here, predicted injuries and potential fatalities are mainly due to high population density and to the presence of vulnerable people; flooded buildings are mainly classified as continuous and discontinuous urban fabric; flooded roads, pathways and railways, most of them in regards to the Zurich central station (Hauptbahnhof) are at high risk of inundation, causing severe indirect damage. Moreover, the risk pattern for agriculture, natural and semi-natural systems and cultural heritage is relatively less important mainly because the scattered presence of these assets. Finally, the application of the KR-RRA methodology to the Sihl River case study, as well as to several other sites across Europe (not presented here), has demonstrated its flexibility and the possible adaptation of it to different geographical and socioeconomic contexts, depending on data availability and particulars of the sites, and for other (hazard) scenarios.


C loud computing is technique cost-effective, flexible, and convenient in remote access to applications and storage services, making it easy to provide information technology services and business across the Internet. Nevertheless, the use of cloud computing is an additional source of security risk due to third-party outsourcing, as makes maintaining the privacy, availability and security of data is very difficult. Cloud computing has many of its supporting technologies (virtualization, Web 2.0, service-oriented architecture), which inherits many security issues and makes them susceptible to attacks. Most of the previous work focused on storing data in the cloud without taking security issues and attacks into consideration. In this paper, we provide an analysis of security issues in cloud storage and possible solutions. With regard to the attacks on the data stored in the clouds, parametric comparison including all the details and countermeasures are provided. Finally, this paper provides a significant contribution to building a secure cloud environment for data storage, its privacy and recovery in disaster situations.


Active learning involves shifting some control of the learning environment from the teacher to the learner. It requires active student participation within the classroom and experiential learning environments which have been carefully structured by teachers in order to facilitate student engagement, enhance relevance and improve recall. While there are numerous methods of implementing an active learning approach, they all share one important aspect: the learner must be actively engaged in the classroom learning and teaching processes.
Audience response systems, also referred to by a range of alternative terms such as voting systems or 'clickers' allow opportunity for all students in a large group setting to respond to questions presented by the tutor. Essentially, students may be presented with a question and a selection of possible responses; using a small handset or mobile phone, they make their selection which is then transmitted through and registered by the system. Data can be stored and viewed at a later date or presented to the students for discussion during the taught session. There may be variations in the approach described above, however, reasons given by tutors for employing the use of clicker-type technology often include student engagement and interaction.
Meta-analytical studies and systematic reviews focussing on the use of clicker-type technologies in higher education have, so far, examined educational outcomes (Grzeskowiak et al. 2015); learning outcomes (Chien et al., 2016;), cognitive outcomes (Hunsu et al, 2016); exam results and student achievement (Castillo-Manzano et al. 2016), or the conditions of use (Fies & Marshall, 2006). All but the last of these studies have concentrated on quantitative research designs involving statistical analysis to examine whether the use of clicker-type technology has had any effect on measureable outcomes such as students' exam grades.
This systematic review of the literature aims to critically examine research evidence on the use of interactive technologies designed to support teaching and learning in higher education. Specifically, the review will focus upon research which examines how clicker-type technology is experienced within large group taught sessions undertaken on campus in face-to-face contexts in higher education settings. The objectives of this systematic review can therefore be summarized as follows:
• To identify the range and variety of clicker-type technologies that may be used to support large group teaching in higher education.
• To synthesize and critically analyse research which examines the subjectivities of using clicker-type technologies as part of large groups face-to-face teaching and learning sessions in higher education settings.
• To examine how such technologies support teaching and learning
• To identify any gaps in the evidence, and to suggest a future agenda for research.
In order to locate relevant papers which provide opportunity to draw from a broad disciplinary context, a systematic search was conducted on the following electronic databases: British Educational Index (BEI); Education Research Complete; Education Resource Information Centre (ERIC), The Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL); Web of Science; Psychinfo; Medline and Research into Higher Education. Where available, filters were applied to focus upon peer-reviewed journals published between January 2006 and November 2018 and which were written in the English language. After completing the screening of full papers, hand searching and reference checking was also employed in order to locate any articles which may be relevant, yet not retrieved, through the search of the databases. Undertaken in four stages, the systematic review screening process adhered to the recommendations from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses, (PRISMA).
This conference presentation will provide a summary of the research design and report on the findings which focus upon the situated experiences of students and tutors in higher education settings involved in taught sessions where clicker-type technology has been employed.


The high level of surface roughness of additively manufactured (AM) parts post challenges to the applicability of different dimensional measurement techniques, including tactile, optical and XCT. Tactile measurement is traditionally considered to have the best accuracy and traceability. However, tactile measurement can be significantly affected by the mechanical filtering effect. This work sets out to investigate the influence of the mechanical filtering effect of tactile measurement on AM parts. Both experiential and simulation work are unitised to reveal this effect. Particularly the numerical simulation based on the morphological method allows the single influence factor, i.e., the tip diameter to be investigated. The maximum measurement errors caused by the stylus tip mechanical effect are determined by the convex hull points of the measurement profile, which is equivalent to using an infinitely large stylus tip. The CMM and XCT results of measuring the AM cylinder diameters are compared, along with the application of morphological method to "compensate" the mechanical filtering effect of the stylus tip.


The World Social Forum (WSF) was started in Brazil in 2001 to challenge the World Economic Forum. It has since generated a number of regional to local forums, and become the most conspicuous expression of global civil society (GCS). The WSF has been characterised as a space that facilitates the gathering of people with the objective to create alternatives to neoliberalism. The aim of this thesis is to assess the nature and viability of the vision of the WSF. I identify its ideological contours, the immediate political objectives of its activists and the instruments they devised to achieve their goals. In order to do so, I studied the organisational process that led to the WSF annual event held in India in 2004 (WSF2004). By focusing on a specific national expression of the WSF I question some of the analytical tenets of the WSF discourse. In particular I assess the claims that it is a global "public sphere" or a global "open space" as defined in its Charter of Principles (Charter). Rather, I claim, the WSF, both as local instantiation and as global projection, is an expression of conflicting interests and ideological aspirations generated by specific social structures that shape it in ways that do not immediately fulfil the ideals defined in its Charter. The findings of my research do not argue against the global scope of the WSF and for a national approach to the concept of civil society. Rather they show how the global dimension attributed to the WSF is outcome of a recursively constitutive process involving, on one side, ideological aspirations and, on the other, actual social and political relations performed on multiple stages (from the local to the transnational). On the basis of the findings of this thesis, I claim that interests, power dynamics and social structures (considered in this thesis as the specific conditions of existence of the Indian WSF) can assume new shapes in the wider space of GCS. This makes GCS, and the WSF in particular, the privileged arena where the economic, the political, the social, the cultural and the personal can be peacefully and democratically exposed, negotiated, contested and challenged.


This paper presents a novel method for solving the unit commitment (UC) problem based on quantum-inspired evolutionary algorithm (QEA). The proposed method applies QEA to handle the unit-scheduling problem and the Lambda-iteration technique to solve the economic dispatch problem. The QEA method is based on the concept and principles of quantum computing, such as quantum bits, quantum gates and superposition of states. QEA employs quantum bit representation, which has better population diversity compared with other representations used in evolutionary algorithms, and uses quantum gate to drive the population towards the best solution. The mechanism of QEA can inherently treat the balance between exploration and exploitation and also achieve better quality of solutions, even with a small population. The proposed method is applied to systems with the number of generating units in the range of 10 to 100 in a 24-hour scheduling horizon and is compared to conventional methods in the literature. Moreover, the proposed method is extended to solve a large-scale UC problem in which 100 units are scheduled over a seven-day horizon with unit ramp-rate limits considered. The application studies have demonstrated the superior performance and feasibility of the proposed algorithm.


Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) is the fundamental theory for the interaction between quarks and gluons. It manifests as the short-range strong interaction inside the nucleus and plays an important role in the evolution of the early universe, from the quark-gluon phase to the hadron phase. To solve QCD is a grand challenge, since it requires very large-scale numerical simulations of the discretized action of QCD on the 4-dimensional space-time lattice. Moreover, since quarks are relativistic fermions, the fifth dimension is introduced so that massless quarks with exact chiral symmetry can be realized at finite lattice spacing, on the boundaries of the fifth dimension, the so-called domain-wall fermion (DWF). In this work, I discuss how to simulate lattice QCD with DWF so that the chiral symmetry can be preserved optimally with a finite extent in the fifth dimension. I also outline the simulations which have been performed by the TWQCD Collaboration and present some recent physical results.


The main purpose of this paper is to examine some (potential) applications of quantum computation in AI and to review the interplay between quantum theory and AI. For the readers who are not familiar with quantum computation, a brief introduction to it is provided, and a famous but simple quantum algorithm is introduced so that they can appreciate the power of quantum computation. Also, a (quite personal) survey of quantum computation is presented in order to give the readers a (unbalanced) panorama of the field. The author hopes that this paper will be a useful map for AI researchers who are going to explore further and deeper connections between AI and quantum computation as well as quantum theory although some parts of the map are very rough and other parts are empty, and waiting for the readers to fill in.


Periglacial and paraglacial environments, located outside ice sheet margins but responding to similar climate forcings, are key to identifying climate change effects upon the Earth system. These environments are relicts of cold Earth processes and so are most sensitive to global warming. Changes in the distribution and thickness of permafrost in continental interiors have implications for ecosystem and landscape stability. Periglacial Alpine environments are experiencing increased rockfall and mass movement, leading to rock glacier instability and sediment release to downstream rivers. In turn, these landscape effects impact on natural hazards and human activities in these sensitive and geologically transient environments.

Papers in this volume explore some of these interrelated issues in field studies from Europe, North America and Asia. The volume will be of interest to geomorphologists, modellers, environmental managers, planners and engineers working on landscape, climate and environmental change in periglacial and paraglacial areas.


BACKGROUND: Widespread use of transcutaneous PCO2 (PtcCO2) monitoring is currently limited by concerns many practitioners have regarding accuracy. We compared the accuracy of PtcCO2 with that of PaCO2 measurements in critically ill children, and we investigated whether clinical conditions associated with low cardiac output or increased subcutaneous tissue affect this accuracy. METHODS: We performed a single-center prospective study of critically ill children placed on transcutaneous monitoring. RESULTS: There were 184 children enrolled with paired PaCO2 and PtcCO2 values. Subjects had a median age of 31.8 mo (interquartile range 3.5–123.3 mo). Most children were mechanically ventilated (n = 161, 87.5%), and many had cardiac disease (n = 76, 41.3%). The median PaCO2 was 44 mm Hg (interquartile range 39–51 mm Hg). The mean bias between PaCO2 and PtcCO2 was 0.6 mm Hg with 95% limits of agreement from −13.6 to 14.7 mm Hg. The PtcCO2 and PaCO2 were within ±5 mm Hg in 126 (68.5%) measurements. In multivariable modeling, cyanotic heart disease (odds ratio 3.5, 95% CI 1.2–10, P = .02) and monitor number 2 (odds ratio 3.8 95% CI 1.3–10.5, P = .01) remained associated with PtcCO2 ≥ 5 mm Hg higher than PaCO2. Serum lactate, fluid balance, renal failure, obesity, vasoactive-inotrope score, and acyanotic heart disease were not associated with high or low PtcCO2 values. In 130 children with a second paired PtcCO2 and PaCO2 measurement, predicting the second measured PaCO2 by subtracting the initial observed difference between the PtcCO2 and PaCO2 from the subsequent measured PtcCO2 decreased the mean bias between observed and predicted PaCO2 to 0.2 mm Hg and the 95% limits of agreement to −9.4 to 9.7 mm Hg. CONCLUSIONS: PtcCO2 provides an acceptable estimate of PaCO2 in many critically ill children, including those with clinical conditions that may be associated with low cardiac output or increased subcutaneous tissue, although it does not perform as well in children with cyanotic heart disease. PtcCO2 may be a useful adjunct monitoring method, but it cannot reliably replace PaCO2 measurement.


Angiogenic signals from retinal ganglion cells depend on a G protein–coupled receptor that signals at the plasma membrane and the nucleus. Coordination of neurons and blood vessels results in neuronal activity stimulating the formation of blood vessels that deliver nutrients and oxygen and remove waste. The mouse retina is a convenient system to study angiogenesis and neovascularization, processes that require retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Joyal et al. found that knocking down F2rl1, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) of the protease-activated receptor family, by intravitreal injection (predominantly affecting RGCs) impaired retinal developmental neovascularization. Injection of the F2rl1 agonist peptide (F2rl1-AP) stimulated neovascularization in wild-type mice, but not in mice lacking RGCs. Conditioned medium from cultured RGCs exposed to F2rl1-AP stimulated proangiogenic vascular sprouting when applied to aortic explants from wild-type or F2rl1-/- mice. Electron microscopy revealed that F2rl1 was present in the nucleus of RGCs, and exposure of the murine RGC cell line RGC-5 to trypsin (to cleave and activate the receptor) resulted in the nuclear accumulation of F2rl1. Reconstitution of RGCs in F2rl1-/- mice by injection of lentivirus encoding wild-type F2rl1 stimulated the expression of both Vegfa and Ang1, which encode the angiogenic factors VEGF-A and angiopoietin-1, respectively, promoted developmental angiogenesis. In contrast reconstitution with a mutant that could not translocate to the nucleus resulted in increased Ang1, but not Vegfa expression; reconstitution with a completely nuclear localized mutant resulted in increased Vegfa expression. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments with both transfected HEK293 and RGC-5 cells indicated that activated F2rl1 bound to the Vegfa promoter. Exposure of RGC-5 cells to F2rl1-AP stimulated an interaction between the transcription factor Sp1 and F2rl1 (detected by coimmunoprecipitation). The translocation of F2r11 to the nucleus required sorting nexin 11 (Snx11) and microtubules. Stimulation of F2rl1 in the presence of microtubule-disrupting agents, in cells in which Snx11 was knocked down, or in cells expressing a mutant F2rl1 that did not translocate to the nucleus resulted in the expression of Ang1, but not Vegfa. Thus, these data indicated that F2rl1 triggers distinct transcriptional events involved in initiating angiogenesis (Vegfa) and stabilizating vessels (Ang1), and these responses are governed by the subcellular localization of F2rl1. J.-S. Joyal, S. Nim, T. Zhu, N. Sitaras, J. C. Rivera, Z. Shao, P. Sapieha, D. Hamel, M. Sanchez, K. Zaniolo, M. St-Louis, J. Ouellette, M. Montoya-Zavala, A. Zabeida, E. Picard, P. Hardy, V. Bhosle, D. R. Varma, F. Gobeil Jr, C. Beauséjour, C. Boileau, W. Klein, M. Hollenberg, A. Ribeiro-da-Silva,.G. Andelfinger, S. Chemtob, Subcellular localization of coagulation factor II receptor-like 1 in neurons governs angiogenesis. Nat. Med. 20, 1165–1173 (2014). [PubMed]


A model is presented for concentrated sediment transport that is driven by strong, fully developed turbulent shear flows over a mobile bed. Balance equations for the average mass, momentum and energy for the two phases are phrased in terms of concentration–weighted (Favre averaged) velocities. Closures for the correlations between fluctuations in concentration and particle velocities are based on those for collisional grain flow. This is appropriate for particles that are so massive that their fall velocity exceeds the friction velocity of the turbulent fluid flow. Particular attention is given to the slow flow in the region of high concentration above the stationary bed. A failure criterion is introduced to determine the location of the stationary bed. The proposed model is solved numerically with a finite–difference algorithm in both steady and unsteady conditions. The predictions of sediment concentration and velocity are tested against experimental measurements that involve massive particles. The model is further employed to study several global features of sheet flow such as the total sediment transport rate in steady and unsteady conditions.


In this study, ilmenite-type NaNbO3 microplates were prepared by a facile surfactant-free method, using NaAc and KOH as a sodium resource and as a mineralizer, respectively. The effects of each reactant were identified, and the formation process and crystallization pathway of ilmenite-type NaNbO3 microplates were explored based on the phase constitution, microstructure and chemical compositional analysis. The indispensable roles of K ions, which participated in the formation of layered KNN-hydrate intermediates, were revealed. Ilmenite-type NaNbO3 microplates were formed by the dissolution of these intermediates and subsequent recrystallization into K-containing NaNbO3, followed by the ion-exchange between K and Na ions. Meanwhile excess K ions would hinder the release of K ions associated with the dissolution of intermediates, thus preventing the formation of ilmenite-type NaNbO3. Moreover, the morphological evolution of ilmenite-type NaNbO3 microplates from platelets to octahedra was interpreted in terms of their intrinsic structure and KOH concentration.


The mainstay of protozoal infection diagnosing has been the microscopic
 examination of blood, utilizing blood films. though blood is that the sample most
 often want to create a diagnosing, each spittle and piddle are investigated as
 various less invasive specimens additional recently trendy techniques utilizing
 substance tests or enzyme chain reaction are discovered, although these do not
 seem to be wide enforced in protozoal infection endemic regions. Areas that
 cannot afford laboratory diagnostic tests typically use solely a history of subjective
 fever because the indication to treat for protozoal infection.


Haikou is located in tropic climates in China. The outdoor environment in summer is too harsh to stay here. However, the traditional architecture, namely arcade, still survives in the severe climate. Its indoor and outdoor parameters of arcade are tested in field to research its thermal environments. The heat stress index is used to study the adaptability mechanism of arcade and local human to hot and humid environment. It proves that the metabolic rate and wind velocity are main and adjustable factors to reduce heat stress in such wretched weather. On the condition of metabolic rate below 60met and wind speed above 0.7m/s, the healthy adult can work normally in the arcade or on the corridor. So the human in tropic area should keep their metabolic rate and period staying out in the summer daytime as less as possible, and the architects should make full use of the local wind speed to organize natural ventilation.


The increasing levels of child sex abuse (CSA) media being shared in peer-to-peer (P2P) networks pose a significant challenge for law enforcement agencies. Although a number of P2P monitoring tools to detect offender activity in such networks exist, they typically rely on hash value databases of known CSA media. Such an approach cannot detect new or previously unknown media being shared. Conversely, identifying such new previously unknown media is a priority for law enforcement - they can be indicators of recent or on-going child abuse. Furthermore, originators of such media can be hands-on abusers and their apprehension can safeguard children from further abuse. The sheer volume of activity on P2P networks, however, makes manual detection virtually infeasible. In this paper, we present a novel approach that combines sophisticated filename and media analysis techniques to automatically flag new previously unseen CSA media to investigators. The approach has been implemented into the iCOP toolkit. Our evaluation on real case data shows high degrees of accuracy while hands-on trials with law enforcement officers highlight iCOP's usability and its complementarity to existing investigative workflows.


BACKGROUND
Ménière's disease (MD) is defined as an idiopathic disorder of the inner ear characterized by the triad of tinnitus, vertigo, and sensorineural hearing loss. Although many studies have evaluated the association between variants in the KCNE1 or KCNE3 gene and MD risk, debates still exist.

OBJECTIVE
Our aim is to evaluate the association between KCNE gene variants, including KCNE1 rs1805127 and KCNE3 rs2270676, and the risk of MD by a systematic review.

METHODS
We searched the literature in PubMed, SCOPUS and EMBASE through May 2015. We calculated pooled odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using a fixed-effects model or a random-effects model for the risk to MD associated with different KCNE gene variants. The heterogeneity assumption decided the effect model.

RESULTS
A total of three relevant studies, with 302 MD cases and 515 controls, were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that neither the KCNE1 rs1805127 variant (for G vs. A: OR = 0.724, 95%CI 0.320, 1.638, P= 0.438), nor the KCNE3 rs2270676 variant (for T vs. C: OR = 0.714, 95%CI 0.327, 1.559, P = 0.398) was associated with MD risk.

CONCLUSIONS
Based on current evidence from published studies, neither of the two variants from KCNE was significantly associated with the risk of MD. Larger studies with mixed ethnicity subjects and stratified by clinical and sub-clinical characteristics are needed to validate our findings.


Objective The aim of this study was to construct a prognostic index that predicts risk of relapse in women who have completed first-line treatment for ovarian cancer (OC). Methods A database of OC cases from 2000 to 2010 was interrogated for International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage, grade and histological subtype of cancer, preoperative and posttreatment CA-125 level, presence or absence of residual disease after cytoreductive surgery and on postchemotherapy computed tomography scan, and time to progression and death. The strongest predictors of relapse were included into an algorithm, the Risk of Ovarian Cancer Relapse (ROVAR) score. Results Three hundred fifty-four cases of OC were analyzed to generate the ROVAR score. Factors selected were preoperative serum CA-125, International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics stage and grade of cancer, and presence of residual disease at posttreatment computed tomography scan. In the validation data set, the ROVAR score had a sensitivity and specificity of 94% and 61%, respectively. The concordance index for the validation data set was 0.91 (95% confidence interval, 0.85-0.96). The score allows patient stratification into low (<0.33), intermediate (0.34–0.67), and high (>0.67) probability of relapse. Conclusions The ROVAR score stratifies patients according to their risk of relapse following first-line treatment for OC. This can broadly facilitate the appropriate tailoring of posttreatment care and support.


Abstract. Most forests of the world are recovering from a past disturbance. It is well known that forest disturbances profoundly affect carbon stocks and fluxes in forest ecosystems, yet it has been a great challenge to assess disturbance impacts in estimates of forest carbon budgets. Net sequestration or loss of CO2 by forests after disturbance follows a predictable pattern with forest recovery. Forest age, which is related to time since disturbance, is a useful surrogate variable for analyses of the impact of disturbance on forest carbon. In this study, we compiled the first continental forest age map of North America by combining forest inventory data, historical fire data, optical satellite data and the dataset from NASA's Landsat Ecosystem Disturbance Adaptive Processing System (LEDAPS) project. A companion map of the standard deviations for age estimates was developed for quantifying uncertainty. We discuss the significance of the disturbance legacy from the past, as represented by current forest age structure in different regions of the US and Canada, by analyzing the causes of disturbances from land management and nature over centuries and at various scales. We also show how such information can be used with inventory data for analyzing carbon management opportunities. By combining geographic information about forest age with estimated C dynamics by forest type, it is possible to conduct a simple but powerful analysis of the net CO2 uptake by forests, and the potential for increasing (or decreasing) this rate as a result of direct human intervention in the disturbance/age status. Finally, we describe how the forest age data can be used in large-scale carbon modeling, both for land-based biogeochemistry models and atmosphere-based inversion models, in order to improve the spatial accuracy of carbon cycle simulations.


Abstract This three-generation oral history study offers insight into why descendants of Italian migrants to the United States still choose hyphenated identities today. The research project shows how the meaning of Italianness shifts among the interviewees depending on class affiliation: among the middle-class offspring the use of the hyphen can be understood mainly as a reaction to the experienced pressure to give in to Anglo conformity. Among the blue-collar, urban progeny, Italianness expresses itself as a combination of an experienced ethnic environment on the one hand and a symbolic ethnicity on the other.


Cloud computing is a whole new paradigm that offers a non-traditional computing model for organizations to adopt Information Technology and related functions and aspects without upfront investment and with lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Cloud computing opens doors to multiple, unlimited venues from elastic computing to on demand provisioning to dynamic storage and computing requirement fulfillment. However, despite the potential gains achieved from the cloud computing, the security of an open-ended and rather freely accessible resource is still questionable which impacts the cloud adoption. The security problem becomes amplified under the cloud model as new dimensions enter into the problem scope related to the architecture, multi-tenancy, layer dependency, and elasticity. This paper introduces a detailed analysis of the cloud security problem. It investigates the problem of security from the cloud architecture perspective, the cloud characteristics perspective, cloud delivery model perspective, and the cloud stakeholder perspective. The paper investigates some of the key research challenges of implementing cloud-aware security solutions which can plausibly secure the ever-changing and dynamic cloud model. Based on this analysis it presents a derived detailed specification of the cloud security problem and key features that should be covered by any proposed security solution for cloud computing.


Hugo Grotius, the Portuguese and free trade in the East Indies By PETER BORSCHBERG Singapore: NUS Press, 2011. Pp. xxv + 482. Maps, Illustrations, Appendix, Notes, Bibliography, Index. In this scholarly and tightly-argued book, Peter Borschberg re-examines Hugo Grotius's De Iure Praedae (and that part of it that appeared as Mare Liberum in particular), considering why and how the jurist composed the work, what sources he used, and what long-term impact resulted. Grotius is usually assumed to have been a champion of freedom of navigation and access to markets, but Borschberg suggests this image needs considerable qualification. De Iure Praedae was nota product of independent scholarship, having been commissioned by the VOC (Dutch East India Company). Its purpose was to demonstrate that the Dutch seizure in the Johor River estuary in February 1603 of the Portuguese carrack Santa Catarina off Singapore was just and lawful rather than an act of piracy. Fundamental to Grotius's argument was that, because the Portuguese had denied the Dutch their natural right to access Asian markets via the maritime highways, which were open to ali and over which no sovereign lawfully exercised lordship, the VOC was entitled to retaliate with force. Moreover, the seizure of the Santa Catarina was demonstrably lawful because the company was acting in support of the king of Johor--an ally with full sovereign rights, who was, at the time, at war with the Portuguese. As well as finding that De Iure Praedae was a tendentious work, Borschberg concludes that it was based on unacceptably 'sloppy' research. This he deduces from careful and telling analysis not only of the text of De lure Praedae itself, but also of Grotius's seldom-consulted notes and working fragments, which are now in the Leiden University Library. These sources are particularly revealing on how Grotius went about his work. They show that he did not undertake any independent research in the VOC archives. Nor did he have access to any substantial Portuguese sources, relying instead on just a limited range of Spanish material, particularly the writings of the celebrated sixteenth-century theologian and jurist, Francisco de Vitoria of Salamanca--who was, however, writing not about maritime Asia but the quite different situation in Spanish America. As Borschberg clearly demonstrates, Grotius had minimal knowledge and understanding of Portuguese commercial structures in maritime Asia and of the theoretical and legal concepts that underlay them. He knew even less about Malay kingship and ideas of sovereignty, and about Southeast Asian geography. …


Landfill conservation has been gaining increasing priority in solid waste management, due to the transition from the use of local tip sites to more distantly located sites. The waste transfer facilities and haulage distances involved are causing waste disposal costs to increase from around $12 per tonne to $25 - $30 per tonne (Webb, 1988; Bell, 1988; Rodenburg, 1988).

Waste reduction by source separation recycling has begun to be perceived as an effective means of landfill conservation, and has been implemented in local authorities throughout Australia (AEC, 1987). The introduction of 240L mobile bins to Australian households has however been criticised as removing the incentive to householders to recycle by providing bins that are large enough to accommodate all household waste.

The aim of the study was to locally determine the impact of the 240L bins on the degree of recycling undertaken by householders and to understand the factors influencing motivation to participate in the house to house recycling scheme. The general hypothesis tested was that a convenient house-to-house recycling scheme would counteract the disincentive created by the larger capacity bins to recycle.

The study has involved two methodologies: a waste volume and composition analysis of household rubbish to determine the changes caused by the introduction of mobile bins and a recycling scheme; and a questionnaire
survey to determine the changes in recycling routes for materials with and without a house to house collection service.

In the waste survey component of the Study, ten neighbourhoods were selected to represent a broad cross-section of socio-economic conditions within the City of Stirling, that had not yet received mobile bins or
recycling bags for the first survey. The second survey was conducted randomly in the same neighbourhoods 5 - 8 months subsequent to the distribution of the bins, allowing sufficient time for householders to become accustomed to the larger bin capacity. A time constraint in the study resulted in a winter-summer waste profile. In each survey 400 randomly selected bin samples were collected and individually weighed into 16 waste categories.

The questionnaire component involved random, door to door, personal interviews of householders. Time lapse since distribution of mobile bins and recycling bags was 3 - 4 weeks. The socio-economic conditions targeted for the survey were considered 'less than optimal' for recycling. Two zones of lower-middle socio-economic conditions were available for the before and after cases. An 'optimal' characterised survey zone with high socio-economic conditions was also included for comparison of recycling activity after the introduction of the mobile bins and recycling scheme with the 'less than optimal' zone.

The City of Stirling house to house glass and aluminium can recycling scheme commenced with the introduction of 240L mobile bins. The scheme involved distribution of recycling bags providing instruction for glass only on the exterior; a low intensity publicity campaign involving the recycling bags, stickers on mobile bin lids, and the separation rule indicated on mobile bin leaflets; and weekly collection, simultaneous with normal rubbish collection.

Additionally the influence of the mobile bins was able to be tested on a house to house paper recycling scheme which was already established in the area and operated by a recycling company. This scheme involved: no distribution of a recycling container; a low intensity publicity campaign consisting of half yearly letterbox drops of calenders with pick-up dates marked; and an ·irregular 4 - 6 weekly collection on days other than the
normal rubbish collection day.

After the 3 - 4 week time lapse, a greater degree of recycling activity was found in the zones with the mobile bins and recycling scheme, considering all available routes. House to house recycling constituted the major recycling route for all glass categories without a deposit value. The degree of recycling via other routes besides the recycling scheme did not differ significantly from the "before" bins case. This indicates that the short time lapse between the distribution of the mobile bins and recycling bags had generally not permitted those with already established recycling habits to alter to the more convenient recycling route made available.

Participation in the glass recycling scheme as expressed in interviews was higher in the 'optimal' zone with 67% participating, as compared to 32% in the 'less than optimal' zone.

Deterrent factors to using the glass and paper recycling schemes were consistent with previous findings, generally relating to convenience and reliability of the service. Insufficiently clear publicity was also found to be a limiting factor.

From the data collected in the two waste surveys, of the five heaviest waste categories (food, garden, paper, glass and plastics) only glass did not increase significantly in weight, after the bins and glass recycling scheme had been introduced. Cullet, which before the scheme was not commonly recycled, decreased significantly in weight in the second waste survey further indicating a positive influence of the recycling scheme. No change or a decrease in deposit bottles was consistently found in the 10 zones, indicating the effectiveness of the monetary incentive to recycle nullifying the convenience of the mobile bins.

In contrast to glass, newspaper waste increased in weight significantly, with increases consistent in the 10 zones. This indicates that the house to house paper collection service was comparatively insufficient in convenience, to compete with disposal in the large mobile rubbish bins.

Contrary to previous studies on the relationship between socio-economic level and recycling participation, there was no significant difference between the 'least optimal' or 'most optimal' waste survey zones in the glass, paper and aluminium waste categories. In both waste surveys there was only significant difference in the weight of beer bottles between the most and least optimal zones. A shorter term indication was provided by the questionnaire, in which significant differences were found between the 'optimal' higher socio-economic zone as compared to the lower socioeconomic zone.

Due to a relatively lower socio-economic representation in the "before" and "after" comparison in the questionnaire survey, and reduced cooperation of rubbish collectors by the second waste survey, scheme participation results should be considered as a modest indication of the recycling levels able to be achieved in the City of Stirling.

It has been found that the glass recycling scheme has countered the disincentive created by the larger capacity mobile bins to recycle in the short and medium terms.

The recycling scheme has provided a competitively convenient recycling route for glass despite deficiencies in the scheme.


The article considers current policy trends and academic controversies related to qualitative data preservation and re-use. In the first part of the article, the epistemological/methodological, ethical/legal, ideological/political, and practical/technical aspects of the ongoing British debate about data archiving and re-use are presented and commented. In the second part, the Swedish case is briefly described and considered in light of the academic concerns that have been raised by the British debate. The situation in Sweden may be summarized in three points: First, there are many signs that the infrastructure for qualitative data archiving and re-use is being developed without the active participation of sufficient representatives of the qualitative research community; second, there are many signs that developing the infrastructure takes as a point of departure neo-positivistic or foundational epistemology, treating qualitative data in the same way as quantitative data, with all the methodological problems resulting from this; and third there are very few, if any, signs that serious academic debate has started in relation to all the issues that have been raised by the corresponding debate in Britain. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1302108


Purpose: Osteoclast-mediated bone resorption through src kinase releases growth factors, sustaining bone metastases. This trial determined the recommended phase II dose (RP2D) and clinical efficacy of the src kinase inhibitor dasatinib combined with zoledronic acid in bone predominant, HER2-negative breast cancer metastases. Experimental Design: A 3+3 lead in phase I design confirmed the RP2D allowing activation of the single-arm, phase II trial. Zoledronic acid was administered intravenously on day 1, and dasatinib was given orally once daily for 28 days each cycle as twice daily administration caused dose-limiting toxicity (DLT). Response was assessed every three cycles. N-telopeptide (NTx) was serially measured. Results: A total of 25 patients were enrolled. No DLTs were noted at the RP2D of dasatinib = 100 mg/d. Common adverse events were grade 1–2: rash (9/25, 36%), fatigue (9/25, 36%), pain (9/25, 36%), nausea (6/25, 20%). The objective response rate in bone was 5/22 (23%), all partial responses (PR). The clinical benefit rate [PRs + stable disease (SD) ≥ 6 months] in bone was 8/22 (36%). Median time to treatment failure was 2.70 months [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.84–5.72] in the general cohort, 3.65 months (95% CI, 1.97–7.33) in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive breast cancer and 0.70 months (95% CI, 0.30–NA) in those with HR-negative disease. Factors associated with response in bone included lower tumor grade, HR-positive status, and pretreatment high NTx levels. Conclusions: Combination therapy was well tolerated and produced responses in bone in patients with HR-positive tumors. Clin Cancer Res; 22(23); 5706–12. ©2016 AACR.


Electromechanical impedance (EMI) method is one of the most widely used structural health monitoring (SHM) methods. The low-cost alternative of the method, surface response to excitation (SuRE) method has the similar characteristics. Both methods require additional disks/sensors to estimate the location of defects or external loading. Additive manufacturing (AM) methods have been matured and started to be an alternative to the conventional manufacturing. Most of the parts made by the AM methods are hollow. The infill type and skin thickness are selected to manufacture the parts faster by using less material and to avoid warping of the part. In this paper, manufacture of the parts with two infill types and two surface skin thicknesses at their different locations are proposed to estimate the site of the applied external forces without using additional disks/sensors. SuRE method was used in the study. The experimental results indicated that the frequencies of the most changed spectrum sections were different depending on the infill types and surface skin thicknesses. The same approach could be used for the EMI applications.


Cloud computing is the topic in this paper. Cloud computing is the latest wave in systems architectures. The cloud realizes computing as a utility-that is, customers submit their computing tasks to the cloud, which provides the resources necessary to execute those tasks. Security is a major concern that could limit the cloud computing paradigm's impact. The factors affecting security in cloud computing, as well as the improvements made were mentioned and discussed.


The phylum Nematoda is characterised by a huge diversity of species that exploit almost all habitats on earth. Despite their prevalence in a wide range of different ecosystems, nematodes adhere to a strikingly strict Bauplan with only minor variations, even between two large groups that split more than 400 million years ago. The conservation of the final adult body form is quite special and not common in other animal taxa; this exceptional conservatism in the Bauplan, and the very similar patterns of early development observed in the model organisms C. elegans, P. pacificus and Ascaris together, have led scientist to suggest that these mechanisms of early development are archetypical for the phylum. However, analysis pioneered in the Schierenberg laboratory throughout the last 25 years challenged this view by describing considerable variations of early development in several species from different branches of the phylum. These observations together with data from divergent species in Panarthropoda gave rise to the question whether the molecular toolkit for nematode development could be subject to change as well. In the thesis presented here, this question is addressed from a genomic perspective, assembling and analysing large-scale data from species on different taxonomical levels. Based on these data comparisons have been made ranging from species at phylogenetically antipodal positions in the phylum separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution to genera in one specific clade of the nema- tode tree, and finally the comparison of two closely related genera. In all these taxa Gene Regulatory Networks (GRNs) of early development are analysed and set into perspective with the common model of the nematode developmental toolkit drawn from C. elegans. I used these assays to test whether recently widely discussed theories on the role of GRNs for development deliver valid predictions for the evolution of early development in Nematoda. In fact, I find that the emerging picture supports such hypotheses of GRN evolution: in many pathways intermediate genetic switches appear to be exchanged by processes collectively called "Developmental System Drift (DSD), while upstream and downstream acting genes are more likely to be conserved. Despite this disparity across Nematoda, an analysis of genes retained across all Bilateria shows that this hugely diverse taxon, comprising Nematoda, could be characterized by aprocess of minimal divergence namely the phase in development when the adult body form is constructed. In Nematoda, parthenogenesis evolved in several genera, with a hotspot in clade IV of the phylum. The data sampled to assess the evolution of development in this thesis are used to elucidate the origin and molecular mechanisms underlying parthenogenesis in the genus Panagrolaimus. While the establishment of a re-shuffling mechanisms of GRNs through DSD does not yet allow us to unravel the distinct molecular mechanisms underpinning the establishment and maintenance of parthenogenesis, we have good evidence that parthenogenetic species in the genus Panagrolaimus are polyploid hybrids. This finding supports the hypothesis that hybridisation is a common route to parthenogenesis in Nematoda, as found in many other taxa as well. Parthenogenesis has also been linked to survival in novel and extreme environments, this would be facilitated in the Panagrolaimus species as they are capable of undergoing cryptobiosis (complete desiccation) in contrat to C.elegans and most other nematodes tested. Exploring the trait from a genomic perspective, we found genes known to be acting in this process in Panagrolaimus, but more importantly an intriguing link to Horizontal Gene Transfer (HGT) was found. Genes acquired through HGT appear to lend Panagrolaimus an adaptive advantage in extreme environments by acting in DNA repair mechanisms, which are important during rehydration.
This illustrates the previously underestimated importance of HGT in Metazoa. The genomic and transcriptomic data sampled and assembled for this thesis can serve as a basis for future projects analysing the evolution of developmental systems with regards to GRNs and DSD, as well as detailed analyses of anhydrobiosis and the molecular background of parthenogenesis.


The overarching aim of this thesis was to examine the nature of what is encoded during simple associative learning and configural learning. The experiments used rats as subjects and appetitive conditioning designs to assess the validity of two assumptions that are prevalent within standard accounts of learning in animals. First, animals simply represent the patterns of stimulation that are currently present in the environment. Second, that although the conditions that prevailed during the acquisition of associative knowledge have a marked effect on the strength of the resulting association, the association itself is "blind" with respect to the origin of this influence. The results presented in Chapters 2 and 3 undermine the first assumption by showing that associatively provoked (Experiments 1-3) and short-term traces (Experiments 4-6) can be assimilated into configural representations. The results presented in Chapter 4, from studies involving control rats (Experiment 7) and rats with lesions of the hippocampus (Experiment 8), indicate that animals ordinarily represent the nature of the stimulus trace (immediate or short-term) in the associative structures that are acquired during conditioning. The findings from Chapter 4 are inconsistent with the view that associative learning is blind with respect to the nature of the encoding conditions. Taken together, the novel results presented in this thesis reveal that what is encoded during simple associative learning and configural learning is much richer than has hitherto been realized.


Examined the relation of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI-C) to the Social Anxiety Scale for Children-Revised (SASC-R). The association between the SPAI-C and the SASC-R was moderate, suggesting that the measures assess overlapping, although not identical, constructs. Initial normative data are reported on the SPAI-C for a community sample of 277 4th-through 6th-grade children. Girls reported higher social anxiety on both measures than did boys. Notably, a substantial proportion of children were found to exceed suggested cut-off scores on both measures for identifying children with high levels of social anxiety, which suggests the importance of screening elementary-age children for social fears.


Over-parameterized deep neural networks are able to achieve excellent training accuracy while maintaining a small generalization error. It has also been found that they are able to fit arbitrary labels, and this behaviour is referred to as the phenomenon of memorization. In this work, we study the phenomenon of memorization with turn-over dropout, an efficient method to estimate influence and memorization, for data with true labels (real data) and data with random labels (random data). Our main findings are: (i) For both real data and random data, the optimization of easy examples (e.g., real data) and difficult examples (e.g., random data) are conducted by the network simultaneously, with easy ones at a higher speed; (ii) For real data, a correct difficult example in the training dataset is more informative than an easy one. By showing the existence of memorization on random data and real data, we highlight the consistency between them regarding optimization and we emphasize the implication of memorization during optimization.


Using a previously developed noise‐generation model for sources due to surface processes [W. A. Kuperman and F. Ingenito, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 1988–1996 (1980)], a numerical study of ambient noise, which incorporates realistic wind wave spectrum (e.g., Pierson–Moskowitz), was made for seismoacoustic ocean wave guides. The results demonstrate a close relationship between the noise field and the source field, allowing one to gain insight to the interplay of both fields. Experimental data of ambient noise and wind waves were collected in an experimental site near the central part of Taiwan. The measured data were also used to generate numerical results of ambient noise which are then compared with experimental data. The comparison has shown a reasonable agreement in the frequency range dominated by the surface wind waves for a receiver not too close to bottom. By modeling the marine environment as a shallow‐ water seismoacoustic wave guide, it was demonstrated that the noise model of the noise field was g...


Carcinoma of the extrahepatic bile ducts is a rare condition. Textbooks make few references to it, and the published reviews are fragmentary. Early diagnosis is essential, yet clinicians rarely consider it. The lesion may be found unexpectedly at laparotomy, and the surgeon is frequently at a loss as to the best methods of handling the situation. It is proposed to report 6 new cases of this condition and to correlate the data from these with those previously reported with a view to presenting a comprehensive picture of the morbid anatomic and clinical aspects of the disease. Three earlier papers have been published dealing with cancer in closely related structures, namely, carcinoma of the suprapapillary portion of the duodenum (Stewart and Lieber) carcinoma of the infrapapillary portion of the duodenum (Lieber, Stewart and Lund) and carcinoma of the peripapillary portion of the duodenum (Lieber, Stewart and Lund). ANATOMY The extrahepatic bile


In this paper, a new method is proposed for the identification of inelastic shear frame structures with hysteresis, using data collected on their dynamic response. It uses the Prandtl-Ishlinskii rate independent model for hysteresis. The proposed identification method is capable of identifying the mass, damping and restoring force of a frame structure, which can be used in forming the equations of motion of the frame. By solving the equations of motion, the dynamic response is predicted. The method is based on the combined using of the Quadratic Programming (QP) and Genetic Algorithms (GA). First, assuming a set of Prandtl-Ishlinskii constants, the QP is used to find the best frame parameters which can be used in its equations of motion to predict its dynamic response with the least error compared to the real data collected on its dynamic response, while the GA is used to find the best Prandtl-Ishlinskii constants for more reduction in the error. To show the capability of the proposed method in this paper, a single degree of freedom (SDOF) frame with bilinear nonlinearity is utilized for identification, and the results show the high capability of the method.


This review gives an overview of clinical characteristics, treatment and outcome of nutritional and acquired cobalamin (Cbl; synonym: vitamin B12) deficiencies, inborn errors of Cbl absorption and intracellular trafficking, as well as methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase (MTHFD1) and methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) deficiencies, which impair Cbl‐dependent remethylation. Acquired and inborn Cbl‐related disorders and MTHFR deficiency cause multisystem, often severe disease. Failure to thrive, neurocognitive or psychiatric symptoms, eye disease, bone marrow alterations, microangiopathy and thromboembolic events are characteristic. The recently identified MTHFD1 defect additionally presents with severe immune deficiency. Deficient Cbl‐dependent enzymes cause reduced methylation capacity and metabolite toxicity. Further net‐effects of perturbed Cbl function or reduced Cbl supply causing oxidative stress, altered cytokine regulation or immune functions are discussed.


Cannabis is the illicit substance most widely used by adolescents. Certain personality traits such as impulsivity and sensation seeking, and the subjective effects experienced after substance use (e.g. euphoria or relaxation) have been identified as some of the main etiological factors of consumption. This study aims to categorize a sample of adolescent cannabis users based on their most dominant personality traits (internalizing and externalizing profile). Then, to make a comparison of both profiles considering a set of variables related to consumption, clinical severity and subjective effects experienced. From a cross-sectional design, 173 adolescents (104 men and 69 women) aged 13 to 18 asking for treatment for cannabis use disorder in an Addictive Behavior Unit (UCAD) from the hospital were recruited. For the assessment, an ad hoc protocol was employed to register consumption, the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI) and the Addiction Research Center Inventory (ARCI) 49-item short form were also administered. Factor analysis suggested a two-profile solution: Introverted, Inhibited, Doleful, Dramatizing (-), Egotistic (-), Self-demeaning and Borderline tendency scales composed the internalizing profile, and Submissive (-), Unruly, Forceful, Conforming (-) and Oppositional scales composed the externalizing profile. The comparative analysis showed that the internalizing profile has higher levels of clinical severity and more subjective effects reported than the externalizing profile. These results suggest the need to design specific intervention strategies for each profile.