For the purpose of stereo image matching,several common stereo image interest point detectors are reviewed in the two aspects of repeatability and information content through experimental analysis in this paper.Based on the image information entropy,clustering is utilized to analyse the texture feafures of images,and a new interest point detect method is then proposed.The most significant characteristic of this method,which improves the Harris detector,is self-adaptive to the image texture.The experiments by using of actual stereo images with different texture features proved that this method guarantees more better repeatability and information content.


Being as power-efficient as possible is becoming an issue of increasing importance in optical networks due to the continuous increase of requested capacity resulting from the exponential growth of IP traffic. In this work, we investigate the trade-off between network capacity and energy consumption in optical transport networks when considering (i) three coherent transceiver implementations; (ii) two capacity upgrade strategies, and (iii) uniform and nonuniform traffic distributions. We show that, in Deutsche Telekom (DT) reference network, a nonuniform traffic distribution leads to an increase in network capacity of about 100 Tbps with respect to the uniform case. Interestingly, the nonuniform traffic distribution showed that, in the DT reference network, more traffic could be transmitted with less energy consumption than when considering the uniform traffic distribution. Additionally, it is also shown that C+L systems lead to an only negligible increase in energy consumption while attaining comparable network capacity as adding a second optical fiber and using C-band only for the three considered coherent transceiver implementations. Newer transceivers are found to be very power efficient when compared with older ones. This is a consequence of technological advances enabling to increase capacity via using higher-order modulation formats and baud rates. In the case of the ZR implementation, a compromise between lower power consumption and capacity was reached to address shorter links.


Purpose To improve knowledge for the CT features of the metastatic tumors in brain. Methods The CT images of 27 cases with brain metastatic tumors conformed by the clinic were retrospectively reviewed. Results In all the 27 cases, the metastatic tumors were located at the cerebral hemisphere in 25 cases(15 cases in the left and 10 cases in the right) and located at the cerebellar hemisphere in 2 cases (lease in the left and 1 case in the right). There were 18 cases with single tumor and 7 cases with multiple one's. The tumors were displayed as a nodule in 22 cases and cyst-nodule mixture in 5 cases. In plain CT images, the nodule's density were equal, high and low in 12 cases, 7 cases and 3 cases respectively. After contrast scanning, the tumors had an obvious enhancement in 20 cases. There were edema around the tumors in 24 cases, no edema in 3 cases. Conclusions Plain and contrast CT scanning plays an important role for finding the metastatic tumor in brain.


Safe tourism must be a priority for each tour operator. This means choosing such insurance protection of travellers that would guarantee the quality of the tourist service. Insurance policies must be concluded at adequate coverage, they must have appropriate liability limits, must be easy to administer, etc. Regrettably, tour operators in Bulgaria rarely perform diagnostics of travel risks and recommend conventional insurance policies at minimum liability limits to their customers. This prevents the achievement of the most adequate insurance protection for travellers. Part of the blame in this respect goes also to local insurers, which sluggishly react to the dynamic tourist market and do not provide flexible terms in their travel insurance, including facilities for the absorption of insurance payments. In this context this article is an attempt at providing some guidelines and rules for the quality management of travel risks. The study offers practical advice for insuring health risks during travel, the professional liability of tour operators, compensating for the theft of luggage and valuables, the coverage of the cost of curtailed excursions, etc.


Ethiopia has the largest livestock population in Africa. There are a myriad of diseases that affect this livestock population. Considering the inadequate modern veterinary health services in the country commensurate with tackling the problems, traditional ways of treatment appear to be a viable alternative approach. Traditional medicines and methods have been woven into the culture of local communities for a long time. There are many medicinal plants scattered all over the country, and a sizable number of them have been used for animal diseases. Rationalizing and validating the use of each medicinal plant requires thorough research. As a first step, it is important and necessary to collate in a review some of the available information on traditional use of such plants. A review of the literature shows that plants are used in various parts of Ethiopia in the general healthcare of livestock. Several studies have reported such use, although a thorough and complete inventory of plant species used for animal diseases is still unavailable. In this mini-review, the current literature on veterinary medicinal plants is summarized, along with a listing of the medicinal plants used for common livestock ailments. The paper concludes by providing recommendations regarding the prospects of research in this area.


Attrition is the loss of proficiency in a language caused by a lack of exposure to or use of a language. It is a natural part of the language experience as it exists within a dynamic environment. The extant literature is still inconclusive about language decay in short term residents in countries they acquire linguistic skills. This research examined the factors influencing language attrition among short-term residents in selected Chinese provinces.  The analysis showed that in the case of the respondents, as the environment changes, the language adapts. One way it does this is by using L1 as a tool to navigate the periods of change associated with acquisition and attrition. A learner's L2 is not suddenly lost with disuse, but its communicative functions are slowly replaced by those of the L1.Similar to second-language acquisition, second-language attrition occurs in stages. The study further confirmed the regression hypothesis that states that the stages of attrition occur in reverse order of acquisition.


Among the contributions of postmodern thought is the recognition that teaching and learning do not occur in a valueless vacuum. Thus the secularization of the American academy away from its religious roots and values is but the replacement of one value system for another. The question today, then, is not whether or not education can occur apart from values and the ethics they engender. Rather the question is what set of values, judgments, and behaviors will teachers and students use and foster when they engage one another in the academy. What role, then, will America's academic communities play in helping students and faculties lead more ethical lives?


1.0£10 i2 s i1 . The maximum elongation 530% of the flne-grained 5083 Al alloy was obtained at 550 ‐ C and 4.17£10 i4 s i1 . Fracture analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the formation of fllament (formed by liquid phase) was greatly afiected by the tensile temperature and strain rate. The results also showed that the optimum morphology of formed fllament was obtained at 550 ‐ C and a strain rate of 4.17£10 i4 s i1 . The efiect of liquid phase on superplastic deformation of the alloy was further discussed.


The main objective of this study was to investigate the perceived factors affecting consumption of Kenyan indigenous foods in Nakuru County. The study was carried using descriptive survey design. The sample size was 140. Purposive sampling was used to select the hotels while stratified random sampling was used to select respondents. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data, while secondary data was obtained from journals, books and hotel records. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze data. From the results it was established that the frequency of eating Kenya indigenous food varied between the different age brackets (X 2 = 22.037,df=4, P=0.000). It was also noted that there exists a positive relationship between consumption of indigenous food and sensory characteristics of the food.


Objective To explore CT manifestations of Herxheimer like reaction among the new active pulmonary tuberculosis during chemotherapy.Methods Clinical and image data of 21 cases with Herxheimer like reaction were retrospectively analyzed.Results In the period of the antituberculosis treatment in 21 patients,the main clinical manifestations,such as cough,expectoration,low grade fever and night sweat,first alleviate and get more serious afterwards;some patients even appeared chest pain,chest tightness and long term high fever,but the disease was improved obviously after a certain period of the primary chemotherapy treatment.CT manifestations included(1) 6 cases with pulmonary primary tuberculosis developed,5 cases with pulmonary tuberculosis complicated with mediastinal lymphadenectasis,4 cases with new lesions around primary tuberculosis fous,3 cases with tuberculosis of multiple segments partly diffusion,2 cases with tuberculoma,1 case with tuberculous cavity expansion;(2) 1 patient suffered from exudative tuberculosis pleurisy;(3) 5 patients suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis with mediastinal lymphadenectasis.Conclusion In the course of clinical chemotherapy,if the following symptoms are occurred such as pulmonary primary tuberculosis diffusion,pulmonary tuberculosis with mediastinal lymphadenectasis,new lesions around primary tuberculosis fous,and tuberculosis fous of multiple segments partly diffusion,the patient should be highly suspected of the Herxheimer like reaction.


ABSTRACT Grasslands pose a particular problem for archaeological survey involving artifact assessment, as no material is plowed up to the surface. Although finds in molehills are often the only source of information available on sites with such low visibility, an archaeology of molehills has thus far been largely disregarded. Yet, by applying a low-cost and time-efficient methodology, both the potential and the pitfalls of molehill archaeology come to the forefront. At the medieval harbor site of Monnikerede, it was possible to assess material culture and to locate certain structural elements. However, when artifact densities were compared with the underlying geophysical anomalies, a more complex relationship appeared at the level of individual features.


The invention discloses a manufacturing technology of automobile asymmetrical universal joint fork based on cold extruding technology, comprising the following steps: (1) a cylindrical bar stock is adopted for shearing and blanking; (2) spheroidizing annealing is carried out on a blank so as to reduce blank rigidity, then oxide scale is removed by acid washing, and phosphating, saponification and lubrication treatment is carried out to obtain cylindrical blank; (3) direct-extrusion sealing shaping calibration is carried out to extrude and shape the cylindrical blank so as to obtain the needed asymmetrical shape of the bottom half of the universal joint fork; (4) extruded pieces obtained after direction extrusion are performed with spheroidizing annealing, then oxide scale is removed by acid washing and phosphating, saponification and lubrication treatment is carried out; and (5) backward-extrusion shaping is carried out: furcation is formed by backward extrusion, and the furcation of the universal joint fork freely extends upwards; the redundant parts of the furcation end surface are processed and cut off by a successor. The invention also provides a special mould for realizing the manufacturing technology. The invention improves material utilization factor, has high production efficiency, improves production environment, and has high precision of workpiece size and favourable surface quality.


To elucidate the linewidth variation caused by postexposure delay (PED) in resist films, the distribution of photogenerated acid. the role of additional base component, and the effect of exposure energy were investigated in tert-butoxycarbonyl protected-type chemically amplified positive deep ultraviolet resist. The resist system included an N-methyl pyrrolidone organic base which was evaluated via KrF excimer laser lithography. Using various line-and-space patterns formed with a KrF seanner, this work also investigated the change of linewidth caused by the delay time between exposure and postexposure bake. Experimental results indicate that the linewidth broadened immediately following exposure and became a constant value rather than continuously expanding for various pattern sizes. Based on the mechanism of neutralizing organic base and photogenerated acid, a model was established to describe the linewidth according to PED time. Moreover, the effect of exposure energy on linewidth variation was investigated to not only assess the influence of exposure energy but also clarify the relationship between linewidth broadening and delay time. Experimental analysis demonstrates that the exposure latitude and depth of focus can he improved by employing PED.


FIELD: electricity. SUBSTANCE: root-mean-square values of input current and voltage are analysed and according to findings of the analysis the current standard mode of the electrical network is defined for the power system. Depending on the defined standard mode parameters for measurements and generation of events on the network and power facility state are changed including oscillographic testing, thus ensuring dependence of the level of detail for data from the current standard mode of operation of the electrical network and power facility. Besides, on the basis of the mode analysis different priorities (sequence) are set for transfer of measurements data, events and oscillograms to the upper control tier for different modes, thus, in case of any accident, the most important data required for elimination of accident sequences may be received as fast as possible and oscillograms stored during the accident and required for detailed analysis of the accident development and causes will be received later. EFFECT: improving data content for parameters measured in the electrical network and for state of the power facility with simultaneous reduction in volume of data transmitted from the power facility vial communications channel to the upper control tier to dispatch office personnel. 13 cl, 2 dwg


Acoustofluidic devices have been demonstrated effectively for liquid manipulation functionalities. Likewise, electromagnetic metamaterials have been employed as highly sensitive and wireless sensors. In this work, we introduced a new design combining the concepts of acoustofluidics and electromagnetic metamaterials on a single device realised on a flexible PVDF substrate. We characterise the operation of the device at acoustic and microwave frequencies. The device can be used in wearable biosensors with integrated liquid sampling and continuous wireless sensing capabilities.


BACKGROUND:The IV anesthetic, propofol, when administered as fat emulsion-based formulation (Diprivan®) promotes insulin resistance, but the direct effects of propofol and its solvent, Intralipid®, on cardiac insulin resistance are unknown. METHODS:Hearts of healthy and type-2 diabetic rats (generated by fructose feeding) were aerobically perfused for 60 minutes with 10 &mgr;M propofol in the formulation of Diprivan or an equivalent concentration of its solvent Intralipid (25 &mgr;M) ± insulin (100 mU•L−1). Glucose uptake, glycolysis, and glycogen metabolism were measured using [3H]glucose. Activation of Akt, GSK3&bgr;, AMPK, ERK1/2, p38MAPK, S6K1, JNK, protein kinase C&thgr; (PKC&thgr;), and protein kinase CC&bgr;II (PKC&bgr;II) was determined using immunoblotting. GLUT4 trafficking and phosphorylations of insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) at Ser307(h312), Ser1100(h1101), and Tyr608(hTyr612) were measured. Mass spectrometry was used to determine acylcarnitines, phospholipids, and sphingolipids. RESULTS:Diprivan and Intralipid reduced insulin-induced glucose uptake and redirected glucose to glycogen stores in diabetic hearts. Reduced glucose uptake was accompanied by lower GLUT4 trafficking to the sarcolemma. Diprivan and Intralipid inactivated GSK3&bgr; but activated AMPK and ERK1/2 in diabetic hearts. Only Diprivan increased phosphorylation of Akt(Ser473/Thr308) and translocated PKC&thgr; and PKC&bgr;II to the sarcolemma in healthy hearts, whereas it activated S6K1 and p38MAPK and translocated PKC&bgr;II in diabetic hearts. Furthermore, only Diprivan phosphorylated IRS-1 at Ser1100(h1101) in healthy and diabetic hearts. JNK expression, phosphorylation of Ser307(h312) of IRS-1, and PKC&thgr; expression and translocation were increased, whereas GLUT4 expression was reduced in insulin-treated diabetic hearts. Phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and C18-sphingolipids accumulated in Diprivan-perfused and Intralipid-perfused diabetic hearts. CONCLUSIONS:Propofol and Intralipid promote insulin resistance predominantly in type-2 diabetic hearts.


Manoj N. Obeyesekere, George J. Klein, Simon Modi, Peter Leong-Sit, Lorne J. Gula, Raymond Tachycardia Syndrome, Long-QT Syndrome, and Catecholaminergic Polymorphic Ventricular How to Perform and Interpret Provocative Testing for the Diagnosis of Brugada Print ISSN: 1941-3149. Online ISSN: 1941-3084 Copyright © 2011 American Heart Association, Inc. All rights reserved. Avenue, Dallas, TX 75231 is published by the American Heart Association, 7272 Greenville Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.111.965947 2011;4:958-964 Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. http://circep.ahajournals.org/content/4/6/958 World Wide Web at: The online version of this article, along with updated information and services, is located on the


In this work, four Fenton processes were used for decolorization of titan yellow. Experimental conditions such as concentration of H2O2, pH, time, zero valent iron dose and concentration of Fe2+ were optimized by Doehlert experimental design and response surface models. In absent of ultrasonic waves, application of zero valent iron had intense effect on decolorization percent (95% for heterogeneous Fenton with respect to 18% for classical Fenton). The optimum conditions were (0.0054M H2O2, 0.031g/L Fe2+, pH 2.5 and reaction time 47 min) and (0.0013M H2O2, 0.194g/L zero valent iron, pH 2.5 and reaction time 10 min) for homogeneous and heterogeneous Fenton processes, respectively. Both homogeneous and heterogeneous Sono-Fenton processes reached to decolorization percent of 100%. Optimum pH was 2.5 for two processes. The optimum conditions for homogeneous and heterogeneous sono-Fenton processes were (0.0035M H2O2, 0.0037g/L Fe2+, and reaction time 30 min) and (0.0014M H2O2, 0.4g/L zero valent iron, and reaction time 10 min), respectively.


In conventional viscose manufacturing, a large amount of carbondisulfide is consumed. This amount has to be decreased to keep the production cost down and to reduce the environmental impact. The pu ...


These two volumes present a most impressive and fitting capstone to Sidney Blatt's very productive lifetime of almost unmatched threefold integration of (a) clinical experience, beginning with his astute observation of the strikingly different thematic preoccupations of two otherwise very similarly depressed patients whom Blatt was analyzing during his psychoanalytic training; (b) the theoretic conceptualization stemming from these clinical observations, which became the basic fabric of his lifetime major addition to our psychological explanatory universe; and (c) the painstaking systematic empirical data gathering, together with the creation of necessary—and truly appropriate—measures and instruments that, in ensemble, provide such strong data-based support for Blatt's clinically inspired theoretic harvesting. It is this almost unique, and almost seamless, combination of the clinical, the theoretical, and the buttressing empirical that is presented by Sidney Blatt, psychoanalyst and developmental clinical psychologist (author or coauthor of approximately 200 professional articles, and author or coauthor and editor or coeditor of about a dozen books) in his own very persuasive assembling of the trajectory of his life's work in his own magisterial volume, and it is amplified and extended in the festschrift volume, edited by three former students and continuing colleagues, one from very early in his career and one very recent, and contributed to by a stellar assemblage of 27 additional authors, about half former students at Yale University who became collaborating authors and about half long-time colleagues working along related intellectual lines. The entire enterprise is an intellectually and psychoanalytically grounded, and empirically supported, effort to create a unifying conceptualization of the normal developmental process (extending into the entire adult lifetime), the normative evolution of the lifetime prevailing personality organization, the failures of balance and the compensatory exaggerations that result in the maladaptations evident as our varying psychopathological formations, and the reparative therapeutic processes designed to undo the psychopathology. The central theme—and this is what stems from Blatt's insightful observations with those two depressed analysands from his psychoanalytic training period—is that we are all psychologically constituted by two distinct, but interdependent, developmental configurations: one originally labeled introjective, later enlarged to self-definition, dealing with issues of the identity and the integrity of the autonomous self, the self as agent; and the other originally labeled anaclitic, later enlarged to relatedness, dealing with issues of relationship with, and need for, others, originally the caretaking family, and enlarging over life to friends, colleagues, and the larger networks of our social and political world. These two configurations are distinctly constituted with differing character styles (self-oriented vs. objectoriented), differing instinctual focus (more aggressive concerns vs. more libidinal concerns), differing defensive systems (counteractive vs. avoidant), and differing expressive modes (cognitive vs. affective). Normal development consists of a balanced, interrelated development of both dimensions—at times leaning more one way and at other times the other way—but always in constant dialectical tension and oscillation. But such balance is never perfect, and human variability in genetic endowment and in life experience is such that most become more focused on the issues of the one polarity or the other: either the concerns with ambition, achievement, self-worth, fear of failure, and so forth, with risks of burdensome shame and guilt; or oppositely, concern with one's sea of relationships, with being nurtured and loved, with one's capacity to love, and with risks of loss and abandonment. This distinction was first discerned in the different psychologies of those two depressed patients and ultimately developed into the two distinct and clearly discernible anaclitic (relatedness) and introjective (self-definitional) normative character configurations with so many, lodged of course at some point along the connecting spectrum linking them. And of course, our manifest and diverse psychopathological forms, from neurosis through the borderline and on to the psychotic, are the varying degrees of more extreme and maladaptive exaggerations of the one or the other Psychotherapy Theory, Research, Practice, Training © 2009 American Psychological Association 2009, Vol. 46, No. 1, 139–144 0033-3204/09/$12.00


Continuous monitoring of electroencephalography (EEG), with a focus on amplitude‐integrated EEG (aEEG), has been used in neonatal intensive care for decades. A number of systems have been suggested for describing and quantifying aEEG patterns. Extensive full‐montage EEG monitoring is used in specialised intensive care units. The American Clinical Neurophysiology Society published recommendations for defining and reporting EEG findings in critically ill adults and infants. Swedish neonatologists and clinical neurophysiologists collaborated to optimise simplified neonatal continuous aEEG and EEG recordings based on these American documents.


Cryptography is a fundamental topic in an information assurance curriculum. Students should understand the basic concepts and weaknesses of both historical and current cipher algorithms. Visualization tools can help students understand these concepts, both in the classroom and as out-of-class exercises. This paper describes a set of such tools designed for a cryptography course at the United States Air Force Academy. The design goals, implementation details, and classroom experiences are addressed


Describes a low-cost PC-based distributed monitoring and control system for a small sewerage treatment works which is part of Thames Water. It combines local control, two-way radio telemetry with a central PC.


1 Pretreatment of rats with intraperitoneal injections of lead was shown to result in a depression of the microsomal mixed function oxidase system, as assessed by a decrease in hepatic microsomal P‐450 and b5 content and by a decrease in the activity of the enzymes aniline hydroxylase and aminopyrine demethylase. Lead had a more marked effect on cytochrome P‐450 than b5. 2 The activity of the rate‐limiting enzyme of haem biosynthesis, δ‐aminolaevulinic acid synthase, was inversely correlated with the microsomal cytochrome P‐450 content. 3 The activity of the haem biosynthetic enzymes δ‐aminolaevulinic acid dehydratase, coproporphyrinogen oxidase and ferrochelatase were decreased by increasing lead pretreatment. 4 The activity of the haem catabolic enzyme, haem oxygenase, was increased by lead pretreatment.


Constrained by the Nanjing railway station,the Nanjing subway station of Nanjing metro No.1 is subdivided into three parts as following:(1) the southern cutting part;(2) the northern cutting part;and(3) the connecting tunnels part.The connecting tunnels as a part of main structure for the Nanjing subway station are just beneath a cluster of existing railway lines of the Nanjing railway station,which includes two separated tunnels.The connecting tunnels constructed with mining method have the features of large span,shallow coverage,and little distance between the two lines.Railway line settlement must be restricted to insure the safety of railway lines during construction.A large numbers of settlement points are placed on the railway roadbed and the beam support foundation.The railway roadbed settlement induced by tunnels construction is discussed and the settlement monitored results indicate that the rail reinforcement method and the connecting tunnels construction technique are reliable.At the same time,with the analysis of settlement data,some suggestions on similar engineering construction are presented.


Multijunction solar cells (MJSCs) are a more efficient photovoltaic solar cell technology than the conventional single junction alternative. When used in conjunction with concentrator technology MJSCs can provide conversion efficiencies upwards of 40% - due to a better conversion response to a broader light spectrum. Iterative design methodology can be applied to derive models of conversion efficiency in MJSCs by adapting existing single junction solar cell (SJSC) modelling practices. However this can be a very time consuming process, given the abundance of literature regarding conversion efficiency in SJSCs.

This dissertation provides several criteria to consider when designing MJSC conversion efficiency models, by addressing two research questions: (1) how is the conversion efficiency of MJSCs simulated within the Matlab/Simulink environment?, (2) and which of the existing SJSC modelling practices are more/less adaptable for simulating MJSCs in the Simulink environment.

The first part of the literature review outlines the peer reviewed literature regarding SJSC model practices and discusses the results of the project simulation tests. The second part of the review (1) outlines the literature on MJSC architecture related to model design, (2) proposes an iteration of a SJSC model that simulates the conversion efficiency in MJSCs and (3) discusses the results of the proposed model tested under Simulink simulation.

The simulation results confirmed that, as expected, the double diode model provides more accurate results than the single diode model, with respect to changes in temperature and changes in irradiance. The simulation results confirmed that the proposed model correctly simulated the conversion efficiency in MJSCs with respect to irradiance, but failed to correctly simulate the conversion efficiency in MJSCs with respect to temperature.

This paper offers insight into appropriate and inappropriate SJSC modelling techniques to consider when applying iterative design methodology to design a model that correctly simulates MJSC conversion efficiency within the Matlab/Simulink environment.


My guess is that despite the popularity of restaurant-based and cook-like-a-chef reality TV shows, most Australians do not really enjoy going to fancy restaurants. We fear exposing our ignorance in the face of snobby waiters, indecipherable menus, unrecognisable food and utensils, artistic portion-sizes and a huge bill at the end. It is an experience many people reserve for when they need to impress someone.


Spectral characteristics of several arable soils in Hunan Province and their relationship with soil organic matter were studied through field sampling and lab analysis. Results showed that the spectral reflection curves of the tested soils changed in shape to a certain extent, with the spectrum reflectance increasing significantly either over all wavebands or at individual wavebands after the soils were cleared soil organic matter. Furthermore, the correlation coefficients of the spectrum reflectance at the studied wave bands with the content of total iron, free iron oxides, and amorphous iron oxides all increased significantly.


Discusses, on the basis of existing quality initiatives, a systematic and integrated approach to mental health care in Northern Ireland. Utilizes two approaches: the Brunel Quality Management System and the FACE‐IQMS model.


The first Australian isolate of Salmonella enterica serovar Paratyphi B D -tartrate-utilizing (dT (cid:1) ) that is resistant to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, florfenicol, streptomycin, spectinomycin, sulfonamides, and tetracy- cline (ApCmFlSmSpSuTc) and contains SGI1 was isolated from a patient with gastroenteritis in early 1995. This is the earliest reported isolation globally. The incidence of infections caused by these SGI1-containing multiply antibiotic-resistant S. enterica serovar Paratyphi B dT (cid:1) strains increased during the next few years and occurred sporadically in all states of Australia. Several molecular criteria were used to show that the early isolates are very closely related to one another and to strains isolated during the following few years and in 2000 and 2003 from home aquariums and their owners. Early isolates from travelers returning from Indonesia shared the same features. Thus, they appear to represent a true


Many NHS hospitals in England are routinely putting patients in beds that should be reserved for emergencies or busy periods, shows a new analysis by the BMA.1

Data obtained by the BMA from hospital trusts through freedom of information requests show that many are regularly using so-called "escalation beds" for routine care in a response to ever growing patient demand. Escalation beds are used in addition to permanent bed stock and are brought in by hospitals to provide capacity for limited periods in temporary or repurposed wards or as additions to existing wards. The vast majority …


This paper discusses asymptotic behavior and Oscillation of first order impulsive functional differential equations with delay argument[t].Several sufficient conditions for the non-oscillation and nonzero solution of the above equation are obtained.


Cu-based alloys are one of the most promising substrates to enhance the performance of lead-frame materials. In the present study, the interfacial reactions in the Sn-0.7 wt.% Cu (SC) lead-free solder reacting with Cu-3.3 wt.% Fe (C194), Cu-2.0 wt.% Be (Alloy 25), and Cu-3.3 wt.% Ti (C1990 HP) were investigated. The material underwent a liquid–solid interface reaction, and the reaction time was 0.5 to a few hours at the reaction temperatures of 240 °C, 255 °C, and 270 °C. The morphology, composition, growth rate, and growth mechanism of the intermetallic compounds (IMCs) formed at the interface were investigated in this study. The results showed that the reaction couples of SC/C194, SC/Alloy 25, and SC/C1990 HP formed IMCs, which were the [(Cu, Fe)6Sn5 and (Cu, Fe)3Sn], [(Cu, Be)3Sn and (Cu, Be)6Sn5], and [Cu6Sn5] phases, respectively. Finally, the IMC growth mechanism for the SC/C194, SC/Alloy 25, and SC/C1990 HP couples displayed reaction control, grain boundary diffusion control, and diffusion control, respectively.


In the June issue of the Australian Medical Record Journal an article describing the advantages of new microfilming equipment appeared. This article describes some of the organisational and management headaches associated with the introduction of this new technology, as experienced in one hospital.


Background and Purpose: Relaxin is a pregnancy hormone which exerts vasodilatory effects by activating nitric oxide synthase and matrix metalloproteinases through receptor (RXFP1). Recently, this vasodilatory effect has been considered useful as a potential therapeutic target in acute heart failure. However, the role of relaxin in the cerebral artery has not been fully explored. In this study, we investigated the role of relaxin in rabbit basilar artery (BA) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods: Basilar arteries were collected from a rabbit SAH model on days 3, 5, and 7 after SAH. Total RNA was extracted from the BA and a cDNA microarray containing 43,623 genes was performed. The expression of relaxin and RXFP1 mRNA was investigated by quantitative RT-PCR. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) relaxin concentrations were measured by ELISA. Perfusion fixation was performed on days 0, 3, 5 and 7, and the localization of RXFP-1 in the BA was examined using immunohistochemistry.Results: The expression o...


Occasionally reports have appeared of biological systems, treated with ultrasound, which exhibited changes from normal, the changes being then passed on to offspring. These cases will be reviewed, with emphasis on the mutations produced in the author's laboratory. A tentative mechanism whereby low‐intensity ultrasound might induce nonlethal mutations will be presented.


In this work a method for detecting distance-based outliers in data streams is presented. We deal with the sliding window model, where outlier queries are performed in order to detect anomalies in the current window. Two algorithms are presented. The first one exactly answers outlier queries, but has larger space requirements. The second algorithm is directly derived from the exact one, has limited memory requirements and returns an approximate answer based on accurate estimations with a statistical guarantee. Several experiments have been accomplished, confirming the effectiveness of the proposed approach and the high quality of approximate solutions.


Correction for 'A colorimetric and far-red fluorescent probe for the highly sensitive detection of silver(i)' by Yong-jun Wang et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 55567–55570.


This article be parenthetic to the cycle of works devoted mathematical description of analytical means for the solution of some problems of the nuclear electromagnetic generator functioning. These problems are connected with the parameters calculation of external electromagnetic field on the toroid and parameters of charged kinetics which products this field is induced. General scheme of action for the nuclear electromagnetic toroidal vacuum generator (in shortened form: nuclegen) with controlled shields from the radioactive fission substance is adduced. Shields may consist a several layers executed the role of reflector or moderator for oppositely charged products of the fission. Parameters calculation of induced electromagnetic field in the external winding of toroid for the different initial (driving) regimes of functioning generator is produced also.


Background: University students have been known as having a higher rate of problem drinking than the general population in South Korea. In particular, the university freshmen may experience problem drinking from increased occasions of frequent social gatherings at the first school year as they have increased time to freely use compared to the high school days. Problem drinking among university freshmen may be influenced by multiple factors. The present study aimed to examine the prevalence of problem drinking and to identify individualand family-level factors associated with university freshmen's problem drinking.Methods: A cross-sectional, correlation study was conducted. Participants were 227 university freshmen (70 men and 157 women) under the parenting of mother and father from 10 universities in Seoul. The problem drinking was evaluated by using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test. Alcohol Abstinence Self-Efficacy Scale and Parental Authority Questionnaire for parenting behaviors were used.Results: The prevalence of problem drinking was 58.6% among university freshmen. An individual-level factor of alcohol abstinence self-efficacy was significantly associated with the prevalence of problem drinking (odds ratio, 0.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.91-0.96) among university freshmen. However, any of family-level factors including types of parenting behaviors were not significantly associated with the prevalence of problem drinking.Conclusions: Alcohol abstinence self-efficacy may be a strong protective factor against university freshmen's problem drinking. University-based alcohol abstinence programs should comprise of nursing strategies including the enhancement of abstinence self-efficacy at the first school year.


This document describes COBRA-ONT, an ontology for supporting pervasive context-aware systems. COBRA-ONT, expressed in the Web Ontology Language OWL, is a collection of ontologies for describing places, agents and events and their associated properties in an intelligent meeting-room domain. This ontology is developed as a part of the Context Broker Architecture (CoBrA), a broker-centric agent architecture that provides knowledge sharing, context reasoning and privacy protection supports for pervasive context-aware systems. We also describe an inference engine for reasoning with information expressed using the COBRA-ONT ontology and the ongoing research in using the DAML-Time ontology for context reasoning.


On the basis of gravity data, aided by aeromagnetic, magnetotelluric, side-looking radar, and geologic information, we tentatively identify a large, shallow intrusive complex beneath Mount St. Helens. The complex is roughly 5–6 km thick and has apparently intruded a buried and compressed Mesozoic forearc sedimentary sequence. The lateral extent of the intrusive complex is uncertain, and we give three alternative models varying from about 18 by 10 km to as much as 18 by 22 km. The western boundary of the inferred Mount St. Helens intrusion abuts several of a number of Tertiary and younger plutons that crop out in the area. The Mount St. Helens intrusion apparently is adjacent to sedimentary rock or shallow volcanic rock along most of the remainder of its boundary. A ringlike drainage pattern around Mount St. Helens suggests subsidence caused by removing magma from deep beneath Mount St. Helens and adding this mass to the Mount St. Helens edifice and its underlying intrusion. Our analysis indicates that the average bulk density of the volcanic rock comprising Mount St. Helens is about 2.15 g/cm3.


general criteria, for Pringsheim shows that for every 2 aV9 practical criteria of the first and second kind do exist ; bub his proof of this fact yields no method of finding them, except when he knows beforehand the very thing to be determined, namely, whether 2 av be convergent or not ! In addition to the criteria of the first kind and second kind, Pringsheim establishes an entirely new criterion of a third kind and also generalized criteria of the second hind, which apply, however, only to series with never increasing terms. Those of the third kind rest mainly upon the consideration of the limit of the difference, either of consecutive terms or of their reciprocals. In the generalized criteria of


We report the presence of a correlation between the bulk and interfacial properties of electrostatic coacervate complexes. Complexes were obtained by co-assembly between cationic-neutral diblocks and oppositely charged surfactant micelles or 7 nm cerium oxide nanoparticles. Light scattering and reflectometry measurements revealed that the hybrid nanoparticle aggregates were more stable through both dilution and rinsing (from either a polystyrene or a silica surface) than their surfactant counterparts. These findings were attributed to a marked difference in critical association concentration between the two systems and to the frozen state of the hybrid structures.


In the three decades since their discovery, the accumulated body of observational data from pulsar sources puts constraints on models that seek to explain their periodic radiation. This paper reviews this data, reports on a VLA search for haloes predicted by an early model, and reinvestigates a magnetospheric disk-field-aligned-current transmission line system as the origin of the observed radiation, with external wave excitation by as yet an unexplained source. Three dimensional, fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations of the pulsar surface and magnetosphere are used to explore the waveshape and polarization properties of the observed radiation.


Chapter 22 reviews the mechanism of injury and clinical features, imaging strategy, imaging characteristics, and treatment options of tibia and fibula trauma including tibial shaft fractures and fibular fractures. Because tibial shaft fractures are common with potential complications, associated complications including infection, compartment syndrome, and delayed union are discussed. The ankle should be closely evaluated when an isolated fibular fracture is found. Imaging should begin with anterior-posterior (AP) and lateral radiographs of the entire tibia and fibula. Additional radiographs of the pelvis, femur, knee, and ankle may be obtained as additional fractures may be present. Treatment is usually with intramedullary nail, plate, or external fixation and casting for low-energy fractures without significant displacement.


By employing the enhanced phase transfer of single microring resonator, the enhanced intensity sensing is obtained based on the dual microring resonator with coupled mode theory.


The purpose of this article is the description of an author's technique of an assessment of competitiveness of the enterprises of the furniture industry which main objective is the economic assessment of production efficiency of production of the furniture enterprise, an assessment of the intra firm making production efficiency of furniture, identification of the factors influencing overall performance of the furniture enterprise.


77e Black Hok and Other Essays, by MACDONALD CRITCHLEY, London, Pitman Medical Publishing Co., 1964, pp. X, 288, 40s. When Dr. Macdonald Critchley, the renowned neurologist, retires next year he will have served forty-two years on the staff of the National Hospital, Queen Square. During this time his contributions to neurology have been of the greatest importance. As well as being an excellent clinical teacher, and remembered by legions ofstudents for his delightful lectures and demonstrations, he has written many books and papers on a wide variety ofneurological topics. But in addition he has explored the historical and borderland aspects of his speciality and this book contains twenty-one papers which indicate the wide extent of these interests. The first, from which the book's title is taken, is an excellent account of the Calcutta tragedy of 1756. Next there are essays on the medical features of Oscar Wilde, Samuel Johnson, Alphonse Daudet, and of Anne, Countess of Conway; the detailed consideration ofJohnson's aphasia is especially noteworthy. Short biographies of Henry Head, William Gowers, James Collier, Charles Sherrington, and Pierre Marie are followed by an account of the early days of the National Hospital. The last six papers deal with some of Dr. Critchley's favourite topics such as Huntington's chorea, and the punch-drunk state, and with his wartime naval experiences. Each article has appeared elsewhere and it is a pity that their whereabouts is not recorded here. A more serious defect is the omission of all references. Nevertheless this is a very attractive book which all Dr. Critchley's many students and colleagues in particular will wish to possess, but which will also appeal to a wide audience, both medical and lay. Appearing as it does on the eve of his retirement, it will serve to remind us of a brilliant neurologist's work in the history of his discipline, as well as being, we hope a foretaste of future historical presentations. It would be appropriate if his purely neurological legacy could also be published in a similar form.


The purpose of this study is to develop understanding of concepts in mathematics  through the application of the NCTM's Principles and Standards. This research method is descriptive. The results obtained are understanding concepts in mathematics can be developed through the application of NCTM Principles and Standards consisting of 6 principles, namely: 1. Equity, 2. Curriculum, 3. Teaching, 4. Learning, 5. Assessment, and Technology. Understanding concepts in mathematics that can be developed are: a. defining concepts verbally and in writing, b. Make examples and not examples, c. Using various symbols to present a concept, d. Change the form of representation to various forms, e. Identifying the characteristics of a concept, f. compare various concepts, and g. interpret concepts.


AIM To investigate the neuroprotective effect of matrine by activating cannabinoid 2(CB2)receptor on focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion(I/R) injury in rats. METHODS Focal cerebral I/R injury in rat was made by inserting a thread into internal carotid artery for 1.5 h and then reperfused for 24 h. Seventy-two male adult SD rats were randomly divided into sham group, I/R group, matrine 20 mg·kg-1and matrine 50 mg·kg-1groups, selective CB2 receptor antagonist AM630 group, and AM630 + matrine 50 mg·kg-1group. The neurological scores and infarction volume were detected. HE stain was used to observe the pathological changes.TUNEL was used to measure the apoptosis cells. Immunohistochemistry was used to observe the expression of cleaved caspase-3 and Bcl-2. RESULTS Compared with the model group, the neurological scores and infarction volume were decreased in matrine 20 mg·kg-1and matrine 50 mg·kg-1groups, as well as the pathological changes were relieved, the number of apoptotic cells and cleaved caspase-3 expression were decreased, and Bcl-2 expression was increased(P 0.05). But these neuroprotective effects of matrine were abolished by pretreatment with AM630, there was significant difference between AM630 + matrine 50 mg·kg-1group and matrine 50 mg·kg-1group( P 0.01). CONCLUSION The activation of CB2 receptor might be involved in matrine induced neuroprotective effect on focal cerebral I/R injury.


Objective To observe the effect of Shen fu injection injected intravenously in patients with acute left heart failure.Methods 60 patients suffered with acute left heart failure were divided randomly into 2 groups:treatment group and control group,30 cases in each.Both groups received the conventional treatment(digitalis,vasodilator,diuretic,ACEI,and oxygen etc).Additionally,treatment group were treated with Shen fu injection injected intravenously 20 ml at a time,twice a day,for 3 days.Observe the clinical effects and BNP level in 72 hours after being hospitalized.Results The effective rate of treatment group is higher than that of control group and the BNP level of treatment group is lower than that of control group in 72 hours after being hospitalized.The difference is significant statistically(P0.05).Hospitalization days of treatment group is significantly less than that of control group(P0.05).There is no significant statistic difference in the in-hospital mortality rate between the two groups(P0.05).Conclusion Shen fu injection combined with the conventional treatment could shorten hospitalization days and improve the short-term prognosis of patients suffered with acute left heart failure.


Objective
To investigate the prognostic factors of survival for patients with duodenal papilla carcinoma (DPC) after pancreaticoduodenectomy.

Methods
98 DPC patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy with follow-up from Jan 2010 to Dec 2017 at Renji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University were analyzed retrospectively.

Results
80 Cases were followed up. The 1, 3, and 5 year survival rates of 80 patients were 89.9%, 72.4%, and 66.6%, respectively. Univariate analysis showed tumor size, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, tissue differentiation degree were related to postoperative survival(all P<0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that tumor size, N stage, TNM stage, and tissue differentiation degree were independent factors influencing postoperative prognosis(all P<0.05).

Conclusions
Tumor size, N stage, TNM stage and tumor tissue differentiation degree were independent factors influencing the prognosis of DPC after pancreaticoduodenectomy, suggesting that early diagnosis, early treatment and radical resection were the key to improve the postoperative prognosis of DPC.

Key words:
Duodenal neoplasms; Pancreaticoduodenectomy; Prognosis


The Bakers or Popliteal cyst is a bursa seen between medial head Gastrocnemius and Semimembranosus. This bursa when present usually communicates with the cavity of Knee joint, most of the times being asymptomatic. They can occur due to any intra-articular pathology including bony inflammation, cartilaginous lesions, meniscal or ligament tear, etc. The symptomatic cases are mainly leading to pressure effects due to anatomical vulnerability of surrounding structures. Symptoms related to Popliteal vein compression and Tibial nerve entrapment are the most common clinical presentations. Although, Bakers cyst is a chronic disorder and after treatment also requires follow up to prevent relapses, it causes difficulty in differential diagnosis while presenting in acute state. Ultrasonographic examination and Magnetic Resonance Imaging are important tool to avoid misdiagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Surgical resection of the cyst is rarely indicated when intra-articular pathology cannot be diagnosed or its treatment is not responding.


The proportion of U.S. prison inmates who were black increased dramatically between 1940 and 2000. While about two-thirds of the increase occurred between 1940 and 1970, most recent research analyzes the period after 1970, focusing on explanations such as the war on drugs, law-and-order politics, discrimination, inequality, and racial threat. We analyze the growth in the racial difference in incarceration between 1940 and 1980, focusing on the role of demographic processes, particularly population growth, migration, and urbanization. We implement three analyses to assess the role of these demographic processes: (1) a simple accounting model that decomposes the national trend into population growth, changes in arrests, and changes in sentencing; (2) a model of state variation in incarceration that decomposes the racial difference in incarceration into population change, migration between states with different incarceration rates, and other processes; and (3) race-specific models of within-state variation in incarceration rates using state characteristics coupled with a decomposition of the role of changes in state characteristics.


Present work deals with the fabrication of flexible low cost thin film capacitive humidity sensor using Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) on interdigital copper electrodes over polyimide substrate for moisture measurement in RH range. The thin film of PMMA was deposited over electrodes using dip coating technique. The electrical parameters of the sensor at different humidity levels and frequencies have been determined by U1733C LCR meter (Agilent). The sensitivity of the sensor was found to be 0.218pF/%RH with response time and recovery time of 375 s and 245 s resp.


The book examines the role of voluntary and not-for-profit organisations in the welfare of older people in contemporary welfare states. Drawing on research comparing policy on ageing and the development of voluntary action in Ireland's two jurisdictions, it shows that in good times in both parts of Ireland voluntary action among older people is socially pervasive and politically weak. It provides a comparative account of, and proposes a new theoretical approach to,the structuring of voluntary action around an important welfare category in liberal workfare states.


Direct numerical simulation has been performed on transition of viscoelastic Taylor-Couette (TC) flow. Specifically, the transition of viscoelastic TC flow starting from the same initial state (AZI) is examined by varying parameters in the following three ways: (1) increasing the inertia while keeping the elasticity unchanged; (2) keeping the elasticity number (a ratio of inertia to elasticity) unchanged while increasing the inertia; (3) keeping the inertia unchanged while increasing the elasticity. The present calculations succeed in reproducing various typical flow states, including rotating standing waves (RSW), axisymmetric oscillatory strip (OS), non-axisymmetric OS and a flow state in form of traveling wave. Interestingly, with the continuously increasing elasticity from OS in Way 3, the OS becomes more turbulent, exhibiting broad PSDs with continuous power-law-decay region. After that, the OS breaks down into a new flow state consisting of intermittent solitary wave (ISW), which is characterized by solitary coherent structure appearing periodically and intermittently in time and localized axially with intense inflow/outflow spot. The transition sequences have been identified for the aforementioned three ways as: (1) from AZI to RSW to strong-weak RSW, then to RSW; (2) from AZI to OS to non-axisymmetric OS, then to a flow state in form of traveling wave; (3) from AZI to OS, then to ISW. On the other hand, three transition pathways which have the same departure and destination in parameter space are examined. Based on comparing the final states (space-time plots and PSDs) of the three pathways, existence of multiple flow states has been confirmed in viscoelastic TC flows.


Abstract : Despite attempts by the Army to ensure that all personnel receive regular dental care, substantial manpower loss occurs in field situations because of preventable dental emergencies. The purpose of this study is to identify factors which correlate with both starting and completing dental treatment. Dental records at two posts (Fort Bragg and Fort Stewart) were screened to identify three groups of personnel: those who were diagnosed as needing treatment by the Army Dental Service but who did not start such treatment; those who broke off treatment, and those who completed it. Data from those screened were obtained by means of self-administered questionnaires; a total of 243 usable questionnaires were collected at Fort Bragg and 207 at Fort Stewart. In the data analysis, two separate measures of treatment status were used: one based on dental record data, the other on self-report data. Psychological factors which show a positive association with starting and/or completing treatment include: perceptions of Army dentists as technically competent and as concerned with patients; perceptions of dentists in general as concerned with patients; and belief that dental care is important in the Army. Both anxiety with respect to dental care and perceptions of dental care as painful correlate negatively with receipt of care.


The effect of silt content on the undrained shear strength of sand-silt mixture has been experimentally investigated in the past three decades. These studies showed that, at the given confining pressure and global void ratio, the undrained shear strength decreases with increasing fines content. Between a threshold fines content and a limiting fines content, further addition of fines would lead to an increase of the shear resistance, where the behavior is controlled by both fine and coarse parts. Beyond the limiting fines content, the shear resistance will increase, and the behavior of soil is controlled by the fines content. On this basis, the state parameter of the equivalent intergranular void ratio is replaced by the global void ratio to describe the mechanical behavior of sand-silt mixture. In this study, a series of triaxial tests were performed on unsaturated sand-silt mixture with constant water (CW) conditions. Three levels of confining pressure and initial suction were considered. All specimens were prepared with the same equivalent intergranular void ratio to study its performance in the unsaturated state. The results of these tests showed that the suction effects on the soil strength are dependent on the fines content. For specimens with fines contents less than the threshold fines content or higher than the limiting fines content, the soil strength increased with increasing initial suction. However, for specimens with fines content between the threshold and limiting fines contents, the strength decreased with increasing initial suction. It was observed that the changes in volume did not have a definite relationship with the initial suction. The results also indicated that the application of the equivalent intergranular void ratio relations in the unsaturated state requires further considerations about the effect of matric suction.


A nylon disk supported on a horizontal axis in a water bath and irradiated by a 1-MHz focused ultrasonic beam, rotates at a constant angular speed which depends on the acoustic power, the viscosity of the water, and the geometry of the system. It is shown that the acoustic torque is caused by the radiation force, and that the viscous torque is well described by Schlichting's model, except at low speeds when the boundary layer thickness becomes larger. The placement of the disk in the acoustic beam is specified for maximum angular speed, and scaling laws for the dependence of the speed on the beam power and disk radius are given. It is pointed out that the rotor has desirable attributes as an ultrasonic intensity meter.


This paper discussed on the way of the uses and maintains for UPS;by the ways,UPS can work well.It extends the life period of UPS and the batteries,and ensures the safety of the enterprise for the electric supply.


Growth of Bacillus polymyxa and high activities of amylase were obtained in media containing starch and peptone. Of the metals of biological significance, calcium and manganese had the most beneficial effects on enzyme yields. Control of pH was critical for the establishment of conditions which yielded maximum levels of enzyme. The appearance of highest amylase activity in culture supernatant liquors during the stationary phase of growth was not due to autolysis; intracellular levels of the enzyme were shown to be very low throughout the fermentation. When the organism was grown in a medium containing a low level of starch (1%, w/v), amylase activity was low during the logarithmic phase of growth but rose rapidly in the culture liquor when growth ceased. Negligible activity was detected when the organism was grown in a medium which contained excess starch. This amylase therefore appears to be a true extracellular enzyme, in the accepted sense. It is produced in response to exhaustion of the carbon source from the medium.


By combining wiht the construction technological experience on high-grade highway,the paper explores the earthwork synthetic materials reinforcement application in high embankment section,analyzes the reinforcement soil mechanism,so as to expand the application of the earthwork synthetic materials in high embankment sections,so as to accumulate experience for the structural design and construction for similar high embankment section.


We investigated the relationship between migraine and specific structural changes in regions of the posterior circulation territory in a population-based MRI-study of 295 migraineurs and 140 controls. A total of 27 migraineurs (9%) and 2 controls (1.5%; p<0.005) had posterior circulation lesions, including small (silent) pontine and cerebellar infarcts and confluent pontine hyperintensities. Subjects with lesions were significantly older, had higher blood pressures and cholesterol levels. However, after controlling for cardiovascular risk factors, migraineurs remained at 6-fold increased risk, compared to controls, with highest risks for those with migraine with aura. Introduction Migraine is a prevalent, neurovascular disorder: at least 6% of the males and 15% of the females in the adult general population have at least one disabling migraine attack per year. Several studies have demonstrated marked instability of the cerebral blood flow (CBF) between attacks, spreading oligemia (hypoperfusion) during the aura-phase, and both hyperand hypoperfusion during the headache-phase of attacks.'-6 Whether such changes contribute to structural brain damage is unknown, although several studies suggest, that migraine attacks, notably those with aura, may lead to cerebral ischemia or infarction, most frequently in the brain areas supplied by the vertebrobasilar arterial system? We conducted an MRI study to examine the association of migraine and structural brain changes in a population-based sample. In the current report, we show data on prevalence, location and characteristics of lesions in the posterior circulation brain areas. Materials and methods The sample is from the GEM study, which is based on a cohort of 6039 Dutch adults aged 20-60 yrs, including 863 migraineurs, who participated in a population-based study of cardiovascular risk factors5 Migraine was assessed according to IHS criteria6 in a multistage procedure that included a semi-structured clinical interview by telephone. Migraine diagnosis was conducted blind to an individual's profile of cardiovascular risk factors and disease, which were assessed by interview and clinical exam at the study center. From the cohort aged 30-60 yrs, we randomly selected for MR imaging of the brain, 134 migraineurs without aura (MO), 161 migraineurs with aura (MA) and 140 controls who were frequency matched to the cases by sex, 5-yr age strata and region of residence. Total brain MR images were acquired on a 1.0 T and a 1.5 T system with 48 contiguous 3 mm axial slices. Pulse sequences were comparable between the systems, and included a proton density and T2-weighted FSE and a FLAIR sequence. Blinded to clinical status, a neuroradiologist read all images to identify infarcts and hyperintensities. Infarcts were nonmass parenchymal defects, with a signal intensity approaching that of CSF on all sequences; hyperintensities were bright on all sequences. Brain areas supplied by the vertebrobasilar arterial system were identified according to topographical To estimate the risk (Odds Ratio, OR) for posterior circulation lesion in migraineurs vs. controls, we controlled for demographic and cardiovascular risk factors. Results Of all identified infarcts, the majority was located within the posterior circulation (34 of 60 infarcts; 54%). There were no supratentorial posterior circulation infarcts. Sixteen migraineurs (5.4% of all migraineurs; 13 MA, 3 MO) had 33 cerebellar and 1 pontine infarct; 1 control (0.7%) had 1 cerebellar infarct. Infarcts were always small (2-20 mm diameter), without corresponding clinical signs, and involved, in all but one case, the cerebellar artery border zones. In 1 control and 11 migraineurs (3.7%; 4 MO, 7 MA) we found confluent hyperintense lesions in the pons. These lesions always involved the paramedian central basis pontis. No other structural brain changes were identified in the posterior circulation territories. In total, structural brain changes in the posterior circulation were more prevalent in migraineurs (n=27, 9.2%0) compared to controls (n=2, 1.5%; p<0.005). MA were more affected (n=20, 12.4%) than MO (n=7, 5.2%). As shown in the table, those with posterior circulation lesions were significantly older, and those with pontine hyperintensities had more often hypertension and higher cholesterol levels, compared to those without such lesions. Table No lesion Cerebellar Pontine P Value Characteristics (N=406) (N=17) (N=12) post.circ. infarct hyperint.


Seed quality in the rainbelt may be highly variable over years or even between fields on the same farm. Seed companies have attempted to overcome this limitation by concentrating their seed production in regions with more predictable environments and by intensive management. There is no region that is incapable of producing high quality seed, if quality control procedures cull seeds that have been exposed to excessive weathering.


This paper extends to a rotating co-ordinate system the three-dimensionalsymmetric form, in space and time, of the Euler equations, previously reported by the authors, in an inertial frame of reference. This form of the Euler equations is discretized in space using the multi-dimensionalupwindresidualdistributionmethod. The integration of the cell residual and the evaluation of the distribution matrices is performed using the Roe's parameter vector and a mean weighted square radius. An implicit time step is adopted to reduce the computational time required to achieve the steady-state solution. Numerical results are presented for the flow through the NTUA/LTT annular-compressor cascade in a rotating frame of reference.


Dot Lenton and Barbara Vidion, from Philosophy4Children, ask: What exactly is thinking? Can it be seen? Once ideas are formed, can they be changed?


Off-axis fatigue behavior of a symmetric crossply carbon/epoxy laminate is examined at room temperature and a fatigue life prediction method that considers inelastic deformation and in-situ strength of embedded plies is developed. The fiber orientation dependence of the off-axis fatigue data on the cross-ply laminate can be removed by normalizing them with respect to static strength. The distribution of the normalized off-axis fatigue data of the cross-ply laminate almost agrees with the result for the unidirectional laminates made of the same prepreg tape. Then, off-axis fatigue analysis of cross-ply laminates is performed on a ply-by-ply basis. For this purpose, a ply fatigue model that takes into account in-situ static strengths of plies embedded in a laminate is proposed. Stresses in the cross-ply laminate are evaluated using a CLT-based laminate constitutive model that considers nonlinear deformation of embedded plies. Predicted off-axis fatigue lives of the cross-ply laminate are shown to correlate well with experimental results.


Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is a key component
of climate policy in the United States. Methane leaks across the supply chain
are stochastic and intermittent, with a small number of sites ('super-emitters')
responsible for a majority of emissions. Thus, cost-effective emissions reduction
critically relies on effectively identifying the super-emitters from thousands of well sites and millions of miles of pipelines. Conventional approaches such as walking
surveys using optical gas imaging technology are slow and time-consuming. In
addition, several variables contribute to the formation of leaks such as infrastructure
age, production, weather conditions, and maintenance practices. Here, we develop
a machine learning algorithm to predict high-emitting sites that can be prioritized
for follow-up repair. Such prioritization can significantly reduce the cost of surveys
and increase emissions reductions compared to conventional approaches. Our
results show that the algorithm using logistic regression performs the best out of
several algorithms. The model achieved a 70% accuracy rate with a 57% recall
and a 66% balanced accuracy rate. Compared to the conventional approach, the
machine learning model reduced the time to achieve a 50% emissions mitigation
target by 42%. Correspondingly, the mitigation cost reduced from $85/t CO2e to
$49/t CO2e.


The title of our new section inevitably evokes a most basic question: What are lifestyle risks? While it is not that simple to define this broad term, in this editorial we aim at introducing the EJRR readership to this fascinating emerging area of risk studies. We shall attempt to describe the nature of lifestyle risks by identifying their main features and by raising some of the fundamental questions that are inherent to any discussion on this topic.


In FY01 we learned that hardware reliability models need substantial changes to account for differences in software, thus making software reliability measurements more effective, accurate, and easier to apply. These reliability models are generally based on familiar distributions or parametric methods. An obvious question is 'What new statistical and probability models can be developed using non-parametric and distribution-free methods instead of the traditional parametric method?" Two approaches to software reliability engineering appear somewhat promising. The first study, begin in FY01, is based in hardware reliability, a very well established science that has many aspects that can be applied to software. This research effort has investigated mathematical aspects of hardware reliability and has identified those applicable to software. Currently the research effort is applying and testing these approaches to software reliability measurement, These parametric models require much project data that may be difficult to apply and interpret. Projects at GSFC are often complex in both technology and schedules. Assessing and estimating reliability of the final system is extremely difficult when various subsystems are tested and completed long before others. Parametric and distribution free techniques may offer a new and accurate way of modeling failure time and other project data to provide earlier and more accurate estimates of system reliability.


In the education context, a small number of studies dealt with the effect of teachers' attitudes on behavioral intentions toward the curriculum change in its implementation stage by the mediating role of their perceived behavioral control. Hence, this study specifically focuses on understanding the effects of mediating variables on the relationship between primary teachers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward implementing the new curriculum. The study investigated 627 primary teachers in Myanmar's government schools in the region of Naypyitaw Union Territory located in the central part of Myanmar, during the academic year 2021-2022 using teachers' attitudes questionnaire, behavioral intentions questionnaire, and perceived behavioral control questionnaire. Results revealed that teachers had positive attitudes and supportive behavioral intentions toward implementing the new curriculum. The findings also showed teachers' attitudes had a significant positive predictive effect on their behavioral intentions (r = 0.5, p < 0.01). Moreover, perceived behavioral control had a partially mediating effect between teachers' attitudes and behavioral intentions toward implementing the new curriculum. In the implementation stage of the new curriculum, the finding revealed the importance of teachers' perceptions of behavioral control in enhancing their actual new curriculum implementation behavior. It also provided additional empirical evidence in the educational context and also for the policy-makers in education.


Taking the example of the encyclical letter "Sollicitudo rei socialis", the author demonstrates the ongoing relevance of the social teaching of the Pope John Paul II. First the multifaceted gap between sub-Saharan Africa and the most affluent countries of the world, which stands even wider now than it was in 1987, is noted. Then the Pope's reflections on the causes of these global differences --- especially his notion of "the structures of sin" --- are elaborated with reference to consumption patterns in rich countries, power structures in poor countries, and global institutions. Finally, and in the light of this, it emerges that a transformation of people's hearts and of institutions --- one taking as its model the principle of solidarity --- is ever more urgently needed.


An SRC, sampling rate converter, consisting of conventional filter-type SRC and time-domain SRC using Fourier interpolation algorithm is proposed. Filter portion realizes over-sampling, and its output is interpolated by the Fourier portion. The SRC achieves noise level of as low as -110dB for all frequencies, and its gate count is about 1000000 FPGA logic cells


The potentials of multimedia technologies for lectures were examined, methodological conditions of projecting problem lectures on technical subjects with making use of multimedia technologies were formulated, the structure of multimedia teaching system in lecture courses was presented taking into consideration basic teaching functions of lectures. The results of sociological survey and differentional students selfestimation test were introduced.


The process of loss development has been studied by casualty actuaries for many years. When an accident period is closed, the ultimate claim liabilities are unknown because many of the claims are still unreported and some that are reported remain unsettled. The difference between ultimate losses and reported losses is known as "Incurred But Not Reported" loss or IBNR. The reserve for IBNR losses is the largest liability on an insurer's balance sheet. Quantifying the uncertainty in estimates of IBNR is of great importance to the financial health of casualty insurance companies. Most of the current methods for estimating ultimate losses focus on estimation of loss development factors which relate the emergence of losses to the amount of losses already reported. This paper presents a model for predicting incremental losses as a function of exposures, calendar period and development age. A nonlinear regression model is used for estimating the 95% confidence interval of IBNR for an accident period. The model predicts the incremental pure premium for a development interval as a function of development age, calendar quarter and exposure. The estimated IBNR is the sum of forecasted incremental pure premiums. The regression model produces confidence interval estimates for the model parameters and for IBNR. The regression model is applied to trended losses. We assume that the trend has been estimated by some reasonable time series method that produces confidence interval estimates of trend factors. Many good methods are available. We use the confidence interval estimate of the trend factors to adjust the IBNR estimates for uncertainty in loss trend. The model presented here assumes normally distributed residuals. Although the underlying loss severities are probably not normal, the central limit theorem implies that this assumption would be appropriate if the number of claims is large. Thus, the model will most likely work well for high frequency lines of business such as personal auto. We will present methods for estimating parameters, confidence intervals for the parameters, and the distribution of IBNR. These methods will be illustrated using simulated automobile bodily injury liability data. Model predictions will be compared to actual emerged losses. Based on a comparison of predicted IBNR to the "actual" IBNR from the simulated data, the model appears to produce unbiased predictions and reasonable confidence interval estimates of IBNR. We conclude that the distribution of incremental pure premiums is close to normal and there is not a significant correlation between development age intervals. Thus, traditional regression methods can be used to estimate the distribution of forecasted incremental pure premiums and consequently, IBNR.


We have developed a controlled and highly reproducible method of making nanometer-spaced electrodes using electromigration in ambient lab conditions. This advance will make feasible single molecule measurements of macromolecules with tertiary and quaternary structures that do not survive the liquid-helium temperatures at which electromigration is typically performed. A second advance is that it yields gaps of desired tunneling resistance, as opposed to the random formation at liquid-helium temperatures. Nanogap formation occurs through three regimes: First it evolves through a bulk-neck regime where electromigration is triggered at constant temperature, then to a few-atom regime characterized by conductance quantum plateaus and jumps, and finally to a tunneling regime across the nanogap once the conductance falls below the conductance quantum.


In the present work the relative character of the ellipsoidal expression of a GPS baseline is expressed analytically; a feature which is necessary to keep in mind in order to avoid possible ambiguities when interpreting the results provided, e.g., by the commercial softwares made available with the GPS receivers.


Pocket Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of East Africa. By Stephen Spawls, Kim M. Howell and Robert C. Drewes. 2006. A&C Black, London. Soft cover. 240 pp. £14.99, 22 Euros, US$ 24.95. ISBN 0–7136–7425–3


Many studies have shown that the strategies used in making judgments of chance are subject to systematic bias. Concerning chance and randomness, little is known about the relationship between the external structuring resources, made available for example in a pedagogic environment, and the construction of new internal resources. In this study I used a novel approach in which young children articulated their meanings for chance through their attempts to "mend" possibly broken computer-based stochastic gadgets. I describe the interplay between informal intuitions and computer-based resources as the children constructed new internal resources for making sense of the total of 2 spinners and 2 dice.


This study aims to determine the marketing communication of purun mats in the sub-district of Pedamaran. The theory used is Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC). The research method used a descriptive qualitative approach, then the object of research was in the sub-district of Pendamaran while the research subjects were village heads, community leaders, purun mat craftsmen and the community. The result of this study is that marketing that is still traditional relying on middlemen (people to people) cannot be known directly by many people and is an obstacle to the progress of mat weaving marketing and through existing networks, for example, brought to collectors to be taken out of town and only use Facebook social media in marketing.
Keywords: Marketing Communication, Purun Mat, Pendamaran


This study aimed to inquiry unfolding aspect of proletarian children's literature criticism after 1920's. It is examinate series criticism argument through overall flow of children's literature criticism history. Actually, diachronic flow of Korean modern children's literature criticism have jumped through series criticism dispute. So, arrangement work about overall flow and criticism historical meaning of children's literature criticism dispute is necessary recent task. As a matter of fact, dominant viewpoint not admit rigid children's literature criticism and discussion in the modern age. It deny to merit of Proletarian criticism and reference its mistake. But, Korean modern literary criticism have subjectivity in the KAPF age. Dispute process of modern children's literature criticism naturally evoked generation and development of criticism genre. So, pervious prejudice have to conquer that proletarian children's literature criticism is simple blame logic. Children's literature historical task that conquer division logic have being delayed. Proletarian children's literature criticism is based to fixed opinion and concentrate on reality conflict and social consciousness. But it argue role of children's literature that express painful working children. And, it has achievement pass over subjective essay criticism. It contribute to establishment genre characteristic through logical and objective description. Specially, nationalism interrelationship criticism against proletarian criticism is not exist. Accordingly, diachronic flow of proletarian children's literature criticism to the 1930's waiting to follow-up study.


Infrared domes on guided missiles are aerodynamically heated nonuniformly. Because the index of refraction is temperature dependent, the temperature gradient can cause image blur and bore-sight error. The temperature dependence of the infrared refractive index has not been directly measured in sapphire, a popular dome material. However, an accurate model of the temperature-dependent infrared refractive index can be obtained from visible measurements of the refractive index, far-infrared reflectance measurements, and infrared measurements of the absorption coefficient. Visible measurements determine the contribution to the refractive index from electronic transitions. Far-infrared measurements determine the contributions from fundamental lattice vibrations (phonons). Infrared absorption data are used to determine parameters in a multiphonon sum band model. By applying the Hilbert transform to this multiphonon absorption model, a model for the multiphonon refractivity is obtained. Two- and three-phonon contributions to the refractive index are important for an accurate model that includes temperature dependence. Results for the ordinary ray and extraordinary ray are obtained.


In India, Technology-Enabled Learning (TEL) provides sustainable solutions to address the country's education needs and chronic shortage of qualified teachers. Though a number of government-led digital learning initiatives are underway, TEL is still at a nascent stage in India due to the lack of: infrastructure, digital literacy, institutional readiness (policies and strategies) and technologically and pedagogically qualified teachers. To address these issues at the institutional level, Commonwealth of Learning (COL) partnered with Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Andhra Pradesh to strengthen RGUKT's vison and mission and to deliver quality education through TEL.


In this paper I contest the usually accepted terminus for the date of the publication of Herodotus' Histories, namely, just prior to the production of the Acharnians in February 425. I argue instead that Herodotus survived the Archidamian War—basically a return, this, to the position taken until the middle of the last century, especially in Germany, before the work of Schoell, Kirchoff and then Meyer and Jacoby. Further, I suggest that he published at a date close to 414 B.C. or, at least, that his Histories reached the Athenian public at around that time. Since even the orthodox date for his publication (426 or so) figures in the constructions of modern scholars merely as a literary curiosity devoid of significance—such are the preconceptions dominating our notion of Herodotus' 'era'—a reconsideration of this question needs no apology if it serves the purpose of directing attention to a matter vitally affecting our interpretation of this author. First, a general observation. In seeking for external evidence to establish the date of the publication of Herodotus' Histories, we need to distinguish between possible and certain echoes of Herodotus in the works of others. The question must constantly be asked whether any allusion we have isolated presupposes and requires the knowledge of Herodotus' work on the part of the contemporary audience. For otherwise we could be misled by a coincidence or we could reach a false conclusion because some point of specific knowledge eludes us. Of the latter the famous parallel in the Antigone of Sophocles (909 ff. with Herodotus iii 119) provides a notable example. If Herodotus had been just a little more strict with himself in avoiding allusions to his own time, who would not suppose that his work had been published prior to 441? What we require, therefore, is material which is calculated to evoke Herodotus himself—the special characteristics of the man and his Histories—so as to leave in no doubt a general familiarity with his work on the part of others.


ABSTRACT Cold/freezing tolerance is an important agronomical trait for crops, particularly for winter cereals including wheat, barley and rye. During an adaptive process of cold acclimation or hardening, dramatic changes take place in physiological and biochemical processes in plants. These metabolic changes are principally caused by expression of specific sets of genes named Cor (cold-responsive or cold-regulated) genes and other related genes. A large number of Cor genes, particularly those which belong to dehydrin (Dhn)/late embryogenesis abundant (Lea)/responsive to abscisic acid (Rab) families, have been isolated and characterized in plants. We review the present status of the research on the Cor gene/protein families and cold/freezing tolerance in cereals, with an emphasis on wheat that is well adapted to wide areas of varying climatic conditions.


The new Coronavirus is spreading rapidly, and it has taken the lives of many people so far. The virus has destructive effects on the human lung, and early detection is very important. Deep Convolution neural networks are such powerful tools in classifying images. Therefore, in this paper, a hybrid approach based on a deep network is presented. Feature vectors were extracted by applying a deep convolution neural network on the images, and useful features were selected by the binary differential meta-heuristic algorithm. These optimized features were given to the SVM classifier. A database consisting of three categories of images such as COVID-19, pneumonia, and healthy included in 1092 X-ray samples was considered. The proposed method achieved an accuracy of 99.43%, a sensitivity of 99.16%, and a specificity of 99.57%. Our results demonstrate that the suggested approach is better than recent studies on COVID-19 detection with X-ray images.


or group contact may provide enough added support."' Likewise, the addition of minimal contact with a therapist seems to enhance the effectiveness ofweight loss manuals, but competitive incentives are of particular benefit.9 Most intervention studies are short term, focusing on reducing symptoms. Other self direction manuals have broader aims. A "heart manual," for example, covered education, an exercise programme, stress management techniques, and the self treatment of common postoperative psychological problems. At one year follow up the people using the manual were significantly less psychologically disturbed, three times less likely to die, and significantly less likely to have another infarction over the next five years than *those given only stress management training.'0 Similar techniques have been used to treat emotional disorders such as depression," 12 anxiety,'3 14 phobias, 15-17 panics,'8 and eating disorders.'9 Patients report being as satisfied with this form of treatment as they are with conventional treatment with a therapist.20 The effects of self directed treatment seem to be long lasting, with improvements maintained for several years.'2-"82 Teaching the partners of psychiatric patients can also have benefits, increasing their understanding of the illness and strengthening core relationships.22 What are the critical elements in successful self directed treatment? Simply giving general advice and information alone is insufficient, although it may lead the reader to seek help. There is plenty of evidence that self directed treatment manuals that teach users key techniques for overcoming problems give more successful results than simple education leaflets.'0 23 24 But the order of delivery of components may be important. For example, problem drinkers given strategies for self regulation first and then education had a significantly greater reduction of alcohol intake than a group who received these components in the reverse order.25 No differences have yet been found between competing therapeutic rationales such as behavioural and cognitive treatment.10 Self directed treatments thus seem to be effective in a variety of conditions. Most of the research so far has tested written materials. Computers have the potential to add "therapeutic interactions" which printed materials cannot,26 and television interventions may also have potential. Self directed interventions are attractive because they allow the possibility ofmany more patients being treated closer to home and because they allow patients to play an important part in their own treatment. These interventions are unlikely to do specialists out ofa job; instead, integration ofthese approaches into practice will free clinicians' time and skill to focus on the problems of the more severely ill patients. NICHOLAS TROOP Doctoral student


In this paper, a novel optimization technique, namely, multi-objective modified symbiotic organisms search (MOMSOS) is proposed for optimal allocation of distributed generation (DG) units in radial distribution system (RDS). Three renewable DG units, such as, solar photovoltaic, wind turbine and biomass system are considered for integration into the RDS. The process of DG integration is guided by minimization of four operational objectives, such as, annual energy loss, annual investment and operating cost, annual electricity purchase cost and total voltage deviation of the system. In this study the hourly variation in generation of renewable sources and system load are considered for realistic planning. The simulation results on 69-node RDS show the effectiveness of the proposed approach as it successfully determines the optimal locations and sizes of the DG units while im proving the system performance.


Optically active β-amino-α-methylene carbonyl derivatives (aza-Morita−Baylis−Hillman adducts) were prepared using a one-pot protocol involving an enantioselective Mannich reaction catalyzed by vari...


An Iterative Unsymmetrical Trimmed Midpoint-Median Filter for Removal of High Density Salt and Pepper Noise in gray scale images is presented in this paper. This efficient filtering technique is implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the proposed midpoint median filter is applied to the noisy pixels iteratively two times iteratively. In the second phase, the Modified Decision based Mean Median Filter (MDBMMF) is applied to the output of first phase. Simulation results prove that the proposed algorithm performs better than various recent denoising methods in terms of PSNR, IEF and MSE. From the qualitative analysis it can be observed that the proposed algorithm helps in retaining the edge details with high efficiency.


Mark as narrator treats the concept "Messiah" as a description of Jesus' identity, but this alone does not suffice: the title "Son of God" is added in order to describe Jesus' identity more fully. According to Mark it is not the Twelve but some of the other followers who praise Jesus with the title of the "Blessed One who comes in the name of the Kyrios". "Messiah" is the title the disciples give to Jesus, but the "narrated Jesus" subordinates the title "Messiah" to the title "Kyrios". The aim of this article is to focus on Mark as narrative. The article argues that all events are presented from one perspective, that is the perspective of Jesus. This perspective is narrated by using names of Jesus. The article focuses on these names as used in the Gospel of Mark.


This paper uses an action research intervention in an attempt to improve student engagement with summative feedback. The intervention delivered summative module feedback to the students as audio recordings, replacing the written method employed in previous years.
The project found that students are keen on audio as an alternative to written feedback, perceiving it to be clearer, and more comprehensive and accessible. The use of spoken language allowed inflection and context in a manner absent from written feedback. Additionally, students stated that they were more likely to revisit feedback recordings in conjunction with their written materials, indicating a willingness to reflect upon their work. The project found that challenges of practical implementation around both the creation and dissemination of audio feedback can be a hurdle to engagement with this technique.


Wireless communication implemented in hospital environments is used to enhance convenience for patients and caregivers. However, there is always the risk of disturbance from electromagnetic waves and interference toward the precision medical device. Therefore, this paper simulates an emerging light fidelity (Li-Fi) technology in hospital environments using a light-emitting diode (LED). In this paper, we simulate the Li-Fi with three types of transmission powers, two angles of the LED lamps, and the impact of the distances between LED lamps in the transmitter parts and photodetectors (PDs) in the receiver parts. This paper considers two sizes of the incidence angle $(\beta)$ and the irradiance angle $(\alpha)$. The simulations also implement interference mitigation using Channel Inversion Precoding (CIP). The simulations show the effectiveness of the proposed scenario-based CIP in terms of the data rate compared to the conventional implementations of the Li-Fi transmissions.


A Laser pulse emitted by an airborne LiDAR system can receive multiple echoes,and the return number of a footprint is useful to determine the type of the object that reflects the above pulse.The above characteristic could be employed to reduce the number of points that are input for filtering.Particularly,the first echoes and the intermediate echoes were removed from the raw data,and they were also used to detect the non-ground points from the last echoes and the singular echoes,then only the reserved last pulses and the singular echoes were input for filtering in the paper.Experiments showed that the method could enhance the accuracy of filtering despite that the number of points input for filtering was reduced.


Shigella is one of the causative agents of gastroenteritis and antimicrobial treatment in addition to hydration therapy can significantly reduce the mortality related to infection. Although seroprevalence of the Shigella infections varies between countries, Shigella sonnei is the first and Shigella flexneri the second most common isolated species in our country. A higher antibiotic resistance rate is reported in S. flexneri infections compared to other Shigella species. Herein, we report a case who presented with acute gastroenteritis due to ceftriaxone-resistant S. flexneri. This infection was complicated with severe dehydration, protein-losing enteropathy and was successfully treated with ciprofloxacin and meropenem. (J Pediatr Inf 2013; 7: 000-000)


In this work, we performed the combined (experimental and model-based) study of gas-phase plasma characteristics for HBr + Cl2 + O2 gas mixture under conditions of low-pressure inductive 13.56 MHz discharge. The data on internal plasma parameters, plasma chemistry as well as the steady-state plasma composition were obtained using a combination of Langmuir probe diagnostics and 0-dimensional (global) plasma modeling. Both experimental and modeling procedures were carried out at constant total gas pressure (p = 10 mTorr), input power (W = 500 W), bias power (Wdc = 200 W) and O2 fraction in a feed gas (y(O2) = 11 %). The variable parameter was the HBr + Cl2 mixing ratio, which was changed in the range of 0 – 89 % Cl2. It was found that, under the given set of experimental conditions, the substitution of HBr for Cl2: 1) results in increasing both mean electron energy and electron density; 2) causes the mon-monotonic (with a maximum at ~ 45 % Cl2) change in Br atom density; and 3) provides an increase in O atom density at y(O2) = const. The possible impacts of HBr + Cl2 mixing ratio on Si and SiO2 etching kinetics were estimated through the analysis of model-predicted fluxes for plasma active species (Br, Cl and O atoms, positive ions).


Observational gridded products are commonly used to evaluate the performance of regional climate models. To this aim, gridded datasets should be comparable to the output of these models and, thus, should represent grid‐cell area‐averaged values and, whenever possible, they should be defined on the same spatial domains as the models, in order to avoid re‐gridding or re‐projection. In this study, we present an update of the Spain02 gridded observational dataset for daily precipitation and mean temperature building on the grids defined for the EURO‐CORDEX initiative. In order to assess and intercompare different interpolation approaches, we analysed (1) two standard methodologies (ordinary kriging and thin plate splines), (2) three horizontal resolutions: 0.11°, 0.22° and 0.44° (matching the rotated EURO‐CORDEX and ENSEMBLES grids), (3) two different approaches to guarantee either area‐averaged or point representativity of the resulting grid values and (4) including/excluding orography as a covariable in the interpolation procedure. Besides introducing the new gridded datasets, in this work we also present some preliminary results on the sensitivity of temperature and precipitation (both mean and extreme regimes) to all these factors.


Objective To investigate predictors of performance on a range of cognitive measures including the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC) and test for associations between cognition and dementia biomarkers in Insight 46, a substudy of the Medical Research Council National Survey of Health and Development. In a investigated between from A