The activity of alpha-naphthyl-acetate esterase (alpha-NAE) has been studied in Francisella tularensis strains belonging to 3 subspecies. Alpha-NAE has been detected spectrophotometrically in native cells and cell extracts of the virulent nonarctic strains Schu and Cole, holarctic virulent strain No. 503/841 and holarctic vaccine strain No. 15/10, Central Asian virulent strain No. 543, as well as their attenuated variants. In all the strains studied the presence of 7 alpha-NAE isoenzymes has been established by means of electrophoresis in acrylamide gel, and the relative electrophoretic activity and the enzymatic activity of these isoenzymes have been determined. The nonarctic and holarctic strains have been found to differ from the Central Asian strain in the activity of 2 alpha-NAE isoenzymes, named characteristic isoenzymes. After the attenuation of the strains belonging to all subspecies the enzymatic composition of these strains remained unchanged, but at the same time the total activity of the holarctic and Central Asian strains increased, while that of the nonarctic strains decreased. These differences in the activity of alpha-NAE isoenzymes, if confirmed in further studies on a greater number of strains belonging to 3 Francisella tularensis subspecies, can be used as an additional sign for differentiation.


Obesity is a global epidemic that is a leading cause of preventable death. In addition to lifestyle modification, there are numerous obesity treatments for clinicians to consider, including medications. Lorcaserin immediate release/extended release (IR/XR) is a US Food and Drug Administration approved medication for overweight and obese patients to be used with lifestyle modifications. Lorcaserin is thought to reduce weight by targeting the serotonin (5HT2c) system to induce satiety. Lorcaserin IR has been shown to be effective in reducing weight in overweight (body mass index [BMI] > 27 kg/m2) and obese (BMI > 30 kg/m2) participants in three large Phase III trials. In addition, lorcaserin has been shown to reduce post-cessation weight gain and improved smoking cessation in a randomized placebo-controlled trial. A recent meta-analysis suggested in overweight diabetic patients lorcaserin may be added to first-line oral hypoglycemic medications to enhance reduction in glycated hemoglobin. Lorcaserin is generally well tolerated with the most common side effect being headache, which is typically self-limiting. Lorcaserin XR (once daily) was recently approved and has been shown to be bioequivalent to lorcaserin IR (twice daily) in a pivotal study. Lorcaserin XRs, main advantage over the IR formulation is the once daily dosing regimen, which likely would lead to improved adherence and thus improved clinical effectiveness. The present review will evaluate the lorcaserin clinical studies (obesity, diabetes, and addiction), XR bioequivalence studies, pharmacogenomics of the serotonin (5HT2c) system, and adherence data in once daily versus twice daily medications.


Many literatures report about watermarking schemes based on frequency transforms like discrete wavelet transform (DWT), redundant discrete wavelet transform (RDWT) and Curvelet for gray scale images. For extraction, many of the researchers use their own extraction algorithm, which is the inverse of embedding algorithm, mainly based on embedding locations. Hence, this paper proposes robust color image watermarking techniques based on DWT, RDWT and Curvelet transform in RGB color space for copyright protection and data authentication. The proposed embedding technique is based on computation of noise visibility function (NVF), where the strength of watermarking is controlled. These results in watermarks embed at texture & edge areas are stronger than flat areas. For extraction, an intelligent detection technique, namely, fast independent component analysis (FastICA) is used. The features of FastICA are quick convergence, easy to implement and does not need original image for extracting watermark. Performances of the proposed schemes are evaluated in terms of metrics like peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and normalized correlation (NC) values. Robustness of the proposed scheme is validated against various image processing attacks like Gaussian noise, Salt & Pepper noise, blurring, sharpening, rotation, cropping and JPEG


This paper explores two models using which we might understand Heidegger's notion of 'Eigentlichkeit'. Although typically translated as 'authenticity', a more literal construal of this term would be 'ownness' or 'ownedness'; and in addition to the article's exegetical value, it also develops two interestingly different understandings of what it is to have a judgment of one's own. The first model understands Heideggerian authenticity as the owning of what I call a 'standpoint'. Although this model provides an understanding of a number of key features of authenticity, it also invites an important objection—which I call 'the closure objection'—that can be found in, for example, the work of Steven Galt Crowell and Tony Fisher. Although I argue that this objection can be met, the response for which it calls reveals that the feat of authenticity as understood through the standpoint model rests upon a further feat, and one which may itself have a stronger claim to be identified with Heideggerian authenticity. I develop this thought, introducing what I call the 'All-things-considered judgment model' of authenticity, the basis of which lies in, among other sources, Heidegger's appropriation of themes from Aristotle's discussion of phronesis. I explain the exegetical benefits of adopting this model and consider some objections that it invites, before closing with a discussion of how the two models understand the notion of 'a judgment of one's own'.


Nonconstituent coordination poses a particularly challenging problem for standard kinds of syntactic theories in which the notion of phrase structure (or constituency) is taken to be a primitive in some way or other. Previous approaches within such theories essentially equate nonconstituent coordination with coordination of full-fledged clauses at some level of grammatical representation. I present data from Japanese that pose problems for such approaches and argue for an alternative analysis in which the apparent nonconstituents are in fact surface constituents having full-fledged meanings, couched in a framework called Hybrid Type-Logical Categorial Grammar (Kubota 2010, Kubota and Levine 2012, Kubota 2014).


OBJECTIVE
A computerized system of telephone consultation has been experimented at the Pediatric Emergency Department (ED) of Policlinico Gemelli Hospital in Rome during the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twenty monothematic items with a series of questions to evaluate child's clinical conditions have been set up in order to evaluate the different situations according to their severity. All items were highlighted according to conventional scores corresponding to the different answers (yes/no) given by the child's parents. This system has been implemented with large diffusion of computer programs and applications by the availability of a computer station in every ED room.

RESULTS
The system allows healthcare workers to establish the medical check-up urgency which may be immediate, within the next 24 hours or scheduled in the pediatric ward. Therefore, it has been implemented a telephone triage consultation with a standardized method.

CONCLUSIONS
Telephone consultation during outbreaks, considering the risks of contagion, allows healthcare workers to decrease the concern of families and to reduce indiscriminate access to ED. The remote approach will not solve logistic and setting problems related to COVID-19 outbreak17, but it would be a valid tool to improve medical evaluation without deep change in infrastructure and clinical organization.


Nest site selection is critical for social insects since poor choices can heighten predation risks and result in reproductive failure (Franks et al. 2002). Social bees vary in their nest site requirements and among the Apis bees in South Asia, Apis dorsata and A. florea nest in open combs, whereas Apis cerana nests in cavities (Crane 1999). Apis dorsata often nests in aggregations, and the large open nests can be about 1.5 m wide and are located in sites such as cliff faces or on the underside of branches of tall trees that are inaccessible to most predators except skilled fliers and climbers (Crane 1999, Seeley et al. 1982). Apis dorsata, which is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia, is an important source of honey and wax for local communities, and understanding its nesting biology would help in the management and conservation of this economically important species.


Purpose of this study is to test the asymmetry information influence towards lead arranger and participant in syndicated loans. In syndicated loans, lead arranger are responsible in the loan establishment and act as intermediary between borrower and syndicated members. It cause participant to be highly dependent to the lead arranger. The theory predicts that the higher asymmetry information between lead arranger and participant will cause participant to expect a higher loan pricing, and a bigger lead share will reduce this effect. Conversely, a bigger lead share will resulted in a higher monitoring risk and credit risk for the lead arranger, which cause lead arranger to expect a higher loan pricing. Therefore, the establishment of loan pricing are affected by two opposite effect, asymmetry information effect (participant pricing) and diversification effect (lead pricing).This study uses two stage least squares (2SLS) to determine the existence of asymmetry information effect and diversification effect in loan pricing. This study used a sample of the entire LIBOR-based lending in Asia Pacific region for the period 2006-2010.This research shown that diversification effect indeed affecting the loan pricing in Asia Pacific, while asymmetry information effect in not proven. This is because Asia Pacific loans have a high average lead share (75%) and most of the loans have more than one lead arranger. The study also found that lenders tend to consider the economy conditions of a nation and previous relationship with the borrower than the financial performance of each borrower.


We describe a hybrid recommendation system at LinkedIn that seeks to optimally extract relevant information pertaining to items to be recommended. By extending the notion of an item profile, we propose the concept of a "virtual profile" that augments the content of the item with rich set of features inherited from members who have already shown explicit interest in it. Unlike item-based collaborative filtering, we focus on discovering the characteristic descriptors that underlie the item-user association. Such information is used as supplemental features in a content-based filtering system. The main objective of virtual profiles is to provide a means to tap into rich-content information from one type of entity and propagate features extracted from which to other affiliated entities that may suffer from relative data scarcity. We empirically evaluate the proposed method on a real-world community recommendation problem at LinkedIn. The result shows that the virtual profiles outperform a collaborative filtering based approach (user who likes this also likes that). In particular, the improvement is more significant for new users with only limited connections, demonstrating the capability of the method to address the cold-start problem in pure collaborative filtering systems.


Average net farm income was $190,901 in 2008 for the 99 farms included in this annual report of the Southwestern Minnesota Farm Business Management Association. Average earnings decreased by 21% from the average of $242,267 in 2007 (Figure 1). 2008 ended a steady trend of increasing year-to-year incomes for these farms from 2001 to 2007. Crop farms, with historically high corn and soybean prices, remained very profitable. However, specialized hog farms, which had been very profitable for the past four years, experienced substantial losses. Highlights of association financial results for 2008: Median net farm income was $178,874, slightly lower than the average, indicating that the average was increased by high profits of the most profitable farms. This effect was not as large as previous years, likely because of losses by larger hog operations. • The difference between the most profitable farms and the least profitable continued to increase. The most profitable 20% of the farms earned an average net farm income of $449,997 while the least profitable lost $-29,476. • Average gross cash income increased by 20% while expenses increased 22% for the average farm. Most of the reduction in income resulted from a lower value of inventory changes. Inventories did increase in value, but not by as much as in 2007. • Government payments accounted for 2% of gross cash farm income (Figure 2). Crop sales accounted for 50% of income while livestock sales were 42%. • Average rate of return on assets (ROA) was 11% with assets valued at adjusted cost or book value, down from 17% in 2007 (Figure 3). Rate of return on equity (ROE) averaged 15%, down from 25 percent. The fact that ROE exceeded ROA indicates that debt capital earned more than its cost. • The average farm generated net worth growth of $115,999. The average debt-to-asset ratio improved slightly to 39%, down from 40% (Figure 4). • Corn yields were up but soybean yields were down. Corn averaged 172 bushels per acre compared to 162 in 2007. Soybeans yields decreased to 44 bushels from 49 in 2007 (Figure 5). • Both corn and soybean prices received increased by over 50% to $4.51 for corn and $10.83 for soybeans. • The cost to raise an acre of corn (with land rent) increased by 23% while soybean costs increased by 21%. The cost to produce a bushel of corn on cash rented land increased from $2.58 per bushel in 2007 to $2.90 in 2008, while soybean costs per bushel increased from $6.14 to $7.21. • The average specialized hog operation (those with 70% of sales from hogs or pigs) lost over $150,000 in 2008 (Figure 6). All other farm types with enough farms to report averaged net incomes very close to the association average. • Based on rate of return on assets, crop farms (those with 70% of sales from crops) were the most profitable type of farm in 2008, with an ROA of 14.7% (Figure 7). All other farm types were profitable except specialized hog farms, which earned a -2.2% ROA. • Hog farms, after large losses in 2008, replaced Crop/Beef farms as the type of farm group with the highest debt to asset ratio at the end of the year (Figure 8). • The largest farms, those with gross revenue over $1,000,000, were the least profitable based on rate of return on assets. This group earned an average ROA of 7% compared to 14% for farms that grossed between $500,000 and $1,000,000. • With exceptionally high feed prices, no hog or beef enterprise, with the exception of contract growing of hogs (where the contractor provided the feed) covered even direct costs of production. The report provides additional information on profitability, liquidity, and solvency as well as other whole-farm information and detailed information on crop and livestock enterprises. Also reported are whole-farm financial condition and performance by county, sales size class, type of farm, debt-to-asset ratio, and age of operator.


Suppose we are given a graph and want to show a property for all its cycles (closed chains). Induction on the length of cycles does not work since sub-chains of a cycle are not necessarily closed. This paper derives a principle reminiscent of induction for cycles for the case that the graph is given as the symmetric closure of a locally confluent and (co-)well-founded relation. We show that, assuming the property in question is sufficiently nice, it is enough to prove it for the empty cycle and for cycles given by local confluence. Our motivation and application is in the field of homotopy type theory, which allows us to work with the higher-dimensional structures that appear in homotopy theory and in higher category theory, making coherence a central issue. This is in particular true for quotienting - a natural operation which gives a new type for any binary relation on a type and, in order to be well-behaved, cuts off higher structure (set-truncates). The latter makes it hard to characterise the type of maps from a quotient into a higher type, and several open problems stem from this difficulty. We prove our theorem on cycles in a type-theoretic setting and use it to show coherence conditions necessary to eliminate from set-quotients into 1-types, deriving approximations to open problems on free groups and pushouts. We have formalised the main result in the proof assistant Lean.


Surfactant floods can attain high oil recovery if optimal conditions with ultralow interfacial tensions (IFT) are achieved in the reservoir. A recently developed equation-of-state (EoS) phase-behavior net-average-curvature (NAC) model based on the hydrophilic-lipophilic difference (HLD-NAC) has been shown to fit and predict phase-behavior data continuously throughout the Winsor I, II, III, and IV regions. The state-of-the-art for viscosity estimation, however, uses empirical nonpredictive based on of fits to salinity scans, even though other parameters change, such as the phase number and compositions. In this paper, we develop the first-of-its-kind microemulsion viscosity model that gives continuous viscosity estimates in composition space. This model is coupled to our existing HLD-NAC phase-behavior EoS.
 The results show that experimentally measured viscosities in all Winsor regions (two- and three-phase) are a function of phase composition, temperature, pressure, salinity, and the equivalent alkane carbon number (EACN). More specifically, microemulsion viscosities associated with the three-phase invariant point have an M shape as formulation variables change, such as from a salinity scan. The location and magnitude of viscosity peaks in the M are predicted from two percolation thresholds after tuning to viscosity data. These percolation thresholds as well as other model parameters change linearly with EACN and brine salinity. We also show that the minimum viscosity in the M shape correlates linearly with EACN or the viscosity ratio. Other key parameters in the model are also shown to linearly correlate with the EACN and brine salinity. On the basis of these correlations, two- and three-phase microemulsion viscosities are determined in five-component space (surfactant, two brine components, and two oil components) independent of flash calculations. Phase compositions from the EoS flash calculations are entered into the viscosity model. Fits to experimental data are excellent, as well as viscosity predictions for salinity scans not used in the fitting process.


BACKGROUND
Craniopharyngiomas are the most common benign histological tumors to involve the hypothalamopituitary region in childhood. When the tumor location is unfavorable, a gross total or partial resection followed by radiotherapy is the main treatment option in adults. However, it presents the risk of morbidity, especially for children. Intracystic bleomycin has been used to potentially delay the use of radiotherapy or radical resection to decrease morbidity.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the benefit and harm of intracystic bleomycin vs other treatments for cystic craniopharyngiomas in children.

METHODS
We searched the electronic databases of CENTRAL, MEDLINE/PubMed, and EMBASE/Ovid with prespecified terms. In addition, we searched reference lists of relevant articles and reviews, conference proceedings, and ongoing trial databases.

RESULTS
We could not identify any studies in which the only difference between the treatment groups was the use of intracystic bleomycin. We did identify a randomized, controlled trial comparing intracystic bleomycin with intracystic P (n = 7 children). The trial had a high risk of bias. Survival could not be evaluated. There was no evidence of a significant difference in cyst reduction, neurological status, third nerve paralysis, fever, or total adverse effects between the treatment groups. There was a significant difference in favor of the P group for the occurrence of headache and vomiting.

CONCLUSION
Based on the currently available evidence, we are not able to give recommendations for the use of intracystic bleomycin in the treatment of cystic craniopharyngiomas in children. High-quality randomized, controlled trials are needed.


A higher-order shear-deformation theory is used to analyze the interaction of two modes in the response of thick laminated rectangular plates to transverse harmonic loads. The case of a two-to-one au toparametric resonance is considered. Four first-order ordinary differential equations describing the modula tion of the amplitudes and phases of the internally resonant modes are derived using the averaged Lagrangian when the higher mode is excited by a primary resonance. The fixed-point solutions are determined, and their stability is analyzed. It is shown that besides the single-mode solution, two-mode solutions exist for a certain range of parameters. It is further shown that, in the multimode case, the lower mode, which is indirectly excited through the internal resonance, may dominate the response. For a certain range of parameters, the fixed points lose stability via a Hopf bifurcation, thereby giving rise to limit-cycle solutions. It is shown that these limit cycles undergo a series of period-doubling bifurcations, culminating in chaos.


It is the practice in many newborn nurseries to measure routinely, upon admission, each neonate's blood pressure by cuff oscillometry, blood glucose level by Dextrostix or Chemstrips, and hematocrit value via heel stick. Blood pressure is measured to screen for hypertension or hypotension; blood glucose, for hypoglycemia; and hematocrit, for anemia or polycythemia. The routine testing of all newborns for a particular disorder before clinical manifestations are evident (universal screening) should result in a positive benefit-cost ratio. The following criteria should be considered in evaluating the benefit-cost ratio for any universal screening. Incidence. There should be a high enough mcidence of the disorder to justify screening for it unless the outcome of the disorder, if left undetected and untreated, would result in such significant morbidity that even with a relatively low incidence the benefitcost ratio of screening would be positive (eg, phenylketonuria screening). Methodology. The screening methodology should have a very high sensitivity so that there will be no, or a very low percentage of, subjects reported as being negative who are actually positive. The methodology should also have a high specificity so that there will be relatively few infants who are reported as being positive who are actually negative. The specificity need not be as high as the sensitivity since a true-positive test can be confirmed using a more specific methodology. In addition, the methodology should be relatively simple, cost-effective, accurate, and reproducible. Natural History. The disorder for which infants are being screened should be a clearly defined entity with a well-described natural history. Treatment. The disorder should be one in which detection and early treatment will improve the outcome.


Introduction: Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) was established in 2008 with a social accountability mandate and the mission to produce competent and committed health professionals to serve the rural and underserved population. Enrolment of undergraduate medical students started from 2010.  This article describes the context and process for the establishment of the Academy, the approaches taken and some of the early outputs.
Method: The information was collected from the policy documents, PAHS website, meeting minutes/ discussions, feedbacks and medial school records. All the information were compiled and presented under different headings/subheadings in a phase wise manner.
Result: PAHS has been actively engaged in a multitude of partnerships from local to global and has chosen the best and most applicable innovations from around the world. The integrated suite of innovations the Academy has developed includes its admission policy, teaching-learning methodologies, community-based learning, scholarship-schemes and service bonds. The PAHS School of Medicine has successfully enrolled undergraduate medical students from all over the country, representing ethnic diversity, remote/rural background, underprivileged communities and gender balance. More than 50% graduates from the first five-batches are successfully deployed into primary level peripheral health facilities of the government health system.
Conclusion: The initial reports and observations confirm that the integrated measures taken by the Academy have been effective in enrolling the right students, educating them in an effective way and deploying them to address the country's need. A longer follow-up on rural retention and performance evaluation is needed to conclusively establish the outcome of the school.


We report an original form of chronic inflammatory arthritis in 14 young adults, mainly females: an oligoarthritis with antinuclear antibodies. A first group of 10 patients, 9 females and one male, over 17 year-old, mean age 25, presented with monoarthritis or oligoarthritis of the knees, and less frequently of the wrist or elbow. Arthritis was chronic, recurrent, not destructive nor incapacitating. Rheumatoid factor was absent, and the only biologic abnormality was positive ANA at a significant rate. No patient was typed for HLA DR5. No other clinical or biological symptom appeared during a mean follow-up period of 5.5 years (6 mo-30 yrs). The patients have been totally free of any ocular symptoms. The benignity of the disease and its good prognosis must be underlined. Another group of 4 adult women had a similar inflammatory disease, which started during childhood: the biological and clinical spectrum was found quite similar in both groups, except for uveitis which occurred only in the later. Most subsets of juvenile arthritis have counterpart in adulthood, except for the pauciarticular subset with AAN. The cases herein described could fill the gap, the only difference with the juvenile onset form being the absence of uveitis. Thus, even if our observations of oligoarthritis with ANA in young women are the equivalent of the pauciarticular form in young girls, ocular involvement remains specific of childhood.


Background: understanding the patient expectations and perceptions of service quality is one of the requirements for improving quality of health services. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the gap between patient's expectations and perceptions in five dimensions of service quality in hospitals affiliated with Qazvin University of Medical Sciences. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional study was done on 298 patients at hospitals affiliated with Qazvin University of Medical Sciences; it is designed to evaluate the quality of health services based on client's expectations and perceptions and to determine the strengths and weaknesses of service quality. Data collection was performed by standardized SERVQUAL questionnaire to measure quality of services . the reliability and validity of this questionnaire has previously been confirmed by studies in Iran and other countries. Data analysis was done using SPSS software was performed. Results: The results showed that there was significant correlation between patients' expectations and perceptions in all dimensions of quality (p<0.05). The Reliability (2.36) and Assurance (2.24) dimensions have the most and responsiveness dimension (1.98) has the lowest gap. Also (A) and (D) hospitals have the most gap and (C) hospital has the lowest. Conclusion: The negative gap (expectations more than perceptions) in all dimensions of quality showed that it is necessary to improve service quality in all dimensions. in order to reduce the gap of all five dimensions of quality and provide desired services, it is recommended that hospital managers by planning and their optimal management take the patients' needs into account.


From the Publisher:
Reflecting the rapid expansion of the use of computer graphics and of C++ as a programming language of choice for implementation, this book converts all programming code into the C++ language. This new edition is a complete revision, bringing the text up to date with current advances in computer graphics technology and applications. Assuming readers have no prior familiarity with computer graphics, the authors—both authorities in their field—present basic principles for design, use, and understanding of computer graphics systems using their well-known, and accessible writing style. It includes an exploration of GL, PHIGS, PHIGS+, GKS and other graphics libraries and covers topics such as distributed ray tracing, radiosity, physically based modeling, particle systems, and visualization techniques. For professionals in any area of computer graphics: CAD, Animation, Software Design, etc.


INTRODUCTION: Dysphagia screens aim to reduce aspiration and pneumonia (PNA) after stroke. The frequency of PNA after stroke is low, especially in those with mild stroke who have not been intubated. We sought to identify a subset of patients with acute stroke who are at such low risk of PNA that bypassing a dysphagia screen would be justified. METHODS: Harborview Medical Center, a tertiary care academic and primary stroke center, maintains a database of all patients admitted with stroke. From this, we identified 1,641 adults admitted to the Neurology service between 2007 and 2010 for acute ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke (HS). We excluded those with subarachnoid hemorrhage, those who had been intubated, except if only for a procedure, and those who lacked admission NIHSS. With PNA as outcome of interest, we sought associations with potential predictors using multiple logistic regression. We then created a score to predict PNA with each item's weight based upon its magnitude of association with PNA in the multivariable model. RESULTS: For the resulting 1,008 subjects, average age was 64.0 (+/- 18.2), 57.8% were male, 64.2% had ischemic stroke, and average NIHSS was 7.7 (+/- 8.5). PNA was diagnosed in 67 (6.6%) during the hospitalization. Age, stroke type, NIHSS, atrial fibrillation (AF), heart failure (HF), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) had significant univariate association with development of PNA. In multivariable models, all but AF retained significance. Adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were: age (per year: 1.02, 1.00 - 1.04), NIHSS (per point: 1.04, 1.02 - 1.06), HS (1.67, 1.00 - 2.80), HF (2.62, 1.37 - 5.04), COPD (2.39, 1.23 - 4.64). The PNA score ranged from 0-10 with points assigned as follows: age ≥ 75 (2 pts), NIHSS 5-11 (1pts), NIHSS ≥ 12 (3 pts), HS (1 pt), HF (2 pts), COPD (2 pts). Only 8 cases of PNA were diagnosed in the 452 patients with a score of ≤1 (frequency 1.8%). The remaining 59 cases occurred in those 556 patients with a score of >1 (frequency 10.6%). This predictive model yielded a receiver operator curve with area under the curve of 0.76. DISCUSSION: We developed a clinical prediction rule to estimate risk of PNA after acute stroke based upon age, stroke type and severity, and presence of HF and COPD. Presence of dysphagia was not one of the factors we examined because we were interested in seeing if we could identify a subgroup of patients with such low risk of PNA that bypassing a swallowing screen would be justified. Validation of the rule in an independent sample is needed before it could be used to influence clinical decisions. Limits of our study are the reliance on an existing database, which lacked potentially important predictors such as stroke location. Also, we do not know whether PNA was due to aspiration and stroke nor whether HF and COPD played a causal role or merely increased likelihood of PNA detection.


Batavia, Illinois—In a year's harvest of data from the Tevatron particle accelerator at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, a large collaboration of physicists has found hints that quarks may have internal structure. Because quarks are now thought to be fundamental particles, the evidence—a slight excess in the number of sideways jets of debris spurting from proton-antiproton collisions—could challenge the reigning theory of matter. But the Fermilab physicists caution that there are other, less revolutionary, ways to explain the data.


Raia et al. propose that the evolution of the shape and complexity of animal ornaments (e.g., deer antlers) can be explained by interspecific variation in body size and is not influenced by sexual selection. They claim to show that ornament complexity is related to body size by an 0.25-power law and argue that this finding precludes a role for sexual selection in the evolution of ornament complexity. However, their study does not test alternative hypotheses and mismeasures antler shape allometry by omitting much of the published data. We show that an index of sexual selection (sexual size dimorphism) is positively correlated with size-corrected antler complexity and that the allometric slope of complexity is substantially greater than 0.25, contra Raia et al. We conclude that sexual selection and physical constraints both affect the evolution of antler shape.


interpret and, not surprisingly, has varied considerably in different communities around the world. Our data on middle aged British men suggest that alcohol is not a risk factor forischaemic heart disease and that the apparent protective effect of light, regular drinking reflects the many advantageous characteristics of men who drink in this fashion. In this British community there is no convincing evidence of a protective effect directly due to alcohol intake. A G SHAPER A PHILLIPS S J POCOCK MARY WALKER


We propose a new variational framework for the problem of reconstructing flow fields from noisy measurements. The formalism is based on regularizers penalizing the singular values of the Jacobian of the field. Specifically, we rely on the nuclear norm. Our method is invariant with respect to fundamental transformations and can be efficiently solved. We conduct numerical experiments on several phantom data and report improved performance compared to existing vectorial extensions of total variation and curl-divergence regularizations. Finally, we apply our reconstruction method to an experimentally-acquired phase-contrast MRI recording for enhancing the data visualization.


Ascorbic acid, also known as Vitamin C, is an essential nutrient for human beings as those are deficient develop scurvy. Ascorbic acid, by nature, is not stable. Once the orange is peeled it is exposed to atmospheric oxygen, oxidation, which deactivates ascorbic acid, occurs. Due to being high in limonene, wild orange essential oil (EO) has purifying and cleansing properties that can be a natural food preservative. The goal of this project was to see if the addition of wild orange EO to freshly squeezed orange juice would help to slow down the decay of ascorbic acid when exposed to various temperatures, allowing vital nutrients to be maintained and providing a natural alternative to the chemical additives in use in industry today. We hypothesized that the addition of wild orange EO to freshly squeezed orange juice would slow down the rate of oxidation when exposed to various temperatures, reducing ascorbic acid decay. An iodine redox titration was used to measure ascorbic acid across four different wild orange EO volumes and four different temperatures. Data was collected and used to compare experimental samples to controls. On average, wild orange EO slowed down ascorbic acid decay in freshly squeezed orange juice by 15% at the three highest temperatures tested.


The aim of this work is to develop a method to investigate connectivity properties of a specific set of Grey Matter regions in the brain, and its relationship with connectivity described by the fibre structure of underlying White Matter. Data were acquired with MRI, a flexible, widely available, non-invasive technique, which can picture in vivo the connectome, a comprehensive map of neural connections in the living brain. We worked with scans of healthy subjects and patients affected by MS


This article considers the implications of criminalised Muslim Diaspora community members from the West travelling to the Middle East and becoming involved in the terrorist activities of the Islamic State (IS), and ultimately returning from whence they came. It also reflects on the differences over time amongst the profile of recruits that have taken place since the time of the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan, to the ascendancy of IS. Recent research indicates both terrorist and organised crime groups draw recruits from the same Diaspora communities, a position supported in this article. While the focus of law enforcement and media attention appears to be on the potential of Islamic State Middle East veterans committing terrorist acts in the West on returning from conflict zones, there may well be a pervasive danger of them bringing significant risk to their countries of origin through enhanced participation in organised crime. The views of a selection of recently retired police professionals were gathered, and were found to support concerns around this potential significant and dangerous outcome of homecoming foreign fighters.


The aim of this research are to analyze the customer preference on cowpea tempe, to know the proportionsubstitusion of cowpea on soybean in making tempe that as a favorite food by costumer, and to know thenutritions of cowpea tempe. The research is done in Laboratory of Food and Nutrition, Agriculture Facultyof Sebelas Maret University. The research steps were in making tempe by using soybean which is substitutedby cowpea with comparison 0: 20: 40: 60: 80: 100. Testing of organoleptic includes: color, texture,aromatic, and taste. Testing of proximate includes: the content of protein, fat, carbohydrate, water, andashes.The method which is used is Non Probability Sampling. The participants who are joined in this researchare untrainner. They are 60 people in Jombor Village, Bendosari, Sukoharjo. The data analyze usesanalysis variant 5% and there is a real difference to continue the Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT).The result of this research shows that the customer preference on tempe which is subtituted by cowpeaabout 20% just consist of color and taste eventhough the texture and aromatic the customer preferencestill depends on soybean tempe. Based on organoleptic test, it is gained result that people didn't liketempe with a lot of cowpea substitution. It is because the color is brownish, the texture is not compact,the aromatic is sour and the taste is unpleasant. Cowpea tempe consists of less protein and fat than soybeantempe which has the highest carbohydrate than soybean tempe, and also has water and ashes contentwhich similar with soybean tempe.


AIMS OF THE STUDY
To develop a screening tool to optimise neonatal drug prescription, which is often based on low-quality evidence.

METHODS
Neonatal pharmacotherapy recommendations were identified by literature review and synthesised into NeoCheck tool statements. In a two-round modified Delphi process, experts from Swiss neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) rated their agreement with individual statements using a five-point Likert scale (5 = totally agree). Statements with >65% scores ≥4 in round 1 and >75% scores ≥4 in round 2 were selected.

RESULTS
We identified 1375 clinical guidelines via literature review. After synthesis, 158 statements were submitted to 23 experts (1 clinical pharmacist, 22 neonatologists; 65% with >10 years neonatology practice) from 10 Swiss NICUs. Nineteen items did not reach the agreement threshold and were eliminated in the second Delphi round. The final NeoCheck tool comprises 141 statements in 11 medical domains concerning 49 neonatal diseases. Most (79%) statements concern all neonates, 13% concern preterm (<37 weeks gestational age) infants and 3% concern very preterm (<32 weeks gestational age) infants CONCLUSIONS: NeoCheck is the first prescription-screening tool developed to optimise neonatal pharmacotherapy. In a future prospective study, its effect on NICU prescription optimisation and the quality of care will be assessed.


This long-awaited book would seem to mark the end of classical tropical botany and phytogeography as subjects for scholarly pursuits. Since the middle of the century, when the first edition of The Tropical Rain Forest appeared, the wet tropical lowlands of the world have become an industrial battleground and, today at the end of the "Second Millennium", the future of the remaining rainforests that have evolved over millions of years looks bleak. Indeed, the book may well become "a record of what the rainforest was like in the twentieth century", as stated on its first page. This elegiac declaration not only reflects world concern about its pending extinction, but also Professor Richards' increasingly personal involvement with rainforest conservation in his later years.


Economic evaluation generally limits outcome measurement to the valuation of health outcomes produced by interventions without considering the impact of processes on utility. We test for process utility by comparing utility measurements for alternative approaches to managing abnormal Pap smears in the context of a fixed outcome. The impact of health care interventions on individual well-being was not confined to health outcomes. Aggressive and conservative follow-up approaches were associated with statistically significant differences in utilities. We also found that relative preferences among different processes may depend on the particular circumstances or pathologies being considered.


I declare that this essay is work done as part of the Part III Examination. I have read and understood the Statement on Plagiarism for Part III and Graduate Courses issued by the Faculty of Mathematics, and have abided by it. This essay is the result of my own work, and except where explicitly stated otherwise, only includes material undertaken since the publication of the list of essay titles, and includes nothing which was performed in collaboration. No part of this essay has been submitted, or is concurrently being submitted, for any degree, diploma or similar qualification at any university or similar institution.


Background Isolation and loneliness are increasing issues amongst older people in the UK. A growing evidence-base suggests that exposure to the natural environment can positively affect health and well-being. Wild at Heart is an intervention designed by Sheffield Wildlife Trust to engage older people with wildlife-related activities, with a view to improving well-being and reducing isolation. The activities delivered by the programme include nature walks, photography courses and group-based workshops in sheltered housing. Setting This study aims to evaluate whether the delivery of 'Wild at Heart', a wildlife-related intervention, improves the physical and mental well-being of older people and reduces feelings of isolation. The interwoven components of outdoor activity, mental challenge, social interaction and a broad range of participants generate a complex intervention in 'Wild at Heart': isolating the 'signal' of effects which can be attributed to the intervention from the 'noise' of baseline variations in participants physical and mental wellbeing and range of experiences poses a significant challenge. Methods A concurrent mixed method approach was taken. The quantitative component comprised a self-completed cross sectional questionnaire survey of recipients of the Wild at Heart programme to generate findings in relation to self-perceived physical health, mental well-being and improvements in social networks. Data on participants' degree of involvement with the programme (time since first starting a Wild at Heart activity, and number of sessions attended) were also collected. The qualitative component comprised semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of older people attending the wildlife related activities and the volunteers delivering the activities. Data were analysed using SPSS for the statistical findings and NVivo for the thematic analysis. Results Preliminary findings from the semi-structured interviews suggest that key drivers for attendance at the Wild at Heart activities are the provision of structure and intellectual challenge for people in retirement; increasing friendships and reducing isolation are also considered as important. Participants consider the physical health benefits as secondary to the improvements in mental health and well-being. The quantitative data, while necessarily brief, will provide an overall picture of the associations between engagement with Wild at Heart and mental and physical wellbeing, describe what participants' value in the intervention, and address the first stage of evaluating a complex intervention: that of whether the intervention is successful in normal use across the broad population who engage with it.


New media technologies, specially software have been of great impact in modern society. The combination of computer/software/networks as creative machines is present in everyday life. This article is focused in this interactions specially from the perspective of free open source software (FOSS). In doing so, the influence of its values is traced from the original hacker culture ethics to the free software four freedoms, showing a software explained culture as in the software studies disciplines. Also the bazaar creation model is explained, as a metaphor originally intended to software development that now is present in several realms as the open source method can be applied in diverse fields. To the education field, this values are seen as encouraging of the remix and amateur culture, producing engaging methods to education through media manipulation. For this reasons remix culture and temporary autonomous zones are explained as extensions of the bazaar model to educational related fields. Finally to summarize, examples from non formal and formal (University) education in Colombia are presented, where the create and share approach can be seen in action. This examples were explored from a participant perspective. Finally some conclusions and recommendations are made, as a result of a critical assessing of the ideas presented.


Heterogeneity is a confirmed trend of computing systems. Bytecode formats and just-in-time compilers have been proposed to deal with the diversity of the platforms. By hiding architectural details and giving software developers a unified view of the machine, they help improve portability and manage the complexity of large software. Independently, careful exploitation of SIMD instructions has become crucial for the performance of many applications. However, auto-vectorizing compilers need detailed information about the architectural features of the processor to generate efficient code. We propose to reconcile the use of architecture neutral bytecode formats with the need to generate highly efficient vectorized native code. We make three contributions. 1) We show that vectorized bytecode is a viable approach that can deliver portable performance in the presence of SIMD extensions, while incurring only minor penalty when SIMD is not supported. In other words, the information that a loop can be vectorized is the vectorized loop itself. 2) We analyze the interaction between the static and just-in-time compilers and we derive conditions to deliver performance. 3) We add vectorization capabilities to the CLI port of the GCC compiler.


The phenomenon of pain may be neuropathic in nature and it invariably stems from disease or injury affecting the somatosensory system (1,2). Neuropathic pain is usually a chronic condition and is a significant cause of morbidity. It has a pronounced impact on wellbeing as well as patient quality of life and of those patients presenting with pain, up to a quarter of them suffer neuropathic pain (3,4). It involves symptoms of an abnormally unpleasant sensation (dysesthesia), allodynia typified by a painful sensation to a normally innocuous stimulus and hyperalgesia characterized by an exaggerated pain perception to a normally noxious stimulus (5).


Vanadium dioxide (VO2) is attractive for a variety of applications in optics and electronics, due to its abrupt insulator-metal transition (IMT) with $> 10^{3}\times$ change in resistance near room temperature. Use of VO2 in devices will require low power switching, with knowledge of the transition mechanism and behaviour down to nanoscale dimensions. To address this challenge, we use metallic carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with diameter ~1 nm [1] to probe nanoscale IMT in VO2 for the first time. We find that a single CNT locally switches the VO2 at less than half the voltage and power otherwise required. Furthermore, to understand the nanoscale IMT we use scanning probe microscopy (SPM) techniques to study devices during operation.


Based on the monthly runoff series (1955-2003) of the three gauging stations in Poyang Lake watershed, the wavelet transform method was adopted to analyze the temporal trend and periodic variation of the streamflows in the watershed. Result from Multi-Resolution Analysis (MRA) using the Db3 wavelet function indicates that the long-term trend of streamflow in the Poyang Lake watershed show ascends before 1998 while descends thereafter, and the descending rate is slower than that of rising rate. Causes for this mainly come from the long-term uptrend of precipitation and downtrend of actual evapotranspiration, and both trends turn over at 1998. Periodicity analysis from continuous wavelet transform (CWT) revealed that there exist 25-26 years' first dominant periods and 8 years, 3-4 years' sub-dominant periods at all three stations. According to the variation of periodicity, it can be anticipated that the Poyang Lake watershed will be in the relative arid climate in the next 10 years, and the higher frequency and severity of droughts will persist. The watershed will enter into a humid climate and high-flow period at about 2018.


Over the past two decades, researchers in the field of second language acquisition (SLA) have become increasingly interested in the concept of attention. The role of attention has significant implications for theories of second language input, processing, development, variation, and instruction. Most of the literature on attention also addresses the concept of awareness. The two concepts are inherently connected but can be operationally distinguished. This review focuses on attention and awareness with respect to their definitions, theories, and the empirical evidence of their role in learning. Emphasis will be on research from cognitive psychology. This is followed by a brief review of SLA research relevant to Schmidt's Noticing Hypothesis (1990). The discussion suggests that: (a) Schmidt's definition of attention, as detection among other things, disregards the possibility of learning without attention; (b) attention facilitates SLA; (c) awareness is not necessary for converting input to intake; and (d) awareness can also facilitate SLA.


We discuss the peer-to-peer middleware architecture for developing grid applications. We present the key issues in building services for large-scale distributed systems. Our approach of developing a replication service using a scalable, reconfigurable shared-object space realized over two-layer P2P architecture appears unique. However, we need to benchmark the platform to test the performance. Also, we must look at key issues in designing the replication service itself, including data redundancy and efficient data placement strategies to minimize computation time and bandwidth


In Model-Driven Engineering, executables are generated from domain-specific modelling languages (DSMLs) through two steps: generation of program code in a third-generation programming languages (3GLs, like C++ or Java) from a model, and compilation of the generated code to object code. 3GL code generation raises three issues. (1) Code generators are DSML- and 3GL-specific, hence they can not be used for other DSMLs or 3GLs than those they were designed for. (2) Existing code generators do not exploit model semantics; hence, 3GL programs do not always semantically reflect models. (3) Existing 3GL compilers are unable to exploit model semantics; hence, they are not able to operate model-specific optimisations. (2) and (3) seriously threaten predictability of the generated executables. We advocate the need and provides a solution proposal for an innovative model compilation framework based on model semantics to produce executables without translations to 3GLs. Model compilation will be based on a common semantics, the Semantics of a Foundational Subset for Executable UML Models (fUML), and will semantically underpin any DSML whose execution semantics can be specified with fUML.


This thesis describes investigations into Pilaira anomla, P.caucasica and P.moreaui, also a brief review of previous work on these coprophilous mucoraceous fungi. The isolation of Pilaira from dung is described, together with measurements of the diagnostic characteristics of a number of isolates. P.anmala was found to produce a vegetative 'growth ring' when the mycelium was briefly exposed to light. This phenomenon was associated with a marked temporary reduction in vegetative growth, P.caucasica and P.moreaui did not show any such conspicuous responses. The carotene pigments present in P.anomala have been analysed in detail and related to analyses in other members of the Mucorales. The morphology and location on the mycelium of the priraordia of the sporangiophores has been studied. Sporangiophores were initiated by all three species in darkness, but a requirement for light by P.anomala for the development of the sporangium was found. The external morphology of the Stages of sporangiophore development are described, together with a brief study of the development of the columella and spores within the sporangium in all three species. The durations of the Stages of development have also been measured. The pattern of growth of the developing and mature sporangiophores has been studied. The twisting of the mature sporangiophore during growth was measured in P.caucasica and demonstrated in the other two species. The production of 'stolons' - abnormal sporangiophores, has been described. A detailed analysis of the positive phototropism of the young and mature Stages of sporangiophore development has been made, including the reversal of tropism under liquid paraffin and a close examination of the location of the bending zone in all three species. Finally, indication has been made of topics suitable for further investigation.


Containers are in great demand because they are lightweight when compared to virtual machines. On the downside, containers offer weaker isolation than VMs, to the point where people run containers in virtual machines to achieve proper isolation. In this paper, we examine whether there is indeed a strict tradeoff between isolation (VMs) and efficiency (containers). We find that VMs can be as nimble as containers, as long as they are small and the toolstack is fast enough. We achieve lightweight VMs by using unikernels for specialized applications and with Tinyx, a tool that enables creating tailor-made, trimmed-down Linux virtual machines. By themselves, lightweight virtual machines are not enough to ensure good performance since the virtualization control plane (the toolstack) becomes the performance bottleneck. We present LightVM, a new virtualization solution based on Xen that is optimized to offer fast boot-times regardless of the number of active VMs. LightVM features a complete redesign of Xen's control plane, transforming its centralized operation to a distributed one where interactions with the hypervisor are reduced to a minimum. LightVM can boot a VM in 2.3ms, comparable to fork/exec on Linux (1ms), and two orders of magnitude faster than Docker. LightVM can pack thousands of LightVM guests on modest hardware with memory and CPU usage comparable to that of processes.


This guide contains library resources with information on the philosophical origins, fundamental principles, and treatment implications of the primary systems of psychotherapy.


Sullivan focuses on eight key psychological terms - phr n, thumos, kardia, kear, tor, nous, prapides, and psych - that appear frequently in ancient Greek texts but which have a wide range of possible meanings. Gathering instances from The Persians, Seven against Thebes, Suppliants, Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides (instances from Prometheus Bound, whose authorship is in question, are treated in notes and an appendix), Sullivan first examines each psychic term separately. She then discusses instances of the terms in each play, examining the meaning of the psychic term in the context of the play in which it appears and providing details on Aeschylus' usage. This book sheds light on the rich and sometimes elaborate way in which Aeschylus uses psychological terminology and is an excellent reference for classicists, psychologists, philosophers, and scholars of comparative literature.


Colour histogram based particle filter is an efficient technique for tracking. The scale of kernel is a crucial parameter which is formed by the weighted particles. However, changing the scale simply by the histogram similarity sometimes results in the kernel fast shrinks into local optimal. Therefore, a method is proposed to detect the potential hints of shrinking first. Then, the centre distribution of particles is utilized to resize the kernel. The similarity likelihood between modified kernel and the ground truth is used for forming the resampling step to solve the degeneracy problem. We test the proposed approach on both simulated and real scenarios. In these experiments, the method can efficiently solve the problem of shrinking.


Many efforts have been made for addressing coverage problems in sensor networks. They fall into two categories, full coverage and barrier coverage, featured as static coverage. In this work, we study a new coverage scenario, sweep coverage, which differs with the previous static coverage. In sweep coverage, we only need to monitor certain points of interest (POIs) periodically so the coverage at each POI is time-variant, and thus we are able to utilize a small number of mobile sensors to achieve sweep coverage among a much larger number of POIs. We investigate the definitions and model for sweep coverage. Given a set of POIs and their sweep period requirements, we prove that determining the minimum number of required sensors (min-sensor sweep-coverage problem) is NP-hard, and it cannot be approximated within a factor of 2. We propose a centralized algorithm with constant approximation ratio 2 + epsi for the simplified problem where all sweep periods are identical. We further characterize the non-locality of the problem and design a distributed sweep algorithm, DSWEEP, cooperating sensors to provide required sweep requirements with the best effort. We conduct extensive simulations to study the performance of the proposed algorithms. Our simulations show that DSWEEP outperforms the randomized scheme in both effectiveness and efficiency.


A well-functioning gut is a key, albeit sometimes overlooked, contributor to athlete performance and health. Indeed, increases in gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms correspond with worsened performance [1–3], and certain GI symptoms such as nausea, intestinal cramping, and loose stools can even cause athletes to drop out of competition or be unable to complete an exercise task [4, 5]. Hoffman and Fogard [4], for example, found that Western States 100mile Endurance Run participants reported nausea and/or vomiting as the leading reason for withdraw from the race. This contrasts with other symptoms (e. g. flatulence, belching) which are unlikely to affect performance or lead to competition withdrawal. Dietary supplements are frequently used to improve athletic performance, training, and recovery, particularly in elite athletes [6]. Certain supplements (e. g. probiotics, glutamine, bovine colostrum) have been studied as gut function enhancers in the context of exercise [3, 7, 8], and various manufacturers are marketing these and other supplements to exercisers/athletes to improve performance and GI function. Conversely, other sports nutrition supplements have known GI-related side effects that can impair performance or interfere with training in some situations. These include supplements with a long track record of study and use (carbohydrate, caffeine, sodium bicarbonate) as well as more novel products (exogenous ketones). Athletes who decide to use these supplements may need to implement mitigation strategies to minimize GI-related adverse effects and maximize these supplements' ergogenic properties. Given the widespread use of dietary supplements and their potential impacts on the gut, the aims of this narrative review were twofold: 1) to address the potential of certain dietary supplements to enhance gut function and reduce exercise-associated GI sympSport Supplements and the Athlete's Gut: A Review


SUMMARY This paper presents hybrid control systems for seismic protection of a phase II benchmark cable-stayed bridge. Because multiple control devices are operating, a hybrid control system could alleviate some of the restrictions and limitations that exist when each system is acting alone. In this study, two types of hybrid control system are considered to protect the cable-stayed bridge under seismic events. Lead–rubber bearings are used as passive control devices to reduce the earthquake-induced forces in the bridge and hydraulic actuators or magnetorheological fluid dampers are used as additional control devices to further reduce the bridge responses, especially deck displacements. Numerical simulation results show that the performances of the proposed hybrid control systems are superior to those of the passive control system, and slightly better than those of the active or semi-active control system alone. Furthermore, it is verified that the hybrid control systems are robust to mass or stiffness parameter perturbation, and there is no sign of instability in the overall system due to the passive control part. Therefore, the proposed hybrid control systems could effectively be applied to seismically excited cable-stayed bridges. Copyright # 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A first edition of Ulysses sold for $460,000 in auction at Christie's in 2002. The price might have upset the union chief, convicted gangster, and major-league James Joyce book collector Dennis Silverman, who had sold his copy, signed and inscribed by the author, for a mere $135,000 ten years earlier. Great books attract all kinds and come to fascinating destinies of their own, as Nabokov's Butterfly amply demonstrates. In it, author and rare book dealer Rick Gekoski profiles twenty editions of major books that have passed through his hands and made publishing history, as they have become the legends of rare book collectors. Plied with alcohol by Graham Greene, sued by J. D. Salinger, harassed by Harold Pinter, berated by Ted Hughes who unloaded his personal and passionately inscribed copy of Sylvia Plath's The Colossus, Gekoski is a convivial participant in these histories, including his tale, and sale, of Mr. Tolkien's college gown. Not entirely unabashedly he recalls purchasing from Graham Greene his first edition of Lolita, with Nabokov's signature drawing of a butterfly inside, one day, and on the next selling it to Elton John's lyricist at a $10,000 profit. 25 color photographs are featured in this remarkable book.


Smoking is one of the most common addictions with devastating biopsychosocial consequences. Both medical treatment and pschotherapy are utilized in smoking cessation. Acceptance and commitment therapy holds the notion that smoking cessation rates are determined not so much by the negative affect and withdrawal symptoms per se, but by the avoidant and inflexible responding style. Acceptance and commitment therapy, through targeting the avoidance of internal stimuli and concomitant inflexible responding pattern, has yielded successful results.This article presents application of acceptance and commitment therapy step by step to a chronic smoker who quitted smoking at the end of therapy sessions.


This paper describes the analysis and design of a class of slotted rectangular microstrip antennas for dual band operations. Slots are cut to tune the patch at suitable dual frequency operations..The simulation and modeling of these configurations have been done using Ansoft HFSS software. The resonant frequencies and dimensions are computed from the cavity model of rectangular patch. The parameters of antenna such as return loss, VSWR, radiation patterns and gain have been found and design is optimized for best results. The results are experimentally verified and the results are found in good agreement with those of theory.


Thick composites (~ 3 mm in thickness) of polypyrrole with electrically insulating porous (polystyrene) and nonporous (polymethyl methacrylate) substrates were prepared using a two-step batch method. In the two-step method, impregnation of volatile (iodine) or nonvolatile (ferric chloride) oxidant in the substrate is followed by in-situ polymerization of pyrrole. Conductivities as high as 10-1 S/cm were obtained in this work in the case of composites of polypyrrole and porous, crosslinked polystyre. Use of the nonvolatile oxidant (ferric chloride) resulted in higher conducting polymer yield, as well as composites having a higher conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical strength. However, the volatile oxidant (iodine) could be transported to the substrate using supercritical carbon dioxide as the solvent. As a result, partitioning of the oxidant between the solvent phase and the polymer substrate, and hence the distribution of the oxidant in the substrate, could be controlled by manipulation of the pressure. The two-step batch method in which supercritical carbon dioxide is used to facilitate transport and as a solvent for the oxidant was found to be an effective method for the production of thick composites with uniform conductivity, thermal stability, and mechanical strength. Such composites are desired in important practical applications such as rechargeable battery electrodes and electromagnetic interference shielding materials.


Increasing the traction force is a complex problem in the design of railway vehicles; therefore, effective traction systems and algorithms have to be developed. During the traction process, the verification of traction algorithms and control strategies are based on simulations covering all locomotive dynamics. In this article, traction model of a railway vehicle and re-adhesion control method based on simulation approach are investigated to obtain more effective results. The longitudinal dynamic of a railway vehicle having traction system, which comprises two parallel motor groups, each of which has two field-oriented induction motor connected in series, is simulated to examine time-dependent changes in motor stator currents, traction torque, adhesion and resistance forces according to a given speed reference. The interaction between the adhesion force and the slip ratio is established according to the Burckhardt adhesion model, and a modified super-twisting sliding mode slip control is implemented in a computer simulation under various contact conditions so that simulation results approve the presented control method works under the maximum adhesion force. The comparison between the classical and modified version of the proposed control strategy was made to better evaluate the performance of the control system and to better optimize the traction system.


Global economic growth is forecast to pick up from 3.0 per cent in 2016 to 3.1 per cent in 2017 and 3.5 per cent in 2018 – a slightly weaker acceleration than projected last November. The unexpected result of the US presidential election has dominated recent financial market developments, with hikes in bond yields, a further appreciation of the US dollar, and rises in stock market prices reflecting expectations of US tax cuts, infrastructure spending, deregulation and trade measures. Our forecast assumes established policies. Potential policy changes in the US and any response in the rest of the world therefore pose significant risks to our projections.


This thesis focuses on the Rome Statute Amendments on the Crime of Aggression and the extent to which they represent a step forward in the advancement of international criminal justice.
This thesis charts the development of the criminalisation of aggression and takes a critical look at the positions of delegations during the negotiations, the jurisdiction and entry-into-force provisions adopted in December 2017, and what these mean for international justice and the International Criminal Court.
Although there remains considerable room for judicial refinement of the definition, particularly with regard to the scope of the 'manifest' threshold requirement, it nevertheless represents a significant step forward in the development of international criminal law, and provides a reasonable basis by which future acts of aggression can be judged.
As to the jurisdictional remit, this thesis laments the restrictive nature of the framework adopted. The consent-based regime will seriously limit the prospect of future prosecutions. That being said, it was a willingness to find a delicate balance between a Security Council monopoly and an expansive regime that ensured an agreeable outcome, and there is virtue in that.
The success of the aggression amendments has always been in the hands of states. With each ratification, the Court is strengthened. If the international community is serious about punishing the aggressive waging of war, it must rally behind the Court rather than undermine the promises made in Kampala.
The real power of the amendments perhaps lies not in the frequency with which they will be used to punish crimes of aggression, but in the extent to which they confirm the aggressive waging of war as illegal under international law. The amendments represent an important step forward.


Presented by the Department of Astronomy, the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, and the Student Astronomical Society, and sponsored by the Michigan Center for Theoretical Physics, the University Activities Center, and the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts.


Distribution and occurrence of fecal indicator bacterial in nine different locations along the inner to coastal areas of Tapi estuary during three different seasons like, post-monsoon, pre-monsoon and monsoon were analyzed for the period of one year. It was found that monsoon was inhabited by the highe st number of investigated bacteria, while lower numbers of them were found in other two seasons. Concentrations of fecal microorganisms in sediment were found to be significantly high. Overall percentage occurrence for the enteric bacter ia in water and sediment were maximum accounted for fecal coliforms (64%), and moderate for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (22.2%). Higher microbial populations were recorded in stations close to coastal areas and inner estuarine as compared to middle and outer area of Tapi, while according to the analysis of surface w ater the highest degree of pollution was reached on its estuary. Bacterial populations showed strong correlations wit h biological oxygen demand and negative relationship with salinity, indicating the dominating influence of human activities resulting fecal pollution in the estuarine area.


Because of their unique properties, gold nanoparticles(NPs) show a wide range of applications such as surface-enhanced raman characteristics, biological sensing, biomedical and other fields. Different initial concentrations of Bull Serum Albumin(BSA) and egg white lysozyme respectively react with different size of gold nanoparticles. The condition of adsorption is determined by spectrometry method, then the area of protein with different molecular mass on the surface of a gold nanoparticle is calculated. The results show that the larger particle size of a gold nanoparticle is, the more protein the surface a gold nanoparticle adsorbs; the smaller the molecular mass of protein is, the more protein is adsorbed by gold nanoparticles surface.


An adapted version of Stafford Beer's model of team syntegrity was combined with four Aesthetic Processes (APs) (clay/sculpting, theatre improvisation/writing, painting/drawing and cutarorial/found objects) to generate a process model of design that maximized group-based idea generation, idea sharing, and idea integration in a short period of time. This paper outlines some preliminary discoveries resulting from a three-day participatory Forum hosted by the Leadership Learning Lab at The Banff Centre in which four 'design pods', made up of leader developers, business managers, artists, and academics responded to a design challenge to create a new enterprise. Clay/Sculpting and Curatorial/found objects proved to be powerful methods for group-based idea generation and exploration compared to Painting/Drawing and Theatre/Writing. Participants also found this same pattern in terms of comfort with these two APs. The direct hand manipulation involved in these two APs affected how participants were able to share their ideas and to make collective sense of them. The value of using APs as an engine of design within a structured group-based approach is discussed.


Objective: This study investigated the effects of manual-based Phenomenological Art Therapy for individuals living with depression in addition to treatment as usual (PATd/TAU) compared with only treatment as usual (TAU) for individuals diagnosed with moderate to severe depression. Method: 79 adults (men = 29.1%) were included in this randomized-controlled-trial (RCT), multicenter study in Sweden with an intention-to-treat design. Participants were randomized into either the PATd/TAU-group (n = 43) or TAU-group (n = 36). Data were collected at baseline and at end of treatment. The main outcomes were depression levels and self-esteem. Secondary outcomes were suicide ideation and sickness absence. Results: The PATd/TAU-group showed a significant decrease of depression levels. The PATd/TAU-group returned to work to a higher degree than the TAU-group. Self-esteem significantly improved in both groups. Suicide ideation was unaffected. Conclusion and Implications for Practice: Manual-based PATd works as expected, being an effective treatment, and contributes to recovery for individuals with moderate to severe depression. This outcome needs to be confirmed and its long-term effects examined in further studies.


Distributed power systems are an attractive solution to meet the requirements (redundancy, modularity, battery backup, etc.) for the next generation of power supply systems. In addition, the normalization regarding power factor and total harmonic distortion makes it necessary to include power factor correction in the input stage in those architectures. This paper presents a novel approach of an integrated battery charger/discharger which offers power factor correction and battery galvanic isolation in a simple structure. Placing the battery into the primary side overcomes the need of galvanic isolation integration in each one of the DC/DC on-board converters when this topology is used as part of a distributed power supply systems.


Background. Taxometric and behavioral genetic studies suggest that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is best modeled as a dimension rather than a category. We extended these analyses by testing for the existence of putative ADHD-related deficits in basic information processing (BIP) and inhibitory-based executive function (IB-EF) in individuals in the subclinical and full clinical ranges. Consistent with the dimensional model, we predicted that ADHD-related deficits would be expressed across the full spectrum, with the degree of deficit linearly related to the severity of the clinical presentation. Method. A total of 1547 children (aged 6–12 years) participated in the study. The Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) was used to classify children into groups according to levels of inattention and hyperactivity independently: (1) asymptomatic, (2) subthreshold minimal, (3) subthreshold moderate and (4) clinical ADHD. Neurocognitive performance was evaluated using a two-choice reaction time task (2C-RT) and a conflict control task (CCT). BIP and IB-EF measures were derived using a diffusion model (DM) for decomposition of reaction time (RT) and error data. Results. Deficient BIP was found in subjects with minimal, moderate and full ADHD defined in terms of inattention (in both tasks) and hyperactivity/impulsivity dimensions (in the 2C-RT). The size of the deficit increased in a linear manner across increasingly severe presentations of ADHD. IB-EF was unrelated to ADHD. Conclusions. Deficits in BIP operate at subclinical and clinical levels of ADHD. The linear nature of this relationship provides support for a dimensional model of ADHD in which diagnostic thresholds are defined in terms of clinical and societal burden rather than representing discrete pathophysiological states.


We propose a novel scheme to generate nanoscale optical trap for cold atoms near the tapered Ag nanotip, in which we take a microdisk cavity near the nanoscale trap and form a nanoscale solid-state system to realize the loading of the isolated cold atoms. We calculate the field distribution by the FDTD method near the nanotip, and discuss the intensity, the optical potential and van der Waals potential as well as the dipole force for 87Rb atoms. We find that the total potential and dipole force can form an attracting nanoscale trap for cold atoms with red-detuned field and it can realize the effective trapping and manipulation of the isolated atoms, which can enable efficient fluorescence photon collection and strong coupling in the coupled optical fiber.


Glycyrrhizic acid (GA), a triterpene isolated from the roots and rhizomes of licorice, named Glycyrrhiza glabra, is the principal bioactive ingredient of anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects. GA has been used in the clinical treatment of hepatitis, bronchitis, gastric ulcer, AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), certain cancers and skin diseases. It has a direct effect on anti-HBV (hepatitis B virus) via affecting the HBsAg (hepatitis B surface antigen) to extracellular secretion, improving liver dysfunction in patients with chronic hepatitis B, and ultimately improving the immune status of HBV. GA can significantly inhibit the proliferation of HIV, showing an immune activation. The clinical application of GA on the prevention and treatments of various diseases may derive from its numerous pharmacological properties. This review provides the summary of the antiviral effects of GA on research progress and mechanism in recent years.


In his History of the Royal Society, attempting to outline the conditions under which the empirical sciences can flourish, Thomas Sprat offers a by no means unfamiliar dictum on communication. The members of the Royal Society, he reports, have "been most solicitous [about] ... the manner of their Discourse; which, unless they had been very watchful to keep in due temper, the whole spirit and vigor of their Design, had soon been eaten out, by the luxury and redundancy of Speech."(1) "[A] bare knowledge of things," he explains--the radical and humble goal of this society--calls for a language "without any ornament of Eloquence,"(2) and so the Royal Society has made "a constant Resolution to reject all the amplifications, digressions, and swellings of style: to return back to the primitive purity, and shortness, when men deliver'd so many things, almost in an equal number of words."(3) Locke will make similar claims in the Essay Concerning Human Understanding. If his discussion of rhetoric cautiously avoids political overtones, he is more explicit when discussing more generally the destructive power of words. Disputes arise out of names, not Ideas, and "Men, when they come to examine them, find their simple Ideas all generally to agree, though in discourse with one another, they perhaps confound one another with different Names." In what is accessible to the senses, all must agree, although "they may perplex themselves with words, according to the way of speaking of the several Schools, or Sects, they have been bred up in.(4) The political implications of language was not lost on Sprat in the 1660's. A well balanced verbal economy, without excesses or obfuscations, seems to play no small role in maintaining the balanced political economy that must underlie a program of empirical study: "Eloquence," he insists, "ought to be banish'd out of all civil societies, as a thing fatal to Peace."(5) More than a hundred years later, under circumstances and with intentions as different as can be imagined, John Horne Tooke brings together in his Diversions of Purley a similar configuration of language, experience, and society.(6) In order to conduct his etymological studies he is obliged, like Sprat, to "disregard whatever additions or alterations have been made for the sake of beauty, or ornament";(7) for the work of etymology, seeking "the meaning of the word and the cause of its imposition,"(8) like the inquiry into more properly empirical causes, loses its focus on cause and origin in the frivolousness of eloquence, which, distracting us from the true causes of words, likewise obscures their civic corollaries. More than Sprat or Locke, however, and more than any of his own contemporaries, Tooke--a political refugee from the 1760s, the days of "Wilkes and liberty"--brought the two spheres of language and politics together, finding in linguistic representation a foundation for political representation. While this political current running through the Diversions-politely overlooked, if noted at all, by his contemporaries--has received some critical attention, in particular with respect to the class issues at stake, I would like to examine an intellectual and cultural thread that has not been addressed in Tooke, namely his attempt, in the course of a political critique, to define a political body.(9) Such attempts tends to be two-fold: on the one hand, it concerns the mitigation of the individual in favor of a more general communal identity; and on the other, the enlistment of history, of the past, in the legitimation, or delegitimation, of the present. These two political programs, often interwoven, are obliged to account for the relationship, whether mimetic or oppositional, between the work of community and the "natural" order: an order which, for much of the eighteenth century, tends to appear as the order of human nature. For Hume this means a negotiation of the passions; for Burke, a modeling on experience; for Herder, an understanding of language. …


In 2000, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) overtook tuberculosis (TB) as the world's leading infectious cause of adult deaths. In affluent countries, however, AIDS mortality has dropped sharply, largely because of the use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). Antiretroviral agents are not yet considered essential medications by international public health experts and are not widely used in the poor countries where human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) takes its greatest toll. Arguments against the use of HAART have mainly been based on the high cost of medications and the lack of the infrastructure necessary for using them wisely. We reexamine these arguments in the setting of rising AIDS mortality in developing countries and falling drug prices, and describe a small community-based treatment programme based on lessons gained in TB control. With the collaboration of Haitian community health workers experienced in the delivery of home-based and directly observed treatment for TB, an AIDS-prevention project was expanded to deliver HAART to a subset of HIV patients deemed most likely to benefit. The inclusion criteria and preliminary results are presented. We conclude that directly observed therapy (DOT) with HAART, ''DOT-HAART'', can be delivered effectively in poor settings if there is an uninterrupted supply of high-quality drugs.


Every October, hundreds of evangelical churches across the United States mount Hell Houses, Christian riffs on the haunted houses that dot the landscape of U.S. secular culture each Halloween season. Where haunted houses seek to scare you for fun, Hell Houses aim to scare you to Jesus. In a typical Hell House, actors playing demon tour guides take the audience though a series of bloody staged tableaux depicting sinners whose bad choices—homosexuality, abortion, suicide, and, above all, rejection of Christ's saving grace—lead them straight to hell. My essay discusses Hell Houses's use of, and confidence in, theatre as a medium of evangelization, a confidence that nonetheless evinces considerable anxiety around how to represent sexuality, especially homosexuality. I focus my analysis on the Hell House staged by the New Destiny Christian Center in the Denver suburb of Thornton, Colorado, in October 2006. This church also distributes Hell House kits through a sophisticated online ministry effort. I supplement this discussion with reference to the 2001 documentary Hell House and by a comparison to a Hell House staged by a "secular" theatre group in Brooklyn, New York, in October 2006. My examination is in service of a larger set of questions about how religious feelings are lived, experienced, and communicated in the contemporary United States.


In the Cerrado biome the areas are predominantly private. Most legally protected environments are in rural landscapes, thus implying changes in the use of these environments and conservation of biological groups, such as avifauna. In this paper we investigate bird assemblages from a rural landscape, based on samplings in private properties located in the Cerrado, Midwest region of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. We report a total of 143 bird species, about 65% of them being classified as less frequent or infrequent. The most representative trophic guilds were Insectivorous and Omnivorous. One species ( Aratinga auricapillus ) is classified in the category near threatened. Three species are endemic to the Cerrado, such as Antilophia galeata, which is restricted to Riparian Forests. Two species, namely Baryphthengus ruficapillus and Hemithraupis ruficapilla , are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. We observed that the most sensitive species recorded during the study use the environments present in the protection area. Private areas legally protected in altered environments become unique refuges for species dependent on natural areas. However, these environments suffer strong anthropogenic pressure. Our results underscore the importance of legally protected areas in private properties for the maintenance of several bird species. Keywords: private protected areas, permanent preservation area, legal reserve, community structure, ornithological inventory, hotspot.


Many states are under court-order to reduce local disparities in education spending. While a substantial body of literature suggests that these orders and the resulting school finance equalizations have increased the level and progressivity of state education spending, there is little evidence on the broader effects of such measures on the change in total resources available not only for schools, but for other local government programs as well. When states spend more on education, both state and local budget constraints change, which may affect both state and local spending and revenue decisions. We find that while mandated school finance equalizations increase both the level and progressivity of state spending on education, states finance the required increase in education spending in part by reducing their aid to localities for other programs. Local governments, in turn, respond to the increases in state taxation and spending by reducing both their own revenue-raising and their own spending on education and on other programs. Thus, while state education aid does increase total spending on education, it does so at the expense of drawing resources away from spending on programs like public welfare, highways, and hospitals. These findings provide insight not only into the ultimate incidence of mandated increases in state education aid, but more broadly into the effectiveness of using earmarked funds to achieve redistribution.


In India, a young democratic system has undermined the legitimacy of a two-thousand-year-old social system that excluded and humiliated an entire people by treating them as untouchables. This incomplete, but irreversible change in Indian society and politics has been authored by the mobilization of some of the most marginalized citizens in the world and counts as one of the most significant achievements of Indian democracy. Dalits, the former untouchables in India, who number over 200 million, have been mobilized by social movements and political parties, but their mobilization is puzzling. Dalits' parties perform poorly in elections in states historically home to movements demanding social equality while they do well in other states where such movements have been weak or entirely absent. For Dalits, collective action in the social sphere appears to undermine rather than bolster collective action in the electoral sphere. Mobilizing the Marginalized shows how social movements by marginalized ethnic groups—those who are stigmatized by others and disproportionately poor—undermine bloc voting to generate competition for marginalized citizens' votes across political parties. The book presents evidence showing that a marginalized group gains more from participating in a social movement and dividing support among parties than from voting en bloc for an ethnic party.


A significant correlation has been established at comparison of fluorographic findings with respiratory mechanics in bronchitis chronic between the diaphragm height, its curvature in the lateral view and FEV for the 1st second. Less apparent correlation exists between residual lung capacity and the diaphragm height, forced expiration volume and the width of the pulmonary artery right branch. Tracheobronchial dyskinesia was diagnosed in 62.2% of bronchitis patients. Chronic nonobstructive bronchitis is characterized by a short-term (> 1 s) prolapse of the tracheal posterior wall and primary bronchi which lasts longer (1-3 s) in chronic obstructive bronchitis.


In this study, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation (RANS) of the uniform blowing and suction (UB/US) control on a Clark-Y airfoil was performed aiming at improving an airfoil performance by friction drag reduction. First, the control effect when only the uniform blowing control or uniform suction control is applied on the airfoil surface was investigated by changing the control locations. The blowing or suction velocity was 0.14% of the free-stream velocity and the blowing/suction area was set at four different locations from the leading edge to the trailing edge on both the upper and lower surfaces. The Reynolds number based on the chord length is 1.5 × 106. The angle of attack is set to 0°. It was found that friction drag is decreased/increased by single UB/US control. It was also found that the lift-to-drag ratio improved with UB on the lower surface or US on the upper surface, and decreased with UB on the upper surface or US on the lower surface. In the combined control of UB and US, the blowing and suction velocity was 0.14% or 0.26% of the free-stream velocity and the locations of blowing/suction and flow conditions were the same as those in the cases with either UB or US. It seemed that the lift-to-drag ratio was improved by the combined control of UB on the lower surface and US on the upper surface. In particular, the lift-to-drag ratio was most improved by US on the lower rear surface and UB on the upper rear surface.


The aim of this study was to predict the results of superplastic forming on magnesium alloy, by considering the grain growth using numerical simulations. Superplastic behavior of AZ31 alloy was investigated through a set of uniaxial tensile tests that cover the forming temperatures ranges from 375 to 450°C. All the material parameters in the model, which consists of a constitutive equation and a grain growth equation, were determined. The model was used in the finite element analysis for uniaxial tensile tests and superplastic blow forming, through a user-subroutine available within ABAQUS. From this study, the effect of grain growth during forming was evaluated. The results show that it is essential to include the effect of grain growth in predicting the behavior during superplastic forming of this magnesium


Bacterial identification from blood culture using traditional methods needs about 48 hours, since positivization, to be performed. Rapid bacterial identification can result in clinical and economic benefits. To provide rapid pathogen identification for targeted antibiotic treatment, in this study we tested an our previously described homemade method for bacterial identification using MALDI-TOF directly from positive BACTEC blood culture, on positive BacT/ALERT blood culture. A total of 108 bacteria were identified by MALDI-TOF with a positive identification obtained for 98% of Gram negative and 84,3% of Gram positive bacteria.The average of identification score obtained using the protocol described in this study was 2,047 for Gram positive and 2,204 for Gram negative microorganisms. Data here described show that this method is also useful when BacT/ALERT bottles are used and even if these bottles have activated charcoal as inhibitor of antibiotics.


Agriculture-based livelihoods of most upland communities are vulnerable to risks associated with climate variability and extremes. These risks are compounded by the different socio-economic and biophysical factors concerning livelihoods. It is imperative that assessment of these vulnerabilities be comprehensive to capture the different significant factors and an alternative method is the use of capital-based approach. Three upland communities in Sibalom Natural Park (SNP) were surveyed and key informants were interviewed to assess the communities' social vulnerability. Social vulnerability index (SVI) was computed from the thirty nine indicators representing human, natural, social, financial, and physical capital assets. There is high vulnerability owing to the low capital assets among households, thus, it is vital to strengthen education, access to government support, regularity and quality of income sources; increase crop production; and provide basic infrastructure such as roads and bridges to minimize vulnerability. Key words: adaptation strategies, capital-based approach, livelihoods, social vulnerability


Additive manufacturing processes such as selective laser melting (SLM) are attracting increasing attention and are regarded as the manufacturing technology of the future, because of their ability to produce near net shaped components of theoretically any shape with added functionality. Various properties, including mechanical, tribological, welding, and corrosion properties, of Al-12Si alloys fabricated via SLM have been extensively studied. However, all of these studies were carried out at ambient conditions. Nevertheless, under working conditions, these alloys experience service temperatures ranging between 373 and 473 K. The present study focuses on the evaluation of the mechanical properties of SLM-fabricated Al-12Si alloys in this temperature range. For this, Al-12Si alloy specimens were annealed at 573 K, a temperature well beyond the test temperature in order to provide a stable microstructure during tensile testing. The plasticity of these materials increases along with the size of the dimples on the fracture surface with increasing tensile test temperature. Moreover, the annealed Al-12Si alloy exhibits appreciable tensile properties when tested between 373 K and 473 K. The results suggest that Al-12Si samples fabricated via SLM may be ideal candidates for automotive applications such as pistons and cylinder heads.


We propose and demonstrate high-quality generation of a uniform multispot pattern (MSP) by using a spatial light modulator with adaptive feedback. The method iteratively updates a computer generated hologram (CGH) using correction coefficients to improve the intensity distribution of the generated MSP in the optical system. Thanks to a simple method of determining the correction coefficients, the computational cost for optimizing the CGH is low, while maintaining high uniformity of the generated MSP. We demonstrate the generation of a 28×28 square-aligned MSP with high uniformity. Additionally, the proposed method could generate an MSP with a gradually varying intensity profile, as well as a uniform MSP consisting of more than 1000 spots arranged in an arbitrary pattern.