OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to determine the time of the eruption of the first primary tooth (FPT) in infants and to assess the effects of neonatal factors on the timing of the eruption.

BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN
The dental and medical records of healthy infants were reviewed to gather data on birth weight (BW), gestational age (GA), prenatal history, and the time of the eruption of the FPT. Additionally, the mothers of these infants were asked to identify their smoking habits and/or caffeine consumption during pregnancy through face-to-face interviews. The resulting data were statistically analysed with the Student's t, Tukey, and Pearson correlation tests.

RESULTS
The mean eruption times (MET) for girls and boys were 7.25 +/- 2.47 and 7.07 +/- 1.66 months respectively (p > 0.05). The MET of the FPT in infants with a GA of less than 34 weeks, 34 to 37 weeks, or over 37 weeks were 8.0 +/- 2.0, 8.29 +/- 2.97, 6.93 +/- 1.87 months, respectively. The MET in infants with a BW of 1500 to 2500g was 8.28 +/- 2.28 months, while the MET for the infants with a BW of over 2500g was 6.99 +/- 1.94 (p = 0.014).

CONCLUSION
A significant difference was found in the METs of infants with low and normal BWs. No significant differences were observed in the MET as related to other neonatal factors.


Underage marriage is marriage between men and women who both have not reached the age of 19 years for men and 16 years for women according to the regulations in the Marriage Law No. 1 of 1974. Marriage is done legally in formal lawand state law. State that is invalid if it does not meet the requirements. In the perspective of religion, underage marriage is marriage carried out by people who have not been mature. The majority of Islamic Law experts legalize early marriage. This understanding is the result of the interpretation of Q.S.Ath-Thalak: 4 and historical records The Prophet married Aisyah at a young age. Some scholars also legalize underage marriage has become a consensus of Islamic law experts. The purpose of this paper is to find out the nature of the existence of marriage records. This research uses a philosophical approach, by explaining the nature and wisdom of its formal object. The conclusion is that there is age limitation to give benefit to someone who wants to get married because age is very influential on family life


Antibiotics and anticancer drugs have particular importance because of their environmental pollutants. The efficacy of the activated sludge process in the removal of Cefazolin and Doxorubicin from hospital wastewater in Sari city (Mazandaran Province) was investigated. The hospital effluent was investigated in different months from different parts of the effluent treatment system and their residual amount was determined by HPLC. The residual amounts of Cefazolin and Doxorubicin in the effluent were 1.96 μg. L-1 and 0.95 mg. L-1, respectively. Results showed 36.24% Doxorubicin and 51.6% Cefazolin removal through the activated sludge process. After chlorination, a 45.64% Doxorubicin and 66.42% Cefazolin removal was achieved. It was found that the effect of initial treatment or settling is low in reducing the amount of studied drugs, but the efficacy of different stages of biological treatment varies with the type of contaminant. The effect of the activated sludge process on the polar antibiotic Cefazoline is higher than the anticancer drug Doxorubicin. The unknown risk assessment of these drugs in the environment and the inability of wastewater treatment plants to remove them requires the use of more advanced methods.


The initiation and maintenance of adaptive immunity require multifaceted modes of communication between different types of immune cells, including direct intercellular contact, secreted soluble signaling molecules, and extracellular vesicles (EVs). EVs can be formed as microvesicles directly pinched off from the plasma membrane or as exosomes secreted by multivesicular endosomes. Membrane receptors guide EVs to specific target cells, allowing directional transfer of specific and complex signaling cues. EVs are released by most, if not all, immune cells. Depending on the type and status of their originating cell, EVs may facilitate the initiation, expansion, maintenance, or silencing of adaptive immune responses. This review focusses on EVs from professional antigen-presenting cells, their demonstrated and speculated roles, and their potential for cancer immunotherapy.


The aim of this thesis is the study of Cauchy problem (existence of weak solutions) for three degenerate highly coupled parabolic systems modeling compressible immiscible flow in porous media. The motivation of this work is a benchmark of the GNR MoMaS, to study the impact of the gas flow due to the corrosion of ferrous materials in a radioactive waste storage site. This thesis is divided into three independent chapters. Firstly, we look at a problem modeling the flow of two immiscible phases and considering one phase is compressible and the other is incompressible (water/gas). Secondly, we consider the problem modeling two-compressible immiscible flow in porous media. An existence results for both problems established by a semi-discretization method. Finally, The fourth chapter is devoted to the construction and convergence of a multi-dimensional finite volume method (upwind scheme) for the gas-water model under the assumption that the gas density is a function of a global pressure.


Previous theoretical work has suggested that the strength of the divergent eddy momentum flux in the deep tropics, due to correlations between rotational zonal velocities and divergent meridional velocities, increases with the meridional tilt of the large-scale divergence field. To test that idea, this work investigates the interannual variability of the divergent eddy momentum flux in reanalysis data. Consistent with the theory, it is found that the eddy momentum flux variability is driven by two main parameters: the amplitude of the tropical stationary wave and the tilt of the divergence field. Together, these two parameters account for 80% (90%) of the interannual eddy momentum flux variance during boreal (austral) winter. The interannual variability of these parameters is governed by the internal atmospheric dynamics. During boreal winter, interannual changes in MJO variability explain nearly half of the interannual variance in the stationary wave amplitude, depending on whether on average MJO anomalies interfere constructively or destructively with the stationary wave. The interannual variability of the divergence phase tilt is modulated by tropical–extratropical interactions in the Pacific. The tilt increases during the negative phase of the west Pacific Oscillation associated with a dipole of upper-level divergence (convergence) on the northern (southern) side of the Pacific jet exit region.


In its new charter, the Vatican calls on healthcare workers to be ministers of life. This is a challenging task and a most noble mission. The mission field itself is the vast, complex and mysterious field of suffering (Pope John Paul II). For Catholic healthcare professionals, it is not so much to have a mission, but to be a mission on this earth, as Pope Francis often reminds us. The daily mission needs to be nourished by a commensurate spirituality. Each deed can be offered to the Lord as part of our response. Healthcare professionals may feel called to specific mission fields too, such as working to reduce the culture of gun violence or to promote the culture of life. The ongoing formation of conscience is a vital prerequisite, so we can continually respond to the novel ethical challenges that progress in technology and medicine inevitably bring. May we each respond enthusiastically to the call to mission: "Here I am Lord, send me!" (Isaiah 6:8).


To better understand the mechanisms of mutagenesis by the carcinogen, methylene chloride (DCM), we have determined the nature and distribution of forward mutations induced by DCM in the N-terminal region of the lacI gene of Escherichia coli. A total of 116 lacI-d mutations (50 from Uvr+, 66 from UvrB- strain) were characterized by DNA sequencing. Both similarities and differences were observed. Although in both strains base substitutions predominated (74-88%) the distribution among the classes differed. In the case of the Uvr+ strain, DCM substantially increased the frequency of G:C-->C:G transversion and duplication events. Direct repeats were not observed at the endpoints of the duplications, however, all endpoints were in an A:T-rich region. In contrast, in the UvrB- strain, DCM induced A:T-->G:C, A:T-->C:G, G:C-->C:G events as well as deletions. The mutational spectra presented here represent a first step in the elucidation of the mechanism(s) of DCM-induced mutation.


UNLABELLED
Serum anti-oxidative barrier is a factor determining active oxygen form suppression. The aim of this study is to investigate superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GP) serum level changes as a marker of its enzymatic barrier efficiency in patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) evaluated by means of Ranson score.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Fifty patients with AP were divided onto 2 groups. Group 1 consisted of 22 patients with moderate AP, whose overall standing varied from 3 to 6 points according to Ranson. Group 2 was made of 28 patients with severe AP and 6 or more Ranson scores. Serum activities of SOD and GP were measured on 1st, 3rd 7th, and 10th day of treatment using Martin oxidation method in the former, and Rice-Evans spectrophotometry method in the latter case.

RESULTS
Blood SOD activity in Group 1 patients underwent gradual normalization; however in all time intervals it remained statistically higher than in Group 2. The activity of GP was lower than normal in both groups. In moderate AP patient group GP activity differences became statistically significant as late as on the 7th and 10th day of study. Both patient groups differed significantly regarding the GP serum activity. Serum anti-oxidative barrier activity in patients with severe AP was significantly lower than in patients with moderate form of the disease.

CONCLUSIONS
Along with patient amelioration and inflammation regression the activity of anti-oxidative serum enzymes increased. The estimation of anti-oxidative stress parameters may be useful in disease dynamics monitoring which affects treatment modality.


Highly concentrated antacid suspension can by fluidized by adding a colloidal polyelectrolyte to alter the charge on antacid particles from positive to negative. A deflocculated state is assumed to exist in such preparations, as supported by electrophoretic and viscometric analyses. When viscosity is directly correlated with the zota-potential, viscometry becomes particularly useful in confirming that the suspension has been maximally fluidized.


The scavenging effects of eighteen thiazolyl thiazolidine-2,4-dione compounds (TTCs) on superoxide radical ( (-) (*) ) (2), hydroxyl radical HO(*), and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH(*)) radical were evaluated by the chemiluminescence technique, electron spin resonance spectrometry (ESR) and visible spectrophotometry, respectively. The examined compounds were shown to have 27-59% ( (-) (*) ) (2) scavenging ability, 19-69% HO(*) scavenging activity and 2-32% DPPH(*) scavenging ability. This property of the tested compound seems to be important in the prevention of various diseases of free radicals etiology.


Postoperative complications such as pain, malnutrition, delayed wound healing and ileus were frequently found and become a challenge for health workers. Early mobilization is recognized as an approach that may help in preventing as well as decreasing the further effect of those complications. However, the implementation of early mobilization in hospitals were still limited to verbal commands without providing direct assistance to postoperative patients. Therefore, this study tries to give evidence-based nursing in PKU Muhammadiyah Gamping Hospital in improving nursing care to postoperative patient outcomes by giving early mobilization. The purpose of this study was to find the effect of early mobilization on the recovery time of intestinal peristalsis and pain scale in post-operative patients. This research was pre-experimental research using a static group comparison research design with a cross-sectional approach. The sampling technique used purposive sampling with specific criteria who was in adult age and received regional anesthesia. This study found 40 subjects consisting of 20 subjects in the intervention group and 20 subjects in the control group. The Mann-Whitney statistical test proved a significant effect on early mobilization on intestinal peristalsis recovery (p = 0.000) Gand pain scale (p = 0.001).


Abstract Glyptostrobus Endlicher is well represented in early Early Cretaceous to Pleistocene deposits in the middle to high latitudes of North America and Eurasia. Although the taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus is complicated, the fossil record indicates Glyptostrobus was represented by a small number of species. The genus first appears in Aptian age deposits from western Canada and Greenland, and achieved a wide distribution early in its evolutionary history. Exchange of Glyptostrobus between Asia and North America occurred across the Spitsbergen and Beringian corridors, which were functional about 110 and 100 million years ago, respectively. The Late Cretaceous fossil record of Glyptostrobus shows that the genus had spread into Russia, China and the shores of the Turgai Strait. By the early Tertiary, Glyptostrobus was a prominent constituent of the polar broad-leaved deciduous forests. Paleocene age deposits across western Canada and the United States indicate the genus was present in great abundance in the lowland warm temperate and subtropical forests east of the Rocky Mountains. The broad distribution in North America and Russia during the Paleocene and Eocene indicates that Glyptostrobus grew and reproduced under a diverse range of climatic and environmental conditions, including the cold and unique lighting conditions of the polar latitudes. The presence of Glyptostrobus in Europe indicates the North Atlantic land bridges that extended between North America and Eurasia (Fennoscandia) and Europe during the early Tertiary were used. In Europe, extensive Glyptostrobus dominated swamps occupied the Central European Depression during the late Tertiary. Increasing global aridity and cooling, as well as landscape stabilization together with increasing competition for resources and habitat by representatives of the Pinaceae, seem to have forced the genus out of North America, Europe and most of Asia during the Miocene and Pliocene. In Japan, Glyptostrobus persisted until the early Pleistocene. After the early Pleistocene extinction in Japan, Glyptostrobus reappeared in southeastern China. Details of the taxonomic and biogeographic history of Glyptostrobus are examined.


The effect of test errors should be cancelled while before test yield is used to analyze the manufacturing yield. Test errors can be alleviated from engineering run and production run stages. One of the more difficult aspect of yield modeling is the fact that defect density is generally not constant with time. In this paper, we study the flow of defect monitor used in production test. Based on the yield data obtained from engineering stage, the upper and lower bounds of chip yield are calculated after determining the variance of defect density and clustering parameter. The yield bound/distribution is used to diagnose the results after wafer sort while in production. One ASIC product is used to validate this yield analysis procedure. This work can assist the ASIC design center to determine a manufacturing laboratory beginning the design and to control the chip area in the period of circuit design.<<ETX>>


A patient, double heterozygous for HbE-beta-thalassaemia, had recurrent thromboembolic complications following splenectomy. In addition to marginally decreased protein C and S plasma levels, laboratory studies revealed a persistent thrombocytosis and markedly elevated plasma concentrations of platelet factor 4 (PF4). PF4 neutralizes the heparin anticoagulant activity. The increased PF4 levels explained the initial heparin resistance observed during anticoagulant treatment in this patient. Subsequent heparin loading tests revealed an abnormal reaction of the PF4 plasma levels, i.e. no increase of PF4. However, upon repeated heparin injections this PF4 response normalized, which may be due to depletion of the endothelial cell associated heparin mobilizable PF4 pool. These observations may be of relevance for the treatment of similar patients.


The social and cultural 'turn' in language education of recent years has helped move language teaching and curriculum design away from many of the more rigid dogmas of earlier generations, but the issue of the roles of the learners' first language (L1) in language pedagogy and classroom interaction is far from settled. Some follow a strict 'exclusive target language' pedagogy, while others 'resort to' the use of the L1 for a variety of purposes (see ACTFL 2008). Underlying these competing views is the perspective of the L1 as an impediment to second language learning. Following sociocultural theory and ecological perspectives of language and learning and based on the findings of research on classroom code-switching and code choice, this paper lays out an approach to the language classroom as a multilingual social space in which learners and teacher study, negotiate, and co-construct code choice norms toward the dynamic, creative, and pedagogically effective use of both the target language and the learners' L1(s). Learner use of the L1 for the purpose of grammatical or lexical learning is also considered, and some examples for instruction are offered.


Cloud computing is an increasingly popular paradigm that gained interest from both scientific community and industry. As data volumes processed by applications running on clouds increase, the need for efficient and secure data management emerges as a crucial requirement. More specifically, storage systems intended for very large scales have to address a series of challenges, such as a scalable architecture, data location transparency or high throughput under concurrent accesses, requirements that come with a major drawback: the complexity of configuring and tuning the system's behavior. Such challenges can be overcome if the system is outfitted with a set of self-management components that enable an autonomic behavior. They heavily relies on introspection mechanisms, which play the crucial role of exposing the system's behavior accurately and in real time. This PhD research focuses on enhancing a distributed data-management system with self-management capabilities, so that it can meet the requirements of the Cloud storage services in terms of data availability, reliability and security. We focus on the case of Blob Seer, a system designed to store massive data, while leveraging a large-scale deployment and heavy data-access concurrency.


Coke-studio has become very famous in the recent past attracting wide viewers across the world being very famous through the social media platform "YouTube". This platform indeed gives an opportunity to young artists to display their talents. However, Coke-studio platform differs in the musical journey and creates a little difference among India and Pakistan; both the countries are unique in its own way. This article is just to understand the components, which can contribute to the success of Coke-studio by developing a digital IMC model considering three major variables known as: brand values, brand equity and co-branding efforts. Digital IMC and its impact on brand equity, brand values through co-branding efforts have been explained with a help of a diagrammatic work, which can be a success ingredient for Cokestudio. Through a careful content analysis the issues in traditional IMC has been analysed and a new model has been framed. This model has been suggested to Coke-studio to manage better customer experience, satisfaction and loyalty which will help to build good relationship with the end users in the digital arena. In this competitive era, making the competitors best-friends and working on "Mutual Benefits" is the success mantra. This is explained with an illustration explaining the benefits enjoyed by YouTube and Coke-studio in the light of Co-branding efforts. Online Social Media (OSM) enhances the e-brand equity because the digital consumer spends a minimum of 2 hours online increasing the brand presence for the marketer. Brand reputation builds brand equity for which new digital tools and technological platforms are needed. Thus one of the focus in this article is to build a framework to show how brand equity, brand image and brand values are enhanced through a Digital IMC. The success of communication reach is embedded through a motivational touch, which is given to the final consumers creating a sense of integrity. In the domain of Human Resource Management many theories on motivation is available. This article makes use of Vroom's Motivational theory and model in the IMC model to show the importance of motivation to enhance customer's loyalty and trust. This research article is a complete new package for the current Digi-economy for all the stakeholders. From the Digital-IMC model, it is understood that, variables such as memorable, likable, transferable, adaptable and protectable are very important for any entertainment service provides which can enhance the brand to a superior level. It is also mentioned that brands can join hands together which benefits both the businesses, and at the same time better brand vales can be created through unique episodes. From the article it is understood that Integrated Brand Communication model is needed rather than using just an IMC model in a traditional way. This idea has been placed in scope for future research which can be explored in a better way in the golden tomorrow. Thus, never stop with IMC but travel beyond to reach out to the customers through digital integration, which is the simple philosophy to be understood from this article. Marketing and branding are never constant, it keeps changing day to day based on the latest technology and usage of digital tools. Long gone are days where marking was only place, price and product Academy of Marketing Studies Journal Volume 24, Issue 1, 2020 2 1528-2678-24-1-248 utility but now it is much more that dealing with Digital tools and applications. The IMC loop has to have important variables such as business objectives, strategic communication plans, marketing mix, brand mix bounded with digital tools and application to create e-experience. This model is open to the universe for feedback and usage.


CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2008 Abstracts

Abstract #3113

Background: The 21-gene Recurrence Score (RS) assay has been validated to quantify the risk of distant recurrence in tamoxifen treated patients (pts) in node negative, estrogen receptor positive breast cancer (BC) and predict magnitude of chemotherapy benefit. We previously showed that the RS impacted medical oncologists (MOs) and pts adjuvant treatment decision making, decreased situational anxiety and decisional conflict, and improved pt satisfaction regarding adjuvant treatment decisions. Herein, we present the 12 month post-RS data for MOs and pts. Material and Methods: MOs stated their treatment recommendation and confidence in it pre- and post-RS assay, and completed a 12 month questionnaire. Pts completed 4 questionnaires pre- and immediately post-RS, and 12 months later: 1) Patient Treatment Decision Making Questionnaire; 2) Decisional Conflict Scale (DCS); 3) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; and 4) Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast. Frequency distributions, means and standard deviations summarized data. Paired samples t-tests and repeated measures ANOVA assessed quality of life, decisional conflict and anxiety. Results: Accrual goal was met with 89 evaluable pts. 16/17 (94%) MOs and 67 pts (75%) completed the 12 month assessment. There were no breast cancer recurrences recorded at 12 months. The majority of MOs reported increase confidence in their treatment recommendation (n=15, 93.8%), felt the RS provided additional information (n=15, 93.8%), and influenced treatment recommendation (n=14, 87.6%). Results from the DCS immediately post-RS indicate reduced conflict over treatment ( p <.0001), greater pt satisfaction, and increased confidence with choice of adjuvant therapy ( p <.0001). Pts reported they were glad they took the test 12 months later (n=62, 92.5%), found results easy to understand (n=60, 89.6%), and the test influenced treatment decision (n=54, 80.6%). Sixty four (95.5%) were satisfied with their adjuvant decision. State anxiety decreased over the year (mean 38.9 to 34.0, p . = 007), the most significant decline occurred pre- to immediately post-RS. Quality of life remained constant. Conclusions: The RS assay has an immediate and enduring impact on MOs and pts adjuvant decision making. MOs and pts report continued confidence and satisfaction with the assay. Pts had a decrease in decisional conflict right after the test, situational anxiety declined over the next 12 months and quality of life remained stable. Investigator initiated trial supported by an unrestricted clinical trials grant from Genomic Health Inc.

Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 3113.


Forecasting of electricity price plays a significant role in electrical network planning and development. In the present paper, we offer three prediction approaches: the naive method (NM), Fourier transformation (FT) with imposition of white noise and the artificial neural network (ANN) model. Our research proves the possibility of using any of three approaches due to the high forecasting accuracy of all of them. A case study using three types of forecasting methods, real-life data and a model of the distribution grid of our native country is presented to demonstrate the efficiency of our investigation and used to estimate the income generated by the energy storage system.


The boundary value problems for the 2nd order non-linear ordinary differential equations are solved by using four numerical methods. These numerical methods are Rung-Kutta of 4th order, Rung–Kutta Butcher of 6th order, differential transformation method, and the Homotopy perturbation method. Three physical problems from the literature are solved by the four methods for comparing the results. The results were presented in tables and figures. The differential transformation method appeared to be effective and reliable to find the semi numerical-analytical solutions for such type of boundary value problems.


The mass transfer profile (permeability, diffusion, and solubility coefficients) of chlorine dioxide (ClO2), a strong oxidizing agent that is used in food and pharmaceutical packaging, was determined through various common polymeric packaging materials. A con- tinuous system for measuring permeation of ClO2, using an electrochemical detector, was developed. It was observed that biaxially-oriented poly(propylene), poly (ethylene terephthalate), poly(lactic acid), nylon, and a multilayer structure of ethylene vinyl acetate and ethyl- ene vinyl alcohol were better barriers for gaseous ClO2, as compared to polyethylene, poly(vinyl chloride), and polystyrene. The activation energies of permeation for ClO2 through poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(lactic acid) were determined to be 51.05 � 4.35 and 129.03 � 2.82 kJ/mol, respectively. V


A Broadband acoustic Doppler current profiler (BB-ADCP) is a new instrument being used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to measure stream discharge and velocities, and bathymetry. During the 1993 Mississippi River flood, more than 160 high-flow BB-ADCP measurements were made by the USGS at eight locations between Quincy and Cairo, Ill., from July 19 to August 20, 1993. A maximum discharge of 31,400 m 3 /s was measured at St. Louis, Mo., on August 2, 1993. A BB-ADCP also has been used to measure leakage through three control structures near Chicago, Ill. These measurements are unusual in that the average velocity for the measured section was as low as 0.03 m/s. BB-ADCP's are also used in support of studies of scour at bridges. During the recent Mississippi River flood, BB-ADCP's were used to measure water velocities and bathymetry upstream from, next to, and downstream from bridge piers at several bridges over the Mississippi River. Bathymetry data were collected by merging location data from Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, laser tracking systems, and depths measured by the BB-ADCP. These techniques for collecting bathymetry data were used for documenting the channel formation downstream from the Miller City levee break and scour near two bridges on the Mississippi River.


SUMMARY Transducing phage PBS1 and a clear-plaque type mutant PBS2 derived from PBS1 show similar growth characteristics with a relatively small burst size (23 to 24), and are related serologically. They are morphologically indistinguishable and both have a dense head of about 100 mμ in diameter and a tail about 250 mμ in length. PBS 1 is more efficient in trans-duction and its plaque-forming activity is more sensitive to ultraviolet (u.v.) irradiation than that of PBS2. The host range of the phages is limited to strains of Bacillus subtilis. All Marburg strains tested were sensitive to the lytic action of the phages. Prophages of PBS1 and PBS 2 were not u.v.-inducible and the irradiation of lysogenic cultures with a relatively high dose of u.v. radiation resulted in considerable decrease of the free phage titre. However, transducing activities of lysates treated with a high dose of u.v. radiation were not affected significantly. Organisms lysogenic either for PBS 1 or to PBS 2 were not stable and reverted to the sensitive state.


A penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI) occurs when an object impacts the head with sufficient force to penetrate the skin, skull, and meninges, and inflict injury directly to the brain parenchyma. This type of injury has been notoriously difficult to model in small laboratory animals such as rats or mice. To this end, we have established a novel non-fatal model for pTBI based on a modified air rifle that accelerates a pellet, which in turn impacts a small probe that then causes the injury to the experimental animal's brain. In the present study, we have focused on the acute phase and characterized the tissue destruction, including increasing cavity formation, white matter degeneration, hemorrhage, edema, and gliosis. We also used a battery of behavioral models to examine the neurological outcome, with the most noteworthy finding being impairment of reference memory function. In conclusion, we have described a number of events taking place after pTBI in our model. We expect this model will prove useful in our efforts to unravel the biological events underlying injury and regeneration after pTBI and possibly serve as a useful animal model in the development of novel therapeutic and diagnostic approaches.


A Dissertation submitted to the Directorate of Research and Graduate Training in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the Degree of Master of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Makerere University


The authors have carried out an electron microscopy study of mononuclear cells and granulocytes obtained from 10 patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Although several studies have demonstrated biochemical and immunological defects in these blood cells. no ultrastructural abnormalities were found in the present work.


Structural Equation Models (SEM) (Joreskog, Sorbom 1979) are strictly related to consumer analysis, as they suit situations where a set of unobservable phenomena (called latent variables) can be described through sets of observable variables (called manifest variables). Among the methods for estimating SEM, in this paper we focus on PLS Path Modeling (Tenenhaus et al., 2005). However, in consumer analysis manifest variables are often expressed on an ordinal scale, as they represent judgments about some qualitative aspects. This yields incoherence with respect to the linearity hypothesis that underlie PLS Path Modeling. For this reason, it is worth to consider how PLS Path Modeling may be adjusted for the analysis of ordinal data, a topic that has found increasing interest in recent times (e.g. Jakobowicz, Derquenne, 2007; Lauro et al, 2008; Russolillo, 2010 ). After a review of the existing literature, in this work we propose a new approach, based on ordinal logistic regression (Agresti, 2002), aiming both at accounting for non linearity and at drawing a continuous scoring criterion for ordinal categories. Depending upon the causal relationships between manifest and latent variables (defining the so-called measurement model), we can incur in two alternative models: one (called re ective model) is defined as a set of simple regression models, each with ordinal response variable and continuous predictor, the other (called formative model) is defined by a multiple regression model with ordinal predictors. We address our main interest to the former case.


The first layer ovrelay weld metal with austenitic/martensitic duplex microstructure provides the overlay. welds with better resistance to the hydrogen-induced disbonding than that with the conventional austenitic microstructure containing several percents ferrite as previously reported.The resistance to the hydrogen-induced disbonding occurring at the bond of the stainless steel overlay weld is strongly affected by the hydrogen concentration at the bond region.Based on this consideration, the hydrogen distribution in through-thichness direction of the disbond-ing resistant overlay weld was studied and compared with that of the conventional overlay weld.The main results obtained in this study are as follows.(1)The hydrogen contents in the first layer overlay weld metals adjacent to the bond of the conventional and disbonding resistant overlay welds were. 25.6 and 16.5 ppm, respectively, at steady state operating condition.(2) The hydrogen content in the first layer overlay weld metal adjacent to the bond of the conventional overlay weld increased after shut down of operating condition. On the other hand, that of the disbonding resistant overlay welds scarcely increased.(3) The maximun hydrogen content of the conventional overlay weld described in (2) was 36.5 ppm at 3.24×104 seconds after shut down of operation. That of the disbonding resistant overlay weld was 17.9 ppm at 3.6×104 seconds.(4) The lower hydrogen content after shut down of operating condition described in (3) provides the overlay weld.with good resistance to the hydrogen-induced disbonding.


Vehicle-type classification is considered a core module for many intelligent transportation applications, such as speed monitoring, smart parking systems, and traffic analysis. In this paper, many vision-based classification techniques were presented relying only on a digital camera without the need for any extra hardware components. Dimension and color are two important characteristics of any digital image that affect the cost of the digital camera used in the image acquisition. In this paper, we present a comprehensive study of the effect of these two characteristics on the vehicle classification process in terms of accuracy and performance. We apply a set of different state-of-the-art image classifiers to the BIT-Vehicle and LabelMe data sets. Each data set is downscaled into different scales to generate a variety of spatial resolutions of each data set. Besides, we examine the effect of color by converting each color version to a gray-scale one. At last, we draw a valid conclusion in regards to the impact of these two characteristics (i.e., dimension and color) on the classification accuracy and performance of the image classification methods using more than 46 000 individual experiments. Experimental results show that there is no significant influence of both color and spatial resolutions of the vehicle images on the classification results obtained by most state-of-the-art image classification methods. However, there is a correlation between the spatial resolution and the processing time required by most image classification methods. Our findings can play an important role in saving not only money, but also time for vehicle-type classification systems.


Oil-in-water nanoemulsions were produced in the system water/Span 80-Tween 80/paraffin oil via the phase inversion composition (PIC) method at elevated temperature. With the increase of preparation temperature from 20 to 70 °C, we found that the emulsion droplet diameter decreases from 10.3 μm to 51 nm, proving the formation of nanoemulsions. The viscosity of nanoemulsions clearly increases with droplet volume fraction, φ, but the droplet size changes less. Significantly, at φ ≤ 0.5, the size distribution of nanoemulsions can be kept unchangeable more than 5 months. These results proved that the highly viscous paraffin oil can hardly be dispersed by the PIC method at 25 °C, but the increase in preparation temperature makes it possible for producing monodisperse nanoemulsions. Once the nanoemulsion is produced, the stability against Ostwald ripening is outstanding due to the extremely low solubility of the paraffin oil in the continuous phase. The highly stable nanoemulsions are of great importance in practical applications.


Background: To evaluate temperature changes in pulp chamber during light activation of newer pulp- capping materials and composite resin using light-emitting diode. Materials and Methods: A standardized Class I cavity was prepared in 80 extracted, intact, noncarious mandibular first molars, keeping remaining dentin thickness of 0.5 mm. The teeth were divided into four groups of 20 teeth each. Following this, apical third of the mesial root of each tooth was cut and a K type thermocouple attached to digital thermometer was inserted into pulp chamber from the sectioned mesial root. Whole assembly with teeth was suspended in water bath with constant temperature at 37°C. The previously divided teeth in four groups, were lined with Calcimol LC (Group A), Activa (Group B), TheraCal LC (Group C), and Ionoseal (Group D), followed by 3 increments of Filtek Z350 × T universal restorative. The temperature rise following light activation of pulp-capping material, bonding agent, and composite was noted. Results: The temperature rise in the pulp chamber after light activation of Activa was highest among all pulp-capping materials, followed by teeth lined with Calcimol LC, Ionoseal, and least in teeth with TheraCal LC. Conclusions: Temperature rise in the pulp chamber after light activation of newer pulp-capping materials and composite was below critical threshold for irreversible pulpal damage. Among all the pulp-capping materials, TheraCal LC showed lowest temperature rise in pulp chamber.


This paper analyzes family dynamics and conflicts in August Wilson's play, Fences. Family dynamics refer to the patterns that guide how family members interact. They are usually defined by how family members communicate and relate with each other, their roles within the family, and how they manage conflicts in the family. On the other hand, conflicts refer to disagreements or arguments that usually go on for a long time. Therefore, family conflicts are the arguments or disagreements that take place in a family. All families are bound to experience family dynamics and conflicts. Because of this, August Wilson wrote Fences to explain these conflicts and dynamics through a literary lens and how they affect real life familial bonds. Fences is a play by August Wilson on a set up portraying the blooming black rights movements between 1954 and 1968. Fences was written in 1985, but it depicted the 1950s lifestyle. Guided by postcolonial theory, Wilson has used the play Fences to bring to light various themes like racism, manhood and masculinity, marriage and faithfulness, and practicality and idealism through his characters and their various life experiences. The characters portray life in the black neighborhood during the Black Urban Realism literary period between 1954 and 1968. Wilson uses the fence throughout his play to symbolize the conflicting desires of Troy Maxson's family members and the dynamics between them. Therefore, examining Wilson's Fences through Troy's family relationships will illustrate the reasons for the conflicts and differences. This study will help the writer explain how August Wilson has used the family unit to explore broader themes of race, class, and gender and to identify the underlying factors that shape family dynamics and perpetuate or resolve conflicts within the Maxson family through a qualitative analysis of the dialogue in Fences.


Managing expensive technology is a debated issue in modern radiation oncology. Proton beam therapy (PBT) represents, considering its cost and its foreseen benefits, a typical case of discussion waiting for more robust results demonstrating the presumable clinical gains against the available radiation therapy (XRT) treatment alternatives based on the use of photons. The treatment with particles utilizes many different beams (neutrons, protons, pions, or helium, neon, argon, and carbon ions) that represent a distinct entity respect conventional XRT which uses photons. PBT is the most common form of heavy-particle radiation therapy used so far; it is not a new invention, being its clinical use proposed in a seminal article by R. Wilson in 1946[1] and the first patients treated in 1954 at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California[2]. Since cyclotron or synchrotron, used to accelerate protons to therapeutic energies, were used primarily for research in particle or nuclear physics, the initial clinical activity in proton therapy was carried out in research facilities and the use of protons in clinical practice has grown slowly for several years in non-clinical setting. More than fifty years later, after a long period of seminal work in a limited number of Institutions, PBT has gained public attention in recent years because of the rapidly increasing number of centers around the world, regardless of their high cost. Hospital-based proton beam facilities have been in operation since 1990 after the opening of the first dedicated clinical center at Loma Linda Medical University Center in California - US. Since that years, commercial entities began to build cyclotrons and synchrotrons for clinical purposes. Over the last 10 years, PBT has gathered more interest in the scientific community and more media and patient attention and is now flourishing in the US and abroad. As of December, 2015, 57 proton therapy centers are in operation worldwide, others are under construction and many more in a planning phase[3]. Most patients who have been treated with heavy-particle therapy were treated with protons: PTCOG (Particle Therapy Co-Operative Group) reports that between 1954 and 2014, 137 000 patients globally received part or all of their radiation therapy with particles, and in particular 86% of them with protons[4]. The generation of these particles and the building of dedicated centers, however, requires large investments and operational costs and big infrastructure. Only relatively few studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of proton therapy and the effects are surrounded with uncertainty[5] being the cost-effectiveness still the core of the controversy around the use of PBT.


Background Evidence suggests reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is important to reducing weight gain and chronic disease risk. Indonesia's large population is a growing market for sugar-sweetened beverages. Taxation to reduce consumption is of interest, but considered fiscally regressive. Little is known about differential effects between income groups in low-income countries. Methods This modelling study uses a proportional multistate life table to model reduced daily energy intake following a $0.30 per litre tax on sugar-sweetened beverages and subsequent shifts in Body Mass Index (BMI) distribution for income groups in Indonesia. Energy balance equations calculate reduced BMI. Reduced incidence of type 2 diabetes mellitus, ischaemic heart disease and stroke is determined from the relative risk of the BMI shift and subsequent health-adjusted life years gained calculated. Results The tax's effect was greater for higher income quintiles than lower. Energy intake reduced most in higher income quintiles. Cases of overweight and obesity for women decreased by approximately 15 000 in the lowest income quintile, but 417 000 for the highest. For men, this was 12 000 and 415 000. Over 25 years, 63 000 cases of diabetes were averted in the lowest quintile and 1 487 000 in the highest. Similar magnitudes were observed for stroke and ischaemic heart disease. Tax paid over 25 years was $0.5 billion for the lowest income quintile and $15.1 billion for the highest. Conclusion Sugar-sweetened beverage taxation can help to reduce the number of overweight and obese, and prevent over a million cases of diabetes in Indonesia. Higher income groups would benefit more than lower income groups. The tax would raise $920 million in the first year and $27.3 billion over 25 years.


The purpose of this paper is to develop a network coding scheme to enhance TCP performance in wireless sensor networks. It is well known that TCP performs poorly over wireless links which suffer from packet losses mainly due to the bad channel. To address this problem, it is useful to incorporate network coding into TCP, as network coding can offer significant benefits in terms of throughput, reliability, and robustness. However, the encoding and decoding operations of network coding techniques will bring an additional delay that has a negative effect on applications of wireless sensor networks. In this paper, we propose an adaptive network coding (ANC) scheme which contains two major aspects: the adjustment of the redundancy factor R and the adjustment of the coding window size CW . We dynamically adjust these two parameters depending on the measured packet loss rate, so that the proposed ANC can effectively mask packet losses and reduce the decoding delay of network coding. The performance of our scheme is evaluated by simulations using NS-2 simulator. Compared to other schemes, the ANC not only achieves a good throughput but also has the lowest average delay and the lowest maximum delay in all experimental environments.


Domain Name System Security Extensions (DNSSEC) provides authentication and integrity to Domain Name System (DNS) through the use of digital signatures based on public-key cryptography. Quantum computers threaten public key cryptography and DNSSEC is unprepared. As the process to change algorithms in DNSSEC involves a lot of overhead, requires significant investment and takes many years, we advocate for deployment of long term cryptography for DNSSEC. In this work we explore the challenges and obstacles towards deployment of post-quantum signatures and explain that smooth adoption towards quantum-safe ciphers can be achieved with cipher-suite negotiation for DNSSEC.Cipher-suite negotiation, which DNSSEC currently does not support, ensures that the best cryptographic algorithms supported by the server and the resolver are used. Servers usually do not deprecate old algorithms because they are unaware whether resolvers support new algorithms. The signals in cipher-suite negotiation inform the servers and the resolvers of algorithm support that creates a feedback loop that could accelerate adoption of post-quantum signatures and the deprecation of old algorithms while preventing packet fragmentation. As a consequence, cipher-suite negotiation can contribute towards a greater adoption of DNSSEC.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the incidence of congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) and treatment outcomes in neonates in Ningxia, China.

METHODS
The clinical data of CAH screening for 160 046 neonates who were born in midwifery institutions in Ningxia from July 2014 to March 2016 were analyzed.

RESULTS
Among the 160 046 neonates who underwent CAH screening, 70 (0.044%) obtained a positive result and 11 were diagnosed with CAH; the incidence rate of CAH was 1/14 550 (0.069‰). Among the 11 neonates diagnosed with CAH, 9 had the salt wasting type (2 died) and 2 had simple virilization. The 9 neonates were given glucocorticoids immediately once diagnosed and all of them achieved good growth and development.

CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of neonatal CAH in Ningxia is 1/14 550. It is very necessary to carry out CAH screening in Ningxia, and active treatment can improve the prognosis of neonates with CAH.


Creativity has become a central concept in today's society and economy. Despite this, the concept of creativity is largely absent in organizational communication theory. The aim of this thesis is to show how internal communication that promotes and supports creativity in an organization can be conceptualized in a model and what the main mechanisms of this process are. The model is developed with an interpretive view of organizational communication and based on Edgar Schein's three-level interactive model of organizational culture. A thorough review of research on organizational creativity found a set of communication factors which form the content of the model. The model distinguishes communicative practices and values that promote and support creativity. The central practices are face to face interaction, knowledge sharing and lack of barriers, while the most important values are those for creativity, sharing, openness and diversity. A small ethnographic case study has been conducted in an innovation consultancy organization, in order to illustrate components of the model and to provide a first indication of the plausibility of the model. The case study found the most important aspects of internal communication for creativity in this organization to be face to face communication, informality, sharing, respect and open-mindedness. Thus, the case study indicated no major flaws in the model. (Less)


Coronary stent under expansion is a strong risk factor for stent thrombosis and cardiac events. And once occurred it is a challenging condition, due to the fact that no uniform acceptance about how is the best strategy to solve the problem, the literature review summarize some cases that respond to cutting balloon, rotational atherectomy, laser therapy after failure of high pressure ballooning by noncompliant balloon, I report a case of stent under expansion treated successfully using a high pressure inflated second stent after failing repeated attempt to dilate the lesion by single and double balloons The learning object: stent under expansion frequently observed in the setting of calcified rigid lesion, however this can be prevented to great extent by adequate lesion preparation. Once occurred it should be managed aggressively according to the facility of the cath lab, and experience of operator.


This paper presents a method to realize an acoustic source for low frequencies with relatively small thickness. A honeycomb plate structure which is open on one side combines the radiating surface and the major part of the air cavity. The vibration of the plate is controlled with a decentralized feedback controller. The fundamental resonance caused by the mass of the plate and the compliance of the air cavity are controlled, as well as the first-order bending mode, while avoiding possible instabilities due to the fluid-structure interaction. The smooth and well defined frequency response enables robust feedforward control for further response equalization. The influence of different actuation principles on the overall system efficiency is compared.


The acute effect of two selective beta 3-adrenoceptor agonists, BRL 35135A and ZD2079, on the expression of the ob gene and plasma leptin levels has been examined in mice. By 4-5 h after the administration of either beta 3-agonist to lean animals there was a major loss of ob mRNA from epididymal white adipose tissue. This was accompanied by a substantial fall in circulating leptin levels, as measured by an ELISA. Even 24 h after the first administration of beta 3-agonists, ob mRNA levels and circulating leptin levels remained low. In contrast to lean animals, treatment with BRL 35135A had only a minor effect on ob mRNA levels in obese (ob/ob) mice. Regulation of leptin production appears to involve a negative feedback loop to white adipose tissue through the sympathetic nervous system suppressing ob gene transcription via beta 3-adrenoceptors; an impairment in this loop is evident in the ob/ob mutant.


The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) provides employees with the right to engage in "protected concerted activity," including the right to discuss wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment. It is often considered the "union law" in that it provides employees with the right to form a union and it regulates the union–management relationship. Because of this strong association with unions, non-union employers' human resource directors rarely think of the act when making decisions on whom to hire, fire, promote, demote, or discipline. While it was true that in the past the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB, the agency that enforces the NLRA) rarely involved itself in disputes that did not include union organizing, collective bargaining, or any other union–management dispute, this is no longer case. The NLRB is now enforcing the NLRA's protection of "concerted activity" to non-union employers, who indeed must understand and comply with the act.


There were no differences in interepisode functioning or side effects between bipolar patients (N = 44) with plasma lithium levels above the median and those with levels below the median. Low levels were able to stabilize mood and individual symptoms for 40.5 months.


Firms that grow through mergers and acquisitions often need to deal with duplicate and disparate business functions. Specifically, firms often need to transform and optimise their business processes through simplification, standardisation, consolidation, insourcing and/or outsourcing. In order to decide whether and how to perform these transformation initiatives, firms need to estimate the value of different transformation approaches. Conventional valuation approaches tend to focus on foreseeable cost savings. In this study, we propose that in a turbulent global business environment, the value of strategic flexibility, which may be embedded in different business transformation approaches, should be explicitly incorporated in such valuation.


There has been extensive growth in nanoscale technology in the last few decades to such a degree that nanomaterials (NMs) have become a constituent in a wide range of commercial and domestic products. With NMs already in use in several consumer products, concerns have emerged regarding their potential adverse environmental impacts. Although research has been undertaken in order to minimise the gaps in our understanding of NMs in the environment, little is known about their bioavailability and toxicity in the aquatic environment. Nano-toxicology is defined as the study of the toxicity of nanomaterials. Nano-toxicology studies remain poorly and unevenly distributed. To date most of the research undertaken has been restricted to a narrow range of test species such as daphnids. Crabs are bio-indicators that can be used for toxicological research on NMs since they occupy a significant position in the aquatic food chain. In addition, they are often used in conventional ecotoxicological studies due to their high sensitivity to environmental stressors and are abundantly available. Because they are benthic organisms they are prone to contaminant uptake and bioaccumulation. To our knowledge the crab has never been used in nano-toxicological studies. In this context, an extensive review on published scientific literature on the ecotoxicity of silver NPs (AgNPs) on aquatic organisms was conducted. Some of the most common biomarkers used in ecotoxicological studies are described. Emphasis is placed on the use of biomarker responses in crabs as monitoring tools, as well as on its limitations. Additionally, the gaps in nano-toxicological research and recommendations for future research initiatives are addressed.


Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) consisting of Crohn's and ulcerative colitis are resultant of dysregulation of the immune system leading to intestinal inflammation and microbial dysbiosis. Numerous studies in recent years highlighted the pivotal role of gut microbiota and their metabolites in host physiological processes including in IBD. Urolithin A (UroA) is a microbial metabolite derived from polyphenolics (e.g., ellagitannins/ellagic acid) of pomegranate and berries. We also synthesized a potent structural analogue of UroA (UAS03) and tested their efficacies in preventing and treating colitis in pre-clinical models. Our studies showed that UroA/UAS03 significantly enhance gut barrier function in addition to blocking unwarranted inflammation. We demonstrate that UroA and UAS03 exert their barrier functions through activation of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR)- nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2)-dependent pathways to upregulate epithelial tight junction proteins. In addition, treatment with these compounds attenuated colitis in pre-clinical models by remedying barrier dysfunction and blocking increased inflammatory mediators such as IL-6, TNF-α and IL-1β. UroA/UAS03 failed to induce tight junction proteins and protect against 2,4,6-Trinitrobenzenesulfonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis in AhR−/− and Nrf2−/− mice suggesting an obligatory requirement of AhR and Nrf2 pathways for UroA/UAS03 mediated beneficial activities. Overall, the results highlight how microbial metabolites provide two-pronged beneficial activities at gut epithelium by enhancing barrier functions and reducing systemic and local inflammation to protect from colonic diseases.


Introduction
Congenital syphilis continues to be a public health problem in Mexico.

Objective
To assess the similarities and differences between national standards, guidelines and international documents related to the detection of syphilis in pregnant women and congenital syphilis.

Method
Two algorithms were developed based on the standard of female care during pregnancy and on the standard for prevention and control of sexually transmitted infections. Based on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, algorithms were developed for syphilis during pregnancy, syphilis in the newborn and sexual contacts.

Results
The standard for pregnancy mentions that syphilis testing should be carried out in every pregnant woman on her first contact or at delivery, without diagnostic tests being specified. The Official Mexican Standard (NOM) on sexually transmitted infections mentions the traditional algorithm for syphilis detection, treatment follow-up, coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus and congenital syphilis criteria. The CDC recommend reverse algorithm, antibody titer, treatment and follow-up as part of diagnosis.

Conclusions
The elimination of mother-to-child transmission of syphilis requires NOMs updating and homogenizing, as well as the study of stillbirths and neonates born to mothers with syphilis.


"As long as but a hundred of us remain alive, never will we on any conditions be brought under English rule. It is in truth not for glory, nor riches, nor honours that we are fighting, but for freedom – for that alone, which no honest man gives up but with life itself."
- Extract from the Declaration of Arbroath 1320


In this paper we suggest the use of robust GM-SETAR (Self Exciting Threshold AutoRegressive) processes to model and forecast electricity prices observed on deregulated markets. The robustness of the model is achieved by extending to time series the generalized M-type (GM) estimator first introduced for independent multivariate data. As it has been shown in a very recent paper [1], the polynomial weighting function over-performs the classical ordinary least squares method when extreme observations are present. The main advantage of estimating robust SETAR models is the possibility to capture two very well-known stylized facts of electricity prices: nonlinearity produced by changes of regimes and the presence of sudden spikes due to inelasticity of demand. The forecasting performance of the model applied to the Italian electricity market (IPEX) is improved by the introduction of predicted demand as an exogenous regressor. The availability of this regressor is a particular feature of the Italian market. By means of prediction performance indexes and tests, it will be shown that this regressor plays a crucial role and that robust methods improve the overall forecasting performance of the model.


The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity, on developing a Chinese version of Peer Conflict Resolution Strategy Questionnaire (PCRSQ) to measure how Taiwanese adolescents tend to deal with interpersonal conflicts in peer relations. The pilot version of PCRSQ was constructed on the basis of Rahim Organizational Conflict Inventory-II (Rahim, 1983). A non-random stratified sample of 210 junior-high-school students was recruited for pilot study. The final version of PCRSQ included four subscales of strategies: Integrating (7 items), Obligating (6 items), Dominating (5 items), and Avoiding (4 items), and presented as a five-point Likert-type scale. PCRSQ was then administered to a larger sample (N = 441) for assessment of scale reliability and validity. For reliability, the Cronbach's α of PCRSQ was .90, and the consistency efficiencies of the subscales were above .76. The results of validity analyses were in good condition: (1) the result of EFA showed total four factors can explain 59.70% of variance; (2) the result of CFA is acceptable; (3) generally speaking, the results of criterion-related pattern meet our hypothesis. For example, the tendencies of using Integrating strategies were positively associated with prosocial behavior and peer acceptance, negatively with overt aggression. In sum, the results demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity of PCRSQ.


Crytur recently introduced MonaLIGHT, a novel ultrabright light source built on an integrated OSARAM 5W laser diode pumping a single crystal phosphor element in a transmission configuration. The module can produce a luminous flux of 1200 lm and luminous intensity of 8000 cd, unattainable with existing LED technology. This new fit-for-purpose light source (Modular Narrow Angle Light) is characterized by a very low étendue <0.2mm2.sr and brings high system efficiency in a very compact and energy efficient package. The phosphor is an optical element of the system which can produce excellent beam characteristics with a viewing angle as low as 4 degrees without the use of secondary optics. The internal quantum efficiency (QE) of the phosphor is 0.96 and external QE is greater than 0.55. The non-coherent emission spectrum is broad and continuous from 500 to 700 nm with no speckle pattern with applications in head up displays, micro projectors, navigation and instrument lighting, dazzlers, endoscopy, microscopy, and optical communications.


The advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF) is planned as a major space-born stellar x-ray observatory. It will be in the Space Telescope class, i.e., fifteen year lifetime maintainable in orbit, with orbitally replaceable instruments, all sky viewing capability, and with state-of-the-art high resolution x-ray imaging optics. The AXAF, along with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Very Large Array comprise the corner stone of U . S . astronomy capabilities through the end of this century . AXAF will weigh on the order of 20,000 to 25,000 pounds, will be launched by Space Shuttle on a dedicated mission, and will be serviced and reboosted on subsequent Shuttle missions. AXAF has undergone a Phase A conceptual definition at the Marshall Space Flight Center with assistance by the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory. It is now undergoing a two year long competitive Phase B effort by industry to provide a preliminary design and an overall project definition. TRW and Lockheed are conducting the definition activities. A parallel instrument definition activity will take place by the x-ray astronomy community as a result of an Announcement of Opportunity released in August of 1983. The observatory will accommodate several focal plane instruments and a smaller number of supporting non-focal plane instruments. This paper will describe the general configuration of the observatory based on the Phase A study results, and will describe the conceptual approach to instrument accommodation by means of a focal plane assembly. The instruments are viewed conceptually as being modular in design so that they may be orbitally replaceable with standard interfaces. Many issues need to be resolved with respect to standard instrument interfaces and modularity. As such, this area will constitute a major challenge during the Phase B definition, and will require significant and iterative information exchange and design activities among the industrial, government and astronomy community participants.


Neutron computed tomography (nCT) has been established at many major neutron sources worldwide, using high-end equipment requiring major investment and development. Many older and smaller reactors would also be capable of doing nCT, but cannot afford the investment before feasibility is proven. We have developed a compact low-cost but high-quality detection system using a new cooled CMOS camera that can either be fully integrated into a sophisticated setup, or used with a rudimentary CT control and motion system to quickly evaluate feasibility of neutron CT at a given beam line facility. Exchanging the scintillation screen makes it feasible for X-rays as well, even for visible light (and transparent samples) using a matte screen. The control system uses a hack to combine motion control with existing imaging software so it can be used to test several dozen different cameras without writing specific drivers. Freeware software can do reconstruction and 3D imaging.


Noncompliance has been treated as a deviant behavior. This paper argues that nonadherence is more complex and is the expression of independence and a judgment about the utility of any medical, surgical, or rehabilitation intervention. The quality of one's life is a personally defined concept and so too are the reasons why a patient refuses to do what is recommended. Appropriate health behavior should be thought of as a behavior that meets the person's goals and achieves some mutually definable outcome.


Recently, practical subframe-level schemes, such as frame combining and partial packet recovery, have been proposed for combating wireless transmission errors. These approaches depend heavily on the bit error behavior of wireless data transmissions, which is overlooked in the literature. We study the characteristics of subframe bit errors and their location distribution by conducting extensive experiments on several IEEE 802.11 WLAN testbeds. Our measurement results identify three bit error patterns: slope-line, saw-line, and finger. Among these three patterns, we have verified that the slope-line and saw-line are present in different physical environments and across various hardware platforms. However, the finger pattern does not appear on some platforms. We discuss our current hypotheses for the reasons behind these bit error patterns and how identifying these patterns may help improve the robustness of WLAN transmissions. We believe that identifiable bit error patterns can potentially introduce new opportunities in channel coding, network coding, forward error correction (FEC), and frame combining.


Regional trade agreements (RTAs) are fundamentally altering the world trade landscape. The number of agreements in force, now more than 200, has risen sixfold in just two decades (figure 1). Today, more than one-third of global trade takes place between countries that have some form of reciprocal RTA. The European Union and United States are playing a prominent role in this proliferation (figure 2). The Central American Free Trade Agreement is only the latest of more than a dozen U.S. RTAs. The European Union, through its Economic Partnership Agreements, is using RTAs to restructure trading relations with the African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries that benefited from Cotonou preferences. This note addresses two questions: • What characteristics of RTAs strongly promote—or hinder—development for member countries? • Does the proliferation of RTAs pose risks to the multilateral trading system? If so, how can those risks be managed?


It is shown that radial profiles of the Cd(II) 441.6 nm line measured by McKenzie (1977) cannot be satisfactorily interpreted as resulting from the Penning excitation process with an additional smoothing-out effect, but can be interpreted in terms of the stepwise excitation and electron de-excitation processes.


Computational capabilities of Purkinje cells (PCs) are central to the cerebellum function. Information originating from the whole nervous system converges on their dendrites, and their axon is the sole output of the cerebellar cortex. PC dendrites respond to weak synaptic activation with long-lasting, low-amplitude plateau potentials, but stronger synaptic activation can generate fast, large amplitude calcium spikes. Pharmacological data have suggested the involvement of only the P-type of Ca channels in both of these electric responses. However, the mechanism allowing this Ca current to underlie responses with such different dynamics is still unclear. This mechanism was explored by constraining a biophysical model with electrophysiological, Ca-imaging, and single ion channel data. A model is presented here incorporating a simplified description of [Ca](i) regulation and three ionic currents: 1) the P-type Ca current, 2) a delayed-rectifier K current, and 3) a generic class of K channels activating sharply in the sub-threshold voltage range. This model sustains fast spikes and long-lasting plateaus terminating spontaneously with recovery of the resting potential. Small depolarizing, tonic inputs turn plateaus into a stable membrane state and endow the dendrite with bistability properties. With larger tonic inputs, the plateau remains the unique equilibrium state, showing long traces of transient inhibitory inputs that are called "valley potentials" because their dynamics mirrors that of inverted, finite-duration plateaus. Analyzing the slow subsystem obtained by assuming instantaneous activation of the delayed-rectifier reveals that the time course of plateaus and valleys is controlled by the slow [Ca](i) dynamics, which arises from the high Ca-buffering capacity of PCs. A bifurcation analysis shows that tonic currents modulate sub-threshold dynamics by displacing the resting state along a hysteresis region edged by two saddle-node bifurcations; these bifurcations mark transitions from finite-duration plateaus to bistability and from bistability to valley potentials, respectively. This low-dimensionality model may be introduced into large-scale models to explore the role of PC dendrite computations in the functional capabilities of the cerebellum.


The investigation was instigated by a growing concern from the
International Tennis Federation (ITF) that the contribution of racket technology
in the modem game of tennis might be changing the nature of the game by
making it too fast. The serve was earmarked as the most critical stroke
influencing the speed of the game, resulting in the decision to build a test
machine, which would investigate racket performance under realistic serve
conditions. In order to determine the design specifications for the machine the
following studies were performed. [Continues.]


Clathrin-mediated endocytosis is an essential cellular pathway that enables signaling and recycling of transmembrane proteins and lipids. During endocytosis, dozens of cytosolic proteins come together at the plasma membrane, assembling into a highly interconnected network that drives endocytic vesicle biogenesis. Recently, multiple labs have reported that early endocytic proteins form liquid-like condensates, which provide a flexible platform for the efficient assembly of endocytic vesicles. Given the importance of this network in the dynamics of endocytosis, how might cells regulate its stability? Many receptors and endocytic proteins are ubiquitylated, while early endocytic proteins such as Eps15 contain ubiquitin-interacting motifs. Therefore, we examined the influence of ubiquitin on the stability of the early endocytic protein network. In vitro, we found that recruitment of small amounts of polyubiquitin dramatically increased the stability of Eps15 condensates, suggesting that ubiquitylation could nucleate endocytic sites. In live cell imaging experiments, a version of Eps15 that lacked the ubiquitin-interacting motif failed to rescue defects in endocytic initiation created by Eps15 knockout. Furthermore, fusion of Eps15 to a deubiquitinase enzyme destabilized nascent endocytic sites within minutes. These results suggest that ubiquitylation drives assembly of the flexible protein network responsible for catalyzing endocytic events. More broadly, this work illustrates a biophysical mechanism by which ubiquitylated transmembrane proteins at the plasma membrane could regulate the efficiency of endocytic recycling.


We explore thermalization and quantum dynamics in a one-dimensional disordered SU(2)-symmetric Floquet model, where a many-body localized phase is prohibited by the non-abelian symmetry. Despite the absence of localization, we find an extended nonergodic regime at strong disorder where the system exhibits nonthermal behaviors. In the strong disorder regime, the level spacing statistics exhibit neither a Wigner-Dyson nor a Poisson distribution, and the spectral form factor does not show a linear-in-time growth at early times characteristic of random matrix theory. The average entanglement entropy of the Floquet eigenstates is subthermal, although violating an area-law scaling with system sizes. We further compute the expectation value of local observables and find strong deviations from the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis. The infinite temperature spin autocorrelation function decays at long times as $t^{-\beta}$ with $\beta < 0.5$, indicating subdiffusive transport at strong disorders.


Opinion mining aims at classifying sentiment data into polarity categories positive (or) negative.Opinion mining is the field of analyse the people's opinions, sentiments, attitudes and emotions from written language. It has been important for many applications such as opinion summarization, opinion integration and review spam identification. On average, human process six articles per hour against the machine's throughput of 10 per second. However, the opinion information is often unstructured and/or semi-structured data in the internet. Online product reviews are often unstructured, subjective, and hard to digest within a short time period. The main objective of our proposed work is to determine the human opinion from text written in the web page automatically. Sentiment classification aims to automatically predict sentiment polarity of users publishing product based sentiment data. Applying sentiment classifier results in poor performance because each domain using different sentiment word. In order to train a binary classifier from one or more domains we propose a method to overcome the problem of existing cross domain sentiment classification methods. First we create a synonym database for both source and target domains and perform pos tagging. A product based sentiment classification using spectral clustering algorithm to align the domain specific words from different domains into unified clusters for opinion classification is developed. Sentiment sensitivity is achieved with the help of synonym database by measuring the distributed similarity between the words. To investigate the effectiveness of our method, we have compared it with several algorithms and develop a robust and generic cross-domain sentiment classifier.


Osteoarthritis (OA) is expected to become the fourth leading cause of disability worldwide by 2020. There is no cure, and joint replacement surgery becomes a final resort. Chronic pain associated with OA is poorly controlled by current treatments, and often involve chronic use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which is associated with serious side-effects. OA is associated with alterations in endocannabinoid (EC), an attractive target for the control of pain. ECs are rapidly degraded by a number of enzymes, including cyclooxygenase-2 (COX- 2), the major target of NSAIDs. However, the role of COX-2 in EC-mediated effects on nociceptive transmission is not fully understood. The aims of this thesis were to investigate peripheral and spinal pain responses in a model of OA pain, understand the role of COX-2 inhibition on neuronal responses and the potential role of ECs in mediating these effects, and to establish the functional effects of the EC system in a model of OA pain.
Effects of spinal and peripheral administration of the COX-2 inhibitor nimesulide (1-1 OOlJgin 501JL)on mechanically evoked responses of dorsal horn neurones in the naive, anaesthetised rat were measured, and the contribution of the CB1 receptor was determined with the antagonist AM251 (11Jgin 50IJL). Effects of nimesulide on spinal levels of ECs and related compounds were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Spinal, but not peripheral, injection of nimesulide significantly reduced mechanically evoked responses of dorsal horn neurones. Inhibitory effects of spinal nimesulide were blocked by the CB1 receptor antagonist AM251, but spinal EC levels were not elevated. Indeed, both anandamide and N-oleoylethanolamide were significantly decreased by nimesulide, highlighting a putative role for other oxidative enzymes of ECs in the generation of CB1-active metabolites.
The monosodium-iodoacetate (MIA) model of OA pain has recently received much interest, but is not yet fully defined. Work in this thesis sought to further characterise this model. Cytokine levels in synovial fluid, spinal cord and hindpaw skin at early time-points post- intra-articular injection (1mg MIA in 50IJL, P.O. 3-24hr) were measured, and the later (P.O. day 28-31) effects on neuronal responses and pain behaviour were determined. Intra-articular injection of 1mg MIA produced stable and robust changes in two measures of pain relevant to clinical OA, and evidence for the presence of central sensitisation was demonstrated. It was also demonstrated that early-stage painful responses in this model are not associated with changes in cytokines in the joint.
Effects of spinal and systemic administration of nimesulide (3-100IJg in 501JL)on mechanically evoked and post-stimulus responses of dorsal horn neurones in MIA-treated rats were also measured, as were the effects of spinal cannabinoid receptor antagonism with AM251 (0.1- 10IJg in 501JL)and the CB2 receptor antagonist SR144528 (0.001-0.1IJg in 50IJL). Spinal and systemic COX-2 inhibition in the MIA model attenuated spinal neuronal responses to both noxious and innocuous stimuli, demonstrating the importance of both spinal and peripheral COX-2 products in mediating neuronal responses in this model. Antagonism of the spinal cannabinoid receptors resulted in elevated spinal neuronal responses in MIA-treated rats, demonstrating a functional role for spinal EC-mediated modulation of nociceptive transmission in the MIA model, expanding on work in this lab which showed elevated spinal ECs in the MIA model of OA pain. This work therefore demonstrates that the central EC system may be an important target for the treatment of OA pain.


Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (ARAIM) is a concept that extends RAIM to other constellations beyond GPS. ARAIM will enable the integration in the position solution of the newer GNSS core constellations that may have different properties (in particular with higher failure rates than GPS). This inclusion will provide better levels of performance of horizontal guidance than RAIM with GPS alone. In addition, when sufficient satellites have dual frequency (L1-L5) signals, ARAIM could enable aviation safety of life operations, including approaches with vertical guidance. The European Union (EU) and the United States (US) have an agreement establishing cooperation between GPS and Europe's Galileo system. As part of this cooperative agreement a technical subgroup was formed to investigate the benefits of Advanced Receiver Autonomous Integrity Monitoring (ARAIM) [1]. This EU-US ARAIM subgroup has developed a reference airborne algorithm [2] and two potential ARAIM architectures [3, 4, 5]:  Offline ARAIM to support horizontal and vertical navigation based on a low latency (days to months) ISM.  Online ARAIM to support horizontal and vertical navigation based on an hourly ISM from the ground, which would include clock and ephemeris corrections. We will describe the current status of ARAIM as a concept. We will start by discussing the relationships between SBAS and ARAIM, and among the different architectures. This is important, as ARAIM aims to provide globally the services that SBAS already provides regionally. Then, we will present preliminary Integrity Support Message formats adapted for a GNSS broadcast, both for the offline architecture (which are the same for horizontal and vertical), and the online architecture (which include clock and ephemeris corrections). Finally, we will describe a notional ARAIM roadmap for the deployment of a global ARAIM service.


Applying for the automatical temperature and humidity instrument weekly, in view of residence dispersion in cold pastoral area and low building density, combining the climatic characteristics in Inner Mongolia region, measures seven typical thermal environment of herdsman residential building and analyses their characteristics on the basis of the measured data. The results indicates that there is a great difference in the different resign and living condition and indoor temperature is low and a fluctuation from 3 V to 19 V. Suggesting indoor temperature between 14 °C and 18 °C is suitable and it is necessary to take the heat insulation measures in building envelope.


Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from dairy farms are a major concern. Our objectives were to assess the effect of mitigation strategies on GHG emissions and net return to management on 3 distinct farm production systems of Wisconsin. A survey was conducted on 27 conventional farms, 30 grazing farms, and 69 organic farms. The data collected were used to characterize 3 feeding systems scaled to the average farm (85 cows and 127ha). The Integrated Farm System Model was used to simulate the economic and environmental impacts of altering feeding and manure management in those 3 farms. Results showed that incorporation of grazing practices for lactating cows in the conventional farm led to a 27.6% decrease in total GHG emissions [-0.16kg of CO2 equivalents (CO2eq)/kg of energy corrected milk (ECM)] and a 29.3% increase in net return to management (+$7,005/yr) when milk production was assumed constant. For the grazing and organic farms, decreasing the forage-to-concentrate ratio in the diet decreased GHG emissions when milk production was increased by 5 or 10%. The 5% increase in milk production was not sufficient to maintain the net return; however, the 10% increase in milk production increased net return in the organic farm but not on the grazing farm. A 13.7% decrease in GHG emissions (-0.08kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) was observed on the conventional farm when incorporating manure the day of application and adding a 12-mo covered storage unit. However, those same changes led to a 6.1% (+0.04kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) and a 6.9% (+0.06kg of CO2eq/kg of ECM) increase in GHG emissions in the grazing and the organic farms, respectively. For the 3 farms, manure management changes led to a decrease in net return to management. Simulation results suggested that the same feeding and manure management mitigation strategies led to different outcomes depending on the farm system, and furthermore, effective mitigation strategies were used to reduce GHG emissions while maintaining profitability within each farm.


The most popular progenitor model for short duration Gamma-Ray bursts (sGRBs) is the merger of two compact objects. However, the short GRB population exhibit a certain diversity: some bursts display an extended emission (EE), continuing in soft $\gamma$-rays for a few hundreds of seconds post the initial short pulse. It is currently unclear whether the origin of such bursts is linked to compact object mergers.
Within the merger hypothesis, the redshift ($z$) distribution of short GRBs is influenced by the merger delay time, i.e., time elapsed between the merger and the formation of the binary star system, which is dominated by the time-scale for gravitational wave losses during the compact binary phase. We examine redshift distributions of short GRBs with extended emission to see whether their formation channel requires considerable delay post the star formation episode. Our results show that the $z$ distribution of EE bursts is consistent with the merger model. We attempted to compare the delay time distribution of the EE and the non-EE short bursts. However, no statistically significant difference could be seen within the limited sample size.


Almost a decade ago, three-dimensional formulation for the dynamic modeling of an articulating human joint was introduced. Two-dimensional version of this formulation was subsequently applied to the knee joint. However, because of the iterative nature of the solution technique, this model cannot handle impact conditions. In this paper, alternative solution methods are introduced which enable investigation of the response of the human knee to impact loading on the lower leg via an anatomically based model. In addition, the classical impact theory is applied to the same model and a closed-form solution is obtained. The shortcomings of the classical impact theory as applied to the impact problem of the knee joint are delineated.


Previous studies of quantifying oral proficiency of Korean learners of English have demonstrated that temporal aspects of the learners` speech (e.g., ``rate of speech``) are strongly correlated with their perceived fluency evaluated by native English-speaking raters (Choi, 2004; 2005). However, these results have been primarily based on speech elicited from contexts where Korean learners of English were asked to read simple passages or orally complete partial dialogues presented in written forms. The current study investigated whether and to what extent the previously reported findings can be generalized to different speech contexts, i.e., particularly to a more spontaneous speech. To this end, this study elicited picture-cued storytelling utterances produced by Korean learners of English and compared the results from the more spontaneous speech with the comparable results from read speech by the same speakers. The current findings indicate that perceived fluency of Korean speakers` speech can vary as a function of the modalities in which their speech produced. In addition to the types of task that the Korean speakers carried out, the present findings also show that the protocols/instructions by which the speech materials are elicited can also influence perceived fluency. Implications of the findings for objective assessments of oral fluency of Korean learners of English are discussed.


Objectives  Cervical cancer (CC) is one of the most destructive disease caused by persistent HPV infection which affects women worldwide, especially in developing countries. The genetic basis of host immune response especially cytokine function has been shown to influence CC susceptibility. Studies have demonstrated that IL-10 gene polymorphism have been associated with numerous malignancies, but in context to CC results were inconclusive. Though, aim of our study to investigate the association between IL-10 -1082A/G and -819C/T promoter polymorphism and CC susceptibility. Material and Methods  This study comprised 192 women with CC and 200 controls. HPV detection was done by RT-PCR and genotyping was assessed through PCR-RFLP method. Serum concentration of IL-10 measured by ELISA. Results  Women with AG and AG+GG genotypes of IL-10 -1082A/G had two-fold increased risk of CC [OR, 2.35 (95% CI, 1.54–3.58), p = 0.005], [OR, 2.03 (95% CI, 1.36–3.04), p = 0.0005] compared to controls. Women with G allele of -1082A/G polymorphism had linked with CC susceptibility [OR, 1.39 (95% CI, 1.02–1.88), p = 0.036] compared to controls. No significant difference was found between patients and controls in the genotype or allele frequencies of IL–10 -819C/T polymorphism [OR, 1.00 (95% CI, 0.63–1.58), p = 0.99]. The level of serum concentration of IL-10 was significantly higher in cases compared to controls. Conclusion  These findings help to understand that polymorphism of IL-10 -1082A/G gene is associated with increased risk of CC development and can serve as a marker of genetic susceptibility to CC.


Copper (Cu) is an essential micronutrient required as a co-factor in the catalytic center of many enzymes. However, excess Cu can generate pleiotropic effects in the microbial cell. In addition, leaching of Cu from pipelines results in elevated Cu concentration in the environment, which is of public health concern. Sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) have been demonstrated to grow in toxic levels of Cu. However, reports on Cu toxicity towards SRB have primarily focused on the degree of toxicity and subsequent elimination. Here, Cu(II) stress-related effects on a model SRB, Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20, is reported. Cu(II) stress effects were assessed as alterations in the transcriptome through RNA-Seq at varying Cu(II) concentrations (5 µM and 15 µM). In the pairwise comparison of control vs. 5 µM Cu(II), 61.43% of genes were downregulated, and 38.57% were upregulated. In control vs. 15 µM Cu(II), 49.51% of genes were downregulated, and 50.5% were upregulated. The results indicated that the expression of inorganic ion transporters and translation machinery was massively modulated. Moreover, changes in the expression of critical biological processes such as DNA transcription and signal transduction were observed at high Cu(II) concentrations. These results will help us better understand the Cu(II) stress-response mechanism and provide avenues for future research.


In the present research presents influence of coupling agent 1 % triethoxymethyl silane sprayed on to the wollastonite particulate powder before it dispersed into the vinylester/composites. Firstly two different composites were developed in which wollastonite is filled with vinylester resin and same wollastonite was sprayed with coupling agent 1 % triethoxymethyl silane then filled with vinylester resin. The particle functionalization with a bi-functional coupling agent 1 % triethoxymethyl silane was observed to have a significant effect on the curing process and subsequent physical properties of the composites. Wollastonite functionalization favors the composite fabrication with a lower curing temperature as compared to the as-received particle filled vinyl ester resin composites. Thermogravimetric analysis showed an increased thermo-stability in the particles functionalized filled vinyl ester resin composites as compared to the unmodified particle filled counterparts. The uniform particle dispersion and the chemical bonding between filler and vinyl ester resin matrix were found to contribute to the increased thermal stability and enhanced tensile strength and modulus.


This paper presents a game theoretic approach to solve the problem of drone racing. A game theory planner (GTP) strategizes against an opponent by using an iterated best response learning method from game theory. To complement the functionality of the GTP, a minimum jerk polynomial trajectory generation algorithm is used to generate a reference track. Moreover, a time-varying linear model predictive controller (MPC) is used to execute the strategic path generated by the GTP. The performance of the GTP is compared against a pure MPC, a Policy Improvement (PI) racer, and itself under different parameters. Intuitive competitive behaviors such as blocking and overtaking came naturally as a result of the algorithm. Also, interesting match-up and lead-dependent performance advantage is observed.


This article focuses on the unprecedented jump in life expectancy that occurred in the first third of the twentieth century and the corresponding revolution in Americans' attitudes toward aging and death. Rising life expectancy had many causes, including better nutrition, a reduction in epidemic diseases through vaccinations and modern sanitation measures, and successful educational campaigns aimed at reducing infant mortality. Despite the broad, society-wide causes of rising life expectancy, however, Americans during these decades overwhelmingly described life extension as a matter of personal, not social, responsibility. This new emphasis resulted in large part from the growing prominence of chronic diseases, which responded in a way epidemic diseases never could to individuals' decisions and habits. As it came to seem that long life and, by extension, prolonged youth were attainable by those who made good living choices, Americans increasingly described aging and even death itself as phenomena that were determined, to an extent unimaginable a few decades earlier, by willpower. This powerful series of associations, between youth, health, and willpower on the one hand and between aging, death, and laziness on the other, would profoundly shape U.S. society and social policy throughout the century and beyond.


INTRODUCTION Maximal strength is often estimated using the force-endurance relationship, where tables or formula are used to predict one repetition maximum (1RM) or other loads (e.g. 3RM loads). For some populations (for example the frail or very young) such a procedure may not be appropriate and the accuracy of these methods depends on several parameters such as the number of repetitions, type of exercise, training background and the population used (1). Very recently, 1RM estimation from a loadvelocity profiling protocol has been presented (2, 3). The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of the load-velocity relationship to predict 1RM in different strength exercises and with different assessment devices.


The use of CH4 and CO2 to produce value-added chemicals via direct C-C coupling is a challenging chemistry problem because of the inertness of these two molecules. Herein, mass spectrometric experiments and high-level quantum-chemical calculations have identified the first diatomic species (CuB+ ) that can couple CH4 with CO2 under thermal collision conditions to produce ketene (H2 C=C=O), an important intermediate in synthetic chemistry. The order to feed the reactants (CH4 and CO2 ) is important and CH4 should be firstly fed to produce the C2 product. Molecular-level mechanisms including control of product selectivity have been revealed for coupling of CH4 with CO2 under mild conditions.


Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to increase the understanding of the impact of engineering changes on the materials planning process.

Design/methodology/approach – This study is based on a conceptual discussion and empirical data from a case study of a supply chain in the automotive industry, including end producers (two OEM companies) and first, second and third tier suppliers.

Findings – A framework comprising the situational dimensions of the engineering change was derived from the conceptual discussion and described in terms of product, supply, manufacturing, demand and materials planning characteristics. The empirical study shows the characteristics of the engineering change in the case company and how these have both positive and negative, as well as direct and indirect, influences on the materials scrap, administrative and transport/handling costs. The
impact of the actual materials planning strategies is also shown. Another finding was that different engineering change situations exist within the same company. Thus, it is necessary to distinguish between them and to use different planning strategies for each situation. The paper discusses how such differentiated strategies could be developed in the case companies and in general.

Research limitations/implications – The case study focused on a specific product and materials planning situation in the automotive supply chain. Other products and materials planning situations resulting from the same engineering change would have different characteristics and should, therefore, be planned and controlled accordingly. However, the developed framework is a general one.

Practical implications – The appropriateness of a materials planning strategy differs between different engineering change situations. This calls for differentiated materials planning strategies based on the engineering change situation and materials planning characteristics. The framework developed in this paper describes the entire materials planning environment in engineering change situations in order to understand when and how to differentiate materials planning strategies.

Originality/value – This paper fulfils a need for a framework that describes the impact on materials planning from an engineering change perspective. This framework is the first step in the designing of a normative guideline for differentiated materials planning strategies in an engineering change situation.