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Previous research suggests that applying anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) to the medial-frontal cortex can improve how quickly subjects learn to make simple discriminations (i.e., red from blue). Here, we tested the idea that this enhanced task learning is attributable to superior encoding of relevant information into visual long-term memory. Thirty subjects completed an anodal stimulation session and a sham session, with order counterbalanced across subjects, before performing recognition-memory tasks using pictures of real-world objects and visually presented words or nonwords. These tasks allowed us to detect potential memory differences across types of memoranda. Contrary to the hypothesis that the medial-frontal cortex helps control encoding fidelity, we found that anodal tDCS delivered over this brain region did not significantly improve subjects’ memory for visual stimuli, regardless of stimulus type. Our findings show no evidence that targeting medial-frontal cortex with tDCS changes the fidelity of our visual long-term memories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When you read the title Notes to Self, perhaps what comes to mind are the words we write in the margins of notebooks or on scrap pieces of paper stuffed between book pages to be rediscovered in the future. Maybe the title sparks thoughts of voice memos, journal entries, underlined texts, or reminders scribbled on sticky notes that are seen every day with hopes that they will take permanent residence in your mind. The phrase also alludes to a lifelong journey that leads to an ultimate destination: a full, authentic, and evolving sense of self. Notes to self are fragments to lead us closer to a more whole composition and definition of our being. This curatorial project highlights archival materials that lay bare how intimacy, interiority, and reflection show up not only in artists' moments of introspection, but also in interactions among soulmates, peers, chosen family, and friends. Letters, notes, and photographs created by companions and counterparts, and kept in artists' papers, hint at the relatable desire to cherish the materials that make us feel cherished. They affirm how we are seen through the eyes of others, especially those who see our depths. They contribute to our sense of self and how we might hope to be remembered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do presidents freely issue unilateral directives to evade an obstructionist Congress, or are they constrained by their legislative opponents? Though conventional wisdom purports evasion, scholars actually find consistent evidence of presidential restraint. However, this literature almost exclusively focuses on executive orders, rather than the myriad of other unilateral directives at the president's disposal, and thus offers an incomplete picture of how effective Congress is at constraining unilateral policymaking. Accordingly, I develop a theory of how presidents adjudicate between different types of directives based on trade-offs related to their traceability, presidential incentives, and Congress's ability to retaliate based on available information. I argue that presidents rely on more traceable unilateral directives, specifically executive orders, and published memoranda, when facing ideologically aligned congresses that are less likely to retaliate. However, they use less traceable directives, like unpublished memoranda, to evade legislative opponents, but at the expense of credit claiming opportunities. Using an original dataset of executive orders, published memoranda, and unpublished memoranda issued between 1981 and 2020, I find empirical support for the theory. Overall, this study demonstrates how presidents can overcome legislative checks by controlling the traceability of their unilateral activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a kind of the differential equation including a time-fractional sub-diffusion equation is considered. Through this memorandum, a well-known technique, in the time direction is adopted by the p-fractional linear multistep method (p-FLMM) according to the q-fractional backward difference formula (q-FBDF) of implicit type for q = 1, 2, 3, and the spatial direction is approximated by the second-order central difference method. The stability properties of the proposed method can be investigated in combination with the Fourier technique and $ \mathcal {Z} $ Z -transformation and also its convergence is studied by using the truncated error maximum. It is shown that the method is unconditionally stable and the orders of convergence are $ \mathcal {O}(\tau ^{p}+h^2) $ O (τ p + h 2) for $ 1 \leq p \leq ~4 $ 1 ≤ p ≤ 4 , in which p is the order of accuracy in the time direction and τ and h determine temporal and spatial stepsizes, respectively. Some numerical experiments are included to demonstrate the validity and applicability of the scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why and how do pathways to regime complexes diverge? Building on insights from the literatures on institutional design and historical institutionalism, we argue that early institutional design choices produce long-term variation in the pace, density, and composition of institutional layers within a regime complex. In a first step, we argue that if an institution becomes focal, this increases the exit costs for member-states to leave. Additional institutional layers become a more likely outcome. In a second step, we argue that depending on the focal organization's formal or informal design, variegated sovereignty costs inform the additional layering pathways. If a focal organization is formal, sovereignty costs are high for member-states. Consequently, creating additional institutional layers becomes cumbersome, leading to a slow pace of "negotiated layering" and a regime complex characterized by low density and composed of formal and informal institutions. In contrast, low sovereignty costs associated with informal focal organizations enable a rapid process of "breakout layering" resulting in a high density of mostly informal institutions. We develop our argument by examining the evolution of security institutions in Europe and Asia through diplomatic cables, treaty texts, personal memoirs, and policy memos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the origins of Japan's security policy after the Asia-Pacific War. During the occupation, the Japanese government decided on the maintenance of US forces in the country after the Japanese Peace Treaty. To explain the rationale behind this, existing studies emphasize the Japanese government's external security calculations. Highlighting the interaction between Japanese foreign and domestic policies, this article challenges this conventional claim by arguing that internal security calculations strongly influenced the Japanese government's decision. With the creation of the Ashida memorandum in September 1947 and the expectation that the General Headquarters (GHQ) would allow for stronger police forces, Japanese Foreign Minister Ashida Hitoshi and his staff sought to restrict the stationing of US forces in Japan only to national emergencies. As opposed to such expectation, however, GHQ's police reform significantly weakened Japan's internal security capabilities, forcing Tokyo to depend on US forces for dealing with internal communist threats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aims to compare outcomes of treatment, in terms of early and late complications, between the Snodgrass and meatal mobilization (MEMO) techniques in children operated on because of distal hypospadias. Methods: The medical records of 127 children who underwent glandular, coronal, or subcoronal hypospadias repair between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2023 were retrospectively reviewed. A total of 105 children met the inclusion criteria and were included in further analysis. The inclusion criteria were pediatric patients who underwent glandular, coronal, or subcoronal hypospadias repair using MEMO (n = 49) or the Snodgrass technique (n = 56) as a comparative group. The primary outcome of this study was the incidence of early and late complications with two different surgical techniques. Secondary outcomes were the duration of surgery, the length of hospital stay, the number of readmissions or unplanned returns to the operating room, and repeat surgeries between groups. Results: The median age of all patients was 17 (interquartile range, IQR 13, 29) months, with a median follow-up of 26 (IQR 17, 34) months. Regarding the type of hypospadias, the majority of patients in both groups were categorized as coronal and subroronal hypospadias. Regarding the incidence of postoperative complications, a significantly lower incidence of postoperative complications was found in the MEMO group compared to the Snodgrass group (n = 4; 8.2% vs. n = 14; 25%; p = 0.037). An urethrocutaneous fistula was the most common complication in the Snodgrass group (n = 8; 14.3%), while in the MEMO group, only one patient (2%) developed a fistula (p = 0.034). The incidence of meatal stenosis (p = 0.621) and wound infections (p > 0.999) was low in both groups. No further complications were recorded during the follow-up period. Duration of surgery (41 min (IQR 38, 47) vs. 51 min (IQR 45.5, 61); p < 0.001), duration of hospitalization (1 day (IQR 1, 2) vs. 3 days (IQR 2, 6); p < 0.001), and time to catheter removal (3 days (IQR 2.5, 5) vs. 6 days (IQR 6, 8); p < 0.001) were significantly lower in patients operated on with MEMO compared to the Snodgrass technique. Only one case of readmission due to severe wound infection which led to suturing line dehiscence was recorded in the Snodgrass group. The incidence of redo surgery was significantly lower in the MEMO group than in the Snodgrass group (n = 3; 6.1% vs. n = 11; 19.6%; p = 0.048). Conclusions: MEMO is a safe and effective technique that can be used for the treatment of distal hypospadias. It showed excellent outcomes, cosmetic results, and a low incidence of complications as well as a significantly shorter duration of surgery compared to the Snodgrass technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ARSC Journal article discusses the complete recordings of Karel Burian from 1906-1913 and Marie Podvalová from 1939-1950. Burian, a tenor, was known for his powerful voice and stamina, particularly in Wagnerian roles. Podvalová, a soprano, was a symbol of resistance during the Nazi occupation and recorded exclusively in Czech. The article highlights the historical significance and musical contributions of these Czech artists, providing insights into their vocal abilities and recording legacies. [Extracted from the article]

Complex documents have text, figures, tables, and other elements. The classification of scanned copies of different categories of complex documents like memos, newspapers, letters, and more is essential for rapid digitization. However, this task is very challenging as most scanned complex documents look similar. This is because all documents have similar colors of the page and letters, similar textures for all papers, and very few contrasting features. Several attempts have been made in the state of the art to classify complex documents; however, only a few of these works have addressed the classification of complex documents with similar features, and among these, the performances could be more satisfactory. To overcome this, this paper presents a method to use an optical character reader to extract the texts. It proposes a multi-headed model to combine vision-based transfer learning and natural-language-based Transformers within the same network for simultaneous training for different inputs and optimizers in specific parts of the network. A subset of the Ryers Vision Lab Complex Document Information Processing dataset containing 16 different document classes was used to evaluate the performances. The proposed multi-headed VisFormers network classified the documents with up to 94.2% accuracy, while a regular natural-language-processing-based Transformer network achieved 83%, and vision-based VGG19 transfer learning could achieve only up to 90% accuracy. The model deployment can help sort the scanned copies of various documents into different categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

End-users, who act as the origin of all procurement requests, are responsible for providing technical specifications, scope of work, and terms of reference, conducting a market survey, recommending the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), providing technical advice, assisting in the preparation of bidding documents, and attending all stages of the procurement. This study aims to evaluate two essential aspects related to the execution of procurement activities: the level of knowledge and understanding among end-users and the difficulties they encounter while conducting procurement activities. This research used a mixed-methods approach, involving surveys and interviews, to collect data about the awareness levels and difficulties encountered by the participants regarding RA 9184 procurement procedures. In research, "mixed method" refers to a methodology that combines qualitative and quantitative techniques in a single study to gain a more comprehensive understanding of a research issue by harnessing the advantages of both data types. The survey assessed respondents' knowledge of various procurement processes, revealing that they generally have good awareness. Procurement planning was well understood, while document preparation and electronic procurement had slightly lower but still decent awareness levels. Statistical analysis, including Pearson correlation and p-values, showed that awareness was significantly related to years of service in certain procurement aspects but not in post-qualification and awards. Respondents reported occasional difficulties, with the majority having no major issues. However, challenges in areas like canvassing, market study, and document preparation were identified, indicating the need for adjustments or assistance. Other difficulties included a lack of training, technical specification preparation, supplier availability, and failed bidding. In conclusion, policymakers should implement clear procurement request guidelines following RA 9184. These guidelines should specify procedures and required documents, reducing delays and inefficiencies and saving time and resources. Additionally, issuing agency memoranda designating specific End-Users fosters coordination. It serves as a direct point of contact with the BAC Secretariat, ensuring informed Project Management Officers (PMOs) have access to guidance and support. The establishment of a dedicated committee for updating End-Users on specifications and providing annual GPPB-recognized training, which ensures alignment with changing requirements, market conditions, and legal compliance, enhancing procurement efficiency and expertise, should also be imposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers an attempt to understand the present state of Kant's legacy in Russia on the threshold of the Tercentenary. An explanans is found in the metaphors of "tabula rasa" and "unplowed virgin soil," first used by Leibniz in relation to Russia in his letters and memoranda addressed to tsar Peter I and other members of the Russian elite, which became the country's "absolute metaphors to live by" up to present time. Several known and unknown episodes from the history of the reception of Kantian ideas, his followers in Russia, and the transformation of the urban environment of Kant's life in Königsberg, as it was becoming Kaliningrad, are presented through the prism of this metaphor. Without hoping to make specific recommendations of any use from such metaphorical grounds, this study aims to emphasize the depth, interconnectedness, and basic, metaphysical tension of the relationship between Europe and Russia, which cannot be terminated at will by either side, or by a third party. In a situation where the sides are doomed to dialog, Kant, appropriated by Russia as its "subject," occupies the unique position of mediator of philosophical understanding and peaceful action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Using the ethical consequentialist theory of utilitarianism, this paper aims to demonstrate the correlation between the prosecution of Arthur Andersen LLP and the United States Department of Justice's (DOJ) increased use of pretrial diversion agreements, both nonprosecution and deferred prosecution agreements (N/DPA) for criminal corporations. Design/methodology/approach: Through an analysis of previous literature, the United States Justice Manual, and data from the Corporate Prosecution Registry, this study examines the trend of N/DPAs from 1992 to 2021. Specifically, the data is examined to assess whether a pattern exists before and after the 2002 prosecution of Andersen. Findings: This study finds an exponential increase of N/DPAs after Andersen's prosecution. The DOJ's basis for the increased use of these agreements is rooted in the utilitarian theory that the punishment of criminal corporations should deter and rehabilitate behavior while also maximizing the benefit to society (e.g. shareholders, employees and business community). The justice manual, memorandums and public speeches explicitly promote the use of N/DPAs for corporations to minimize collateral damage and the potential for negative societal impact. Originality/value: This study applies a utilitarian framework to explain the criminal justice system's increased use of pretrial diversion agreements for criminal corporations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the great business institutions of the modern era is the BBC which is now 100 years old. The authors explored letters and memoranda in the BBC's Written Archives at Caversham, which revealed much about the business tactics of those in charge of the BBC during the pre-Second World War era, and how they used the power of their monopoly to their own ends. A new market of broadcasting magazines sprang up around the radio broadcasts, creating an inter-dependency between the two media. The BBC soon launched its own magazines, and from then on, the BBC's interactions with the press media were complex, reflecting an uncomfortable blend of symbiosis and threat. Episodes between the press owners and the BBC have been uncovered, about which there has been little previous investigation, and unexpected patterns of behaviour have emerged. This archival research, using narrative history, is based upon original letters, memoranda and handwritten messages that were archived for posterity, and which report upon the actual thoughts and views of those involved at the time, revealing unexpected intrigue and machinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades as the number of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) cases has steadily climbed, and the fines associated with FCPA dispositions have skyrocketed, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has regularly issued guidance about how companies could or should assist the government in reaching a resolution to an FCPA investigation. It is now taken as a given that a company will cooperate with the DOJ in order to receive the best outcome and settlement. What “cooperation” entails has differed over the past few decades, but what is no longer on the table is the option NOT to cooperate with the DOJ, or any parallel investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or even foreign regulatory agencies. The reason companies cooperate is to be afforded the “carrot” of cooperation credit, rather than face the “stick” of increased fines and punishment. Cooperation credit is a major factor in corporations’ decisions regarding all aspects of their own internal investigations, including whether to voluntarily disclose potential violations of the FCPA, what documents to produce to the government and when, and whether to allow the government to interview (and potentially indict) executives. The recent DOJ Memorandum issued by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco doubles down on the notion that companies must be swift in voluntarily disclosing violations, quick to point fingers at executives involved, and must produce to the government potentially damning documents immediately upon discovery. The Monaco Memo seemingly moves the needle further in favor of the government; meaning, a company must do more to meet the standard of “cooperation” in order to be eligible for cooperation credit. As the standard for cooperation becomes harder to attain, more corporations may push back. The risk to the DOJ of making cooperation credit too elusive is that the DOJ likely does not have the resources to engage in full-scale investigations of companies. Rather, the government relies upon companies to voluntarily disclose violations and to perform internal investigations at their own expense. What then happens when companies refuse to cooperate? When the carrot becomes too elusive, will companies begin taking their odds with the stick? This Article outlines the historical underpinnings of corporate cooperation, and expands upon the literature considering the structural, constitutional, and normative issues with corporate cooperation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substandard ships pose a significant threat to human life and the environment. Therefore, detecting deficiencies and removing such vessels from service is necessary, which is one of the port state control (PSC) inspection tasks. In addition, the role of PSC inspection is to improve safety at sea and in ports. To be up to the task, the States jointly created several memoranda to fight against substandard ships. The most frequent deficiencies detected on ships during Paris Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) PSC inspections are analyzed in this paper. The analysis was made according to factors such as type of vessel, flag and the category to which deficiency belongs. Results revealed that most frequent deficiencies detected on ships, regardless of type or fl ag, come from International Safety Management (ISM) and fi re protection. Furthermore, it is found that among the ten most frequent deficiencies, three are from the navigation safety category. Therefore, corrective actions to improve safety at sea are needed and presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Recession of 2008 had a negative impact on the world, significantly worsening national economies and reducing citizens' quality of life. The efforts at reforming the Greek social security system during the period of economic crisis led to the development of a philosophy that aimed at the convergence of the characteristics of social policy with the wider transformations that were occurring in the European welfare states. In the second chapter, there is an examination of the causes of the Greek crisis, which is presented as a product of the combination of Greek capitalism's chronic problems and the impact of the global crisis on the Greek economy. [Extracted from the article]

Copyright of Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The March 12 Memorandum is the second military intervention disrupted democracy in Turkey during the multiparty period. The main reason of second intervention to democratic regime after 11 years is related with the opinion that regime shaped by soldiers did not work as they wishes. However, the intervention on March 12th differs from the coup in 1960 in terms of shape and the size of the intervention. While the soldiers took power directly on May 27, displacement coup took place on March 12th. In other words, the current Government was forced to resign and replaced with a new civilian government which acting under the direction of soldiers. One of the most important factors in determining the way of intervention on March 12th is the differences in political views among the politicized generals. Likewise, soldiers' political perspective and the methods they chose accordingly were decisive on the political regime that took shape after the coup. At this point, the Praetorian typology put forward by Eric A. Nordlinger is very useful for understanding the political behavior of soldiers who have become political actors. Because Nordlinger's conceptualization of moderate praetorianism makes it easier to understand the political perspectives of high-ranking officers and their political behavior during the march 12th process. To explain the March 12 Memorandum and the regime that was in effect between 1971 and 1973 in a theoretical framework and to understand the political process in this context will shed light on the path to September 12, when the soldiers directly seized the power - for the longest time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides the first ever consideration of the ways in which the principal publishers of Fulcher's Ladies' Memorandum Book and Poetical Miscellany devised a marketable identity defined by topographical illustrative matter. It examines how they adapted the formats of illustration and the design aesthetic of the title over time. The article charts how reviewers characterized the publication and helped to create a reputation for it, as well as what innovations the publishers introduced in order to continuously make their print product appealing. It also studies how Fulcher capitalized on existing plates he had commissioned by reusing them in separately issued collections that assembled the poetry published in his pocket book. Finally, it provides, in the form of an appendix, a listing of the subjects of the illustrations included in Fulcher's title, as well as the names of the artists and engravers responsible for the production of the plates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2009, draft bills and regulations must be accompanied by the memorandum on the regulatory impact analysis. In addition, Act No. 26/2015 introduced the enforceability of regulatory impact analysis on families. However, it is not being properly performed. The main reason for this is the absence of a methodology guide with clear guidelines on sources, techniques and procedures to be used. Assessment tools and procedures are needed in order to guarantee valid and reliable analysis, as well as to tone down the burdens of the public administration professionals dealing with this task. This paper examines the introduction and development of regulatory impact analysis on families in Spain, which is considered an ex ante assessment tool for better regulation. It gives an overview of the current situation concerning the implementation of regulatory impact analysis at Central Administration and Autonomous Communities level. Reflecting the confusion and disparity of criteria when it comes to perform this type of assessment. And finally suggests guidelines to properly carry out regulatory impact analysis on families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking account of the impacts of government action on historically marginalized and overburdened communities is a core policy goal of the Biden-Harris Administration. With respect to regulatory action, the Memorandum on Modernizing Regulatory Review, which President Biden issued on his first day in office, directed the Office of Management and Budget to take steps “to ensure that regulatory initiatives appropriately benefit and do not inappropriately burden disadvantaged, vulnerable, or marginalized communities.” While the efforts in this regard have gone beyond those of the Clinton and Obama Administrations, federal regulations still pay limited attention to regulatory consequences on disadvantaged communities. In this Article, we seek to understand the shortcomings of current agency practice and outline what agencies can do better. To do so, we examine fifteen significant proposed or final agency rules promulgated during the Biden-Harris Administration’s first eighteen months. This empirical analysis reveals four categories of limitations. First, agencies often pursue inconsistent goals across different regulatory initiatives. Second, they do not grapple with the core issue that distributional analysis should raise: the extent to which the better distributional consequences of one alternative should trump the higher net benefits of another alternative. Third, agencies do not apply a consistent approach to defining disadvantaged groups, which makes the analysis inconsistent and unpredictable. Fourth, the distributional analysis relies on a truncated set of costs and benefits, and thus presents an incomplete picture of the consequences of regulation on disadvantaged communities. One of the fifteen analyses, however, suggests an attractive path to fulfilling the promise of distributional analysis, though significant work remains to be done. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article intends to explain the legal regime of the Kuwaiti-Saudi Divided Zone, also called the Neutral Zone, in accordance with the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia Agreement to Partition the Neutral Zone signed in 1965, the Treaty Between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia Concerning the Submerged Area Adjacent to the Divided Zone signed in 2000, the Treaty Supplements to the Agreement to Partition and Treaty Concerning the Submerged Area signed in 2019, and the 2019 Memo of Understanding. Additionally, this article addresses the concerns raised by many Kuwaiti scholars, writers, and policymakers regarding the legitimacy and constitutionality of the divided zone system. Moreover, this article emphasizes the importance of the agreed-upon regime based on the principles of sovereignty and cooperation for advancing the interests of both parties at present and in the future. Finally, this article aims to shed light on some potential issues of conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article "Three Memoranda of the 21st Dynasty at Deir el-Bahari" by Mirosław Barwik reports on newly discovered hieratic graffiti in the temple of Hatshepsut in Deir el-Bahari. These graffiti shed new light on the history of the area during the 21st Dynasty. Three of the graffiti can be dated to the end of the reign of the High Priest Menkheperre and could be related to burials in the neighboring Bab el-Gasus cache or the work on this tomb. The text describes various inscriptions and graffiti found in Deir el-Bahari and discusses their possible significance and connection to historical events. It also mentions various sources and publications on Egyptian history and culture that can be used for further study and research. [Extracted from the article]

The Memorandum Movement (1892-1894) played an important role in the history of the national emancipation of the Transylvanian Romanians. luliu Maniu (1873-1953) studied law at the universities of Budapest and Vienna at the beginning of the last decade of the 19th century. In 1892 he was among the leaders of the Petru Maior Academic Society, an organization of Romanian students at the University of Budapest. As a result of his position as the Romanian students' leader, he had a major role in preparing the reception and accommodation of Memorandum delegates in Vienna. luliu Maniu and his colleagues immediately joined the Romanian national movement. He was among the signatories of the political Manifesto entitled "To the Romanian People of Transylvania and the Hungarian Land" (1893). In 1896, luliu Maniu was already one of leaders of the Romanian National Party from Transylvania.xsxs [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: From a variety of ring types, semirigid ring is more preferred for mitral annuloplasty during mitral valve repair particularly in patients whose native mitral saddle shape annulus is well maintained. During mitral annuloplasty artificial chord implantation with the appropriate neochord length is surgically challenging. We present our experience of using the Memo 3D ReChord, a semirigid ring with additional chordal guiding system for mitral valve repair. Patients and methods: From September 2018 to February 2020, we successfully treated ten patients with severe (4+/4+) degenerative mitral valve regurgitation due to posterior leaflet prolapse with chordal rupture with the implantation Memo 3D ReChord and neo-chords. Results: We implanted from one to three neo-chords and always a ring in our patients. None of the patients had any residual mitral valve regurgitation at the end of the repair and on their discharge evaluated through transesophageal and transthoracic echocardiography respectively. There was no mortality at 30-days or on midterm follow-up. During the 3-month follow-up no regurgitation was noticed either. We included in our study only the patients successfully treated. We also used it in two patients, who underwent valve replacement during the same operation due to mild to moderate mitral valve regurgitation. Conclusions: This, in our knowledge, is the first Greek series of the implantation of the Memo 3D Rechord. The initial excellent results give us the enthusiasm to continue while long-term results and the durability of this technique are necessary to establish this semirigid annuloplastic ring in our every-day practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper brings together for the first time the writings of four Little Gidding authors of the early seventeenth century. What they then saw as a merely auxiliary effort became in the nineteenth century a matter of international bibliographical concern. The three siblings, John and Nicholas Ferrar and their older sister Susanna, and John's son Nicholas, created at least thirty-eight works, not all now extant. They included a commonplace book, translations, promotional works, memoranda of instruction, and—most famously—biblical concordances. Thirty years of study has extended, though not completed, their provenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1748, the London publisher Robert Dodsley pioneered a new contribution to the eighteenth-century print market: the pocket memorandum book. A forerunner of the modern-day Filofax, the pocket memorandum book was an annual publication that bundled together a variety of useful and entertaining printed information along with preformatted memorandums and accounts pages, left blank for their owner to fill in. The immense popularity of this genre in eighteenth-century Britain has not been reflected in modern scholarship on life-writing and autobiographical practice. This article explores the early evolution of the genre, and shows how individuals could use memorandum books to build up a storehouse of personal knowledge. In doing so, it recovers the contemporary value placed on the pocket memorandum book as indexical to a person's life and, by extension, to their character. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Technology Economics is the property of Chinese Society of Technology Economics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Modern Turkish History Studies / Cumhuriyet Tarihi Araştırmaları Dergisi (CTAD) is the property of Ataturk Institute for Modern Turkish History and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Andrej Sládkovič (1820 - 1872) was not only a priest and a poet: he also wrote reports from cultural and political events and provided feedback to the works of others. Among other things, he considerably contributed to the publication of the minutes and diary from the Slovak national assembly held in Martin on 6th and 7th June 1861 where the Memorandum of the Slovak nation was adopted. A. Sládkovič assembled all the materials from the event and prepared them for publication. His goals in this regard were to provide information, preserve the memory of the events, and reflect on the activities of the Slovak nationally-oriented intelligentsia. In this way, he captured the personalities connected to the national movement and events forming national awareness. The article describes the circumstances under which A. Sládkovič participated on the documenting of the memorandum assembly and shows that he contributed not only to the preparation of the materials for publication, but also to the capturing of the atmosphere under which the document was written. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]