The East Mediterranean region suffers from high levels of air pollution which has a negative impact on pregnancy outcomes. This work systematically reviews the epidemiological evidence on maternal exposure to air pollution and adverse pregnancy outcomes in the region. Relevant papers and reports published between 2000 and 2014 were searched. Combinations of search terms including countries, exp...

We introduce a logic-based system which improves the performance of intelligent help systems by supplying them with plan generation and plan recognition components. Both components work in close mutual cooperation There are two modes of cross-talk between them, one where plan recognition is done on the basis of abstract plans provided by the planner and the other where optimal plans are generat...

This research was conducted in the west forest of Guilan, northern Iran. Data from various harvesting methods for 20 years were collected. Results showed that, productivity rate of round wood, pulp wood and fuel wood has had an upward trend, while rate of traditional products (lumber, sawn wood, charcoal, etc.) has had a downward trend. Production cost has been investigated in this research. Th...

Article history: Received 28 January 2015 Accepted 25 February 2015 Available online 6 March 2015

1. Little is known about the biology or conservation status of Lucanus elaphus Fabricius in North America despite well-documented declines of a related species, Lucanus cervus (L.), in Europe. This study provides information critical to developing conservation plans for L. elaphus including the species’ larval substrate requirements, genetic data and range-wide estimates of habitat suitability....

Data from the 1997 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Employer Health Insurance Survey provide new information comparing public- and private-sector employee health benefits. The federal government is ahead of other employers in adopting managed competition principles using financial incentives and consumer information to promote choosing efficient plans. Federal employees experience a $200 annual c...

Over the past two decades, a wave of hospital mergers and acquisitions has resulted in many highly concentrated hospital markets across the United States. This phenomenon has raised concerns that consolidated hospitals are using their increased bargaining power to secure higher prices from health plans, thereby adding to the nation’s already unmanageable health care costs. A report by the Rober...

Ancient trees are considered one of the most important habitats for biodiversity in Europe and North America. They support exceptional numbers of specialized species, including a range of rare and endangered wood-living insects. In this study, we use a dataset of 105 sites spanning a climatic gradient along the oak range of Norway and Sweden to investigate the importance of temperature and prec...