Objectives: This paper seeks to explore the hypothesis of the potential diabetogenic effect of SARS-COV-2 (Severe Acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus). Case series presentation: We present a case series of observation among 8 patients of age group ranging from 34 to 74 years with a BMI range of 26.61 to 53.21 Kilogram/square meters that developed new-onset diabetes after COVID-19 infection. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-COV-2), commonly known as Coronavirus or COVID-19(Coronavirus infectious disease), gains entry into the cells by binding to the Angiotensin-converting enzyme-2(ACE-2) receptors located in essential metabolic tissues including the pancreas, adipose tissue, small intestine, and kidneys. The evidence reviewed from the scientific literature describes how ACE 2 receptors play a role in the pathogenesis of diabetes and the plausible interaction of SARS-COV-2 with ACE 2 receptors in metabolic organs and tissues. Conclusion: The 8 patients without a past medical history of diabetes admitted with COVID-19 infection developed new-onset diabetes mellitus due to plausible interaction of SARS-COV-2 with ACE 2 receptors. The resulting downregulation of ACE-2 and ACE-2 receptors expression caused islet-cell damage resulting into diabetes. The resulting observation has the potential to adversely impact significant number of the globally affected population. Screening patients with COVID-19 for diabetes routinely can help in early detection, significantly reducing morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes. Due to limitations of observational study with a small sample size will require further investigation in the form of Clinical trial.


OBJECTIVES
The purpose of this study was to determine the average price that a patient living in Cameroon would be willing to pay for the MosquirixTM vaccine and the factors influencing the proposed price.

STUDY DESIGN
Cross-sectional study Methods: Data were collected using a semi-open questionnaire in 5 hospitals in Cameroon. This study included all persons over 18 years who came for consultation in one of the 5 selected hospitals during the study period (from 02th to 14th April 2018 and from 02th to 22th July 2018). The factors associated with the price of the vaccine proposed by the patient were determined by linear multiple regression analysis. The average price was determined based on the patient's income and the percentage of that income proposed for the purchase of the vaccine.

RESULTS
We collected data from 1,187 participants aged 18 to 80 years. The average price that Cameroonian patients were willing to pay for the MosquirixTM vaccine was 1,514±475 XAF (2.3±0.73 Euro). The minimum and maximum purchase price of the vaccine were 1,178 XAF (1.8 Euro) and 1,850 XAF (2.8 Euro) respectively. We also noted that patients were willing to spend an average of 1.34% of their income on the vaccine. This percentage of income was significantly (lt;0.001) associated with the respondents' income, the fact that they had been consulted at least once for malaria in the 12 months preceding the survey (lt;0.001) and the fact that the respondent had at least one under- five year child (lt;0.001).

CONCLUSION
Factors associated with the average price are elements that should be strongly considered by policy makers to introduce this vaccine in Cameroon. This pilot study can serve as a framework for a potential national population-based study.


Although healthy aging is generally characterized by declines in both brain structure and function, there is variability in the extent to which these changes result in observable cognitive decline. Specific to language, age-related differences in language production are observed more frequently than in language comprehension, although both are associated with increased right prefrontal cortex activation in older adults. The current paper explores these differences in the language system, integrating them with theories of behavioral and neural cognitive aging. Overall, data indicate that frontal reorganization of the dorsal language stream in older adults benefits task performance during comprehension, but not always during production. We interpret these results in the CRUNCH framework (compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis), which suggests that differences in task and process difficulty may underlie older adults' ability to successfully adapt. That is, older adults may be able to neurally adapt to less difficult tasks (i.e., comprehension), but fail to do so successfully as difficulty increases (i.e., production). We hypothesize greater age-related differences in aspects of language that rely more heavily on the dorsal language stream (e.g., syntax and production) and that recruit general cognitive resources that rely on frontal regions (e.g., executive function, working memory, inhibition). Moreover, there should be a relative sparing of tasks that rely predominantly on ventral stream regions. These results are both consistent with patterns of age-related structural decline and retention and with varying levels of difficulty across comprehension and production. This neurocognitive framework for understanding age-related differences in the language system centers on the interaction between prefrontal cortex activation, structural integrity, and task difficulty.


Automation of application provisioning is one of the key aspects of Cloud Computing. Standards such as the Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) provide a means to model application topologies which can be provisioned fully automatically. Many automated provisioning engines require that these topologies are complete in the sense of specifying all application, platform, and infrastructure components. However, modeling complete models is a complex, timeconsuming, and error-prone task that typically requires a lot of technical expertise. In this paper, we present an approach that enables users to model incomplete TOSCA application topologies that are completed automatically to deployable, complete models. This enables users to focus on the business-relevant application components and simplifies the creation process tremendously by minimizing the required effort and know-how. We prove the technical feasibility of the presented approach by a prototypical implementation based on the open source modeling tool Winery. In addition, we evaluate the approach by standards-compliance and performance.


: Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) seek to respond to new ways of conceiving and projecting higher education embodied in the profile of a professional. Faced with this challenge, educational models focus mainly on the theoretical-practical references of critical training, constructivism and collaborative learning. Although there are several knowledge management solutions in the field of higher education, which have managed to formalize the organizational structure of academic institutions in ontologies, so far none of these proposals divides and makes explicit the development that the actors of the ecosystem (students and educators) take over time. Our proposal is to construct a semantic representation of the academic ecosystem by implementing an ontological network that allows managing the knowledge generated in a more efficient way. This architecture is intended to be used as an instrument to support the academic body and for the centralization of information. To achieve our objective, we carry out a reengineering process of relevant institutional documents, such as the academic record of the students, in each of their facets of learning. We have interviewed specialists in the area and reuse academic domain ontologies to form a consistent knowledge base.


The first health guide for the era of managed care is also the only one that will never go out of date. www.health.harvard.edu/fhg offers page and index searches for updated information on every entry.Today we all have a better chance of living a longer, healthier life than ever before -- but only if we know how to utilize the advances in medicine science has given us. Whether you depend on traditional fee-for-service health care or some form of managed care, you must make health decisions in partnership with doctors...doctors with whom you may only spend a few minutes. How can you sort out the confusing, often contradictory health information that is bombarding you daily and communicate clearly and effectively with your doctor? How can you gain access to the best care and evaluate the care you are getting?The "Harvard Medical School Family Health Guide" answers these essential questions and many more. The first health guide written specifically to empower readers in the era of managed care, it is the culmination of 200 years of clinical care, health education, and medical research -- bringing you the expertise of more than 7,000 health professionals from some of the nation's most esteemed hospitals and research centers. In this book, they have gathered the most authoritative, comprehensive, easy-to-understand, up-to-the-minute information about the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease in every stage of life to help you: Make the most of the time you spend with your doctor. Decide when and if you need to see a doctor. Avoid dangerous drug interactions. Explore alternative treatments safely. Choose wisely among treatmentoptions. Access emergency and other important information easily. Learn the most effective ways to prevent disease. Consult with the most renowned doctors in America, including Herbert Benson, T. Berry Brazelton, Robert Coles, and Richard Ferber. Receive the most current information from our Web site, which gives you free online updates.Harvard Medical School consists of world-renowned affiliated hospitals, clinics, and research foundations, which include: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center - Brigham and Women's Hospital* - Cambridge Hospital - Center for Blood Research - Children's Hospital* - Dana Farber Cancer Institute - Harvard Pilgrim Health Care - Joslin Diabetes Center* - Judge Baker Children's Center - Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary - Massachusetts General Hospital* - Massachusetts Mental Health Center - McLean Hospital - Mount Auburn Hospital - Schepens Eye Research Institute - Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital - VA Boston Healthcare System(*CONSISTENTLY RANKED AMONG THE 10 BEST HEALTH INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES)Throughout its history, Harvard's doctors have made important medical breakthroughs, including: the discovery of anesthesia - the birth of brain surgery - the first human organ transplantation (Nobel Prize) - the discovery of the polio virus (Nobel Prize) - the discovery of vitamin B12 as the cure for pernicious anemia (Nobel Prize) - the discovery of how the human eye sees (Nobel Prize) - the discovery of the aspirin-a-day prevention strategy for heart disease


Overview With an ever-growing range of computational tools and applications now available for archaeological practice, the potential of digital archaeology is greater than ever before. Yet, archaeological curricula have not always followed suit, and many archaeologists are not up-to-date with the necessary digital skills. To fill this gap, online tutorials and learning platforms are being developed to familiarize archaeologists and students with the potential of digital media for archaeological research practices. Given the essential pedagogical role of these platforms, their quality is deserving of deeper interrogation. Here, I review three major platforms offering tutorials on digital archaeology: the Programming Historian, Project MERCURY-SIMREC, and the Open Digital Archaeology Textbook. These are evaluated and compared based on their goals, design (intuitiveness, ease of use), accessibility (use of jargon, required prerequisite knowledge, software requirements), scope (target audience, range of skills addressed, targeted level of improvement), and efficiency (whether or not they achieve their intended goals). The review concludes with a road map contextualizing the current state of available resources in light of the wider state of digital archaeology, and it considers pathways toward future development.


The results of a long-term observation (for 1 to 4 1/2 years) of haemodynamic changes in 32 non-treated patients with stage II essential hypertension are presented. In 18 patients the lesion did not progress throughout the observation period (group I). At re-examination the haemodynamic parameters in this group of patients did not change significantly, although in some of them the haemodynamic mechanism of maintenance of hypertension underwent certain changes: the cardiac output decreased and the total peripheral resistance increased. In 14 patients (Group 2) their essential hypertension was progressively developing. At the same time a deceleration of the heart contractions rate, a reduction of the cardiac and stroke outputs, a decrease of the circulating blood volume, and an increase of the total peripheral resistance were noted. The reduction of the cardiac output was directly proportional to its initial value (r = +0.78, P less than 0.01) and to the elevation of the arterial pressure (r = +0.71, P less than 0.01). The most distinct changes were noted in 3 patients who developed signs of cardiac insufficiency during the period between the two examinations. The possible mechanisms of haemodynamic changes under the progression of essential hypertension are discussed.


Background & Aim: Spirituality and religion as human dimensions and because of their role in recovery has been increasingly considered. This study was conducted with the aim of assessing relationship between religious activities and spiritual health with glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. Material & Methods: In this descriptive- correlational study, 154 hospitalized diabetic patients were recruited by convenience sampling from Kamkar and Shahid-Beheshti hospitals in city of Qom, in 2012. Data collection was done by Paloutzian & Ellison's spiritual well-being and Arcury religious activities questionnaires. Venous blood sample was taken for measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin and fasting blood glucose of patients. Data analysis was done by SPSS-PC (v.18) using descriptive statistics, t-test, Pearson correlation and stepwise linear regression. Results: Mean score and standard deviation of religious activity and spiritual well-being was 40/81±12/93 (scores range 20-120) and 90/79±12/88 (scores range 0-65) respectively. Glycosylated hemoglobin of 68/8% of patients was ≥ 7% and 57/1% of the patients had blood sugar of more than 110 mg/dl. There was no significant difference between spiritual well-being and religious activities' scores of patients with glycosylated hemoglobin ≥ 7% and <7% (p=0/324, p=0/888). There was no correlation between spiritual well-being and religious activities with fasting blood glucose (P=0/128, p=0/422). But being religious (in general) was significantly associated with fasting blood glucose (P<0/05). Conclusion: In this study, religious activities and spiritual well-being scores was not significantly different between patients with controlled and uncontrolled blood glucose. Doing case- control and longitudinal studies with greater sample size and assessing self- care activities of these patients is recommended.


Abstract. The increasing conflicts for water resources appeal for chronological insight into the imbalance water scarcity between upstream and downstream regions. While the changes of water scarcity in whole basins have been widely analysed, the divergent development of water scarcity between upstream and downstream regions received little concern. Here non-anthropologically intervened runoff (natural runoff) was first reconstructed in China's 67 basins for the period 1961–2010 using the Fu–Budyko framework and then systematically evaluated in comparison with the observed data. Divergent changes in water scarcity, including water stress and water shortage, between upstream and downstream regions were analyzed for the period of 1980s–2000s. The results showed that surface water withdrawal rapidly increased from 140.8 billion m3 (9 % of natural runoff) in 1980s to 189.7 billion m3 (14 %) in 2000s, with 73 % increase occurring in North China (North of the Yangtze River). This led to severe water scarcity of approximately 0.4 billion people (29 % of population) in 2000s in comparison with only ~ 0.2 billion people (17 %) in the 1980s, with all increase of water scarcity-threaten population in North China. Since 1990s, the increase of upstream water withdrawal came along with the decrease of downstream surface water availability in most northern basins, leading to slower increase in upstream water scarcity and faster increase in downstream water scarcity. Even though restrict water management policy restrained upstream surface water withdrawal in some northern basins over latest decade, the effect of such a reduction in upstream surface water withdrawal was too little to stop the continued decline in downstream surface water accessibility. Meanwhile, semi-arid/humid basins are following in the footsteps of arid basins by rapidly increasing upstream surface water withdrawal. The Chinese case study provides an all-round observation of the imbalance upstream–downstream development in water scarcity, as well as the experiences and lessons from different water management strategies.


AIM
Silymarin is a potent antioxidant, antiinflammatory and anti-fibrogenic agent in the liver, which is mediated by alteration of hepatic Kupffer cell function, lipid peroxidation, and collagen production. Especially, in hepatic fibrogenesis, mast cells are expressed in chronic inflammatory conditions, and promote fibroblast growth and stimulate production of the extracellular matrix by hepatic stellate cells.

METHODS
We examined the inhibitory mechanism of silymarin on CCl(4)-induced hepatic cirrhosis in rats. At 4, 8, and 12 wk, liver tissues were examined histopathologically for fibrotic changes produced by silymarin treatment.

RESULTS
In the silymarin with CCl(4)-treated group, increase of hepatic stellate cells and TGF-beta1 production were lower than in the CCl(4)-treated group at early stages. Additionally, at the late fibrogenic stage, expressions of TGF-beta1 were weaker and especially not expressed in hepatocytes located in peripheral areas. Moreover, the number of mast cell in portal areas gradually increased and was dependent on the fibrogenic stage, but those of CCl(1)+silymarin-treated group decreased significantly.

CONCLUSION
Anti-fibrotic and antiinflammatory effects of silymarin were associated with activation of hepatic stellate cells through the expression of TGF-beta1 and stabilization of mast cells. These results suggest that silymarin prevent hepatic fibrosis through suppression of inflammation and hypoxia in the hepatic fibrogenesis.


Children in conflict with law are the children who face legal matters, either as a witness or a victim of a criminal offence and children who are in conflict with law is anyone is 12 years old but has not yet turned to 18 years old (eighteen) which is suspected to do criminal offense. Divorce is the legal dissolution of a marriage decided by religious courts and also it results the children are in conflict with law. Therefore, the writer is interested to do research about the children who are in conflict with law as the result of divorce parents. The study addresses three research questions which are; first, why the children who conflict with law is caused by the divorce parents? Second, what are factors that cause the children conflict with law? Third, how is the application of Restorative Justice in protecting the children conflicting with law as the result of divorce parents? The research employs qualitative method by adopting juridical empiric approach. The research method is field research; interview of research was conducted in Religious Court of Stabat, and the District Court of Stabat, dated 16 March 2018. Research data were collected by using second data which consist of primary, secondary, and third legal materials. Children in conflict with law are closely related with the divorce parents because the children are in venerable situation and are easily influenced to do actions beyond the controls of adult people. The venerable position of the children is because the children do not get their rights as it should be and cannot get concretely and intensively guidance from their parents (Article 4-19 Act Number 23 Year 2002 about child protection). New paradigm on children case resolution system is by adopting Restorative Justice by considering all party in order to resolve and to restore the first situation without imprisonment. The conclusion is that the Religious Court of Stabat gains the third highest rank of divorce cases after Medan and Deli. Furthermore, the District Court of Stabat is  the third rank after District Court of Medan and Deli Serdang of children in conflict with law. The role of government is to reregulate the certain purposes of Act Number 11 Year 2012 About Children Criminal Justice System. The suggestion is that all government apparatuses both of religious court as well as ministry of religion to educate actively any program that prevents the divorce rate at Religious Court of Stabat.


Abstract. Surniyantoro HNE, Rahajeng N, Lusiyanti Y, Rahardjo T, Erawati D, Choridah L, Dhamiyati W, Dwidanarti SR. 2019. Interaction of Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln genotypes with the risk of radiation on cancer patients. Biodiversitas 20: 2128-2133. Two of the common single-nucleotide polymorphisms are X-ray repair cross-complementary group 1 on exon 6 (Arg194Trp) and exon 10 (Arg399Gln). The purpose of this study was to determine the interactions between Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln genotypes combination with the risk of radiation on cancer patients in Indonesia, linked to micronuclei frequency as a biomarker of DNA damage. This study consisted of 19 patients with various cancer as the case group and 37 non-cancer participants as the control group. The determination of Arg149Trp and Arg399Gln alleles were performed using Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism. Micronuclei assay was performed using Cytokinesis-block micronuclei cytome assay. The results of our study showed that micronuclei frequency was very significantly higher in the cancer patients compared to controls (111.16 ± 76.24 versus 16.89 ± 9.72, p<0.0001). Patients with heterozygous mutant genotypes CT had a lower frequency of micronuclei than patients with normal CC genotypes (105.6 ± 80.97 versus 117.33 ± 74.97). Likewise, patients with mutant genotype AA had a lower frequency of micronuclei than patients with normal GG genotype (64 versus 129.71 ± 90.68). The genetic polymorphisms of Arg194Trp and Arg399Gln demonstrated an association with the level of DNA damage on cancer patients.


Images of patients in a modernising society: The Netherlands, 1880-1920 In this essay it is argued that advertisements for medicines in the lay press constitute an important source for the patient in medical history. At first sight, advertisements only seem to document the supply side of the medical market. However, the image of the proactive manufacturer offering his goods to passive consumers is a misleading one. For a manufacturer to get and remain in business, it was crucial to develop a sensitive antenna for the needs of the public. In a highly commercial domain like health care around 1900 production, distribution and consumption of medicines constituted an interactive cycle of which advertisements were a part. They mirror a subtle play with dormant notions about health, illness and healing. When looking at it this way, the health care system (or rather: the medical market) becomes a place where meaning is being constructed, negotiated and exchanged. Thus, by taking a closer look at advertisements, the demand side comes in sight as well. By using advertisements for medicines in the lay press as a source, it seems possible to overcome the objection that much patient history is still too much focused on the academy and on physicians.


Catheter associated bloodstream infections, exit-site infections, and tunnel infections are common complications related to hemodialysis central venous catheter use. Effective antimicrobial coating of catheters that can inhibit device colonization has the potential of preventing clinical infection. The study investigated in vitro the antimicrobial efficacies of hemodialysis catheters impregnated with an antibiofilm agent (ascorbic acid) (vitamin C) and a broad-spectrum antibiotics (Gentamicin and levofloxacin) against five clinical strains recently isolated from patients undergoing hemodialysis catheter removal. Impregnated catheters were also evaluated for their anti-adherence activities and durabilities. Levofloxacin/ascorbic acid (LEV/AS) catheters produced the most active and durable antimicrobial effect against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative isolates and significantly reduced adherence (P<0.05) by all tested pathogens compared to control catheters while, gentamicin/ascorbic acid (GENT/AS) catheters had lost activity against methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli but still produced zones of inhibition only for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE), Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Effects of levofloxacin, gentamicin and vitamin C coated catheters on microbial adherence were found to be dose dependent. In conclusion, catheters impregnated with LEV/AS were shown to have broad spectrum, sustained antimicrobial durability and high efficacy. These in vitro results suggest that this antimicrobial combination can be used to protect against hemodialysis catheter colonization and catheter-associated infection.

 Key words: Gentamicin-levofloxacin-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), biofilm, hemodialysis catheters, colonization.


Movable sieve jig has the characteristics of simple structure, low water consumption, large capacity, less infrastructure investment, and low production costs, which can replace manual rock picking and be used by many coal preparation plants. Due to the size and the shape of sieve pore, common sieve plate is easy to plug and has a short life with many materials leaking through the sieve, which leads to complex follow-up treatment process. Based on the analysis of coal preparation features, this paper proposes a structure of circular-wave sieve plate and conducts theoretical and experimental studies about that. The results show that the optimized circular-wave sieve plate can significantly improve the performance. Therefore, it is worth to be promoted in the industry.


Actomyosin networks linked to the micro-environment through the plasma membrane are thought to be key players regulating cell behaviors. Even after decades of studies dedicated to reveal the role of actin cytoskeleton in single cell migrations, we do not understand how actomyosin networks drive cell movements within multicellular tissues, like those in developing embryos. Here we use the converging and extending mesoderm tissues of Xenopus embryo as a model system to understand the role of cortical actin cytoskeleton during cell rearrangement within a multicellular organism. Using high resolution live imaging of F-actin, we observe the unique dynamic actin contractions called "punctuated actin contractions" in the mid-cell body of mesenchymal cells. These contraction dynamics are a common feature of Xenopus embryonic cells and mediate cell shape changes during morphogenesis. Quantitative morphological analysis of these F-actin dynamics indicates that frequent and aligned movements of multiple actin contractions accompany mesoderm cells as they intercalate and elongate. Moreover, we found levels of punctuated actin contractions are permissively regulated by the non canonical Wnt-signaling pathway. Over-expression on Xfz7 can induce early maturation of actin contractions in mesoderm and produce mesoderm-like actin contractions in ectoderm cells. In contrast, expression of the dominant negative Disheveled constructs Xdd1 block the progression of actin contractions to their late mesoderm dynamics, it but has no effect in ectoderm. Additionally, using inhibitors combined with FRAP analysis we find the dynamics of actin contractions are regulated by both myosin contractility and F-actin polymerization. We also show the actin contractions can be induced by microtubules via RhoGEFs in mesoderm tissue. In summary, this study reveals punctuated actin contractions within converging and extending mesoderm, and uncovers permissive roles for non-canonical Wnt-signaling, myosin contractility, and F-actin polymerization which play a role in regulating those dynamics.


The apparatus a description of which forms the chief subject of the present paper, is intended to give a complete record of the nature, magnitude, direction, and frequency of the motions of a point of the earth's surface during an earthquake, and at the same time to record the time of occurrence and the duration of the earthquake. The apparatus has been made by Mr. James White, Glasgow, and is to be used by Prof. Milne in his investigations as one of the committee appointed by the British Association for the investigation of the earthquake phenomena of Japan. The instrument is suited for recording motions of the earth which are under one centimetre on either side of its normal position, while the period of oscillation is less than one second. The instrument may be adjusted to register motions having a longer period; but it is not expected to be called upon to do so. The actual motion of the earth is to be derived from a record of three separate components of the motion—two horizontal and at right angles to each other, and the other vertical. The horizontal components are recorded by a pair of conical pendulum-seismographs (see Phil. Mag. Sept. 1881), one of which is shown at P, figs. 1 & 2. These instruments are considerably simpler in form, and can be more readily adjusted, than the instruments described in the paper above referred to. They consist of cylinders of lead, P, supported from their centre of gravlty by


The impact of sexual selection on the adaptive process remains unclear. On the one hand, sexual selection might hinder adaptation by favouring costly traits and preferences that reduce nonsexual fitness. On the other hand, condition dependence of success in sexual selection may accelerate adaptation. Here, we used replicate populations of Drosophila melanogaster to artificially select on male desiccation resistance while manipulating the opportunity for precopulatory sexual selection in a factorial design. Following five generations of artificial selection, we measured the desiccation resistance of males and females to test whether the addition of sexual selection accelerated adaptation. We found a significant interaction between the effects of natural selection and sexual selection: desiccation resistance was highest in populations where sexual selection was allowed to operate. Despite only selecting on males, we also found a correlated response in females. These results provide empirical support for the idea that sexual selection can accelerate the rate of adaptation.


Accepted, August 9, 2004. OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: To describe our experience with the transradial approach for posterior circulation neurointerventional procedures. To the best of our knowledge, this approach has not been described previously for intracranial neuroendovascular procedures. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: The clinical and imaging characteristics as well as periprocedural outcomes of patients treated for intracranial posterior circulation disease via the transradial approach were analyzed retrospectively. INTERVENTION: Between January 1 and October 21, 2003, four patients with posterior circulation disease (aneurysm, n 1, and atherosclerotic stenosis, n 3) were treated via the transradial approach because of tortuous brachiocephalic anatomy. Procedural success was 100%, and there were no procedural complications. No technical difficulties were encountered. CONCLUSION: The transradial approach is an alternative to the femoral approach for posterior circulation neuroendovascular intervention. This approach has several advantages over other approaches, and the vasculature can be less tortuous than that encountered during the femoral approach. These factors can result in increased device trackability and procedural ease.


Citrobacter rodentium uses a type III secretion system (T3SS) to induce colonic crypt hyperplasia in mice, thereby gaining an edge during its competition with the gut microbiota through an unknown mechanism. Here, we show that by triggering colonic crypt hyperplasia, the C. rodentium T3SS induced an excessive expansion of undifferentiated Ki67-positive epithelial cells, which increased oxygenation of the mucosal surface and drove an aerobic C. rodentium expansion in the colon. Treatment of mice with the γ-secretase inhibitor dibenzazepine to diminish Notch-driven colonic crypt hyperplasia curtailed the fitness advantage conferred by aerobic respiration during C. rodentium infection. We conclude that C. rodentium uses its T3SS to induce histopathological lesions that generate an intestinal microenvironment in which growth of the pathogen is fueled by aerobic respiration.


We present an efficient content-based image coding called locally adaptive resolution (LAR) offering advanced scalability at different semantic levels, i.e., pixel, block, and region. A local analysis of image activity leads to a nonuniform block representation supporting two layers of image description. The first layer provides global information encoded in the spatial domain enabling a low bit rate while preserving contours. The second layer holds texture information encoded in the spectral domain, enabling scalable bitstream in accordance with the required quality. This basic LAR coding leads to an efficient progressive compression, evaluated through subjective quality tests. Its nonuniform block representation also allows a hierarchical region representation providing higher semantic functionalities. More precisely, the segmentation process can be simultaneously performed at both the coder and the decoder from only the luminance component highly compressed by the first coding layer. This solution provides a representation at a region level while avoiding any contour encoding overhead. Region enhancement can then be realized through the second layer. Furthermore, very high compression of the chromatic components is achieved thanks to this region representation. In this scheme, a low-cost chromatic control, which was first introduced during the segmentation process, increases the consistency of region representation in terms of color.


which he gives twenty pages, one-twelfth of the book. There are psychological and sociological backgrounds to the economic background and they are of infinitely greater concern to civilization and humanity than the economic issues. Match this sentence it )"OU can: "Olle of the olltstalldillg causes of child labor is Ih~ laziness, thriftlessness, 411d irresponsibility of parents:' Here is another characteristic sentence backed by abundant information: "The wages earned by children are negligible in comparison to the losses involved for future inefficiency due to lack of education and the failure to form regular and stable habits of industry. Again American democracy and business are dependent upon education." Think what it will mean to America economically, socially and humanely if such facts as these are taught in the schools.


This study was to examine the effectiveness of financial control mechanism on effective management of incomes from income generating activities performance to public universities in Tanzania particularly at the Open University of Tanzania. The data were collected from individual interview using questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such, frequency and percentages analysis were employed to analyze financial control mechanism and type of income generation activities on the effectiveness management to the public universities. The data analyses were used to identify the major activities to the performance of income generating in public universities in Tanzania. A broad study was done with regards to the various variables showing how each of them affects performance of income generating activities. Results obtained from the study indicated that the income generated was classified by the nature of the activities: fee collection, Consultancy, short and long courses Training, on rental collections, rental fees charged and hiring of University premises example of hall, canteen are effective income. The results obtained further showed that majority agree that corporate governance or good governance is a structures, systems and process that provide direction, control and accountability for public universities. The study concluded by making suggestions which could improve income generation activities in the study area and in Tanzania as a whole. Therefore, policy aimed to accelerate national income development in financial management could be successful if the aforementioned control mechanisms for the public universities are taken in to consideration.


Protein A has been detected in Staphylococcus aureus muriatic extracts by means of the passive hemagglutination test and the passive hemagglutination inhibition test with IgG erythrocyte diagnosticum. The absence of perceptible amounts of protein A, capable of interaction with the Fc fragment of IgG, on the surface of erythrocyte diagnosticum obtained from S. aureus muriatic extract with the use of amidol has been proved by different methods. The use of antierythrocytic IgG antibody bridge has shown that protein A in S. aureus muriatic extract is bound with other species-specific antigens, in particular with teichoic acid.


The molecular-level arrangement of the donor and acceptor (i.e. the local morphology) in organic solar cells governs charge separation and charge transport via its effect on the mobility of charges. However, the nanometre-scale mobility in such systems, which can be measured using terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, has been little investigated at relevant low excitation densities, due to extremely weak signals. Here, we study the mobility over short distances and at ultrashort times using time-resolved optical-pump-THz-probe (OPTP) spectroscopy on pBTTT:PCBM blends. This complements our previous results obtained with transient absorption (TA) and electro-modulated differential absorption (EDA) techniques. In the pBTTT:PCBM system, the co-existence of fullerene-/polymer-rich ('neat') and co-crystalline ('intermixed') regions can be controlled through choice of composition (weight ratio of the two components, use of processing additive). We demonstrate high short-range mobilities that help charges separate, and we show how this mobility of photogenerated charges develops in time, in particular as the charges move between different phase regions of the blend. By reducing the pump fluence below the threshold for nonlinear recombination mechanisms, we access these properties at solar cell operating conditions. Overall, we explain the necessity of different local phases through their influence on charge lifetime and mobility.


Preterm birth (PTB) remains the most common cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality as well as long-term disability. Current strategies to prevent or arrest spontaneous preterm labor (SPTL) have limited success. For almost three decades, there have been no novel pharmacological agents used clinically to address this important obstetrical complication. In this review, we focus on the uterine myocyte as a target for prevention of spontaneous PTB. After presenting an overview of intracellular signaling pathways that are important in regulation of smooth muscle contractility, we discuss previous and current pharmacological approaches to manage SPTL. We also present recent evidence from our own laboratories suggesting a potentially novel and uterine-specific approach to maintain or impose uterine relaxation. Finally, we briefly discuss extrinsic systems that might affect uterine activity and reinforce the concept that SPTL represents a syndrome that is the end result of a variety of pathophysiologic etiologies leading to PTB. We conclude by emphasizing the need for much more research to provide sufficient understanding of the mechanisms of SPTL and to make inroads towards reducing the incidence and adverse consequences of this common and serious syndrome.


Abstract Although smuggling is commonly assumed to happen in remote and difficult-to-access borderlands, in reality, smuggling is most prevalent in areas that states tightly control, including at formal border crossings. To understand this puzzle, this article explores the relationship between states and smugglers at international borders. Based on extensive empirical research in various borderlands in North Africa and Southeast Asia, it argues that different kinds of smugglers prefer different types of relationships with the state. The article outlines six ideal types of such relationships. It contends that these types of relationships are the dominant factor in how different smuggling networks choose routes along a border. The findings have implications for our understanding of smuggling and policies that aim at addressing smuggling, especially regarding the effects of border fortifications and corruption prevention.


A new class of white luminescent materials, white-light-emitting graphene quantum dots (WGQDs), have attracted increasing attention because of their unique features and potential applications. Herein, we designed and synthesized a novel WGQDs via a solvothermal molecular fusion strategy. The modulation of chlorine doping amount and reaction temperature gives the WGQDs a single-crystalline structure and bright white fluorescence properties. In particular, the WGQDs also exhibit novel and robust white phosphorescence performance for the first time. An optimum fluorescence quantum yield of WGQDs is 34%, which exceeds the majority of reported WGQDs and other white luminescent materials. The WGQDs display broad-spectrum absorption within almost the entire visible light region, broad full width at half maximum and extend their phosphorescence emission to the entire white long-wavelength region. This unique dual-mode optical characteristic of the WGQDs originates from the synergistic effect of low-defect and high chlorine-doping in WGQDs and enlarges their applications in white light emission devices, cell nuclei imaging, and information encryption. Our finding provides us an opportunity to design and construct more advanced multifunctional white luminescent materials based on metal-free carbon nanomaterials.


The present calculation methods for shear and torsion in prestressed hollow core slabs add stresses from various influences without taking into account deformations and compatibility, the softening of cracking concrete, or restraint at the boundaries, therefore they are most likely conservative. The main purpose of this work is to establish three-dimensional finite element models, which can be used both to analyse the effect of parameters that influence the shear and torsion response and to be included in global models of complete floors. An important aspect was therefore to simplify the models to avoid time-consuming analyses. Coarse meshes with solid elements were combined with beam elements. The established models were validated by simulating a series of full-scale tests conducted on both 200 mm and 400 mm thick hollow core units subjected to various combinations of shear and torsion. In general, although very coarse meshes were used, the finite element analyses of the tests succeeded in describing the overall behaviour, crack pattern, failure mode, and maximum load, with a reasonably good agreement.


It is known that the migration of melanocyte precursors (melanoblasts) from the outer root sheath of hair follicles into clinically depigmented epidermis is crucial to the repigmentation of vitiliginous skin treated with photochemotherapy (PUVA), but such migratory cells must penetrate extracellular matrix tissue barriers in vivo. To test the hypothesis that matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are required for this process, we determined whether cultured melb-a cells, an immortal line of melanoblasts isolated from neonatal mouse epidermis, express and secrete MMPs and whether a synthetic metalloproteinase inhibitor, GM6001 (Galardin), inhibits their migratory behavior in vitro. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were used to determine the patterns of MMP expression by melanoblasts at the mRNA and protein levels, respectively. The proteolytic activities of MMPs secreted into the culture medium were assessed by gelatin zymography. The capacity of melanoblasts to migrate on fibronectin, laminin or laminin-5 substrates was estimated using Transwell migration assays. The results show that MMP2, MMP9 and MT1-MMP transcripts are expressed by these melanoblasts, but only MMP2 is secreted and activated in the extracellular environment. Although the therapeutic efficacy of PUVA in stimulating repigmentation of vitiliginous skin might derive from direct effects of UVA and/or 8-methoxypsoralen (8MOP), recent studies have shown that keratinocyte-derived factors induced by ultraviolet radiation, especially alpha-melanocyte stimulating hormone (alpha MSH), play a major role in regulating melanocyte function. Therefore, we also examined whether 8MOP and/or alphaMSH are involved in the up-regulation of MMP2 expression in melanoblasts. Western blotting and zymographic analyses revealed that MMP2 synthesis and secretion were induced by 8MOP and/or by alpha MSH. This induction of MMP2 resulted in significant increases of migration by melanoblasts on laminin or on laminin-5 substrates, while concomitant treatment with GM6001 blocked that induced migration. Taken together, these results suggest the importance of MMP2 in melanoblast migration and in the response to PUVA therapy.


This study investigates temporal evolution of 1‐, 7‐, 15‐, and 30‐day annual and seasonal low‐flow regimes of pristine river basins, included in the Canadian reference hydrometric basin network (RHBN), for three time frames: 1974–2003, 1964–2003, and 1954–2003. For the analysis, the RHBN stations are classified into three categories, which correspond to stations where annual low flows occur in winter only, summer only, and both summer and winter seasons, respectively. Unlike in previous studies for the RHBN, such classification is essential to better understand and interpret the identified trends in low‐flow regimes in the RHBN. Nonparametric trend detection and bootstrap resampling approaches are used for the assessment of at‐site temporal trends under the assumption of no persistence or short‐term persistence (STP). The results of the study demonstrate that previously suggested prewhitening and trend‐free prewhitening approaches, for incorporating the effect of STP on trend significance, are not adequate for reliably identifying trends in low‐flow regimes compared to a simple bootstrap‐based approach. The analyses of 10 relatively longer records reveal that trends in low‐flow regimes exhibit fluctuating behavior, and hence, their temporal and spatial interpretations appear to be sensitive to the time frame chosen for the analysis. Furthermore, under the assumption of long‐term persistence (LTP), which is a possible explanation for the fluctuating behavior of trends, many of the significant trends in low‐flow regimes, noted under the assumption of STP, become nonsignificant and their field significance also disappears. Therefore correct identification of STP or LTP in time series of low‐flow regimes is very important as it has serious implications for the detection and interpretation of trends.


Limestone is commonly used for neutralization of acid mine drainage (AMD). Its main advantages are its lower price, sustained generation of alkalinity and production of low sludge volumes. Nevertheless, armouring of limestone by ferric hydroxides is a problem in oxic limestone drains and in active limestone treatment systems, reducing the efficiency of the process. Due to these disadvantages, there is a permanent search for cheaper and more effective neutralization agents. Many alkaline industrial wastes are gaining importance in the treatment of AMD. The possibilities to use two different industrial by-products, red mud from a bauxite exploitation and low grade magnesium hydroxide from a magnesite mine, as neutralizing and bacterial inhibiting agents, and the comparison with conventional limestone treatment has been studied in this paper. An AMD from Rio Tinto mine site with an initial pH of 2.4 and a ferric concentration of 1 g/L was used. Comparative test were done percolating the AMD in a continuous form with a peristaltic pump through three different columns filled with limestone, red mud and low grade magnesite, during one month and in same conditions of flow rate and amount of each compound used to fill the columns. The evolution of pH, iron and heavy metals, sulphates and microbial populations in the percolate were monitored at different times. The results showed that the best neutralization capacity was obtained with low grade magnesite during the month treatment. By contraire limestone and red mud loosed their neutralization capacity after 10 and 13 days respectively. The control of microbial populations showed that there is an inhibition of chemolithotropic bacteria as long as the materials maintain their neutralization capacity, reverting to the initial conditions when this capacity was loosed.


All industries need 'competent' staff, and pipeline standards and regulations expect all staff in the pipeline industry to be competent. This is emphasized by a North American pipeline regulator stating in its report on a failure: '... the management of training and competency is particularly critical for an organization [operating pipelines]'. Competence is a mix of skills, knowledge, and experience, and is obtained from training, mentoring, and experience. Consequently, industry knows how to develop competencies, but how can companies prove their staff are competent? Staff can attend the many training courses on offer, but how can the industry know these courses are the required quality, and that staff have acquired and absorbed the necessary skills/training? This evidence and demonstration are major problems in the pipeline industry, and need urgent solutions. Fortunately, the industry can learn from academia, who have been providing demonstrable skills for centuries. Most current industry training courses are presented by good trainers, using good materials, through good training providers. Unfortunately, most of these courses/trainers/organisers are not accredited by any reputable organisation, the materials are not quality assured, the necessary competence levels are neither specified nor defined, and there is no assessment to demonstrate understanding. This learning process may be good and delivered in good faith, but it is disorganised, unregulated, with no control or benchmarking, and no assessment. This leads to a lack of credibility. Academia has a well-established, but relatively simple system to ensure its learning process is credible. It has: courses that are assessed to a specified learning level, with clear objectives, outcomes, and qualification requirements; materials 1 This paper was produced as part of the ROSEN-Phil Hopkins Ltd. partnership. that are independently quality assured; lecturers that are qualified to teach; and, an assessment, qualification, and certification process that demonstrates the student has acquired all the stated skills. This leads to credibility. This paper assesses current training in the pipeline industry, and highlights the good points and bad points, and the deficiencies in the learning process, that prevent demonstrable competencies. It then describes how academia has a rigorous learning process that allows this demonstration. The paper ends with a 'way forward' for the pipeline industry, in its goal of demonstrating competency in its workforce.


Background: Well-being of child is directly related to the nutritional status of the baby. Malnutrition rate increases between 6 and 18 months—the period of complementary feeding. Appropriate complementary feeding promotes growth and prevents stunting among children aged between 6 and 24 months.

Objective: To document the knowledge, attitude, and practices pertaining to complementary feeding among the mothers of Waghodia Taluka of Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among the conveniently enrolled 250 mothers of Waghodiya Taluka of Vadodara having at least one child less than 2 years of age. Data were entered and analyzed using Excel 2007 and Epi Info 7 software.

Results: Cow's milk was most common (44.4%) introductory food item. Around 58% mothers fed their children less than five times a day. Around 75% mothers fed their children by themselves; 17% were unaware about measures for maintaining hygiene. Most common illnesses associated with poor feeding as described by mothers were diarrhea (30%) and vomiting (22%). Literate mothers were observed to feed their children 2.4 times more if they had developed diarrhea (X2 = 9.2986, df = 1, p < 0.01; OR = 2.4209; 1.3610–4.3063) and 3 times more during the episode of fever (X2 = 6.8517, df = 1, p < 0.01; OR = 3.3962; 1.3002–8.8713).

Conclusion: Improper feeding practices were associated with education status of mothers. Knowledge about hygiene practices and illnesses related to poor feeding was also found less and both required more attention.


We reviewed 44 cases of ischemia and infarction of the spinal cord at two university hospitals.Three patients experienced transient ischemic attacks. Etiologies of completed strokes were diverse and included rupture and surgical repair of aortic aneurysms, aortic dissection, aortic rupture and thrombosis, global ischemia, anterior spinal artery embolism, repair and thrombosis of spinal arteriovenous malformations, hematomyelia, epidural hematoma, cervical osteophytosis, celiac plexus block, systemic lupus erythematosus, coagulopathy, and decompression sickness. Motor function improved in 12 patients, was substantial in only one, and occurred largely within the first 2 to 4 weeks. Favorable ambulatory outcome correlated with improving neurologic examinations and relatively preserved strength in hip abductors and knee extensors. More extensive deficits without initial improvement portended a more severe prognosis. Autonomic dysfunction, pain, paresthesia, and depression were common and impeded recovery in some patients. The mean level of deficit was at T-8 and in cases of global ischemia was at T-9, which leads us to dispute the classical view of a midthoracic watershed zone of ischemic vulnerability near T-4. NEUROLOGY 1996;47: 321-330


New Approach' Directives now govern the health and safety of most products whether destined for workplace or domestic use. These Directives have been enacted into UK law by various specific legislation principally relating to work equipment, machinery and consumer products. This research investigates whether the risk assessment approach used to ensure the safety of machinery may be applied to consumer products. Crucially, consumer products are subject to the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) 1987, where there is no direct reference to "assessing risk". This contrasts with the law governing the safety of products used in the workplace, where risk assessment underpins the approach. New Approach Directives are supported by European harmonised standards, and in the case of machinery, further supported by the risk assessment standard, EN 1050. The system regulating consumer product safety is discussed, its key elements identified and a graphical model produced. This model incorporates such matters as conformity assessment, the system of regulation, near miss and accident reporting. A key finding of the research is that New Approach Directives have a common feature of specifying essential performance requirements that provide a hazard prompt-list that can form the basis for a risk assessment (the hazard identification stage). Drawing upon 272 prosecution cases, and with thirty examples examined in detail, this research provides evidence that despite the high degree of regulation, unsafe consumer products still find their way onto the market. The research presents a number of risk assessment tools to help Trading Standards Officers (TSOs) prioritise their work at the initial inspection stage when dealing with subsequent enforcement action.


BACKGROUND
Primary testicular lymphoma is a unique, rare and aggressive extra nodal non-Hodgkins Lymphoma (NHL). It is the most common testicular tumour in males between 60 and 80 years old

OBJECTIVE
To report a case of primary testicular lymphoma in a young man who has done very well on surgery and chemotherapy.

METHODS
The patient a Nigerian male civil servant who was single and aged 31 years presented to us with a history of a progressive painful right scrotal swelling of two years duration and associated painful right groin swelling for one year. A working diagnosis of right hydrocele with differential diagnosis of lymphangioma was made. Investigations were essentially normal and patient was scheduled for hydrocelectomy but findings at operations were different.

RESULTS
At surgery, there was grossly enlarged hard right testis with thickened spermatic cord. Right radical inguinal orchidectomy with excision of the right spermatic cord and a regional lymph node was carried out. Histology revealed intermediate grade nodular NHL of the right testis. He was treated with systemic combination chemotherapy and has since been in complete remission for over 10 years.

CONCLUSION
Primary testicular lymphoma is a rare and unique neoplasm of the testis and is most commonly seen in men over the age of 60, but should be considered in the differential diagnosis of testicular tumours in younger age groups. It is curable in early stage with appropriate multimodalities of management.


Mediastinal germ cell tumor (MGCT), which accounts for 1% to 3% of extragonadal germ cell tumors, has unique manifestations; it is associated with several types of hematologic malignancy, particularly myeloid neoplasm. The aim of this study was to report the 10-year incidence, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of MGCT at Thailand's national pediatric tertiary referral center. This retrospective study included patients diagnosed with MGCT at the Department of Pediatrics, Siriraj Hospital during 2005 to 2014. Eight patients (all male) were diagnosed with MGCT. Five of 8 patients were found to have hematologic abnormalities. Three patients were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (one patient with M1, another having M7, and the other with M0). Another patient had mixed MGCT with mediastinal myeloid sarcoma (MMS). The other patient had malignancy-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis syndrome (M-HLH). Isochromosome 12p was detected in 3 patients (AML [2], mixed MGCT/MMS [1]). Four of 5 patients with hematologic abnormalities died of hematologic abnormalities or treatment complication (AML [3], M-HLH [1]). One patient with mixed MGCT/MMS survived with chemotherapy. All patients with AML and MMS were nonseminomatous MGCT and the onset of myeloid malignancies were within 1 year after the diagnosis of MGCT. Associated hematologic malignancies should be suspected in MGCT with abnormal blood count or hematologic symptoms. Isochromosome 12p was the most common cytogenetic finding in MGCT-associated myeloid malignancies patients. Those with nonseminomatous MGCT should have their blood count carefully monitored especially during the first year after the diagnosis of MGCT. Better treatment alternatives for MGCT with associated hematologic malignancies are warranted to ameliorate adverse outcomes.


This paper first identifies the characteristics of publicly-traded REITs associated with an increased probability of being the target of an announced merger or acquisition. Second, conditional on being a target, we examine whether certain target characteristics influence the probability of a bidder being a private versus a public firm. Third, we examine whether the wealth effects that accrue to the shareholders of target REITs in going private deals and public-to-public transactions vary with the characteristics of the target and acquirer firms. Finally, we investigate the extent to which going private transactions differ from istaying publici acquisitions in terms of the type of financing employed and the motivation of the two investor types. We find that REITs more likely to become acquisition targets are smaller, with no umbrella operating partnership, less liquidity, higher dividend yields and greater institutional ownership than non-targets. We also document that targets of private acquirers have lower leverage, interest coverage ratios, and profitability. Although acquisitions by private buyers are always done with cash, there has been a shift toward the use of cash in public-to-public deals. In addition, the factors related to abnormal returns differ in public-to-public and public-to-private deals.


Abstract Locked plating for fracture fixation has enjoyed widespread popularity despite a paucity of published data on outcomes. Anatomically precontoured locked plates that allow fixation in various anatomic regions are widely available. New technologies incorporate subchondral support locking pegs, polyaxial bushings, and locking washers to improve intraoperative versatility. However, limited data are available on the efficacy of these new implants. The clinical performance of locked plates generally has been good. However, several unique complications have been noted, such as difficulty with implant removal, malalignment, fracture distraction, and loss of diaphyseal fixation, especially with percutaneous techniques and unicortical screws. The expense of locked plate constructs is a concern. This technology typically costs three times more than similar unlocked constructs. Locked constructs should be reserved for problematic fractures that have demonstrated poor outcomes with unlocked constructs.


Examining chemical and structural characteristics of micro-features in complex tissue matrices is essential for understanding biological systems. Advances in multimodal chemical and structural imaging using synchrotron radiation have overcome many issues in correlative imaging, enabling the characterization of distinct microfeatures at nanoscale resolution in ex vivo tissues. We present a nanoscale imaging method that pairs X-ray ptychography and X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XFM) to simultaneously examine structural features and quantify elemental content of microfeatures in complex ex vivo tissues. We examined the neuropathological microfeatures Lewy bodies, aggregations of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) and neuromelanin in human post-mortem Parkinson's disease tissue. Although biometals play essential roles in normal neuronal biochemistry, their dyshomeostasis is implicated in Parkinson's disease aetiology. Here we show that Lewy bodies and SOD1 aggregates have distinct elemental fingerprints yet are similar in structure, whilst neuromelanin exhibits different elemental composition and a distinct, disordered structure. The unique approach we describe is applicable to the structural and chemical characterization of a wide range of complex biological tissues at previously unprecedented levels of detail.


Mar-pa Chos-kyi-blo-gros (1000?–1081?) is the founding figure of the Bka'-brgyud school of Tibetan Buddhism, which still occupies today an important place in the Tibetan religious landscape. He was a translator of many tantric instructions and is a pivotal figure in the later transference of Buddhism to Tibet. Being one of the most well-known Tibetans, both in Tibet and abroad, his statue is present in almost every Bka'-brgyud temple, and his life story is frequently given as an edifying example. Yet, a close scrutiny of the literary sources available to approach his life reveals how little we know about him for certain.
This monograph examines the corpus of Mar-pa's biographies in order to map out the genesis of this literary tradition, in which more than thirty independent texts are now identified. The first part is an introduction to Mar-pa's life and to the genre of hagiography. In the second and main part, all biographies available are placed in a chronological and logical order, organized according to the metaphor of a house. This architectural image illustrates the way the biographies have been approached, from the earliest to the latest, in order to place the reader at the place of the writer: what could he know when he wrote, and what did he build on? Each significant biography is thus presented individually and in relation with the other works in order to understand what place it occupies in this biographical tradition. The third part is a selection of a few cornerstones in Mar-pa's biographies: Mar-pa's songs; verbs indicative of indirect speech that mark the author's presence in the biography; Mar-pa's status as a reincarnation; the practice of entering another's body (grong 'jug); and Mar-pa's relationships with Nāropā and with Gnyos Lo-tsā-ba. In the appendices, the reader will find translations of two of the earliest biographies of Mar-pa, redacted by Ngam-rdzong ston-pa (12th c.) and Rngog Mdo-sde (1078–1154). These two translations provide fascinating alternatives to the well-known biography of Mar-pa composed by Gtsang-smyon He-ru-ka in the early 16th century and mark the beginnings of Mar-pa's biographical tradition. Thus the book presents a welcome addition to the growing literature on the early Bka'-brgyud-pas and is the first to deal in detail with this major religious figure of the second spread of Buddhism in Tibet.


This paper describes experiments regarding navigation performance using a new locomotion interface for walking through virtual space. Although traveling on foot is the most intuitive style of locomotion, proprioceptive feedback from walking is not provided in most applications of virtual environments. We developed an infinite surface driven by actuators for enabling a sense of walking. Torus-shaped surfaces are selected to realize the locomotion interface. The device employs twelve sets of treadmills, connected side by side and driven in perpendicular directions. The virtual infinite surface is generated by the motion of the treadmills. A walker can go in any direction while his/her position is fixed in the real world. The device is called a Torus Treadmill. Navigation performance was measured by path-reproduction tests. Subjects were immersed in a virtual grass-covered plain on which a cone-shaped target object was placed. The subjects first traveled to the target object. After they reached it, the target object disappeared and the rehomed subjects were asked to return to the place where the target object was placed. We also set two target objects, and the subject traveled along a bent path. We compared two locomotion modes: walking on the Torus Treadmill and moving purely by joystick operation. The results of the bent-path experiment showed that the accuracy of the path reproduction in the Torus Treadmill mode is better than that of joystick mode.


Many have viewed Kaiser Wilhelm II as having personally ruled Germany, dominating its politics and choreographing its ambitious leap to global power. But how accurate is this picture? As this book shows, Wilhelm II was a constitutional monarch like many other crowned heads of Europe. Rather than an expression of Wilhelm II's personal rule, Germany's global empire and its Weltpolitik had their origins in the political and economic changes undergone by the nation as German commerce and industry strained to globalize alongside other European nations. More central to Germany's imperial processes than an emperor who reigned but did not rule were the numerous monarchs around the world with whom the German Empire came into contact. In Africa, Asia and the Pacific, kings, sultans, and other paramount leaders both resisted and accommodated Germany's ambitions as they charted their own course through the era of European imperialism. The result was often violent suppression, but also complex diplomatic negotiation, attempts at manipulation, and even mutual cooperation. In vivid detail drawn from archival holdings, this book examines the surprisingly muted role played by Wilhelm II in the German Empire and contrasts it with the lively, varied, and innovative responses to German imperialism from monarchs around the world.


This thesis reports a five year longitudinal study of 300 Scottish school leavers. The research used quantitative and qualitative techniques to intensively investigate the relationship between personality type and achievement and explore the transition from adolescence to adulthood. The researcher devoted considerable effort to ensuring that participants and schools could benefit from involvement in the study. The thesis includes the researcher's reflection on the role of her own subjectivity within the research process. The distribution of personality types was ascertained using the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) based on Carl Jung's Theory of Types. The MBTI was administered to 298 4th year pupils and 72 teachers from two schools. The research findings indicate that extraverted participants were more likely to leave school earlier and with poorer qualifications than those who were introverted. Sensates were also more likely than intuitives to leave school at the end of their period of compulsory education with poorer qualifications. Thus the educationally most vulnerable group consisted of the young people who were both extraverted and sensing. A subgroup at particular risk was subjected to closer scrutiny and a case study provided. No type group was more likely than any other to become employed or unemployed. Participants were occupationally oriented even at the age of 14 with the young people in general fearing unemployment but still aspiring to a work identity. However, stable employment or unemployment were seldom reported after leaving school. Rather young people tended to report moving frequently between jobs, training and unemployment. 80 depth interviews conducted at 18 years indicated that the majority still did not regard themselves as adults, which was seen as characterised by assumption of responsibilities and the end of "fun". The thesis ends with recommendations for enhancement of the educational process.


We report our experience with 264 patients who underwent triplex scans for venous occlusive disease over a 10-month period. Venography was obtained in 30 of these patients. Correlation between the two procedures was 100%. The anatomic location of thrombosis and the extent of disease were identical in both studies. The presence of intraluminal clot by angiodynography is detected by looking for changes in the venous color-flow patterns and in the B-mode image. Newer clots have low echogenicity and are seen as large black areas in the gray-scale image. Older clots are more echogenic. The presence of enlarged venous collateral veins as well as absence of color flow and inability to compress the veins confirm the diagnosis of acute deep venous thrombosis. The results of angiodynography alone can be used safely in diagnosing acute deep venous thrombosis in patients. Equally important, treatment can be withheld safety in a patient with normal results.


In its relatively short career, the motor car has already brought about more casualties in the United States than all the wars in which this country has been engaged. In 1935 alone, motor car accidents caused approximately 36,000 deaths and a far greater number of severe injuries. So serious has the situation become that traffic and safety engineers, public officials and educators have set about intensively to seek a solution of this problem. Safety campaigns have stressed the harrowing picture of "Sudden Death."1More tragic than sudden death, however, is the suffering borne by the injured who escape it. And more pitiable even than the immediate period of pain and disability is the suffering, through long bitter years of mental agony, of those left with lasting, conspicuous facial disfigurements.1The psychologic handicap imposed by unprepossessing or even relatively minor disfigurements has helped to blight many promising business and


In the molecular scheme of living organisms, adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic AMP or cAMP) has been a universal second messenger. In eukaryotic cells, the primary receptors for cAMP are the regulatory subunits of cAMP-dependent protein kinase. The crystal structure of a 1-91 deletion mutant of the type I alpha regulatory subunit was refined to 2.8 A resolution. Each of the two tandem cAMP binding domains provides an extensive network of hydrogen bonds that buries the cyclic phosphate and the ribose between two beta strands that are linked by a short alpha helix. Each adenine base stacks against an aromatic ring that lies outside the beta barrel. This structure provides a molecular basis for understanding how cAMP binds cooperatively to its receptor protein, thus mediating activation of the kinase.


SAW devices, based on horizontally polarized surface shear waves (HPSSW) enable label-free, sensitive and cost-effective detection of biomolecules in real time. Early results have shown the importance of small sampling volumes with low inner surface areas as well as minimal mechanical stress arising from scaling elements of miniaturized sampling chambers. In this paper, we present a new way to integrate SAW devices with the sampling chamber: the sensor device is completely packed within a polymeric housing produced by stereo lithographic methods. The resulting polymer chip serves as a tight, durable but still disposable package for HPSSW biosensors which are completely encapsulated within the polymer chip. It includes a small sampling channel with a sample volume of only 374 nl per chip. Several preliminary experiments with these chips are shown to characterize the performance for their future application as a generic bioanalytical micro device.


This paper describes analytical prediction and measurement techniques for quantifying iron loss in a short-stroke, single-phase, tubular permanent-magnet machine which is developed for direct-drive linear compressors in domestic refrigeration applications. The technique is based on the analytically derived magnetic field distributions in three discrete regions of the stator core and a well established iron loss model, and is validated by finite element analysis. An iron loss measurement technique is developed in which the moving magnet armature is supported by flexural springs that eliminate frictional loss and facilitate resonant operation during measurement. A good agreement between the prediction and measurement is observed.


Author(s): Green Nylen, Nell; Pannu, Camille; Kiparsky, Michael | Abstract: California recognizes a human right to safe, affordable drinking water. However, small and disadvantaged communities can find it especially challenging to fund the water systems necessary to achieve this goal. Small water systems are responsible for the bulk of the state's drinking water quality violations, and an estimated 300 disadvantaged communities in California are served by systems that fail to meet state drinking water standards.Water system consolidations can create economies of scale that help address persistent water system inadequacies in small and disadvantaged communities. More than 100 consolidation projects have been completed or are ongoing in California, and many more communities are likely to pursue consolidations in the future. While consolidation offers many potential benefits for communities served by unreliable water systems, the costs and benefits associated with different consolidation options have not been well documented. During the current legislative session, legislators have introduced several legislative proposals to address perceived needs related to consolidation.This project begins to take stock of past and current consolidation efforts—and the lessons they provide—with the goal of helping to accelerate cost-effective solutions for near-term water needs and long-term water system resilience. A daylong workshop held at UC Berkeley in March 2018 aimed to identify key lessons learned and emerging issues from California's experience to date with small water system consolidations. This document synthesizes that facilitated dialogue, exploring the factors that drive and influence consolidations. It enumerates barriers to effective consolidations and identifies potential solutions for overcoming those barriers, highlighting which entities may be best situated to implement them.In addition to laying the foundation for further constructive and inclusive dialogue, this work aims to inform the development of legislative and administrative policy proposals and a future research agenda.


A significant factor that prevented the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) from becoming as calamitous as the Great Depression of 1929, is the fact that states reacted swiftly to inject massive sums of public money to save the banks and the global financial system.  This massive state intervention highlighted the limits of the progressive deregulation of the international system which characterized the process of globalization. It showed that states had huge responsibilities in keeping the global economy afloat, albeit without a clear compass or direction. The apparent 'anarchy' of the global market system makes conceivable that, to paraphrase A. Wendt, "globalization should be what states make of it".  Limiting the scope of study to the postmodern state, and looking at the discourse surrounding the globalization process that promotes de-regulation and limited government within a 'neo-liberal paradigm' it looks at the 'democratic deficit' which weakens the political decision-making process. If not yet a 'paradigm shift', the GFC has many ingredients of a crisis of capitalism which needs to re-invent itself, and political action is crucial to curb the excesses of finance. Looking at France, and the election of Francois Hollande on a strong 'anti-finance' platform in 2012 and its European Union dimension, it remains to be seen if that kind of shift will actually be able to operate and be successful to set the tone for global reforms.  In conclusion, the core argument is that the global 'trial' of the neoliberal paradigm and the concept of financial deregulation should now enter a new phase. It is historically and symbolically the defeat of the self-regulating markets as a blueprint for global prosperity. The present structures are inadequate, and states have to find new ways for cooperation in order to steer this integrated world towards greater cohesion.


+ 409. Cloth, $44.95. ISBN 0-8006-6023-4. As befits a Jerusalem scholar, Paul is strong on linguistics and ancient Near Eastern material. In these respects he provides a great deal of valuable comment. But the approach as a whole exhibits an almost reactionary dedication to the 'integrity' of the book. Accepting Amos's view of society as objective is unfortunate, but at least not uncommon; claiming Amos' authorship of all the oracles of chs. 1-2, plus 9.1115 is less common, and many of the arguments offered for it are simply sophistical objections. Literary appreciation mostly stays within the linguistic and literal. Quite different from Wolff, but hardly better. PRD


The effects of the component distribution of a red light-emitting random copolymer poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-(4,7-dithienyl-benzothiadiazole)) (DOF : DBT = 9 : 1 mol/mol, PFO-DBT10) on its optoelectronic properties are systematically investigated. The PFO-DBT10 copolymers with various molecular weights (MWs) have identical absorption spectra and energy levels. However, as the molecular weight increases, so does the photoluminescence intensity ratio of DBT to DOF segments. For polymer light-emitting diodes, PFO-DBT10 with a large MW shows an enhanced charge trapping effect, leading to increased operation voltage under any given current density, worse luminous efficiency, and more saturated red emission, compared to the one with a small MW. The experiments are performed within the framework of the component's molar ratio dispersion of random copolymer chains induced by the MW using the binomial distribution formula. According to the formula, the high MW random copolymer is analogous to the ideal PFO-DBT10 in terms of the uniformly distributed units. The low MW random copolymer is more likely to be a mixture of pure PFO and PFO-DBTx, in which the molar ratio x varies, due to its dispersive component distribution. This work offers a new approach to study the opto-electronic properties of random copolymers in the light of component distribution.


In this paper, we introduce a novel link layer cooperation technique in noisy wireless networks to improve overall system throughput and reliability, and to reduce the cost of retransmission and energy consumption. Under a cluster-based network design, code combining is used together with FEC to improve the link layer reliability. This approach is different from how code combining is used in the conventional hybrid ARQ, which is in a sequential way. The analytical results and the simulations show that with the cooperation of nodes in a clustering network, the link reliability is greatly improved with the same power consumption. Equivalently, this can be viewed as the same link performance with a lower transmission power and lower interference.


Two new distributions based on mixing between different types of distributions are introduced in this paper. They are one-parameter and two-parameter distributions. The twoparameter distribution was derived from the one-parameter distribution by using a power transformation. Its failure rate can be (constant, decreasing, bathtub, decreasing - increasing and increasing) depending on the values of its two parameters. Some properties of these two distributions were discussed. Maximum likelihood estimation was investigated for the two-parameter model. Finally, investigating the mean square error of the maximum likelihood estimators, scaled root mean square error, the coverage probability, and the average width of the confidence intervals of the unknown parameters using simulation study was done.


Objectives To assess vaginal cleansing and lubricant use among female sex workers (FSW) in Kenya participating in a 6-month, prospective study of the acceptability of the use of the diaphragm. Methods The study is based on 140 FSW in Nairobi, who completed 140 baseline visits and 390 bi-monthly follow-up visits. Participants were instructed to wear the diaphragm for all coital acts during follow-up and to refrain from vaginal cleansing while wearing the diaphragm. Logistic regression was used to identify predictors of recent vaginal cleansing to 'tighten' the vagina reported at baseline; recent vaginal cleansing to prevent infection reported at baseline; recent vaginal cleansing with the diaphragm in place reported during follow-up; and recent use of oil-based lubricant during coitus reported at baseline. Results At baseline, 99% of women reported vaginal cleansing in the previous 2 weeks for purposes of hygiene or to remove evidence of past coitus. Approximately 41% of women also reported cleansing in the past 2 weeks to 'tighten' the vagina. Women reported vaginal cleansing with the diaphragm in place in the past 2 weeks at 14% of follow-up visits in which the diaphragm was used. Predictors of such cleansing included young age, 6-month study visit, being divorced or widowed and higher educational level. Conclusions While vaginal cleansing is a modifiable behaviour, given that cleansing for hygiene was almost universal among this study population at baseline and that more women reported cleansing while wearing the diaphragm as the study progressed, the complete eradication of the practice would probably be difficult.


BACKGROUND
Impulsivity is a prominent and measurable characteristic of bipolar disorder that can contribute to risk for suicidal behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between impulsivity and severity of past suicidal behavior, a potential predictor of eventual suicide, in patients with bipolar disorder.

METHOD
In bipolar disorder subjects with either a definite history of attempted suicide or no such history, impulsivity was assessed with both a questionnaire (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale) and behavioral laboratory performance measures (immediate memory/delayed memory tasks). Diagnosis was determined with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Interviews of patients and review of records were used to determine the number of past suicide attempts and the medical severity of the most severe attempt.

RESULTS
Subjects with a history of suicide attempts had more impulsive errors on the immediate memory task and had shorter response latencies, especially for impulsive responses. Impulsivity was highest in subjects with the most medically severe suicide attempts. Effects were not accounted for by presence of depression or mania at the time of testing. Barratt Impulsiveness Scale scores were numerically, but not significantly, higher in subjects with suicide attempts. A history of alcohol abuse was associated with greater probability of a suicide attempt. Multivariate analysis showed that ethanol abuse history and clinical state at the time of testing did not have a significant effect after impulsivity was taken into account.

DISCUSSION
These results suggest that a history of severe suicidal behavior in patients with bipolar disorder is associated with impulsivity, manifested as a tendency toward rapid, unplanned responses.


Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by microangiopathy, immune dysregulation, and progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Though not fully understood, the pathogenesis of SSc is dominated by microvascular injury, endothelial dysregulation, and immune response that are thought to be associated with fibroblast activation and related fibrogenesis. Among the main clinical subsets, diffuse SSc (dSSc) is a progressive form with rapid and disseminated skin thickening accompanied by internal organ fibrosis and dysfunction. Despite recent advances and multiple randomized clinical trials in early dSSc patients, an effective disease-modifying treatment for progressive skin fibrosis is still missing, and there is a crucial need to identify new targets for therapeutic intervention. Eotaxin-2 (CCL24) is a chemokine secreted by immune cells and epithelial cells, which promotes trafficking of immune cells and activation of pro-fibrotic cells through CCR3 receptor binding. Higher levels of CCL24 and CCR3 were found in the skin and sera of patients with SSc compared with healthy controls; elevated levels of CCL24 and CCR3 were associated with fibrosis and predictive of greater lung function deterioration. Growing evidence supports the potency of a CCL24-blocking antibody as an anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic modulating agent in multiple preclinical models that involve liver, skin, and lung inflammation and fibrosis. This review highlights the role of CCL24 in orchestrating immune, vascular, and fibrotic pathways, and the potential of CCL24 inhibition as a novel treatment for SSc.


We illustrate the diffusion of cash and electronic payments in five Asian countries--Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand--as well as Hong Kong, an important economic zone of China. The purpose is to compare cash and other payment instrument use across these countries, determine the trend in cash use over 1995-2003, and illustrate how the transaction share of electronic payments in non-cash transactions has changed. This can provide a foundation for comparing payment system efficiency and technology adoption among Asian countries. We further note the apparent bank and retailer costs of accepting different payment instruments to get some idea on whether or not replacing cash transactions with electronic payments may lead to social benefits. A logistic projection of the share of electronic transactions in non-cash payments and the intensity of cash use in consumption is then presented.


This paper aims to identify how entrepreneurial responses to 'barriers' can give rise to opportunities for new firms. The poor predictive record of studies analysing success attributes and favourable initial factors as determinants of new firm growth reflects the diversity of entrepreneurial responses to problems of growth, as illustrated by three case studies of new companies which were able to overcome adverse initial conditions despite the lack of early 'success attributes'. They did so by finding alternative opportunities and by achieving resource economy, resource leverage and resource creation, aided by strategic relationships formed with other players. Spurred by the problems they encounter, entrepreneurial firms revise their business conjecture and engage in innovative activities, their business model evolving through trial and error. Creative responses to unexpected developments by entrepreneurial decision makers have implications for research methodology and business support.


The study aimed to measure the validity of critical thinking instruments and determined the differences in critical thinking skills in terms of gender and knowledge group. The study was used survey method. Critical thinking instruments were developed based on the Facoine (2015)'s indicators of critical thinking. Data were obtained from 285 respondents (N = 285) of first-year students who took Indonesian language courses. Respondents consisted of 78 male and 207 female students. The 25 questions in critical thinking instruments were claimed valid and homogeneous with r count of 0.266. Data were analyzed using non-parametric statistics of Mann-Withney test in SPSS version 21 application for Windows. There was no significant difference in students' critical thinking skills in gender differences and knowledge groups. Result of the study showed that 22 sub-indicators of students' critical thinking was found similarity in gender and 20 sub-indicators also found similarity in knowledge group. The study supported the new paradigm that students regardless of gender differences and science clusters needed critical thinking skills. Based on learning context in various science groups, there was no need to differentiate gender even though there were differences in the number of a certain gender in one class.


Background: Inequity in general practice workforce distribution remains a significant issue despite the increasing numbers of general practitioners (GPs) in the UK. Problems with recruitment and retention in England are particularly evident in urban deprived areas. The aim of the current study was to explore affinity for working in urban deprived areas, focusing on practitioners? background, values and care orientation. Methods: There were two stages to the research: 1) semi-structured qualitative interviews with 25 GPs and practice nurses to explore their background, values and care orientation in relation to location; 2) questionnaire survey with approximately 1200 GPs and practice nurses to determine the association between affinity factors and current location. The sample of practitioners was drawn from general practices located in the most and least deprived areas in the northwest region of England. Results: 25 qualitative interviews were conducted and the data analysed using a framework analysis approach. The analysis indicated that location preferences were formed early in practitioners? careers. While an overt affinity for deprived areas was more likely among GPs, pragmatism could dominate location decisions for all. The narrative of practitioners in deprived areas suggested benevolent, universalistic and stimulation personal values, and a patient-centred care orientation. Satisfaction derived from making a difference, having a challenge, addressing social injustice, and having a sense of belonging. Coping strategies included: structure and organisation, support from colleagues, emotional detachment, reassessment of expectations, and distraction. The response rate to the postal questionnaire survey was 30.9% for GPs and 41.2% (practice level) for nurses. Although there were few differences in the personal values of practitioners working in deprived and affluent areas, there were more differences in specific work values. Stepwise logistic regression showed that for GPs, determinants of working in a deprived area included: having trained in a deprived area; not being influenced by the convenience of the location in choosing their current practice; and valuing control in decision-making. For nurses, determinants included: having worked in a deprived area before; not being influenced by quality of care in the practice when choosing their current practice; and not valuing being respected by practice colleagues. Subgroup analyses suggested different predictors for practitioners with different role status: GP principals were more likely to work in a deprived area if they valued providing care to those in greatest need of help, in addition to having trained in a deprived area. Discussion: The training location of GPs was a consistent factor in determining current location. This differs from the literature on location choice in rural and remote areas, for which childhood exposure is considered to be the dominant factor. Differences in personal values were reflected more clearly in specific work values. Future research should look at how GPs choose their training practice and how such experiences could be exploited to enhance recruitment to underserved urban areas. Strategies to aid retention could look to the coping strategies employed by practitioners to deal with the demands of working in a deprived area.


Abel's (1998) intertemporal asset pricing model implies that the autocorrelation pattern in expected returns reflects that observed in output growth rates. Consequently, by using the observed autocorrelation properties of macroeconomic data, we are able to provide univariate tests with power to detect deviations from the stationary random walk model over the post-World War II sample period. After regressing excess returns against industrial production's cyclical component, these univariate tests provide little evidence of serial correlation in the resultant residuals, confirming the presence of a business cycle effect in excess returns. However, our multivariate analysis concludes that while the business cycle contributes to these deviationsf rom the stationary random walk model, predictable long term swings in expected returns arising from variable trends in macroeconomic data still remains.


Abstract:Two kinds of recurring events – police violence and political protests – highlight some of the tensions between criminal justice administration and the idea of civil peace. Maintaining civil order is both a duty of the state and a justifying basis for state power, including criminal law power. But civil order is understood to have a normative dimension. Peace is more than merely the absence of disorder; it is order on just terms, achieved by legitimate means. That sets the stage for the paradox of the state using its order-preserving power to breach the civil order, notably through unlawful uses of force by police. Public responses to state-triggered disorder lead to a second paradox: citizens sometimes use tactical breaches of the peace as a means to call the state to account for its acts of disorder; they use unrest to restore peace. This tactic is explicit in the collective demand 'no justice no peace' employed throughout English-speaking democracies, a demand that often calls for greater use of criminal sanctions to repair the civil order. Beyond these two examples, this article assesses the particular difficulties of sustaining a just civil peace in ethically pluralist societies, where the constitutive values on which the legitimacy of civil order depends can be especially hotly contested. Western democracies aspire to be ethically pluralist, but strains of illiberal populism, such as those apparent now in many of those democracies, make it even harder to reach a sustainable settlement on the terms for a practice and process of just civil peace.


Dataflow programming models are well-suited to program many-core streaming applications. However, many streaming applications have a dynamic behavior. To capture this behavior, parametric dataflow models have been introduced over the years. Still, such models do not allow the topology of the dataflow graph to change at runtime, a feature that is also required to program modern streaming applications. To overcome these restrictions, we propose a new model of computation, the Boolean Parametric Data Flow (BPDF) model which combines integer parameters (to express dynamic rates) and boolean parameters (to express the activation and deactivation of communication channels). High dynamism is provided by integer parameters which can change at each basic iteration and boolean parameters which can even change within the iteration. The major challenge with such dynamic models is to guarantee liveness and boundedness. We present static analyses which ensure statically the liveness and the boundedness of BDPF graphs. We also introduce a scheduling methodology to implement our model on highly parallel platforms and demonstrate our approach using a video decoder case study.


The objectives of the present study were to: characterize medical-surgical clinic units of a philanthropic hospital and the nursing team performing in these units; identify the clientele's care profile, investigate the time length of care provided to the patients by the nursing team. Data were collected from documents of Personnel and Nursing Departments and the application of the classification instrument of patients. To calculate the care hours; the equation proposed by the Hospital Commitment Quality (HCQ) was used. The findings showed relationship of 1:1 nursing professional/bedside and variation from 0.10 to 0.21 nursing/bedside. The patients needed, mainly, minimum (47.1% to 79.6%) and intermediate (17.7% to 38.6%) care, and the average time spent by the nursing team ranged from 4.1 to 5.1 hours. The values showed that the care hours provided by the nursing team were not enough to assist to the patients' care complexity.