This paper proposes a motion compensation (MC) algorithm for robust transmission of video sequence, called the double-vector motion compensation (DMC). In the DMC, each block B in a frame is predicted from the weighted superposition of two blocks in the previous two frames, using two motion vectors. Therefore, when one of these two blocks is corrupted during the transmission, the decoder can efficiently suppress its error propagation to the subsequent frames, by predicting B only from the other block. It is shown by analysis that the DMC algorithm yields significantly lower error bounds for the subsequent frames than the conventional MC technique. Furthermore, the DMC algorithm can be combined with an effective concealment algorithm, which is capable of recovering very severe transmission errors, such as loss of an entire frame. A complete video coder, based on the DMC, is implemented by modifying the MC syntax of the H.263 standard and tested intensively in a realistic error prone environment. It is shown that the proposed algorithm provides much better objective and subjective performances than the H.263 coder in the error-prone environment.


Given the pace of technological advancement and government mandates for healthcare and system transformation, there is an imperative for change. Health systems are highly complex in their design, networks and interacting components, and experience demonstrates that change is very challenging to enact, sustain and scale. Policy‐makers, academics and clinicians all need better insight into the nature of this complexity and an understanding of the evidence‐base that can support healthcare improvement (HCI), or quality improvement, interventions and make them more effective in driving change. The evidence base demonstrates the vital role of clinical engagement and leadership in HCI, and it is imperative that clinicians engage to improve front‐line healthcare. The literature on HCI is vast, applies different and inconsistent terminology and encompasses often loosely defined and overlapping concepts. An increasingly broad range of disciplines has contributed to the available evidence base, but often discipline‐specific perspectives frame these contributions. Available literature can also be overly driven by the generation of theoretical concepts and the advancement of academic understanding. It does not necessarily primarily provide focussed and pragmatic insights to guide and inform frontline practice. We aim to address these issues by summarising theories, frameworks, models and success factors for improvement in complex health systems to assist clinicians and others to engage and lead change. We integrate the field of HCI into the learning health system highlighting the key role of the clinician. We seek to inform stakeholders; clinicians and managers to guide the planning, enacting, sustaining and scaling of HCI.


Many spiders include conspicuous designs of white silk called stabilimenta in the centre of their orb webs. Stabilimenta are highly variable in their form and frequency and are hypothesized to function in either defence against predators or attraction of prey. These hypotheses generate different predictions about the effect of foraging success on variation in the form and frequency of stabilimenta. If stabilimenta serve as prey attractants, then starved spiders should invest more in them than well-fed spiders, while the opposite pattern is expected if stabilimenta function as a predator defence mechanism. This study examines the effect of variation in foraging success of the yellow garden argiope Argiope aurantia and the banded argiope Argiope trifasciata on variation of their stabilimenta and orb webs. Both species built smaller stabilimenta when fed less, even though a stabilimentum accounts for only 10% of the dry weight of an orb web. Poorly fed A. trifasciata also included stabilimenta in their webs less often than did well-fed A. trifasciata. Differences in stabilimenta were independent of differences between treatments in the orb webs themselves. These results argue against the prey attraction hypothesis, but not the predator defence hypothesis, since well-fed spiders invested more in stabilimenta.


Disentangling the process information contained in a diatom sediment signature is crucial for reliable future predictions based on paleolimnological records. In this study, we combine limnological and paleolimnological monitoring to address the fundamental question: Which environmental information is contained in a diatom sediment signal? We compared annual diatom sequential sediment trap records with the diatom record of the annually varved lake sediment of Nylandssjön (northern Sweden) from three meteorologically different years (2012–2014). The seasonal patterns in diatom sedimentation were strikingly different in varve years 2012 and 2014 compared to varve year 2013. In 2012 and 2014, up to 70% of the annual flux occurred in a single spring month and was dominated by Cyclotella glomerata. In contrast, in 2013, peak fluxes were much lower and more annually integrated. Next, we compared the full‐year diatom trap results with year round in‐lake physical, chemical, and biological monitored parameters, as well as meteorological variables. Annual averages of environmental conditions did not explain the interannual variability in diatom sedimentation. Instead, the seasonality of diatom sedimentation was determined by the timing of the spring diatom bloom relative to lake over‐turn in winters with warm vs. cold air temperature. With our combined limnological and paleolimnological monitoring approach, we find that an annual diatom signal can either contain primarily seasonal climate information from a short time period or be annually integrated. We synthesize our results in a novel conceptual model, which describes the response of sediment diatom signals to two distinct sequences of late‐winter conditions.


Attention networks have successfully boosted the performance in various vision problems. Previous works lay emphasis on designing a new attention module and individually plug them into the networks. Our paper proposes a novel-and-simple framework that shares an attention module throughout different network layers to encourage the integration of layer-wise information and this parameter-sharing module is referred to as Dense-and-Implicit-Attention (DIA) unit. Many choices of modules can be used in the DIA unit. Since Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) has a capacity of capturing long-distance dependency, we focus on the case when the DIA unit is the modified LSTM (called DIA-LSTM). Experiments on benchmark datasets show that the DIA-LSTM unit is capable of emphasizing layer-wise feature interrelation and leads to significant improvement of image classification accuracy. We further empirically show that the DIA-LSTM has a strong regularization ability on stabilizing the training of deep networks by the experiments with the removal of skip connections (He et al. 2016a) or Batch Normalization (Ioffe and Szegedy 2015) in the whole residual network.


Shaft is a rotational body used to transmit power or motion. Due to cyclic loading conditions, surface cracks frequently grow in the shaft. Normally these cracks will propagate with a semi-circular shape and cause premature failure to the whole system. In order to prevent the catastrophic incident, there must be a monitoring system that provides an early warning during the operation of the shafts. The semi-analytical or experimental method applied previously had its own limitations and disadvantages. Hence, there is a great need to determine the stress intensity factor in cracked shafts by using finite element method. The objective of this study is to determine the stress intensity factor (SIF) for cracks emanating from a shaft by using finite element method and also to verify the finite element results with those obtained semi-analytically. The scope of this study is focused on the semi-circular crack and the crack loadings considered are Mode I and Mode III. This study is divided into two phases. For the first phase, modelling of the cracked shaft was carried out in ANSYS software, while for the second phase; the results obtained from the finite element analysis were compared with those obtained semi-analytically. The relationship between dimensionless SIF and the normalized relative crack depth is presented in the results and discussion section. The results obtained numerically and semi-analytically had been compared and the deviation in term of percentage is relatively small. In conclusion, the SIF of a shaft determined by the numerical method was verified to be accurate.


An interview study focussing on experiences of the on-going implementation of eGovernment for the County Administration of Sweden is presented and discussed. The study was made during 2007 in the region of West Gotaland. Eighteen interviews were made with different personnel groups in the traffic and legal departments. The interviews especially focussed on experience of the implementation and social consequences of work situations, work processes and customer services. A new electronic system for dealing with official matters has been implemented at the legal authority. They have also implemented e-services for security guards and foundations. Implementation of e-services for drivers' licence applications was in progress at the traffic authority. According to the results some social consequences are benefits, such as fast, efficient treatment of e-services, facilitating the handling process from both a citizen's and an employee's perspective. But other aspects are barriers, such as risks for a more stressful job, and more impersonal, slow routines for manual applications from citizens and an increased schism among different user groups. Therefore, it is important to integrate knowledge about social aspects into implementation processes, in order to get more overall positive consequences for work situations, work processes and services to the client.


Robotic locomotion is based in a variety of instances upon cyclic changes in the shape of a robot mechanism. Certain variations in shape exploit the constrained nature of a robot's interaction with its environment to generate net motion. This is true for legged robots, snakelike robots, and wheeled mobile robots undertaking maneuvers such as parallel parking. In this paper we explore the use of tools from differential geometry to model and analyze this class of locomotion mechanisms in a unified way. In particular, we describe locomotion in terms of the geometric phase associated with a connection on a principal bundle, and address issues such as controllability and choice of gait. We also provide an introduction to the basic mathematical concepts which we require and apply the theory to numerous example systems.


Pharmaceutical cocrystal is one of solid-state modification for drug substance, mainly for solubility improvement. Traditionally, cocrystal can be prepared by solvent evaporation method, grinding, and slurry method, but, every method has limitation for certain condition. The current trend for cocrystal formation uses the sophisticated method such as hot-melt extrusion method, spray drying method, supercritical fluid technology and the newest, and laser irradiation method. Development of new method is not only to overcome the limitation of traditional cocrystallization methods but also to generate a simpler step and continuous process for the production of cocrystal product. This article gives a brief explanation of each method that can be used to generate pharmaceutical cocrystals.


Urgent population growth as well as the avoidance of horizontal expansion of cites have made the high–rise building phenomenon necessary as a solution to the problem of land scarcity. On the other hand, paying attention to the human and environmental factors influencing planning and design can improve the quality of life in these high-rise building. In this regard, the purpose of this study is to identify effective factors of high-rise building on the living culture of Shiraz and to examine the status of each of these components on the residential culture. This is an applied research study, enjoying a descriptive-survey method. The data collection tool in the research is a questionnaire given to the residents of the Derak residential complex and the residential complex of oil company staffs. Data were analyzed by using SPSS software and the results of the surveys were presented in the form of diagrams. The results indicate that there is a significant relationship between the factors affecting the creation of high-rise and residential culture. By providing solutions, it is also possible to promote a culture of dwelling in such settings.


BACKGROUND
Maternal fish consumption during pregnancy has been positively associated with cognitive and visual abilities in the offspring, leading to the hypothesis that maternal omega-3 (n-3) long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) supplementation improves children's neurologic and visual development.

OBJECTIVE
The objective was to evaluate the effect of maternal omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation in pregnancy on neurologic and visual development in the offspring.

DESIGN
Five electronic databases were searched. Human randomized controlled trials that supplemented the maternal diet with omega-3 LCPUFAs during pregnancy, or pregnancy and lactation, and that assessed either neurologic or visual development of the offspring were included. Trial quality was assessed, and the results of eligible trials were compared in meta-analyses.

RESULTS
Eleven RCTs involving 5272 participants were included in the review. Most trials had methodologic limitations. No differences in standardized psychometric test scores for cognitive, language, or motor development were observed between the LCPUFA-supplemented and control groups, except for cognitive scores in 2-5-y-old children, in whom supplementation resulted in higher Developmental Standard Scores (mean difference: 3.92; 95% CI: 0.77, 7.08; n = 156; P = 0.01). However, this effect was from 2 trials with a high risk of bias. Because of the variety of visual assessments and age ranges, it was not possible to combine studies with visual outcomes in a meta-analysis, although 6 of the 8 assessments in 5 trials reported no difference between the supplemented and control groups.

CONCLUSION
The evidence does not conclusively support or refute that omega-3 LCPUFA supplementation in pregnancy improves cognitive or visual development.


Background: Brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) plays a vital role in neuronal survival and plasticity and facilitates long-term potentiation, essential for memory. Alterations in BDNF signaling have been associated with cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. Although peripheral BDNF levels are reduced in dementia patients, it is unclear whether changes in BDNF levels precede or follow dementia onset. Objective: In the present study, we examined the association between BDNF plasma levels and dementia risk over a follow-up period of up to 16 years. Methods: Plasma BDNF levels were assessed in 758 participants of the Rotterdam Study. Dementia was assessed from baseline (1997–1999) to follow-up until January 2016. Associations of plasma BDNF and incident dementia were assessed with Cox proportional hazards models, adjusted for age and sex. Associations between plasma BDNF and lifestyle and metabolic factors are investigated using linear regression. Results: During a follow up of 3,286 person-years, 131 participants developed dementia, of whom 104 had Alzheimer's disease. We did not find an association between plasma BDNF and risk of dementia (adjusted hazard ratio 0.99; 95%CI 0.84–1.16). BDNF levels were positively associated with age (B = 0.003, SD = 0.001, p = 0.002), smoking (B = 0.08, SE = 0.01, p = < 0.001), and female sex (B = 0.03, SE = 0.01, p = 0.03), but not with physical activity level (B = –0.01, SE = 0.01, p = 0.06). Conclusion: The findings suggest that peripheral BDNF levels are not associated with an increased risk of dementia.


SUMMARY I. The relative power of sixteen clinical, radiological and pulmonary function variables for evaluating asbestosis and chronic osbtructive airway disease has been assessed by principal component analysis of the data from a survey of 201 asbestos workers. 2. A decrease in the transfer factor (diffusing capacity) for carbon monoxide followed by a decrease in the vital capacity had the greatest power to measure the severity of both types of disease but had little ability to distinguish between the two. 3. In decreasing order of potency, the best indicators for distinguishing between asbestosis and obstructive airway disease were forced expiratory volume as a pro portion of vital capacity, phlegm, radiological pleural thickening, cough and finger clubbing. Low values in FEV/VC and high values in phlegm and cough indicated obstructive airway disease: high values of pleural thickening and finger clubbing indicated asbestosis in the present context. 4. The analysis also provided numerical scores for each individual that could be plotted on a two-dimensional diagram. Orientation along one axis showed the degree of involvement of individuals by lung disease, whereas separation along the other axis depended on the nature of the disease process, asbestosis and obstructive airway disease in this instance.


This paper presents a method to analyze the timing behavior of an event-based real-time protocol composition framework. The framework, called RT-Appia, allows the development and implementation of configurable real-time protocol stacks. The method performs the schedulability analysis for events flowing in a real-time channel and is based on the holistic theory for distributed real-time systems. To illustrate the use of the model, a stack of modular reliable group communication protocols for the CAN field-bus is analyzed and the collected results are compared with previous work.


We present two complementary approaches for the visualization and interaction of dimensionally reduced data sets using hybridization interfaces. Our implementations privilege syncretic systems allowing one to explore combinations (hybrids) of disparate elements of a data set through their placement in a 2-D space. The first approach allows for the placement of data points anywhere on the plane according to an anticipated performance strategy. The contribution (weight) of each data point varies according to a power function of the distance from the control cursor. The second approach uses constrained vertex colored triangulations of manifolds with labels placed at the vertices of triangular tiles. Weights are computed by barycentric projection of the control cursor position.


The threat of thermal fatigue is an increasing concern for thermal power plant operators due to the increasing tendency to adopt "two-shifting" operating procedures. Thermal plants are likely to remain part of the energy portfolio for the foreseeable future and are under societal pressures to generate in a highly flexible and efficient manner. The Green's function method offers a flexible approach to determine reference elastic solutions for transient thermal stress problems. In order to simplify integration, it is often assumed that Green's functions (derived from finite element unit temperature step solutions) are temperature independent (this is not the case due to the temperature dependency of material parameters). The present work offers a simple method to approximate a material's temperature dependency using multiple reference unit solutions and an interpolation procedure. Thermal stress histories are predicted and compared for realistic temperature cycles using distinct techniques. The proposed interpolation method generally performs as well as (if not better) than the optimum single Green's function or the previously-suggested weighting function technique (particularly for large temperature increments). Coefficients of determination are typically above 0.96, and peak stress differences between true and predicted datasets are always less than 10 MPa.


Background and Purpose— Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) is a serious complication in patients with acute ischemic stroke treated with intravenous thrombolysis. We aimed to develop a clinical score that can easily be applied to predict the risk of SICH. Methods— We analyzed data from 31 627 patients treated with intravenous alteplase enrolled in the Safe Implementation of Treatments in Stroke (SITS) International Stroke Thrombolysis Register. The outcome measure was SICH per the Safe Implementation of Thrombolysis in Stroke-Monitoring Study (SITS-MOST) definition: a Type 2 parenchymal hemorrhage with deterioration in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of ≥4 points or death. Univariate risk factors associated with the outcome were entered into a logistic regression model after stratification of continuous variables. Adjusted ORs for the independent risk factors were converted into points, which were summated to produce a risk score. Results— We identified 9 independent risk factors for SICH: baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale, serum glucose, systolic blood pressure, age, body weight, stroke onset to treatment time, aspirin or combined aspirin and clopidogrel, and history of hypertension. The overall rate of SICH was 1.8%. The risk score ranged from 0 to 12 points and showed a >70-fold graded increase in the rate of SICH for patients with a score ≥10 points (14.3%) compared with a score of 0 point (0.2%). The prognostic discriminating capability by C statistic was 0.70. Conclusions— The SITS SICH risk score predicts large cerebral parenchymal hemorrhages associated with severe clinical deterioration. The score could aid clinicians to identify patients at high as well as low risk of SICH after intravenous alteplase.


Radiation therapy plays an important role in both the definitive and adjuvant treatment of patients with cervical cancer. However, although radiation therapy is effective in controlling tumor growth, associated acute and chronic adverse effects are well known. Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is increasingly being used to treat cervical cancer and has the potential to improve the therapeutic ratio because of its ability to escalate dose to cancer targets while sparing adjacent healthy tissue. Multiple dosimetric studies were initially performed, establishing the conceptual feasibility of IMRT in patients with cervical cancer. Subsequent early reported series of patients treated with IMRT showed dosimetric and clinical benefits, with reduction in acute gastrointestinal and hematologic toxicity compared with historic controls, particularly in the posthysterectomy setting. Consensus is evolving regarding the use of IMRT in treating cervical cancer, particularly in the posthysterectomy setting, and for dose escalation to para-aortic nodes and bulky sidewall disease. Target delineation in the context of internal organ motion and tumor shrinkage during a course of fractionated external-beam radiotherapy remains an area of active investigation. IMRT in treating cervical cancer in the setting of an intact uterus remains in its nascent stage and should be used judiciously only within clinical trials. Although not a routine substitute for brachytherapy, it may be considered as a boost for highly selected patients who are not brachytherapy candidates.


This visual essay presents a body of work that uses a 'language of flesh' and fabric to make explicit the relationship between the body, image and our increasingly material world. Recognizing that our skin is a site of inscription for social and cultural ideals, it considers how these images have been internalized and appropriated onto the body. As the temptation to sculpt our body through clothing and cosmetic surgery becomes increasingly pressing, it is important to pose questions as to how and why we are fashioned. Weaving together feminist concerns, and touching upon (syn)aesthetic discourses to frame and embellish these samples of practice, it is hoped that certain assumptions about the female body are ruptured. Using the site/sight of the body to try and expose these fabrications, I have created these 'articulate' costumes to unpick them.

These costumes are critical as they deny their conventional function, instead opening up and celebrating the visceral, living body. These subversions, in undermining typical narratives of fashion and flesh, create a space to (re)present this body; allowing it to speak for itself. (Ad)dressing the female body here refers to material and physical strategies to un/dress; in order to readdress our corporeal and conceptual understanding of the body.


AIM
To understand the mechanism of intracerebroventricular transplantation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) genemodified bone mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) in rats after cerebral infarction.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The middle cerebral artery occlusion ischemia/reperfusion (MCAO I/R) model was established in rats using the Zea-Longa suture method. A recombinant adenovirus (Ad-VEGF) was engineered to express VEGF. The rats were divided into 3 groups. Control BMSC infected with control adenovirus (BMSC-Ad), BMSC infected by Ad-VEGF (BMSC-Ad-VEGF), and phosphate buffered saline (PBS) suspension were injected into the intracerebroventricular system of the rats in groups 1, 2 and 3 respectively, 24 hours after middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The neurological function of rats was evaluated with the modified Neurological Severity Scores (mNSS). The infarct volume of brain in rats was determined using 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) stain at 14 days. GFAP and pGSK3β expression of ischemic penumbra was determined using immunohistochemical method. GFAP, pAKT, AKT, and pGSK3β expressions were determined with Western blot.

RESULTS
Functional improvement was accelerated in animals receiving BMSC-Ad, while improvement at all times between 7 days and 28 days post MCAO was significantly greater in animals transplanted with BMSC-Ad-VEGF than for other treated animals. The number of GFAP-labeled cells was prevented by post-ischemic BMSC-Ad-VEGF treatment; pMCAO activate the PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway to reduce reactive gliosis.

CONCLUSION
Our findings demonstrate that PI3K/AKT/GSK3β pathway could reduce reactive gliosis, ameliorate neurological deficit, diminish the percentage of cerebral infarction volume in rats, and facilitate angiogenesis.


Summary Absinthe is a flavoured distilled liquor, emerald green in colour, turning to cloudy, opalescent white when mixed with water. It has inspired many prominent artists, writers and poets – Vincent Van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway just to name a few. Absinthe was first produced commercially in 1797 by Henry-Louis Pernod, who purchased the formula from a French exile living in Switzerland. The wormwood, Artemisia absinthium, is the chief flavouring ingredient of absinthe and the presence of monoterpene thujone in this drug was the reason for the prohibition of the production and sale of absinthe in many countries. Thujone is a toxic chemical present in wormwood and is responsible for the pharmacological and toxicological properties of absinthe.


This research developed a system, Rx, to provide early identification and effective control of network stealth worms in digital networks through techniques based on biological epidemiology. Network stealth worms comprise a class of surreptitious, self-propagating code that spread over network connections by exploiting security vulnerabilities in hosts. Past outbreaks due to traditional worms subverted hundreds of thousands of machines. Network stealth worms exacerbate that threat by using clandestine methods to maintain a persistent presence in the network.
Biological epidemiology was shown to support the real-time detection, characterization, forecasting, and containment of network stealth worms. Epidemiology describes a scientific methodology in biology that seeks to understand, explain, and control disease. Bio-mathematical modeling led to the development of a mechanism for digital networks to identify worm infection behavior buried in anomaly data, to characterize a worm, and to forecast the temporal spread of a worm. Demographic analysis of the infected hosts revealed the subset of vulnerable machines within the population. The automated response of advanced quarantine used this information to control the spread of an identified worm by isolating both infected and vulnerable machines.
The novel contributions of this research included the identification of a network stealth worm at the network-level based on end-host reports while simultaneously characterizing and forecasting the spread of the worm. Additionally, this task offered the technique of advanced quarantine through demographic analysis of the population. This work resulted in a scalable, fault-tolerant strategy that dramatically enhanced the survival rate of network hosts under attack by a stealth worm. Moreover, this approach did not require new hardware, changes to existing protocols, or participation outside the implementing organization.
This research showed application to a wider range of challenges. The bio-mathematical models are extensible, allowing Rx to respond to variations on the self-propagating code presented here. The approach is applicable to other forms of malware beyond self-propagating code by interchanging the epidemic model with one more appropriate. Lastly, the strategy allowed anomaly detectors to be sensitive to lower reporting thresholds and a variety of often benign yet potentially useful events.


This paper analyses a paradigm in Russian in which a preposed nominal stranding a numeral can show (paucal) number connectivity, with a gap following the numeral, or can appear in a non-agreeing (plural) form: (1) theater-paucal/plural, there were three. paucal__Numerous syntactic diagnostics confirm that, when there is number connectivity, the nominal has been fronted via A′-movement, creating a syntactic A′-chain dependency. In the absence of connectivity, the construction involves a hanging topic related via discourse mechanisms to a base-generated null pronoun. These two constructions constitute a minimal pair and can be considered a counterpart to the better-known left edge topics observed in Romance or Germanic languages.


We discuss the colour, age and metallicity gradients in a wide sample of local SDSS early- and late-type galaxies. From the fitting of stellar population models we find that metallicity is the main driver of colour gradients and the age in the central regions is a dominant parameter which rules the scatter in both metallicity and age gradients. We find a consistency with independent observations and a set of simulations. From the comparison with simulations and theoretical considerations we are able to depict a general picture of a formation scenario.


UDC 551.21:551.44(532) JohnJ.�Pint:VulcanospeleologyinSaudiArabia Saudi Arabia has over 80,000 km 2 of lava fields, locally known as harrats. However, only a few studies of lava caves in Saudi Arabia have been published internationally. This article sum - marizes the published and unpublished findings of all known expeditions to lava caves in the kingdom. Prior to 2001, reports of such caves were mostly limited to sightings of collapse holes by vulcanologists surveying the lava fields. few caves were entered and no cave maps were produced. In 2001 and 2002, expeditions were organized to Harrat Kishb, located northeast of Makkah (Mecca). Three lava caves measuring 22 m, 150 m and 320 m in length were surveyed and the collapse features of a fourth cave—possibly over 3 km long—were studied. Two throwing sticks, a plant-fiber rope and the remains of stone walls were found in some of these caves. In 2003, lava tubes measuring 530 m and 208 m were surveyed in Harrat Ithnayn and Harrat Khaybar, respectively. Animal bones and coprolites were found in both caves. In 2003 and 2004, studies were car- ried out in Hibashi Cave, located in Harrat Nawasif/Al Buqum, 245 km southeast of Makkah. The cave was surveyed (length: 689.5 m) and found to contain two layers of burnt bat guano overlying a bed of redeposited loess up to 1.5 meters deep and up to 5800 years old. At least 19 different minerals were found, three being extremely rare organic compounds related to the guano combustion. Bones, horns, coprolites, ruins of a wall and a human skull ca. 425 years old were also found. There is evidence of many more lava caves in Saudi Arabia, particularly in Harrat Khaybar. formal archeological and biological studies have not yet been carried out in Saudi lava caves but may pro - duce interesting results.


The effects of internal model variability on the simulation of Arctic sea-ice extent and volume have been examined with the aid of a seven-member ensemble with a coupled regional climate model for the period 1948–2008. Beyond general weaknesses related to insufficient representation of feedback processes, it is found that the model's ability to reproduce observed summer sea-ice retreat depends mainly on two factors: the correct simulation of the atmospheric circulation during the summer months and the sea-ice volume at the beginning of the melting period. Since internal model variability shows its maximum during the summer months, the ability to reproduce the observed atmospheric summer circulation is limited. In addition, the atmospheric circulation during summer also significantly affects the sea-ice volume over the years leading to a limited ability to start with reasonable sea-ice volume into the melting period. Furthermore, the sea-ice volume pathway shows notable decadal variability that varies in amplitude among the ensemble members. The scatter is particularly large in periods when the ice volume increases, indicating limited skill in reproducing high-ice years.


The air quality monitoring (AQM) network in Alaska is limited to major urban areas and national parks thus leaving a large proportion of the state unmonitored. To evaluate the use of Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) to predict ground level PM2.5 concentrations and thereby increase the spatial coverage of the AQM network in Alaska, MODIS AOD was first validated against ground-based measurements of AOD in Utqiagvik and Bonanza Creek Alaska. MODIS AOD from 2000 to 2014 was obtained from MODIS collection 6 using the dark target land and ocean algorithms between the months of April and October. Based on validation results, individual Aqua and Terra products are valid for both locations at 10-kilometer and 3-kilometer resolution. In addition, combined Aqua and Terra MODIS AOD products are valid for both locations at 3kilometer resolution and 10-kilometer resolution for Utqiagvik. The available PM2.5 data was then compared for satellite retrieval and all retrieval days to determine if there was sufficient data and the amount of bias introduced by possible low retrieval rates. Overall, Juneau had the lowest retrieval rates while Fairbanks and North Pole had the highest retrieval rates. In addition, Juneau appeared to have relatively high bias while stations located in Anchorage, Palmer, Fairbanks and North Pole had relatively low bias. Based on these findings, no models were developed for Juneau (southeast Alaska). Multilinear regression models were then developed for southcentral (Anchorage and Palmer) and interior (Fairbanks and North Pole) Alaska where the log-transform of PM2.5 was the response and meteorological data and the log-transform of MODIS AOD were the predictors. MODIS AOD appeared to be most highly correlated with PM2.5 in interior Alaska, while there was little to no correlation between MODIS AOD and PM2.5 in southcentral Alaska. All models underestimate surface PM2.5 concentrations which may be due to the high percentage of low PM2.5 values used to develop the models and the limited retrieval rates. Alternative modeling methods such as mixed-effects modeling may be necessary to develop adequate models for predicting surface PM2.5 concentrations. The MLR models did not perform well and should not be used to predict ground-based PM2.5 concentrations. Further research using alternative modeling methods should be performed. Model performance may also be improved by only using higher concentrations of PM2.5 to develop models. Overall, the limited spatial coverage of Alaska's air quality monitoring network and the low temporal resolution of MODIS-derived AOD make modeling the relationship between MODIS AOD and PM2.5 difficult in Alaska.


Archdeacon George Anthony Denison was one of the most egregious High Church clergy of the nineteenth=century Church of England. During a life spanning much of that century, his working life included a period as a Fellow of Oriel College, Oxford (1828-38) linked with the Curacy of Cuddesdon (1832-1838); and then, for fifty- eight years, the incumbency of two country parishes: Broad Windsor in Dorset (1838-1845), and the village of East Brent in Somerset (1845-1896). He was Archdeacon of Taunton from 1851 to 1896. Beyond his parish, Denison was a leading figure in the revival of Convocation, as he was a significant figure involved in many of the controversies that assailed the nineteenth-century Church of England.
Joyce Coombs' George Anthony Denison: The Firebrand 1805-1896 (1984) is the only biography of Denison. Other historians have noticed Denison as an adjunct to other figures and events. There has been a tendency to explain Denison with recourse to a range of loose and ill-defined categories, premised on the notion that he is to be identified with the Oxford Movement and later Ritualists. Coombs also made similar assumptions which this thesis question. Moreover her object was to provide an account of Denison's life rather than an analysis of his doctrine and social and political theology, the purpose of this thesis.

The work of the revisionist historian, Peter Nockles, has redefined the historiographical and theological place of the Oxford Movement within the wider context of the history of the nineteenth=century Church of England. One of the fruits of Nockles' The Oxford Movement in context: Anglican High Churchmanship 1760-1857 has been to identify more clearly a continuing strand of orthodox High Churchmanship. His analysis of the High Church tradition and of the Oxford Movement has demonstrated significant points of divergence. Not withstanding the recasting of the historiographical landscape, there has been no new assessment of George Anthony Denison. He has remained a prisoner of an older historiography both in the field of the history of nineteenth-century education and that of ecclesiastical history.

This study sits within Nockles' revisionist historiographical framework. Its object is to demonstrate that Denison was an example of one holding an orthodox world- view that endured beyond the divide of 1828-32; that he held a vision of the world ordered and governed by divine providence; that his notoriety as a controversialist is to be explained as a defence of this view with its concomitant doctrines. Denison has left a large body of polemical writings, providing the sources to examine this premise. Arguably Denison has been too easily dismissed as a mere controversialist, yet his polemical writings usually sold in the many thousands (often 5,000 -7,000 copies) suggesting that his views were considered to be of some account by his contemporaries.


Introduction: The main objective of this study is to find the effects of cross-linker variation on swelling behavior of hydrogels at different temperatures, that is, 30 min–120 min. Hydrogels are three-dimensional cross-linked structural arrangement of the polymeric materials with the ability to absorb huge amounts of water while maintaining their dimensional stability. Materials and Methods: A solution of 20% glutaraldehyde (GA) was prepared in 100 ml standard flask by dissolving 20.0 g GA in a standard flask (of capacity 100 ml) and make up the volume up to the mark using demineralized water (DMW). The gelatin-polyethylene glycol (PEG) composite hydrogels were prepared by simultaneous method, in which all the constituent component networks are polymerized concurrently. Different combinations of gelatin-PEG composite hydrogels were prepared with methylene blue (MB) dye in it. Swelling was studied with the help of the following equation: dssdW-WI=×100W Results and Discussion: The observation showed that the decrease in the absorbance of MB release through the sample membrane may be due to the contraction of the microvoids formed between the polymeric chains. Conclusion: Based on our results which conclude that with increasing crosslinking agent from 5 ml to 15 ml, swelling ratio of the prepared sample decreased from 473.83 to 428.97 in DMW due to the decrease in the pore diameter of the sample. As a result, more and more solvent diffuses into the matrix and produce gel with increased swelling ratio.


There is a great deal of civil litigation in Urban areas and courts are unable to deal efficiently and justly with the cases that are brought before them. Additionally, there are many cases concerning a small amount of money and disputes in which citizens are in lower and middle economic classes that are never brought before the courts. The nature of the judicial system discourages these small claims but even these relatively small claims may be significant in relation to the income of some of these potential litigants. Handling this problem needs to be done through the small claims court. The original limit was only fifty dollars but is increasing in addition to more requirements being added. Even if the requirements for these courts are met and litigants are successful, enforcing claims is an additional problem. Small claims court provides an efficient and economical way for consumers to obtain redress for small claims but the court has not lived up to its original goal as a court that is readily available for redress in that it has unduly limited its scope of jurisdiction and powers.


Sputter deposition using a focused ion beam has been investigated as an alternative to magnetron sputtering for the deposition of thin-film gold electrodes onto quartz resonators. One potential concern is the inclusion of argon in the growing film when argon ions are used for sputtering. Argon retention in sputter-deposited gold films using an 11.5 keV argon ion beam was investigated with Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and it was found that in layers deposited at close to normal ejection angles the argon trapping was at the level of ≤1 at.%, similar to magnetron-deposited layers, whereas argon incorporation increased with the ejection angle up to several per cent at large angles. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Ataxia, episodic dyskinesia, and thalamocortical seizures are associated with an inherited loss of P/Q-type voltage-gated Ca2+ channel function. P/Q-type channels are widely expressed throughout the neuraxis, obscuring identification of the critical networks underlying these complex neurological disorders. We showed recently that the conditional postnatal loss of P/Q-type channels in cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs) in mice (purky) leads to these aberrant phenotypes, suggesting that intrinsic alteration in PC output is a sufficient pathogenic factor for disease initiation. The question arises whether P/Q-type channel deletion confined to a single upstream cerebellar synapse might induce the pathophysiological abnormality of genomically inherited P/Q-type channel disorders. PCs integrate two excitatory inputs, climbing fibers from inferior olive and parallel fibers (PFs) from granule cells (GCs) that receive mossy fiber (MF) input derived from precerebellar nuclei. In this study, we introduce a new mouse model with a selective knock-out of P/Q-type channels in rhombic-lip-derived neurons including the PF and MF pathways (quirky). We found that in quirky mice, PF-PC synaptic transmission is reduced during low-frequency stimulation. Using focal light stimulation of GCs that express optogenetic light-sensitive channels, channelrhodopsin-2, we found that modulation of PC firing via GC input is reduced in quirky mice. Phenotypic analysis revealed that quirky mice display ataxia, dyskinesia, and absence epilepsy. These results suggest that developmental alteration of patterned input confined to only one of the main afferent cerebellar excitatory synaptic pathways has a significant role in generating the neurological phenotype associated with the global genomic loss of P/Q-type channel function.


An exploration of the statistical foundations of scientific inference, "The Nature of Scientific Evidence" asks what constitutes scientific evidence and whether scientific evidence can be quantified statistically. Mark Taper, Subhash Lele, and an esteemed group of contributors explore the relationships among hypotheses, models, data, and inference on which scientific progress rests in an attempt to develop a new quantitative framework for evidence. Informed by interdisciplinary discussions among scientists, philosophers, and statisticians, they propose a new "evidential" approach, which may be more in keeping with the scientific method. "The Nature of Scientific Evidence" persuasively argues that all scientists should care more about the fine points of statistical philosophy because therein lies the connection between theory and data. Though the book uses ecology as an exemplary science, the interdisciplinary evaluation of the use of statistics in empirical research will be of interest to any reader engaged in the quantification and evaluation of data.


Surround-sound reproduction is usually limited to a position where the listener maintains optimal perception of the reproduced soundfield. To improve the reproduction quality at off-center listening positions (OCPs), a better understanding of the nature of the perceived artifacts is necessary. Based on the geometrical relationships of a listener to the loudspeaker in a surround setup, an OCP can be characterized with three attributes: time-of-arrival differences, sound-pressure-level differences between the signal feeds, and the direction of the arriving wavefronts. Two listening experiments were conducted to elicit the perceptual effects of the off-center sound degradation of each of these three attributes in qualitative and quantitative terms. The five most often qualitatively described artifacts are related to the position of sound sources; their distance and depth; reverberation and envelopment; their spread and width; and sound coloration. The quantitative study found that off-center sound degradatio...


This study explores how newspapers portray domestic violence fatalities, how accurately they reflect the victim' experiences and the broader social problem of domestic violence, and the implications of the patterns of portrayal. Using quantitative content analysis and frame analysis, the authors examined 1998 coverage of domestic violence homicides by all newspapers in Washington State. Overall, the analyses indicate that coverage gave a distorted view of domestic violence and victims' experiences, often supporting common misconceptions about domestic violence. The coverage generally presented domestic violence in terms of isolated incidents, rather than portraying it as a larger social problem. A handful of articles did not fit this mold. These portrayed domestic violence as a social problem with the potential to affect every reader, indicating that domestic violence fatalities can be more accurately portrayed within the boundaries of current journalistic norms and practices and pointing to ways journalists can improve coverage.


Decay heat is the thermal power released by radioactive decays of unstable isotopes after the nuclear reactor shutdown, and delayed fission reactions. It constitutes a key parameter for the nuclear reactor safety and the nuclear fuel cycle; for this reason, design codes have to be qualified by comparison with experimental measurements. The CEA's package DARWIN2.3 has been qualified for the calculation of PWR decay heat with two integral measurements: the MERCI experience and the CLAB laboratory's experiments; performed respectively on the following cooling time intervals: 40 min – 40 days and 12 years – 25 years. A lack of validation in the first hour of cooling time requires to consider large margins on the calculated decay heat value. As a result, delays in core unloading, intervention of human operators and safety systems dimensioning may occur. The PRESTO experiment, under conception at CEA, deals with a decay heat measurement between 1 and 40 minutes of cooling time for a PWR fuel sample irradiated in the Jules Horowitz Reactor (JHR). A previous thermal study showed that measurements could be sensitive to the decay heat 1 minute after the beginning of the cooling time. Now, a more precise estimation of power sources was performed with the Monte-Carlo code TRIPOLI. In this framework, four different device configurations were considered. Our results show that the irradiation power is not enough elevated in configurations where a tungsten shield is present.


Policy gradient (PG) methods are popular reinforcement learning (RL) methods where a baseline is often applied to reduce the variance of gradient estimates. In multi-agent RL (MARL), although the PG theorem can be naturally extended, the effectiveness of multi-agent PG (MAPG) methods degrades as the variance of gradient estimates increases rapidly with the number of agents. In this paper, we offer a rigorous analysis of MAPG methods by, firstly, quantifying the contributions of the number of agents and agents' explorations to the variance of MAPG estimators. Based on this analysis, we derive the optimal baseline (OB) that achieves the minimal variance. In comparison to the OB, we measure the excess variance of existing MARL algorithms such as vanilla MAPG and COMA. Considering using deep neural networks, we also propose a surrogate version of OB, which can be seamlessly plugged into any existing PG methods in MARL. On benchmarks of Multi-Agent MuJoCo and StarCraft challenges, our OB technique effectively stabilises training and improves the performance of multi-agent PPO and COMA algorithms by a significant margin.


From 1990 to 1998, new diagnoses of HIV infection in the United Kingdom (UK) averaged 2675 per year, most among homosexual men. In 1999, however, a rapid increase in numbers of new diagnoses began (figure 1). By the end of March this year there were 5338 reports of new HIV diagnoses in 2002, representing a 28% increase on numbers of new diagnoses in 2001, reported by the same time last year. The number is predicted to rise to over 6000 new HIV diagnoses in 2002 as further reports are received. In contrast, the numbers of new AIDS diagnoses increased annually peaking in 1994 at 1854, until the widespread use of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in the mid nineties led to a fall, numbers stabilising in the late nineties, with 647 new AIDS diagnoses in 2002 reported so far.


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Background Mocetinostat (MGCD0103) is an orally available, spectrum-selective, non-hydroxamate histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor targeting HDACs 1, 2, 3 and 11. Single-agent activity has been observed in Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), Hodgkin's lymphoma, and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Preclinical studies demonstrating potential synergy between hypomethylating agents and HDAC inhibitors in relieving transcriptional repression support the evaluation of mocetinostat in combination with 5-azacitidine (AZA) in MDS and AML.

Methods The objectives of this open-label, Phase I/II trial of patients with MDS or AML were to determine the MTD of mocetinostat when combined with AZA (75 mg/m2 SC; days 1-7 every 28 days) and to estimate the overall response rate of this combination. In addition, we conducted an ad hoc, independent response assessment for all patients in this study (ASCO 2013) and performed a retrospective, subset analysis on those patients entering this study with 5-20% bone marrow blasts at screening to represent a population with RAEB-1 and RAEB-2.

Results A total of 66 subjects with AML and intermediate and high-risk MDS were enrolled in this phase I/II trial. In the Phase I component, 24 patients were treated at 5 dose levels of mocetinostat that ranged from 35 to 135 mg administered 3x/wk starting on Day 5 of treatment with AZA, and in the Phase II component, 42 patients were treated at 90 mg or 110 mg of mocetinostat 3x/wk with AZA. We were interested in analyzing the responses of MDS patients enrolled in this study to gauge the potential for improved activity compared to AZA monotherapy. Therefore, the subset of interest for the current analysis included 22 with baseline bone marrow blast counts of 5-20%, including 8 with 5-9% and 14 with 10-20% bone marrow blasts. The median age was 73 (range 41-82) with 13M and 9F. Thirteen pts received no prior treatment with chemotherapy or other agents for MDS, and 9 were previously treated. Cytogenetic analyses were available for 7 patients: diploid, 2; monosomy 7, 3 (all with other anomalies); complex, 1; and trisomy 8, 1. Chromosome 5 abnormalities occurred in the presence of other abnormalities (2 with monosomy 7). Eighteen patients initiated dosing at 90 mg, 3 at 110 mg, and 1 at 135 mg. The most common ≥ Grade 3 drug-related adverse events were diarrhea (23%), fatigue (18%), thrombocytopenia (18%), and anemia (14%). The CR+CRi rate was 13/22 (59%), with 1 additional patient demonstrating hematologic improvement. The CR+CRi rate appeared similar regardless of line of therapy and the percentage of blasts at baseline (5-9% vs. 10-20%). Most patients (68%) demonstrated decreases in bone marrow blast counts on at least one post-treatment assessment. Of 17 patients who were either RBC or platelet transfusion dependent at baseline, 6 patients (35%) became transfusion-free of both red cells and platelets.

Conclusions The combination of mocetinostat and AZA is active in patients with MDS, including some patients who were previously treated and is associated with a 59% rate of CR+CRi in a subset of patients with 5-20% bone marrow blasts at screening, and with 35% of transfusion-dependent patients becoming transfusion independent. A randomized study is planned to further evaluate the clinical activity of mocetinostat plus AZA in MDS.

Disclosures: Chao: Mirati Therapeutics: Employment. Humphrey: Mirati Therapeutics Inc.: Employment.

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Partition-and-Recur (PAR) method is a simple and useful formal method used to design and prove algorithmic programs. In this paper, we address that PAR method is really an effective formal method on solving Combinatorics problems. We formally derive Combinatorics problems by PAR method, which cannot only simplify the process of algorithmic program's designing and correctness testifying, but also effectively improve the automatization, standardization and correctness of algorithmic program's designing by changing many creative labors to mechanized labors. Lastly, we develop typical algorithms of Combinatorics problem instances, interlaced arrange scheme number, and get accurate running result by RADL algorithmic program which derived by PAR method and can be transformed to C++ programs by the automatic program transforming system of PAR platform.


Coal mill malfunctions are some of the most common causes of failing to keep the power plant crucial operating parameters or even unplanned power plant shutdowns. Therefore, an algorithm has been developed that enable online detection of abnormal conditions and malfunctions of an operating mill. Based on calculated diagnostic signals and defined thresholds, this algorithm informs about abnormal operating conditions. Diagnostic signals represent the difference between the measured and the modeled values of two selected mill operating parameters. Models of mill motor current and outlet temperature of pulverized fuel were developed based on the linear regression theory. Various data analysis and feature selection procedures have been performed to obtain the best possible model. The model based on linear regression has been compared with two alternative models. The algorithm validation was carried out based on historical data containing values of operating parameters from 10 months of mill operation. Historical data were downloaded from distributed control system (DCS) of a 200-MW coal-fired power plant. Tests carried out on historical data show that this algorithm can be successfully used to detect certain abnormal conditions and malfunctions of the operating mill, such as feeder blockage, lack of coal and mill overload.


Abstract:In this response essay, two early modernists consider some of the major themes and topics examined in this collection on new trends in medieval art history, such as the importance of the local, intersectional identity, and the role of postmodern conceptions of globalization. The article reveals many of the continuities between medieval and early modern global art histories while at the same time demonstrating the divide between the periods through analysis of an early woodcut frontispiece and through the definition of five major differences in artistic production, reception, and transmission.


BACKGROUND
Preclinical studies of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) transplantation conducted in a well-established canine hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) model have been successfully translated to human patients over the past 5 decades.

OBJECTIVE
We retrospectively investigated the safety and feasibility of PBMC apheresis in the canine model of HCT by analyzing apheresis parameters, cell yields, and the impacts of donor-related and apheresis-related variables on collection yields and donor stability.

ANIMALS
One hundred and twenty dogs that underwent PBMC aphereses were evaluated.

METHODS
Aphereses were performed with a COBE Spectra blood separator and a central dual-lumen catheter, with or without recombinant canine granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rcG-CSF) stem cell mobilization.

RESULTS
Aphereses from dogs not given rcG-CSF yielded an average volume of 280 +/- 42 mL containing an average of 15,086 +/- 9,834 leukocytes/mL. Aphereses from dogs given rcG-CSF yielded an average volume of 261 +/- 55 mL containing an average of 39,711 +/- 24,488 leukocytes/mL. Higher pre-apheresis white blood cell (WBC) counts correlated with higher apheresis WBC yields (R=0.50, P<.0001). The correlations of collection time, inlet volume, and collection flow rate on WBC yields were statistically significant but only weak to moderate in magnitude (R=0.34, P=.0001; R=0.38, P=.0006; R=0.26, P=.002, respectively) as were the correlations of collection time and inlet volume on collection volumes (R=0.30, P=.002; R=0.42, P<.0001, respectively). All dogs recovered promptly after PBMC aphereses and catheter removal, without complications.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE
These data may be useful for translating PBMC apheresis technology to the field of veterinary oncology for the treatment of dogs with hematologic malignancies.


Method of lines and finite element analysis investigations have been performed to optimize parameters in a TE/sub 011/ mode cavity resonator suitable for a spaceborne hydrogen maser. We report on designs that were explored to find a global maximum in the important design parameters for the microwave cavity used in a hydrogen maser. The criteria sought in this exercise were both the minimization of the total volume of the cavity and the maximization of the product of the z-component of the magnetic energy filling factor and the cavity TE/sub 011/ mode Q-factor (Q/spl middot//spl eta/). Different configurations were studied. They were a sapphire tube in a copper cylinder, a sapphire tube in a copper cylinder with Bragg reflectors, and spherical copper cavities both empty and sapphire-lined on the inside cavity surface. At 320 K, the simulations resulted in an optimum product Q/spl middot//spl eta/ = 4.9 /spl times/ 10/sup 4/, with an inner cavity radius of 80 mm and unity aspect ratio. This represents a 54% improvement over an earlier design. The expected increase in the product Q/spl middot//spl eta/ with the inclusion of Bragg reflectors to the sapphire tube was not achieved. Moreover, the z-component of the magnetic energy filling factor was greatly reduced due to an increase in the radial magnetic field. The sapphire-lined spherical cavity showed no better performance than an equivalent-sized empty copper spherical cavity. For the empty cavity the simulations resulted in the product Q/spl middot//spl eta/ = 4.4 /spl times/ 10/sup 4/. The empty spherical cavity resonator is not suitable for the spaceborne hydrogen maser as the total volume in this case is 33% larger than that of the optimized sapphire tube resonator.


This study reports preliminary evidence on the efficacy of an Ubuntu type HeartMath intervention for the purpose of facilitating social coherence and spirit at work. The study employed a pre-test and post-test, mixed methods design with 17 students and staff of an education unit (women = 10; range 24 to 58 years). Participants completed a brief Ubuntu HeartMath workshop focused on promoting their sense of social coherence and work spirit, with pre-test and post-test measures of psychophysiological coherence, social coherence and work spirit, as well as written experiential evaluative descriptions of their personal growth indicators from the workshop. Wilcoxon signed rank tests for changes in psychophysiological coherence, social coherence, and work spirit indicators were positive. This suggests that the Ubuntu Heartmath workshop had efficacy in enhancing quality of work life. Thematic analysis of the written, experiential, evaluative descriptions also suggested that participants derived benefit in their sense of work place coherence and spirit. An Ubuntu-oriented HeartMath intervention appears to hold promise for improving psychophysiological coherence, social coherence, and work spirit in an education service setting.


Monitoring fracture developments in the rupture area of an earthquake or unconventional energy reservoirs (ex: enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), coal seam gas (CGS) or shale- gas reservoirs, where massive fluid injection enhances ground permeability) are crucial to determine the stress field direction and optimize well placement and energy production. In addition to microseismic tomography, MT monitoring method provides an independent verification tool to determine more constraints on fluid distribution and migration in target lithologies.MT phase tensors (PT) and apparent resistivity tensors (RT) are calculated from impedance tensor. Assuming that geological and geo-engineering processes leave an electrically anisotropic volume in their corresponding damage zones, we investigate the time variation of RT and PT residuals for time-lapse magnetotelluric (MT) monitoring purposes. First, we see how the PT and RT are influenced by layered models containing dipping and azimuthal anisotropy and then two synthetic models, representative of real earth situations including general 2D anisotropic features are studied. The results of our numerical experiments evince that despite the phase tensor ellipses, the real part of apparent resistivity tensor could discriminate between isotropic, azimuthally and generally anisotropic half spaces. Furthermore, the PT and RT residuals provide complementary tools for MT monitoring of the variations in the subsurface electrical resistivity structure. Although PT residuals could confine the anomalous region more accurately, the RT residuals determine whether a conductive or resistive variation has been occurred in the anomalous region.


Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia encountered in clinical practice, occurring in 1% of the adult population of North America. Although AF does not typically lead to risk of immediate mortality, it is a potent risk factor for ischemic stroke. When left untreated AF reduces quality of life, functional status, cardiac performance and is associated with higher medical costs and an increased risk of death. Catheter ablation is a commonly used treatment method for those who suffer from drugrefractory AF. Prior to ablation, intra-cardiac mapping can be used to determine the activation sequence of cardiac tissue, which may be useful in deciding where to place ablation lesions. However, the electrical potential that is recorded during mapping is not a direct reflection of the current density across the tissue because the potential recorded at each point above the heart tissue is influenced by every cell in the tissue. This causes the recorded potential to be a blurred version of the true tissue current density. The potential that is observed can be described as the convolution of the true current density with a point spread function. Accordingly, deconvolution can, in principle, be used in order to improve the resolution of potential maps. However, because the number of electrodes which can be deployed transvenously is limited by practical restrictions, the recorded potential field is a sparsely sampled version of the actual potential field. Further, an electrode array cannot sample over the entire atrial surface, so the potential map that is observed is a truncated version of the global electrical activity. Here, we investigate the effects of electrode sampling density and edge extension on the ability of deconvolution to improve the resolution of measured electrical potentials within the atria of the heart. In particular, we identify the density of sensing electrodes that are required to allow deconvolution to provide improved estimation of the true current density when compared to the observed potential field.


Computer modelling and simulation have become increasingly important in many scientific and technological disciplines owing to the wealth of computational power. Calculation of the behaviour of these computational models is increasingly replacing experiments on real world objects—for example, in the car industry (tests based on simulated crashes) or in the development of nuclear weapons—and is becoming an indispensable tool in the development of new products and procedures.

Likewise, the development of techniques for acquiring data (for example, medical imaging) has enabled the easy generation of high resolution copies of real world objects from the computer's memory. The development of imaging technologies, such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and ultrasound, has made the acquisition of highly detailed anatomical and partially functional models of three dimensional human anatomy a routine component of daily clinical practice.

#### Summary Points

The principal aim of virtual reality technology is to present virtual objects or complete scenes to all human senses in a way identical to their natural counterpart

Simulated three dimensional reconstruction of organs from radiological cross sections is an important diagnostic tool by providing clinicians with a more naturalistic view of a patient's anatomy

Preoperative planning with the use of a computer including realistic prediction of the outcome has become an integral part of the intervention in certain disciplines, such as radiation therapy, craniofacial surgery, or neurosurgery

Computerised three dimensional atlases of human anatomy, physiology, and pathology are about to revolutionise the teaching of these subjects

Several virtual reality systems have been developed and tested for the physical or mental rehabilitation of patients and for supporting mental health therapy

Virtual reality technology plays an important role in telemedicine from remote diagnosis to complex teleinterventions

#### Technical data for virtual reality devices

##### Display screens

Usual screen resolution: 1024×768 or 1280×1024 pixels

In stereoscopic mode the vertical resolution is halved: 1024×384 or 1280×512

For head mounted displays …


Laser communication systems promise orders-of-magnitude improvement in data throughput per unit SWaP (size, weight and power) compared to conventional RF systems. However, in order for lasercom to make sense economically as part of a worldwide connectivity solution, the cost per terminal still needs to be significantly reduced. In this paper, we describe a coarse pointing mechanism that has been designed with an emphasis on simplicity, making use of conventional materials and commercial off-the-shelf components wherever possible. An overview of the design architecture and trades is presented, along with various results and practical lessons learned during prototype integration and test.


The Doctoral Performance and Research submitted by Konstantza Chernov, under the direction of Dr. James Douglass at The University of North
Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Musical Arts, consists of the following: I. Chamber Recital, Sunday, April 27, 2008, UNCG: Trio for Piano, Clarinet and Violoncello in Bb Major, op. 11 (Ludwig van Beethoven)Sonatine for Flute and Piano (Henri Dutilleux) Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major (Cesar Franck) II. Chamber Recital, Monday, November 17, 2008, UNCG:
Sonata for Violin and Piano in g minor (Claude Debussy)El Poema de una Sanluquena, op. 28 (Joaquin Turina)Sonata for Violin and Piano in A Major, op. 13 (Gabriel Faure)III. Chamber Recital, Tuesday, April 27, 2010, UNCG: Sonata for Two Pianos in D Major, K. 448 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) The Planets, op. 32: Uranus, The Magician (Gustav Holst) The Planets, op. 32: Neptune, The Mystic (Gustav Holst)
Fantasie-tableaux (Suite #1), op. 5 (Sergei Rachmaninoff) IV. Lecture-Recital, Thursday, October 28, 2010, UNCG: Fantasy for Flute and Piano (Leo Kraft) Second Fantasy for Flute and Piano (Leo Kraft) Third Fantasy for Flute and Piano (Leo Kraft) V. Document: Leo Kraft's Three Fantasies for Flute and Piano: A Performer's Analysis. (2010) 111 pp. This document is a performer's analysis of Leo Kraft's Fantasy for Flute and Piano (1963), Second Fantasy for Flute and Piano (1997), and Third Fantasy for Flute and Piano (2007). It is the first published analytical examination of the three fantasies. The aim of the current study is to provide a deeper understanding of Leo Kraft's three fantasies for flute and piano, as well as to
create an opportunity for further exposure and appreciation of these works. The procedure used by the author is a structural and descriptive analysis of the elements of music and of the compositional techniques used in these pieces.
Additionally, an interview with Kraft was conducted and included as an appendix, which provides a more general context through a firsthand glimpse into the life and thoughts of the composer. The First Fantasy is Kraft's first 12-tone work, and is constructed on two
principles, juxtaposition and expansion/contraction. The Second Fantasy is in a
free chromatic style and is more developed than the First Fantasy. It is built upon the development and ultimate resolution of dyadic conflicts. The Third Fantasy, also a free-chromatic work, is nevertheless more diatonic than the Second Fantasy. It is built upon two superimposed chords and triple counterpoint. As the works are of the same genre, but were written decades apart, this investigation can help illuminate general style tendencies pertinent to Leo Kraft's compositional life.


In Privatization in the City, E. S. Savas comprehensively examines
the evolution and implementation of former New York Mayor Rudolph W.
Giuliani's aggressive privatization program in the face of a city
council generally hostile to privatization. Savas identifies,
examines, evaluates, and documents all forms of privatization
employed, including contracting, competitive sourcing, divestment,
leases, vouchers, franchises, default, withdrawal, and voluntarism.
He contrasts these efforts in New York with privatization in several
other cities across the country, ranging from Indianapolis to
Phoenix. After analyzing the costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of New York's privatization program, Savas concludes
that significant savings were achieved during Giuliani's eight years
in office.


Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) make powerful functional representations for sampling and reconstruction problems involving low-dimensional signals like images, shapes and light fields. Recent works have significantly improved their ability to represent high-frequency content by using periodic activations or positional encodings. This often came at the expense of generalization: modern methods are typically optimized for a single signal. We present a new representation that generalizes to multiple instances and achieves state-of-the-art fidelity. We use a dual-MLP architecture to encode the signals. A synthesis network creates a functional mapping from a low-dimensional input (e.g. pixel-position) to the output domain (e.g. RGB color). A modulation network maps a latent code corresponding to the target signal to parameters that modulate the periodic activations of the synthesis network. We also propose a local-functional representation which enables generalization. The signal's domain is partitioned into a regular grid, with each tile represented by a latent code. At test time, the signal is encoded with high-fidelity by inferring (or directly optimizing) the latent code-book. Our approach produces generalizable functional representations of images, videos and shapes, and achieves higher reconstruction quality than prior works that are optimized for a single signal.


Adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are a diverse superfamily of transmembrane proteins found in all eukaryotes. These proteins couple the hydrolysis of ATP to the transport of a wide variety of substrates across cellular membranes. In plants, ABC type B (ABCB) transporters have been shown to be involved in the transport of both growth regulators (auxin) and secondary metabolites. Plant secondary metabolism refers to the vast array of small molecules being produced, but not directly required for plant growth and development. However, secondary metabolites have been shown to play important roles in plant defense, such as in deterring herbivory or resistance to pathogens. It has been shown that transport between cell types is necessary in the biosynthesis of many of these metabolites and that ABC transporters play a necessary role in this trafficking. Eschscholzia californica, or the California poppy, accumulates alkaloids within specialized cells within roots. Our lab previously identified EcABCB1, a transporter involved in the transport of these alkaloids. In this project, using the recently-released draft genome of E. californica, we have identified seven additional putative ABCB transporters (ABCB2-7). Using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), we will quantify their expression profiles in a tissue-specific manner. These results will then be used to draw inferences of the function of each candidate gene, based on comparative analysis of expression profiles of ABCB homologs in Arabidopsis thaliana. Preliminary data shows that EcABCB1 is expressed in both roots and stems, whereas EcABCB2 is expressed ubiquitously across all tissues. This may indicate that EcABCB2 may be involved in the transport a growth factor such as auxin, which is a metabolite necessary for growth across all organs. In order to obtain a better understanding of the biochemistry of plants and the synthesis of their alkaloids, the transporters required for this synthesis must be characterized.
*Indicates presenter


Abstract Inventions depend on skills, experience, and information exchange. Information is shared among individuals and organizations both intentionally and unintentionally. Unintentional flows of knowledge, or knowledge spillovers, are viewed as an integral element of technological progress. However, little is known about the overall patterns of knowledge flows across technology sectors or over long periods of time. This paper explores whether it is possible to identify "invention machines" – technologies that help create new inventions in a wide range of other sectors – and whether shifts in the patterns of knowledge flows can predict future technological change. In the spirit of big data we analyze the entire PatStat database of 90 million published patents from 160 patent offices over a century of invention and exploit variation within and across countries and technology fields over time. The direction and intensity of knowledge spillovers measured from prior-art citations highlight the transition from mechanical to electrical instruments, especially industrial control systems, and the rise of information and communication technologies as "invention machines" after 1970. Most recently, the rapidly increasing impact of digital communications on other fields may herald the emergence of cloud computing and the industrial internet as the new dominant industrial paradigm.


Airline ground operations are subject to the conflicting demands of short turn-around times and safety requirements. They involve multiple parties, but are less regulated than airborne processes. Not surprisingly, more than a quarter of all aircraft incidents occur on the ground. These incidents lead to aircraft damage and associated costs, risk of injuries, and can potentially impact in-flight safety. KLM Ground Services has targeted platform safety performance as an area for improvement. However, existing safety awareness programs have had limited effect. A direct link between safety culture surveys and safety performance has not been established, and therefore these are insufficient to give adequate feedback on interventions. Newly developed by the Texas University are the Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA), first targeted at cockpit operations. Variants are available since October 2010 for the platform and maintenance environments. The research group for Aviation Engineering at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences has used the original platform LOSA material and tailored these to the specific circumstances at KLM. Results to date show that with these modifications, platform LOSA is a useful tool to quantify safety performance and to generate trend data. The effect of safety interventions can now be monitored. Referentie de Boer, R.J., Koncak, B., Habekotte, R., & van Hilten, G.J. (2011), Introduction of ramp-LOSA at KLM Ground Services , Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting, Leeds, United Kingdom


BACKGROUND
Treatment of acute asthma is based on rapid reversal of bronchospasm and arresting airway inflammation. There is some evidence that intravenous magnesium can provide additional bronchodilation when given in conjunction with standard bronchodilating agents and corticosteroids. No systematic review of this literature has been completed on this topic.

OBJECTIVES
To examine the effect of additional intravenous magnesium sulfate in patients with acute asthma managed in the emergency department.

SEARCH STRATEGY
Randomised controlled trials were identified from the Cochrane Airways Review Group register. Bibliographies from included studies, known reviews and texts were searched. Primary authors and content experts were contacted.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised controlled trials or quasi-randomised trials were eligible for inclusion. Studies were included if patients presented with acute asthma and were treated with IV magnesium sulfate vs placebo.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Data were extracted and methodological quality was assessed independently by two reviewers. Missing data were obtained from authors.

MAIN RESULTS
Seven trials were included (5 adult, 2 pediatric). A total of 665 patients were involved. Patients receiving magnesium sulfate demonstrated non-significant improvements in peak expiratory flow rates when all studies were pooled (weighted mean difference: 29.4 L/min; 95% confidence interval: -3.4 to 62). In studies of people with severe acute asthma, peak expiratory flow rate improved by 52.3 L/min (95% confidence interval: 27 to 77.5). The forced expiratory volume in one second also improved by 9.8 % predicted (95% confidence interval: 3.8 to 15.8). Overall, admission to hospital was not reduced, odds ratio: 0.31 (95% confidence interval: 0.09 to 1.02). In the severe subgroup, admissions were reduced in those receiving magnesium sulfate (odds ratio: 0.10, 95% confidence interval: 0.04 to 0.27). No clinically important changes in vital signs or adverse side effects were reported.

REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS
Current evidence does not support routine use of intravenous magnesium sulfate in all patients with acute asthma presenting to the emergency department. Magnesium sulfate appears to be safe and beneficial in patients who present with severe acute asthma.


We describe here a family of P elements that we refer to as type I repressors. These elements are identified by their repressor functions and their lack of any deletion within the first two-thirds of the canonical P sequence. Elements belonging to this repressor class were isolated from P strains and were made in vitro. We found that type I repressor elements could strongly repress both a cytotype-dependent allele and P element mobility in somatic and germline tissues. These effects were very dependent on genomic position. Moreover, we observed that an element's ability to repress in one assay positively correlated with its ability to repress in either of the other two assays. The type I family of repressor elements includes both autonomous P elements and those lacking exon 3 of the P element. Fine structure deletion mapping showed that the minimal 3' boundary of a functional type I element lies between nucleotide position 1950 and 1956. None of 12 elements examined with more extreme deletions extending into exon 2 made repressor. We conclude that the type I repressors form a structurally distinct group that does not include more extensively deleted repressor elements such as the KP element described previously.


Multi-objective optimization techniques that result in the generation of a Pareto frontier have allowed decision makers to investigate optimal tradeoffs between a set of designs. Ideally, the designs present in the Pareto frontier are acceptable candidates in the design process. However, what if none of the designs in the Pareto frontier meets the design requirements? Or, what if the desire is to find designs that are beyond the Pareto frontier? This unevaluated or undiscovered area beyond the Pareto frontier can be described as "whitespace". The process of whitespace exploration is the systematic process of exploring and investigating areas of interest previously not evaluated. A methodology for whitespace exploration is presented, which involves revisiting the assumptions and factors implicit in the generation of a Pareto frontier. The methodology presented is tested against two design problems to show efficacy. Additionally, a prototype whitespace exploration tool was developed to aid in the testing, development and demonstration of the process.


BACKGROUND
The major cause of hereditary renal failure is autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Many factors affect renal progression in these patients. Among these, hypertension and an increase in renal volume are interrelated in terms of their effects on renal progression. We aimed to investigate the effects of losartan and ramipril on renal volume and progression in patients with ADPKD.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Data from 18 hypertensive patients with ADPKD were evaluated. Eleven of the 18 hypertensive patients were on losartan and 7 on ramipril treatment. Demographic parameters, use of antihypertensives and other medications, the course of blood pressure (BP), biochemical parameters, creatinine clearance (CrCL), findings at computed tomography and renal volume were recorded at baseline and at 1 and 5 years.

RESULTS
Target BP values were maintained over 5 years. The annual decrease in CrCL was 1.33 mL/min in the losartan group compared with 6.59 mL/min in the ramipril group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of annual decrease in CrCL. Annual increase in renal volume was 252.04 cm³ in the losartan group and 167.36 cm³ in the ramipril group. There was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the increase in renal volumes at 1 and 5 years.

CONCLUSION
Our study demonstrated that losartan and ramipril provided effective BP control. In addition, the results of our study demonstrated that despite the increase in renal volume, losartan and ramipril may have regressed renal progression via other factors.


Ionic-Imprinted Chitosan/Chlorella biomass sorbent (IICCb) has been synthesized for selective adsorption of Cd(II) adsorption. IICCb was prepared by coating Cd(II)-complexed-chitosan hydrogel on the biomass surface followed by cross-linking procedure. Cd(II)-imprinting ions were then eluted using Na 2 EDTA solution to provide a specific template for binding sites of Cd(II). Batch adsorption was carried out as function of initial pH, contact time, and initial concentration of the Cd(II) solution. Result showed that the optimum adsorption of Cd(II) was found at pH 4-6. Study of pseudo-second order kinetic showed that the adsorption of Cd(II) on IICCb went faster than that on Ionic-Imprinted Chitosan (IIC) or Non-Imprinted Ionic Chitosan/Chlorella sorbent (NIICCb). The maximum Cd(II) adsorption capacity as obtained from Langmuir adsorption isotherm was found to be 53.76 mg/g on IICCb, that was comparatively higher than that on IIC (44.44 mg/g) or on NIICCb (51.02 mg/g) adsorbent.


OBJECTIVE To examine the efficacy and safety of lixisenatide (20 μg once daily, administered before the morning or evening meal) as add-on therapy in patients with type 2 diabetes insufficiently controlled with metformin alone. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS This was a 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 680 patients with inadequately controlled type 2 diabetes (HbA1c 7–10% [53−86 mmol/mol]). Patients were randomized to lixisenatide morning (n = 255), lixisenatide evening (n = 255), placebo morning (n = 85), or placebo evening (n = 85) injections. RESULTS Lixisenatide morning injection significantly reduced mean HbA1c versus combined placebo (mean change −0.9% [9.8 mmol/mol] vs. −0.4% [4.4 mmol/mol]; least squares [LS] mean difference vs. placebo −0.5% [5.5 mmol/mol], P < 0.0001). HbA1c was significantly reduced by lixisenatide evening injection (mean change –0.8% [8.7 mmol/mol] vs. –0.4% [4.4 mmol/mol]; LS mean difference –0.4% [4.4 mmol/mol], P < 0.0001). Lixisenatide morning injection significantly reduced 2-h postprandial glucose versus morning placebo (mean change −5.9 vs. −1.4 mmol/L; LS mean difference −4.5 mmol/L, P < 0.0001). LS mean difference in fasting plasma glucose was significant in both morning (–0.9 mmol/L, P < 0.0001) and evening (–0.6 mmol/L, P = 0.0046) groups versus placebo. Mean body weight decreased to a similar extent in all groups. Rates of adverse events were 69.4% in both lixisenatide groups and 60.0% in the placebo group. Rates for nausea and vomiting were 22.7 and 9.4% for lixisenatide morning and 21.2 and 13.3% for lixisenatide evening versus 7.6 and 2.9% for placebo, respectively. Symptomatic hypoglycemia occurred in 6, 13, and 1 patient for lixisenatide morning, evening, and placebo, respectively, with no severe episodes. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes inadequately controlled on metformin, lixisenatide 20 μg once daily administered in the morning or evening significantly improved glycemic control, with a pronounced postprandial effect, and was well tolerated.


. This article examines the so-called post-Foucauldian genealogy of power undertaken by the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. His basic interest is why and in which ways power assumed the form of economy, which, according to Foucault's genealogical research, means the "government of men". For Foucault, the origin of managerial-administrative power is the paradigm of a pastorate, in which the main objective is to subjugate, control and govern the soul of every human being. For Agamben, the time horizon determined by Foucault is not sufficient. Therefore, he developed a theory of bio-power and bio-politics through the paradigm of economic theology, using a wide range of materials from the early medieval period to the 20 th -century theology. Using archaeological and genealogical methods, this investigation aims to show the process of a paradigm shift from political to economic theology within the context of power relations. Moreover, it tries to verify whether Agamben's assumption is correct. By analysing certain concepts such as divine anarchy and collateral effect , I intend to question whether the Christian economy, as action and administration, is an archetype of the modern form of power or not. real mystery, hidden for centuries in revealed to Christ, of of his salvific praxis (Agamben 2011, 70).


Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has recently been used to produce 3D angiography of microvasculature and blood flow maps of large vessels in the rodent brain in-vivo. However, use of this optical method for the study of cerebrovascular disease has not been fully explored. Recent developments in neurodegenerative diseases has linked common cardiovascular risk factors to neurodegenerative risk factors hinting at a vascular hypothesis for the development of the latter. Tools for studying cerebral blood flow and the myogenic tone of cerebral vasculature have thus far been either highly invasive or required ex-vivo preparations therefore not preserving the delicate in-vivo conditions. We propose a novel technique for reconstructing the flow profile over a single cardiac cycle in order to evaluate flow pulsatility and vessel compliance. A vascular model is used to simulate changes in vascular compliance and interpret OCT results. Comparison between atherosclerotic and wild type mice show a trend towards increased compliance in the smaller arterioles of the brain (diameter < 80μm) in the disease model. These results are consistent with previously published ex-vivo work confirming the ability of OCT to investigate vascular dysfunction.


Cross disciplinary biometric systems help boost the performance of the conventional systems. Not only is the recognition accuracy significantly improved, but also the robustness of the systems is greatly enhanced in the challenging environments, such as varying illumination conditions. By leveraging the cross disciplinary technologies, face recognition systems, fingerprint recognition systems, iris recognition systems, as well as image search systems all benefit in terms of recognition performance. Take face recognition for an example, which is not only the most natural way human beings recognize the identity of each other, but also the least privacy-intrusive means because people show their face publicly every day. Face recognition systems display superb performance when they capitalize on the innovative ideas across color science, mathematics, and computer science (e.g., pattern recognition, machine learning, and image processing). The novel ideas lead to the development of new color models and effective color features in color science; innovative features from wavelets and statistics, and new kernel methods and novel kernel models in mathematics; new discriminant analysis frameworks, novel similarity measures, and new image analysis methods, such as fusing multiple image features from frequency domain, spatial domain, and color domain in computer science; as well as system design, new strategies for system integration, and different fusion strategies, such as the feature level fusion, decision level fusion, and new fusion strategies with novel similarity measures.


Abstract: Comin et al. (Reports, 20 March 2015, p. 1335) have interpreted their resonant x-ray scattering experiment as indicating that charge inhomogeneities in the family of high-temperature superconductors YBa2Cu3O6+y (YBCO) have the character of one-dimensional stripes rather than two-dimensional checkerboards. The present Comment shows that one cannot distinguish between stripes and checkerboards on the basis of the above experiment.


Several outbreak prediction models for COVID-19 are being used by officials around the world to make informed-decisions and enforce relevant control measures. Among the standard models for COVID-19 global pandemic prediction, simple epidemiological and statistical models have received more attention by authorities, and they are popular in the media. Due to a high level of uncertainty and lack of essential data, standard models have shown low accuracy for long-term prediction. Although the literature includes several attempts to address this issue, the essential generalization and robustness abilities of existing models needs to be improved. This paper presents a comparative analysis of machine learning and soft computing models to predict the COVID-19 outbreak. Among a wide range of machine learning models investigated, two models showed promising results (i.e., multi-layered perceptron, MLP, and adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system, ANFIS). Based on the results reported here, and due to the highly complex nature of the COVID-19 outbreak and variation in its behavior from nation-to-nation, this study suggests machine learning as an effective tool to model the outbreak.


Objectives To analyse the physical activity carried out by the adolescents in the study, its relationship to being overweight (overweight+obese) and to analyse the structure of the social network of friendship established in adolescents doing group sports, using different parameters indicative of centrality. Setting It was carried out in an educational environment, in 11 classrooms belonging to 5 Schools in Ponferrada (Spain). Participants 235 adolescents were included in the study (49.4% female), who were classified as normal weight or overweight. Primary and secondary outcome measures Physical Activity Questionnaire for Adolescents (PAQ-A) was used to study the level of physical activity. A social network analysis was carried out to analyse structural variables of centrality in different degrees of contact. Results 30.2% of the participants in our study were overweight. Relative to female participants in this study, males obtained significantly higher scores in the PAQ-A (OR: 2.11; 95% CI: 1.04 to 4.25; p value: 0.036) and were more likely to participate in group sport (OR: 4.59; 95% CI: 2.28 to 9.22; p value: 0.000). We found no significant relationship between physical activity and the weight status in the total sample, but among female participants, those with overweight status had higher odds of reporting high levels of physical exercise (OR: 4.50; 95% CI: 1.21 to 16.74; p value: 0.025). In terms of centrality, differentiating by gender, women who participated in group sports were more likely to be classified as having low values of centrality, while the opposite effect occurred for men, more likely to be classified as having high values of centrality. Conclusions Our findings, with limitations, underline the importance of two fundamental aspects to be taken into account in the design of future strategies: gender and the centrality within the social network depending on the intensity of contact they have with their peers.


Although parametric devices have been known for many
years, very little attention had been paid to the possibilities
of exploiting the principles involved for low frequency power conversion purposes, until tfie recent advent
of the parametric transformer. The theory of this device
is developed in the thesis, and the unusual performance
characteristics are explained. Possible application areas
are discussed, for an assessment of the future potential of
the device as a power-control element.
The operation of the parametric transformer is considered
initially on the basis of the Mathieu-Hill equations.
The stability chart for these equations is extensively used
to permit graphical interpretation of the behaviour and characteristics. As no complete theory exists for non-linear
systems with time-varying parameters, other analytical methods
are also considered, although since all of these regard the
device as a parametric oscillator they throw little light an
the inherent transformer action.
By considering the parametric-transformer as a conventional
saturable reactor with a capacitor connected across
the load winding and the control winding driven from an
alternating source, it can be placed within the perspective
of non-linear magnetic devices already known. Many possible
magnetic constructions with parallel and/or orthogonal flux. interactions are investigated, with special attention paid
to the bridged magnetic core analogue of the two-C-core
construction. The illustration of parametric coupling as
a result of flux interaction in saturable reactor devices
leads to a derivation of the overall equations directly from
the physical system.
The functions representing the magnetic structure of
the parametric transformer are first evaluated graphically,
ard using various analytical representations of the B/H
curve their explicit expressions are then formulated for
different magnetic configurations. The introduction into
the study of the concept of a relative magnetisation curve
is invaluable in explaining the current waveforms and many
other aspects of the device.
A mathematical model is established for the parametric
transformer and the system equations are solved numerically
by a digital computer. The voltage and current waveforms and
performance characteristics are demonstrated, and the correctness
of the theory is ascertained by comparison with experimental
results.
Based on considerations of losses and efficiency, the
advantages and disadvantages of parametric transformers are
discussed. Possible applications in such areas as power
supplies, inverters and converters are viewed and examples are given.