Several neural networks have been proposed in the general literature for pattern recognition and clustering, but little empirical comparison with traditional methods has been done. The results reported here compare neural networks using Kohonen learning with a traditional clustering method (K-means) in an experimental design using simulated data with known cluster solutions. Two types of neural networks were examined, both of which used unsupervised learning to perform the clustering. One used Kohonen learning with a conscience and the other used Kohonen learning without a conscience mechanism. The performance of these nets was examined with respect to changes in the number of attributes, the number of clusters, and the amount of error in the data. Generally, the K-means procedure had fewer points misclassified while the classification accuracy of neural networks worsened as the number of clusters in the data increased from two to five.

Effective regulation is essential for preventing the establishment of new invasive plants and managing the environmental, social, and economic impacts of those already established. Invasive plants are regulated by jurisdictions at a mix of local, regional, national, and international levels. Enhanced coordination of policy and regulations has been identified as a key strategy for addressing the impacts of invasive species; however, coordination between jurisdictions, and even within jurisdictions, is not always considered. To review regulatory coordination in Australia, we compiled a comprehensive dataset of noxious weeds (defined as invasive plants and potentially invasive plants with controls specified in regulation) in each Australian jurisdiction (i.e., state or territory). We found that jurisdictions on average shared ca. 67% (SD = 15%) of noxious weed listings. Neighboring jurisdictions were not more similar than separated jurisdictions in their noxious weed listings. There were significant differences in the biogeographic native ranges of noxious weeds between jurisdictions, with species native to temperate Asia being most frequently listed overall. The predominant likely entry pathway for noxious weeds in Australia was the ornamental trade. Listings were primarily dedicated to proactive control, prohibiting the cultivation of noxious weeds to avoid their naturalization. There were 415 noxious weeds regulated in a harmonious manner across jurisdictions. However, there were 327 noxious weeds regulated by jurisdictions in a discordant manner, potentially leaving neighboring jurisdictions vulnerable to invasion. We suggest jurisdictions reassess the regulation of these 327 discordant noxious weeds in Australia and utilize a national taxonomic standard to avoid problematic synonyms. Improved cohesion of policies could be achieved through wider adoption of existing regulatory systems and codevelopment of regulations between government and industry.

In recent issues of the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions, Holzer and colleagues presented an Expert Consensus Document titled: “PICS / AEPC / APPCS / CSANZ / SCAI / SOLACI: Expert consensus statement on cardiac catheterization for pediatric patients and adults with congenital heart disease.” This Expert Consensus Document is a massively important contribution to the community of paediatric and congenital cardiac care. This document was developed as an Expert Consensus Document by the Pediatric and Congenital Interventional Cardiovascular Society, the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology, the Asia-Pacific Pediatric Cardiac Society, the Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the Latin American Society of Interventional Cardiology, as well as the Congenital Cardiac Anesthesia Society and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

As perfectly stated in the Preamble of this Expert Consensus Document, “This expert consensus document is intended to inform practitioners, payors, hospital administrators and other parties as to the opinion of the aforementioned societies about best practices for cardiac catheterisation and transcatheter management of paediatric and adult patients with congenital heart disease, with added accommodations for resource-limited environments.” And, the fact that the authorship of this Expert Consensus Document includes global representation is notable, commendable, and important.

This Expert Consensus Document has the potential to fill an important gap for this patient population. National guideline documents for specific aspects of interventions in patients with paediatric heart disease, including training guidelines, do exist. However, this current Expert Consensus Document authored by Holzer and colleagues provides truly globally applicable standards on cardiac catheterisation for both paediatric patients and adults with congenital heart disease (CHD).

Our current Editorial provides different regional perspectives from senior physicians dedicated to paediatric and congenital cardiac care who are practicing in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, Australia/New Zealand, and North America. Establishing worldwide standards for cardiac catheterisation laboratories for children and adults with CHD is a significant stride towards improving the quality and consistency of care. These standards should not only reflect the current state of medical knowledge but should also be adaptable to future advancements, ultimately fostering better outcomes and enhancing the lives of individuals affected by CHD worldwide.

Ensuring that these standards are accessible and adaptable across different healthcare settings globally is a critical step. Given the variability in resources and infrastructure globally, the need exists for flexibility and tailoring to implement recommendations.

The potential impact of the Expert Consensus Document and its recommendations is likely significant, but heterogeneity of healthcare systems will pose continuing challenges on healthcare professionals. Indeed, this heterogeneity of healthcare systems will challenge healthcare professionals to finally close the gap between acceptable and ideal in the catheterisation of patients with paediatric and/or congenital heart disease.

In this wide-ranging conversation, six scholars of South Africa detail threads of continuity and change in the historiographies, popular memories, archives, research agendas, methodologies, and within the South African academy and historical professional since the end of formal apartheid in 1994.

This paper works from the ITC document, Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church (2018), to outline four essential components of an emergent theology of synodality: the claim that synodality is constitutive of the Church, an ecclesiology of communion, the ecclesial title People of God, and the sensus fidei. The paper then critically assesses the interplay of these four elements in the ITC document, along with the Vademecum and the Preparatory Document which were disseminated with the beginning of the synodal process itself (2021). Certain issues from this interplay, it is argued, require further reflection as this emergent theology develops: the theological weight of consensus, the degree to which belonging to the Church is (or is not) essentially discursive in character, how the sensus fidei seems to imply that the practice of the faith is an integral element of meaningful synodal participation by Catholics, and indeed, finally, the participation of those who do not bear the name of Christian.

Chest radiography compares left ventricular decompression in the same patient supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation with atrial septal fenestration and subsequently supported with left ventricular assist device with apical cannulation.

This article engages with an example of Newman's reception in 20th Century thought, in Raymond Williams's Culture and Society from 1958. Williams considers that Newman's wording in The Idea of a University demonstrates a particular moment in the development of the semantic field of the word ‘culture’, which is indicated by the fact Newman does not use the word at an important juncture in his text. Williams also locates Newman in a developing trajectory of English understandings of culture at a point when (what we now term) culture was presented as a surrogate religion. Both of these points are responded to by showing that the word ‘culture’ would not have served the purpose Williams apportions to it for Newman's argument, and that Newman should not be associated with those for whom the domain of culture was emerging as an alternative to religion in the 19th Century. Moreover, this analysis will show that Newman's understanding of what we today term ‘culture’ should be understood in terms of a broader semantic cluster best captured by the word “sensibility”: a set of pervasive tendencies, predispositions, and qualities.

We report on the successful demonstration of a 150 J nanosecond pulsed cryogenic gas cooled, diode-pumped multi-slab Yb:YAG laser operating at 1 Hz. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest energy ever recorded for a diode-pumped laser system.

Rapidly-rising jökulhlaups, or glacial outburst floods, are a phenomenon with a high potential for damage. The initiation and propagation processes of a rapidly-rising jökulhlaup are still not fully understood. Seismic monitoring can contribute to an improved process understanding, but comprehensive long-term seismic monitoring campaigns capturing the dynamics of a rapidly-rising jökulhlaup have not been reported so far. To fill this gap, we installed a seismic network at the marginal, ice-dammed lake of the A.P. Olsen Ice Cap (APO) in NE-Greenland. Episodic outbursts from the lake cause flood waves in the Zackenberg river, characterized by a rapid discharge increase within a few hours. Our 6 months long seismic dataset comprises the whole fill-and-drain cycle of the ice-dammed lake in 2012 and includes one of the most destructive floods recorded so far for the Zackenberg river. Seismic event detection and localization reveals abundant surface crevassing and correlates with changes of the river discharge. Seismic interferometry suggests the existence of a thin basal sedimentary layer. We show that the ballistic part of the first surface waves can potentially be used to infer medium changes in both the ice body and the basal layer. Interpretation of time-lapse interferograms is challenged by a varying ambient noise source distribution.

Formation of a low barrier back contact plays a critical role in improving the photoconversion efficiency of the CdTe solar cells. Incorporating a buffer layer to minimize the band bending at the back of the CdTe device can significantly lower the barrier for the hole current, improving open circuit voltage (VOC) and the fill factor. Over the past years, researchers have incorporated the both ZnTe and Te as buffer layers to improve CdTe device performance. Here we compare device performance using these two materials as buffer layers at the back of CdTe devices. We show that using Te in contact to CdTe results in higher performance than using ZnTe in contact to the CdTe. Low temperature current density-voltage measurements show that Te results is a lower barrier with CdTe than ZnTe, indicating that Te has better band alignment, resulting in less downward bending in the CdTe at the back interface, than ZnTe does.

The Munda languages of South Asia exhibit sound symbolism in their use of mimetic reduplication, to which they devote a surprisingly large percentage of their lexicons, typically upwards of ten percent. We present an extensive empirical typology of mimetic reduplication in seven Munda languages: Ho, Kera Mundari, Kharia, Mundari, Remo (Bondo), Santali, and Sora (Savara). Munda Mimetic forms can depict sensory qualities of sound, space, movement, texture, smell, taste, temperature, feelings, and sensations. The typology of mimetic reduplication in Munda varies across syntactic class, semantic domain and phonological form. This can shed light on the breadth of diverse structures in Munda languages, and may also be extrapolated to other languages and other examinations of reduplication and/or mimesis. This work provides a wealth of data to researchers of mimesis and reduplication, challenging the definition of what it means for forms to be sound-symbolic or reduplicated.

It is hard to argue with the central thesis of the focal article (Ruggs et al., 2016) that industrial–organizational (I-O) psychology has much to offer police departments in helping them meet their mission. As an example, the Los Angeles Police Department provides a clear statement that is representative of most police agencies:

Pterosaurs are rare components of Texas Cretaceous faunas. The best known is Quetzalcoatlus northropi, from the Javelina Formation (Maastrichtian) of Big Bend National Park, with a wingspan of some 11-12 m (Lawson, 1975; Langston, 1986; Busbey and Lehmann, 1989). Texas pterosaur specimens of less spectacular proportions include a pteranodontid partial humerus (USNM 13804) from the Eagle Ford Formation (late Cenomanian-late Turonian) of Austin (Gilmore, 1935; Bennett, 1989) and a first wing phalanx of a pterodactyloid from the Buda Formation (Cenomanian) of Hays County (Langston, 1974; Lawson, 1975). Pterosaur bones were also recorded at localities near Forestburg, Montague County (Zangerl and Denison, 1950), in the Antlers Formation (Winkler et al., 1990), although these specimens are undiagnostic hollow bone fragments.

This December issue of Cardiology in the Young represents the 11th annual publication generated from the two meetings that compose “HeartWeek in Florida”. “HeartWeek in Florida”, the joint collaborative project sponsored by the Cardiac Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, together with Johns Hopkins All Children's Heart Institute of Saint Petersburg, Florida, averages over 1000 attendees every year and is now recognised as one of the major planks of continuing medical and nursing education for those working in the fields of diagnosis and treatment of cardiac disease in the foetus, neonate, infant, child, and adult. “HeartWeek in Florida” combines the International Symposium on Congenital Heart Disease, organised by All Children's Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medicine and entering its 14th year, with the Annual Postgraduate Course in Pediatric Cardiovascular Disease, organised by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and entering its 17th year.

This December, 2013 issue of Cardiology in the Young highlights the sessions from HeartWeek 2013 that were held at The Sixth World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in Cape Town, South Africa. We would like to acknowledge the tremendous contributions made to medicine by John Brown, and therefore we dedicate this HeartWeek 2013 issue of Cardiology in the Young to him.

The first World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology was held in London, United Kingdom, in 1980, organised by Dr Jane Somerville and Prof. Fergus Macartney. The idea was that of Jane Somerville, who worked with enormous energy and enthusiasm to bring together paediatric cardiologists and surgeons from around the world. The 2nd World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology took place in New York in 1985, organised by Bill Rashkind, Mary Ellen Engle, and Eugene Doyle. The 3rd World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology was held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1989, organised by Chompol Vongraprateep. Although cardiac surgeons were heavily involved in these early meetings, a separate World Congress of Paediatric Cardiac Surgery was held in Bergamo, Italy, in 1988, organised by Lucio Parenzan. Thereafter, it was recognised that surgeons and cardiologists working on the same problems and driven by a desire to help children should really rather meet together. A momentous decision was taken to initiate a Joint World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. A steering committee was established with membership comprising the main organisers of the four separate previous Congresses, and additional members were recruited in an effort to achieve numerical equality of cardiologists and surgeons and a broad geographical representation. The historic 1st “World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery” took place in Paris in June, 1993, organised by Jean Kachaner. The next was to be held in Japan, but the catastrophic Kobe earthquake in 1995 forced relocation to Hawaii in 1997. Then followed Toronto, Canada (2001, organised by Bill Williams and Lee Benson), Buenos Aires, Argentina (2005, organised by Horatio Capelli and Guillermo Kreutzer), and most recently Cairns, Australia (2009, organised by Jim Wilkinson). Having visited Europe (1993), Asia-Pacific (1997), North America (2001), South America (2005), and Australia (2009), and reflecting the “African Renaissance”, the World Congress is coming to Africa. The 6th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery will be held in Cape Town, South Africa, from 17 to 22 February, 2013. Cape Town is a sublime and compelling African destination with irresistible appeal. The South African Heart Association is the host. Information about The 6th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery can be found at http://www.pccs2013.co.za.

Interventional cardiology for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease is a relatively young and rapidly evolving field. As the profession begins to establish multi-institutional databases, a universal system of nomenclature is necessary for the field of interventional cardiology for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the efforts of The International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease to establish a system of nomenclature for cardiovascular catheterisation for congenital and paediatric cardiac disease, focusing both on procedural nomenclature and the nomenclature of complications associated with interventional cardiology. This system of nomenclature for cardiovascular catheterisation for congenital and paediatric cardiac disease is a component of The International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code. This manuscript is the second part of the two-part series. Part 1 covered the procedural nomenclature associated with interventional cardiology as treatment for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease. Part 2 will cover the nomenclature of complications associated with interventional cardiology as treatment for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease.

Interventional cardiology for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease is a relatively young and rapidly evolving field. As the profession begins to establish multi-institutional databases, a universal system of nomenclature is necessary for the field of interventional cardiology for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of the efforts of The International Society for Nomenclature of Paediatric and Congenital Heart Disease to establish a system of nomenclature for cardiovascular catheterisation for congenital and paediatric cardiac disease, focusing both on procedural nomenclature and on the nomenclature of complications associated with interventional cardiology. This system of nomenclature for cardiovascular catheterisation for congenital and paediatric cardiac disease is a component of The International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code. This manuscript is the first part of a two-part series. Part 1 will cover the procedural nomenclature associated with interventional cardiology as treatment for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease. This procedural nomenclature of The International Paediatric and Congenital Cardiac Code will be used in the IMPACT Registry™ (IMproving Pediatric and Adult Congenital Treatment) of the National Cardiovascular Data Registry® of The American College of Cardiology. Part 2 will cover the nomenclature of complications associated with interventional cardiology as treatment for paediatric and congenital cardiac disease.