This thesis presents Cognitive Description and Evaluation of Interaction (CoDeIn), a framework that allows one to describe, compare, and estimate completion times for tasks that are designed in a variety of interaction styles. Task time estimates based upon evaluations performed with CoDeIn are consistently more accurate than evaluations carried out using existing model-based evaluation methods. This accuracy arises from several sources, including separating and distinguishing between different forms of knowledge necessary for performing the task. This distinction allows---as not provided by other methods---the ability to model non-expert task performance by estimating knowledge and its effect upon task completion time.
The accuracy of the CoDeIn methodology is supported by several experiments that compare the predictions produced by CoDeIn to actual measurements and predictions from the GOMSL methodology. To utilize GOMSL, several sub-models must be created, including a model of grasping and a model for iterative shuffling of physical objects.
I conclude that CoDeIn is in these circumstances more accurate and more expressive than GOMSL, due to the ability to account for and manipulate representations of knowledge.


Tonsillar metastasis from distant primary tumors has not been described in dogs, and reports are rare in humans. The aims of this study were to determine whether tumor metastasis occurs to the canine palatine tonsils and evaluate whether afferent lymphatics drain to the palatine tonsils via skull indirect computed tomography lymphangiography (ICTL). Retrospective review of the diagnostic laboratory tonsillar histopathology submissions was performed. ICTL studies (n = 53) were retrospectively reviewed by a single radiologist. Of 882 total tonsil histopathology samples, 492 (56%) were considered neoplastic, with 8% of them benign. Of the primary malignant neoplasms of the tonsil, squamous cell carcinoma (55%), lymphoma (17%), and melanoma (12%) were most common. Tonsillar metastasis was confirmed in 41 cases; histopathologic evaluation revealed melanoma (25), carcinoma (10), hemangiosarcoma (2) and one each of fibrosarcoma, malignant histiocytosis, basal cell tumor, and undifferentiated sarcoma. Fifty-three tonsillar melanoma cases were identified, of which 25 represented metastasis from a known distant primary tumor and 28 were solely tonsillar, with 9 of these cases having concurrent lymph node metastasis. No ICTL cases had lymphatic contrast drainage to the palatine tonsil. The palatine tonsil is an important site of metastasis for a variety of primary tumor types from many locations. ICTL did not reveal lymphatics draining to the palatine tonsil, which is highly supportive of hematogenous route of metastasis to the tonsil. Tonsillar metastasis may be more common than previously thought. It is recommended to perform a thorough oral examination, including the tonsils, for all oral tumors and melanoma cases. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Along with our country education level and the innovation of science and technology level unceasing enhancement, our country's chemical industry is showing a development trend by leaps and bounds. The laboratory of colleges and universities, scientific research laboratory, chemical


The paper is based on review of research articles by the authors, with the purpose to demonstrate that the modulationalinstability mechanism is active in typical directional wave fields. If so, possible limits for the wave height due to such mechanism can be outlined. The modulational instability can lead to occurrence of very high waves, which either proceed to the breaking or appear as rogue events, but it was derived for and is usually associated with two-dimensional wave trains. There exists argument, both analytical and experimental, that this kind of instability is impaired or even suppressed in three-dimensional (directional) wave systems. The first part of the paper demonstrates indirect experimental evidences which relate the wave breaking in oceanic conditions to features of two-dimensional breaking waves due to modulational instability. The second section is dedicated to direct measurements of such instability-caused breaking in a directional wave tank with directional spread and mean steepness typical of those in the field. The last section provides conclusions on what is maximal height of an individual wave, depending on the mean wave steepness in a wave train/field, that can be achieved due to such non-linear evolution of wave trains. Copyright © 2011 by ASME.


The information of individual trees plays an important role in urban surveying and mapping. With the development of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology, 3-Dimenisonal (3D) structure of trees can be generated in point clouds with high spatial resolution and accuracy. Individual tree segmentations are used to derive tree structural attributes such as tree height, crown diameter, stem position etc. In this study, a framework is proposed to take advantage of the detailed structures of tree crowns which are represented in the mobile laser scanning (MLS) data. This framework consists of five steps: (1) Automatically detect and remove ground points using RANSAC; (2) Compress all the above ground points to image grid with 3D knowledge reserved; (3) Simplify and remove unqualified grids; (4) Find tree peaks using a heuristic searching method; (5) Delineate the individual tree crowns by applying a modified watershed method. In an experiment on the point clouds on Xiamen Island, China, individual tree crowns from MLS point cloud data are successfully extracted.


Banana (Musa sp.) is a staple food for millions of people as well as providing energy. It is an important cash crop providing the main source of income to rural population
as well as poverty alleviation. The main objective of the research is to reduce the polybag nursery period of banana tissue culture plantlets of Musa acuminata cv.
Berangan using different media. A Total of six media treatments were used in the research which are T1= burnt rice husk to compost (3:1), T2= coco peat to burnt rice
husk (3:1), T3= coco peat to compost (2:1), T4= burnt rice husk to compost (2:1), T5= coco peat to burnt rice husk (2:1) and Control= coco peat to compost (3:1). The
results initiated that T3 and T4 showed positive effect in enhancement of banana tissue culture plantlets growth in the five weeks of planting duration. 2:1 ratio of burnt rice husk to compost (T4) is recommended for planting banana tissue culture plantlets at polybag nursery stage due to it has many beneficial effects in plant growth and economically.


AbstractDuring the past decade there has been a quantitative leap in the development of queueing theory as it relates to the design, control, and operation of computer communications systems. Much of the research centres on the so-called "product form solution" of the network state probabilities. This, in turn, has led to the discovery, in many specific cases, that the state probabilities are invariant with respect to the form of the service time distribution. No systematic investigation of this invariance has appeared in tJie computer/communications literature as of this date. Our main objectives in this paper, therefore, are to describe and define the class of queueing models which has this invariance property and to demonstrate that almost all such models have a common basis. The theoretical foundation for the classification of invariance (developed by Kovalenko (19, 20) and, independently, by Konig (17)) has not received much recognition. In this paper, Kovalenko's main theorem is stated, the required...


Ann Saudi Med 2006;26(5):388-390 A lipoma is a very common benign soft tissue tumor that is composed of mature fat. It represents by far the most common mesenchymal neoplasm in adults, occurring throughout the whole body.1-3 It can be single or multiple (lipomatosis) and superficially or deeply localized.2 Most become apparent in patients between the ages 40 and 60 years and, when unexcised, persist for the remainder of life; they hardly increase in size after an initial growth period. Statistics as to incidence by sex vary, but most studies report a higher incidence in men.1 Mature lipomas in adults have a predilection for the trunk. Deep lipomas have been reported in the thorax, mediastinum, chest wall, pelvis, retroperitoneum, and paratesticular region.4 In the gastrointestinal tract, lipomas are mainly found in the submucosa and subserosa of the small and large intestines, and are mostly an incidental finding at laparotomy and autopsy. They are solitary or multiple, and present as a sessile or pedunculated mass; sometimes they are associated with ulceration and bleeding, intussusception, Crohn's disease, or malignancies.1 These benign tumors can cause various gastrointestinal symptoms such as obstruction and abdominal pain.5 Intraperitoneal lipoma is extremely rare.4 We encountered a case of a lipoma of the parietal peritoneum in 67-year-old woman presenting with acute abdominal pain.


Abstract Observations of the internal conversion electron spectrum of 241Am and of e -—e - coincidences, using a pair of magnetic lens spectrometers, afford evidence in support of the level scheme in 237Np derived from Asaro's α-particle observations, except that no indication of transitions to the ground state is found. Information on the half lives and multipole orders of certain of the γ-transitions in 237Np is obtained.


This work seeks novel designs of S-band high power microwave antennas based on rectangular waveguide narrow-wall longitudinal-aperture array structure. A narrow-wall slot-array is proposed to achieve higher gain. It consists of two identical narrow-wall slot-arrays with a common broad wall. A much more uniform aperture electrical fielded distribution is obtained, resulting in a higher gain for the double narrow-wall slot-array waveguide antenna. A tunable CRLH-based feeding structure is proposed to feed the double narrow-wall slot array. By mechanically varying the length of the stubs, the proposed antenna shows capability of beam-steering performance.


In this study, the live feed, Artemia franciscana naupli was enriched with probiotic bacterium, Lactobacillus sporogenes and fed to the freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii post larvae (PL) for attaining good survival, growth and contents of biochemical constituents. Artemia was enriched with different concentrations of L. sporogenes (15x107, 30x107, 45x107 and 60x107 cfu cells) and fed to M. rosenbergii PL (1,5 cm length and 0.03 g weight) for a period of 45 days. The PL fed with 60x107 cfu cells of L. sporogenes enriched Artemia produced significantly (P<0.05) higher survival and growth when compared to that of other concentrations of L. sporogenes, and the control fed with un-enriched Artemia. The biomass increase, total weight gain, specific growth rate, condition factor and mean conversion ratio were found to be higher in PL fed with L. sporogenes enriched Artemia when compared with control. The enhanced growth performance of PL fed with L. sporogenes was further confirmed by the lower food conversion ratio recorded. The levels of biochemical constituents, such as total protein, amino acids, carbohydrate and lipid contents were found to significantly higher (P<0.05) in PL fed on L. sporogenes enriched Artemia particularly at 60x107 cfu cells when compared to that of control. Significantly (P<0.05) higher ash and lower moisture contents were also observed in PL fed with 60x107 cfu cells of L. sporogenes enriched Artemia. Therefore, it is evident that 60x107 cfu cells of L. sporogenes can be considered as suitable concentration for attaining good survival and growth of M. rosenbergeii PL.


In many ways this volume is overdue. It represents a rare "insider's" (i.e., Malay) critical view of the Islamic resurgence that has played so large a role in Malaysian life and politics over the past two decades. Moreover it is the viewpoint of a woman, introducing the element of gender, sometimes missing or misunderstood in more general accounts. Despite the prominence of the movement, surprisingly little scholarly attention has been applied to dakwah (proselytizing or missionary work) in English, and Zainah's 1986 thesis, written for an American university, helps to fill this void. A historical prelude in Chapter 1 provides a brief background to the role of Islam in modern Malaysia and its connections with student life. Zainah traces the roots of the current revival back to 1969, a watershed in Malaysian political and ethnic history, whose events are seen as a catalyst for a new direction for Malay youth, particularly in the universities. The resurgence is linked further to the broader context of Malay educational and occupational mobility at home, through the expansion of opportunities under the NEP of the early 1970s. Here, the central role of Anwar Ibrahim is discussed, and his attempt to rationalize the struggle for social and economic justice under Islam through his Muslim Youth Movement (ABIM), both locally and internationally. By means of ABIM's extensive networks and informal study groups (usrah), Zainah shows how Malay dakwah was reinforced by contacts with other Muslim students overseas, and how at home it gradually became politicized, with distinct sympathies towards the Malay opposition party, PAS, and a challenge to the "secularized" UMNO. Zainah also describes the other three principal dakwah organizations dominating the campus scene at the Universiti Malaya, viz. the Islamic Republic, Darul Arqam and Jamaat Tabligh. Like ABIM, the IR is most closely aligned with PAS, whereas Darul Arqam's members prefer a life of communal retreat and withdrawal from mainstream life, and followers of Tabligh, with its roots in India, manifest little concern with Malaysian politics. Despite the pervasiveness and even intimidating character of the dakwah movement as perceived by outsiders, Zainah clearly shows that it is far from monolithic, and that many followers are only loosely affiliated with any single organization, and may simultaneously participate in several. The prominence and power of dakwah on campuses, both socially and politically, elicited opposition from UMNO authorities, especially before ABIM's leader, Anwar was co-opted into the government in 1982, although the other revival groups have remained active both domestically and abroad.


The tilapia byproducts,which mainly include shredded meats,fish bones,fish heads,fish skin,fish offal,etc.,are rich in protein,minerals,amino acids,unsaturated fatty acids and so on.In order to make comprehensive utilization of tilapia resources,high-pressure cooking,acid immersion-boiled,beating,forming,plate frozen and other key technologies are adopted to develop different products with tilapia byproducts in this paper.


The present invention relates to a bacterial composition comprising 104 to 1012 cfu / g of Pediococcus pentocaseus cells having the ability to induce the production of interleukin-10 which reduces inflammation, particularly in the intestinal tract, among several properties. I will provide a. The bacterial composition is thereby useful in improving excessive crying in infants. Specifically, Pediococcus pentosaceus cells are derived from the strain deposited as CECT 8330. Bacterial compositions may be in the form of dietary supplements, pharmaceuticals, formula milk, edible products and food products. In particular, the composition is in the form of an infant dietary supplement that is in the form of an oily suspension. [Selection figure] None


An L/sub infinity / version of the back-propagation paradigm is proposed. A comparison between the L/sub 2/ and the L/sub infinity / paradigms is presented, taking into account computational cost and speed of convergence. It is shown how the learning process can be formulated as an optimization problem. Experimental results from two test cases of the convergence of the L/sub infinity / algorithm are presented.<<ETX>>


Bluetooth is a promising wireless technology designed for personal ad hoc networks. This paper proposes a piconet scheduling algorithm based on the estimated channel state information. This policy is appropriate for wireless and mobile communications networks. The proposed algorithm is suitable for Bluetooth networks employing power class one devices, which can cover ranges up to 100 meters, allowing the formation of large area piconets and scatternets. The channel fading process is modeled using the Nakagami-m distribution. The channel quality estimation is based on the received signalto-noise ratio and on the Nakagami fading parameter m. These two metrics are used by the scheduling algorithm to define the best polling strategy. Simulation results demonstrate the algorithm performance for different traffic conditions. Index terms — Bluetooth, piconet scheduling, channel estimation, fading.


Preprint for a book chapter introducing Audio Content Analysis. With a focus on Music Information Retrieval systems, this chapter defines musical audio content, introduces the general process of audio content analysis, and surveys basic approaches to audio content analysis. The various tasks in Audio Content Analysis are categorized into three classes: music transcription, music performance analysis, and music identification and categorization. The examples for music transcription systems include music key detection, fundamental frequency detection, and music structure detection. Music performance analysis systems feature an overview of beat and tempo detection approaches as well as music performance assessment. The covered music classification systems are audio fingerprinting, music genre classification, and music emotion recognition. The chapter concludes with a discussion and current challenges in the field and a speculation on future perspectives.


conducting proper political education work with his patients. He listened for quite a while before pointing out that the only "patients" he saw were deceased. Becker's emphasis on Russia's differences from Europe, much less Britain or America, deserves serious attention. So do the ramifications of those differences. Many Russian medical and legal professionals continued to favor the inquisitorial model. In the 1930s, conflicts within epistemic communities turned deadly, producing professional groups with distinctly Soviet approaches. Since 1991, leaders of many of these epistemic communities, due to both their unique knowledge base and their professional self-interest, have resisted internationalization. Examples include insisting that tuberculosis patients be institutionalized in sanitoria rather than given effective drugs; rejecting substitution therapy for heroin addicts, thereby exacerbating the HIV problem; or emphasizing the value of in-house Russian publications over international peer-reviewed journals in evaluating academic performance. Many Russian professionals continue to favor the inquisitorial model. At some point in the future, Russian professionals may evaluate the costs of continuing to embrace the uniqueness Becker describes.


Based on the systematic review and comparative research on the method and model of credit risk measurement,the author puts forward the most feasible way of credit risk measurement for China's startup enterprises.With the help of multiple stepwise discrimination method,the author screens out the most useful variables for startup enterprises in different stage of lifecycle,establishes different credit risk discrimination models for them and makes some empirical research on this.The research shows that this method is very feasible in analyzing the credit risk of startup enterprises.


The Aircrafts transportation is an effective way to provide fast transportation to the most appropriate location while maintaining the necessary and specific assistance to the patient. Although in Brazil we see the growth of the aeromedical service, it is still far from ideal, it is a new service since 1910 that the first rudimentary model of aeromedical transport was created through the airplane, thus allow dealing better with the emergency. The aerial UTIs are very important, allowing the movement of patients from regions with low medical sources or remote areas, to large reference centers. The transportation usually takes place, bed to bed, and the medical team of the flight is responsible for leaving the bed until the arrival at the other bed. Although precarious, the aeromedical service in Brazil has everything to grow and through the statistical data, a larger parameter from where is the area that needs more attention. In this sense, this study intends to investigate and expose the country's aeromedical industry, focus where we can expand this essential service.


How do expert pilots interpret flight-related problem situations and what aspects do they find important for making decisions? These questions are not as easy to answer as they at first might appear. Aviation decision situations are often complex and a number of factors may influence decision making. Candidate variables are to name just a few phase of flight, aircraft type, problem type, available time and resources, or risk involved. Orasanu (1994) presents a model of aviation decision making that emphasizes the role of situation assessment: Deciding on a course of action is contingent upon an adequate understanding of the nature of the problem and of the response options afforded by the problem situation. Risk and time pressure are situational variables that further constrain the decision process. One goal of our present work was to validate this process model from the pilot's perspective.


There is much debate about the adequacy of the U.S. physician workforce and projections of its future size, distribution and composition. Beginning with 3 observations about the workforce we believe are largely not subject to dispute, we address the debate by providing an overview of the current state of the workforce and Graduate Medical Education in the United States; a brief history of both calls for graduate medical education reform since 1910 and the recent, intense debate about the reliability of workforce projections; and a discussion of the challenges to understanding the physician workforce. We draw 3 concluding observations: (1) Precisely because projections can be unpredictable in their impact on both physician workforce behavior and public policy development, policy makers need to devote more attention to workforce projections, not less. (2) More research devoted specifically to the workforce implications of delivery and payment reforms is strongly needed. (3) Such research must be pursued with a sense of urgency, given the rapid aging of the Baby Boom generation, which will put a disproportionate demand on the nation's physician workforce. Key Indexing Terms: Physician workforce; Graduate Medical Education; Public policy; Health policy; Medicare. [Am J Med Sci 2016;351(1):11–19.] There is much debate about the adequacy of the U.S. physician workforce. U.S. medical education, training, and healthcare delivery are referred to as: (1) the envy of the world, or (2) out-of-date and out-oftune with the needs of the nation and the reality of the market place, or (3) some combination of both. To address these conflicting views, we discuss the status of the nation's physician workforce, a brief history of calls for change affecting the physician workforce that have occurred for more than a century, the current workforce debate, and challenges facing the future physician workforce. We begin with 3 observations we believe are generally not subject to dispute: First, since the late 1800s, the U.S. physician workforce has continually evolved in response to a never ending series of social, economic, technological, demographic, and medical challenges that again and again have changed healthcare overall. This paper speaks to challenges facing U.S. healthcare posed by an ongoing national debate over whether we are collectively at risk of a serious physician workforce shortage within the next decade. The nature of these challenges may change over time, but the fact of change itself is an enduring reality. Second, U.S. healthcare and medical education have undergone numerous significant changes for more than a century. Still, the U.S. model of undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education (GME) remains primarily led by universities and teaching hospitals as recommended by the 1910 Flexner report. U.S. medical education is focused in its early years on rigorous, graduate level academic studies organized for NAL OF THE MEDICAL SCIENCES Copyright © 201 Inc. All rights reserved. ER 1 January 2016 www.amjmedsci.com ww the most part by university-affiliated medical schools, and it is focused in the later years on hands-on training in the care of a broad spectrum of patients in a variety of largely university hospital-related or other clinical settings, including primary care and other ambulatory care settings. Training is overseen by more senior medical faculty who often bridge the missions of care, education, and research. In the view of some academic leaders, today's GME programs take insufficient advantage of the academic setting for training physicians to become "scientific practitioners," expert in "how to approach patients in a rigorous scientific way," which was at the heart of the model of medical education Abraham Flexner championed. However, other leaders' concern about a lack of sufficient emphasis on primary and preventive care causes them to promote the need for more training in sites outside the university medical centers settings, even as ambulatory site training has become a common part of GME programs. Neither perspective precludes the other. No one would disagree with the view that modern medical education must produce physicians who are "critical thinkers" in the fast-changing worlds of both academic and non-academic medicine. Third, a distinguishing attribute of the U.S. physician workforce is that it relies in part on the collective result of individual physicians' personal choices to fulfill the nation's physician workforce needs. Their choices about where and what to study, to train, and to practice shape our physician workforce decade after decade far more than any single government dictate or incentive. 6 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation.


The invention uses 60-odd Chinese medicines of Chinese angelica root, pilose asiabell root, wolfberry fruit and astragalus root etc. which are refined to obtain the invented product. The invented product is mellow and refreshing in taste, and has the functions of refreshing oneself, restoring consciousness, relaxing muscles and tendons to strengthen bone, tonifying spleen and stomach and kidney and caring liver, nourishing lung to arrest cough, curing disease and body-building and prolonging life, etc..


We have studied the relationship between the location of EUV nonthermal broadening and high-energy particles during the large flares by using EUV imaging spectrometer onboard {\it Hinode}, Nobeyama Radio Polarimeter, Nobeyama Radioheliograph, and Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard {\it Solar Dynamic Observatory}. We have analyzed the five large flare events which contain thermal rich, intermediate, and thermal poor flares classified by the definition discussed in the paper. We found that, in the case of thermal rich flares, the nonthermal broadening of \ion{Fe}{24} occurred at the top of the flaring loop at the beginning of the flares. The source of the 17 GHz microwave is located at the footpoint of the flare loop. On the other hand, in the case of intermediate/thermal poor flares, the nonthermal broadening of \ion{Fe}{24} occurred at the footpoint of the flare loop at the beginning of the flares. The source of the 17 GHz microwave is located at the top of the flaring loop. We discussed the difference between thermal rich and intermediate/thermal poor flare based on the spatial information of nonthermal broadening, which may give a clue for the presence of turbulence playing an important role in the pitch angle scattering of the high-energy electron.


ABSTRACT This study analyzes the asymmetric causality between tourism development and economic growth for the period 1995–2016 in 9 emerging countries. Kónya [2006. Exports and growth: Granger causality analysis on OECD countries with a panel data approach. Econometric Modelling, 23(6), 978–992] panel causality test results indicate that there is no causality between tourism development and economic growth. However, the asymmetric panel causality test, which examines hidden causality between variables, shows that there is causality from the positive shocks of tourism development to the positive shocks of economic growth in Argentina and Turkey. In terms of negative shocks, causality is determined only for the Philippines from tourism development to economic growth. These results denote that the hidden tourism-led growth hypothesis is valid in Argentina, Turkey, and the Philippines.


Two types of TiO 2 powders of water-to-TPT ratios (Powder 1: water/TPT = 1 and Powder 2: water/TPT= 2) were synthesized via sol-gel method. The effect of hydrolysis degree on the formation of TiO 2 powder particles was investigated using various physical-chemical characterization methods. The synthesized powders were then immobilised by mixing them with cement to be cement-bonded TiO 2 photocatalyst. For photocatalytic measurement, phenol solution was selected as a model of pollutant to be degraded by both cement-bonded TiO 2 photocatalysts to analyse their photocatalytic efficiency. The photodegradation of phenol test revealed cement-bonded TiO 2 Powder 2 was more efficient than Powder 1 due to its high crystallinity which can lead to faster charge separation and the increased number of phenol molecules adsorbed.


Clouds are one of the most important moderators of the earth radiation budget and one of the least understood. The effect that clouds have on the reflection and absorption of solar and terrestrial radiation is strongly influenced by their shape, size, and composition. Physically accurate parameterization of clouds is necessary for any general circulation model (GCM) to yield meaningful results. The work presented here is part of a larger project that is aimed at producing realistic three-dimensional (3D) volume renderings of cloud scenes, thereby providing the important shape information for parameterizing GCMs. The specific goal of the current study is to develop an algorithm that automatically classifies (by cloud type) the clouds observed in the scene. This information will assist the volume rendering program in determining the shape of the cloud. Much work has been done on cloud classification using multispectral satellite images. Most of these references use some kind of texture measure to distinguish the different cloud types and some also use topological features (such as cloud/sky connectivity or total number of clouds). A wide variety of classification methods has been used, including neural networks, various types of clustering, and thresholding. The work presented here utilizes binary decision trees to distinguish the different cloud types based on cloud feature vectors.


Road infrastructure is considered as a kind of maximum physical assets, last century has been completed highroad net, current maximum difficulty is how to distribute the need for limited resource meets different Asset Types, road agency has to decide on the fund that different road types are distributed, including road surface, works (bridge, culvert), safety devices (guardrail), and other assets.Decision-making must be based on assets replacement, overhaul, the requirement of balance between regular maintenance and improvement.The problem of fund distribution is a complexity is, it is necessary to consider the mutual restriction between organizational capacity and individual.This invention provides a processing method by the equivalent road surface of bridge, using generally accepted pavement performance index as evaluating the single evaluation index of all Assets, and allows to investment optimization to play the maximum performance of assets.


Bright realized early in his studies that renal disease was a complex problem.1He stressed the relationship of renal dysfunction and abnormality to general edema and cardiovascular abnormalities. In addition, he recognized the development of metabolic disturbances as the disease progressed and, for a better understanding of their significance, invited the cooperation of the chemist. The results of this joint venture, though meager, anticipated by 75 years some of the biochemical findings now thoroughly appreciated by the medical profession. The early students of diffuse nephritis realized the serious outlook for the patient suffering from the progressive form of the disease. They learned slowly, however, that there was an acute reversible type2that often healed, and that some of the patients with the chronic form lived and were able to work for a number of years. Bright, after a decade of study,1bpartially reversed his earlier gloomy predictions


In the present work, friction coefficients and wear rates of polyester composites reinforced by graphite fiber with different diameters and impregnated by vegetable oils (Corn, Olives, and Sunflower oil) were measured to develop new engineering materials with low friction coefficients and high wear resistance which can be used in industrial applications as bearing materials. It was found thatcomposites of 10 vol.% corn oil and 10 vol.% graphite fibers show relatively low friction coefficientsand low wear rates. Corn and sunflower oil display good tribological behavior of the polyester composites.


Peripheral T-cell lymphomas are rare diseases: therefore, the International T-cell Lymphoma Project was undertaken to compare lymphomas at different sites throughout North America, Asia and Europe. Within this project, 243 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphomas (AILTs) were diagnosed which made up 21% of all peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL). At presentation, generalized lymphadenopathy was noted in 76% of the patients. Interestingly, three patients presented with extranodal disease only. Among the skin symptoms, erythroderma was the most frequent (21% of patients). Hemolytic anemia was seen in 13% and dysproteinemia occurred in 50%, and among these monoclonal serum immunoglobulin was seen in 8% of the patients. Anemia, hypergammaglobulinemia and elevated LDH were significantly more frequent in AILT than in PTCL-unspecified. Similarly, patients with AILT had a significantly higher frequency of high stage disease (89% of the patients were stage 3 or 4), as well as worse prognostic indices. Despite this, their 5-year overall (33%) and failure-free survivals (18%) were similar to patients with PTCL-unspecified. Treatment was usually administered in combination with anthracycline. A few factors at presentation were prognostic for outcome, including the PIT (prognostic index for T-cell lymphoma; Gallamini et al.: Blood. 2004 Apr 1;103(7):2474–9), age, B-symptoms and performance status. The IPI, however, was not prognostic. Controlling for the PIT, a platelet count


The authors have isolated and identified in the urine of exposed workers the metabolites of carbon disulfide which are causing positive iodineazide reaction (IAR). By thin-layer chromatography (TLC), it was established that three metabolites are present in the urine giving positive IAR. It was postulated that 2-mercapto-2-thiazolinone-5 could be one of them. For comparison, this compound was accordingly synthesized. After concentration of the urine in a vacuum, chromatography of an aluminum oxide column, elution with a chloroformmethanol mixture, and TLC, 2-mercapto-2-thiazolinone-5 was isolated. Identification of the isolated compound was performed by TLC, gas chromatography, infrared spectrophotometry, elemental microanalysis, and mass spectrometry using the synthesized product as the reference substance.


The mechanical behavior of a periodically buckled graphene membrane has been investigated by noncontact atomic force microscopy in ultrahigh vacuum. When a graphenemonolayerisgrownonRu(0001),aregulararrangementof0.075nmhighnanodomes formingahoneycomblatticewith3nmperiodicityformsspontaneously.Thisstructureresponds in a perfectly reversible way to relative normal displacements up to 0.12 nm. Indeed, the elasticity of the nanodomes is proven by realistic DFT calculations, with an estimated normal stiffness k ∼ 40 N/m. Our observations extend previous results on macroscopic graphene samplesandconfirmthattheelasticbehaviorofthismaterialismaintaineddowntonanometer length scales, which is important for the development of new high-frequency (terahertz) electromechanical devices.


A sudden revamp in the field of education due to Covid-19 made educators, learners and educational institutions set foot into a back breaking environment in education. For the most part the students are facing barriers in learning. Since e-learning plays a radical way for the students to learn, they face towards some difficulties in e-learning, missing the opportunities most probably the students from rural place, middle way families etc. Today Machine learning Algorithms effectuate in data analysis for classification and predicting the facts according to the data. It acts as an eminent role in the field of education to analyze the activities of students and making fine predictions to support them to take better decisions. This research study intends the analysis of student data base to determine the ability and disability factors to pursue the students in learning. This study also focuses better factors in learning process in future. It also gives the risk factors of the students during their online learning. The data is collected by means of a questionnaire in the form of Google forms reporting the self situation of the students. Orange tool is used for analyzing the data. Different Machine Learning algorithms are used to manipulate the data and the comparisons of algorithms have done according to its inferences.


Economic theories have long postulated the benefits of presenting consumers with more choice. Psychologists have advanced a similar idea, postulating that greater choice is related to consumer satisfaction. Economists and psychologists alike have come to challenge this prevailing notion. Following the pioneering work of Herbert Simon on bounded rationality, researchers have argued that providing greater choice size can adversely affect consumers' ability to locate the best choice, lower satisfaction with choice made, and increase sense of regret. Others have suggested that more choice demands greater cognitive demands. In our study, we extend this novel line of investigation to an uncharted domain: older adults. We posit that older adults in the United States face an increasingly bewildering array of health insurance choices - with deleterious consequences if the wrong choice is made. This is especially the case since the implementation of the Medicare Modernization Act, and in particular Part D of the Medicare program, where older adults must confront (is some cases) over 100 different insurance plans. This is of particular concern as older adults tend to have greater interaction with the medical care system but oftentimes do so with reduced cognitive capacity. To investigate this issue we designed a set of experiments intended to examine the effect of choice size on younger (the control group) and older adults' ability to make better choices, and to evaluate their level of satisfaction with their choices. They are being carried out in a California community. We will present results from two experiments. The first study examines older adults' ability to make choices among varying numbers (3, 10, 20) of prescription drugs insurance plans, where we supply subjects with realisitic information about each drug plans (total annual prescription drug costs and several aspects of benefits: whether drugs can be received by mail, the number of pharmacies in their area, distance to the closest pharmacy, deductible, and cost-sharing questions). Subjects answer both factual questions as well as subjective ones. Our second experiment studies the relationship between choice size and standardization of information. We explore this question within the context of long-term health care insurance. In this study we manipulate the number of insurance choices subjects face (5 vs. 15) and nature of the product (standardized benefits, vs. allowing companies to offer any configuration of benefits they like). We are particularly interested in the interaction between these two treatments, hypothesizing that subjects will be able to comprehend a larger choice set if benefits are standardized (as they currently are in the Medigap market). To control for confounders, in both experiments we also test participants' cognitive, numerical, and information processing abilities. We are currently carrying out the experiments; preliminary evidence presented at the meeting will show that elders are less facile as using health insurance information - although they show more confidence that they understand it. Moreover, the preliminary results do indicate that a higher number of choices reduces the ability to answer objective questions correctly.


A key factor in evaluating the economic benefits generated by an EU presidency is the revenue obtained from international tourism. The analytical problem can be solved by the application of heuristic approaches, which relate revenues from international tourist travel during the six-month presidency to an adequately chosen average or trend; or by using intervention models which are able to deal with the complex problem. The present study concentrates mainly on the second approach, using Austria as a case in point. The estimates found that the EU presidency had raised foreign currency revenues in Austria by about 3½% in the second half of 1998.


In this article, an approach is presented to compute the scattering parameters of the ferrite‐loaded waveguide discontinuity using the finite‐element method (FEM) and perfectly matched layers (PMLs). The propagation constants of a uniform ferrite‐loaded waveguide are first calculated to validate the proposed approach. Then a 2D ferrite‐loaded discontinuity problem is computed to further confirm the accuracy of the approach. Finally, several 3D discontinuity results are given to show the efficiency and generality of the approach. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J RF and Microwave CAE 13, 341–347, 2003.


Leadership, which is prominent in every occasion where the concept of organization is articulated and which is addressed in different dimensions by each organization, is a concept that is very important in the field of education, and it is becoming the subject of many researches. In the literature of educational research, schools and school administrators are the first subjects that come to mind when leadership is mentioned. In this regard, school administrators are expected to show leadership behaviors, such as providing guidance, supporting, assigning a measurable responsibility and being a source of inspiration to all school employees and students in order to achieve the aims of the school. In addition, school leaders should form the ground that provides in-class reform and development, in order to create a positive learning environment in the school (Nichols, 2011). In this context, the studies of educational leadership have emerged in 1970s, in conjunction with research and development activities related to the effective schools movement. In those years, based on the observations of primary schools, some researchers in the UK and North America have identified that some schools' achievements in terms of learning outcomes were bigger than others. They have stated that this situation cannot be solely explained with the individual and social characteristics of the students; therefore the difference between effective and ineffective schools might be associated with the leadership attitudes and behaviors that school administrators have exhibited. Thus, educational leadership became a concept that has been discussed a lot on it. According to these researchers, the characteristics of effective schools' leaders are (Kruger & Scheerens, 2012);* They are directly involved with the school and the education of students.* They carefully evaluate teachers' classroom performance, learning process and student outcomes again and again.* They create a work environment and school climate which will make learning possible for all children.Schlechty (2001) has stated that the main task of the school is working with knowledge. This idea is based on the fact that learning is an active process. Thus, he argued that schools should be institutions working towards an objective with the help of the ideas, concepts, forms, shapes and symbols. Although the schools are solely seen as the places where learning takes place, in reality it is well-known that they are the institutions beyond mere learning, with a much more complex structure. From this perspective, even though schools are a tool for generating and transferring the culture, they are also the places where the official ideology is produced and communicated (Ilich, 1998). The effectiveness of such a complex structure, with its social, cultural, economic and political aspects has become attractive for researchers.One of the most critical factors in the realization of effective schools is the leadership behaviors of school administrators. In the literature this type of leadership is discussed in different forms and dimensions, such as education leadership, instructional leadership, program leadership, and educational leadership. At the beginning, this concept has been discussed in a limited context, as course and program leadership, however later it was considered in a broader sense to include the mentioned dimensions, in terms of the concepts such as educational leadership, education and training leadership. Although it is called by different names, it can be understood that these leaderships basically refers to the school administrators who were trying to establish effective schools and learning.School leader is the person who is planning and implementing program development, making appropriate resource allocation, improving the performance of staff and students by motivating and guiding them, in order to achieve the objectives of the school. School leaders, after setting the objectives of the school, ensure that these objectives are shared and supported by the students, teachers and school community. …


The devolution of policies to the English regions is a key Government strategy for addressing geographical uneven development. Using Greater Manchester, the Government's flagship devolution initiative, the chapter analyses the implementation of welfare reforms in Greater Manchester, arguing that the work first model reinforces precarious economic conditions. The chapter highlights the key actors and organisations who struggle to forge another political agenda in the region.


Following defaunation, the loss of interactions with mutualists such as pollinators or seed dispersers may be compensated through increased interactions with remaining mutualists, ameliorating the negative cascading impacts on biodiversity. Alternatively, remaining mutualists may respond to altered competition by reducing the breadth or intensity of their interactions, exacerbating negative impacts on biodiversity. Despite the importance of these responses for our understanding of the dynamics of mutualistic networks and their response to global change, the mechanism and magnitude of interaction compensation within real mutualistic networks remains largely unknown. We examined differences in mutualistic interactions between frugivores and fruiting plants in two island ecosystems possessing an intact or disrupted seed dispersal network. We determined how changes in the abundance and behavior of remaining seed dispersers either increased mutualistic interactions (contributing to "interaction compensation") or decreased interactions (causing an "interaction deficit") in the disrupted network. We found a "rich‐get‐richer" response in the disrupted network, where remaining frugivores favored the plant species with highest interaction frequency, a dynamic that worsened the interaction deficit among plant species with low interaction frequency. Only one of five plant species experienced compensation and the other four had significant interaction deficits, with interaction frequencies 56–95% lower in the disrupted network. These results do not provide support for the strong compensating mechanisms assumed in theoretical network models, suggesting that existing network models underestimate the prevalence of cascading mutualism disruption after defaunation. This work supports a mutualist biodiversity‐ecosystem functioning relationship, highlighting the importance of mutualist diversity for sustaining diverse and resilient ecosystems.


Privacy and anonymity as values were once more closely associated with solitude and even hermitage than with active social existences. However, these values are taking on new significance in an age of the Internet; they are becoming more tightly linked with matters of identity management as well as self-determination within profoundly social realms. International interests are also involved as some nations are establishing protection for personal information about their citizens for economic and political reasons, including the goal of stemming the flow of information across their borders. Much of the discourse on information privacy and anonymity is becoming more sophisticated technologically, which is also shaping the character of these values and affecting the kinds of participants who can engage in effective social and political action relating to them. The problem of privacy have nots is emerging as many individuals have diminished means through which to conceal backstage interactions from the observation of strangers and to manage information about stigmas. In contrast, the day-to-day operations of organizations are increasingly being hidden from view as more citizens interact with them through the Internet instead of face-to-face encounters with organizational representatives. The result is a growing asymmetry and distance between individuals and the organizations that serve them.


The present invention provides a charging control apparatus and method which can achieve energy saving and quick cell balancing. According to the present invention, charging is suspended when one of a plurality of battery cells reaches a fully charged state. In addition, a battery cell, the state of charge of which is lowest, is determined to be supplementarily charged, and the other battery cells are determined to be forcedly discharged. Subsequently, cell balancing including supplementary charging and forced discharging is performed. When the number of the battery cells which, among the forcedly discharged battery cells, have the same state of charge as that of the supplementarily charged battery cell, is equal to or greater than a reference number, the cell balancing is stopped and charging is resumed. The cell balancing procedure is repeated whenever one of the plurality of battery cells reaches a fully charged state. The present invention can reduce energy waste in the process of performing cell balancing through forced discharging, and reduce the time required to charge a battery cell up to a fully charged state.


We describe a method that we believe may be foundational for a comprehensive theory of generalized Turán problems. The cornerstone of our approach is a quasirandom counting lemma for quasirandom hypergraphs, which extends the standard counting lemma by not only counting copies of a particular configuration but also showing that these copies are evenly distributed. We demonstrate the power of the method by proving a conjecture of Mubayi on the codegree threshold of the Fano plane, that is, any 3‐graph on n vertices for which every pair of vertices is contained in more than n/2 edges must contain a Fano plane, for n sufficiently large. For projective planes over fields of odd size q we show that the codegree threshold is between n/2 − q + 1 and n/2, but for PG2(4) we find the somewhat surprising phenomenon that the threshold is less than (1/2 − ϵ)n for some small ϵ > 0. We conclude by setting out a program for future developments of this method to tackle other problems. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg., 2009


The present invention is by dissolving (a) iron (Ⅱ) and iron (Ⅲ) in water, the method comprising uniformly mixing and sonication; (B) a step of the step of the solution so as to have a predetermined size of the spray nozzle through a small piezoelectric element having a diameter of 10 to 100 microseconds by droplets, and dropped into the alkaline solution in which the droplets to a reaction catalyst; (C) by stirring and reacting the alkaline solution of step b by sonication to form the iron oxide magnetite in the liquid; And (d) oxidizing the magnetite iron oxide formed in step c provides a process for the production of monodisperse iron oxide nanoparticles, comprising the step of forming the iron oxide Marg H. boehmite.


The Australian Mycodrosophila fauna comprises 21 species distributed in northern and eastern Australia to southern New South Wales. Only one species, M. argentifrons Malloch, is previously described from Australia; the south-east Asian species M. separata (de Meijere) is recorded for the first time. The remaining 19 species are new: adequate material has been available to permit the description and naming of 18 of them.


In this report, a strategy based on an aptameric molecule switch to realize homogeneous and isothermal signal exponential amplification and protein detection has been described. This method was simple and sensitive, allowing detection of as low as 2.6 × 10(-12) M thrombin.


One of the limitation for traditional data-dictionary design pattern in information systems is short of expansibility,and it is unadapted for the appearance of new information resources.In view of the weakness of traditional design pattern,an expansile data dic- tionary design pattern is brought forward.It is analyzed and modeled by UML and implemented based on the J2EE platform and MVC mode.Now this data dictionary system is applied and validated in"China high-education equipments and high quality resources sharing system"of national ministry of education.


Nicox Inc. is launching expanded access to Sequenom Laboratories' RetnaGene portfolio of genetic tests—RentaGene AMD and RetnaGene LR—which asses an individual's risk for advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD).


We prove that in the first Heisenberg group, unlike Euclidean spaces and higher dimensional Heisenberg groups, the best possible exponent for the strong geometric lemma for intrinsic Lipschitz graphs is $4$ instead of $2$. Combined with earlier work from arXiv:2004.11447 and arXiv:2207.03013, our result completes the proof of the strong geometric lemma in Heisenberg groups. One key tool in our proof, and possibly of independent interest, is a suitable refinement of the foliated coronizations which first appeared in arXiv:2004.12522.


Nearly 100 years ago Abraham Flexner proposed that undergraduate medical education in America follow a standard model: a preclinical curriculum covering basic sciences followed by a clinical curriculum covering the technical skills and clinical sciences. Years one and two have historically been devoted to didactic classroom instruction, while years three and four have been dedicated to "apprentice" experiential training. The common thread through all four years is an overwhelming focus on the sciences, with very little in the curriculum addressing the policy of healthcare delivery, the healthcare system, and fundamental "intangibles" of patient-centered care such as cultural competency, patient education, and evidence-based decision-making. 2, 3


The fully acetylated derivative of EGCG was synthesized by regulating reaction conditions.Then the high purity acetylated EGCG could be prepared after the reaction mixture was treated by two purifying process of the primary and further column chromatography.


There remain the operation lag and inaccuracy judgment in many power plants in the world caused by manually operating the air distribution. Boiler is one of the three main equipment of thermal power plant. Reasonable boiler air distribution can significantly improve the boiler combustion state, effectively reduce the heat loss of exhaust gas, reduce the heat loss of imperfect combustion, and reduce NOx emissions. Combining the three-dimensional simulation with control logic is a technique to cope with the operation lag and inaccuracy in many power plants in the world. In this paper, a 350MW supercritical boiler is used as a model for numerical simulation of combustion, the mathematical model and physical model is established. The air distribution mode, adjustment mode and amplitude of the boiler under each load are determined through the calculation results, and the air distribution adjustment strategy is outlined and the corresponding program is built. The calculation results show that the optimal air distribution mode of the boiler under different loads is different : the positive pagoda is selected for 160MW and 280MW, and the waist reduction is selected for 180MW and 230MW. Under 290-350MW load, the adjustment of the combustion air damper opening has a weak effect on the outlet oxygen, so give priority to the adjustment of the SOFA air damper opening can achieve better results. Overall, the findings confirm the air distribution mode under each load of the boiler, and demonstrate the basis of the damper adjusting range, which can be helpful to achieve automatic adjustment of air distribution and the boiler.


The author of the book examines the problems of trends in the development of modern constitutionalism and their impact on the national constitutional tradition of Ukraine.


For a CSA group $G$ and a wide class of abelian groups $A$ we give an explicit construction for the tensor $A$-completion of $G$ using free products with amalgamations. We apply the obtained results to the study of basic properties of $A$-free groups. In particular, canonical and reduced forms of elements in $A$-free groups are introduced, and then commuting and conjugate elements are described.


Many applications require querying graph-structured data . As graphs grow in size, indexing becomes essential to ensure sufficient query performance. We present the GRIPP index structure (GRaph Indexing based on Preand P ostorder numbering) for answering reachability and distance queries in graphs. GRIPP requires only linear space and can be computed very efficiently. Using GRIPP, we ca n answer reachability queries on graphs with 5,000,000 nodes on average in less than 5 milliseconds, which is unrivaled by previous methods. We can also answer di stance queries on large graphs more efficiently using the GRIPP index strucutr e. We evaluate the performance and scalability of our approach on real, random, an d scale-free networks using an implementation of GRIPP inside a relational databa se management system. Thus, GRIPP can be integrated very easily into existing grap h-oriented applications.


In 2003 I took a trip to Brazil for the first time after discovering my runaway mother's whereabouts by accident on the Internet. I had not seen nor heard from her since I was eight years old, but I boarded a plane in Toronto and landed, without language and with little knowledge of Brazilian culture, in Sao Paulo, where she was working. I spent ten turbulent days with her and then we visited Brasilia where the rest of my Brazilian family awaited my own strange reappearance in their lives. "Brazil, Under These Circumstances" is aseries of poems that exploreshow place is affected by our imaginative perceptions of our families. In much the same way that when we are disoriented we look for landmarks to stabilize ourselves, the speaker attempts to navigate her way through the family drama by accessing translated confessions, troubled memories, even absurd adventures. Brazil, like a runaway mother,constantly changes,from exotic jungle to criminal haven to
government town to a treasure trove of garbage. The purse image, which repeats prominently several times in the titles of poems, also changes throughout the poetic sequence.Can identity be bought? Can memories be mugged? Who does a place belong to? Who does a mother (or,for that matter, a grandmother or an uncle) belong to? The landscape in these poems undergoes constant negotiation within the speaker'simagination. And that negotiation is still ongoing.


Over many centuries, church and state have grown together, and apart. Sometimes linked like Siamese twins, sometimes in conflict with each other. This chapter discusses the major themes in the literature on church and state, some of the findings in the political economy of religion, and evaluates emerging directions in research on church-state relations.


This letter presents a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO)-based analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for audio applications using differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) to mitigate VCO voltage-to-frequency nonlinearity. To overcome VCO gain variation, a split-ADC architecture is employed where two sub-ADCs share one calibration unit, thereby enabling a quasideterministic background gain calibration with small delay and fast convergence speed. In addition, a hybrid dynamic element matching (DEM) is employed, which offers a lower delay and a smaller in-band mismatch noise compared to the segmented-tree DEM. Fabricated in 65 nm, the ADC achieves 94.2-dB SNDR, 97.3-dB SNR, and 100.3-dB DR in 20-kHz bandwidth while dissipating 142.6-μW power, yielding a DR-based FoM of 181.8 dB.


The effect of ACTH stimulation on cyclic nucleotide binding and the cyclic nucleotide dependent protein kinase of rat adrenal glands has been studied. Both ACTH administration and immobilization stress led rapidly to an increase in the cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity. This response, which is not inhibited by prior administration of cycloheximide, reflects an increase in Vmax without any change in the Km for cAMP (5.3–6.5 × 10–8M) or the binding activity for cAMP. There was no change in the activity of the cAMP-independent protein kinase. Neither stress nor ACTH produced a change in the activity of the cGMPdependent protein kinase. These results indicate that the rapid increase in adrenal protein kinase activity following ACTH administration is not solely dependent on the increased cAMP levels or binding of cyclic nucleotides to the kinase. It is suggested that ACTH alters the kinase making it more sensitive to dissociation after binding cAMP. (Endocrinology 54: 650, 1974)


This paper analyses the influence of Islamic Financial Technology on the change in Debtors' Preference for Bangun Drajat Warga Islamic Rural Bank Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta. The influence of Islamic Financial Technology is measured using several variables, comprising Perceived Financial Technology, Service Feature, Perceived Ease of Use and Perceived Risk. The paper, which is in the form of a case study on Bangun Drajat Warga Islamic Rural Bank Bantul, Special Region of Yogyakarta, was conducted from September to October 2018. Primary data were collected through the use of a questionnaire and interview and were processed using SPSS15 and analysed using Multiple Linear Regression. The results show that Perceived Financial Technology, Service Feature and Perceived Ease of Use partially have a significant and positive influence on the change in Islamic Rural Bank Debtors' Preference. The variable Perceived Risk was the only one to have an insignificant and negative influence on the change in Islamic Rural Bank Debtors' Preference. Overall, the independent variables simultaneously have a significant influence on the change in Islamic Rural Bank Debtors' Preference. The independent variables explained 63.3% of the dependent variables, with the remaining 36.7% explained by other variables outside the model. Keywords—Financial Technology, Debtors Preference, Islamic Rural Bank


Based on the experiences in project management,this paper combines the theories and technologies of project's communication and management with project's practical situation,and puts forward four strategies for project's communications and management including establishing detailed communication plan and adjusting timely,combining formal and informal communication,promoting communication between team members to reduce conflict and convening efficient meeting,and connecting with a concrete case project,discusses the applying methods and effects of the four communication strategies.


therapy). In this study, the actual incidence of post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease was similar in patients treated with IL2 receptor antibodies versus patients who received no induction therapy but was signifi cantly lower in these groups than in patients who received depleting antibodies as induction treatment. Whether mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) may reduce the risk of cancer is currently unclear. Although the analysis by Wimmer et al.2 suggests that MMF may even enhance the risk of cancer, when combined with calcineurin inhibitors, this conclusion could be biased by the retrospective design of their study and the preferential assignment of MMF to older recipients. Robson et al.10 prospectively examined the risk of lymphoma and other malignancies in 6751 de novo renaltransplant recipients treated with MMF and observed a similar risk at 3 years in comparison with an equal number of matched controls receiving non-MMFbased immunosuppression. Obviously, malignancy is still a challenging complication of long-term immunosuppression. Immunosuppressive drugs, such as mTOR inhibitors and IL-2 receptor antibodies, probably reduce the risk for all or some specifi c malignancies and are currently tested in clinical trials designed to reduce the incidence of some specifi c cancers in kidney transplant recipients. Achieving tolerance, the Holy Grail for transplant physicians, would undoubtedly obviate the need for lifelong immunosuppression and its associated complications. Pilot clinical trials are currently running to explore the biology of tolerance in humans and will hopefully shed more light on the feasibility of this goal in the future.


A short text to accompany the exhibition by Ellen Gallagher at the South London Gallery 'Ellen Gallagher: An Experiment of Unusual Opportunity' March 18 - May 3 2009


In order to improve your organic traffic, you have to imagine SEO in terms of market and product. Here, we consider the market as "keyword research" ...


Engineering students can understand global issues better in their curriculum if they are able to see examples of real-world issues happening in the industry. This paper describes the experiences in conducting a collaborative non-destructive evaluation (NDE) project between students and faculty members of Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama; a major laboratory in India; and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, India. The team at the NDE imaging and modeling lab at the Indian research center was keen in developing a robust algorithm for their automatic defect recognition (ADR) system for welds. The main problems the team faced in analyzing weld radiographs were (1) detecting weld defects in the presence of weld ripples and (2) detecting very faint defects occurring at the edge of the weld seam. The managers at this center wanted the team to develop new methodologies to identify defects in welds for analyzing the radiographs and solve the above problems. In order to bring this real-world issue into engineering classrooms, the authors developed a multi-media case study. The case study brings the problem to life in classrooms using video, audio, and pictures. The details of the case study are discussed in the paper


Agent-based modeling promises to overcome the reification of Th actors. Whereas this common, but limiting, assumption makes a lot he] of sense during periods characterized by stable actor boundaries, rei other historical junctures, such as the end of the Cold War, exhibit fix far-reaching and swift transformations of actors' spatial and let organizational existence. Moreover, because actors cannot be ide assumed to remain constant in the long run, analysis of macrostr historical processes virtually always requires "sociational" the endogenization. This paper presents a series of computational co] models, implemented with the software package REPAST, which thz trace complex macrohistorical transformations of actors be they (th hierarchically organized as relational networks or as collections of tht symbolic categories. With respect to the former, dynamic networks an featuring emergent compound actors with agent compartments represented in a spatial grid capture organizational domination of it i the territorial state. In addition, models of "tagged" social proW{ cesses allows the analyst to show how democratic states predicate as their behavior on categorical traits. Finally, categorical schemata tiv that select out politically relevant cultural traits in ethnic landsu( scapes formalize a constructivist notion of national identity in fol conformance with the qualitative literature on nationalism. This "st "finite-agent method", representing both states and nations as vie higher-level structures superimposed on a lower-level grid of ine primitive agents or cultural traits, avoids reification of agency. rat Furthermore, it opens the door to explicit analysis of entity proces cesses, such as the integration and disintegration of actors as well ini as boundary transformations. tin pli


The qualitative properties of high pressure die castings are closely correlated with their internal structure, which is directly conditioned by the gas entrapment in the melt volume during the casting cycle. It is known that the gas entrapment in the volume of the melt and their subsequent distribution into the cast can be reduced by changing the technological parameters of the casting cycle or by the modification of the gating system design. The contribution addresses the issue of which variant of the gas content reduction is more efficient regarding the gas entrapment and the nature of the melt flow in the runners. The experiments are based on a real casting process. The established design solution of the gating system and the technological parameters setting are considered as a referential. Different gating system modifications were designed where the design modification is connected with the cross-section of a gate, in which the final acceleration of the melt flow occurs. The observed melt velocity in the gate is considered as a correlation factor, based on which the modification in the piston velocity is determined. The assessed parameter is the gas entrapment in the cast volume at the end of the filling phase. Assessment of the casting cycle and evaluation of experiments is performed using simulation program Magmasoft. Based on the performed analyses, it can be stated that the gate design modification will affect the filling regime of the die cavity by changing the melt velocity in gate, but the nature of the melt flow in runners remains unchanged. Modification of the piston velocity affects the filling regime of the die cavity, and also the nature of the melt flow as it passes through the runners, thereby promoting the gas entrapment in the melt volume. Therefore, it is necessary to pay an increased attention to the design of the gating system and only after debugging the design to proceed to the optimization of technological parameters.


Alambadi is one of the five indigenous draught type cattle breeds of Tamil Nadu. The present study was undertaken to establish baseline genetic diversity information and evaluate its genetic relationship with Bargur cattle. The results suggested moderate levels of allelic diversity and observed heterozygosity with an overall mean of 6.52 and 0.666 respectively. Estimates of FIS showed significant heterozygosity deficit (0.056) indicating relatively higher levels of inbreeding in Alambadi cattle. The test for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium revealed 11.1% (3 out of 27) of the investigated loci showing significant deviations due to heterozygosity deficit. Estimation of global F statistics revealed low genetic differentiation between Alambadi and Bargur cattle. The global FST indicated only 3% of the total variation being explained by between breed differences, while the remaining 97% was explained by within breed variability. Principal components analysis revealed separate clustering of Alambadi and Bargur cattle, although admixture was observed among few animals from both the breeds. The test for mutation drift equilibrium revealed no evidences for the occurrence of genetic bottleneck in Alambadi and Bargur cattle in the recent past. Considering the rapid decline in the population of Alambadi cattle, the results of the present study is expected to help planning the strategy for genetic conservation and breed improvement.


Standardized geometry protocol software is needed for use in conjunction with hydraulic analysis software.
 Hydraulic models are used to analyze and solve steady-state and transient problems in many systems.
 The owner of such systems often faces the need to utilize less rigorous modeling and problem solving techniques. This is due the high cost of having to repeatedly develop a geometric model of the same system for different hydraulic software applications because of different rules and criteria governing system modeling.
 Instead a geometry model of such systems using a standard convention should be developed. All programs would recognize and be compatible with the standard. Such standardization would benefit both the owner and the software manufacturers.
 Conceptual ideas about the standardized geometry protocol software are presented.
 The protocol software sponsor must be a large organization such as ASME or EPRI to manage the effort through its development.


the associational loyalties without which there would be no groups to be tolerated. In the absence of groups capable of structuring the whims and impulses of individuals, he suggests, "radical freedom is thin stuff" (p. 92). As a set of observations and reflections on empirical data pertaining to toleration, Walzer's book is an original and penetrating piece of work. The defects noted above will be keenly felt by readers who, moved perhaps by Walzer's reputation as a leading political philosopher, pick up the book with philosophic expectations. But these defects are largely adventitious; Walzer did not set out to write a philosophic work, and what he did set out to do he did very well. Everyone who is worried about the hateful and bloody varieties of intolerance that have defaced our century will learn from the things he has to say. —Glenn Tinder


The paper reviews a strategy to locate damage based on the synthesis of fictive excitations for which the damage is unobservable. The first part of the paper examines the conditions for which these excitations exist, the second shows how they can be extracted from output signals and the third discusses their use in damage localization. An example illustrating the approach is presented. 332 IOMAC'09 – 3 International Operational Modal Analysis Conference (t ) D (t) (t) (t) M y C y K y f + + = (1) ( t ) D (t) (t ) ( t) M y C y (K K) y f + + + ∆ = (2) where the tilde is used to distinguish the damaged condition. If the requirement ( ) ( ) f t f t = and ˆ ( ) ( ) ( ) y t y t y t = = is imposed one gets, subtracting Eq. (2) from Eq. (1) ( ) ˆ 0 t K y ∆ = (3) which shows that loads leading to identical response in both states exist when the change in the stiffness matrix is rank deficient. The fact that the stress field associated with ( ) ˆ t y is identically zero over closed regions containing the damage has been proven in Bernal (2007) and the details are omitted here for brevity. To illustrate how the response equating excitations can be extracted from the data we go back to Eq. (3) and from there write ( ) ( ) ˆ t t y Qg = (4) where Q ∈R nx(n-p) is a basis for the null space of ∆K, g(t) ∈R (n-p)x1 is an arbitrary time dependent vector and n is the dimension of the matrices in Eqs.(1) and (2). Substituting Eq. (4) in Eq. (1) one gets the response equating excitations as ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ˆ t D t t t M Q g C Qg KQ g f + + = (5) As is shown in the next subsection, force histories that satisfy Eq. (5), and are non-zero only at the experimental coordinates (which we designate as dynamic damage locating vectors or dDLVs) can often be extracted from measurements. The existence conditions can be established by inspecting Eq. (5) in partitioned form. Specifically, with the experimental coordinates (q) appearing first one has


This paper presents the optimization design and a detailed implementation in FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) of a power control strategy. This strategy is based on the phase shift angle of the inverter output voltage with respect to the grid voltage and DSPWM (Digital Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation) patterns "Phase shift angle-DSPWM" for an inverter for photovoltaic system connected to the grid. The proposed control can synchronize a sinusoidal inverter output current with a grid voltage and control the power injected into the grid. Detailed development of a digital controller with lower hardware and computation requirement is proposed. Description on the digital implementation of the A/D converter, the PI compensator, the phase shift and the DPWM, is provided. This digital control exhibit simplicity, reduction of the memory requirements and power calculation for the control. The functional structure of this system with digital control has been validated with simulations and experimental results.


In order to improve performance, image preprocessing for enhancement is essential in a fingerprint recognition system. Most prominent fingerprint enhancement methods perform well for relatively high-quality images but less effectively for low-quality images, especially where the ridge patterns are very noisy and corrupt. To enhance such images, this paper proposes an effective three-step algorithm, a method that locally normalizes input images, computes the local ridge orientation, and then applies a local ridge compensation filter with a rotated window in order to enhance the ridges by matching the local ridge orientation. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method performs better when compared to some noted methods of enhancing low-quality images.


With the economic globalization and social informatization, it has received more and more widespread attention to cultivate applied talents based on the cooperation of industry, university and research. In order to better cultivate applied talents and realize the people's all-round development, this paper explores the characteristics of the times, the historical inevitability and the selection of realistic paths of cultivating applied talents based on the three-in-one platform of industry-university-research. This paper holds that cultivating applied talents based on the three-in-one platform has the characteristics of the times of applicability, complexity and practicality. It has the historical inevitability in its development, which reflects the historical achievements of the continuous progress of science & technology, the objective requirements of the sustainable development of economy & society and the inherent requirements of the cultivation of modern talents and the development of higher education. It is the selection of realistic paths to cultivate applied talents based on the three-in-one platform for realizing the intersection of literal arts & sciences, the integration of knowledge & practice and the coordination of one specialty & multi-capability.


Higher cluster categories were recently introduced as a generalization of cluster categories. This paper shows that in Dynkin types A and D, half of all higher cluster categories can be obtained as quotients of cluster categories. The other half are quotients of 2-cluster categories, the 'lowest' type of higher cluster categories. Hence, in Dynkin types A and D, all higher cluster phenomena are implicit in cluster categories and 2-cluster categories. In contrast, the same is not true in Dynkin type E.


Diagnosis of neonatal sepsis is still a major problem. Eosinophil is a forgotten marker of acute infection. The reduction in the number of circulating eosinophils was assumed as a secondary response to stress caused by acute bacterial infection. The aim of the present study is to assess validity of eosinopenia as a diagnostic marker in neonatal bacterial sepsis. A crosssectional study was performed on all neonates aged <28 day old in Child Health Department Hasan Sadikin General Hospital Bandung between June and July 2009. Blood samples were obtained for eosinophil count and blood culture at the time patient was suspected sepsis. Statistical analysis was done by the Pearson chi-square and Mann-Whitney tests. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the cut-off value of eosinophil count. A total of 91 patients were enrolled, 56 neonates were classified as sepsis group and 35 neonates as nonsepsis group. Sepsis group had a mean percentage of eosinophil of 1.16% versus 1.65% in nonsepsis group; it showed significant difference (Mann Whitney test, p=0.005). Eosinophil at <0,78% yielded a sensitivity of 69.6% (95% CI, 55.9-81.2%), a specificity of 74.3% (95% CI, 56.7-87.5%), and accuracy of 71.4%. Eosinopenia is a diagnostic marker of neonatal bacterial sepsis. Keywords: Neonatal, sepsis, eosinophil


It is an urgent need to improve early diagnosis of ESCC, because is one of the most aggressive cancer. The quantitative image analysis can aid in the identification of ESCC. Despite much research effort, the major prognostic factor of ESCC remains the pathological stage of the disease as defined by the TNM classification, whereas tumour grading is of limited value in this respect, mainly due to its low reproducibility. A better means for disease prognostication based on improved understanding of the pathogenetic mechanisms is urgently required. Materials and methods: The material of the present study was derived from a series of 1876 oesophageal surgical specimens taken from a total of 700 patients, who underwent oesophageal resection for an invasive ESCC in Anyang Tumour Hospital, Henan Province of China. Among. The cases of ESCC, previously subjected to extensive testing for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) involvement and expression of p53 gene. All cases are analysed by histopathology and by in situ hybridisation (ISH) and PCR, and a group of 272 patients was randomly selected for analysis of the primary tumour, adjacent mucosa and regional lymph nodes, in the quantitative image analysis. All cases and HPV data were subjected to extensive univariate and multivariate analysis to disclose independent predictors of progressive disease. Results: For the analyses, the ESCCs were graded into two categories: well – moderately and poorly-differentiated. HPV DNA was detected in 116 (18.9 %) of the carcinomas by ISH and in 15.2 % by PCR. In univariate analysis, lymph node status was significantly (p < 0.01) predicted by the following nuclear parameters: nuclear area, G0/G1 ratio, HPV DNA status, integrated optical density (IOD), mean optical density (MOD) and S-Phase. In multivariate analysis, 6 variables remained as independent predictors of disease progression (p < 0.05 level), the three most significant ones being nuclear perimeter, nuclear roundness and equivalent diameter (p < 0.01). Conclusions: A series of quantitatively measured nuclear parameters seem to be a close correlation with ESCC differentiation and progression in univariate analysis and some of these variables proved to be significant independent predictors of disease progression in multivariate modelling as well. These data clearly advocate the use of quantitative image analysis in searching for additional prognostic factors of ESCC.


Abstract The effect of dietary vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7, MK-7) and cheonggukjang (CGJ) on the prevention of ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss was studied in rats. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into eight groups: sham-operated; OVX control; OVX treated with MK-7 at doses of 2, 4, and 8 μg/day; and OVX treated with CGJ at doses of 0.063, 0.125, and 0.250 g/day referenced to MK-7 levels at 2, 4, and 8 μg/day, respectively. After 8 weeks of treatment, the preventive effects of MK-7 and CGJ were evaluated by measuring body weights, serum levels of bone turnover markers, bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), trabecular microarchitectural properties, and bone histological characteristics. Our results showed that rats treated with a high dose of MK-7 (8 μg/day) exhibited a minor inhibitory effect on OVX-induced bone loss, as indicated by a significant increase in trabecular number, as well as BMC and BMD (P<.01). Moreover, the preventive effects of MK-7 were augmented by administrat...


Through its Special Award, AIA Minnesota seeks to encourage, stimulate, and recognize exceptional contributions that improve the quality of our physical environment made by individuals and organizations that operate outside of the architectural profession. This award celebrates architecture as a collaborative effort that relies on the talents and commitment of many individuals working together to achieve common goals.


The aim of this study was to investigate activity‐induced effects from bone geometric properties of the proximal femur in athletic vs nonathletic healthy females by statistically controlling for variation in body size, lower limb isometric, and dynamic muscle strength, and cross‐sectional area of Musculus gluteus maximus.


The coal mining, being highly susceptible to accidents and fatalities, is considered amongst the most dangerous occupations. Historically, Pakistan has faced an alarmingly high rate of coal mine di...


The deterioration of environmental quality has caused more attention of government, academia and public. The ecological supply chain is a systematic means to resolve the environmental problems, and the environmental purchasing is an essential element to the ecological supply chain. Game theory is used to analyze the environmental purchasing model under the market condition in which the green raw material and non-green raw material appear at the same time. Some results are derived and methods for improving environmental purchasing are given.


Abstract Whether the design is done manually or by software, the designer will have difficulty choosing the economic and strength cross section. The designer, in this case, either relies on their experience or resorts to the method of trial and error. Especially for Cantilever beams with a long span as a result of risk deflections, it is exposed. The current theoretical study was performed on rectangular concrete cross sections of different dimensions and subjected to uniformly distributed loads. Based on a previous study, the sections are reinforced with a specific reinforcement ratio. Through an algorithm, Python 3.4 software, and an output file, the permissible deflections for each cross section were calculated according to the ACI 318M-19. Finally, the authors could draw a graph to choose the appropriate cross section for each required beam length in less time and effort.


The present invention relates to a non-transfer flexible vertical light emitting diode and a manufacturing method thereof. The non-transfer flexible vertical light emitting diode according to the present invention is formed on a flexible substrate and comprises: an LED element layer (200); a first patternable polymer layer for accommodating the LED element layer (200) therein; a first metal line connected to one side of the LED element layer (200) through first contact areas exposed to and formed in the first patternable polymer layer; a second patternable polymer layer disposed in contact with the LED element layer (200) and the first patternable polymer layer; and a second metal line connected to the other side of the LED element layer (200) through second contact areas exposed to and formed in the second patternable polymer layer.


This paper analyzes the mechanism for energy saving and emission reduction in distributed generation and microgrid technology,and establishes the energy saving and emission reduction assessment model by systematically taking into account the impacts of distributed generation and microgrid on the power output,transmission loss and distribution network efficiency of the traditional fossil fuel power plants.Finally,the empirical study has verified the validity of the proposed model.This research provides a certain guidance for the energy saving and emission reduction assessment for distributed generation and microgrid technology from entire power system production chain.


The author presents a guide for determining the significance of primary governing frequency response (PGFR) to total interconnection reliability using examples from the North American interconnections. Primary governing frequency response assessments based on measurement methods, failure modes, risk contributors, total risk estimation, and sensitivities are presented. Methods to assure adequate primary governing frequency response are examined with respect to responsibility allocation, local measurement and standard implementation.


Objectives : Yangseng is a traditional healthcare regimen on the promotion of health and prevention of illnesses by means of specific principles and methods for the purpose of living a long and healthy life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of depression level and Yangseng in rural residents for the promotion of health and prevention of illness. Methods: The subjects of this study were 1205 rural residents who live in Wanju. Cheonbuk. Korea. Beck depression inventory and the Yangseng were assessed by survey personnels. Results: The total score of Yangsaeng was , and the BDI score was . Mild depression group was 5.03%. depression and severe depression group was 3.86%. Normal group in depression showed higher Yangsaeng score. and the high Yangsaeng score group showed lower BDI score. Conclusions : Above results suggest that there are signigicant relations between depression and Yangsaeng. These results could be used for planning the public healthcare programs and Yangseng promoting program based on Korean traditional medicine.


Three new cases of acute febrile neutrophilic dermatosis of Sweet are described. They are the first reported from New Zealand. No new light is shed on aetiology.


In this quantitative research, we drew the managerial competence considered weak from 16 (sixteen) managerial competencies of Primary School's Principals in South Sumatera based on Regulation of National Education Minister Republic Indonesia Number 13 of 2007. The instrument used was questionnaire. The result mentioned that there were 8 (eight) sub managerial competencies considered weak and need to be coached 1) developing the school's organization; 2) creating the conducive and innovative school's culture; 3) managing teachers and staff optimally; 4) managing school and community relationships; 5) managing students; 6) managing curriculum development and learning activities; 7) managing school information system; 8) monitoring, evaluating and reporting the implementation of school's program activities. The results contributed to the Ministry of Education and Culture Republic Indonesia in conducting the managerial competence of Primary School's Principals in South Sumatera.


• A toolkit of basic principles and skills for the study and practice of entrepreneurship and business startup • Basic grounding in the theory and practice of social entrepreneurship, which focuses on the social, as well as the economic, value of entrepreneurial activity • Analysis of the broader context of entrepreneurship, drawing on perspectives from Arts & Sciences disciplines to examine social, economic, historical, and cultural forces that influence the subject • Multiple and interdisciplinary perspectives for examining creativity, leadership, and innovation as important elements of entrepreneurial thinking and behavior


The invention discloses a colloidal gold test strip for fast detecting rheumatoid factors, belonging to medical test consumables. The colloidal gold test strip is characterized in that human denatured IgG with a colloidal gold label is enveloped on a gold label fiber pad; anti-mu chain IgM and human denatured IgG are enveloped on a T line, and the ratio of unit area envelop quantity of the human denatured IgG on the colloidal gold label, the anti-mu chain IgM and human denatured IgG on the T line on the gold label fiber pad is 0.133-0.889 to 5 to 1. The test strip uses an antibody capture method and a double antigen sandwich method principle during detection, has sensitivity and specificity, can fast detect the rheumatoid factors in human serum, plasma or whole blood by combining with an immune colloidal gold technique and has the advantages of simplicity, sensitivity and accuracy.


This paper focuses on both expanding and refining the analytical scope of the "social†(or non-economic) aspects of chronic poverty, and thereby, to enhance efforts to respond more effectively to it. The argument in this paper proceeds as follows. In recognizing that poverty is "multi-dimensional†, today's dominant policy discourses have actually made important, if often under-appreciated, steps to incorporate insights from social and political theory, but that these (hard-won) gains now need to be consolidated, advanced and sharpened. [CPRC Working Paper 104].


This paper proposes a face recognition method using artificial immune network classifiers based on Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA abstracts principal eigenvectors of the image in order to get best feature description, hence to reduce the number of inputs of immune networks. After this, these image data of reduced dimensions are input into an immune network to be trained. Subsequently the antibodies of the immune networks are optimized using genetic algorithms. The performance of the present method was evaluated using the AT&T Laboratories Cambridge database (formerly called ORL face database). The results show that this method gains higher recognition rate in contrast with some other methods.


Attachment is defined as a dynamic system of attitudes and behaviours that contribute to the formation of a specific bond between two people;


This paper presents the design and implementation of Software Defined Radio (SDR) transceiver based 16-QAM as one of the key techniques in structure of wireless and mobile communication system. The widely used of QAM in adaptive modulation due to efficient power and bandwidth force the researchers to found better and easy design by use the available software like MATLAB in order to advance the idea of software defined radio. The setting of parameter for random generator, QAM modulation and demodulation, AWGN wireless channel are provided. The Error rates of QAM system against the signal-to-noise ratio are used to evaluate the QAM system. The implementation results shows the system capability to transmitand receive intermediate frequency of 40 MHZ keeping the power under limited FPGA Slices and look up table (LUT).


Let G be a group of n × n matrices acting algebraically on an algebraic subset V of by x⇒ ϕ (A,x). Assume that In fixes every member of V. For a given x ∈ V, let y be in the orbit of x in G. If y is close enough to x (with respect to some chosen norm) when there is an A ∈ G with A suitably close to In such that y = ϕ (A,x)? These Lipschitz properties have been studied by the authors in several papers. If G is in addition a real analytic Lie group, then a relevant question concerns existence of analytic local cross sections. We give a discussion of these questions in this note and state some conjectures and unsolved problems.


Force feedback is commonly used to enhance realism in virtual reality (VR). However, current works mainly focus on providing different force types or patterns, but do not investigate how a proper point of application of force (PAF), which means where the resultant force is applied to, affects users' experience. For example, users perceive resistive force without torque when pulling a virtual bow, but with torque when pulling a virtual slingshot. Therefore, we propose a set of handheld controllers, ElastiLinks, to provide force feedback between controllers with dynamic PAFs.A rotatable track on each controller provides a dynamic PAF, and two common types of force feedback, resistive force and impact, are produced by two links, respectively. We performed a force perception study to ascertain users' resistive and impact force level distinguishability between controllers. Based on the results, we conducted another perception study to understand users' distinguishability of PAF offset and rotation differences. Finally, we performed a VR experience study to prove that force feedback with dynamic PAFs enhances VR experience.


The survival of pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma has improved remarkably over the past 3 decades. This success has been due to improved risk stratification and optimization of treatment. Asparaginase is an important aspect of therapy for both conditions. Unfortunately, up to 30% of patients who receive the Escherichia coli–derived product will develop an allergy, which necessitates a switch to the antigenically distinct Erwinia-derived asparaginase (EA).1,2 Although the intramuscular (IM) route of administration was used in dose-finding studies for EA, administration by the intravenous (IV) route is less painful. Furthermore, IV administration may reduce the requirement for platelet transfusions (which are sometimes needed before an IM injection), thus potentially reducing exposure to blood products and nursing workload. The authors' institution, the Children's Hospital, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), was one of the first pediatric centres in Canada to administer EA by the IV route. We present our initial experience with IV administration of this product.