In reflecting on human history and the causes of the rise, decline and fall of past societies and civilizations, many writers and thinkers-perhaps the majority-have long explained these in terms of social and politica...In reflecting on human history and the causes of the rise, decline and fall of past societies and civilizations, many writers and thinkers-perhaps the majority-have long explained these in terms of social and political struggles-invasions, civil unrest, economic exploitation and the like. Add to this the modern concept of ＂ecocide＂——the intentional destruction of ecosystems and species, the loss of topsoil, environmental pollution, new diseases, and human-induced climate warming, and there is no lack of drivers of history to choose from. In his new （2005） book, ＂Collapse： How societies choose to fail or succeed,＂ Jared Diamond details how many ancient communities and societies failed due to these and other anthropogenic pressures related to water quality and shortages, excessive hunting and fishing, evergrowing ecological footprints, energy shortages and oooulation growth.展开更多
It has been almost 20 years since the first reports of minimally invasive lobectomies appeared. Despite the tremendous amounts of research performed on VATS lobectomy showing its benefit over open thoracotomy, a mere ...It has been almost 20 years since the first reports of minimally invasive lobectomies appeared. Despite the tremendous amounts of research performed on VATS lobectomy showing its benefit over open thoracotomy, a mere 32% of all lobectomies are performed via this technique in the Society for Thoracic Surgeons database and only 6% in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample （1）. So, why is it that in a recent review of clinical stage I lung cancers over 70% were still completed using open thoracotomy？（2）. Advocates of an open approach still cite the ability to sample and perform a ＂more thorough＂ lymphadenectomy, the instability of the VATS platform and the lack of precision with the fissure-less-dissection VATS technique as reasons to maintain the status quo.展开更多
In a Conference convened at Princeton University in January 2010, international relations experts were asked to consider, among other things, great power leadership and explore what would enable these powers
In 2015,the U.S National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST)funded the Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning(CoE),a fourteen university-based consortium of almost 100 col-laborators...In 2015,the U.S National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST)funded the Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning(CoE),a fourteen university-based consortium of almost 100 col-laborators,including faculty,students,post-doctoral scholars,and NIST researchers.This paper highlights the scientific theory behind the state-of-the-art cloud platform being developed by the CoE-the Interdisciplinary Networked Community Resilience Modeling Environment(IN-CORE).IN-CORE enables communities,consul-tants,and researchers to set up complex interdependent models of an entire community consisting of people,businesses,social institutions,buildings,transportation networks,water networks,and electric power networks and to predict their performance and recovery to hazard scenario events,including uncertainty propagation through the chained models.The modeling environment includes a detailed building inventory,hazard scenario models,building and infrastructure damage(fragility)and recovery functions,social science data-driven house-hold and business models,and computable general equilibrium(CGE)models of local economies.An important aspect of IN-CORE is the characterization of uncertainty and its propagation throughout the chained models of the platform.Three illustrative examples of community testbeds are presented that look at hazard impacts and recovery on population,economics,physical services,and social services.An overview of the IN-CORE technology and scientific implementation is described with a focus on four key community stability areas(CSA)that encompass an array of community resilience metrics(CRM)and support community resilience informed decision-making.Each testbed within IN-CORE has been developed by a team of engineers,social scientists,urban planners,and economists.Community models,begin with a community description,i.e.,people,businesses,buildings,infras-tructure,and progresses to the damage and loss of functions caused by a hazard scenario,i.e.,a flood,tornado,hurricane,or earthquake.This process is accomplished through chaining of modular algorithms,as described.The baseline community characteristics and the hazard-induced damage sets are the initial conditions for the recovery models,which have been the least studied area of community resilience but arguably one of the most important.Communities can then test the effect of mitigation and/or policies and compare the effects of“what if”scenarios on physical,social,and economic metrics with the only requirement being that the change much be able to be numerically modeled in IN-CORE.展开更多
Microscopic enteritis(ME) is an inflammatory condition of the small bowel that leads to gastrointestinal symptoms,nutrient and micronutrient deficiency.It is characterised by microscopic or sub-microscopic abnormaliti...Microscopic enteritis(ME) is an inflammatory condition of the small bowel that leads to gastrointestinal symptoms,nutrient and micronutrient deficiency.It is characterised by microscopic or sub-microscopic abnormalities such as microvillus changes and enterocytic alterations in the absence of definite macroscopic changes using standard modern endoscopy.This work recognises a need to characterize disorders with microscopic and submicroscopic features,currently regarded as functional or non-specific entities,to obtain further understanding of their clinical relevance.The consensus working party reviewed statements about the aetiology,diagnosis and symptoms associated with ME and proposes an algorithm for its investigation and treatment.Following the 5th International Course in Digestive Pathology in Bucharest in November 2012,an international group of 21 interested pathologists and gastroenterologists formed a working party with a view to formulating a consensus statement on ME.A five-step agreement scale(from strong agreement to strong disagreement) was used to score 21 statements,independently.There was strong agreement on all statements about ME histology(95%-100%).Statements concerning diagnosis achieved 85% to 100% agreement.A statement on the management of ME elicited agreement from the lowest rate(60%) up to 100%.The remaining two categories showed general agreement between experts on clinical presentation(75%-95%) and pathogenesis(80%-90%) of ME.There was strong agreement on the histological definition of ME.Weaker agreement on management indicates a need for further investigations,better definitions and clinical trials to produce quality guidelines for management.This ME consensus is a step toward greater recognition of a significant entity affecting symptomatic patients previously labelled as non-specific or functional enteropathy.展开更多
The terms "proprioceptive deficit," "proprioceptive training," and "proprioceptive rehabilitation" are being used with increasing frequency in sports medicine literature. Despite the popu...The terms "proprioceptive deficit," "proprioceptive training," and "proprioceptive rehabilitation" are being used with increasing frequency in sports medicine literature. Despite the popularity of this terminology, multiple definitions for "proprioception" exist. Many researchers have defined proprioception as the afferent input of joint position sense (i.e., detection of position or movement), whereas others consider proprioception in a broader scope of neuromuscular control. In addition to detection of an afferent stimulus, neuromuscular control includes processing of the stimulus and a reactionary efferent output mediated via the neuromuscular system.展开更多
The 7.5% GDP growth in Q2 marks the 5th consecutive quarterly slow- down by the Chinese economy, and this is causing concern the world over. At a Moscow meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on ...The 7.5% GDP growth in Q2 marks the 5th consecutive quarterly slow- down by the Chinese economy, and this is causing concern the world over. At a Moscow meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on July 19 and 20, the developed countries asked China to speed up its growth so as to give the weak world economy a stron- ger impetus. However, the request was declined by China＇s finance minister, Lou Jiwei.展开更多
China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （Shanghai FTZ） was officially ropened on September 29. Among the first raft of liberalization measures are the pre-establishment national treatment （PENT） and the negative ...China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （Shanghai FTZ） was officially ropened on September 29. Among the first raft of liberalization measures are the pre-establishment national treatment （PENT） and the negative list. The much simplified registration of new businesses and the setting-up of branches by leading global banks, both Chinese and foreign, have led to initial joy and as a result, Shanghai FTZ related stocks have shot up.展开更多
The second CIFTIS, or China （Beijing） International Fair for Trade in Services, will open in Beiiing on May 28. CIFTIS is another major national trade fair, along with the China Commodities Import and Export Fair, o...The second CIFTIS, or China （Beijing） International Fair for Trade in Services, will open in Beiiing on May 28. CIFTIS is another major national trade fair, along with the China Commodities Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair.While the Canton Fair is the largest in terms of goods, CIFTIS is the largest for services.展开更多
There was widespread, cautious optimism when the world economy entered 2013, on the expectation that the long-distressed euro-zone economy would see light at the end of the tunnel and contribute positively to world ec...There was widespread, cautious optimism when the world economy entered 2013, on the expectation that the long-distressed euro-zone economy would see light at the end of the tunnel and contribute positively to world economic growth. However, heading to the end of the year, the euro-zone is set for further negative growth, of 0.4%, in the wake of the -0.6% in 2012. Due to the scale and problems of the euro-zone economy, 2013 will see the slowest world economic growth since the global financial crisis.展开更多
文摘In reflecting on human history and the causes of the rise, decline and fall of past societies and civilizations, many writers and thinkers-perhaps the majority-have long explained these in terms of social and political struggles-invasions, civil unrest, economic exploitation and the like. Add to this the modern concept of ＂ecocide＂——the intentional destruction of ecosystems and species, the loss of topsoil, environmental pollution, new diseases, and human-induced climate warming, and there is no lack of drivers of history to choose from. In his new （2005） book, ＂Collapse： How societies choose to fail or succeed,＂ Jared Diamond details how many ancient communities and societies failed due to these and other anthropogenic pressures related to water quality and shortages, excessive hunting and fishing, evergrowing ecological footprints, energy shortages and oooulation growth.
文摘It has been almost 20 years since the first reports of minimally invasive lobectomies appeared. Despite the tremendous amounts of research performed on VATS lobectomy showing its benefit over open thoracotomy, a mere 32% of all lobectomies are performed via this technique in the Society for Thoracic Surgeons database and only 6% in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample （1）. So, why is it that in a recent review of clinical stage I lung cancers over 70% were still completed using open thoracotomy？（2）. Advocates of an open approach still cite the ability to sample and perform a ＂more thorough＂ lymphadenectomy, the instability of the VATS platform and the lack of precision with the fissure-less-dissection VATS technique as reasons to maintain the status quo.
文摘In a Conference convened at Princeton University in January 2010, international relations experts were asked to consider, among other things, great power leadership and explore what would enable these powers
基金The Center for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning is a NIST-funded Center of Excellencethe Center is funded through a cooperative agreement between the U.S.National Institute of Standards and Tech-nology and Colorado State University(NIST Financial Assistance Award Numbers:70NANB15H044 and 70NANB20H008)。
文摘In 2015,the U.S National Institute of Standards and Technology(NIST)funded the Center of Excellence for Risk-Based Community Resilience Planning(CoE),a fourteen university-based consortium of almost 100 col-laborators,including faculty,students,post-doctoral scholars,and NIST researchers.This paper highlights the scientific theory behind the state-of-the-art cloud platform being developed by the CoE-the Interdisciplinary Networked Community Resilience Modeling Environment(IN-CORE).IN-CORE enables communities,consul-tants,and researchers to set up complex interdependent models of an entire community consisting of people,businesses,social institutions,buildings,transportation networks,water networks,and electric power networks and to predict their performance and recovery to hazard scenario events,including uncertainty propagation through the chained models.The modeling environment includes a detailed building inventory,hazard scenario models,building and infrastructure damage(fragility)and recovery functions,social science data-driven house-hold and business models,and computable general equilibrium(CGE)models of local economies.An important aspect of IN-CORE is the characterization of uncertainty and its propagation throughout the chained models of the platform.Three illustrative examples of community testbeds are presented that look at hazard impacts and recovery on population,economics,physical services,and social services.An overview of the IN-CORE technology and scientific implementation is described with a focus on four key community stability areas(CSA)that encompass an array of community resilience metrics(CRM)and support community resilience informed decision-making.Each testbed within IN-CORE has been developed by a team of engineers,social scientists,urban planners,and economists.Community models,begin with a community description,i.e.,people,businesses,buildings,infras-tructure,and progresses to the damage and loss of functions caused by a hazard scenario,i.e.,a flood,tornado,hurricane,or earthquake.This process is accomplished through chaining of modular algorithms,as described.The baseline community characteristics and the hazard-induced damage sets are the initial conditions for the recovery models,which have been the least studied area of community resilience but arguably one of the most important.Communities can then test the effect of mitigation and/or policies and compare the effects of“what if”scenarios on physical,social,and economic metrics with the only requirement being that the change much be able to be numerically modeled in IN-CORE.
文摘Microscopic enteritis(ME) is an inflammatory condition of the small bowel that leads to gastrointestinal symptoms,nutrient and micronutrient deficiency.It is characterised by microscopic or sub-microscopic abnormalities such as microvillus changes and enterocytic alterations in the absence of definite macroscopic changes using standard modern endoscopy.This work recognises a need to characterize disorders with microscopic and submicroscopic features,currently regarded as functional or non-specific entities,to obtain further understanding of their clinical relevance.The consensus working party reviewed statements about the aetiology,diagnosis and symptoms associated with ME and proposes an algorithm for its investigation and treatment.Following the 5th International Course in Digestive Pathology in Bucharest in November 2012,an international group of 21 interested pathologists and gastroenterologists formed a working party with a view to formulating a consensus statement on ME.A five-step agreement scale(from strong agreement to strong disagreement) was used to score 21 statements,independently.There was strong agreement on all statements about ME histology(95%-100%).Statements concerning diagnosis achieved 85% to 100% agreement.A statement on the management of ME elicited agreement from the lowest rate(60%) up to 100%.The remaining two categories showed general agreement between experts on clinical presentation(75%-95%) and pathogenesis(80%-90%) of ME.There was strong agreement on the histological definition of ME.Weaker agreement on management indicates a need for further investigations,better definitions and clinical trials to produce quality guidelines for management.This ME consensus is a step toward greater recognition of a significant entity affecting symptomatic patients previously labelled as non-specific or functional enteropathy.
文摘The terms "proprioceptive deficit," "proprioceptive training," and "proprioceptive rehabilitation" are being used with increasing frequency in sports medicine literature. Despite the popularity of this terminology, multiple definitions for "proprioception" exist. Many researchers have defined proprioception as the afferent input of joint position sense (i.e., detection of position or movement), whereas others consider proprioception in a broader scope of neuromuscular control. In addition to detection of an afferent stimulus, neuromuscular control includes processing of the stimulus and a reactionary efferent output mediated via the neuromuscular system.
文摘The 7.5% GDP growth in Q2 marks the 5th consecutive quarterly slow- down by the Chinese economy, and this is causing concern the world over. At a Moscow meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors on July 19 and 20, the developed countries asked China to speed up its growth so as to give the weak world economy a stron- ger impetus. However, the request was declined by China＇s finance minister, Lou Jiwei.
文摘China （Shanghai） Pilot Free Trade Zone （Shanghai FTZ） was officially ropened on September 29. Among the first raft of liberalization measures are the pre-establishment national treatment （PENT） and the negative list. The much simplified registration of new businesses and the setting-up of branches by leading global banks, both Chinese and foreign, have led to initial joy and as a result, Shanghai FTZ related stocks have shot up.
文摘The second CIFTIS, or China （Beijing） International Fair for Trade in Services, will open in Beiiing on May 28. CIFTIS is another major national trade fair, along with the China Commodities Import and Export Fair, or Canton Fair.While the Canton Fair is the largest in terms of goods, CIFTIS is the largest for services.
文摘There was widespread, cautious optimism when the world economy entered 2013, on the expectation that the long-distressed euro-zone economy would see light at the end of the tunnel and contribute positively to world economic growth. However, heading to the end of the year, the euro-zone is set for further negative growth, of 0.4%, in the wake of the -0.6% in 2012. Due to the scale and problems of the euro-zone economy, 2013 will see the slowest world economic growth since the global financial crisis.
