Any 'Consensus' based on this advantage is short-sighted in the extreme, when one considers the projections for future commodity prices. With the exception of timber, all commodities are predicted by the World Bank to fall in value in the next  years. There are in fact few current signs of social transformation in Africa. Rather, there have been signs of de-industrialisation. The growth and governance models being pursued in Africa are based on facilitating market-based actors' profit-making and capital accumulation, but generally ignore conditions that enhance production. The existing growth model is instead based on a simplistic raising of national GDPs. Little or no consideration is paid to the long-term implications of how these growth rates have been accomplished. Africa's wealth is being taken out of the continent at an exponential rate by an everdiversifying array of actors. All the while, this is being celebrated as Africa's gain. The World Bank itself recommended in  that subtracting the value of non-renewable resources through extraction gave a superior indicator of actual gains made through trade. Do that and any idea that Africa is rising collapses, as does the possibility of any 'consensus' to build on such notional gains. It is fruitful to note the difference between structural and superficial features of Africa's economies. The superficial features can be identified in the GDP figures, industry, prices, debt levels and exchange etc. The structural features are, however, less apparent and more profound as regards Africa's place in the international division of labour. There is no evidence thus far to suggest that Africa's structural profile is improving or that the continent is going through even the birth-pangs of any transformation. Of course, talk of dependency and the international division of labour are unfashionable these days. More is the pity, because if such realities were considered, talk of 'A New African Beginning' (pp. –) would be centred on addressing the real structural obstacles facing the continent and on how best to tackle the internal and external barriers to Africa's development. The author argues that we need to 'think outside of the box' (p. ), but if that means neglecting some real fundamentals and overplaying African agency, I doubt whether any 'Africa Consensus' will be realised.


ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to explain the prevalence of informal payments in the health services sector in Southern Europe using the lens of institutional theory. To evaluate whether informal payments prevail due to formal institutional failures which lead to an asymmetry between the laws and regulations (formal institutions) and the unwritten rules (informal institutions), an analysis is undertaken of 2013 Eurobarometer survey data on the propensity to make informal payments by patients in Southern Europe. A strong association is found between the extent to which formal and informal institutions are unaligned, and the prevalence of informal payments, and such payments are found to be more likely when there is a lack of modernisation of governance coupled with a low range and reach of health services provision, lower health outcomes and systems focus on curative rather than preventative health services. The theoretical and policy implications are then explored.


In order to develop green ports and reduce carbon emissions, it is advocated that ships should actively use shore power during berthing. Therefore, in order to meet the seamless grid-connected requirements of power systems on both sides of the ship and shore and stable and reliable operation of ship loads when the ship and shore are connected to the grid, this paper proposes a control strategy based on the combination of virtual synchronous generator (VSG) technology and grid-connected pre-synchronization control technology, but not coupled, to achieve seamless connection of the ship and shore and meet the stable and reliable operation of ship loads.


Volvo Aero Corporation develops and produces advanced components for aircraft engines. To fulfil the demands for lighter engines, their new product development is based on Volvo Aero's capability for light weight design, through fabrication. Fabrication, as opposed to traditional production methods of a one-piece casting, consists of smaller cast, forged and sheet metal worked parts, which are welded together. Simultaneously with this new design follows problems that need to be solved in order to stay competitive and to be able to produce their products. By working with robust tolerance design and geometry assurance, variation related problems can be avoided and thereby improve the quality of produced products. Robust tolerance design is also required in order to, avoid manual adjustments in production and thereby make it possible to increase the level of automation. In the thesis work, several case studies have been conducted in order to investigate Volvo Aero's potential to adapt to robust tolerance design methods. These studies show improvement potential for the parts tested and have been used in order to describe important work procedures and tasks. A "geometry system developer" role has been tested in a project in concept phase, were the robust tolerance design tasks and questions have been handled.


This chapter proposes a new interpretation of the words "there is a spirit for him"; one that makes sense within the astrological framework of the modified ascendant interpretation. If the allocation of numbers between the "house of light" and the "house of darkness" is astrologically the result of the ascendant zodiacal sign that is divided between the areas above and below the horizon, what then is the meaning of "spirit"? The chapter argues that "spirit" is used to refer to spirits that are related to the zodiacal signs; each of the twelve signs has a spirit. These zodiacal spirits have a close relationship with human beings from the moment of their birth. This interpretation has the advantage of explaining the different elements in the entries of the text of 4QZodiacal Physiognomy in a comprehensive manner.Keywords: 4qzodiacal Physiognomy (4Q186); Zodiacal Spirits


Market demands for new sensors for food quality and safety stimulate the development of new sensing technologies that can provide an unobtrusive sensor form, battery-free operation, and minimal sensor cost. Intelligent labelling of food products to indicate and report their freshness and other conditions is one important possible application of such new sensors. RFID systems have been used in numerous applications like asset tracking, toll collection and libraries and capability to an adverse environment. The frequency of RFRD system can vary from the lower ranges of the spectrum 135 kHZ to SHF rang at 5.875 GHZ inductive coupling and back scatter modulation are use at lower frequencies as opposite to system operating at 2.45 GHZ RF system comprises of tag, reader and host interface. This system forms LCR circuit which is described by inductance, capacitance and resistance. Milk spoilage is a result of the growth of micro-organisms that modifies the composition of the medium with the metabolic products, changing the ionic content and conductivity of milk hence, determination of milk quality is critical to maintaining food safety and human health. RFID sensors should have the ability for self-calibration and self-correction for variable ambient conditions.


a-Si:H films were prepared on glass substrates by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Chemical Vapour Deposition (DBDCVD) at mom temperature. A series of the samples were deposited by varying the deposition parameters such as the specific flux of SiH4/H2 and the discharge voltage of DBD. The results show that DBDCVD can be used to prepare a-Si:H films with a high deposition rate up to 0.34 nm/s at room temperature. Because of the high energy of DBDCVD and the deposition at mom temperature, SiH2 is the main bonding configuration of the Si-H bonds in the films. With changing SiH4 concentration, the band gap of the films can he adjusted between 1.92 eV and 2.18 eV.


The objective of constructing finite-elemental modal, carrying out finite element analysis on a certain motorcycle vehicle frames intension with FEA software ANSYS, is to provide some reasons for the disjunction of the motorcycle frame and useful parameters for vehicle design and optimum.


State-of-the-art research of the currently most significant high-temperature superconductors YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 - x (Y-123), Bi 2 Sr 2 Cu 2 O 8 + x (Bi-2212), Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 1 0 + x (Bi-2223), Tl 2 Ba 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 1 0 + δ (Tl-2223), and HgBa 2 Ca 2 Cu 3 O 8 + δ (Hg-1223) is reviewed. Phase diagrams, crystal structures, synthesis techniques, improvement of transport properties, and advanced fabrication techniques of HTSC wires (tapes) and bulk HTSCs are compiled. The current level of electric engineering applications (magnets, energy transmission cables, electrical machines, current leads, fault current limiters, magnet bearings, and others) of HTSCs is shown.


The experimental investigation on dynamic buckling of copper,aluminum and steel cylindrical shell under axial impact were carried out using Hopkinson bar and Drop hammer as the loading apparatus.Multiple buckling models are observed and the time histories of impact force were recorded.The theory of the stress wave is used to explain the effect of material parameter of the shell on the different buckling phenomena.The initial dynamic plastic buckling pattern forms within a sustained axial plastic flow while the localization of plastic strain results the dynamic progressive buckling.


Scores of federal Liberals seemed to emerge from their leadership convention expressing a measure of incredulity about what they'd just done in selecting former cabinet minister Stephane Dion to their party helm.

It took several curious turns of events for the erstwhile defender of federalism


L radiography is a well-established, decades-old radiographic examination that is a mainstay in daily patient care (1). The examination is frequently performed before total hip, knee, or ankle arthroplasty in degenerative disease (2,3). Long-leg radiographs also may be requested postoperatively as a marker for surgical outcome (4,5). Other less frequent indications include congenital, growthrelated, and posttraumatic disorders. Many orthopedic surgeons aim for a radiographic evaluation of the whole lower extremity at once as long-leg radiographs allow various measurements such as of the (vertical) axis of the legs. Typically, long-leg radiographs are taken in upright, weight-bearing, and standing positions and include both legs (6–8). Most radiography systems acquire two to three slightly overlapping radiographs ranging from the pelvis to the foot. Proprietary software stitches them together to one full overview radiograph which is then sent as a standard Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine image into the picture archiving and communication system. In this issue, Schock et al present an artificial intelligence (AI)–based method for automated analysis of longleg radiographs (9). The authors used 255 long-leg bilateral radiographs which were obtained during a 9-month period at their institution. They separated the imaging data into training, validation, and test datasets to teach their AI algorithms to measure the (vertical) leg axis on long-leg radiographs in a similar way as a human being would do it in daily clinical routine. Standard of reference was manual and software-assisted measurements performed by two radiology residents. The AI algorithm was based on a convolutional neural network and allowed measurement of the so-called hip-knee-ankle angle and the femoral anatomicmechanical angle. Results showed that both measurements could be achieved accurately and reliably across a wide range of morphologic-anatomic configurations, irrespective of the presence of orthopedic hardware. In addition, Schock et al noted that the measurements were performed more rapidly than manual measurements (9). The AI algorithm was indeed 10to 40-fold faster. This well-executed study showed an inherent limitation of AI algorithms: namely, that they may fail in certain circumstances. Schock et al stated that their "automatic segmentation was not perfect and [was] challenged by orthopedic hardware, extremity shape and position, joint degeneration, bone texture and structure, and image quality" (9). Therefore, radiologists should not trust AI algorithms blindly, and results should always be double-checked. In selected cases, manual measurements may still be necessary. However, overall, this study has shown the already high accuracy and reliability of AI-based image evaluation. This study well mimicked the daily clinical routine of radiologists. Therefore, I fully agree with the author's conclusion that their solution might be ready for use in a real clinical scenario and that it has the potential to provide radiologists relief from a time-consuming routine task (9). Of course, further research is needed to improve some weaknesses of the algorithm as addressed in this article. In addition, prior to any clinical use, clearing by the responsible authorities as a medical device is usually required. Especially the latter will be an issue for many AI developments in the future as they emerge now in all fields of radiology, and since they continue to prove their readiness for clinical use. The current publication by Schock et al is an important step in the right direction, and such articles are the building blocks required to establish AI in routine clinical practice.


Drug research nowadays follows a clear path. Therapeutic Areas (TA) of interest are defined and interest is limited to an overseeable number of TAs. A scientific target such as signal transduction, anti-allergy or immunology is then identified. Biological target research and identification is then the next step and the key to successful development of a novel therapeutic.

Recent advances in identifying the human genome have helped in understanding some biological differences between disease and health. The real answer to this question, however, may lie in Protcomics. Being able to identify abnormal proteins purely associated with a disease state allows the precise targeting of this disease. Synthesizing a novel compound is then aided by computorial chemistry and preclinical testing is further aided by proteomics to evaluate toxicology. The resulting drug candidates will be specific for diseases and the target in question. The biology of what we see as a homogenous disease appearance may found to be different on an individual level. This is likely to result in personalized therapy according to the target rather than the disease or tumour histotype.

Novartis has focused on dermatology amongst other TAs and it is here as well as in other TAs that we exploit our target search capabilities to the full. However, we also apply technologies from other TA's (oncology, transplantation, asthma research). As part of this presentation, we will therefore present the development platforms tyrosine kinase inhibition, angiogenesis inhibition, anti-allergy research, biological skin and immunology. Lead compounds of possible relevance to dermatology in all areas will be presented and we will conclude in presenting some of the data of the most advanced compound, Elidel™ (pimecrolimus).


Based on identification of the rock slope engineering geological conditions,the slope stability analysis,the design and excavation program for survey and design of construction process of Shenzhen Mawan Power Plant slope are carried out.Through the whole process of tracking and compilation of engineering geologic and physico-mechanical properties of rock,the potential instable factors that may exist after slope excavation are pointed out;and a reasonable reinforcement design is put forward.


Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of ibuprofen,pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and chlorphenamine maleate tablets for the treatment of adult common cold.Methods:Two hundred and twenty-five patients with cold symptoms were enrolled in a randomized,double blind,double-simulation,parallel controlled,multi-center study.The patients were randomized to orally receive either paracetamol pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and chlorphenamine maleate tablets 1 tablet×4 times daily(control group,n=113) or ibuprofen,pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and chlorphenamine maleate tablets 1 tablet×4 times daily(test group,n=112) for 3~5 days.The symptom score scale and the laboratory index were used to evaluate clinical efficacy and safety of the two groups.Results:The total effective rate of the control group and test group were 96.46% and 97.32%(P0.05),the total remarkable effective rate of the control group and test group were 96.46% and 96.43%(P0.05).After treatment,the first type symptoms(fever,headache) and the second type symptoms(stuffy nose,runny nose,sneezing) of both groups were significantly reduced,and the symptom score was improved significantly compared with the baseline(P0.0001),while there is no significant differences in the degree of improvement between two groups(P0.05);All the major individual symptoms and signs of the patients were significantly reduced.The common adverse reactions included drowsiness,thirsty,the increase of transaminase and dizziness.The adverse reaction rate of the control group and test group were 7.08%(8/113)and 4.46%(5/112),respectively(P0.05),and the extents of these adverse reactions were mild.Conclusion:Ibuprofen,pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and chlorphenamine maleate tablets were safe and effective for the treatment of common cold,and its safety and efficacy was equal to paracetamol pseudoephedrine hydrochloride and chlorphenamine maleate tablets.


BACKGROUND
Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) protects against alcohol-evoked cardiac dysfunction in male rodents but its role in the estrogen (E2 )-dependent hypersensitivity of female rats to alcohol-evoked myocardial oxidative stress and dysfunction is not known.

STUDY DESIGN
We addressed this question by studying the effect of cyanamide (ALDH2 inhibitor) on cardiac function, blood pressure, alcohol metabolizing enzymes (alcohol dehydrogenase, cytochrome P450 2E1, catalase and ALDH2) activities and cardiac redox status (reactive oxygen species, ROS; malondialdehyde, MDA) in the absence or presence of ethanol in female sham-operated (SO) and ovariectomized (OVX) rats.

RESULTS
Cyanamide attenuated the ethanol-evoked myocardial dysfunction (reduced dP/dtmax and LVDP) in SO rats. Ethanol, cyanamide or their combination did not alter dP/dtmax or LVDP in OVX rats. Cyanamide induced cardiac oxidative stress and abrogated the subsequent alcohol-evoked increases in ROS and MDA levels in SO rats. Neither ethanol nor cyanamide influenced ROS or MDA levels in OVX rats. Importantly, cyanamide exaggerated ethanol-evoked hypotension in SO and uncovered this hypotensive response in OVX rats, which implicates ALDH2 in the vasodilating effect of ethanol.

CONCLUSIONS
Contrary to our hypothesis, cyanamide attenuated the E2 -dependent cardiac dysfunction caused by alcohol, likely by preconditioning the heart to oxidative stress, while exacerbating the vasodilating effect of alcohol. The latter might predispose to syncope when cyanamide and alcohol are combined in females.


Cardiopulmonary complications are often described in FOP patients as a consequence of restrictive chest wall disease. Diaphragmatic respiration and chest restriction unrelated to spinal deformity or the age of disease onset have been reported earlier. (Connor et al., 1981; Kussmaul et al., 1998). Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an important complication in adults with FOP but the exact mechanism of this has not been well studied (Kaplan and Glaser, 2005). Although micrognathia and diaphragmatic breathing are already known to be common clinical problems in FOP during adolescence, formal sleep studies of affected patients have not been reported to date.


A field experiment was carried out to study the influence of sources and levels of phosphorus on growth and yield of green gram under rainfed condition. The pooled result revealed that application of 60kg P2O5/ha through single super phosphate (SSP), diammonium phosphate (DAP) and combination of SSP+MRP (Mussoorie rock phosphate) registered significantly higher dryrnatter production, number of branches and clusters. Increase in number of pods, podlength and number of seeds per pod as well as yield were also recorded in these treatments.


Implementation of a hospital-wide standardized feeding tube pathway is associated with a reduction in health care utilization Morgan K Richards, MD Chair of Supervisory Committee: Christopher Li, MD PhD University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine Epidemiology Research Associate Professor Background Relatively recent medical advances such as percutaneous endoscopic, image-guided, laparoscopic and even robotic gastrostomy tube (GT) placement have become common among pediatric patients. These minimally invasive approaches may be quick to perform and simple to complete, but they are not without subsequent complications such as infection, leakage, device malfunction, dislodgement, hemorrhage and intra-abdominal organ injury. In addition, many of the procedures require planned interventions such as tube exchanges or conversions from gastrostomy to gastrojejunostomy. We hypothesized that implementation of a hospital-wide clinical standardized work (CSW) feeding tube pathway would be associated with a reduction in hospital resource utilization. Methods We performed a retrospective cohort study comparing all children undergoing GT or gastrojejunostomy tube (GJ) placement following implementation of the hospital-wide clinical standardized work pathway (CSW) from June 1, 2013 – July 31, 2014 to those placed in a previous time period (January 1, 2010 – December 31, 2011). We limited follow up time to 365 days in both groups. Our primary outcome was the change in the rate of hospital resource utilization, defined as 1) GT/GJ-related emergency department visits, 2) planned events, or 3) unplanned events before and after implementation using adjusted Poisson regression. We also compared the time to first event between cohorts using adjusted Cox regression to understand the relative number of children requiring repeat utilization (p<0.05). Adjustment factors included age, ASA class, gender, insurance, race, comorbidities and GT/GJ at initial placement. Results Prior to CSW implementation, 145 (48.7%) devices were placed surgically, 113 (37.9%) endoscopically, and 40 (13.4%) with an image-guided technique. After implementation, 105 (73.4%) were placed surgically, 23 (16.1%) endoscopically, and 15 (10.5%) with an imageguided technique. Prior to implementation, 174/298 (58.4%) patients required additional hospital utilization compared to 58/143 (40.6%) after implementation. Poisson regression demonstrated that following implementation, the rate of resource utilization decreased by over 50% (Incidence Rate Ratio: 0.45; 95%CI 0.36-0.57; p<0.001). The risk of at least one additional feeding tube related intervention or emergency department visit was reduced by over 30% based on Cox regression (Hazard Ratio: 0.62; 95%CI 0.450.85; p=0.005). This demonstrated that fewer children required at least one repeat GT/GJrelated hospital utilization event after algorithm implementation. Conclusions Care of this complex and heterogeneous patient population is currently spread among multiple providers and specialties leading to variability in the pre-operative workup, intra-operative technique, and post operative care. Our study shows an association between a standardized approach to GT/GJ placement and decreased hospital resource utilization. Introduction: Children
  requiring
  gastrostomy/gastrojejunostomy
  tubes
  (GT/GJ)
  represent
  a heterogeneous
  and
  complex
  patient
  population
  with
  high
  resource
  utilization.
  Every pediatrician,
  specialist
  and
  subspecialist
  cares
  for
  patients
  requiring
  nutritional support.

  Multiple
  services
  place
  operative
  feeding
  tubes
  with
  significant
  practice variability.
  This
  has
  led
  to
  a
  complex
  system
  in
  which
  physician
  ownership
  for patients
  with
  feeding
  tubes
  is
  rare. Despite
  the
  fact
  that
  GT/GJ
  placement
  is
  a
  relatively
  simple
  procedure, complications
  and
  subsequent
  hospital
  utilization
  is
  frequent.
  Fascetti-‐Leon
  et
  al. found
  a
  cumulative
  incidence
  rate
  of
  complications
  after
  pediatric
  percutaneous endoscopic
  gastrostomy
  tube
  (PEG)
  placement
  of
  47.7%
  within
  24
  months
  of follow-‐up.1
  After
  surgical
  placement,
  Correa
  et
  al.
  found
  that
  20%
  of
  patients presented
  to
  the
  emergency
  department.2
  Clinic
  visit
  utilization,
  both
  planned
  and unplanned
  are
  likely
  even
  higher.2
  Major
  complications
  include
  infection,
  bowel perforation,
  hemorrhage,
  esophageal
  tear
  and
  may
  occur
  in
  as
  many
  as
  5-‐17%
  of cases.3
  Minor
  complications
  including
  granulation
  tissue,
  minor
  infection
  and
  tube dysfunction,
  which
  may
  occur
  in
  more
  than
  50%
  of
  cases.3 Beyond
  the
  risk
  of
  complications,
  GT/GJ
  placement
  is
  associated
  with
  a
  significant burden
  on
  the
  health
  care
  system.
  Clinic
  follow-‐up
  for
  wound
  care
  and
  device management,
  planned
  tube
  exchanges
  or
  conversions
  are
  some
  of
  the
  many indications
  for
  routine
  follow-‐up
  in
  this
  patient
  population.
  Current
  literature focuses
  either
  on
  a
  particular
  technique
  for
  tube
  placement
  such
  as
  endoscopic
  or fluoroscopic,
  or
  on
  a
  certain
  patient
  population
  such
  as
  children
  with
  cystic
  fibrosis or
  neurologic
  anomalies.
  There
  has
  been
  no
  report
  of
  a
  hospital-‐wide
  approach
  to this
  complex
  patient
  population. In
  response
  to
  these
  challenges,
  a
  standardized
  clinical
  work
  pathway
  was established
  at
  Seattle
  Children's
  Hospital
  to
  help
  decrease
  variability
  in
  the preoperative
  workup,
  intraoperative
  technique
  and
  postoperative
  care
  of
  patients requiring
  operative
  feeding
  tube
  support.
  The
  goal
  of
  this
  study
  is
  to
  evaluate
  and report
  the
  success
  of
  this
  program. Methods: We
  performed
  a
  retrospective
  cohort
  study
  of
  consecutive
  GT/GJs
  placed
  at
  Seattle Children's
  Hospital
  comparing
  before
  and
  after
  implementation
  of
  a
  hospital-‐wide clinical
  standardized
  work
  (CSW)
  gastrostomy
  tube
  pathway
  for
  the
  preoperative workup,
  intraoperative
  technique
  and
  postoperative
  care
  of
  patients
  requiring feeding
  tubes
  (Figure
  1).
  Prior
  to
  pathway
  implementation
  the
  process
  for gastrostomy
  placement
  was
  unstandardized.
  Almost
  any
  physician
  involved
  in
  a child's
  care
  would
  make
  the
  decision
  for
  gastrostomy
  placement
  with
  variable preoperative
  workup
  and
  frequently
  without
  input
  from
  physicians
  involved
  in
  the child's
  long-‐term
  care.
  Both
  in
  the
  outpatient
  clinic
  and
  as
  an
  inpatient
  consult,
  the services
  placing
  the
  feeding
  tubes
  (surgeons,
  gastroenterologists,
  or
  interventional radiologists)
  rarely
  participated
  in
  determining
  the
  appropriateness
  for
  feeding tube
  placement,
  if
  they
  considered
  it
  at
  all.
  Coordination
  of
  care
  was
  time
  consuming with
  little
  patient
  ownership
  throughout
  the
  process. In
  May
  of
  2013,
  we
  implemented
  a
  clinical
  standardized
  pathway
  created
  jointly
  by all
  three
  proceduralist
  teams
  with
  input
  from
  referring
  pediatric
  services.
  A
  key item
  of
  the
  implemented
  pathway
  was
  a
  preoperative
  gastrostomy
  readiness checklist
  that
  included,
  1)
  identification
  of
  a
  "Medical
  Home"
  physician-‐partner
  that oversees
  a
  dietician
  and
  therapist
  and
  ensures
  ongoing
  support
  of
  each
  child's unique
  and
  complex
  medical
  needs,
  and
  2)
  family
  and
  patient
  preparation
  with
  a nasogastric
  feeding
  trial.
  The
  feeding
  trial
  serves
  three
  purposes:
  it
  confirms gastrostomy-‐feeding
  tolerance,
  initiates
  Home
  Health
  service
  engagement,
  and verifies
  parent
  comfort
  with
  the
  equipment
  and
  that
  a
  feeding
  plan
  well
  in
  advance of
  tube
  placement
  and
  hospital
  discharge.
  Intra-‐operatively
  proceduralists
  were encouraged
  to
  use
  the
  same
  size
  and
  type
  of
  device
  at
  placement
  and
  to
  standardize the
  location
  of
  placement
  on
  the
  abdominal
  wall.
  Additionally,
  a
  post-‐operative pathway
  was
  instated,
  which
  allowed
  for
  medications
  to
  be
  used
  through
  the
  device after
  6
  hours
  and
  feeds
  to
  be
  resumed
  24
  hours
  after
  placement. The
  unexposed
  cohort
  (298
  patients,
  67.6%)
  included
  all
  consecutive
  patients
  with surgical,
  endoscopic
  or
  fluoroscopic
  GT/GJ
  placement
  from
  January
  1,
  2010
  – December
  31,
  2012.

  The
  exposed
  cohort
  (140
  patients,
  32.0%)
  included
  all consecutive
  patients
  receiving
  GT/GJ
  placement
  beginning
  after
  the
  algorithm's implementation
  from
  June
  1,
  2012
  –
  July
  31,
  2013.
  For
  the
  post-‐algorithm implementation
  period,
  success
  of
  implementation
  was
  verified
  by
  examining
  the number
  of
  patients
  with
  pathway
  activation.
  Pathway
  act


As is well known, the study conducted in the U.S. «war tactics and technology of the XXI Century» identified the importance of having information for military units, including small tactical units platoon level. In contrast to the type of reconnaissance satellites and high-altitude UAVs, have a higher level of performance, suppliers of such information should be a miniature aerial vehicles, mini-UAVs and micro-UAVs.


Background:: Reports of open-Cholecystectomy (OC) or laparoscopic Cholecystectomy (LC) under general anesthesia (GA) in the surgical treatment of gallbladder disease are common, but those performed under local anesthesia (LA) are much more limited, especially for old aged patients unfit for GA.
Objectives: This study try to show that Mini-Cholecystectomy (MC) under LA for symptomatic gallstone disease is safe and effective in old aged patients, unfit for GA. This study tried to determine the safety and success of Mini-Cholecystectomy under local anesthesia for symptomatic gallstone disease in old aged patients unfit for GA.
Methodology: ninety patients with gallstone disease scheduled for Mini-Cholecystectomy under local anesthesia were included in this prospective study in Erbil teaching hospital and sardam private hospital. Seventy-three patients were female, with a median age of 70 years (range, 50-90). All of the patients had evidence of acute cholecystitis. Mini-Cholecystectomy MC was performed by a standardized technique and under the combination of local anesthesia (1% zylocain without adrenaline) and intravenous administrations of fentanyl (0.001-0.002 mg/kg) and midazolam (0.05-0.1 mg/kg). Statistical analyses were performed using Microsoft Word Excel 2007.
Results: The median operative time was 45 minutes (range, 35-70). Local anesthesia was converted to general anaesthesia in seven patients owing to the severe discomfort caused by lysis of dense adhesions around the gallbladder, giving a success rate of 95.5%. Cholecystectomy was done successfully in 65(72.22%) patients, while cholecystostomy was performed in the remaining 25 (27.77%) patients because of the severe adhesions that rendered Cholecystectomy very difficult. The median hospital stay was 2.6 days (range, 2-7).
Conclusions: Mini-Cholecystectomy (MC) under Local anesthesia (LA) is an effective surgical procedure for old aged patients with acute calculus cholecystitis who are unfit for GA.
Recommendation: It is recommended to study a larger sample for long period to evaluate the late complications of the operation.


The article presents the opportunities and resources of the epodreczniki.pl platform in 2012-2015, 18 free e-books and 2,500 open educational resources have been prepared and made available under the Digital school project, as part of the free Creative Commons license, accessible through the open public education portal for students and teachers.


Recent advances in food insecurity classification have made analytical approaches to predict and inform response to food crises possible. This paper develops a predictive, statistical framework to identify drivers of food insecurity risk with simulation capabilities for scenario analyses, risk assessment and forecasting purposes. It utilizes a panel vector-autoregression to model food insecurity distributions of 15 Sub-Saharan African countries between October 2009 and February 2019. Statistical variable selection methods are employed to identify the most important agronomic, weather, conflict and economic variables. The paper finds that food insecurity dynamics are asymmetric and past-dependent, with low insecurity states more likely to transition to high insecurity states than vice versa. Conflict variables are more relevant for dynamics in highly critical stages, while agronomic and weather variables are more important for less critical states. Food prices are predictive for all cases. A Bayesian extension is introduced to incorporate expert opinions through the use of priors, which lead to significant improvements in model performance.


Word recognition is a challenging task faced by many applications, specially in very noisy scenarios. This problem is usually seen as the transmission of a word through a noisy-channel, such that it is necessary to determine which known word of a lexicon is the received string. To be feasible, just a reduced set of candidate words are selected. They are usually chosen if they can be transformed into the input string by applying up to k character edit operations. To rank the candidates, the most effective estimates use domain knowledge about noise sources and error distributions, extracted from real use data. In scenarios with much noise, however, such estimates, and the index strategies normally required, do not scale well as they grow exponentially with k and the lexicon size. In this work, we propose very efficient methods for word recognition in very noisy scenarios which support effective edit-based distance algorithms in a Mor-Fraenkel index, searchable using a minimum perfect hashing. The method allows the early processing of most promising candidates, such that fast pruned searches present negligible loss in word ranking quality. We also propose a linear heuristic for estimating edit-based distances which take advantage of information already provided by the index. Our methods achieve precision similar to a state-of-the-art approach, being about ten times faster.


Since a large space building has distinguished characteristics, to analyse and predict the peak load these should be considered. The existed building energy simulation cannot reflect the characteristics of large space building, especially vertical temperature distribution. Therefore, to analyse the large space building, it is inevitably used the methods which requires high knowledge skills and economic cost. The goal of this research is suggesting the peak load calculation algorithm for a large space building. With RTS(Radiant Time Series) and simplified model for predicting vertical temperature distribution, the algorithm is expected to show highly applicability with minimum input data and consisted with clear calculation process. The calculation process is composed with three steps. 1) calculation for preparing initial condition, 2) calculation of air movement, 3) calculating peak load for occupied space. With the Energyplus applying airflow network, the result of algorithm is assessed. The predicted temperature and peak load for an occupied zone at each cases are compared. The result applying proposed algorithm shows 33.64 °C at 15 hour and the peak load is 50.92 kW. In case of applying Energy plus, 35.59 °C, 63.93 kW at 16 hour is predicted. For the further research, vertical temperature measurements in large space building will be proceeded. By comparing the measured vertical temperature distribution and predicted temperature in a large space building, the algorithm will be assessed.


For advanced CMOS technology, series resistance is an important source of error in capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurement. Independent accurate determination of series resistance is generally not possible. Recently, we introduced a new C-V measurement method using time domain reflectometry (TDR). Here, we show that the TDR method also allows series resistance to be determined independently and accurately


It is increasingly evident that diversity and popularity is trend of Chinese higher education.Meanwhile,it highlights many problems in the teaching process of marketing major.The study of cooperative teaching mode(teaching-research-production) focuses on the innovation of training module,the reform of curriculum′s teaching methods and examination reform,combining professional development,scientific orientation and the industrial transformation of marketing major in application-oriented colleges,to contribute a new teaching model in the modern society.


The characteristics of echolocation signals used by the Atlantic bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and by the beluga or white whale (Delphinapterus leucas) in target detection and discrimination experiments in open waters will be discussed. Echolocation signals measured in open waters have been found to have considerably different properties than those measured in tanks. The primary reason for the differences in echolocation signals may be attributed to the use of very‐low‐intensity signals by animals in tanks and the use of higher‐intensity (> 40 dB) signals in open waters. Signals are projected in the forward direction along a narrow beam and echoes are detected by a receiving beam that overlaps the transmission beam. Acoustic properties of these signals, such as source sound‐pressure levels, signal waveform, frequency spectrum, peak frequency, bandwidth, and click intervals, will be considered. The acoustic characteristics of echolocation signals propagating from the animal's head will also be di...


Aiming at the actual disability and inaccuracy of evaluating the bogie stiffness performance,a more reasonable design scheme about innovative bogie stiffness tester was introduced.The analysis for the characteristic of hydraulic pressure servo was given based on the technical features of tester.The results show that the selection of key parts for the hydraulic pressure servo are reasonable,which are able to test the bogie stiffness objectively and accurately,the technical support for the application of the new-type bogie stiffness tester is offered.


The effect of the following factors on the chemical and geometrical modification of aerosilogel (prepared from aerosil) was studied: the physicochemical characteristics of the modifying reagent pressures, the preparation conditions for the silica surface, the reaction temperature, the reagent pressures, the duration of treatment and the method employed for the modification process. The course of the surface reaction was followed by IR spectroscopy, differential thermal analysis and adsorption. During high-pressure modification, the geometrical parameters of the porous silica structure may be changed.


Kinship was one of the first foundational principles of primate social organization to be recognized and to be viewed within an explicit evolutionary framework, specifically kin selection theory. Over time we have come to appreciate how much kinship structures and kin preferences vary between and within species, and how they are constrained by demography, life history characteristics, ecology, and mechanisms for recognizing kin. We have only recently discovered that many species are able to recognize paternal kin and to express preferences for them, but we have much to learn about how individuals do this, and how they make choices among different classes of kin and nonkin. Many potential benefits of close kin relationships have been uncovered, and some have been firmly linked to fitness benefits. Questions about kin selection versus mutualism or reciprocity as an explanation for kin preferences continue to pose challenges. Recent empirical studies support the operation of kin selection, but suggest that it may extend only within fairly narrow limits of relatedness. Much current theoretical research focuses on modeling the ways in which kinship interacts with dispersal patterns, reproductive skew, habitat saturation, and other ecological and life history patterns to produce various selective regimes related to cooperation. Some recent promising theoretical models of the origins of human social systems also rely in part on principles of kin selection and on a greatly expanded understanding of kin-related behavior in nonhuman primates.

Keywords:

kinship;
kin preferences;
kin selection;
primates;
cooperation;
mutualism;
reciprocity;
kin recognition;
human origins


I believe that some kind of reform in our educational system is drastically required. As an individual progresses from the elementary to the secondary and finally the university level, he becomes increasingly aware of the shortcomings of this system.


Hot-thermocouple method has been applied to establish the two liquid regions in RO-B2O3 (R=Sr, Ba, Ca, Mg), Bi2O3-B2O3 and PbO-B2O3 systems. Some typical photograph of two liquid phase separations could be taken. Two these systems could be described by the empirical equation, ln|X-Xc|=a+b•Eln|T-Tc|, where Xc is the critical composition, Tc is the critical temperature, and a and b are constant values for the system. The value of Xc , Tc,a and b in these systems have been reported. [Received February 4 , 1982]


Solar electric systems increase the value of homes in several ways. They can reduce or eliminate the energy operating cost of the home. They hedge against or eliminate the effect of electric rate inflation. As a component of the home, in many cases they can provide an attractive vehicle for financial investment.


The thermodynamic density of states and the density of states as obtained from the activation energy of the conductivity are calculated taking into account both linear and nonlinear electron screening. In the linear screening regime the density of states in a strong magnetic field is negative, and it is determined by electron-electron interaction. Linear screening fails when the edling factor is close to an integer. In the nonlinear screening regime the density of states is positive. The crossover between these regimes is shown to be very sharp. The quantitative results are obtained by computer modeling


Relationship between topochemical indices and anti-HIV-1 (HTLV-III) inhibitory activity of 1-alkoxy-5-alkyl-6-(arylthio)uracils has been studied. Superadjacency, an adjacency-cum-distance-based, topochemical index and Wiener's, a distance-based, topochemical index were calculated for a set of 36 1-alkoxy-5-alkyl-6-(arylthio)uracils. Resulting data were analyzed and suitable models were developed after identification of the active ranges. Subsequently, a biological activity was assigned to each of the compounds using these models and compared with the reported anti-HIV-1 activity. High accuracy of prediction was observed using these models. Statistical analysis revealed significance of the proposed models as well as a lack of correlation between the topochemical indices employed for the chosen data set.


Here, we report the magnetic properties of LaMnO3, LaFeO3 thin films and their heterostructures, fabricated using Pulse laser deposition technique (PLD) on SrTiO3(001) substrate. The crystal structure, surface morphology signifies the phase pure epitaxial growth of LaMnO3 and LaFeO3 films and their heterostructure. The magnetic characteristics of individual LaMnO3 and LaFeO3 films along with their heterostructures were studied to explore the proximity effect of the different antiferromagnets. We demonstrate that LaMnO3 thin film shows ferromagnetic signal with inconspicuous Tc. The ferromagnetic signal is stronger in case of LaMnO3 grown on buffered LaFeO3 and LaFeO3 on top of LaMnO3. The change of Tc is analyzed in heterostructures as compared to the bare LaMnO3. Additionally, our study illustrates the variation of anisotropic energy and spin flop coupling between the interface with alternate growth sequence of heterojunctions.


Abstract Birth statistics for the Johannesburg Metropolitan Region were collected for 757 151 confinements from 1969 to 1989 (467 513 Black, 194 375 White, 67 250 Coloured and 28 013 Indian confinements). From 1969 to 1978 data on the sexes of twins were also collected for 375 203 of the confinements (203 504 Black, 129 631 White, 28 253 Coloured and 13 815 Indian confinements). A twin confinement was defined as two deliveries during one confinement. Twinning rates (TRs), defined as the number of twin confinements per 1000 total confinements, were calculated per year for each population group and from 1969–1978 estimates of the relative proportions of dizygotic (DZ) and monozygotic (MZ) twins were calculated and thus the relative DZTRs and MZTRs. A significant decline in Black and Coloured TRs was observed between 1969 and 1989. A significant decline in Black DZTR but not Black MZTR was observed between 1969 and 1978, the Coloured twin sample was too small to show significant trends over this period. It is probable that the overall decline in Black twinning may be explained by a decline in the DZTR. An analysis of birth statistics for 159 748 confinements (134 504 Black and 25 244 White confinements) collected as part of a prospective study of TRs in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Region from 1988 to 1990, indicated that the Black TR continued to decline at least until the end of 1990. TRs in the Johannesburg Metropolitan Region calculated from City Health Department birth statistics collected from 1988 to 1990 were: 13.8 and 10.77 for the Black and White populations, respectively. TRs for this period calculated from the combined birth statistics of 14 hospitals, nursing homes and maternity clinics across the region were: 12.4 and 10.88 for the Black and White populations, respectively.


Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of sirolimus and tacrolimus after renal transplantation.Method PubMed,Web of knowledge,Medline and the Cochrane Library were searched with the terms and Boolean operators as "(kidney transplantation OR renal transplantation) AND (sirolimus OR rapamycin) AND (tacrclimus OR FKS06)".Results retrieved were last updated on June 9,2014.Language limit of English and Chinese only was applied.Trials were excluded if enrolling recipients of organs other than kidneys,reporting none of the outcomes in point or combining sirolimus with tacrolimus.Patient and graft survival,acute rejection and adverse events were evaluated as primary outcomes and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was an additional surrogate for renal function.Professional meta-analysis software RevMan 5.1 was employed to analyze the pooled risk ratio (RR) and mean difference (M D) followed by subgroup analysis and sensitivity analysis.Result Fifteen studies were included with 2480 patients.Patients in the sirolimus group showed an increased rate of acute rejection within one-year's follow-up 2.02 (95% CI 1.37-2.99,P<0.05) and also a higher risk of adverse events 1.31 (95% CI 1.02-1.68,P<0.05).The incidence of hyperlipidaemia was significantly higher with RR =1.75 (95% CI 1.17-2.61,P< 0.01) in the sirolimus group.The other outcomes were insignificantly different between two groups.In subgroups with ATG as immunity induction and higher sirolimus concentration (>4-8 μg/L),the difference was insignificant (P > 0.05).Conclusion This meta-analysis concluded that sirolimus showed no advantage over tacrolimus when used early after transplantation.When used with higher concentrations,or with ATG as immunity induction,the disadvantages may be avoided.More clinical evidence is needed.

Key words:
Renal transplantation ;  Immunosuppressin;  Sirolimus ;  Tacrolimus;  Meta-analysis


Laser devices have gained in importance since the eighties and they are often claimed to be omni-use instruments. Though many applications turned out to be almost impracticable, an unaltered interest in laser technology has remained to date. The broad spectrum of applications for the diode laser means that it is now the most widely used device in laser dentistry. Diode lasers offer an interesting – but not unlimited – field of application in modern dentistry. HF Laser, the new instrument in the field of soft tissue surgery will be presented. Amazing composition of high frequency (HF), diode laser and therapeutic laser (LLLT/aPDT) in the single instrument is intriguing for the clinician. Through a series of clinical cases will be present simultaneously using of all three instruments in the field of an indication. The presented cases include surgery of the soft tissues of the oral cavity (fibroepithelial polyp, inflammatory papillary hyperplasia of the palate, epulis fissuratum, granuloma gigantocellulare) and the area of periimplant diseases (treatment of periimplantitis with open and closed technique).


This paper presents a numerical simulation method developed for separated flow in cascades using Euler equations and demonstrates the Feasibility of this method MacCOrmack's two-steps explicit finite difference scheme is used to discretize the equations in conservation form,and the artificial viscosity is added to the discretized inviscid equations by means of the self-adapted filter technique.The initial separation boundary is given according to simple experimental results.The numerical simulation results including subsonic and transonic turbine cascades flow with of without separation show that the fundamental idea of this numerical method is reasonable and simple.The present stude indicates that for solving certain engineering problems it is a simple and effective tool for adding some viscosity corrections to inviscld flow model,especially the current when the Navier-Stokes equations have not been solved very effectively for verious complicated flows in turbonachinery.


In blast furnace ironmaking, efforts are made to decrease material waste due to off-gas dust. Iron ore and coke materials are blown out of the blast furnace in the form of off-gas dust. In order to decrease material losses through off-gas dust formation, it is important to understand off-gas dust formation and behaviour in the blast furnace. A blast furnace operation generally being a chaotic environment is often difficult to conduct experiments while in operation. For this reason, a laboratory scale imitation of a blast furnace with similar basic properties is usually used to conduct experiments.The possibility of building a laboratory scale test equipment to study the formation and behaviour of off-gas dust has been studied. A through study of blast furnace operation shows mechanical dust formation accounts for much of the waste due to fines generation. This dust formation occurs in the upper shaft of the blast furnace where the temperature is low. Mechanical dust is formed through mechanical wear of material due to burden decent and rotation.A pin on disc tribometer has been re-designed to be able to imitate blast furnace mechanical dust formation. Parts of the tribometer were remodelled or redesigned and other new parts were designed using CAD software and then manufactured and assembled to give a laboratory test equipment. An electric motor is used to generate the rotation of the pellets and a pressured air is supplied in a controlled manner to imitate the hot blast in the blast furnace. The system is loaded using dead weight via a lever arm to imitate the burden weight in the blast furnace. The fine dust that blows out of the equipment is designed to be collected and measured by a particle sizer device that is incorporated in the equipment. The friction values that arise from pellet/pellet and pellet/wall friction are recorded and logged using a DAQ system.At a partial demonstration made after the systems are assembled, the friction value between pellets and wall was found to be 4N. This was found using a 200N load and a motor rotational frequency of 5Hz. Although the equipment is fully functional, pellet/pellet friction value and particle size data from particle counter could not be found presented due to faulty load cell and tube fitting respectively.


CLASSICAL GUIDANCE SERVICES IMPACT PHUBBING IN CLASS VII STUDENTS OF SMP NEGERI 25 BANJARMASIN. Millennial generation is inseparable from the use of smart phones as the latest communication technology media. The negative impact that is felt from the development of smart phones is the birth of phubbing behavior which means the act of ignoring others when interacting with social communication with more focus on paying attention to cellphones. Departing from these problems, it is necessary to provide classical guidance services on the effects of phubbing. What was done in SMPN 25 Banjarmasin was based on the request of partners, namely the SMPN 25 Banjarmasin guidance teacher based on the results of developing practical conditional information in the field. Implementation of classical guidance services. To find out the description of phubbing behavior in class VII students, the Generic Scale of Phubbing (GSP) instrument is used before and after service delivery. The results of the implementation of the service showed that this classical guidance service was successful in reducing students becoming phubbing actors. It is suggested that the implementation of classical guidance services can be a preliminary study for phubbing research.


The invention discloses a circuit for testing the connectivity of chip pins. The circuit for testing the connectivity of the chip pins comprises a selection sub-circuit, N input pins and N output pins, wherein N is a natural number greater than or equal to two. The input end of the selection sub-circuit is connected with a chip body and the input pins respectively, and the output end of the selection sub-circuit is connected with the output pins. When external excitation is input to each input pin, each input pin inputs the external excitation to the selection sub-circuit, and output signals of the input pins are selected by the selection sub-circuit and output to the corresponding output pins. The circuit for testing the connectivity of the chip pins is simple in structure, the area and manufacturing cost of a chip are reduced, testing of the connectivity of the chip pins can be achieved rapidly, an external testing environment is simplified, and testing cost is reduced.


The YouTube application is one of the many social media that is often used by the public, both adults and children. The rise of YouTube applications for children is one of the problems in the world of education. Along with the increasingly rapid development of the times, of course this will have an impact on the development of children if parents continue to provide YouTube applications. This study aims to determine the impact of the YouTube application on children's cognitive development. This type of research is field research with a qualitative approach. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive method. The subjects in this study were six children aged 4-6 years and their parents (housewives). The object of research is the impact of the YouTube application on children's cognitive development. Data was collected through observation, interviews, and documentation. Data analysis uses Miles and Huberman analysis which is carried out interactively and takes place continuously. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that: the impact of the YouTube application on the cognitive development of the 6 children is, being able to recognize the letters of the alphabet, hijaiyah letters, recognizing colors, recognizing numbers and being able to count, being able to memorize, easy to imitate, learning through songs, recognizing large and small objects, and group images.


Three case studies, three years and three differing student-led methodologies. The
common factor across all three case studies is that they are informed by student
engagement and have a student-led focus. Research carried out by a team comprising
of academics, support services and students explored the use of learning technologies
in higher education with the aim of improving the learning experience for all. We
share and explore our use of; students as co-researchers, open space technology, and
students as partner methodologies to evaluate and understand the complex questions
surrounding technology enhanced learning at one institution to create clear,
understandable and actionable information that is negotiated between staff and
students. In this paper we contrast the practicalities and lessons learned of each
approach and share our developing understanding of student engagement for
evaluation and educational development.


The International Society of Pediatric Oncology (ISPO) is planning a clinical therapeutic trial on nephroblastoma in Europe. Large agreement exists on the treatment of these tumors; the principal modalities are surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. However, there are some unanswered questions as to the value of different forms of administration of radiation and chemotherapy, which we feel could best be elucidated by a prospective study in the form of a clinical trial.
 A trial has been going on in the United States for 2 years.


It introduces adaptation in intrusion detection and intrusion response.An agent-based adaptive hierarchical intrusion detection system(AAHIDS) and agent-based adaptive intrusion response system(AAIRS) are brought forth.They adjust the system resource used to detect intrusion action to realize adaptation,adapt to the variant circumstance by invoking new combination of low level detection agent dynamic and adjusting the confidence metric of these low level agent.Finally they increase the weight of the successful response,which make the response get more chance to be called to realize the adaptation of the response system.


Productivity growth in sectors that intensively use information technologies (IT) appears to have accelerated much faster in the US than in Europe since 1995, leading to the US "productivity miracle". If this was partly due to the superior management or organization of US firms (rather than simply the advantages of being located in the US geographically) we would expect to see a stronger association of productivity with IT for US multinationals (compared to non-US multinationals) located in Europe. We examine a large panel of UK establishments and provide evidence that US owned establishments do indeed have a stronger relationship between productivity and IT capital than either non-US multinationals or domestic establishments. Indeed, the differential effect of IT appears to account for almost all the difference in total factor productivity between US-owned and all other establishments. This finding holds in the cross section, when including fixed effects and even when we examine a sample of establishments taken over by US multinationals. We find that the US multinational effect on IT is particularly strong in the sectors that intensively use information technologies (such as retail and wholesale): the very same industries that accounted for the US-European productivity growth differential since the mid 1990s.


This study analyses the determinants of short-term debt financing using the generalised method of moment (GMM) of estimation to attest whether it follows a partial adjustment process. The study analyses data collected for 92 firms listed on the JSE Securities Exchange (JSE) for the period 2001 to 2010. The evidence obtained from the study suggests that firms have a target level of short-term debt and follow an adjustment process towards the target level. Spontaneous and internal resources, investment opportunities and the state of the economy play an important role in the use of short-term debt as a short-term financing instrument among the listed companies. The study recommends that managers pay particular attention to the key factors that drive the use of short-term debt because of its importance in financing working capital.


Since the first successful lung transplant operation in 1983, over 25 000 patients have received lung allografts, and worldwide lung transplantation (LTx) is now an established therapy for individuals with severe lung or pulmonary vascular disease. Despite this, the uptake of LTx as a treatment option in the Asia-Pacific region is not uniform, with considerable variation between countries. This heterogeneity reflects inherent cultural and society differences that exist between nations, but also, highlights the many ethical deliberations that transplantation in general, represents for any society. This review aims to illuminate a number of the contemporary ethical donor issues that frame the context and applicability of LTx across Asia-Pacific societies. For those countries that do have active LTx programmes, there is a growing disparity between the number of patients waiting for transplant and availability of donor lungs, reflecting that the demand for transplantable organs continues apace despite static organ donation rates. The shortage of legally donated organs has led to strenuous efforts to increase the organ donor pool. Public education initiatives that espouse the merits of organ donation as a 'Gift of Life', have unfortunately, only had minimal impact on increasing organ donation rates (http:// www.australiansdonate.org.au/11655+0+facts-andfigures.htm#, accessed June 5 2007). Beyond this, individual centres have developed novel strategies to further increase rates of LTx. These include the use of extended-criteria donor lungs, donation-after-cardiac death (DCD) retrieval of lungs (as distinct from the usual donation-afterbrain death), and living-related lobar transplants. The shortage of donor organs has also, unfortunately, led to less ethical and morally questionable practices such as organ trafficking and the use of executed prisoners as organ donors. Each of these strategies is laden with its own specific ethical challenges.


An investigation of postlarvae, early juveniles and pre-adult Indian white shrimp, Penaeus indicus H. Milne Edwards, in Ghubat Hasish Bay around Mahawt Island in the Gulf of Masirah was carried out from January 1991 to December 1992. Peak abundance of postlarvae and juveniles was observed during March and April. The size of newly recruited postlarvae ranged from 9 to 11 mm total length. The highest concentration of postlarvae and early juveniles occurred in muddy substratum covered by mangrove detritus. Postlarvae and juvenile densities varied significantly between years, seasons and habitats. The main fishery recruitment observed in late August and early September resulted from the major postlarval abundance peaks in March and April. Growth rates of postlarvae, juveniles and pre-adult shrimp of the main cohort recruited in March were calculated. During the peak fishing season (September to November), pre-adults were concentrated at depths of 3–5 m in muddy substrata south-west of Mahawt Island. An environmental impact study is recommended in this area prior to the proposed harbour development at Mahawt.


A 54-year-old woman presented with sudden headache and diplopia. Brain MRI demonstrated a space-occupying lesion within the pituitary fossa. Histological analysis revealed pituitary lymphoma. Bone marrow biopsy and abdominopelvic CT showed no evidence of the lymphoma. Pituitary lymphoma should be included in the differential diagnosis of pituitary mass even in non-immunosuppressed patients. J Korean Neurol Assoc 24(2):169-171, 2006


Carcinoids or argentaffinomas are rare tumors originating in the argentaffin cells situated at the bases of the crypts of Lieberkuhn in the gastro-intestinal tract. They are usually benign and of no clinical significance. We have, however, encountered three cases of malignant small bowel carcinoids, one at the New Haven Hospital and two at the University of California Hospital. Since no instance of a preoperative diagnosis of such tumors has been found in the literature, and since the diagnosis in our second case was made before operation, on the basis of the post-operative findings in the first case, we believe we have recognized a roentgen sign indicative of the presence of these neoplasms. In the typical case, the patient is a middle-aged man or woman, who complains of long-standing gaseous distention, bloating, periumbilical pain, and steadily increasing loss of weight. Occasionally he has diarrhea and he may have "rumbling" or "rushes" in the abdomen. The clinical picture is one of chronic and increa...


The authors propose a block adaptive algorithm for estimating the impulse response of discrete-time systems and discuss some of its properties. This algorithm, in which the performance measure is the block mean square error (BMSE), consists of block processing and orthogonal projection arithmetic and updates the adaptive filter's coefficients once for each block of data. That is, the algorithm is based on orthogonal projection to the subspace spanned by input vectors corresponding to the block index. Some fundamental theorems are derived with respect to this algorithm, and they are substantiated by computer simulations.<<ETX>>


Empirical standardisation of ball sizes in terms of Snellen letter equivalents is provided by means of a solo‐dot test applied at 20 ft. (6.1 m.) to 75 children with normal visual acuity (6/6 6/6) aged between five and seven years.


We present a greedy EM (GEM) method for training Gaussian mixture density (GMD) based acoustic models. In the proposed approach, starting from a single Gaussian, GMD is built up by sequentially adding new components. Each new component is globally selected to avoid local optima. The sequential procedure offers more control over the model structure to achieve better coverage of data. GEM also provides a natural way of integrating information criteria for model complexity selection. Experimental results on a WSJ task show that the new method performs consistently better than the conventional method in speech recognition word error rate.


We consider the set of finite sequences of length n over a finite or countable alphabet C. We consider the function which associate each given sequence with the size of the maximum overlap with a (shifted) copy of itself. We compute the exact distribution and the limiting distribution of this function when the sequence is chosen according to a product measure with marginals identically distributed. We give a point-wise upper bound for the velocity of this convergence. Our results holds for a finite or countable alphabet. The non-parametric distribution is related to the prime decomposition of positive integers. We illustrate with some examples.


In this paper, bursting strengths and pilling tendencies of a series of single jersey fabrics made from both 100 % combed cotton ring and compact yarns are investigated. According to results, structural differences between ring and compact spun yarns play significant role on fabric properties. As a result, it was seen that fabrics knitted from compact yarns have higher bursting strength and lower pilling tendency than fabrics knitted from ring spun yarns.


To all those who have responded to my Preliminary Critique of Gates' AFRICAN WONDERS: I have received an avalanche of responses since my "PRELIMINARY CRITIQUE OF GATES" went into the Internet. I am grateful for all your comments. Some ninety percent of the comments that I have received are angry, if not outraged, by Gates' television series. In fairness to Skip Gates, he himself may be receiving many more positive responses from an entirely different constituency. I have no doubt there is a significant market for WONDERS OF THE AFRICAN WORLD, but probably not at many African Studies Centers in major U.S. universities. Africanist scholars seem to be overwhelmingly critical.


A new software release of the Fenwal Amicus device is now available for red blood cell (RBC) apheresis, offering RBC exchange, RBC depletion (RBCd)/RCB exchange, and RBCd procedures. The main goal of this study was to validate the new RBCd program through the accuracy of the patient's postprocedure hematocrit (HCT) (actual end HCT) to the HCT reported by the device at the end of the procedure (target end HCT). Secondary objectives were to assess the device‐related significant adverse events, the patient's cellular losses, and the degree of device induced hemolysis.


Spectrum perception is based on the network operation of Cognitive Radios(CR),and to solve the problem of power control is the premise of both network cognitive and the normal operation of the primary user network.In this paper,on the condition that authorized users' service quality and cognitive users 'maximum power are limited,we propose a new opportunistic DF power algorithm combined the high Signal-to-Noise(SNR) of decoding forward(DF) with the opportunistic power control algorithm based on the results of spectrum perception.On the premise that primary users' optimal relay selection strategy is applied and the normal communication would not be affected,the secondary user channel SNR ratio and cognitive network capacity are improved by our algorithm.Theory and simulation results both indicate that based on the primary user' optimal relay selection strategy,the cognitive system capacity is greatly improved while eliminating the inference from secondary users to primary users.


This study assessed the effects of multi-sensory training on the understanding of the alphabetic principle in kindergarten children from low socio-economic status families. Two interventions were compared, called HVAM (visual and haptic exploration of letters) and VAM (visual exploration of letters). The interventions were conducted by either researchers or teachers. Results showed that performance in the letter recognition task and in the initial phoneme identification task were higher after HVAM training than after VAM training in kindergarten. Moreover, pseudo-word decoding scores improved more after HVAM training than after VAM training in first grade. This delayed effect on decoding was explained by the children's poor performance on some language skills necessary for reading acquisition. Visuo-haptic exploration enables the children first to increase performance on letter knowledge and initial phoneme awareness and then allowed better decoding skills. No differences were found between the interventions conducted by researchers and those conducted by teachers.


The strength of transverse flow is examined as a function of transverse momentum {ital p}{sub {ital t}} using a simple, transversely moving thermal model and a more realistic, relativistic transport model. It is shown that the {ital p}{sub {ital t}} dependence reveals useful information about the collective flow that is complementary to that obtained from the standard in-plane transverse momentum analysis. Interesting features of using the {ital p}{sub {ital t}} dependence to study the equation of state of the superdense hadronic matter formed in relativistic heavy-ion collisions are demonstrated. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}


This research attempts to investigate qualitatively and within the context of teaching of students of A'class of Gymnasium in the Odyssey and teachers who teach the Odyssey, the relationship between cognitive performance with teaching materials "Seafaring and civilizations of the Odyssey" and "Odysseus raft". The survey involved both students and teachers of the A'class of Gymnasium of a public School. The students attended a course which was constructed diversified as to course material teaching. The selected research tools included a questionnaire for teachers, a questionnaire (assessment tests) for students, students' worksheets and observation of students and the research was carried out by the researcher. The analysis of the obtained data shows that the implementation of teaching with specific teaching materials had a positive effect on performance and student learning.


Information withdrawal is one of the art for many researchers, especially extracting the images one of the most inspiring for many investigators nowadays, because the complexity of the data set. Image semantic features, because these features tell how to use the corresponding patterns during the process of editing the viedo. The video arrangements which is a formal and explicit specification of events. Specifically, an event is combination of Position, period, moving, and image capturing practise. Extracting the similar contentment from the stored data set is called interpretation template. Here, a semantic design is a mixture of little –smooth structures such color, motion and audio. This video arrangement bring the new set of information that not extracted previously.


The development of national and international standards for Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), including electronic toll collection (ETC) systems, has many political pitfalls, and even the ITS industry and its customers have been clamouring for standards to which all vendors will adhere. The Japanese began their ITS technology evaluations in 1995, as a basis for developing system specifications. In 1997, they will test their newly specified ETC system, and in 1999 they will implement it. Europe has created the four-part draft standard CEN278, with the hope that it will become an international (ISO) standard also. ITS standards development is still in its infancy in the USA, complicated by politics, vested interests, varying needs, and discrepancies between standards efforts and application priorities. Standards agencies in all three parts of the world are mapping their work onto the seven-layer Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model for computer networks, by assigning standards issues to their appropriate layers. Differences of approach in different parts of the world cause considerable difficulties. Standards committees have to penetrate installed bases and vendor biases to select the best, most flexible technology. Once ITS standard technology adopted, compliancy still needs to be implemented. For the covering abstract, see IRRD 890291.


Growth of the hind foot, head and weight were studied from birth to 150 days of age in a captive colony of P. novaaehollandiae, and development of external body features was recorded from birth to weaning. The altricial young were sparsely haired and blind at birth and a juvenile pelage was present by about 10 days. The eyes opened at 15 (13-19) days and the young were weaned during the fourth week. Instantaneous relative growth rates showed that growth (weight) during the first 40 days was multiphasic and that the growth rate changed considerably at both the opening of the eyes and weaning. The relationships of seven body measurements (head and body, head, ear, foreleg, hind leg, hind foot and tail) were compared to a linear equivalence of weight; all showed a sigmoidal relationship except that of head and body, which was a straight line. Hind foot and head length measurements of growing animals reached 90% of adult size at about 26 days, and weight at about 85 days. In Australian murids, one group grows relatively quickly and another grows slowly.


The paper briefs the harmonic contamination problem in the low voltage grid,the harmonic component limit specified in the relevant sfandard, several examples of tackling the amplifying problem of harmonies in the low voltage reactive compensation equipment and puts forward the opinions on the rational selection of voltage-reactive compensation equipment.


We investigate the implications of the ubiquity of personal mobile devices and reveal new techniques for compromising the privacy of users typing on virtual keyboards. Specifically, we show that so-called compromising reflections (in, for example, a victim's sunglasses) of a device's screen are sufficient to enable automated reconstruction, from video, of text typed on a virtual keyboard. Through the use of advanced computer vision and machine learning techniques, we are able to operate under extremely realistic threat models, in real-world operating conditions, which are far beyond the range of more traditional OCR-based attacks. In particular, our system does not require expensive and bulky telescopic lenses: rather, we make use of off-the-shelf, handheld video cameras. In addition, we make no limiting assumptions about the motion of the phone or of the camera, nor the typing style of the user, and are able to reconstruct accurate transcripts of recorded input, even when using footage captured in challenging environments (e.g., on a moving bus). To further underscore the extent of this threat, our system is able to achieve accurate results even at very large distances-up to 61 m for direct surveillance, and 12 m for sunglass reflections. We believe these results highlight the importance of adjusting privacy expectations in response to emerging technologies.


Paper [Ha1] establishes an exact mass formula for orthogonal groups with respect to a maximal lattice L over an arbitrary number field. This extends a result of Shimura [Sh4] which holds over totally real number fields, and is proved by reinterpreting his result in terms of the Tamagawa number and computing the relevant archimedian local factors. When a lattice is alone in its genus, this allows one to compute the volumes of the associated symmetric space quotients Γ\Z where Z is the symmetric space associated to the orthogonal group and Γ is the stabilizer of L. A formula of this kind is also useful in studying self-dual lattices, which are necessarily maximal. Using results of [Sh3], the mass of a general lattice can be obtained from this formula by computing the appropriate group indices, though in general this may be quite complicated. Paper [GHY] is joint work with W. T. Gan and J. Yu in which we provide a more conceptual proof of Shimura's mass formulas [Sh3, Sh4, Sh5] for a maximal totally definite quadratic/hermitian lattice L over a totally real number field F of degree d. We observe that the stabilizer of a maximal lattice at a finite place is always a maximal parahoric subgroup of the associated orthogonal/unitary group G, so by [Gr] we may associate to it canonical local measures |ωv| on Gv and associate to G a motive MG of Artin-Tate type. Using these local measures, we may construct a Tamagawa measure μ on G(A) for which by [GrG] we know ∫


A resurgence of marijuana use has intensified debate about the drug's potential harmful effects. This study suggests there are enduring adverse effects on cognitive function.

Using performance and electrophysiologic measures to test processing of auditory stimuli, investigators compared 32 young adults, who had used marijuana an average of 12 days …


Abstract The aim of the present exploration was to develop novel pH-sensitive cross-linked Gelatin/Polyvinyl pyrrolidone hydrogels using different ratios of both the polymers and to investigate the effect of polymers and degree of crosslinking on dynamic, equilibrium swelling and invitro release pattern of the model drug (captopril). Grafting polymerization technique was used for the preparation of these hydrogels using glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent. These polymeric materials were then used as model systems to envisage various important characterizations like FTIR (Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy), XRD (X-ray diffraction) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Phosphate buffers of pH 1.2, 6.5 and 7.5 were used for swelling and invitro drug release profile investigation. Different parameters like swelling analysis, porosity, sol-gel analysis, average molecular weight between crosslinks (Mc), solvent interaction parameter (χ), volume fraction of polymer (V2,s) and diffusion coefficient that affects the drug release behavior were also determined. Higher swelling and release was observed at lower pH values. FTIR spectra showed interaction between gelatin and polyvinyl pyrrolidone and successful formation of cross-linked structure. Pulsatile drug release study showed the controlled delivery of model drug. The release of drug occurred through non-fickian diffusion or anomalous mechanism. Aforementioned characterizations reveal successful formation of copolymer. pH sensitive swelling ability and drug release behavior suggest that the rate of polymer chain relaxation and the rate of drug diffusion from these hydrogels are comparable which also predicts their possible use for site specific captopril delivery.


AIAA, Theoretical Fluid Mechanics Meeting, 1st, New Orleans, LA, June 17-20, 1996 The validation of unsteady CFD codes by comparison with closed-form analytical solutions is discussed. The approach considers unsteady oscillatory solutions that grow or decay with time as in classical stability problems. The analytical solutions can be used to determine the accuracy and validity of the CFD results and can also be used as a guide in CFD applications. Two example closed-form analytical solutions are presented to demonstrate the solution procedure and are used to quantify the accuracy of unsteady CFD computations. The first example is an unsteady shear layer with heat release, and the second example considers chamber oscillations characteristic of combustion instability. The solution procedures are straightforward and may be employed on a workstation or PC at minimum computational expense. (Author)


This document is a letter from Major General John Twiggs to Edward Telfair, Governor of Georgia (1789-1793), dated September 8, 1793. Twiggs informs the governor of recent alleged attacks by unnamed Indians on the inhabitants of Greene County, Georgia. Twiggs reports that a party pursued the Indians but were forced to halt and that a block house is desired for the protection of this frontier. Further, Twiggs relays information regarding the "gallant" behavior of Captain Stokes who pursued and killed three Indians and confiscated their weapons. He refers to an extract and an affidavit, neither of which are enclosed.


The dc resistivity of fused quartz with respect to Na+ ions was measured at temperatures up to 750°C, using β-alumina as the sodium source. Heat treatment in air at 1100°C gave minima in resistivity at times which depended on the choice of either a high-OH or a low-OH glass. The initial fall in resistivity is explained by the stabilization of the glass to a more open structure and the later increase is attributed to a blocking effect of "permanent" hydroxyl groups, which slowly enter the glass as atmospheric water.


On the basis of the analysis of the tidal current and sediment character of Oujiang Estuary, the sediment carrying capacity is related to its hydrodynamic factors and sediment factors. By using of average values of several observed lines in the same cross-section togethere with the introduction of the concept of background sediment concentration, a linear regression formula of sediment carrying capacity in Oujiang Estuary has been obtained. Thus an accessorial equation for the calculation of 2-D tidal current and sediment mathematical model is provided.


Refractive errors are abnormalities of the refraction of light so that the shadows do not focus precisely on the retina resulting in blurred vision [1]. Refractive errors causing the patient should wear glasses or contact lenses in order eyesight returned to normal. The use of glasses or contact lenses in a person will be different from others, it is influenced by patient age, the amount of tear production, vision prescription, and astigmatic. Because the eye is one organ of the human body is very important to see, then the accuracy in determining glasses or contact lenses which will be used is required. This research aims to develop a decision support system that can produce output on the right contact lenses for refractive errors patients with a value of 100% accuracy. Iterative Dichotomize Three (ID3) classification methods will generate gain and entropy values of attributes that include code sample data, age of the patient, astigmatic, the ratio of tear production, vision prescription, and classes that will affect the outcome of the decision tree. The eye specialist test result for the training data obtained the accuracy rate of 96.7% and an error rate of 3.3%, the result test using confusion matrix obtained the accuracy rate of 96.1% and an error rate of 3.1%; for the data testing obtained accuracy rate of 100% and an error rate of 0.


CONTENTS I. Introduction 46 II. Short description of the methods for the preparation of pyrographite 47 III. Physicochemical processes occurring during the preparation of pyrographite 47 IV. Structure of pyrographite 50 V. Properties of pyrographite 52 VI. Uses of pyrographite 56


Abstract Accurate forecasting of a hurricane's intensity changes near its landfall is of great importance in making an effective hurricane warning. This study uses airborne Doppler radar data collected during the NASA Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes (TCSP) field experiment in July 2005 to examine the impact of airborne radar observations on the short-range numerical simulation of hurricane track and intensity changes. A series of numerical experiments is conducted for Hurricane Dennis (2005) to study its intensity changes near a landfall. Both radar reflectivity and radial velocity–derived wind fields are assimilated into the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with its three-dimensional variational data assimilation (3DVAR) system. Numerical results indicate that the radar data assimilation has greatly improved the simulated structure and intensity changes of Hurricane Dennis. Specifically, the assimilation of radar reflectivity data shows a notable influence on the thermal and hydrometeor ...


A wireless power transmitter according to an embodiment comprises: a power conversion unit for converting the strength of supplied power and outputs the same as a power signal; a transmission control unit for inspecting whether a wireless power receiver proceeds with charging in a no-load state without completing the charging, and according to the result of inspection, temporarily stopping the supply of the power signal to the wireless power receiver and resuming the supply; and a transmission coil end which has at least one transmission coil for transmitting the power signal to the wireless power receiver.


NuccI, LARRY. Conceptions of Personal Issues: A Domain Distinct from Moral or Societal Concepts. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 114-121. The study employed a series of sorting tasks with 80 subjects (age 7-20) to determine whether children and adolescents make a conceptual distinction between events defined as personal matters and issues of morality or social convention. It was found that subjects at all ages ranked moral violations as more wrong than violations of convention. Social conventional violations, in turn, were ranked as more wrong than the commission of acts in the personal domain. Reasons given for event rankings were consistent with the moral, conventional, or personal nature of acts. In other sorting tasks, subjects ranked moral transgressions as wrong even in the absence of governing rules. In the final task, subjects sorted acts in the personal domain as their own business and, as such, acts which should not be rule governed.


Experimental Forest, National Taiwan University,Taiwan., Lu Jiang Cultural and Educational Foundation, Taiwan., Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan., Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, , Czech Republic. Experimental Forest, National Taiwan University,Taiwan., Lu Jiang Cultural and Educational Foundation, Taiwan., Department of Atmospheric Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan., Department of Botany and Zoology, Masaryk University, , Czech Republic.


The growing use of computers and computer technology is creating a worldwide need for more programmers and computer professionals. The increasing complexity of programming languages and applications is demanding higher skills sets from the programmers who are being trained. Kann et al. (1997) suggest that the graphic representation of algorithms used in most textbooks are too abstract and insufficient for learners to develop the logical thinking required in computer science courses. Many programming students have problems due to a lack of understanding of conceptual and mental models (Soloway et al., 1981). This paper describes the development of an alternative teaching approach, based on constructivist learning principles, and multimedia technologies. The Dynamic Interactive Visualisation Tool in teaching C (DIVTIC), uses multimedia and visual imagery to provide learners with a step-by-step representation of program executions in the C language as a means to enhance their understanding. DIVTIC was designed around constructivist principles, and combines collaborative and visualisation learning strategies with use of the Internet and the World Wide Web to support the learning of programming. This paper will describe the conceptual framework supporting the design of DIVTIC and will report on a study which sought to explore the effectiveness of its use among a cohort of students studying introductory programming at Suranaree University of Technology (SUT) in Thailand. The paper will describe how the students used DIVTIC and will discuss how this use was able to support and encourage their learning.


The history of African decolonization discourses in the United Nations (UN) in the 20th century was replete with vested interests under the guise of moral concerns. This interest was occasioned mainly by the prevalence of the Ideological struggles better known as the 'Cold War' between West which the United States led, and the East which was led by the then Soviet Union and allies respectively. Against this background, this paper argues based on the preponderance of archival documents and relevant scholarly resources that the deep-rooted worldwide rivalry for world dominance which ensued between these power blocs after the end of the Second World War in 1945 ushered in a period of politicization of African decolonization issues in the UN from 1960 onwards. The line between egotism and empathy narrowed significantly to the extent that it became too thin to recognize. The findings of this paper show that the Cold War phenomenon significantly shaped the position taken by member states during the debates on the African colonial problem in the UN. Secondly, we conclude in this paper that from the 1960s, the UN became the battleground between the East and the West each fighting for supremacy.


Purpose: The main objective of the study was to establish the influence of organization capabilities on water service delivery in Wajir County, Kenya.Methodology: The study adopted a descriptive research design.  Findings: Results revealed that the level of financial capabilities, innovation capabilities, human resource management capabilities and leadership capabilities of the water service providers was poor. Correlation results also revealed that financial capabilities, human resource management capabilities and leadership capabilities were positively and significantly associated with water service delivery. Regression results also revealed that financial capabilities, human resource management capabilities and leadership capabilities had a positive and significant relationship with water service delivery.Unique contribution to theory, practice and policy: The Water Services Boards (WSBs) will benefit from this study by obtaining details on how organization capabilities impact on water service delivery. This will help them to help find lasting solutions to numerous external and internal challenges which hinder effective water service delivery. The Ministry of Water and Irrigation may better understand how organization capabilities influence water service delivery. In this respect the policy makers can come up with new policies which require the employees in the Water Service Boards (WSBs) be trained so as be acquitted with the relevant organization capabilities such as financial capabilities, human resource management capabilities and leadership capabilities so as to ensure sustainable water service delivery to the public. This study is also intended to add knowledge to previous studies done on organization capabilities by primarily focusing on organization capabilities in water service delivery.


This paper analyses control system and working ways of hyduaulic support face guard.A kind of new face guard control system whose side pushing jack can give full scope in all working condition is introuduced.


Of all the fields within the high technology industry, database systems is one that has changed most dramatically over the last ten years. These changes, particularly along the lines of hypermedia, will profoundly affect how all of us, not just computer scientists, will interact with, manage, create, and learn new information. If you are feeling somewhat "low-tech" and uninformed in a fast-paced, high-tech world, this book may be a good investment. It conveys to the reader both a sense of excitement about and a mastery over this evolving discipline.


OBJECTIVE
To examine differences in quality of life in patients with vestibular schwannoma following a single treatment modality: observation, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS), or microsurgery.

STUDY DESIGN
Retrospective review.

SETTING
Tertiary academic medical center.

PATIENTS
Patients diagnosed with sporadic vestibular schwannoma who had completed at least 2 Penn Acoustic Neuroma Quality of Life (PANQOL) surveys.

INTERVENTIONS
Treatment via SRS, microsurgery, or observation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
PANQOL total survey and subdomain scores.

RESULTS
One hundred and thirty-four patients (94 observations, 24 SRS, 16 microsurgeries) were included. The mean number of PANQOL surveys completed was 2.8 (range 2-5). The total PANQOL scores were significantly lower in the SRS group, but not the microsurgery group, compared with observation at the time of diagnosis (observation 550.4 ± 58.4; SRS 471.4 ± 37.4; microsurgery 492.6 ± 40.7; p = 0.03). Over time, there were no significant differences in the change of PANQOL scores across the 3 groups (SRS PANQOL score worsened 6.8/year compared with observation, p = 0.3; microsurgery PANQOL score worsened 7.8/year compared with observation, p = 0.5). Anxiety was the only subdomain that significantly worsened over time in the microsurgery group (microsurgery PANQOL score worsened 3.8/year compared with observation; p = 0.009).

CONCLUSION
Despite differences in PANQOL scores at baseline, changes in total PANQOL score over time were not found to be statistically significant, regardless of the treatment group chosen. Overall, these results hold implications for patient counseling when considering treatment choice and quality of life predictions.


A novel antipodal Vivaldi antenna operating at an ultra‐wideband of 5.2 to 40 GHz with high gain and miniaturized size is presented in this article. By introducing a pair of radiation arms with maple‐leaf edge shape, the antenna gain is increased by 1 to 3 dB over the upper operation band (10‐40 GHz) compared to the normal antipodal Vivaldi antenna (AVA). To remain the beamwidth while increasing the gain, two rows of specialized symmetrical metallized vias are loaded on the two inside edges of the exponentially slot. By loading the resistors between the top and the bottom planes, the side lobe level at E‐plane is reduced by 3 dB. This proposed maple‐leaf antipodal Vivaldi antenna (MAVA) has the miniaturization size of 0.66λg × 0.68λg × 0.003λg. According to the simulated results, the relative bandwidth of the reflection coefficient less than −10 dB is 154%, and the gain is higher than 10 dBi over the 22 to 40 GHz band with the maximum value of 14.3 dBi. The antenna design is validated by the measurements.


Cam mechanism is a machine part frequently used in machinery Specially, conjugate earn mechanism is very suitable on the high speed working and the heavy power translation Then a conjugate earn mechanism need high precision between cam profiles and follower rollers So, its design and manufacturing are very difficult Thus, this study is a branch of exclusive CAM systems for design and NC machining of conjugate earn mechanism based on a master plate earn profile in order to exchange a old plate earn mechanism to a conjugate earn mechanism For the design of the other earn profile by using a master earn profile, some calculation processes were used by vector connection methods, from master cam profile data to the center data of master follower, from the center data of master follower to the center data of the other follower considered in link mechanism, and offsetting in the center direction of base circle of the other cam from the center data of the other follower Finally, this study selected a sample conjugate cam and machined it in order to proof this study contents


Recent decades researchers' attention focuses on minimizing thermal damages of materials in high temperature applications. Even though new materials invented for those applications, the problem still exists. The cooling is imperative for such components regardless of fixed or moving. This research deals with the structural analysis of impingement cooling design as well as a showerhead cooling design on gas turbine vanes made up of CMSX-4 material. CMSX-4 is a single crystal super alloy and developed for high temperature applications. The cooling design influences the structural stability of the guide vane. The investigation includes displacement, stress and strain analyses on both designs. The Pro-E employed for computer aided modeling and ANSYS R14.5 employed for finite element analysis. The results revealed that proposed showerhead cooling design is structurally more stable than conventional impingement cooling design.