Age is probably the single most crucial factor determining how humans sleep. Age and level of vigilance significantly influence the electroencephalogram (EEG) and the polysomnogram (PSG). The Pediatric Task Force provide an evidence-based review of the age-related development of the polysomnographic features of sleep in neonates, infants, and children, assessing the reliability and validity of these features, and assessing alternative methods of measurement. We used this annotated supporting text to develop rules for scoring sleep and arousals in infants and children. A pediatric EEG or PSG can only be determined to be normal by assessing whether the EEG patterns are appropriate for maturational age. Sleep in infants at term can be scored as NREM and REM sleep because all the polysomnographic and EEG features of REM sleep are present and quiet sleep, if not NREM sleep, is at least "not REM sleep." The dominant posterior rhythm (DPR) of relaxed wakefulness increases in frequency with age: (1) 3.5-4.5 Hz in 75% of normal infants by 3-4 months post-term; (2) 5-6 Hz in most infants 5-6 months post-term; 3) 6 Hz in 70% of normal children by 2 months of age; and 3) 8 Hz (range 7.5-9.5 Hz) in 82% of normal children age 3 years, 9 Hz in 65% of 9-year-olds, and 10 Hz in 65% of 15-year-old controls. Sleep spindles in children occur independently at two different frequencies and two different scalp locations: 11.0-12.75 Hz over the frontal and 13.0-14.75 Hz over the centroparietal electrodes; these findings are most prominent in children younger than 13 years. Centroparietal spikes are often maximal over the vertex (Cz), less often maximal over the left central (C3) or right central (C4) EEG derivation. About 50% of sleep spindles within a particular infant's PSG are asynchronous before 6 months of age, 30% at 1 year. Based on this, we recommend that: (1) sleep spindles be scored as a polysomnographic signature of NREM stage 2 sleep (N2) at whatever age they are first seen in a PSG, typically present by 2 to 3 months post-term; (2) identify and score sleep spindles from the frontal and centroparietal EEG derivations, especially in infants and children younger than 13 years. NREM sleep in an infant or child can be scored if the dominant posterior rhythm occupies <50% of a 30-second epoch, and one or more of the following EEG patterns appear: (1) a diffuse lower voltage mixed frequency activity; (2) hypnagogic hypersynchrony; (3) rhythmic anterior theta of drowsiness; (4) diffuse high voltage occipital delta slowing; (5) runs or bursts of diffuse, frontal, frontocentral, or occipital maximal rhythmic 3-5 Hz slowing; (6) vertex sharp waves; and/or (7) post-arousal hypersynchrony. K complexes first appear 5 months post-term and are usually present by 6 months post-term, whereas clearly recognizable vertex sharp waves are most often seen 16 months post-term. Vertex sharp waves are best seen over the central (Cz, C3, C4) and K complexes over the frontal (Fz, F3, F4) electrodes. Slow wave activity (SWA) of slow wave sleep (SWS) is first seen as early as 2 to 3 months post-term and is usually present 4 to 4.5 months post-term. SWA of SWS in an infant or child often has a peak-to-peak amplitude of 100 to 400 microV. Based on consensus voting we recommended scoring N1, N2, and N3 corresponding to NREM 1, 2, and SWS whenever it was recognizable in an infant's PSG, usually by 4 to 4.5 months post-term (as early as 2-3 months post-term). Epochs of NREM sleep which contain no sleep spindles, K complexes, or SWA would be scored as N1; those which contain either K complexes or sleep spindles and <20% SWS as N2, and those in which >20% of the 30-second epoch contain 0.5 to 2 Hz >75 microV (usually 100-400 microV) activity as N3. The DPR should be scored in the EEG channel that is best observed, (typically occipital), but DPR reactive to eye opening can be seen in central electrodes. Because sleep spindles occur independently over the frontal and central regions in children, they should be scored whether they occur in the frontal or central regions. Because sleep spindles are asynchronous before age 2 years, simultaneous recording of left and right frontal and central activity may be warranted in children 1-2 years of age. Simultaneous recording of left, right, and midline central electrodes may be appropriate because of the asynchronous nature of sleep spindles before age 2 years, but reliability testing is needed. Evidence has shown that the PSG cannot reliably be used to identify neurological deficits or to predict behavior or outcome in infants because of significant diversity of results, even in normal infants. Normal sleep EEG patterns and architecture are present in the first year of life, even in infants with severe neurological compromise. Increasing evidence suggests that sleep and its disorders play critical roles in the development of healthy children and healthy adults thereafter. Reliability studies comparing head-to-head different scoring criteria, recording techniques, and derivations are needed so that future scoring recommendations can be based on evidence rather than consensus opinion. We need research comparing clinical outcomes with PSG measures to better inform clinicians and families exactly what meaning a PSG has in evaluating a child's suspected sleep disorder.


The protective role of secretory antibodies in the development of adenovirus infection has been established. More severe and prolonged course of adenovirus infection, accompanied by the involvement of the lower respiratory tract in the process, has been noted in patients with low titers of antibodies, or their absence, in secretions (O to 1:4). The presence of secretory antibodies in a titer of 1:8 considerably alleviated the course of the disease. The antibody titer 1:16 (according to the data of the passive hemagglutination test) has proved to be protective for children and adults in adenovirus infection. The results of the determination of antibodies in the secretions of the upper respiratory tract in the passive hemagglutination test may be used for the purposes of prognostication.


Background: The health impacts of wildfire smoke, including fine particles (PM2.5), are not well understood and may differ from those of PM2.5 from other sources due to differences in concentrations and chemical composition. Methods: First, for the entire Western United States (561 counties) for 2004–2009, we estimated daily PM2.5 concentrations directly attributable to wildfires (wildfires-specific PM2.5), using a global chemical transport model. Second, we defined smoke wave as ≥2 consecutive days with daily wildfire-specific PM2.5 > 20 &mgr;g/m3, with sensitivity analysis considering 23, 28, and 37 &mgr;g/m3. Third, we estimated the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory hospital admissions associated with smoke waves for Medicare enrollees. We used a generalized linear mixed model to estimate the relative risk of hospital admissions on smoke wave days compared with matched comparison days without wildfire smoke. Results: We estimated that about 46 million people of all ages were exposed to at least one smoke wave during 2004 to 2009 in the Western United States. Of these, 5 million are Medicare enrollees (≥65 years). We found a 7.2% (95% confidence interval: 0.25%, 15%) increase in risk of respiratory admissions during smoke wave days with high wildfire-specific PM2.5 (>37 &mgr;g/m3) compared with matched non smoke wave days. We did not observe an association between smoke wave days with wildfire-specific PM2.5 ⩽ 37 &mgr;g/m3and respiratory or cardiovascular admissions. Respiratory effects of wildfire-specific PM2.5 may be stronger than that of PM2.5 from other sources. Conclusion: Short-term exposure to wildfire-specific PM2.5was associated with risk of respiratory diseases in the elderly population in the Western United States during severe smoke days. See video abstract at, http://links.lww.com/EDE/B137.


Arbitrary-oriented objects widely appear in natural scenes, aerial photographs, remote sensing images, etc., and thus arbitrary-oriented object detection has received considerable attention. Many current rotation detectors use plenty of anchors with different orientations to achieve spatial alignment with ground truth boxes. Intersection-over-Union (IoU) is then applied to sample the positive and negative candidates for training. However, we observe that the selected positive anchors cannot always ensure accurate detections after regression, while some negative samples can achieve accurate localization. It indicates that the quality assessment of anchors through IoU is not appropriate, and this further leads to inconsistency between classification confidence and localization accuracy. In this paper, we propose a dynamic anchor learning (DAL) method, which utilizes the newly defined matching degree to comprehensively evaluate the localization potential of the anchors and carries out a more efficient label assignment process. In this way, the detector can dynamically select high-quality anchors to achieve accurate object detection, and the divergence between classification and regression will be alleviated. With the newly introduced DAL, we can achieve superior detection performance for arbitrary-oriented objects with only a few horizontal preset anchors. Experimental results on three remote sensing datasets HRSC2016, DOTA, UCAS-AOD as well as a scene text dataset ICDAR 2015 show that our method achieves substantial improvement compared with the baseline model. Besides, our approach is also universal for object detection using horizontal bound box. The code and models are available at https://github.com/ming71/DAL.


Abstract. In this paper, the set of trajectories of the control system described by a nonlinear Volterra integral equation is studied. It is assumed that the set of admissible control functions is the closed ball of the space Lp, p > 1, with radius μ and centered at the origin. It is shown that the sections of the set of trajectories can be approximated by the sections of trajectories, generated by the mixed constrained and Lipschitz continuous control functions, the Lipschitz constant of which is bounded.


This article assesses how the political context shapes policy implementation in decentralized countries. It finds that effective implementation of non-contributory social policies depends on political alignments across different territorial levels. Subnational units governed by the opposition hinder the implementation of national policies, but only if the policy carries clear attribution of responsibility. On one hand, conditional cash transfers have clear attribution of responsibility and thus, pose risks for opposition subnational governments, who, as a result, have incentives to obstruct such policies. On the other hand, in social services, attribution of responsibility is blurred, and therefore their implementation is not shaped by political alignments. By analyzing policy implementation, disaggregating social policies, and incorporating multilevel political alignments, this article contributes to theories of the welfare state and multilevel governance. The empirical foundation includes an analysis of the factors that shape the successful implementation of social policies in Argentina and Brazil through a combination of pooled time-series analysis and extensive field research.


The salen-type ligand prepared with (R,R) diphenylethan-1,2-diamine and salicylaldehyde provides stable and inert complexes KLnL2 upon simple reaction with lanthanide halides or pseudohalides LnX3 (Ln = Tb(3+) -Lu(3+) ; X = Cl(-) or TfO(-) ) of its potassium salt. All the complexes were completely characterized through nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), electronic circular dichroism (ECD) in the UV and some (Er(3+) , Tm(3+) , Yb(3+) ) also with Near-IR ECD (NIR-ECD) and luminescence (Tb(3+) , Tm(3+) ). Careful analysis of the NMR shifts demonstrated that the complexes are isostructural in solution and afforded an accurate geometry. This was further confirmed by means of Density Functional Theory (DFT) optimization of the Lu(3+) complex, and by comparing the ligand-centered experimental and time-dependent TD-DFT computed UV-ECD spectra. As final validation, we used the NIR-ECD spectrum of the Yb(3+) derivative calculated by means of Richardson's equations. The excellent match between calculated and experimental ECD spectra confirm the quality of the NMR structure.


Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a biogenic trace gas with importance to aerosol formation. DMS is produced by microbial degradation of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), an abundant metabolite in marine microalgae. We analyzed DMS and DMSP concentrations in surface water in the central Arctic Ocean during two expeditions north of 79°N in 2011 and 2015. We identified three regions, which were characterized by different DMS and DMSP concentrations, dependent on the regional water masses and the relative movement of sea ice and water to each other. In addition, correlations between DMS and DMSP and correlation of the two sulfur compounds to autotrophic biomass (as chlorophyll a) differed in the regions. In the area of the nutrient rich Atlantic water inflow and short contact of this water with sea ice, DMS is present in high concentrations and correlates to DMSP as well as chlorophyll a. At two stations, particularly high DMS concentrations were found in conjunction with under-ice phytoplankton biomass peaks. In contrast, in mixed Atlantic and Pacific water with strong polar influence, where long-term contact between sea ice and water causes persistent stratification, only little DMS is found. Further, the correlations to DMSP and chlorophyll a are lost and the ratio of DMS to DMSP is about one order of magnitude lower, pointing towards consumption of DMSP without the production of DMS. We conclude that the duration of sea ice influence and source of the surface water do not only lead to differences in phytoplankton productivity, resulting in different DMSP concentrations, but also influence microbial recycling of DMSP to DMS or other compounds. DMS production, as possible source for aerosols, is thus presumably lower in the strongly sea ice influenced central Arctic areas than what could be expected from DMSP concentration or biomass.


October Term 2011 had an unusually large number of high profile cases that not only affect what lawyers and judges do, but have a dramatic impact on people's lives. Key rulings included decisions about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, Arizona's immigration law, criminal procedure, the First Amendment, and civil rights litigation. It was a year in which it truly became the John Roberts Court.


This paper studies the optimization of hole-making operations with multiple tools in which a hole may require various tools to its final size. The objective of this problem is to minimize the summation of tool airtime and tool switch time for the hole-making operations. As known, the problem is NP-hard. In this paper, we show a property that any infeasible permutation of hole-making operations can be transformed into a feasible one. Based upon this property, we apply a PSO based approach for solving a benchmark hole-making problem with the number of feasible operation sequences up to 5.41031. Numerical results indicate that the applied PSO approach can find superior solutions for the benchmark problem in the literature.


The argument that today's graduates were more theoretical than practical has been dominating the educational sectors in the country. The study sought to investigate the role of Exam and Knowledge-based Education on students' Professional Competence in tertiary institutions in Lango subregion, Northern Uganda. A sample of 111 respondents was chosen from the respondents and the response rate was 100%. The study found out that Learners and instructors view education as merely passing examinations. In this view, instructors teach only what is related to exams, leaving out the core concepts that would build on knowledge and life skills that are required in the world of work. Giving much attention to exams and the nature of examination has underscored the role of teaching, prompting many education stakeholders to engage in examination malpractice The study recommended that Universities and higher education institutions should collaborate with employers and curriculum developers to ensure that whichever knowledge and skills universities and higher education institutions provide are in direct line with what employers need from employees. National Council for higher Education (NCHE), the organ responsible for accreditation of university and other tertiary institutions' academic programs should collaborate with stakeholders, particularly employers before approving institutions and university programs. It's high time that universities and higher education institutions design programs that are demand-driven than academic-driven. National examination boards should stop recycling questions, a practice that has made students and learners to correctly hypothesize what is likely to appear in an external examination. Education institutions should shift from handouts that promote cram work to handouts that promote understanding.


This paper presents a system for automating and integrating the provisioning and validation of Ethernet point-to-point connectivity services over transport networks. The provisioning is based on standard control plane functionality. The service performance is validated using the BART tool for measuring capacity, extended to provide Ethernet measurement capabilities. We report on preliminary results from a proof-of-concept system implemented in a virtualized testbed.


As I read on the dust cover of this fine book, My Dear Ones , this is "The love story of a great physician for his patients," the long-awaited biography of Abraham A. Low, founder of Recovery, Inc. Low had much to do with the development of group psychotherapy as a method of helping psychiatric patients. Every psychiatrist should read this remarkable book. Also, it could help many persons who fear insanity after spending time in a mental hospital and apparently recovering, now believing that they are slipping back into their former mental state. In many cases, the person has no money with which to pay a psychiatrist. Such people could be greatly helped (perhaps even more effectively than with a psychiatrist) by joining a branch group of Recovery, Inc. In these groups, there usually is no charge, or only a small one for those who can pay. Low was a


New social transformations within and beyond the cities of classic urban studies challenge prevailing accounts of spatial inequality. This paper pivots from the Rust Belt to the Sunbelt accordingly, disentangling persistence and change in neighborhood median income and concentrated income extremes in Los Angeles County. We first examine patterns of change over two decades starting in 1990 for all Los Angeles neighborhoods. We then analyze an original longitudinal study of approximately six hundred Angelenos from 2000 to 2013, assessing the degree to which contextual changes in neighborhood income arise from neighborhood-level mobility or individual residential mobility. Overall we find deep and persistent inequality among both neighborhoods and individuals. Contrary to prior research, we also find that residential mobility does not materially alter neighborhood economic conditions for most race, ethnic, and income groups. Our analyses lay the groundwork for a multilevel theoretical framework capable of explaining spatial inequality across cities and historical eras.


In land-scarce cities, high-rise apartment buildings may provide vertical spaces for natural-light home gardening along corridors, rooftops, balconies as well as façades. The vertical space can improve not only urban environmental sustainability but also food security. Using an experimental approach, we investigated the food production potential of a high-rise public housing apartment building based on different gardening systems, food crop, and sunlight availability. A gardening prototype system for building corridors was shown to increase the unit area yield of corridor gardening by fivefold compared to a commercial trough planter system. Additionally, this commercial trough planter system was mainly for leafy vegetable production, whereas the gardening prototype system for corridors is also suitable for climbing crops, such as legumes and cucurbits. Nevertheless, because of the limited space along corridors of the apartment building and the relatively low-light levels on average, corridor gardening was estimated to meet only 0.5% of the demand for vegetables of the residents living in the apartment building. Shallow-growing medium, rooftop gardening (depth < 15 cm) was estimated to meet 3% of demand, and façade gardening 43%, given the larger space available. Although the vegetable production potential in this study was estimated based on a particular typology of public housing apartment buildings in Singapore, our results showed that vegetable production in public housing apartment buildings is feasible, and home gardening can produce a substantial amount of vegetables for consumption if well deployed. Governments of highly urbanized cities may wish to invest in better home garden designs for high-rise public housing apartment buildings and encourage residents' participation in home gardening, which would increase high-rise greenery coverage and improve urban food system resilience. Future studies should also investigate the environmental sustainability and food safety aspects of home gardening in highly urbanized cities.


Farmland species provide key ecological services that support agricultural production, but are under threat from agricultural intensification and mechanization. In order to design effective measures to mitigate agricultural impact, simultaneous investigations of different taxonomic groups across several regions are required. Therefore, four contrasting taxonomic groups were investigated: plants, earthworms, spiders and bees (wild bees and bumblebees), which represent different trophic levels and provide different ecological services. To better understand underlying patterns, three community measurements for each taxonomic group were considered: abundance, species richness and species composition. In four European regions, ten potential environmental drivers of the four taxonomic groups were tested and assigned to three groups of drivers: geographic location (farm, region), agricultural management (crop type, mineral nitrogen input, organic nitrogen input, mechanical field operations and pesticide applications) and surrounding landscape in a 250 m buffer zone (diversity of habitats in the surroundings, proportion of arable fields and proportion of non-productive, non-woody habitats). First, the variation in abundance, species richness and species composition from 167 arable sites was partitioned to compare the relative contribution of the three groups of drivers (geographic location, agricultural management and surrounding landscape). Second, generalized linear mixed-effects models were applied to estimate the effect of the individual explanatory variables on abundance and species richness. Our analysis showed a dominant effect of geographic location in all four taxonomic groups and a strong influence of agricultural management on plants, spiders and bees. The effect of the surrounding landscape was of minor importance and inconsistent in our data. We conclude that in European arable fields, the avoidance of mineral nitrogen and pesticides is beneficial for biodiversity, and that species protection measures should take into account regional characteristics and the community structure of the investigated taxonomic groups. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +41 443777228; fax: +41 443777201. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com (P. Jeanneret). 167-8809/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ttp://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2014.01.020 © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Soft tissue tumors of the larynx are extremely rare. Our patient was a 41-year-old Japanese male with a chief complaint of hoarseness. In the larynx, a slightly reddish tumor was observed on the anterior third portion of the right vocal cord. Laryngeal laser microsurgery(LMS)was performed to remove part of the tumor. The pathological diagnosis was suspected to be malignant fibrous histiocytoma, and the differential diagnosis was angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma or undifferentiated pleomorphic adenoma; the tumor was reportedly not a high-grade malignant lesion. After surgery, the residual tumor showed rapid regrowth, so a second round of LMS was performed to completely remove the residual tumor. After this second surgery, mucosal injection and swelling was observed on the subglottic region of anterior commissure and anterior region of the right arytenoid. A third round of LMS was performed, but no residual tumor was identified. After this third procedure, the patient showed no recurrence. – The final pathological diagnosis was "unusual atypical spindle cell tumor, unclassified" with low-grade malignancy. The pathological classification of soft tissue tumors has been changed. Physicians should keep in mind that rare soft tissue tumors of the larynx include low-grade malignant spindle cell tumors, which can be cured by LMS, as shown in this case report.


Welding of dissimilar materials is critical in industries where mixed materials with high strength-to-weight ratios are urgently needed. Friction element welding (FEW) is a promising solution, with the ability to join high-strength materials for a wide range of thicknesses with low input energy and a short processing time. However, the temperature evolution and the influence of different processing parameters remain unclear. To bridge this knowledge gap, this work develops a coupled thermal-mechanical finite element model to study the FEW process. The simulation results agree well with the experimental measurements of material deformation and transient temperature evolution. It is found that the friction element's rotational speed has the greatest impact on friction heat generation, followed by the processing times for different steps. The aluminum layer is heated during the penetration and cleaning steps, thus a lower rotational speed during the penetration step can help prevent the aluminum layer from undesired overheating. The steel layer and the friction element are mainly heated during the cleaning and welding steps. The strong heating, potentially melting, will be beneficial to the friction element's plastic deformation and bond formation. To enhance the heating of the steel layer and the friction element, faster rotational speeds or longer processing periods could be employed during the cleaning and welding steps. The results by this study establish the relationship between processing conditions and the temperature evolution of different parts, which will guide the design and optimization of the FEW technique for various applications.


Abstract The paper evaluates extent of corrosion damage to composite glass-fibre fabric reinforcement in environment simulating concrete pore solutions (pH 12.6, 13.0, 13.5) and carbonated concrete contaminated with chlorides (pH 8.1 + Cl-) using the FT-IR and SEM/EDS techniques. Also, the effect of corrosion damage on tensile strength of segmented glass fibre as well as the presence of specific protective organic coating on glass fibre were studied. The results demonstrate local corrosion damage of samples at pH 13.5 and on the other hand high stability in environment simulating carbonated concrete and carbonated concrete contaminated with chlorides. The study also suggests unevenness of organic coating with occurrence of localized porosity which is related to aforementioned corrosion damage. Corrosion damage in FT-IR spectra manifests by changes in peaks signalling hydrolysis of protective organic coating and occurrence of peaks suggesting presence of Ca2+ rich corrosion products.


In this work, a series of MgxZn1-xO epitaxial layers with different Mg mole fraction (x = 0.025; 0.166; 0.303; 0.318) grown by MBE has been investigated. Time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) measurements and scanning near field optical microscopy (SNOM) technique have been implemented in order to obtain PL spectra and decays as well as spatial distribution of the PL intensity and peak wavelength. Atomic force microscopy technique has been chosen to evaluate structural properties. Images of epitaxial layer surface profile, obtained by AFM technique, have revealed distinct characteristics for all samples and a strong surface roughness dependence on Mg concentration. Analysis of the PL spectra has shown nonmonotonous PL peak wavelength dependence on temperature for three MgZnO samples with the highest Mg mole fraction. Arrhenius plots for the PL intensity dependence on temperature have been drawn and parameters have been evaluated. Samples with higher Mg mole fraction show higher value of activation energy. Time-resolved PL decays have revealed a biexponential shape for all four samples at low temperatures. Three samples with the highest Mg mole fraction show an increase of the PL decay time at low temperature. The PL intensity mappings, obtained by SNOM technique, have revealed considerable spatial variation of this parameter. Variation of the PL peak wavelength has been observed only for three samples with the highest Mg mole fraction.


After the prolonged (about 30 years) absence of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) morbidity in the Stavropol territory cases of this infection were registered, and received laboratory confirmation, in summer of 1999-2000. At the end of the 1999 season antibodies to CCHF virus were detected among cattle-breeders in all 7 inspected regions of the territory. According to the data of the determination of virus contamination of Ixodes ticks (the season of 2000), the circulation of CCHF on the territory of 14 regions out of 24 expected was established. An essential factor of the exacerbation of the epidemic situation was a rise in the number of Hyalomma marginatum ticks, the main vector of the causative agent of CCHF in the south of Russia.


The popular image of activism in the university involves students and academics campaigning for social justice and resisting the neo-liberalisation of the university. Yet activism has been subtly corporatised through the migration of corporate social responsibility from the private sector into the university, a trend that may be illustrated by reference to the growing influence of research 'grand challenges' (GCs). Attracting both government and philanthro-capitalist funding, GCs adopt a socio-political stance based on justice globalism and represent a responsibilisation of academic research interests. Compliance with the rhetoric of GCs and the virtues of inter-disciplinarity have become an article of faith for academics compelled to meet the expectations of research-intensive universities in chasing the prestige and resources associated with large grant capture. The responsibilisation of the efforts of researchers, via GCs, erodes academic ownership of the research agenda and weakens the purpose of the university as an independent think tank: the essence of the Humboldtian ideal. The conceit of corporate activism is that in seeking to solve the world's problems, the university will inevitably create new ones. Instead, as Flexner argued, it is only by preserving the independence and positive 'irresponsibility' of researchers that universities can best serve the world.


Seven participants of 23 day walking march in an arid environment have been examined. Biochemical analysis of blood serum made on Day 2 of marching revealed a decrease in the levels of glucose, triglycerides and an increase in the concentration of non-esterified fatty acids which the authors characterize as the state of moderate stress in an acute period.


Funds for public programmes for control of animal diseases are limited and especially so in less developed countries. Therefore it is important from an economic point of view to get the 'best value for money' from such control expenditure. After briefly reviewing the economic rationale for government intervention in control of animal diseases, this paper provides a basic analysis of the economics of optimal private and public decisions about control of animal diseases. It explores the role for cost-benefit analysis in this decision- making, taking into account informational constraints and the resource demands of multiple diseases requiring control. The analysis is illustrated by examples and issues from Thailand and pays particular attention to foot-and-mouth disease. A research proposal to help assess public programmes for the control of animal disease in Thailand is briefly sketched. The need for a dynamic approach to disease-control policy is emphasised.


This paper explores how dramaturgical metaphors can be translated through images of charismatic leadership to a teaching situation. Viewing the teaching context as a dramaturgical service encounter, we examine the student-follower's reception and potential enactment of charismatic images in the pivotal relationship between lecturer and student. Our findings yield the key insight that, while dramaturgical aspects like scripting, framing and staging are valuable in explaining the essential phases of the action of lecturing in Higher Education, they should, optimally, be supported by what we call 'embedded trust' in order for the charismatic relationship between lecturer and student to be productive. A secondary implication of our paper is that lecturers can manage their charismatic image in order to help students become more independent evaluators of the teaching experience. The paper concludes by considering methodological, as well as theoretical, directions for future research.


Webtoon, a portmanteau of web and cartoon, denotes a cartoon that has been published on a website. Recently, webtoons have become popular in the global Internet market. Unfortunately, the copyright infringement has emerged as a new challenge resulting in illegal profit gains. Moreover, it is difficult to apply watermarking to published webtoons, because they need to be watermarked prior to publication. In order to deal with a large number of published webtoons, it is necessary to identify each webtoon using fingerprints extracted from its webtoon image. In this paper, we propose an identification framework to detect copyright infringement due to the illegal copying and sharing of webtoons. The proposed identification framework consists of the following main stages: fingerprint generation, indexing, and fingerprint matching. In the fingerprint generation stage, the translation invariant and temporally localized fingerprints are created for distortion-robust identification. An inverted indexing of the database is implemented, using the visual word clustering method and the MapReduce framework, to store the fingerprints efficiently and to minimize the searching time. In addition, we propose a two-step matching process for faster implementation. Moreover, we measured the identification accuracy and the matching time of a large-scale database in the presence of various distortions. Through rigorous simulations, we achieved an identification accuracy of 97.5% within 10 s for each webtoon.


Abstract The paper provides an overview and an economic analysis of the development of the corporate governance of German banks since the 1950s, highlighting peculiarities – as seen from the meanwhile prevailing standard model perspective – of the German case. These peculiarities refer to the specific German notion and legal-institutional regime of corporate governance in general as well as to the specific three-pillar structure of the German banking system. The most striking changes in the corporate governance of German banks during the past 50 years occurred in the case of the large shareholder-owned banks. For them, capital markets have become an important element of corporate governance, and their former orientation towards the interests of a broadly defined set of stakeholders has largely been replaced by a one-sided concentration on shareholders' interests. In contrast, the corporate governance regimes of the smaller local public savings banks and the local cooperative banks have remained virtually unchanged. They acknowledge a broader horizon of stakeholder interests and put an emphasis on monitoring via the auditing divisions of the respective associations. The Great Financial Crisis, beginning in 2007, has led to a considerable reassessment in the academic and political debate on bank governance. On an international level, it has revived the older notion that, in view of their high leverage and their innate complexity, banks are "special" and bank corporate governance also – and needs to be seen in this light, not least because research indicates that banks with a strong and one-sided shareholder orientation – and thus with what appears to be the best corporate governance according to the standard model – have suffered most in the crisis. In the German case, the crisis has shown that the smaller local banks have survived the crisis much better than large private and public banks, whose funding strongly depends on wholesale markets. This may point to certain advantages of their governance and ownership regimes. But the differences in the performance during the crisis years may also, or even more so, be a consequence of the business models of large vs small banks than of their different governance regimes.


The chemical vapour infiltration (CVI) process is used to fabricate the interphases and matrices of CMCs. This process involves complex physico-chemical phenomena such as the transport of precursor, carrier, and by-product gases in the reactor and inside a fibrous preform, chemical reactions (pyrolysis and deposition), and the structural evolution of the preform. It is able to provide high-quality materials because the process conditions are rather mild with respect to the fibres ; however it is expensive and sometimes difficult to optimize. Many variations of the basic concept have been proposed in the past decades, introducing thermal and pressure gradients, in order to increase the efficiency. This process has been the object of extensive modelling efforts, because of imperative optimization needs. The present work is an attempt to provide a synthetic view of these models, focusing on several features of CVI modelling : i) Modelling CVI requires a multi-scale strategy, with models ranging from process scale down to atomic scale, ii) Original physicochemical couplings are involved, which require the development of adequate treatments, iii) There is a hierarchy of model refinement, ranging from fully detailed models to quasi-analytical predictions.


: Herpesvirus infections of the lower respiratory tract have most commonly been reported in patients with severe burns, immunosuppression or malignancies. Two patients without any of these underlying conditions developed severe herpetic tracheobronchitis, diagnosed by cytologic examination and confirmed by serologic studies. Serial examination of sputum, bronchial brushings and bronchial washings permitted observation of the evolution and progression of cellular changes found in herpesvirus infection of the lower respiratory tract. both patients recovered without specific antiviral therapy, but both developed superinfection with gram-negative organisms, requiring intensive antibiotic therapy. The distinctive features of herpesvirus infection in the tracheobronchial tree are similar to those recognized elsewhere in the body. Early findings include a variety of nonspecific changes in nuclear chromatin configurations; multinucleated cells may be common but do not often contain the central intranuclear inclusion bodies seen in later stages. These distinctive central intranuclear inclusions disappear in a few days, leaving only reparative changes in the surface epithelium. Herpesviruses are increasingly being reported in the literature as an etiologic agent of acute tracheobronchitis in otherwise healthy individuals.


The present study aimed to assess several biomarker s: glucocorticoid receptor (GR) ,glucocorticoid (GC)and Phospholipase A2 (PLA2) in acute lung inju ry induced by fresh water drowning in partial adrenalectomized dogs. Twenty-four beagle dogs were randomly assigned into three equal groups: the sham control (Group C), the drowning group (Group D ), and the drowning with partial adrenalectomy group (Group N). Animals in Group D and N were irri gated with 25 ml/kg fresh water into the right lung ; the left lung without irrigation was set up as the concurrent control. Animals in Group C were used as the group control without irrigation. The GR in pla sma and leukocytes, GC and PLA2 in plasma were compared between the two sides of lungs, as well as among different groups. G


Liminal spaces in Benito Pérez Galdós's novels offer profound insights into the society, characters, and practices of representation in his art of fiction. Through examining settings that lie at the intersection between public and private, domestic and commercial, interior and exterior, such as balconies, display windows, patios, and corridors, this study aims to reveal previously unexplored aspects of Galdós's work. In-between spaces determine the social reality of many Galdosian characters. For example, balconies and miradores show the importance of the facade of a home as a projection of bourgeois wealth. The windows of middle-class homes blur the line between domestic and commercial practices, as merchant families displayed goods in that space. The development of the display window transforms the public space of the street into a shop, forever changing the way characters navigate their urban surroundings. When middle-class characters visit the lowerclass space of the casa de corredor, class tensions and inequalities become apparent. The narrative gaze, drawn to children as they play on the patio, reveals the lack of basic resources such as bread and water available to the lower class. Liminal spaces also communicate the fears and desires of Galdosian characters. Display windows, at once transparent and reflective, play a role in the identity formation of the characters who stare into them and observe their own image superimposed onto exhibited goods. In some cases, the balcony places characters on the precipice of death, as they consider suicide in the hope of regaining autonomy in their lives. For other characters, windows and balconies offer insight into their hidden fantasies, as they view the street from their home, filtering their observations through their own imagination. Lastly, the balcony is an essential space for characters to view and perform spectacle and for Galdós's fiction to consider its own discourse. Galdosian characters take part in carnivalesque rituals on balconies and patios that directly oppose ecclesiastical norms. As they observe and interpret the misfortune of other characters on balconies, Galdós's fiction itself becomes performative, pointing to the metafictional function of liminal space in his art.


Global financial patterns and pronouncements point to a seismic overhaul of governance and financial systems that is playing out beneath the surface of the Covid-19 pandemic, reaching far beyond the health domain. Increased centralized control has the potential to create an unbridgeable chasm between a tiny handful of winners and a majority of losers. To foster an integrated analysis of the technocratic and financial forces and agendas at play, this rapid review identifies some of the pandemic's principal beneficiaries across the interwoven financial, tech, biopharmaceutical, and military-intelligence sectors, assessing developments in the context of the accelerating global push for technocratic consolidation and control. The evidence suggests that Trojan horse coronavirus vaccines may challenge bodily integrity and informed consent in entirely new ways, transporting invasive technologies into people's brains and bodies. Technologies such as brain-machine interfaces, digital identity tracking devices, and cryptocurrency-compatible chips would contribute to the central banking goal of replacing currencies with digital transaction and identification systems and creating a global control grid that connects the world population to the military-pharma-intelligence cloud of the global technocrats. Moreover, using vaccines as a delivery vehicle for surveillance technologies cancels any legal liability.


The study is an empirical investigation of agrobiodivestiy conservation decisions of small farmers in the central highlands of Ethiopia. The primary objective is to measure the effectiveness of Community Seed Banking (CSB) in enhancing diversity while providing production incentives. We employed Amemiya's GLS estimator to investigate simultaneity between participation and the level of diversity. Our results indicate a significant impact of participation in CSB on farm-level agrobiodiversity. However, farmer knowledge and experience associated with biodiversity conservation were not found to hae the expected reinforcing impact on the degree of biodiversity. CSB participation also led to a moderate productivity increase consistent with the need for such incentives to enhance diversity at a farm level. Our assessment of the performance of the GLS estimator yielded significant discrepancy between the GLS and bootstrap estimates. This led to the conclusion that bootstrapping asymptotic estimations might be required for appropriate inference even when sample sizes are reasonably large.


The inhibitory action of (+-)-sodium 2-[(4-(3-methoxypropoxy)-3-methylpyridine-2-yl) methylsulfinyl]-1H- benzimidazole (E3810) on H+,K(+)-ATPase and gastric acid secretion in vitro was investigated, and it was compared with those of omeprazole (OPZ). E3810 concentration-dependently inhibited the H+,K(+)-ATPase activity of hog gastric vesicles. Its IC50 was 0.26 microM at pH 6.1. The inhibition was irreversible in nature and reversed by dithiothreitol. The potency of E3810 was 10-times that of omeprazole. Acidification of the intravesicular (luminal) space increased 1000-fold the potency of E3810, indicating that E3810 is a specific inhibitor which binds to the luminal cysteine residue of H+,K(+)-ATPase. Prolonged incubation of up to 180 min in the absence of thiol reagents of rabbit gastric glands which had been inhibited by a low concentration of E3810 (0.3 and 0.5 microM) time-dependently and completely reversed the inhibition, as determined by aminopyrine uptake, whereas it did not recover the acid secretion in omeprazole-treated glands. These results suggest that the acid-activated E3810 is a potent specific inhibitor of H+,K(+)-ATPase, and that the duration of the inhibitory action of E3810 is much shorter than that of omeprazole in isolated gastric glands.


Abstract:After the accession of ten new member states in 2004, the European Union seeks to expand its sphere of stability and prosperity toward the southeast, from Croatia all the way to Turkey. While democratic consolidation and economic development is already underway in Bulgaria, Romania, and Turkey, other countries of the region appear to be falling behind. Although the European Union has declared that all these countries share "a common European destination," the various strategies being pursued to bring them to that destination differ profoundly. Three models may be discerned: traditional capacity-building; authoritarian state-building (in the two European protectorates of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo); and member-state building (in the official EU candidate countries of Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Turkey).


Background HIV infection is a complex medical problem that requires careful monitoring of adherence to treatment, efficacy, development of resistances and toxicities. The estimated life expectancy of patients is increasing, this makes it necessary to find efficient ways to optimise switching therapy away from HAART in order to reduce costs and increase its efficacy. At Amedeo di Savoia Hospital of Turin, the regional centre in Piedmont for HIV infection diagnosis and treatment, hospital pharmacists work in a multidisciplinary team with infectiologists, nurses, psychologists and dieticians. The team follows every aspect of the clinical pathway, leading to an improvement in the clinical management of HIV patients. Purpose To monitor HAART for all patients on therapy To identify patients with a switch of therapy To create a multidisciplinary database including adherence, economic and clinical data before and after the switch To monitor the distribution of available resources in relation with virological outcome and adherence response of patients To achieve a rational use of resources Materials and Methods Collecting data from Oliamm Software and File F using a specific software application, we analysed cost and adherence by the pharmacy refill method (days supplies between refill dates/duration of dispensed therapy x 100) for each switch of treatment between March 2010 and March 2012. From clinical reports we also evaluated the reasons for switching (toxicity, simplification, treatment failure) and the success of variation in term of virological outcome. Results Switching of antiretroviral treatments occured in 250 patients (male 177, female 73, median age 48 years), out of about 1,835 HIV-positive people in treatment, considering overall 310 switches (about 8% at the patient's request). In 151 cases the switch led to a financial saving and in 159 cases to an increase in cost, leading overall to an excess of cost of 4396,6€ each month (an additional €17,59 for each patient for each month). The reasons for the variation were: treatment failure in 30%, simplification of the treatment in 20%, toxicity in 44% and other causes in 6%. Focus on simplification evidenced: 13% decrease in pill burden, 17% on STR, 55% on LDR, 10% on QD therapy. We also analysed the causes of toxicities. From our study we observed an increased number of patients with suppressed viral load (from 60% to 77%) as evidence of efficacy. 67 out of 125 patients (54%) with pre-switch viral load non-suppressed, had a suppression after switch. 172 patients out of 185 patients (93%) with pre switch viral load suppressed, conserved suppression after switch, but 13 patients (7%) had viral rebound. The change of the treatment didn't impact on adherence in 50.32% cases and produced an improvement in adherence in 39.03% of switched patients. Only in 10.65% did a decrease of adherence improve. We have also analysed the cost distribution, observing a better use of resources to obtain a viral load under 20 cp/ml and a financial saving for treatment of patients already suppressed pre-switch. Conclusions In our study an analysis of switching treatment has demonstrated a correct distribution of budget and an improvement in adherence. It has also demonstrated the importance of working in team for better management of the therapeutic path. No conflict of interest.


Osteocytes are the most abundant (90-95%) cells in bone and have emerged as an important regulator of hematopoiesis, but their role in neutrophil development and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Interleukin (IL)-19 produced predominantly by osteocytes stimulated granulopoiesis and neutrophil formation, which stimulated IL-19 receptor (IL-20Rb)/Stat3 signaling in neutrophil progenitors to promote their expansion and neutrophil formation. Mice with constitutive activation of the mechanistic target of rapamycin complex (mTORC1) signaling in osteocytes (Dmp1-Cre) exhibited a dramatic increase in IL-19 production and promyelocytes/myelocytic expansion, while mTORC1 inactivation in osteocytes reduced IL-19 production and neutrophil number in mice. We showed that IL-19 administration stimulated neutrophil development, while neutralizing endogenous IL-19 or depletion of its receptor inhibited the process. Importantly, low dose IL-19 reversed chemotherapy, irradiation, or chloramphenicol-induced neutropenia in mice more efficiently than G-CSF. These evidence indicated that IL-19 was an essential regulator of neutrophil development and a potent cytokine for neutropenia treatment.


An interventional study was carried out for a period of total two years in the department of Dermatology and Venereology, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), Dhaka, Bangladesh. Total sixty five patients of seborrheic dermatitis were selected and were treated with oral fluconazole 150mg in a single dose per week for 4 weeks. Follow up were done at the end of 4th week and 8th week. Among the patients, 31-45 years age group was highest 44%, highest 54% males and 21(32%) had positive family history of seborrheic dermatitis. Regarding site of lesions, maximum patients of seborrheic dermatitis 92% had involvement of scalp; next 46% had involvement in the eyebrow. The study showed that the response was very good in 31.5 of cases, good response was found in 24.5% of cases, fair in 26% of cases and poor response was observed in 18.5% of cases. The study showed that 83% of study population was seen without clinical side-effect and only 17% were seen with side-effect(anorexia and dydpepsia) and it was showed that very good improvement 35% observed on the 1st follow up visit at the fourth week, 30% had good, 15% fair and poor improvement 20% respectively. On the 2nd follow up visit at the end of eight week, very good improvement was 39% cases; good, fair and poor improvement was 26%, 20% and 17% respectively. The results of this study indicate that fluconazole provides benefit for the therapy of seborrheic dermatitis. However, larger studies using different dosages and durations of therapy, fluconazole may provide a rationale for systemic use of fluconazole in seborrheic dermatitis. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jdnmch.v17i2.12212 J. Dhaka National Med. Coll. Hos. 2011; 17 (02): 25-29


In 1999 an unusually strong, teleseismically registered earthquake swarm at the volcanic complex at 85°E/85°N marked the onset of a spreading episode at Gakkel ridge with exceptional, deep submarine explosive volcanism. At this site, the rift valley centre hosts several distinctive volcanic features which cluster on ridge-parallel faults or fissures. The rift valley itself is well-defined by 1-2 km high bounding walls. To gain a better understanding of the seismological characteristics of the region, we investigate here three-dimensional P- and S-wave velocity structure in the crust and upper mantle.

Three arrays of four seismometers each which were mounted on ice floes, drifted 21 days with a drift speed of up to 1 km/h over a total region of 60 km x 70 km. We recorded over 300 local earthquakes. Of these, we used 128 earthquakes for the local tomography which were recorded by more than two arrays and yielded more than 1200 P- and S-phases. Because of the unusual set up of seismometers on drifting ice floes, each phase was defined by a set of unique station coordinates. Additionally, the unusually variable bathymetry in the survey region had to be taken into account. We therefore defined a first layer comprising vp=1500 m/s with a variable thickness of more than 1100 m in 3D.

Due to the remote location and the perennial ice cover of the Arctic ocean, no previous information on crustal structure or local seismicity, either with OBS or active reflection/refraction studies, were available. We adressed the lack of prior information on the velocity structure by localizing a set of well recorded events with HYPOSAT, using a suite of more than 90 randomly selected velocity models. The respective traveltimes were corrected for the varying thickness of the water layer by compensating to a depth of 3900 m. The overall best performing velocity model was then chosen as our 1D starting background model, and was also used to relocate our whole dataset for input source locations.

Here we present the results of this seismic tomography, inverting for sources and velocity: Most of the earthquakes cluster at varying depths beneath and around the volcanic complex, with the deepest events underneath the volcanic centre. They yield a dense ray coverage outward from the volcanic cones, covering the centre of the rift valley extensively. We plotted several velocity-slices in varying depths, as well as along- and cross axis. The velocity variations along axis indicate a thin crust, cross axis we find that the rift valley walls are comprised of material with slower velocities.


Signal sequences for insertion of protein into the mammalian endoplasmic reticulum orient themselves in the translocon on the basis of their flanking charges. It has recently been shown that hydrophobic N-terminal signals initially insert head-on before they invert their orientation to translocate the C-terminus. The rate of inversion is reduced with the increasing hydrophobicity of the signal due to an increased affinity for the initial bound state at the translocon. To probe the environment of the signal while its orientation is determined, different hydrophobic residues were inserted at various positions throughout a uniform oligoleucine signal sequence and the constructs were expressed in transfected COS-7 cells. The resulting topologies revealed a strikingly symmetric position dependence specifically for bulky aromatic amino acids, reflecting the structure of a lipid bilayer. Maximal N-translocation was observed when the guest residues were placed at the N- or C-terminus of the hydrophobic sequence or in the very center, corresponding to the positions of highest expected affinity of the signal sequence as a membrane-spanning helix for the bilayer. The results support the model that during topogenesis in vivo the signal sequence is exposed to the lipid membrane.


Purpose. To evaluate a group of young adults with anterior knee pain by means of sequential technetium 99m bone scans, in order to determine the patterns and dynamics of the osseous metabolic activity of the patellofemoral joint. Conclusion. A previously unrecognized dynamic osseous remodeling process was detected in the patellofemoral joint of young adults with anterior knee pain. This process, though often persistent, frequently resolved with non-operative therapy. Significance. The determination of &dquo;failure of conservative therapy&dquo; as justification for (often ill-conceived) operative intervention in young adults with patellofemoral pain should not be made prior to 8 months. Methods. One hundred three patients (65 males and 37 females with 152 symptomatic knees) between the ages of 18 and 45 with primary complaints of anterior knee discomfort were included in this study. Those with a history of prior surgery or roentgenographic evidence of an osseous abnormality were excluded. In addition to a standard history and physical examination and roentgenographic evaluation including tangential views, all patients had two or more scintigraphic evaluations of their knees utilizing 20 mCi of


This paper describes a fast, efficient, robust, and automated design method used to aerodynamically optimize 3D gas turbine blade shapes implementing artificial intelligence. The design objectives are maximizing the aerodynamic efficiency and torque so as to reduce the weight and size and cost of the gas turbine engine. The procedure described here will allow a rapid, practical and low cost design that will answer the need of gas turbine industry. A 3-Dimensional steady Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes solver is coupled with an automated unstructured grid generation tool. The solver is verified using two well known test cases. Blade geometry is modeled by 36 design variables plus the number of blades variable in a row. A genetic algorithm is used for global optimization purposes. One of the test cases is selected as the baseline and is modified by the design process. It was found that the efficiency can be improved from 83.9% to 85.9%, and the torque can be improved as much as 7.6%. The flow field investigations indicate enhanced secondary flow characteristics of the blade passage.Copyright © 2005 by ASME


Objectives To investigate the exposure-response relationship between silica dust and lung cancer mortality within German uranium miners in the extended follow-up period from 1946 to 2008. The cohort consists of 58,672 miners including 2.2 Mio person-years and 3,477 lung cancer deaths. Methods Individual information on occupational exposure to crystalline silica in mg/m³-years and the potential confounders radon and arsenic is available for all cohort members based on a detailed job-exposure matrix. Internal Poisson regression with baseline-stratification by age and calendar year was used to estimate the excess relative risk (ERR) per mg/m³-year. Several spline functions were applied to investigate the exposure-response relationship. Detailed adjustment for cumulative radon and arsenic exposure was conducted. Effect modification by age, time and exposure-rate was tested. Additionally detailed risk analyses with specific focus on the low dose range have been performed. Results All miners were exposed to crystalline silica at any time. The mean cumulative silica exposure was 5,9 mg/m³-years with a maximum of 56 mg/m³-years. A piece-wise linear spline function with a knot at 10 mg/m³-years provided the best model fit. After full adjustment for radon (continuous variable with consideration of time since median exposure and dose rate) and arsenic no increase in risk below 10 mg/m³-years was observed. Fixing the parameter estimate of the ERR in this range at 0 provided the best model fit with an ERR of 0.065 (95% CI: 0.043, 0.087) above 10 mg/m³-years. The silica-induced lung cancer risk decreased with increasing attained age. Data of a nested case-control study did not indicate a major correlation between silica and smoking status. Conclusions The study confirms a positive exposure-response relationship between silica and lung cancer, particularly for high exposures. No clear evidence was observed in the low-dose range. Confounding by smoking is unlikely but residual confounding cannot be fully excluded.


Introduction: Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible visual impairment worldwide and its diagnosis is frequently delayed. Although the pathogenesis of glaucoma is not fully understood, its incidence increases with age, the patients often have numerous comorbidities and use various medications. Thus, management and understanding of this disease. Objective: We aimed to review the literature reviewing the pathophysiology, clinical features, risk factors, diagnosis, and management of glaucoma. Methodology: Pubmed was used to select eligible articles using these terms in Mesh "Glaucoma" "Glaucoma pathophysiology" "Glaucoma trials" "Glaucoma management and diagnosis" within the title or abstract. Conclusion: Glaucoma is a leading cause of blindness worldwide so it requires accurate evaluation of the stages and progression of the diseases in order to detect the possible ways of management. Management of decision making demands solid history, detailed investigations, and cautious follow-up.


Background Epilepsy is a disorder of the brain characterized by an enduring predisposition to generate epileptic seizures and by the neurobiologic, cognitive, psychological, and social consequences of this condition [1]. Studies adherent to international epidemiologic guidelines and epilepsy classification are needed to accurately record the incidence of isolated seizures and epilepsy within a population [2]. Because the diagnosis of epilepsy is largely made through clinical assessment, seizures and epilepsy are susceptible to misdiagnosis. Previous epidemiological studies in epilepsy have not captured or explored 'seizure mimics'. Methods During the calendar year 2017, multiple overlapping methods of case ascertainment were applied to a defined geographic region to identify all patients presenting with first seizures (provoked and unprovoked), new diagnoses of epilepsy, and seizure mimics. Seizures among children, except neonatal seizures and febrile seizures, were included. Potential first seizures and new diagnosis of epilepsy were identified in real-time but classified retrospectively as definite, probable or possible based on available evidence in accordance with the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE) epidemiologic guidelines [2]. Definite and probable cases of seizures and epilepsy were classified according to 2017 ILAE classification systems as focal, generalized or unknown [3, 4]. Data were analysed using SPSS, version 24. Results From a population of 542,869 adults and children, 1942 potential cases were identified, of whom 611 were excluded as neonatal or febrile seizures, did not meet the geographic criteria or had a previous diagnosis of seizures or epilepsy. Incidence rates of first seizure (both provoked and unprovoked) was 102 per 100,000 population, of new diagnosis of epilepsy was 64 per 100,000, and of seizure mimics was 96 per 100,000. In concordance with most international studies, age-specific incidence rates for both first seizures and new diagnosis of epilepsy demonstrated a bimodal distribution, with highest rates in the very young and in later life. As expected, the most commonly encountered seizure mimic was syncope (30%). Conclusion We applied a rigorous study protocol for investigation of the incidence of first seizures, new diagnosis of epilepsy and seizure mimics in a geographically defined region which is adherent to recently published international guidelines for epidemiological studies and epilepsy classification. This study highlights the significant burden that seizure mimics place on diagnostic services given that they occur as frequently as first seizures.


The aim of this study was to evaluate the consistency of three methods for assigning annuli in adult Baltic cod otoliths. The methods examined were (i) daily increment patterns, (ii) opacity profiles, and (iii) traditional age reading. Frequency distributions of the distance from the nucleus to the different zones showed that the first annulus of traditional age reading missed the first zone of both increment and opacity methods, but overlapped with the second zone identified by these methods. This pattern did not continue over subsequent zones. Frequency distributions of increment patterns were similar to opacity patterns. However, within individual fish, the co-occurrence of overlap between the two patterns was random. In cases where there was overlap, translucent zone formation started just before the disappearance of visible increments. Overlap in 1 year did not necessarily lead to a consistent pattern the following year, and overlap was not influenced by sex or fish size. The results suggest that otolith opacity in Baltic cod is not associated with seasonal patterns in daily increment structure and that traditional age determination based on otolith opacity yields highly uncertain estimates of age.


A new genus Nipponoluciola Ballantyne, Kawashima, Jusoh & Suzuki is proposed and described from males, females and larvae for two species of Japanese fireflies (Coleoptera, Lampyridae, Luciolinae) which have aquatic larvae. The famous Genji-botaru, the Genji firefly, formerly Luciola cruciata Motschulsky, 1854, now stands under Nipponoluciola cruciata (Motschulsky) gen. et. comb. nov. It is proposed that the original designation of this species from Java was in error and that the species is only known from Japan. The lesser known Kumejima-botaru, formerly Luciola owadai Satô & Kimura, 1994, now stands under Nipponoluciola owadai (Satô & Kimura) gen. et comb. nov. A neotype for Luciola cruciata is designated. Keys to adult males and larvae of Luciolinae genera with aquatic larvae are given. An overview of the status of the genus Luciola s. str. is given. Supplementary file addresses 1. Mitogenome analyses of the Luciolinae; 2. List of species of Luciola s. str.; 3. List of Japanese Luciolinae; 4. The identity of Luciola lateralis Motschulsky.


Fifteen years ago, Jens Rydgren (2002) asked why no electorally successful radical right-wing party had yet emerged in Sweden. In this respect, Sweden was a negative case. Rydgren posited four main explanations: (1) social class mattered more in Sweden than elsewhere. Working class voters identified strongly with their social class and with the Social Democratic party, making them largely unavailable to radical right-wing mobilization; (2) socioeconomic issues still structured most politics in Sweden, and issues belonging to the sociocultural dimension – most importantly immigration – were of low salience for voters; (3) voters still perceived clear policy alternatives across the left-right divide; and (4) the leading radical right-wing alternative, the Sweden Democrats, was perceived as being too extreme. Since 2010, however, Sweden can no longer be considered a negative case, as the Sweden Democrats received 5.7 percent of the vote in the 2010 election and 12.9 percent in the 2014 election. In this paper we argue that in order to understand the rise and growth of the Sweden Democrats we should focus on changes in the factors enumerated above, that is: (1) the decline of class politics in Sweden; (2) the growing salience of sociocultural politics, and in particular the politicization of the immigration issue; (3) the increased convergence caused by a double move toward the center by the Social Democratic party and the Conservative party, leaving voters confused about policy alternatives; and (4) the process by which the Sweden Democrats have tried to distance the party from its neo-fascist past and erect a more respectable facade.


Worldwide the 16 species of lyssaviruses all exhibit a similar pathology in most mammals, including man; with successful infections usually ending with death. Recently it has been demonstrated that European bat lyssaviruses (EBLV) are not invariably fatal in their wild reservoir host bat species, however the mechanisms and epidemiological consequences of this resistance are interesting and unexplored and the fundamental pathology in bats is still unclear. Here we modelled alternative pathological pathways to explore which appear most plausible, with respect to our limited knowledge of bat-rabies epidemiology and also host population dynamics. Two models were created, one based on a standard progression of disease (classic SEIR model) and the other modified to allow for animals to become either rabid or immune (flexible model). Of these our flexible model was found to be more plausible, demonstrating a much lower sensitivity to epidemiological parameters and by inference the more likely to represent the real-life process occurring in wild European bat populations, with a comparative state space ratio of 1:47. This result implies that it is highly probable survival and post-infection immunity is a widespread epidemiological phenomenon rather than an infrequent consequence of an aborted infection in few individuals. These results can be used to inform laboratory studies on bat immunology and future bat modelling work.


Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal antibody directed against the CD20 antigen expressed on B cells. This drug has been successfully employed in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and different systemic autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (Wegener's) and anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis. At present, RTX may be used in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who qualify for treatment with tumor necrosis factor blockers and have had an inadequate response or intolerance to one or more of these agents. In ophthalmology, there is a growing amount of literature which suggests that RTX may be useful for inflammatory ocular diseases. Only few cases have been reported on treatment of ocular inflammatory disease mostly refractory scleritis, peripheral ulcerative keratitis, uveitis in adulthood and in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis. RTX has also been employed in ocular surface diseases such as ocular cicatricial pemphigoid and conjunctival lymphoma. The tolerability and safety of RTX is good with the most common adverse events encountered being infusion reactions. RTX may be effective in the treatment of ocular inflammatory diseases, in particular the most aggressive, recalcitrant and sight-threatening forms of inflammation and uveitis. Although further studies are needed to assess the efficacy of RTX and the exact dosing regimen, RTX may be considered as a treatment alternative in patients with the most aggressive forms of inflammatory ocular diseases who fail to respond to conventional and other biologic agents.


OBJECTIVE
To review the available data on the oxazolidinones linezolid and eperezolid.

DATA SELECTION
Published reports were obtained by searching MEDLINE for articles published between 1992 and 2000, inclusive. References of published papers were also obtained and reviewed. Abstracts from scientific proceedings were reviewed.

DATA EXTRACTION
Due to the limited data available regarding these agents, the criteria for study inclusion were not restrictive.

DATA SYNTHESIS
The oxazolidinones (eg, linezolid) are a new antimicrobial class with a unique mechanism of action. They are active against resistant Gram-positive cocci including methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococccus epidermidis, vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP). Linezolid is active against anaerobes and displays modest activity against fastidious Gram-negative pathogens such as Haemophilus influenzae, but is not active against Enterobacteriaceae. Linezolid is available both orally and parenterally, and has a bioavailability of 100%. Clinical trials comparing linezolid with standard therapy have demonstrated similar bacteriological and clinical cures rates to standard therapy in community- and hospital-acquired pneumonia, uncomplicated and complicated skin and soft tissue infections, and infections caused by MRSA and VRE. Adverse effects have been minor and infrequent; however, platelets should be monitored in patients who have received more than two weeks of linezolid therapy. It is expected that these agents will have a bright future due to their excellent spectrum of activity against antibiotic-resistant Gram-positive organisms, such as MRSA, VRE and PRSP, and their excellent bioavailability.

CONCLUSION
The oxazolidinones represent a new class of antimicrobials with a unique mechanism of action. They have excellent activity against susceptible and resistant Gram-positive organisms such as MRSA, methicillin-susceptible S epidermidis, VRE and PRSP, and a good adverse effect profile; they can be administered both intravenously and orally. Their potential use in Canada may be as an intravenous and oral alternative to glycopeptides and streptogramins.


The ADS is the high performance attitude measurement system based on FOGs. This has presented a theoretical and experimental study of an ADS prototype. Several experiments have proved that the attitude accuracy of ADS is similar with PHINS. Its size, weight, and power consumption make it particularly suitable as an attitude measurement system of small vehicles for which precise attitude is critical. The experimental results showed that level attitude errors which are proposed by ADS are 0.05° and the heading keeps consistent with PHINS. When the experiments are carried out respectively under the heading changed slowly and abruptly, the attitude errors are less than 0.1°. Therefore, the proposed attitude determination system is highly beneficial in providing accurate attitude of vehicles for several suburban geolocation and navigation applications [9].


Volatility in international agricultural commodity prices has been higher since 2000 than in the previous two decades (FAO, 2011). This fact and a movement away from excessive government intervention into agricultural markets have increased focus on the need for private risk management markets and strategies. WTO green box rules and a newly emerging holistic approach to agricultural risk management undermine the use of historically popular stabilisation tools such as price support mechanisms, border protection and public intervention. This paper reviews the market tools and government policies that currently exist for managing agricultural risk. A multi-criteria analysis is adopted to critique the various risk management tools available. Tools are assessed according to criteria such as costs (by whom they are incurred), benefits (to whom they accrue), political and budgetary acceptability, feasibility, functionality and effectiveness in controlling risk. This allows for all tools reviewed to be ranked according to the various criteria. It is argued that governments should support the development of private solutions to agricultural risk and that government risk-related policies should focus on "residual risk".


The development of both information and communication technology requires consumers to increase the intensity in everyday life, because today is in dire need of various elements in the provision of information services and telecommunications. The purpose of this study was the effect of the variable determines the quality of service and marketing communication to customer satisfaction modem Smartfren in Malang. In this study, analyzed the influence of the variable quality of service that consists of items: physical evidence (tangibles), reliability (reliability), assurance (assurance), responsiveness (responsiveness) and empathy (empathy) and variable marketing communication consists of items: advertising ( advertising), personal selling (personal selling), sales promotion (sales promotion), public relations (public relations), as well as direct marketing (direct marketing) to customer satisfaction modem Smartfren in Malang. The study sample was taken by using purposive sampling of 100 consumers who use products such as smartphones Smartfren (mobile phones) and a modem. This study used a survey method explanatory research. The data collection techniques using questionnaires, library research, internet browsing, and interviews. Then, after the data is collected, the sorting is done by analyzing the data followed using a Likert scale, then test the validity and reliability, and for clicking-use tools such as crosstabs statistical software SPSS 16.0. From the research that has been done, the results showed that based on the results of multiple linear regression analysis using the F test (simultaneous) it can be concluded simultaneously affect customer satisfaction, then the t-test results it can be concluded that partially affect customer satisfaction, and based on the results of the regression coefficient (standardized Beta Coefficients), respectively, it is known marketing communications variable dominant influence on customer satisfaction modem Smartfren in Malang. Thus, the effect of service quality and marketing communications simultaneously, partial and dominant influence customer satisfaction. Keyword; Service Quality, Marketing Communications, Customer Satisfaction


This study filled polyurethane foam in SBR as micro-organisms immobilized carrier, formed a sequencing batch biofilm reactor (SBBR). It applies the immobilized microbial technology to SBBR, under the A/O operation mode,we cultivate them in order to study the effect of the technology of nitrogen and phosphorus removal in the domestic sewage. The carrier which was used in the SBBR, created aerobic - anoxic - anaerobic micro-environment in space, and appeared a good performance of simultaneous nitrification and denitrification (SND). The results show that adding this kind of carriers in SBBR, successfully achieved a goal in the field of nitrogen and phosphorus removal. The average removal rates of CODCr, NH4+-N, TN and TP is respectively 84.23%、96.94%、58.40% and 91.38%.


According to the CDC, 13.7% of adults in the United States have mobility issues, which is about 42 million peoplewho have that issue. The purpose of this paper is to utilize artificial intelligence and robotics packaged in a3Dprinted Circle of Command to help make the lives of those 42 million people easier [5]. A raspberry pi is usedtopower and process the voice control commands and turn the voice commands into actions that respond tothecommands [6]. The voice control is achieved through three microphones that are embedded from the inside of theCircle of Command using holes to listen to any potential voice commands, and as the raspberry pi can't input analog output which is outputted from the microphones, the microphones and the raspberry pi are connected toananalog to digital converter that allows the raspberry pi and the microphones to exchange information smoothlyRobotics is used in the stepper motor and the gear that is used to turn the top of the lazy susan, which is 3Dprintedso that there are gears on the inside of the top. There is also a home switch that will home the lazy susan. Thereisno practical application of this AI Robotic Circle of Command as it is just a prototype, and so there are no results, but it is hoped that it will be able to change some of the 42 million lives once the production of the production model begins, the production model will be larger than the prototype as the prototype serves as only a proof of concept andshows that this idea is actually doable [7].


According to the Ministry of Health, the HIV/AIDS epidemic remains under control in Chile. However, when the numbers are broken up by region, important disparities are observed in a manner where the north of the country presents almost three times higher incidence rates than the national average. Using data from the HIV/AIDS national surveillance system and the information reported in several governmental documents, the characteristics of the epidemic in the north, particularly in the XV Region and the I Region, were described and compared with the situation observed at the country level over the last decade. In summary, the analysis showed that individuals from the XV Region and the I Region were at significant higher risk for HIV/AIDS than an average Chilean person (HIV/AIDS relative risk of 2.9 and 1.6, respectively). The situation in the north was particularly alarming among women, where women had 12.53 (XV Region) and 7.20 (I Region) times higher risk for the disease than an average Chilean female. Coherently, heterosexual exposure to the virus in men was also significantly higher in the northern regions compared to the country overall where the epidemic remains highly concentrated among men who have sex with men. Additionally, young people aged 20-29 years were also at higher risk in the north than at the country level. When an ecological analysis was performed to explore possible factors affecting the regional disparities observed in the HIV/AIDS rates across the country, prostitution, drug trafficking and immigration rates showed a consistent positive association with the incidence of the disease at the regional level. Also, condom use presented a strong negative correlation. As a sexually transmitted disease, the HIV/AIDS epidemiological profile varies according to the cultural norms and sexual practices of each population. Understanding those norms and practices, and the particularities of an epidemic at the local scale, is key for designing and implementing effective preventive measures. In this context, the public health significance of this paper is helping to enrich our understanding about the epidemic in the north of Chile so interventions can be better tailored to the specific needs of this community.


A query to a Web search engine usually consists of a list of keywords, to which the search engine responds with the best or "top" k pages for the query. This top-k query model is prevalent over multimedia collections in general, but also over plain relational data for certain applications. For example, consider a relation with information on available restaurants, including their location, price range for one diner, and overall food rating. A user who queries such a relation might simply specify the user's location and target price range, and expect in return the best 10 restaurants in terms of some combination-of proximity to the user, closeness of match to the target price range, and overall food rating. Processing such top-k queries efficiently is challenging for a number of reasons. One critical such reason is that, in many Web applications, the relation attributes might not be available other than through external Web-accessible form interfaces, which we will have to query repeatedly for a potentially large set of candidate objects. In this paper, we study how to process top-k queries efficiently in this setting, where the attributes for which users specify target values might be handled by external, autonomous sources with a variety of access interfaces. We present several algorithms for processing such queries, and evaluate them thoroughly using both synthetic and real Web-accessible data.


The N-terminal portion (P1-HC-Pro-P3) of the tobacco vein mottling virus (TVMV) polyprotein was expressed in insect cells and larvae by a recombinant baculovirus. The proteases necessary to process this TVMV polyprotein fragment were active in insect cells, since mature P1, HC-Pro and P3 proteins were detected by specific antisera in Western blots. Antisera to P1, HC-Pro and P3 also recognized polypeptides with apparent M(r) values predicted for the intermediate processing products of the polyprotein fragment. The results of this study indicate that the autocatalytic processing of TVMV HC-Pro from the polyprotein is supported by insect cells. Helper component activity in extracts of cells infected with recombinant baculovirus was not detected by aphid transmission assay.


The geometry, conformation and electronic structure of phenoxymethylpenicillin have been optimized and calculated in the gas phase by semi-empirical molecular orbital AM1 method usually considering an isolated molecule surrounded by vacuum. Further, the mechanism of protonation in phenoxymethylpenicillin has been studied by comparison of the different positions of net charges on nitrogen atoms in the molecule. In this connection, the heats of formation (∆Hf o ), dipole moment (µ), ionization potential (IP), full atomic charges and energies of frontier molecular orbitals (E HOMO and ELUMO) have been performed and discussed. The conformational analyses of mono- and di-protonated species and their stable conformations have also been performed.


Abstract
Wind power is a key technology in the effort to transform the power system in order to reduce its climate impact. However, the ability of wind power to reduce CO2-emissions depends on the properties of the power system. As large-scale wind power is integrated in a power system (typically 20% wind power grid penetration and beyond), the intermittent nature of wind power will result in an increase in variations in load on the other units in the system (e.g. thermal power plants). There are three main alternatives for the power system to respond to this increase in variations; by an increase in power plant cycling (i.e. starting/stopping), by an increase in part load operation hours or by wind power curtailment. In a system dominated by thermal base load units, the integration of large-scale wind power might thus result in an increase in costs and emissions related to thermal operation and/or an increase in wind power curtailment.
This work investigates consequences of large-scale wind power integration in a thermal power system. Operation of units in a regional thermal power system have been investigated and quantified by means of modelling. Furthermore, the possibility to reduce the influence from wind power variations by means of introducing a variation moderator or demand side management has been evaluated. A variation moderator is a unit with the ability to reallocate power in time. Pumped hydro power stations, compressed air energy storages, batteries and transmission lines providing power exchange are examples of variation moderators which are all investigated in this work. Demand side management will allow for some flexibility in the allocation of parts of the load and in this work evaluates the ability of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV:s) to provide such flexibility. The simulations are carried out with a simplified version of the western Denmark power system as a starting point. This, since this system already has a high share of wind power and wind power data is available.
For the system studied, simulations show that for 24% wind power grid penetration, variations in wind power generation results in start-up emissions corresponding to 5% of the total CO2-emissions of the power generation system. It is also shown that the inclusion of start-up and minimum load level aspects has an impact on the dispatch of units in the system. By integration of a moderator in the wind-thermal system, emissions are reduced with 7.2% mainly due to a decrease in power plant cycling. At wind power grid penetration levels of around 20%, a daily balanced moderator is sufficient, whereas more extensive storage capacity is required at higher wind power penetration levels such as for the 40% penetration level investigated in this work.
The ability of PHEV:s to manage wind power variations depends strongly on the choice of PHEV integration strategy. With a strategy where the power system is free to allocate the load in time, emissions from the power system (excluding vehicles) are up to 6% lower than a corresponding system without PHEV:s. A passive approach to PHEV integration results in increased emissions from the system. For the system studied, the PHEV share of the electricity consumption should be around 12% to obtain maximum reduction in emission. This, since this share of PHEV capacity approximately corresponds to the difference in average load between night and day (evens out variations in load profile).


Conversational agents (CAs) are becoming an increasingly common component in many information systems. The ubiquity of CAs in cell phones, entertainment systems, and messaging applications has led to a growing need to understand how design choices made when developing CAs influence user interactions. In this study, we explore the use case of CAs that gather potentially sensitive information from people—for example, in a medical interview. Using a laboratory experiment, we examine the influence of CA responsiveness and embodiment on the answers people give in response to sensitive and non-sensitive questions. The results show that for sensitive questions, the responsiveness of the CA increased the social desirability of the responses given by participants.


Background The use of electronic consultation (e-consult) between primary care providers (PCPs) and psychiatrists has potential, given the high prevalence of mental health issues in primary care and problematic access to specialist care. Utilization and uptake, however, appears to be lower than would be expected. Objective This study aimed to examine actual utilization of e-consult between PCPs and psychiatrists and investigate the perceptions of PCPs about this form of psychiatric advice to inform how to optimize the utility and thereby the uptake of this service. Methods In this mixed-methods study, we conducted a chart review of psychiatry e-consults (N=37) over 2 platforms during early implementation in Ontario, Canada, as well as 3 group interviews and 1 individual interview with PCPs (N=10) with variable experience levels and from a range of practice settings. The chart review assessed response times and referral content including the type of request, referral attachments, and consultant responses. Interviews explored the perceptions of the PCPs about the uses and barriers of psychiatry e-consult. Thematic content analysis of interview data identified common themes as well as themes unique to different provider profiles (eg, experienced PCPs vs new PCPs and rural vs urban practice). On the basis of interpretation of the quantitative and qualitative findings, we developed recommendations for the optimization of psychiatry e-consultation services. Results During the study period, psychiatry e-consults comprised 3.66% (49/1339) of all e-consults submitted on the studied platforms. Among the e-consults reviewed, different psychiatric diagnoses were represented: 70% of requests (26/37) queried about medication safety or side effects, whereas 59% (22/37) asked about psychiatric symptom management. Moreover, 81% (30/37) of e-consults were answered within 24 hours, and 65% (24/37) were addressed in a single exchange. Themes from the interview data included psychiatry having a complexity that differentiates it from other specialties and may limit the utility of e-consult, other than for psychopharmacology advice. Variability in awareness exists in the way e-consultation could be used in psychiatry, with new PCPs feeling unsure about the appropriateness of a question. In general, new PCPs and PCPs practicing in rural areas were more receptive to psychiatry e-consult. PCPs viewed e-consult as an opportunity to collaborate and desired that it be integrated with other available services. Recommendations include the need for appropriate specialist staffing to address a wide range of requests, adequate education to referrers regarding the use of psychiatry e-consult, and the need to integrate psychiatry e-consult with other geographically relevant services, given the complexity of psychiatric issues. Conclusions E-consult is a viable and timely way for PCPs to get much-needed psychiatric advice. For optimizing its utility and uptake, e-consult needs to be integrated into reliable care pathways with adequate referrer and consultant preparation.


Much NLP research on Multi-Word Expressions (MWEs) focuses on the discovery of new expressions, as opposed to the identification in texts of known expressions. However, MWE identification is not trivial because many expressions allow variation in form and differ in the range of variations they allow. We show that simple rule-based baselines do not perform identification satisfactorily, and present a supervised learning method for identification that uses sentence surface features based on expressions' canonical form. To evaluate the method, we have annotated 3350 sentences from the British National Corpus, containing potential uses of 24 verbal MWEs. The method achieves an F-score of 94.86%, compared with 80.70% for the leading rule-based baseline. Our method is easily applicable to any expression type. Experiments in previous research have been limited to the compositional/non-compositional distinction, while we also test on sentences in which the words comprising the MWE appear but not as an expression.


Improper disposal and burning of agricultural residues are commonly practiced in some developing countries in which harmful gaseous products released into the atmosphere and some are depleted and reacted with the soil causing environmental pollution. Renewable technology can therefore be introduced for the utilization of the residues and ensure proper storage medium of the residues. An investigation was carried out on the pollution potential of oil palm residues on surface and underground water resources at the processing centre. Oil palm residues and water samples from the stream and well located near the oil processing site were used for the experiment. Water samples were collected during the raining and dry season to determine the level of pollution caused by the residues. Physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters of the water samples were determined. The chemical compounds of the palm residues were investigated. Results showed that aromatics compounds are mainly dominant of the palm fruit fiber which was characterized for bio-fuel production. It is revealed that effect of pollution on water bodies is significant at p<0.05. Hence, results showed that some parameters like colour, total solids, pH, amine contents, Escherichia coli exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) levels for drinking water. The amine content with (0.35 mg/L) of the samples was higher than the level recommended (0.1 mg/L) for drinking. For colour, the least value of 15.5 mg/l of the total samples was higher than the recommended value (15.0 mg/L). Also, the values of E. coli which ranged between 0.03-0.15 were far above zero count/100ml of World Health Organization (WHO) maximum permissible level for drinking water. Therefore, oil palm waste should be properly disposed and ensure improved storage of the residues for further processing. Conversion of the residues to useful products through renewable technology will alleviate environmental pollution.

 Key words: Residues, climate change, pollution effect, renewable technology.


Accurate UVA dosimetry is of primary importance for photobiological research as well as for UVA phototherapy and photochemotherapy. For the former, it is necessary because the success or failure of an experiment can depend on the UVA dose, and for the latter, the carcinogenic risks are dependent upon the cumulative dosage, as is the evaluation of the therapy. Experience has shown that the UVA meters used in different photodermatological and photobiological centers give divergent values when exposed to the same UVA source. One Joule/cm2 does not seem to be the same thing everywhere, and it can vary by as much as 400 p. 100.


The indoor air quality influences human body's comfort and health seriously, and polluted indoor air will not only affect human's health, but also decrease people's work efficiency, therefore, the detection and control technology of indoor air pollution is the focus and difficulty of scientific research now. This paper introduces the current main pollutant and their hazard of indoor air in China first, then takes the eight houses in a plot of Huizhou city, Guangdong province as examples, and studies their indoor air pollution condition and reason by detecting and analyzing their pollutant contents. At the same time, some effective measures of precaution and control on indoor air pollution in China are proposed in the end of this paper.