Abstract The Validity Indicator Profile (VIP(tm); Frederick, 1997) is a two-alternative forced-choice test procedure intended to identify when the results of cognitive and neuropsychological testing may be invalid because of malingering or other problematic response styles. The test consists of 100 problems that assess nonverbal abstraction capacity and 78 word-definition problems. The VIP attempts to establish whether an individual's performance in an assessment battery should be considered representative of his or her true overall capacities (valid or invalid). This paper reviews the development and cross-validation of the VIP, and the paper discusses how demonstrations of the construct validity of the VIP support a conclusion that its use as described above fulfills Daubert evidentiary standards. The author discusses the benefits of using the VIP and identifies some potential challenges for using the VIP in making decisions about the response styles of individuals who are having their cognitive abiliti...


Young coffee plants from cultivar Mundo Novo of Coffea arabica were grown without irrigation for 32 consecutive days, to evaluate the effect of leaf water potential on damage caused by low temperatures, under controlled conditions. A wide range of leaf water potentials were evaluated, from - 0.45MPa (wet soil) at the beginning of the experimental period, to - 4.8MPa (severe leaf wilting) at the end. Results showed that under moderate water stress, there was a higher frequency of undamaged plants and lower frequency of severely damaged plants. These results help explain part of the regional variability observed after a frost and stress the importance of new studies associating cold and drought tolerance in coffee.


Hydrological models are increasingly being used to assess how climate change and watershed management practices affect the hydrological processes. In this research, SWAT model was used to analyse the impact of water conservation structures and climate change on streamflow of Thuthapuzha watershed, subbasin of Bharathapuzha located in Kerala, India. Major conservation practices in the study area were modelled as ponds and Kanjirapuzha reservoir was modelled as dam.  The impact of conservation structures on streamflow was evaluated and found that monthly streamflow increased during summer season (9-17%), during which usually the river has a lean flow.  Thus, the conservation structures increase recharging and thereby helps in maintaining a better environmental flow regime. Similarly, the impact of climate change on streamflow was also analysed and the results of the future simulations of streamflow reveal that, river flow increased under all Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) scenarios with predominant increase in RCP6 scenario (37-60%) followed by RCP4.5 (13-16%) and RCP8.5 (9-16%) from 2021-2070.  For all the scenarios used in the study, due to the predicted increase in rainfall during all the three scenarios, a significant increase in streamflow was observed near the end periods of simulation.


The present invention is N2, N4- bis (4- (piperazin-1-yl) phenyl) pyrimidine-2,4-diamine derivative or a pharmaceutically prevention or treatment of cancer which contains acceptable salts and this, as an active ingredient It relates to a pharmaceutical composition for. Compounds according to the present invention such as, so the effect of suppressing the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) and Cdc42-related active kinase (ACK1, Acetivated Cdc42-associated Kinase) activity of the solid The EML4-ALK, NPM-ALK in accordance with anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) can be improved therapeutic effects on cancer cells with a fusion protein, so expected to be effective in preventing the recurrence of cancer may be useful in the prevention or treatment of a pharmaceutical composition for cancer.


Let me start with the background to the book I intend to review, before I express my negative view of it. Imre Lakatos escaped from Hungary in 1956, graduated from Cambridge in 1959, then joined the London School of Economics and stayed there till his premature death in 1974. He organized an international colloquium in the philosophy of science in 1965 in which Rudolf Carnap and Karl Popper met as friends after decades of estrangement. He thus launched Popper into the limelight, inaugurated the Popper philosophical school, and acted as its major-domo; soon he took over its leadership. He gained ever more international reputation and notoriety, then departed the scene abruptly. He left behind a magnum opus on the philosophy of mathematics, his Proofs and Refutations of 1963-64, recently republished in book form (the work is in essence his Cambridge doctoral dissertation); and a series of papers on the philosophy of science in which he purported to offer a striking new philosophy of 'the methodology of scientific research programs', as he labelled this non-existent theory; and even the label he declared his own registered trade mark. In addition there are the four volumes of the proceedings of the London International Colloquium, already mentioned, especially the already classic Kuhn volume, Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, edited by Lakatos and Musgrave, the Boston Colloquium Essays In Memory of Imre Lakatos, and now, finally, two volumes of proceedings of a conference on the Greek Island of Napfilion, which Lakatos organized but did not live to participate in, on the methodology of research appraisal in economics, edited by Spiro J. Latsis, and on the methodology of research programmes in physics, edited by Colin Howson. I have expressed in the Lakatos Memorial Volume my deep appreciation of his trail-blazing ideas concerning mathematics and mathematical education. I shall


Objective: To investigate the expression and role of microtubule-associated protein 1A/1B-light chain 3-II (LC3II) and inflammatory cytokines in in-stent restenosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). Methods: We recruited 64 CHD patients with in-stent restenosis in the observation group and an additional 64 CHD patients without in-stent restenosis as the control group. The expression levels of LC3II in the two groups were measured and compared. Changes in the serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-8 (IL-8) were evaluated. The levels of nitric oxide (NO) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were also compared between the two groups. Results: The serum levels of IL-8, IL-6, NO and VEGF in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (all P < 0.05). The expression level of LC3II in the observation group was higher than that in the control group (P < 0.05). The correlations were positive between LC3II levels and the levels of IL-8, IL-6, NO, and VEGF (all P < 0.001). Conclusion: The serum levels of IL-8, IL-6, NO, and VEGF in CHD patients with in-stent restenosis after PCI were significantly different from those in CHD patients without in-stent restenosis. These changes are involved in the pathophysiological process of in-stent restenosis and may be associated with autophagy mediated by the expression of LC3II.


Inflation swaps are used to transfer inflation risk and make inferences about the future course of inflation. Despite the importance of this market to inflation hedgers, inflation speculators, and policymakers, there is little evidence on its liquidity. Based on an analysis of new and detailed data in this post we show that the market appears reasonably liquid and transparent despite low trading activity, likely reflecting the high liquidity of related markets for inflation risk. In a previous post, we examined similar issues for the broader interest rate derivatives market.


Face validation is an informal type of validation, usually applied in the early stages of a simulation project or model development process. Face validation is used to determine the reasonableness of a model or simulation when advanced validation methods such as statistical analysis or sensitivity analysis are not applicable. In large-scale simulation projects such as warfare simulation applications, which consist of a large number and variety of models that cannot be evaluated independently and contain high levels of uncertainty, face validation should be utilized, but no standard method for face validation can be proposed. In this paper, we review the literature and practical applications of face validation. We propose a process to improve the effectiveness of face validation. The proposed process is expected to help to realize a measurable, concrete and practical face validation, especially in large-scale projects involving high-fidelity complex models and constructive simulations.


An investigation in radio and infrared wavelengths of two high-mass star-forming regions toward the southern Galactic bubble S10 is presented here. The two regions under study are associated with the broken bubble S10 and Extended Green Object, G345.99-0.02, respectively. Radio continuum emission mapped at 610 and 1280 MHz using the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope, India, is detected toward both of the regions. These regions are estimated to be ionized by early-B- to late-O-type stars. Spitzer GLIMPSE mid-infrared data is used to identify young stellar objects (YSOs) associated with these regions. A Class-I/II-type source, with an estimated mass of 6.2 M⊙, lies ∼7″ from the radio peak. Pixel-wise, modified blackbody fits to the thermal dust emission using Herschel far-infrared data is performed to construct dust temperature and column density maps. Eight clumps are detected in the two regions using the 250 μm image. The masses and linear diameter of these range between ∼300–1600 M⊙ and 0.2–1.1 pc, respectively, which qualifies them as high-mass star-forming clumps. Modeling of the spectral energy distribution of these clumps indicates the presence of high luminosity, high accretion rate, massive YSOs possibly in the accelerating accretion phase. Furthermore, based on the radio and MIR morphology, the occurrence of a possible bow wave toward the likely ionizing star is explored.


We present here the investigation of the spin-accumulation effect in magnetic nanocontacts [1] and nanobridges [3]. Spin-accumulation effect is employed to explain the huge values of magneto-resistance experimentally discovered in these structures. We present the solution of the 2D spin-diffusion problem in a magnetic nanobridge. Dependences of the magneto-resistance created by the domain wall and of the distribution of non-equilibrium spin density on the nanobridge geometry and the material parameters are presented. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)


Natural disasters prediction is a synthetical science.The problems involved in disastrous data collection,distribution of information resources,and heterogeneous information systems restrain the professional information application and information industrialization.As an innovative high performance computing environment and information services infrastructure,a grid can meet natural disasters prediction by its dynamic,distributed resources sharing and collaboration.Based on grid computing,natural disasters prediction grid(NDPG) serves for disasters prediction.The concept and characters as well as the frame system of NDPG are all introduced and discussed in this paper.The key issues of the realization of NDPG are also discussed in the same time.


Objective To investigate the value of ictal single photon emission computed tomography and VEEG in localization of epileptogenic foci for intractable epilepsy. Method The data of ictal SPECT and VEEG were reviewed from 48 patients with intractable epilepsy, all the results were analyzed and compared with each other. Surgical treatment were performed on 48 cases. Results The positive rate of ictal SPECT and VEEG localization was 94% and 96% respectively. The rate of complete coincidence of the two methods was 46% (22/48), partial coincidence was 29% (14/48). Comparing ictal SPECT with video EEG in the ratio of lateral and focal epileptic foci localization, twenty - seven of 48 patients had an Engel Class Ⅰ outcome after surgery and an additional ten patients had rare seizure (Engel Class Ⅱ), and eight patient had a decrease in seizure frequency (Engel Class Ⅲ) , no marked chang (Engel Class Ⅳ) in three patients. In Engel Class Ⅰ and Class Ⅱ outcome cases, there were 33 (out of 37) cases came from its coincidence of ictal SPECT and VEEG localization. Conclusions VEEG combined with ictal SPECT can increase the accuracy on localization of epileptogenic foci for intractable epilepsy.

Key words:
Epilepsy; Electroencephalography; SPECT


In this paper, we discuss some data from the project Conversation Table in Portuguese, developed in a university in the Southeast of China. The activity has provided the Chinese students of Portuguese as a foreign language the opportunity to interact in the target language in a less hierarchical environment comparing to what usually happens inside the classroom, where the teacher, most of the times, has the central role. The project has motivated the students to show some of their identities in the foreign language that were 'hidden' during the classes. The data will be analyzed according to the theoretical concepts of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis.


Liquid perception is critical for robotic pouring tasks. It usually requires the robust visual detection of flowing liquid. However, while recent works have shown promising results in liquid perception, they typically require labeled data for model training, a process that is both time-consuming and reliant on human labor. To this end, this paper proposes a simple yet effective framework PourIt!, to serve as a tool for robotic pouring tasks. We design a simple data collection pipeline that only needs image-level labels to reduce the reliance on tedious pixel-wise annotations. Then, a binary classification model is trained to generate Class Activation Map (CAM) that focuses on the visual difference between these two kinds of collected data, i.e., the existence of liquid drop or not. We also devise a feature contrast strategy to improve the quality of the CAM, thus entirely and tightly covering the actual liquid regions. Then, the container pose is further utilized to facilitate the 3D point cloud recovery of the detected liquid region. Finally, the liquid-to-container distance is calculated for visual closed-loop control of the physical robot. To validate the effectiveness of our proposed method, we also contribute a novel dataset for our task and name it PourIt! dataset. Extensive results on this dataset and physical Franka robot have shown the utility and effectiveness of our method in the robotic pouring tasks. Our dataset, code and pre-trained models will be available on the project page.


humanistic model and the decision-making model. The humanistic school concentrates primarilyon maintenance behaviors; that is, behaviors that "build, strengthen, and regulate group life"(Philip & Dunphy, 1959: 162). The school is characterized by a normative approach thatencourages openness and the building of trust within a group (Likert, 1961). The decision-making school concentrates on particular task behaviors, behaviors aimed at solving the group'sobjective task. Decision theorists posit that behaviors such as weighting individual inputsaccording to knowledge and skill and discussing performance strategies for novel problems(Hackman, Brousseau, & Weiss, 1976; Hoffman, 1979) will improve group performance.During preliminary interviews, salesmen frequently spoke of the importance of theirinteractions with their firm's installation and repair teams. Thus, several survey questions wereadded to pursue how teams interacted with other groups within their organization. It washypothesized that these relationships would form another dimension to the task behaviors of thegroup.The results were surprising. First, group members did not perceive process as separatinginto the traditional task and maintenance components (Bales, 1958; Philip & Dunphy, 1959;Schein, 1988). Instead, process was seen as divided into an internal and an external component;behaviors taking place among group members versus those with outsiders. Second, whileinternal group process predicted solely team-member satisfaction and team-rated performance,external process was associated only with sales revenue, i.e. an objective, external measure ofperformance. Thus, an aspect of group process that had been virtually ignored in the literaturefacilitated organizational performance indicators in ways that internal processes did not.Unfortunately, we still knew very little about what those external activities were.Our external perspective began with the simple realization that organizational groupprocess was not fully represented by internal activities. Group members interact with oneanother, but they are also proactive with outsiders; seeking information and resources,interpreting signals, and molding external opinion. Common sense suggests that causal arrowsmove in both directions from the group to the environment and back again. Thus, although the


Exoplanets around multiple-star systems are interesting targets for direct detection. However, it is difficult to suppress unwanted light from all stars in a system. For direct detection of the exoplanets around multiple-star systems, we propose using common-path visible nulling coronagraphs (CP-VNCs). CP-VNCs can suppress diffracted light from stars located on a central null fringe. In addition, a wave front control system is installed to generate a dark hole by rejecting residual stellar speckles of CP-VNCs. For this purpose, spatial light modulators (SLMs) have the ability to generate a dark hole over a wide field on the order of hundreds of λ/D (where λ is the wavelength of light and D is the telescope diameter), owing to their large number of pixels. We perform a laboratory demonstration of high-contrast observation around a binary-star system model using a CP-VNC combined with an SLM. First, we simulate a high-contrast observation over a region close to one of two stars by generating a square dark hole with side lengths of 40 λ 0/D (where λ 0 is the central wavelength of the light sources). The center of the square region was located about 35 λ 0/D and 79 λ 0/D from each star. Measurements of this first scenario find a mean contrast over the dark hole of 3.5 × 10−8. Second, observation of a region with identical separation (100 λ 0/D) from both stars is also demonstrated. In this scenario, a mean contrast of 2.0 × 10−8 is achieved over a circular dark hole with a diameter of 40 λ 0/D.


Alkali boroaluminosilicate glasses with composition of 56SiO2–20B2O3–3Al2O3–8Na2O–8K2O–5BaO containing 0–9 mol% cerium oxide (CeO2) were synthesized at 1500 °C using a conventional melt-quench method. Structural evolution of the as-prepared glasses was studied using infrared and Raman spectroscopy and the glasses' physical properties were characterized. The structural parameter based on the Yun, Dell and Bray model was revised by factoring multiple oxides, including CeO2, into the computation of the ratio of alkali oxide to boron trioxide, and was used to describe the glasses' structural states divided into three categories with 3–4% as the critical content that marks the onset of drastic variations in glass structure and properties. The addition of CeO2 below 3% are absorbed by reedmergnerite- and danburite-like groups producing one non-bridging oxygen (NBO) on the silica tetrahedrals and disconnecting tetrahedral borate [BO4] from tetrahedral silicate [SiO4]. Addition of CeO2 above 3% allows the additional oxygen to combine with reedmergnerite- and danburite-like units producing two NBOs on [SiO4] and also one or two NBOs on trigonal planar borate [BO3] at the expense of [BO4]. Further addition of CeO2 beyond 5% will cause the extra NBOs to gradually combine with the disconnected boron triangles to form boron tetrahedrals in addition to continuous depolymerization of the Si–O network. Network depolymerization, enhanced linkage by charge compensation and improved compactness because of close packing are proposed as the cause of diverse variation trends in physical properties in the presence of CeO2 below and above 3–4%, respectively. The revised structural parameter analysis is explainable by the correlation between the observed structural evolution and the physical properties, and thus, can be a useful reference for constituents' regulation of CeO2-doped borosilicate radiation resistant glasses.


Seismic sources are mostly modelled as point sources: moment tensors associated with the gradient of a Dirac distribution. Such sources contain an infinite range of scales and induce a discontinuity in the displacement wavefield. This makes the near-source wavefield expensive to model and the event location complex to invert, in particular for large events for which many point sources are required. In this work, we propose to apply the non-periodic two-scale homogenization method to the wave equation source term for both force and couple-sources. We show it is possible to replace the Dirac point source with a smooth source term, valid in a given seismic signal frequency band. The discontinuous wavefield near-source wavefield can be recovered using a corrector that needs to be added to the solution obtained solving the wave equation with the smooth source term. We show that, compared to classical applications of the two-scale homogenization method to heterogeneous media, the source term homogenization has some interesting particularities: for couple-sources, the leading term of the homogenization asymptotic expansion is dependent on the fine spatial scale, depending on the source type, only one or two first terms of the expansion are non-zero and there is no periodic case equivalent (the source term cannot be made spatially periodic). For heterogeneous media, two options are developed. In the first one, only the source is homogenized while the medium itself remains the same, including its discontinuities. In the second one, both the source and the medium are homogenized successively: first the medium and then the source. We present a set of tests in 1-D and 2-D, showing accurate results both in the far-source and near-source wavefields, before discussing the interest of this work in the forward and inverse problem contexts.


Background: In grasses, monolignols can be enzymatically preacylated and incorporated into lignin with unknown effects on lignin function. Results: The grass-specific acyltransferase enzyme OsPMT, expressed in Escherichia coli, acylated monolignols with p-coumarate. Conclusion: OsPMT likely encodes an enzyme responsible for acylation of monolignols in grasses. Significance: The identification of enzymes responsible for monolignol acylation allows for the assessment of lignin acylation. Lignin is a major component of plant cell walls that is essential to their function. However, the strong bonds that bind the various subunits of lignin, and its cross-linking with other plant cell wall polymers, make it one of the most important factors in the recalcitrance of plant cell walls against polysaccharide utilization. Plants make lignin from a variety of monolignols including p-coumaryl, coniferyl, and sinapyl alcohols to produce the three primary lignin units: p-hydroxyphenyl, guaiacyl, and syringyl, respectively, when incorporated into the lignin polymer. In grasses, these monolignols can be enzymatically preacylated by p-coumarates prior to their incorporation into lignin, and these monolignol conjugates can also be "monomer" precursors of lignin. Although monolignol p-coumarate-derived units may comprise up to 40% of the lignin in some grass tissues, the p-coumarate moiety from such conjugates does not enter into the radical coupling (polymerization) reactions of lignification. With a greater understanding of monolignol p-coumarate conjugates, grass lignins could be engineered to contain fewer pendent p-coumarate groups and more monolignol conjugates that improve lignin cleavage. We have cloned and expressed an enzyme from rice that has p-coumarate monolignol transferase activity and determined its kinetic parameters.


The Golden apple (Spondias cytherea Sonnerat or Spondias dulcis Forst), also called Otaheite apple or ambarella, native to Polynesia, belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, which includes the mango, Mangifera indica L., and the cashew, Anacardium occidentale L. Although this fruit is widely distributed in the Caribbean region, Asia and Central and South America, the use of mature-green fruits to make a drink is geographically restricted to the French West Indies (Martinique and Guadeloupe) and Grenada. Due to its slight acidity and astringency, and its olive green colour caused by the green pigments from the outer layers of the fruit, this drink is much appreciated by the consumers of these regions. However, in its present formulation, the initial green colour of fruits is poorly recovered and starch induces a detrimental whitish sediment in the final product. In order to improve the visual quality of the mature-green Golden apple drink, two strategies were used. First, for degrading starch and standardizing its content, the juice obtained after grinding and sieving was treated with an amyloglucosidase (AMG 300 L, Novozymes) at various concentrations (200 g/t - 700 g/t - 2 kg/t) for 15 min at 60°C after starch gelatinisation (64°C or 72°C - 15 min). Then, the treated juice was used to make nectars at 13°Brix, using a green powder prepared from Golden apple peels to enhance the colour of the nectars. These new formulations allowed the production of less sweet nectars with a green colour closer to that of the fresh fruit. (Resume d'auteur)


Objective: To assess the knowledge of nursing staff regarding to the technique of intramuscular injection in the ventrogluteal site before and after professional training. Method: A single center, before-and-after study was carried out between January and July 2010 in an emergency unit in Descalvado-Sao Paulo, Brazil. The research was conducted in three phases. Before the intervention, participants were required to respond a questionnaire designed to identify their theoretical knowledge about intramuscular injection techniques in the ventrogluteal


The article presents theoretical and experimental investigation on properties of a composite material based on rubber. The approach presented in this research is an experimental measurement based on spectrum analysis combined with theoretical investigation held to describe a viscous-elastic behaviour of the material. The proposed mathematical model is represented by five rheological parameters of hybrid Maxwell and Kelvin-Voigt elements and includes an optimization task for determination of the stiffness and damping coefficients. In the proposed rheological model, not only the displacements are unknown but also forces described by second-order differential equations. Validation between the experimental measurement and theoretical investigation is made based on spectrum analysis.


In this paper,the introduction of continuous casting machine for producing nonferrous alloys is presented from three aspects of type,mold and control system.The continuous casting machine for producing composite materials is also briefly introduced.Finally,the prospect of continuous casting machine for producing nonferrous alloys is expected.


A coupling theory based on characteristic modes is developed to help enhance the bandwidth of an antenna. And two important concepts, namely source-mode and mode-mode couplings, are proposed to form a core of our coupling theory. We use a dipole which loaded by lumped reactance to validate the theory.


The design, characterization, and nano-rods formation of hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC)-salicylate conjugates as macromolecular prodrugs, was described. HPMC, obtained from Zhejiang Zhongbao Imp and Exp Corp, was dried under vacuum at 110°C for 8 hr. Nanoparticles were prepared using dialysis process in which 170 mg of HPMC-salicylate sample was dissolved in 5 mL of purified DMSO and was dialyzed against distilled water for 4 days. HPMC-salicylic acid conjugates reveal the absence of sulfur in all of the samples showing that there is no introduction to tosylate groups either covalently bounded or as an impurity.


We accelerate many-flavor lattice QCD simulations using mul tiple GPUs. Multiple pseudofermion fields are introduced additively and independently for each flavor in the many-flavor HMC algorithm. Using the independence of each pseudo-fermion field and the blocking technique for the quark solver, we can assign the solver task to each GPU card. In this report we present the blocking technique for the many-flavor dynamica l QCD simulations. We investigate the effect of the blocking and the acceleration with the multiple GPUs for the Schrodinger functional simulations with Wilson SU(3) plaquette gauge action and Nf = 10 Wilson fermions. Five pseudo-fermion fields are introduced and the quark solver ta sk is distributed in the ratio of 2:3 to two GPUs. We expect a 40% timing reduction from the single GPU case and have observed a 34% timing reduction in the test simulations.


The aim of the model presented in this paper is to capture the difference in solidification behaviour of long and short freezing materials. The shrinkage defects in short freezing materials tends to be internal, as porosity, while in long freezing materials these defects tend to be external in the form of surface depressions. To achieve this, a pressure drop based 3‐D feeding flow model has been developed to evaluate shrinkage defects for casting alloys. A continuum formulation is used to describe the transport of mass, energy and momentum. It is assumed that during solidification the driving force for flow is shrinkage. A Darcy type source term has been included in the momentum equation to account for flow resistance in the mushy zone. A VOF free surface model has been used to describe shrinkage defects, i.e., external surface depressions and internal shrinkage porosities, while ensuring mass conservation. The model is used to calculate the shrinkage in a simple casting. The results shows internal and ou...


Firstly this paper reviews the mechanism and the main realization methods of stealth and anti-stealth,then tells us why meter-band radar can be used for anti-stealth,and introduces typical WN meter-band radars and the key technologies.At last,the paper discusses the main problems about applying meter-band radar to anti-stealth,such as use of polarimetric information,choosing of optimal frequency,overcoming of meter-band radar's connatural faults,and radar target recognition.


V menture capitlists confront a wide range of decisions when forming a new fund. They determine the fund's investment focus, deciding what industries, what istage of companies, and what geographic region to target. They raise capital and choose :the legal and organizational structure suitable for the fund, the managers and the investors alike. Fund managers sometimes opt to' form a Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) under a government program established in 1958 and significantly revised in 1992. Establishing a venture capital fund as an SBIC has a major impact on fundraising, a sipficant effect on investment selection, and a variety of consequences for fund structure and operation. In the deliberation over creating an SBIC, a venture capitalist must consider these questions: What makes SBIC funds different from other types of funds? Why should a venture capitalist choose to create an SBIC fund? Which qpes of venture funds benefit from the SBIC' program? Since the 1992 revisions, the SBIC program offers a good opportunity to certain types of funds in particular, early-stage and newly established funds but the: SBIC program does not always seem economically justified from the U.S. government's perspective. In effect, the SBIC program is a partnerslup between the federal government and the private sector. An SBIC is a privately managed investment company licensed and regulated by the Small Business Ahnistration (SBA). The government helps the SBIC by providmg capital over and above private money raised by the fund. In return for the use of the government's dollars, the fund must follow a myriad of SBA regulations and, of course, ultimately repay the government. While the government regulates many elements of the SBIC's operation, specific investment choices are left to SBIC managers indwiduals motivated by a profit incentive. Like virtually all venture capital funds, an SBIC earns a return by sharing in the success of the small businesses that receive its capital. Fundamentally, the government becomes an investor in each venture fund licensed under the SBIC program. Whether the government is a desirable investor depends on the fund's alternatives its ability to raise capital elsewhere and on the terms attached to the SBAs capital. Any venture capitalist's analysis, when considering the SBIC program, must include the question, "How good or bad is the government as an investor in my fund?" To answer such a query, it is essential to understand all the components of the SBIC program.


Since 2013, Google and Apple no longer allow app providers to use the persistent device identifiers (Android ID and UDID) for user tracking on mobile devices. Other tracking options provoke either severe privacy concerns, need additional hardware or are only practicable by a limited number of companies. In this paper, we present a lightweight method that overcomes these weaknesses by using the set of installed apps on a device to create a unique fingerprint. The method was evaluated in a field study with 2410 users and 175,658 installed apps in total. The sets of these installed apps are unique in 99.75% of all inspected users. Furthermore, by reducing the granularity from apps to app categories to lessen users' privacy concerns, the results remain highly unique with an identification rate of 96.22%. Since the information of installed apps and app categories on each device is freely available for any app developer, the method is a valuable instrument for app providers.


For performing phase retrieval in the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) regime more efficiently, developing polychromatic ptychography is desirable. As an alternative to the existing ptychographic information multiplexing (PIM) method, we present an another scheme where all monochromatic exit waves are expressed in terms of the amplitude of the transmission function and the thickness function of the object. Our proposed algorithm is a gradient based method and its validity is studied numerically. In addition, the sampling issue which appears in the polychromatic ptychography scheme and its influence to the reconstruction quality are discussed.


Well, nobody is talking, so it must be time to start. This is Analysis II (functional analysis), and I'm Charlie Smart, one of the faculty here. There's some administrative stuff, but it's mostly just to read the syllabus on Canvas. The grading will be 40% homework, 30% midterm, and 40% final. The midterm is. . . sometime in February, probably? I should also read the syllabus. There are no official textbooks, but there are at least three good options you could follow for the course:


As a generalization of uncertain variable, uncertain set is a set-valued function on an uncertainty space. This paper reviews a concept of uncertain set to describe "unsharp concepts" that are essentially sets but their boundaries are not sharply described. Besides, we review uncertain logic that is a methodology for calculating the truth value for uncertain propositions via uncertain set theory. In addition, this paper also reviews uncertain inference rules that derive consequences from uncertain knowledge via the tool of conditional uncertain set. c ©2014 World Academic Press, UK. All rights reserved.


Abstract In the not too distant past the name Alticola roylei was used to encompass mountain voles which are currently classified as six different species. Such wide use of the taxonomic name still blurs the lines among species of mountain voles in northern India and adjacent Pakistan. By studying museum vouchers we redefine the taxonomic and geographical scope of A. roylei, a mountain vole which is characterized by a combination of dark (hair-brown) dorsal fur and moderately long tail, bowed zygomatic arches, small bullae, and moderately complex third upper molars. Two names (lahulius and cautus) are listed as junior synonyms of roylei. We identified 19 localities as evidence on the presence of Royle's mountain vole in Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal in India. Further three localities extend the range into Nepal. The total area of the species' occurrence is estimated as 15,290 km2. Royle's mountain vole is allopatric with respect to further two mountain voles of Nepal and northern India, Alticola stoliczkanus (a single case of sympatry in Manaslu) and Aticola montosus.


The article outlined the results of sociological monitoring of the 2011-2016. social well-being and social protection of the rural population in terms of land reform in Ukraine. Analysis of the changes in the attitude of the peasants to the socio-economic, socio-political and socio-cultural processes taking place in Ukraine lately, identified the most acute problems of rural living environment, a sense of social protection in terms of land reform. Noted significant problems in ensuring the constitutional order, the protection of human rights to secure livelihoods, employment, welfare. Found that over the past years are positive changes in the attitude of farmers to purchase agricultural lands increases the share of supporters raising lands in market circulation.


Correct and efficient selection of innovative solutions is the most important part of the whole process of implementation of innovations in small businesses. In this regard, the study of the mechanism for the selection of innovative solutions based on an assessment of efficiency reserves is a vital task. In this article, using analytical methods, systematic approach, logical methods of research are analyzed and discussed various aspects of the selection process for innovative solutions. It is concluded that for the characterization of the influence of selected factors on the decision and identify efficiency reserves should use a point-factor method with the use of weight coefficients of importance.


Objective: This study evaluated the alerting, orienting, and executive attention abilities of children with ADHD and their typically developing (TD) peers using a modified version of the adult attention network test (ANT-I). Method: A total of 25 children with ADHD, Combined Type (ADHD-C, mean age = 9.20 years), 20 children with ADHD, Predominantly Inattentive Type (ADHD-I, mean age = 9.58 years), and 45 TD children (mean age = 9.41 years) matched on age and intelligence to the ADHD group completed the ANT-I. Results: As hypothesized, children with ADHD (n = 45) displayed significantly weaker alerting and executive attention than TD children (n = 45) but did not differ from TD children in orienting ability. Children with ADHD-C (n = 25) did not differ from children with ADHD-I (n = 20) on any of the three networks. Conclusions: Results supported the growing body of evidence that has found alerting and executive attention deficits in children with ADHD. (J. of Att. Dis. 2011; 15(4) 310-320)


Based on the hypothesis of a circulation between practices, men and discourses related to soccer and the various forms of violence Rwanda endured between 1990 and 1994, this article is an attempt to tell the history of this sport during the four years preceding the genocide of the Tutsi. Particularly influenced by the political context, the rise of anti-tutsi propaganda and the civil war, the evolution of soccer enables us to see in a new light the question of the creation of the Interahamwe militia, which played an important role in the massacres during the spring of 1994.


Chagas' disease (CD) is caused by infection with the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. The disease can affect the heart and/or the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, but around 70% of infected individuals remain asymptomatic in the chronic form. Organ transplantation from T. cruzi‐infected donors is often avoided because of the risk of disease transmission, previously reported after heart, kidney, or liver transplantation.


To the Editor: Rats subjected to total sleep deprivation (TSD) by the disk-over-water method develop increased energy expenditure, initial increases and subsequent decreases in body temperatures, and distinctive skin lesions. They die after 2–3 wk. The mediation of these changes is unknown ([7][1


A method for measuring diffraction preting groove profiles using a scanning electron microscope is developed. The method is to observe a photoresist well that is straight and normal to the grating grooves. It is formed by using photolithography technology for seticonductor device fabrication. Several types of diffraction gratings are ruled by applying this measurement technology to help control the groove profiles, especially of those with extremely fine and shallow grooves.


Based on the analysis of the climate change and environment change on Inner Mongolia Alashan sandy region, we hope to understand the possible effects on climate and environment of that region by the factors of climate change and human activities, and also discuss the possible reasons of the environment deterioration on that region.


Abstract : In this thesis we discuss a variety of ways in which information about topological changes (failures and restorations of links of a network) can be disseminated to the nodes of a packet switching network. We demonstrate how the use of precomputed (before the failures) structures can aid in providing swift and communications efficient methods of achieving the necessary notifications. One major result of this thesis is a new and computationally efficient method for finding such spanning trees (O(knkn) time to find k edge-disjoint spanning trees in a network with n nodes). The second major result that we provide is a way in which precomputed edge disjoint trees can be used by a distributed algorithm to effectively synchronize the nodes so that they use the same topology as a basis for routing.


The research to predict the resistance performance of the ship using the CFD analysis is increasing. For the CFD numerical analysis the computational mesh, which is proper to computational model, has to be made before the analysis is begun. In the parametric study, even though the deformation of each case is not very sharp, the whole computational mesh should be regenerated according to the conventional way. Hence, lots of effort is needed to repeated mesh generation work. To solve these problems, the automatic mesh generation method using the macro function of commercial CAD program and mesh generation program is introduced in this study. First, in the CAD program, by using the macro function and putting the deformation rate of bow and stern in lengthwise, the repeated modeling work is performed automatically. Next, the generated geometries are read by the mesh generation program and the proper mesh for the geometry is created automatically also using the macro function. The hybrid mesh which has unstructured grid near the bow and stern and structured grid in the remaining part of domain is used. The verification of the developed method is done by applying the method to predict the resistance performance of the podded propulsion cruise ship of the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME) in the cases of different length of bow and stern and pod set in different position. The author believes that the introduced method can help to make the database to optimize the resistance performance of the ship in various cases can be constructed without difficulty.


Along with the economic and social development in Korea, the national R&D programs has focused on not only economic, industrial, and commercial values but also those for basic research, environmental technologies, and social welfare which private firms rarely carry out. Public value become increasingly an important end of innovation in USA and Europe, and also in Korea national R&D puts more emphasis on public value. From this point of view, this study aims to examine the current application of public value in national R&D plan and programs of Korea and to make policy suggestions for applying the notion of public value to Korean R&D programs properly. For this purpose, firstly, this study provides rationale for employing the notion of public value and suggest the basic directions for its application by reviewing the concept and theories. Secondly, this study examines foreign and domestic cases of public value application and draws implications. Foreign cases include the US, UK, Netherlands, Germany and Denmark. For domestic case studies this study scrutinizes the programs for broadcasting, agriculture and rural economy, and public welfare and security. Thirdly, this study carries out analyses for applying the notion of public value at the levels of (1) national R&D agenda and plan (the national basic plan for science and technology), (2) national R&D planning and evaluation process, (3) related rules and guidelines, and (4) a specific R&D program, and provide some suggestions for policy improvement. This study, especially by placing emphasis on the analyses below, raises policy issues and provides policy recommendations for the application of public value. First, at the levels of (1) national R&D agenda and plan (the national basic plan for science and technology), it focuses mainly on scientific/technological and economic performance. Therefore, the notions of public value should be reflected more in the national basic plan for science and technology which contains the highest-level plans and directions for national R&D programs. At the national R&D planning and evaluation process, the evaluation criteria in preliminary feasibility test are centered around economic, technological, and policy feasibility. Hence, the notion of public value should be more included in the evaluation criteria by reforming the process, and moreover the weighting of public value should be increased for R&D programs of public technology development where public value are emphasized. At the level of rules and guidelines, qualitative evaluation recently has been more emphasized, however, the evaluation indices for social performance which is closely related with public value are mixed with those for economic values in the evaluation criteria for the national R&D programs. Therefore, it is necessary to clarify the indices for performance evaluation criteria and to revise the indices from the viewpoints of public value in the scientific, technological, economic, social, and infra-structural performances. The results from the analysis of individual programs (such as R&D programs in the health and welfare area), performance evaluation indices have not been well developed according to different types of programs and projects at the individual programs level. For instance, the social influence of new technology developments can be different according to different sub areas such as vaccination, prescription, treatment, and rehabilitation. Therefore, different evaluation measures for different influences in terms of public values must be considered. Lastly, the authors point out that this study attempts to provide policy suggestions to solve out policy problems beyond merely summarizing literature and exploring new research issues/methods. Also, the authors hope that this study can contribute to the well-working of the original nature and role of national R&D programs by suggesting that public values should be considered more for national R&D programs of Korea.


Researchers undertook a meta-analysis of the effect of treating Helicobacter pylori with eradication therapy on the subsequent occurrence of gastric cancer. Randomised controlled trials were included if the intervention consisted of seven days or more of eradication therapy, and if the control treatment was placebo or no treatment. Participants were adults who tested positive for H pylori . They were otherwise healthy and asymptomatic at baseline and were followed for two or more years. The primary outcome was the diagnosis of gastric cancer.1

Six randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. The results of the meta-analysis comparing the intervention with control treatment in the occurrence of gastric cancer were presented in a forest plot (figure⇓). Fifty one (1.6%) gastric cancers occurred in 3294 participants who received eradication therapy compared with 76 (2.4%) in 3203 control subjects (relative risk 0.66, 95% confidence interval 0.46 to 0.95).

Forest plot of randomised controlled trials of Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy: effect on subsequent occurrence of gastric cancer

Which of the following statements, if any, are true?

Statements b and d are true, whereas a , c, and e are false.

The aim of the meta-analysis was to combine the results of trials that investigated the effectiveness …


Abstract A subset Y of the general linear group
$\text{GL}(n,q)$
 is called t-intersecting if
$\text{rk}(x-y)\le n-t$
 for all
$x,y\in Y$
 , or equivalently x and y agree pointwise on a t-dimensional subspace of
$\mathbb{F}_q^n$
 for all
$x,y\in Y$
 . We show that, if n is sufficiently large compared to t, the size of every such t-intersecting set is at most that of the stabiliser of a basis of a t-dimensional subspace of
$\mathbb{F}_q^n$
 . In case of equality, the characteristic vector of Y is a linear combination of the characteristic vectors of the cosets of these stabilisers. We also give similar results for subsets of
$\text{GL}(n,q)$
 that intersect not necessarily pointwise in t-dimensional subspaces of
$\mathbb{F}_q^n$
 and for cross-intersecting subsets of
$\text{GL}(n,q)$
 . These results may be viewed as variants of the classical Erdős–Ko–Rado Theorem in extremal set theory and are q-analogs of corresponding results known for the symmetric group. Our methods are based on eigenvalue techniques to estimate the size of the largest independent sets in graphs and crucially involve the representation theory of
$\text{GL}(n,q)$
 .


Problem statement: The Conjugate Gradient (CG) algorithm which usually used for solving nonlinear functions is presented and is com bined with the modified Back Propagation (BP) algorithm yielding a new fast training multilayer a lgorithm. Approach: This study consisted of determination of new search directions by exploitin g the information calculated by gradient descent as well as the previous search direction. The proposed algorithm improved the training efficiency of BP algorithm by adaptively modifying the initial searc h direction. Results: Performance of the proposed algorithm was demonstrated by comparing it with the Neural Network (NN) algorithm for the chosen test functions. Conclusion: The numerical results showed that number of iterat ions required by the proposed algorithm to converge was less than the bo th standard CG and NN algorithms. The proposed algorithm improved the training efficiency of BP-NN algorithms by adaptively modifying the initial search direction.


Exploring the utilization of white spaces (vacant VHF and UHF TV channels) is a promising way to satisfy the rapid growth of the radio frequency (RF) demand. Although a few outdoor white space exploration methods have been proposed in the past few years, researches that focus on indoor white space exploration just emerge recently. In this paper, we propose a novel cost-efficient indoor white space exploration method by exploiting the location dependence and channel dependence of TV channels' signal strength in indoor environments. We measure the UHF TV channels in a building, and study the temporal and spatial features of indoor white spaces. Based on the extracted features, we design a cost-eficient Indoor White space EXploration mechanism, namely FIWEX. Furthermore, we build a prototype of FIWEX and extensively evaluate its performance in real world environments. The evaluation results show that FIWEX can identify 47.8% more indoor white spaces with 38.4% less false alarms compared with the best known existing solution.


Primary Hyperparathyroidism (pHPTH) is one of the common endocrine conditions usually affecting women above 45 years and it is characterised by hypercalcaemia with associated inappropriately raised circulating or normal Parathyroid Hormone (PTH). Since the widespread use of multichannel auto analysers from the beginning of the 1970s, the incidence of primary hyperparathyroidism has been rising globally. In areas where this is routinely done, the disease is being diagnosed early and usually asymptomatic; compared to areas with less routine screening like Africa, the disease usually presents with skeletal complications or kidney stone disease. This review presents an update and highlights the nuances of diagnosis as well as variants of primary hyperparathyroidism, screening for complications, localisation of tumour, treatment of symptomatic disease and asymptomatic disease, surgical approaches including post: surgical care as well as non: surgical/medical approaches. We further highlight areas of controversy and future research such as the pathophysiology and natural history of Normocalcaemic Primary Hyperparathyroidism (NPH) as well as monitoring and indications for surgery for asymptomatic disease.


Our group has developed technology for stabilizing microbubbles with phospholipid coatings (Aerosomes®‐ImaRx Pharmaceutical Corp.). The first agent (MRX‐115) is based upon lipid‐coated microspheres filled with perfluoropropane gas and is in phase III clinical trials (October, 1997) for radiology and cardiology applications. Myocardial perfusion studies show the potential for the agent to detect ischemia in patients with myocardial infarcts. Targeting ligands have been covalently bound to lipids and incorporated into the stabilizing shells on the microbubbles. The first targeted agent planned for clinical trials is MRX‐408 (perfluorobutane gas, linear hexapeptide‐RGD analog). In vitro studies show enhanced visualization of thrombi, and in vivo studies in dogs with arterial and venous thrombi show selective enhancement, even in animals injected with heparin. In vitro studies have been performed to test sonothrombolysis comparing MRX‐115 to MRX‐408 with and without urokinase. The targeted contrast agent MRX‐...


Introduction It is estimated that up to 75% of premenopausal women experience at least one premenstrual symptom and 8–20% meet clinical criteria for premenstrual syndrome. Premenstrual syndrome substantially reduces quality of life for many women of reproductive age, with pharmaceutical treatments having limited efficacy and substantial side effects. Physical activity has been recommended as a method of reducing menstrual symptom severity. However, this recommendation is based on relatively little evidence, and the relationship between physical activity, premenstrual symptoms, and premenstrual syndrome remains unclear. Methods We evaluated the relationship between physical activity and premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual symptoms among 414 women aged 18–31. Usual premenstrual symptom experience was assessed with a modified version of the Calendar of Premenstrual Experiences. Total, physical, and affective premenstrual symptom scores were calculated for all participants. Eighty women met criteria for moderate-to-severe premenstrual syndrome, while 89 met control criteria. Physical activity, along with dietary and lifestyle factors, was assessed by self-report. Results Physical activity was not significantly associated with total, affective, or physical premenstrual symptom score. Compared to the women with the lowest activity, women in tertiles 2 and 3 of activity, classified as metabolic equivalent task hours, had prevalence odds ratios for premenstrual syndrome of 1.5 (95% CI: 0.6–3.7) and 0.9 (95% CI: 0.4–2.4), respectively (p-value for trend = 0.85). Conclusions We found no association between physical activity and either premenstrual symptom scores or the prevalence of premenstrual syndrome.


An Unsteady Reynolds‐Averaged Navier‐Stokes (URANS) equation method has been applied to compute the flow over two‐dimensional smooth topography and compared with conventional RANS and large‐eddy simulation (LES) results. The URANS calculation with sufficient grid resolution near solid surface and an appropriate near‐wall model has been shown to simulate much of the large‐scale unsteadiness and some of the turbulent motion for flows with and without separation. Although the results with unadjusted model constants do not show an overwhelming improvement over a standard two‐equation model, it is demonstrated that it may be improved and, more importantly, can be generalized to a new simulation technique by refining the model, considering such factors as grid‐dependent length scales and by making a three‐dimensional calculation.


The traditional approach to clinical education has involved a series of rotations in various clinical settings. This article which concludes the medical education series, presents evidence and musters arguments for longitudinal integration of the medical curriculum.


Professional counselors must understand both psychological and neurological factors that impact human development across the life span. Despite an emerging body of literature about neurocounseling, little is known about how to integrate this information into supervision or the counseling curriculum. This article provides an overview of neuroscience topics applicable to professional counselors and recommendations for learning about neurocounseling.


Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy and clinical values of spiral CT reconstruction in traumatic skull and brain.Methods:Fifteen cases of patients with trauma were examined by spiral CT and then the source images were processed with three dimensional shaded surface display (SSD),and two dimensional MPR reconstruction on workstation.Results:The maximum intensity projection(MIP) was superior to the other reconstruction techniques in the demonstration of the fractures.The extent of epidural hematoma and relationship between hematoma and brain gyrus and sulcus were clearly documented by the reconstructed images using brain SSD software.Conclusion:The spiral CT reconstruction techniques can provide more valuable information,and facilitate the excellent performance of high ranked spiral CT.


The culture of any community is closely associated and assimilated with its history since time immemorial. Further the existence of culture is the base of history. Therefore, the craze to know the way of life of any community requires study and analysis of cultural history of that tribe deeply. If one thinks of cultural history of primitive tribes one must turn towards South Odisha, the hub of tribals. So, this Koraput region, the domain of tribals has become centre of study and research.


A system of peer-assisted tutoring was introduced to the curriculum for a 4-year, professionally-accredited degree programme in Chemical Engineering. The system involves small-group, peer-assisted tutorials (PATs) associated with specific modules. PATs were initially developed to support a core 3rd Year module in Unit Operations. For the initial pilot series of PATs, Tutors (4th Year Chemical Engineering students) were remunerated for their efforts. The PATs provided Tutees (3rd Year students) with structured opportunities to work together, solving lecturer-defined, course-related problems, facilitated by slightly senior (4th Year) students. Tutors received training in directed-questioning and group facilitation and were supported with the relevant course material. The pilot series of PATs was positively received by Tutors and Tutees, with definable benefits for both groups. Based on the success of the initiative, a 5-credit elective module (CHEN40430: 'Peer-Assisted Tutoring in Chemical Engineering') has been developed for 4th Year Chemical Engineering students. For this module, the PATs system has been expanded to include another core, 3rd Year module, in Computational Methods, where PATs are implemented as computer-based sessions. This paper reports on the development and initial implementation of the Peer Tutoring module, with specific reference to Tutor-based elements and to Tutor experiences. Tutors reported improved understanding of the relevant engineering principles, increased confidence in group facilitation and a sense of satisfaction in supporting others in their learning. There is potential for implementation of the system in other Engineering curricula.


Silicon heterojunction solar cell technology (HJT) takes advantage of ultra-thin amorphous silicon layers deposited on both sides of monocrystalline silicon wafers, enabling excellent silicon wafer surface passivation resulting in high device power output and in addition to efficient use of thin wafers. A full cell processing platform was developed in our laboratory, enabling to achieve > 22 % cell efficiency. Advanced concepts for metallization and interconnection are under study, from fine-line printing combined with SmartWire interconnection to Copper plating. Importantly, we show that the HJT technology intrinsically enables high bifaciality of the cells (> 95 %), and further demonstrates a low thermal coefficient (<; 0.2 - 0.3 %/°C). The high performance of heterojunction cells and SmartWire interconnection based modules allow for very low cost of electricity for Heterojunction based solar systems, with a potential below 6 Euro cents per kWh in Europe, bringing photovoltaics as a very competitive electricity source. It further provides upgrade potential towards 24 % cell efficiency.


To the Editor. —In a recentArchivesarticle entitled "The Ocular Manifestations of Behcet's Disease" (95:1813-1817,1977), by Colvard et al, numerous manifestations were listed in the series of 32 patients. I would like to add an additional manifestation of Behcet's disease to the list: retinal neovascularization. I have seen three patients with Behcet's disease who had retinal neovascularization in addition to other ocular findings. When retinal neovascularization is present in Behcet's disease, vitreous hemorrhage may occur and can cause permanent visual loss and other secondary disorders, such as retinal fibrosis, and retinal traction detachment. Therefore, I would add this finding to the list of ocular manifestations because of its serious nature and potential tn cause blindness.


Objective To investigate the protective effect of ischemic precorditioning (IP) in patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI). Methods Analyze the clinical data of 84 patients with AMI, in which 35 cases suffered with angina pectoris before AMI, and 49 cases without angina pectoris(NAP) before AMI. Results Cardiac funcation Killip Ⅲ-Ⅳ occurred in 5 cases(14.29%) in the AP group, and 22 cases(44.9%) in NAP group(x2=8.77, P0.01); paroxy small ventricular tachycardia was seen in 5 cases (14.29%) in AP group AP, and 17(34.69%) in NAP group (x2=4.398, P0.05); ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation was seen in 2(5.7%) in NAP group and 11(22.45%) in NAP group(x2=4.37, P0.05). Conclusions The occurrence of angina pectoris before AMI can protect the heart by IP, which can improve the patient's cardiac fuaction and reduce ventricular arrhythmin and death.


In this paper, we characterize the class of distributions on an homogeneous Lie group $\fN$ that can be extended via Poisson integration to a solvable one-dimensional extension $\fS$ of $\fN$. To do so, we introducte the $s'$-convolution on $\fN$ and show that the set of distributions that are $s'$-convolvable with Poisson kernels is precisely the set of suitably weighted derivatives of $L^1$-functions. Moreover, we show that the $s'$-convolution of such a distribution with the Poisson kernel is harmonic and has the expected boundary behaviour. Finally, we show that such distributions satisfy some global weak-$L^1$ estimates.


The context for the paper is an evolving study exploring how use of coercion informs mental health care professionals and their practice. The immediate background for the study is that use of coercion within mental health care in Norway, and other countries, is under increased scrutiny. Attention has been brought to a variety of practices and different degrees of transparency related to use of coercive measures among service providers. This leaves pressing questions, which call for exploration: What informs the moral deliberation made prior to using coercion and how does the experience of using coercion inform the self-understanding of the professional and thus future decision-making processes pertaining to the use of coercive measures?


ABSTRACT In this exploratory study, we tested the relevance of social learning, rational choice, and social control theories as explanations of "dining and dashing," an act that has substantial financial implications for the restaurant industry yet one that has received almost no empirical attention. Dine and dash is defined as people using a food and/or beverage service that is expected to be paid for and leaving the premises with no intention of returning to pay. Using a survey sample of 358 undergraduate and graduate students from a Canadian university, we found partial support for social learning and rational choice theories. Individuals who knew someone else who had dined and dashed were more likely to dine and dash themselves (social learning theory) (OR = 17.85, p < .001). When a person thought they would suffer consequences (e.g., paying a fine), they were less likely to dine and dash (rational choice theory) (OR = 0.76, p < .001). Those who considered the benefits of dining and dashing were more likely to dine and dash (OR = 1.24, p < .01). No variables drawn from social control theory were related to dining and dashing.


Objective:To investigate the impact and mechanism of the effective components recipe of Yangxintongmai Formula(YT-Ⅱ) on angiogenesis of endothelium of rat with myocardial ischemia.Methods:The endothelial cell derived from the myocardial ischemic rat model was cultured and divided into YT-Ⅱ group and controlled groups including Yangxintongmai formula(YT I)group,Shexiang-baoxin wan(SBW) group,b-FGF group,normal saline(NS) group and blank control group.Then the interference action on the "proliferation","migration" and "lumen formation" of endothelial cells in every group was observed and compared.Results:The YT-Ⅱ and b-FGF can improve the process of angiogenesis significantly,and better than other groups(P0.01 all).The proliferation rate,migration rate and lumen formation rate presented with the trend of b-FGF groupYT-Ⅱ groupYT-I groupSBW groupNS groupblank control group;There was no significant difference between YT-Ⅱ group and b-FGF group(P0.05).Conclusion:The results indicated that YT-Ⅱ can more stimulate "proliferation","migration" and "lumen formation" of endothelial cells,improve the angiogenesis of ischemic myocardium.


This article concentrates on the discrete-time sliding mode control (DTSMC) problem for uncertain networked semi-Markovian switching systems (S-MSSs) under random denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The semi-Markovian kernel (SMK) approach is utilized such that the switching among different modes is mutually governed by the transition probability and the sojourn-time distribution function. Considering randomly occurring DoS attacks, a sliding mode function related to the attack probability is constructed to analyze the impact of malicious attacks. Then, sufficient conditions under the equivalent DTSMC law are derived in view of the $\sigma $ -error mean square stability criterion. Furthermore, the synthesis problem of the proposed DTSMC law ensures that the resulting closed-loop system dynamics can be driven onto the prespecified sliding region within a limited time. Finally, an electronic throttle control system is shown to validate the proposed algorithm.


This paper presents an efficient statistical analysis method for periodically switched linear (PSL) circuits with normally distributed element values in the frequency domain. The method employs a First Order Second Moment (FOSM) method to estimate the mean and variance of the frequency response of PSL circuits. In addition, it utilizes a new multistep numerical Laplace inversion algorithm to efficiently calculate the zero-state and zero-input responses of PSL circuits. The method has been implemented in a computer program. The effectiveness and computational efficiency of the method are examined by comparing the accuracy and CPU time of the method with those of brute force approaches and Monte Carlo simulation on example circuits.


Chair of the Super Review Panel, Jeremy Cooper SF Fin, explains why efficiency matters in superannuation and outlines the benchmarks for the system that he says will ensure it produces the best possible retirement incomes for all Australians.


Background:  All recent guidelines recommend a search for asthma utilizing both specific interrogation and pulmonary function tests in patients suffering from allergic rhinitis. Although the mandatory place of spirometry has not been confirmed, a self‐questionnaire containing nine specific questions on asthma symptoms in different daily life situations was found to be capable of discriminating asthmatics from nonasthmatics in a rhinitic population.


High frequency equivalent circuit of CC-CB amplifier circuit is built with controlled source of EWB software,the gain of source voltage,the amplitude frequency response,and the cutoff frequency are derived with simulation,the results are similar with those of building voltage equations of voltage in S domain and solve them by MATLAB.With the convenience of MATLAB of programming,the relation curve between the amplitude of gain of source voltage and the capacitance of collector junction for CC and CB combination circuits,the conclusion was made that the capacitance of junction of CB combination circuit is larger.The amplitude frequency character of CC,CB and CC-CB combination circuits are compared under condition that the value of capacitance impedance is limited,the relationship between the multi-stage amplifier with multi-stage cutoff frequency is verified,and a new method is proposed to analyze the frequency response of different amplifier circuits.


It has been reported from this laboratory (1) that a deficiency of vitamin C in guinea pigs leads to changes in carbohydrate metabolism, as evidenced by glycosuria, a diabetic type of the glucose tolerance curve, and depletion of the glycogen content of the liver. We have also found that there is a fall in the insulin content of the pancreas (2), an increase in the size and also the number of islets, and degranulations of the p-cells of the pancreas (3) of scorbutic guinea pigs. It is well known that adrenalin and insulin produce opposite glycemic effects (Cori and coworkers (4, 5)). It was therefore of particular interest to examine the effect of scurvy on the adrenalin content of the adrenal glands of guinea pigs. McCarrison (6) reported that the adrenalin content of the adrenals of scorbutic guinea pigs is decreased. Ohata (7) also noted a definite reduction in the adrenalin content of the adrenal glands of scorbutic guinea pigs and presented evidence that this was not purely an effect of inanition. Deutsch and Schlapp (8) likewise reported a decrease in the adrenalin content of the adrenal glands of guinea pigs in scurvy. Mouriquand and Leulier (9), however, found no lowering of the adrenalin content of the adrenals of guinea pigs in avit,aminosis C. Guha (10) also observed no change in the adrenalin content of the adrenals of scorbutic guinea pigs. In view of the conflicting data cited above it was decided to reinvestigate the adrenalin content of the adrenal glands of scorbutic guinea pigs. A preliminary report of this work has been published elsewhere (11).


The article covers the process of forming preconditions, genesis and further development of dissident concepts in the Russian history. Using a vast historiographic material, the authors analyze and characterize the streamlines of the non-censored historic thought in the USSR in the 1950s 1980s. The authors have found that within each streamline a considerably minor group of like-minded people played a key role and managed to set forward paradigm bases for revising the official version of the Russian history. Rejection of the 1917 model of Russias historic development is indicated as an factor uniting different streamlines.


In recent years, Blockchain technology has been highly valued and disruptive. Several researches have presented a merge between blockchain and current application i.e. medical, supply chain, and e-commerce. Although Blockchain architecture does not have a standard yet, IBM, MS, AWS offer BaaS (Blockchain as a Service). In addition to the current public chains i.e. Ethereum, NEO, and Cardeno; there are some differences between several public ledgers in terms of development and architecture. This paper introduces the main factors that affect integration of Artificial Intelligence with Blockchain. As well as, how it could be integrated for forecasting and automating; building self-regulated chain.


In this work, a novel representation system for symbolic music is described. The proposed representation system is graph-based and could theoretically represent music both from a horizontal (contrapuntal) and from a vertical (harmonic) point of view, by keeping into account contextual and harmonic information. It could also include relationships between internal variations of motifs and themes. This is achieved by gradually simplifying the melodies and generating layers of reductions that include only the most important notes from a structural and harmonic viewpoint. This representation system has been tested in a music information retrieval task, namely melodic similarity, and compared to another system that performs the same task but does not consider any contextual or harmonic information, showing how the structural information is needed in order to find certain relations between musical pieces. Moreover, a new dataset consisting of more than 5000 leadsheets is presented, with additional meta-musical information taken from different web databases, including author, year of first performance, lyrics, genre and stylistic tags.


The paper presents a variational formulation for a junction between collinear rectangular and circular waveguides coupled through a rectangular slot in the common transverse wall. The equivalent circuit, taking the effect of wall thickness into account, is determined. Numerical results on admittance loading, the reflection coefficient and the input VSWR are evaluated, and a comparison between the theoretical and experimental results on the variation of the VSWR with frequency is presented.


This paper presents a CORBA based framework for universal personal computing (UPC) where nomadic computing on the Internet is supported for both mobile users and mobile terminals. In the UPC environment, a mobile user, identified by a globally unique logical identifier, can access computing resources anywhere on the Internet, using any available mobile or stationary terminal attached to any network supporting UPC services. CORBA, a middleware enabling platform independent distributed object-based computing, provides a natural framework to support the UPC environment. Using CORBA technology, computing resources can be modeled as distributed objects scattered around the Internet, and access to these objects is facilitated by CORBAservices and CORBAfacilities. We first define an object-oriented model for the UPC system in which UPC components such as user agent, user terminal agent, user profile, terminal profile, and initial agent are specified as a set of distributed objects. We then describe the necessary interactions among these objects to enable various UPC services, such as user registration and authentication. The interactions between objects are performed through CORBA, which allows objects to locate each other dynamically. Finally, we discuss our implementation efforts currently in progress.


Abstract. We propose an overdrive (OD) technology to precisely compensate for the temperature-dependent response characteristics of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). The optical responses of LCDs are highly dependent on ambient temperature. After analyzing the optimized OD values, the new OD technology uses simple calculation logic instead of bulky OD lookup tables to obtain OD values of rising transitions over a wide range of ambient temperatures. We also show that it is possible to automatically adjust the optimum OD values depending on the ambient temperature. The results show that the proposed OD technology can improve motion image quality without any motion artifacts regardless of the ambient temperature. We expect that our proposed OD technology will ensure that LCD products have a consistent motion image quality regardless of the ambient temperature without any increase in cost.


Around 12,000 deaths in acute hospitals in England each year could be prevented, suggests an analysis of the country's hospital mortality figures.


Self-supervised learning has significantly improved the performance of many NLP tasks. In this paper, we highlight a key advantage of self-supervised learning when applied to data generated by topic models, self-supervised learning can be oblivious to the specific model, and hence is less susceptible to model misspecification. In particular, we prove that commonly used self-supervised objectives based on reconstruction or contrastive samples can both recover useful posterior information for general topic models. Empirically, we show that the same objectives can perform competitively against posterior inference using the correct model, while outperforming posterior inference using misspecified model.


Aims:  A simple DNA macroarray system was developed for detection of antibiotic resistance and other marker genes associated with the multidrug‐resistant food pathogen Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serotype Typhimurium DT104.


Reduction* Let G be any finite group. A finitely generated Gmodule M is quotient of a finitely generated G-free module L. The kernel K is Z-ΐΐee, and since the cohomology of L is zero with respect to all subgroups of G, K is a dimension shift of M. The standard dimension shifting module P = ZG/(Sa) is Z-free, so K(g)P is a Z-ϊree G-module having the same cohomology as M with respect to all subgroups of G.


This paper applies n-person cooperative game theory to analyze the efficient cost allocation problem of a three communities contructing a common sewage system.


We examine whether receiving a government R&D grant stimulates or crowds out a firm's own R&D spending in Chinese manufacturing industries. Using a database that spans the population of large and medium size privately owned Chinese manufacturing firms for the period from 2007 to 2011, a matching estimator and a matching and difference in‐differences estimator, we find a large firm R&D promoting effect of government R&D: receiving a government R&D grant led to a 4 to 9‐million‐yuan increase in a firm's own R&D expenditures. This is a significant effect since the average R&D expenditures ranged from 5 to 9 million yuan in the year before receiving the grant. To understand the mechanisms behind this effect, we compare the before‐ and after‐treatment performance and behaviour of the treated and the control firms. We find that the government R&D receiving firms became more profitable following their receipt of the grant. We also find that receiving a government R&D grant increases the likelihood of a firm continuing its R&D performance after receiving the initial grant.


Abstract
Kidney is one the organs that has an important function in the body. These functions include regulating the concentration of salt in the blood, and regulating the balance of acid base and the excretion of excess salt.Design Of this study was analytic with total Random Sampling. Research that uses descriptive quantitative type using cross sectional. This researcher only observed and measured variables without giving treatment. Cross sectional design or cross-sectional study, researchers only make observations and measure variables at one time. The Sampling in this study. The sampling in this study were 30 respondents who underwent hemodialysis. The amount was obtained based on data on the number of patients. The results of the analysis of the relationship of diet adherence with the quality of life of hemodialysis patients at Hospital using the chi square test. From table 4.4 the chi suare correlation test results obtained sig (2-tailed) values with the results of 0.003 p value <0.05 to 0.003 <0.05 showed a relationship between diet compliance with quality of life. Data generated from the bivariate analysis of respondents who comply with good quality of life were 14 respondents (66.7%), while respondents who were not compliant and with less quality of life were 4 respondents (44.4%).
Key word: Diet, Kidney Failure, Quality Of Life, Hemodialysis


Everybody loves good dreams. Think about what a nice dream is like: you fly to wherever you want; you float over some soft clouds, watching red leaves failing from the heaven. Being in one's own world, no one needs to be practical.As we are awake, there is still a world full of dreams, a fantasy world for us to escape from the real depressing, serious, dark life.


Let SD,L,A denote the regulated solution set of the linear partial differential equation where A is a matrix function of t,D is a constant diagonal matrix and L is a linear scalar differential operator which commutes with any A. If D is nonsin-gular, then for any pair of regulated matrices A and B there is a Fredholm map independent of L, from S D,L,A to S D,L,B which preserves initial values for all A and B. If S o D,L,A denotes the subset of S D,L,A with zero initial conditions, there is another Fredholm map independent of L, from S o D,L,A to S o D,L,B which preserves constant values of the solutions. These results are extended to the case where D is constant and diagonal, but may be singular


Following the 2000 Sydney Olympics and the introduction of testing for erythropoietin in elite athletes, it became apparent that many athletes had reverted to blood doping using homologous and autologous transfusions. The Science and Industry Against Blood doping research consortium approached Dr Nelson at RPAH to determine if a test could be developed to detect recent blood transfusions. A grant was provided by the US Anti-Doping Agency to develop a flow cytometric assay which detects the expression of a panel of minor blood group antigens. Most blood bank reagents are IgM and are not satisfactory as they cause aggregation. A series of IgG polyclonal antibodies were sourced and the optimal titre of each antibody to detect minor negative and positive red cell populations in in vitro mixtures was determined. The test was validated by four Sydney flow cytometry laboratories who tested unknown samples in a proficiency exercise. In April 2004, IOC, WADA and ATHOC agreed to introduce the test into the Athens laboratory in time for the 2004 Olympics with assistance from RPAH. From May till August, RPAH sourced suitable antibodies, performed antibody titrations, provided a standard operating procedure, consulted daily with both the Athens lab and the Anti-doping lab in Lausanne and conducted a series of 3 Proficiency Testing exercises for both labs. No false positives were found in 254 antibody/sample test combinations. The Athens lab used a panel which included antibodies to C, c, E, Jka, Jkb, Fyb, Fyb, M, N and S. Reagents for anti s, K and e were also provided by RPAH. Two weeks before the Games, the lab personnel moved into the IOC Athens Testing lab. A total of 350 endurance athletes were tested. This included placegetters plus randomly selected competitors.


Soil Organic Carbon(SOC) in forest played a crucial role in carbon cycling of terrestrial ecosystems,which was a hot issues in the researches on global climate changes.Chinese fir(Cunninghamia lanceolata) plantation was the typical regional vegetation in subtropical China at present.In this study,evergreen broad-leaved forest was used as the control,and the effect of different management practices on carbon mineralization,soil microbial characteristics and carbon pool management index(CMI) in Chinese fir plantation was analyzed.The results showed that with the comparison of pure Chinese fir,mixed mode and rotation mode of Chinese fir and Michelia macclurei significantly increased the content of soil microbial biomass carbon(MBC),microbial quotient,easily oxidized organic carbon and CMI,improved the efficiency of substrate utilization by soil microbial community,and achieved the sustainable management of Chinese fir plantation ecosystem.Easily oxidized organic carbon could be used as an effective indicator of soil carbon pool quality.


How does br ain chemistry affect morality? Simple observations and introspection reveal that people sometimes feel motivated to help others, but not always. Moral sentiments are diverse and dynamic: they differ between individuals, and within individuals over time. This observation suggests that moral sentiments could be shaped by neuromodulators, brain chemicals that modify neuronal dynamics, excitability, and synaptic function. Here I will review recent studies examining how the neuromodulator serotonin influences moral judgment and behavior. In our work, we focused on serotonin for several reasons (Crockett et al. 2008). If one were to engineer a neurotransmitter system for the purpose of governing something as complex as moral behavior, one would want a system that is evolutionarily old yet easily modifiable, widely distributed in the brain, with many receptor subtypes to allow for maximum flexibility in control of behavior. The serotonin system fulfills all of these requirements (Insel and Winslow 1998), and has been implicated in regulating a wide range of social behaviors across species. In both primates and humans, serotonin function tends to covary positively with "prosocial" behaviors, such as grooming, cooperation, and affiliation, and tends to covary negatively with "antisocial" behaviors such as aggression and social isolation (Higley and Linnoila 1997; Higley et al. 1996; Higley et al. 1996; Knutson et al. 1998; Krakowski 2003; Linnoila et al. 1983; Moskowitz et al. 2001; Raleigh et al. 1991). Such prosocial and antisocial behaviors are likely precursors to human morality (Brosnan and Waal 2012; Proctor et al. 2013; Stevens et al. 2005). OUP UNCORRECTED PROOF – FIRSTPROOFS, Tue May 24 2016, NEWGEN


Objective To observe the clinical effects of secondary Trans urethral resection of bladder tumour( TURBt) on superficial bladder tumor.Methods 60 cases of transurethral resection of bladder tumor patients were selected and divided into two groups.In control group,30 patients were treated by TURBt and intravesical mitomycin chemotherapy only after operation.In observation group,30 patients were treated by TURBt and by secondary TURBt 4 weeks after first operation.Patients were also treated by intravesical mitomycin chemotherapy after operation.The effects of the two groups were compared.Results All patients were followed for six months or more,average( 13.5 ± 4.6) months.The total recurrence rate of observation group was lower than control group( P 0.05).The recurrence rate of high-grade tumour of observation group was also lower than control group( P 0.05).Conclusions Trans urethral resection of bladder tumour can significantly reduce the recurrence rate of superficial bladder tumors and can staging tumors,found residual tumors more accurately.It is worth for generalization.


Purpose Displaced talk, or talk about past or future events, is a common form of interaction for social closeness. Some school-age children with autism spectrum disorder are restricted in their use...


ABSTRACT I argue that educators, by introducing young people to various ways of responding to wrongdoing, help prepare them for the task of acting in and taking responsibility for the world. I begin by (a) introducing Hannah Arendt's understanding of the world, the characteristics of action as unpredictable, boundless and irreversible, i.e. the frailty of human affairs. I then move to (b) what Arendt calls the 'power of forgiveness.' Forgiving is an action, and as such is free and unpredictable. Moreover, (c) forgiving concerns the person not the deed. To understand the implications of this, I introduce Arendt's understanding of being a person in distinction to being merely human. I then ask whether all deeds are forgivable, which brings me to (d) the new crime against humanity. Finally, I ask (e) whether one can be reconciled to acts, such as genocide and whether solidarity with the wrongdoer is possible.


A group of insect growth regulators, the chitin synthesis inhibitors (CSIs), are being more widely used as many insects have become resistant to broad‐spectrum insecticides. This study investigated the mode of action of one CSI, particularly looking at the delayed effect of treating adult insects on the survival and development of their progeny. The study describes the responses of adult stored grain beetles Sitophilus oryzae (L.) (Curculionidae) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Bostrichidae) to wheat treated with chlorfluazuron. For both species, wheat treated with chlorfluazuron reduced progeny survival at a constant rate from 1 day to 8 weeks after it had been treated. There was a direct, negative concentration‐time relationship between the treatment of the adults with chlorfluazuron‐treated wheat and the survival and developmental rate of their progeny. Adults that were pre‐exposed for one or more weeks before oviposition to wheat treated with chlorfluazuron had significantly lower progeny survival than adults that were not pre‐exposed. The EC95 values were 16‐fold higher for R. dominica and 40‐fold higher for S. oryzae from assays without pre‐exposure, than with pre‐exposure. Pre‐exposure of R. dominica with 0.1 mg kg−1 and of S. oryzae with 0.4 mg kg−1 of chlorfluazuron reduced progeny survival by 95%. Higher concentrations of chlorfluazuron produced a reduction in mean population developmental time of several days. These findings have important implications for bioassays of CSIs, since pre‐exposure of the adults can significantly reduce the numbers of F1 progeny. Therefore standard bioassays may seriously underestimate the efficacy of the CSI being assayed.


The PEEK material has been applied to a sliding bearing system in a power plant system because of its high mechanical durability. In the solid friction of the PEEK materials, the frictional heat becomes the important factor because the temperature increasing due to the frictional heat causes the rapidly increasing of the frictional coefficient of the specimen. In order to maintain the low frictional coefficient of the PEEK materials, the effective cooling method for the PEEK materials needs to be developed. In this study, the passive cooling method, which attaches the heat sink to the PEEK materials, was suggested. For evaluating the suggested cooling method of the PEEK materials, the calculation model adopting OpenFOAM, which is the open source software, has been developed. Adopting some functions and library of OpenFOAM, the frictional heat, heat resistance, and heat transfer coefficient on the heat sink were modeled. The sliding bearing experiment was conducted and time variation of the temperature and friction coefficient in the ring specimen were measured. The temperature variation in the ring specimen was compared with the calculation result. From the numerical calculation results, the developed calculation model could simulate the temperature time variation of the ring obtained in the experiment, when variation of the frictional coefficient, heat resistance, and heat transfer coefficient were modeled appropriately. Finally, the calculation predict ability using OpenFOAM in the considered situation was evaluated.


The present study was carried out to study the performance of durum and bread wheat genotypes in relation to grain filling process, under water and heat stresses. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with three replicates at Fuka Research Station, Faculty of Desert and Environmental Agriculture, Matrouh Governorate (North West Coast of Egypt) in 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 winter seasons. Environmental conditions were considered as the main plots and included four environments (normal, drought, heat, heat and drought conditions). Sub plots were assigned to fourteen durum and bread wheat genotypes. The results revealed significant variations between studied environments for number of grains per spike (NGS), one-hundred grain weight (HGW) and grain yield (GY). However, number of fertile tiller (NFT) was insignificantly influenced by environments. Wheat varieties significantly differed for the studied four traits, whereas, the environment x variety interaction significantly influenced NFT and GY only in both seasons. Grain yield, as an average of the two seasons, was reduced by 26.03, 43.07 and 58.28 percentages at drought, heat and combined drought and heat, respectively, compared to normal conditions. All wheat genotypes suffered with application of combined drought and heat stresses in both seasons. Wheat genotypes varied in their response to heat stress conditions where Beni suef 3 and Sohag 3 (durum wheat) and Sids 1 and Giza 168 (bread wheat) showed comparatively higher tolerance to heat stress. In addition, stability analysis revealed a differential response of wheat varieties (b value) to individual or combined drought and heat stress.


Objectives: In this paper, a novel attempt has been made to develop anionic waterborne polyurethane with antibacterial properties. Methods/Analysis: To achieve this goal, a one-pot synthesis was used to incorporate silver nanoparticles into the Waterborne Polyurethane (WPU) via a combination of reduction of silver ions and polymerization reactions. This silver/waterborne nanocomposite was applied as a modifier for preparing antimicrobial viscose fabric with enhanced coloration and fastness properties. Findings: A bacterial reduction of 100% is observed during the antibacterial activity tests of the nanocomposites for both Escherichia coli and Candida albicans. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) was used to confirm the formation of Ag nanoparticles in WPU. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM-EDX) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) were used to verify the presence of silver/waterborne composites layers. Exploration of the fastness properties and the color strength (K/S) of colored viscose fabrics were also performed. Novelty/Improvement: The obtained results can be considered as a measure of the degree of the interaction between dyes such as cationic and reactive classes and different modified surfaces.


Conventional x-rays are essential to identify radiographic changes of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in structure and bone texture. Limited evidence suggests that the bone texture analysis may quantify the radiographic changes in RA;1however, current techniques such as the fractal dimension characterize fixed texture features. Deep learning offers novel methods to 'learn' radiographic texture features relevant to RA.To develop a deep learning model to assess the radiographic bone texture in the distal metacarpal bone relevant to RA.We collected 3,738 conventional hand radiographs from 2,128 individuals (RA, n = 908; non-RA, n = 1220). The second, third, and fourth metacarpal bone images were segmented using a curve Graph Convolutional Network (GCN), and the distal third was used as the input to train a texture model to classify RA. The texture model was based on the Deep Texture Encoding Network (Deep-TEN) architecture (figure 1),2which put an encoding layer on top of a pre-trained 18-layered residual network (ResNet18). The vectors produced by the model represent the orderless texture features that were used to generate a texture score for RA. Five texture models are trained using 5-fold cross-validation and are ensembled during inference by averaging the model outputs to produce the final score. We then validate the model using hand radiographs of 166 RA patients and 166 non-RA patients. Overall model performance was measured by area under the curve of the receiver operator curve (AUROC). Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of RA.Figure 1.Schematic representation of deep learning models to extract and encode texture features for RA classification.We included 140 women and 26 men with RA (mean age, 55.9±1.8 years) and 166 non-RA individuals (F: M, 140:26; mean age, 55.5 ± 1.8 years). The mean texture score was 0.49 (95% CI, 0.48–0.50) in RA patients, which is significantly higher than non-RA patients (0.42, 95% CI, 0.40–0.43; p<0.01). The AUROC of the model was 0.68. In the multivariate logistic regression model, a high texture score (>0.43) is associated with an OR (95% CI) of 3.42 (2.48–4.72) for RA, adjusted by age and sex.This study indicates that the texture model can delineate radiographic changes in texture relevant to RA and, coupled with automatic joint detection and segmentation, it has the potential to aid early RA diagnosis and monitor radiographic progression.[1]Zandieh S, Haller J, Bernt R, et al. Fractal analysis of subchondral bone changes of the hand in rheumatoid arthritis. Medicine (Baltimore) 2017;96(11):e6344.[2]Zhang H, Xue J, Dana K. Deep TEN: Texture Encoding Network. The IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR) 2017:708-17.None declared