: Presently southeastern Florida has at least 24 established exotic avian species from both New and Old World families. This much man-modified region of Florida is characterized by the Atlantic Coastal Ridge in Palm Beach, Broward and Dade Counties and the Florida Keys of Monroe County. Because of the draining of the Everglades to the west, the filling of the mangroves on the seaward side, and the accompanying urban-suburban sprawl , many exotic plant species have invaded the RidTi thus preparing the environment for introduced birds . The Red-whiskered Bulbul, Pycnonotus jocosus, i ustrates this point. Host exotic avian species have appeared and colonized within the last 20 years. probably the result of a developed preconditioned environment and improvement in the transportation of exotic wildlife.


Objective: Emergency care is the frontline of the healthcare system. Taiwanese typically seek emergency care when suffering from an acute or unknown illness, which leads to a large number of emergency patients and the related misallocation of nursing manpower, and the excessive workloads of emergency service providers have become serious issues for Taiwan's medical institutions. Participants: This study conducted purposive sampling and recruited patients and nursing staffs from the emergency room of a medical center in New Taipei City as the research participants. Methods: This study applied the queueing theory and the derived optimal model to solve the problems of excessive workloads for emergency service providers and misallocation of nursing manpower, in an attempt to provide decision makers with more flexible resource allocation and process improvement suggestions. Results: This study analyzed the causes of emergency service overload and identified solutions for improving nursing manpower utilization. Conclusions: A wait-time model and the queueing theory were used to determine resource parameters for the optimal allocation of patient waiting times and to develop the best model for estimating nursing manpower.


Data access latency can be reduced for databases by using caching. Semantic caching enhances the performance of normal caching by locally answering the fully as well as partially overlapped queries. Efficient query processing and cache management are major challenges for semantic caching. Semantic caching demands efficient, correct and complete algorithms to process incoming queries. Query processing over semantic cache has been extensively studied by the researchers. In this paper, we have presented the survey of the existing techniques on query processing over semantic cache. We have defined a criterion to evaluate and analyze the query processing techniques. On the basis of defined criterion, analysis matrix is provided for quick insights on prominent features and limitations of query processing techniques. We have concluded that evaluated techniques are not capable of zero level query rejection and have large runtime complexity for handling queries. These deficiencies are the basic factors to decline the efficiency of query processing. The performance comparison of two techniques is also represented.


Cadmium (Cd) pollution in the soil is a global environmental problem. Plants-microbial technology has been regarded as a potential technique for the remediation of Cd polluted soils. Here, we aimed to explore the combined effects of inoculating (Serendipita indica) S. indica on soybean growth and soil health under Cd stress. Therefore, a pot experiment was conducted to investigate the S. indica on soybean growth and the soil enzyme activities, pH and chemical forms of Cd in the soil under Cd 0, 10, 20, 30 mg/kg soil teatments. Results reflected that compared to non-inoculated ones, the application of S. indica can still enhance the dry weight (66.57%), shoot height (90.35%) and promote the net photosynthesis rate (72.18%), transpiration ratio (80.73%), and stomatal conductance (119.05%) photosynthesis of soybean under Cd 30 mg/kg soil. Furthermore, The pH, phosphatase (116.39%) and catalase (4.17%) activities in the S. indica treatments were increased under Cd 10 mg/kg soil. Meanwhile, inoculated S. indica treatments significantly shifted Cd from exchangeable fraction to other more stable fractions, primarily decreased Cd concentrations (23.66%) under Cd 20 mg/kg soil. The Cd pollution assessment in soil indicated that S. indica could effectively reduce Cd pollution in the Cd 10 mg/kg soil treatments. This work suggests that S. indica may be a potential method for not only promoting plant growth, but also relieving the phytotoxicity of Cd and remediating Cd contaminated soil.


In equipment monitoring and fault diagnosis, correctly evaluating and selecting the signal features contribute greatly to the effectiveness and accuracy of recognition result. Because it is difficult to create a criterion to evaluate the feature of measured signals in condition of small samples when we use traditional statistic pattern recognition theory to do this, this paper put forward a method for calculating the feature sensitivity via artificial neural network, and created a criterion function for evaluating the feature sensitivity. This criterion was applied in selecting the features of the diesel engine vibration.


Global carbon, water and energy cycles are substantially driven by vegetation phenology. In particular tropical rainforests have been shown to be a key component of the climate system as they act as major water vapor sources and carbon dioxide sink. For these reasons their evolution in response to both human pressure and climate change is critical. As compared to the Amazonian and Asian rainforests, the rainforest of Central Africa experiences slower deforestation rates, so that its main threat for the next decades might come from climate change. So far, the response and sensitivity of the Central Africa rainforest to the mean seasonal evolution and inter-annual variability of climate has attracted little interest. Indeed, most of the studies focus on its Amazonian counterpart and suggest that solar irradiation is the main driver of the annual and inter-annual variations of rainforest photosynthetic activity, and the Central Africa climate itself is not well documented. As a first step towards a better understanding of the Central Africa rainforest sensitivity to present-day climate variability and response to climate change, this study performs for a target region located between 0-5°N/12- 19°E (thus documenting forest areas from 5 countries) and using space borne observations, a detailed analysis of the rainforest photosynthetic activity mean seasonal cycle comparing it with those of climate variables considered as potential drivers, i.e. rainfall, cloudiness and solar irradiation. Several key points emerge from our study. First, the seasonal cycles of photosynthetic activity (EVI MODIS) and rainfall over our target region are both bimodal. However, the highest peak of EVI (March-May) coincides with the driest of the two rainy seasons while the lowest peak of EVI (September-October) coincides with the wettest of the two rainy seasons. Second, the two rainy seasons are not associated with two distinct lows in total solar irradiation and two distinct peaks in total cloudiness: the first rainy season (March-May) which is less rainy as compared to the second one (September-October), is also less cloudy and receives more total solar irradiation. This might explain the higher EVI values recorded. Third, the high total cloudiness recorded throughout the seasonal cycle actually hides marked seasonal variations in the frequency of the 5 main types of clouds analyzed. These cloud types have specific diurnal cycles which control those of solar irradiation (thus the daily light and energy available for photosynthesis), but also influence the remote sensed photosynthetic activity data (or index). Our results clearly show that (1) nor the two dry seasons, nor the two rainy seasons do compare in terms of mean rainfall, cloudiness, solar irradiation and temperature, and (2) water and light availability have a respective weight in the Central Africa rainforest photosynthetic activity which evolves throughout the seasonal cycle. They also suggest that any evolution, due to climate change, of the complex diurnal cycles of rainfall, nebulosity and solar irradiation which characterize the equatorial climate regimes might perturb the rainforest phenology and enhance these ecosystems vulnerability. (Texte integral)


Caulis angularis. Folia coriacea, sessilia vel subpetiolata; lamina anguste elliptica vel oblanceolata, apex acutus vel obtusus subpeltatus, basis attenuata, semi-amplexicaulis, non decurrens; nervi longitudinales paralleli 8-10. Ascidia ellipsoidea, cum alis duabus prominentibus; os obliquum. Peristomium applanatum expansum, margo exterior distincte sinuatus, costae distinctae. Inflorescentia mascula racemosa; pedicelli uniflori. — Holotypus: Kostermans 14017 (L – HLB 960.112- 783 & 784), East Borneo, Bcrouw, top of Mt Has Mapulu, alt. 800 m, 23-9-1957. Stems angular, 5-6 mm thick, internodes 2-4 cm long. Leaves coriaceous, sessile or shortly petiolate; lamina narrowly elliptic or oblanceolate, 13-26 x 2.2-5 cm, apex acute, subpeltate; base attenuate, semi-amplexicaul; longitudinal nerves originating from lower 1/4 of the midrib, running 4-5 on each side; pinnate nerves distinct; tendrils of pitchers flattened, grooved, not curled, wider towards the pitcher, 3-4 mm thick near the pitcher, 1-2 mm thick near the leaf tip, 45-50 cm long, 1 to 2 times longer than lamina length; tendrils without pitchers slender, usually shorter than lamina length, 4-25 cm long. – Pitchers ellipsoidal, 11-21 cm high, 7-8.5 cm wide immediately below peristome, with 2 prominent fringed wings running over the entire length, wings 2-10 mm wide; mouth oblique; peristome flattened, expanded, 2-20 mm wide, broader in the middle, outer peristome margin distincdy wavy, peristome ribs 0.5 mm apart, inner peristome teeth distinct; inside surface of the pitcher glandless in the upper half, glandular with numerous minute glands in the lower half; lids 4.5-8 x 3-4 cm, the lower surface with a central glandular ridge and numerous glands concentrated around the ridge and towards the base, glands on the ridge large and distinct. – Male inflorescence racemose; peduncle 7 cm long; pedicels 4-8 mm long, 1-flowered, bractless; sepals 4, lanceolate, 2.5-3 x 1.5-2 mm; staminal column 2.5-3 mm long; anthers uniseriate. Female inflorescence unknown. Fruits unknown. – Indumentum of very short branched hairs on midribs, tendrils, pitchers, and inflorescences. Leaves glabrous above and below, the lower surface with dark brown spots. Margin of leaves sometimes ciliate.


Recently, the external prestressing method is being much frequently used in strengthening reinforced concrete structures because of it's excellent load resistance and serviceability increases comparing to other strengthening methods. However, it is true that the research on fatigue performance of concrete structures strengthened by the external prestressing using FRP ten-dons is rare. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and feasibility of the external prestressing method by analyzing the characteristics of the reinforced concrete beam strengthening using FRP tendons under repeated loads. Test variables adopted in this experimental study are the types of external prestressing material (steel or FRP tendon) and the repeated load ranges. The repeated load range have the minimum 50% of yield load of reinforced concrete beam and the maximum 70-85%. The test beams are loaded by 4 point loadings with 3 Hz sine wave. From this experimental study, it is confirmed that the reinforced concrete beams strengthened using FRP tendons have sufficient safety against fatigue, especially in FRP tendon itself, tendon at deviators and tendon at anchorages.


A major objective of studying populations exposed to low levels of radiation is provision of direct assessment of the adequacy of estimates of health risks obtained by extrapolation of data on populations exposed at high levels. Meeting this objective requires the use of statistical methods that fully utilize available exposure measurements, and that consider the extensive body of prior knowledge regarding radiation-induced health effects. This paper describes various methods of analysis and illustrates the methods with data on workers at the Hanford Site. Special problems are discussed, with attention to comparability of estimates and confidence limits with those obtained from extrapolation.


Abstract Field studies were conducted to examine the dissipation of three soil-applied residual herbicides for bare soil compared with soil under low-density polyethylene (LDPE) mulch in 2003 and 2004. Studies indicated that halosulfuron and S-metolachlor dissipation was more rapid for bare soil than soil under LDPE mulch. Sulfentrazone dissipation from bare soil was equal to soil under LDPE mulch in 2003. However, sulfentrazone dissipation in 2004 was more rapid for soil under LDPE mulch than for bare soil. The order for half-life, defined as time for 50% dissipation (DT50), varied by herbicide and soil exposure. Averaged across 2003 and 2004, metolachlor DT50 was 2 d, halosulfuron 7 d, and sulfentrazone 16 d for bare soil. S-metolachlor DT50 was 4 d, halosulfuron 10 d, and sulfentrazone 13 d for soil under LDPE mulch. Correlation between quantified herbicide dissipation and bioassay for bare soil compared with soil under LDPE mulch in 2004 indicated that assay species root dry weights were negatively correlated with herbicide concentration. Data indicated that S-metolachlor and sulfentrazone bioassays, with oat and cotton, respectively, could be used to assess the level of dissipation for each herbicide. Nomenclature: Halosulfuron; S-metolachlor; sulfentrazone; low-density polyethylene mulch; cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L; oat, Avena sativa L


From Singapore to New York, via New Delhi, Johannesburg, London, Glasgow and Buenos Aires, "Cities in Flux" registers some of the most profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on cities around the world. Narrated in different styles, the individual pieces draw on theories of global cities in neoliberal times as well as on the phenomenological truths of inhabiting these disparate places bound together by a global crisis. The pieces make use of a plethora of urban signs—flashing images, sounds of silence and emergency vehicles, Whatsapp chatter, billboards, found objects, and media noise—to reflect on experiences that are both deeply personal and embodied as well as reflective of a common urban predicament. Even as the pandemic exacerbated problems of housing, transport, health, schooling, employment, environment, and food supply, it also created feelings of waste, loss, and loneliness. All the pieces draw inspiration from a range of urban projects such as the Hot City Collective in New York, the Workers' Stories Project in Glasgow, the Black Lives Matter movement in London, the Feminist Assembly in Buenos Aires, the C-19 People's Coalition in Johannesburg, and the anti–citizenship law protests and the farmers' movement in Indian cities. Against the multiplying crises of cities during the time of the pandemic, the different pieces in this pod come together to hope for an urban commons that is based on justice and freedom.


This paper consists of describing a reflection about historical demarcation of Nursing in Brazil technologically speaking through of its professional practices. Historically the relation between nursing and technology is mediated by phases of isolation of the scientific-technological work, replaced for a manual one, and finally by the search of scientific knowledge. Thus, Nursing has been building a body of knowledge, started with the pioneering professional background. In different periods of technological background, have been identified in metaphorical language such as "moon phases" about understanding of time of political and social instability, at the same time with the quality of production. The growing initial phase, are followed by "of the new moon" with discoveries and adaptations of nursing and finally, a time characterized by the post-graduation and expansion of undergraduate programs; one "complete full moon" allowing records, patents and technological development of research projects. The nature of this study brought its own questions to the evolution of the technological moment of Brazilian nursing DESCRIPTORS: Art. Technology. Nursing.


This paper studies the liberalization of the Mexican lemon market in a world perspective using a spatial equilibrium model with endogenous prices. Several scenarios were designed related to the lemon market involving the countries that integrate NAFTA, and MEUFTA, and the removal of commercial barriers related to this fruit. The potential im pact of eliminating tariffs on commercial flows, prices, and welfare are estimated. The results suggest that Mexico will benefit from NAFTA, and MEUFTA, as well as, the removal of commercial barriers in the world lemon market.


In this paper, we study the selfish behavior in wireless sensor networks and apply a game theory method to address this problem in a CSMA/CA protocol. More specifically, we formulate the Media Access Control (MAC) layer activity in sensor networks as an optimization problem in terms of the random accessing problem. Then we propose a distributed algorithm for the system to reach the Nash Equilibrium (NE). We have de-fined a Contention Window Select Game (CWSG) in which each sensor selects its own contention window to control the access probability. This approach can improve the average performance, compared to a random strategy with each sensor selecting its own window independently. We prove the unique existence of NE in the CWSG, and propose a penalizing mechan-ism based on repeated game to prevent the non-cooperative selfish behavior of decreasing the contention window without per-mission.


The landscape–tourism nexus has been the subject of many scientific contributions that differ in nature and methodological approach. Beyond sectorial planning assessments and impact evaluations, which often fail to grasp this complex relationship, this paper draws on conceptual frameworks in the social sciences and humanities that define the nexus through the productive potential of mobilities, bodily presences and interactions to investigate tourist landscapes in pandemic times. More precisely, the blended concept of dwelling-in-motion is adopted to explore tourist landscapes as evolving constellations of intertwined places and practices of people engaging with empty spaces, redescribing their functions and values and defining new forms of proximity tourism. This study focuses on the Brenta Riviera in northeastern Italy between Padua and Venice—an extremely dense area in terms of landscape stratifications and an exemplary local case where the effects of COVID-19 restrictions have been reshaping physical orderings, social relations and cultural meanings. During the third wave of the pandemic in Italy, a mapping process based on an online survey collected significant georeferenced landscapes among visitors, residents and operators, unveiling multiple and often unexpected Riviera landscapes as expressions of changing attitudes and behaviours towards neighbouring places. Calling for intimate well-being or collective involvement, 'newcomers-on-the-move' have been blurring the lines between daily, recreational and tourist landscapes, leading to a reconsideration of who can be a tourist and what can be a tourist landscape in a (post-)COVID-19 world. From a tourism policy perspective, tracing these trajectories is one of the starting points for rethinking destination recovery and addressing sustainable goals. [ FROM AUTHOR]


The possibility of creating a fibre multiplexer/demultiplexer with large-scale multiplexing without any basic restrictions on the number of channels and the spectral spacing between them is shown. The operating capacity of a fibre multiplexer based on a four-fibre array ensuring a spectral spacing of 0.7 pm (~ 10 GHz) between channels is demonstrated.


Abstract Evidence suggests that psychopaths' notoriously immoral behavior is due to affective rather than rational deficits. This evidence could be taken to show that, contrary to moral rationalism, moral norms are not norms of reason. Rationalists could reply either that psychopaths' behavior is in fact primarily due to rational deficits or that affects are involved in responding to rational norms. Drawing on the work of Antonio Damasio and colleagues, I argue the latter is the better defense of moral rationalism.


There is seldom approach developed for the initial topology design of flexure-based compliant mechanisms. The most commonly-used approaches, which start with an existing rigid-body mechanism, do not consider the performances between different topologies. Moreover, they rely heavily on the rigid-body topology, therefore limit the diversity of compliant mechanisms topology. To obtain the optimal initial topology of such mechanisms directly from problem specifications without referencing to the existing mechanism topologies, a spring-joint method is presented for a restricted class of the serial passive flexure-based compliant mechanisms, which are the building blocks of parallel compliant mechanisms. The topology of the compliant mechanisms is represented by a serial spring-joint mechanism(SSJM) that is a traditional rigid-body mechanism with a torsional spring acting on each joint, and is described by position vectors of the spring-joints. A simplified compliance matrix, determined by the position vectors, is used to characterize the tip of the SSJM kinematically, and is optimized to ensure the desired freedoms of the compliant mechanisms during optimization. The topology optimization problem is formulated as finding out the optimal position of the spring-joints in a blank design domain with an objective function derived from the simplified compliance matrix. In design examples, syntheses of the compliant mechanisms with both single freedom and two decoupled freedoms are presented to illustrate the proposed method. The proposed method provides a new way for the initial design of flexure-based compliant mechanisms.


Acquisition footprint causes serious interference with seismic attribute analysis, which severely hinders accurate reservoir characterization. Therefore, acquisition footprint suppression has become increasingly important in industry and academia. In this work, we assume that the time slice of 3D post-stack migration seismic data mainly comprises two components, i.e., useful signals and acquisition footprint. Useful signals describe the spatial distributions of geological structures with local piecewise smooth morphological features. However, acquisition footprint often behaves as periodic artifacts in the time-slice domain. In particular, the local morphological features of the acquisition footprint in the marine seismic acquisition appear as stripes. As useful signals and acquisition footprint have different morphological features, we can train an adaptive dictionary and divide the atoms of the dictionary into two sub-dictionaries to reconstruct these two components. We propose an adaptive dictionary learning method for acquisition footprint suppression in the time slice of 3D post-stack migration seismic data. To obtain an adaptive dictionary, we use the K-singular value decomposition algorithm to sparsely represent the patches in the time slice of 3D post-stack migration seismic data. Each atom of the trained dictionary represents certain local morphological features of the time slice. According to the difference in the variation level between the horizontal and vertical directions, the atoms of the trained dictionary are divided into two types. One type significantly represents the local morphological features of the acquisition footprint, whereas the other type represents the local morphological features of useful signals. Then, these two components are reconstructed using morphological component analysis based on different types of atoms, respectively. Synthetic and field data examples indicate that the proposed method can effectively suppress the acquisition footprint with fidelity to the original data.


We present an information gathering system for medical image inspection that consists of software tools for capturing computer-centric and human-centric information. Computer-centric information includes (1) static annotations, such as (a) image drawings enclosing any selected area, a set of areas with similar colors, a set of salient points, and (b) textual descriptions associated with either image drawings or links between pairs of image drawings, and (2) dynamic (or temporal) information, such as mouse movements, zoom level changes, image panning and frame selections from an image stack. Human-centric information is represented by video and audio signals that are acquired by computer-mounted cameras and microphones. The short-term goal of the presented system is to facilitate learning of medical novices from medical experts, while the long-term goal is to data mine all information about image inspection for assisting in making diagnoses. In this work, we built basic software functionality for gathering computer-centric and human-centric information of the aforementioned variables. Next, we developed the information playback capabilities of all gathered information for educational purposes. Finally, we prototyped text-based and image template-based search engines to retrieve information from recorded annotations, for example, (a) find all annotations containing the word "blood vessels", or (b) search for similar areas to a selected image area. The information gathering system for medical image inspection reported here has been tested with images from the Histology Atlas database.


Objective: To evaluate visual outcome and complications in intraocular foreign bodies. Study Design: Descriptive case series. Materials and Methods: This prospective study was carried out in the department of Ophthalmology, Services Hospital Lahore, over a period of one year from July 2008 to July 2009. Eighteen patients having magnetic or nonmagnetic intraocular foreign bodies (IOFBs) were included. The location of foreign body was determined with the help of slit lamp, direct and indirect ophthalmoscope, orbital radiogram, B-scan and CT scan. Patients with open entry wound underwent primary repair. Vitrectomy for intraocular foreign body was performed within two weeks of primary repair. Results: Eighteen eyes of 18 patients were analyzed. There were 17 (94.44%) males and 1 (5.66%) female. Preoperative visual acuity was perception of light in 9 (50%), hand movement in 5 (27.77%), finger counting in 2 (11.11%) and 6/60 in 2 (11.11%) patients. Post operative visual acuity was 6/18 or better in 6 (33.33%) and 6/60 in 4 (22.22%), hand movements in 6(33.33%), perception of light in 2 (11.11%) patients. Lens touch occurred in 1 (5.55%) patient and endophthalmitis developed in 1 (5.55%) patient. Giant retinal tear and total retinal detachment (RD) in 1 (5.55%) and phthisis bulbi in 1 (5.55%) patient. Conclusion: Intra ocular foreign bodies contribute a significant component of ocular morbidity associated with open globe injury. However with prompt treatment a useful vision can be restored.


OBJECTIVE
Research on moderate drinking has focused on the average level of drinking. Recently, however, investigators have begun to consider the role of the pattern of drinking, particularly heavy episodic drinking, in mortality. The present study examined the combined roles of average drinking level (moderate vs. high) and drinking pattern (regular vs. heavy episodic) in 20-year total mortality among late-life drinkers.

METHOD
The sample comprised 1,121 adults ages 55-65 years. Alcohol consumption was assessed at baseline, and total mortality was indexed across 20 years. We used multiple logistic regression analyses controlling for a broad set of sociodemographic, behavioral, and health status covariates.

RESULTS
Among individuals whose high level of drinking placed them at risk, a heavy episodic drinking pattern did not increase mortality odds compared with a regular drinking pattern. Conversely, among individuals who engage in a moderate level of drinking, prior findings showed that a heavy episodic drinking pattern did increase mortality risk compared with a regular drinking pattern. Correspondingly, a high compared with a moderate drinking level increased mortality risk among individuals maintaining a regular drinking pattern, but not among individuals engaging in a heavy episodic drinking pattern, whose pattern of consumption had already placed them at risk.

CONCLUSIONS
Findings highlight that low-risk drinking requires that older adults drink low to moderate average levels of alcohol and avoid heavy episodic drinking. Heavy episodic drinking is frequent among late-middle-aged and older adults and needs to be addressed along with average consumption in understanding the health risks of late-life drinkers.


History. —At 11 p. m. of a day (Aug. 10, 1909) during which a little girl, 6 years old, had been wading in the water, she was taken with a violent headache and high fever. She sseemed somewhat better the next day, but vomited in the after. noon. Forty-eight hours after the first symptoms appeared she grew worse again, had severe headache and high fever, with pain in the left side of the chest. A physician was then called. After a few days the pain disappeared from the left side and "moved across" to the right. About a week later she had terrific pain in the right leg, or, as it seemed to the attending physician, in the knee-joint. She suffered "frightful pain" for a week, meanwhile under-going treatment on a mistanken diagnosis of rheumatism. The knee and leg below the knee swelled, and a bu[ill]ging abscess having appeared ver


Background There is an association between video game practice and laparoscopic expertize in trainee surgeons. Ultrasound-guided regional anesthesia has many parallels with laparoscopic surgery. The aim of this study was to explore whether video game experience is associated with enhanced performance in a simulated ultrasound-guided task in novice operators. Methods In this prospective observational study, 60 medical student volunteers were recruited. Following characterization of video game experience, they underwent an assessment of visuospatial abilities. Following standardized teaching, the recruits' technical performance of an ultrasound-guided needle task was assessed for overall quality by global rating scale (GRS). Results Out of a total possible GRS score of 35, gamers compared with non-gamers demonstrated 5.2 (95% CI 1.9 to 8.4) units of better performance. Gamers also performed better in mental rotation test scores (difference 4.1, 95% CI 1.2 to 7.0) . Conclusion Video game practice is associated with increased mental rotation ability and enhanced technical performance in a simulated ultrasound-guided task.


INTRODUCTION: Hepatitis delta, caused by the hepatitis D virus (HDV), is one of the most severe forms of chronic viral hepatitis. Chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) is associated with frequent development of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. HDV is a defective satellite virus that requires a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) for viral assembly. HDV infection is generally associated with suppression of hepatitis B virus (HBV) replication. The aim of this study was to investigate the quantitative level of HBsAg in patients with HDV co-infection, its relationship with HBV DNA and HDV RNA levels and with the stage of fibrosis. METHODS: A total of 19 patients were included in the study, 10 males and 9 females. No patients had any antiviral therapy for at least one year before investigation. Patients with hepatitis C or HIV co-infection were excluded. All data were collected during routine visits and analyzed retrospectively. Age ranged from 24 to 64 years with mean age of 43.05 5.91 years. HBV DNA and HDV RNA levels were measured by realtime PCR. HBV DNA quantization was done using COBAS TaqMan HBV test (Roche Diagnostics). HDV RNA quantization was done using AmpliSens HDV test (InterLabService). Lower limits of detection for the HBV DNA and HDV RNA assays were 150 and 200 IU/mL, respectively. HBsAg levels were measured by the fully automated Architect HBsAg QT (Abbott Laboratories) assay. Fibrosis stage was measured by transient elastography (FibroScan). Logarithmic values of HBsAg, HBV DNA and HDV RNA levels were used. The statistical relationship was estimated by the Pearson correlation coefficient r. RESULTS: A high HBsAg level (more than 2000 IU/mL) was detected in 15 (79%) patients. A high level of HDV RNA (more than 10 IU/mL) was detected in 11 (58%) patients, while a high level of HBV DNA (more than 10 IU/mL) was detected only in one patient. 3 (16%) patients were HBeAg-positive, all of them had a low HBV DNA level. 12 (63%) patients had severe fibrosis (stage F3F4 in METAVIR score). By contrast to HBV mono-infection, for which a significant correlation between HBsAg level and HBV viral load is typical, no correlation between these values was detected in patients with HDV co-infection. However, the correlation between HBsAg level and HDV viral load was significant (r = 0.663, p = 0.002). The correlation between HDV RNA level and fibrosis stage was also significant (r = 0.50, p < 0.05). The correlation between HBsAg level and fibrosis stage was less significant (r = 0.42, p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with HDV co-infection: 1. HBsAg level did not correlate with HBV DNA level. This can be explained by the inhibition of HBV replication in HDV co-infected patients. 2. A high level of HBsAg is usually associated with a high HDV RNA level, so HBsAg level can be used for estimating HDV viral load. 3. A severe fibrosis is usually associated with a high HDV RNA level and, to a lesser degree, with a high level of HBsAg.


Data Visualization is emerging as a tool to understand and explore data in various ways. It enables us to interpret, synthesise, and present complex and vast amounts of information. We use Data Visualization to represent the evolution of consumptions in 729 hypermarkets and supermarkets of the biggest Portuguese retail company, for a time span of two years. We aim to apply an Information Visualization technique in order to study how, through Data Visualization, we can represent, synthesize, and interpret consumptions' data. The geospatial data enables us to represent the consumptions in the different municipal districts and to analyze how consumptions evolve over time. To present this data, we apply an isoline approach, introducing a new technique called iso-edges. We also implement an interface for the exploration and analysis of the data.


Abstract Approaches to improving the selectivity of drugs for the treatment of patients with cancer are discussed, with emphasis on folate antagonists as prototype compounds. The use of metabolites (leucovorin, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate) as "rescue" agents following methotrexate treatment with appropriate monitoring of blood levels of methotrexate has led to the safe use of this antimetabolite in high doses and an improved therapeutic index for the use of this drug in some human cancers. The use of methotrexate in conjunction with fluorouracil administration is sequence dependent in experimental tumor models and is being tested in human tumors. New folate antagonists, designed to inhibit thymidylate synthetase per se or as facilitators of 5-fluorodeoxyuridine 5′-monophosphate binding to this enzyme are also discussed. The potential for selectivity using nonclassical folate antagonists is also illustrated; in addition to Baker9s antifol (triazinate), a triazine folate antagonist, now in clinical trial, several 2,4-diaminoquinazolines were found to be potent exhibitors of DNA synthesis in human leukemic leukocytes. Drug resistance to antineoplastic agents continues to be an important clinical problem. By using resistance to methotrexate as an example, exploitation of drug-resistant mutants by design of specific inhibitors is possible. A strategy for the prevention of drug resistance is advanced, based on data derived from experimental systems. It is concluded that large doses of drugs used in intermittent fashion and sequentially in combination may be the best strategy to avoid this problem. An example of this strategy is Adriamycin-cyclophosphamide-Oncovin-methotrexate-1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine, a five-drug sequential combination used to treat diffuse histiocytic lymphoma.


This study compares the summer monsoon circulations during a heavy rainfall period over the Korean peninsular from 11 to 18 July 2004, simulated by three widely used regional models; WRF, MM5, and RSM. An identical model setup is carried out for all the experiments, except for the physical option differences in the RSM. The three models with a nominal resolution of about 50 km over Korea are nested by NCEP-DOE reanalysis data. Another RSM experiment with the same cumulus parameterization scheme as in the WRF and MM5 is designed to investigate the importance of the representation of subgrid-scale parameterized convection in reproducing monsoonal circulations in East Asia. All thee models are found to be capable of reproducing the general distribution of monsoonal precipitation, extending northeastward from south China across the Korean peninsula, to northern Japan. The results from the WRF and MM5 are similar in terms of accumulated precipitation, but a slightly better performance in the WRF than in the MM5. The RSM improves the bias for precipitation as compared to those from the WRF and MM5, but the pattern correlation is degraded due to overestimation of precipitation in northern China. In the comparison of simulated synoptic scale features, the RSM is found to reproduce the large-scale features well compared to the results from the MM5 and WRF. On the other hand, the simulated precipitation from the RSM with the convection scheme used in the MM5 and WRF is closer to that from the WRF and MM5 simulations, indicating the significant dependency of simulated precipitation in East Asia on the cumulus parameterization scheme.


[To be presented in the session ''Analysing and managing social-ecological regime shifts'] Regime shifts have increasingly gained attention in ecological research, and have been already documented for a variety of ecosystems, including lakes, wetlands, coral reefs, savannas, temperate and tropical forests, among others. Even though the socioeconomic causes and consequences of these ecosystem regime shifts have been frequently considered, regime shifts in 'coupled social-ecological systems' have yet very seldom been studied. On this presentation I will reflect on some conceptual and methodological challenges that arise for the study of social-ecological regime shifts. My contribution will be based on our experience using a novel methodology to analyse global land cover data in search for signatures of alternate regimes, assessing the potential multistability of agricultural landscapes. Our results reveal that in most of the 30 countries considered in our analysis (top global crop producers), different levels of cropland dominance in the landscape do not change in a smooth continuum in relation to key controlling factors (agricultural suitability and market access), but rather aggregate into distinct categories. For many of these countries a clear range of multistability was identified, suggesting the existence of alternate social-ecological regimes. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the results reveal great variation between different countries. We believe that future studies aimed at unravelling the underlying causes of this variation would greatly improve our understanding of land-use transitions, and therefore have big implications for land use policy. In this session, I will focus on the conceptual challenges of this research, as well as some ideas for future research and potential policy implications. The methodological approach and main results of our analysis will be the focus of a longer presentation in the session 'Analysing and managing social-ecological regime shifts'.


This  paper provides some insights regarding a few features of press clubs in Sindh province, Pakistan; because membership of the journalistic organizations is considered by media researchers as one of the indicators of the level of professionalization. Hence, this research reveals not only the membership level but also that what type of journalists are more members of press clubs in Sindh province, either news reporting or newsroom journalists. Further, this study highlights about what perceptions Sindh journalists have developed regarding the press clubs in Sindh province, Pakistan and as well about the practice of sharing individually collected news information with each other by the Sindh journalists at press clubs.


Factors that influence mortality amongst lambs in the Elsenburg Dormer and SA Mutton Merino flocks. Data related to 1 852 SA Mutton Merino and Dormer lambs born in the Elsenburg flocks, during the period 1978 1981 inclusive, were analysed by least squares procedures. The lambs were classified within years and breeds in an intensive group which was housed and constantly supervised during lambing, and an extensive group, where the lambing was supervised three times daily. Pre-weaning mortality amongst SA Mutton Merino lambs was significantly (P :5 0,05) higher than amongst Dormer lambs, primarily owing to significantly (P :5 0,01) higher mortality which occurred during birth. Mortality during the period 1 to 3 days after birth was significantly (P :5 0,05) decreased by intensive management. However, the contribution of this parameter to the reduction of the number of deaths to weaning was relatively small, resulting in a comparatively small benefit derived from intensive management. The pre-weaning mortality amongst SA Mutton Merino and Dormer lambs was nevertheless, significantly (P :5 0,05) decreased from 23,3 and 20,6 to 20,4 and 14,6% respectively. Pre-weaning mortality amongst triplets in both breeds was double that amongst twins and singles. The highest rate of mortality tended to occur amongst the lighter lambs in both breeds, whereas the mortality rate amongst the heavier SA Mutton Merino lambs also tended to increase. Mortality amongst lambs born to SA Mutton Merino ewes of 7 years and older was significantly (P :5 0,01) higher than in other ewe age groups. S. Afr. J. Anim. Sci. 1985, 15: 155 -161


The Gleyzes-Langlois-Piazza-Vernizzi (GLPV) theories up to quartic order are the general scheme of scalar-tensor theories allowing the possibility for realizing the tensor propagation speed ct equivalent to 1 on the isotropic cosmological background. We propose a dark energy model in which the late-time cosmic acceleration occurs by a simple k-essence Lagrangian analogous to the ghost condensate with cubic and quartic Galileons in the framework of GLPV theories. We show that a wide variety of the variation of the dark energy equation of state wDE including the entry to the region wDE < −1 can be realized without violating conditions for the absence of ghosts and Laplacian instabilities. The approach to the tracker equation of state wDE = −2 during the matter era, which is disfavored by observational data, can be avoided by the existence of a quadratic k-essence Lagrangian X. We study the evolution of nonrelativistic matter perturbations for the model c2t = 1 and show that the two quantities μ and Σ, which are related to the Newtonian and weak lensing gravitational potentials respectively, are practically equivalent to each other, such that μ ≃ Σ > 1. For the case in which the deviation of wDE from −1 is significant at a later cosmological epoch, the values of μ and Σ tend to be larger at low redshifts. We also find that our dark energy model can be consistent with the bounds on the deviation parameter αH from Horndeski theories arising from the modification of gravitational law inside massive objects.


College students' grade point average (GPA) can be affected by either internal or external factors. Internal factors include intelligences, interests, motivation, and preparedness. Family surroundings and learning environment combined with lecturers' competencies are categorized as external factors. This study was conducted to study the influence of lecturers' competencies including pedagogical and professional competencies on students' GPA at AKJP II Pekanbaru. Analysis was performed with linearity regression test, Shapiro-Wilk normality test, heterocedascity and coefficient of determination test. The Instrument used to gather data was a questionnaire involving 12 lecturers and 30 college students. Data analysis showed significance of the lecturers' pedagogical and professional competencies on students' GPA of 67.1% with the value of correlation coefficient is 0.819. It indicated that there was a high correlation between lecturers' pedagogical and professional competencies and first-year students' GPA.
Key words: Lecturers' competences, pedagogic, professional, GPA


Daily censuses of the hawksbill turtle Eretmochelys imbricata were taken during the nesting seasons 1995–2001 in three sandy beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico (Celestun, El Cuyo and Isla Holbox), to evaluate aspects of its reproductive biology. A total of 9059 hawksbill turtle clutches was estimated for the study period. Nesting seasons began in mid-April and ended in early September, peaking in May–June. No significant differences were detected in the mean number of clutches per km among beaches. The largest number of clutches was observed in the supralittoral zone (6341: 70%), followed by the dune (2491: 27.5%) and the intertidal (227: 2.5%) zones. Variation in number of clutches showed a main peak in 1999, decreasing in 2000 and 2001. A significant decrease (3 cm) in body size of nesting females was detected between 1995 and 2001. Mean clutch size was 140 eggs/clutch, and a significant positive relationship between curved carapace length and mean clutch size was found at the three beaches. Incubation period, hatching success and emergence success varied between years (lowest values in 1998) and beaches (highest values at Isla Holbox), with no significant differences between the supralittoral and dune zones. Even though there was no evidence of a decreasing trend in nesting activity for the study period, the decrease in 2000–2001 suggests that additional beach monitoring is necessary to identify long-term trends, and to reduce potential losses of nests by human and natural causes in this globally important region for the hawksbill turtle.


Ultrafine particulate matter (PM) consists of particles mostly emitted by combustion sources but also formed during gas-to-particle formation processes in the atmosphere. Various studies have shown these particles to be toxic. The very small mass of these particles has posed a great challenge in determining their size-dependent chemical composition using conventional aerosol sampling technologies. Implementing 2 technologies in series has made it possible to overcome these 2 problems. The first technology is the USC Ultrafine Concentrator, which concentrates ultrafine particles (i.e., 10-180 nm) by a factor of 20-22. Ultrafine particles are subsequently size fractionated and collected on suitable substrates using the NanoMOUDI, a recently developed cascade impactor that classifies particles in 5 size ranges from 10 to 180 nm. The entire system (concentrator + NanoMOUDI) was employed in the field at 2 different locations in the Los Angeles Basin in order to collect ultrafine particles in 3 consecutive 3 h time intervals (i.e., morning, midday, and afternoon). The results indicate a distinct mode in the 32-56 nm size range that is most pronounced in the morning and decreases throughout the day at Downey, CA (a "source" site), affected primarily by vehicular PM emissions. While the mass concentrations at the source site decrease with time, the levels measured at Riverside, CA (a "receptor" site), are highest in the afternoon with a minimum at midday. In Riverside, ultrafine EC (elemental carbon) and OC (organic carbon) concentrations were highly correlated only during the morning period, whereas these correlations collapsed later in the day. These results indicate that in this area, ultrafine PM is generated by primary emissions during the morning hours, whereas secondary aerosol formation processes become more important as the day progresses.


OBJECTIVE
Although endovascular grafts have been increasingly applied to the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms, their use in clinical trials is limited by well-defined anatomical exclusion criteria. One such criterion is the presence of thrombus within the infrarenal neck of an aneurysm, which is thought to (1) prevent the creation of a permanent watertight seal between the graft and the vessel wall, resulting in an endoleak; (2) contribute to stent migration; and (3) increase the risk of thromboembolism. This article summarizes our experience with endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm exclusion in 19 patients with large aortic aneurysms, significant medical comorbidities, and apparent thrombus extending into the pararenal aortic neck.

METHODS
Of 268 patients undergoing abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, 19 (7%; 17 men; mean age, 71 years) demonstrated computed tomographic and angiographic evidence of intramural filling defects at the level of the aortic neck. In no instance did these filling defects extend above the renal arteries. Endovascular grafting was performed through use of a balloon-expandable Palmaz stent and an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft, delivered and deployed under fluoroscopic guidance. Follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months and annually thereafter was performed with computed tomography and duplex ultrasound scan.

RESULTS
Spiral computed tomography and aortography revealed an irregular flow-limiting defect, occupying up to 75% of the aortic circumference, in every case. The mean aneurysm size, aortic neck diameter, and neck length before the procedure were 6.1, 2.43, and 1.4 cm, respectively; the mean aortic neck diameter after the procedure was 2.61 cm. No primary endoleaks were observed after graft insertion, and no delayed endoleaks have been detected during follow-up, which ranged from 7 to 48 months (mean, 23 months). In one patient, an asymptomatic renal artery embolus was detected on immediate follow-up computed tomography, and in another patient, an asymptomatic posterior tibial embolus occurred.

CONCLUSION
No primary endoleaks, endograft migration, or significant distal embolization were observed after endografting in patients with aortic neck thrombus. The deployment of the fenestrated portion of the stent, above the thrombus and across the renal arteries, allows for effective renal perfusion, graft fixation, and exclusion of potential mural thrombus from the circulation. The presence of aortic neck thrombus may not necessarily be a contraindication to endovascular repair in select patients.


In this paper, we propose a novel post-filtering algorithm with low computational complexity that improves the visual quality of decoded images using block boundary classification and simple adaptive filter (SAF). At first, each block boundary is classified into smooth or complex sub-region. And for smooth-smooth sub-regions, the existence of blocking artifacts is determined using blocky strength. And simple adaptive filtering is processed in each block boundary area. The proposed method processes adaptively, that is, a nonlinear 1-D 8-tap filter is applied to smooth-smooth sub-regions with blocking artifacts, and for smooth-complex or complex-smooth sub-regions, a nonlinear 1-D variant filter is applied to block boundary pixels so as to reduce the blocking and ringing artifacts. And for complex-complex sub-regions, a nonlinear 1-D 2-tap filter is only applied to adjust two block boundary pixels so as to preserve the image details. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm produced better results than those of conventional algorithms both subjective and objective viewpoints.


The androgen receptor (AR) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that mediates androgen functions by regulating the expression of genes it targets. In the present study, we mapped 2 regions in human transforming growth factor β1 and cyclin-dependent kinase 2 promoters that negatively regulated transcriptional activity in an androgen-dependent manner in close proximity to positive androgen-response elements (pARE). We identified 7 negative androgen-response elements (nARE) in the negative androgen-response region in the TGF-β1 promoter. Each nARE is composed of 15 nucleotides and mediates androgen-dependent inhibition of transcription in close proximity of pAREs. The 5' portions of nAREs are highly conserved and resemble core half sites in pAREs. The nAREs interacted weakly with AR DNA-binding domain (AR DBD) in gel shift assays. Mutations on the conserved nucleotides in the nARE abolished its interaction with the AR DBD and abolished its inhibition of androgen-driven transcription, suggesting that nARE/AR interaction is essential for nARE-mediated inhibition of transcription. Taken together, these findings indicate that the AR negatively regulates the expression of its target genes via a negative androgen-response region composed of multiple nAREs.


For large inertial confinement fusion deuterium‐tritium targets, a way to diagnose α slowing might be via capture reaction γ rays. Calculations are presented for two such methods: one uses the α+T direct capture γ rays, the other is based on a series of resonant α‐capture reactions. For small targets (ρR≤0.02 g/cm2), the total α+T γ‐ray yield relative to the DT neutron yield is temperature independent and proportional to the ρR value. For large targets (ρR≥0.2 g/cm2), this quantity becomes temperature dependent and ρR independent. Some experimental aspects are discussed.


A modified electrode sensor for the detection of thiols is described. The sensor was constructed by incorporation of the coenzyme pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) into a polypyrrole (PPy) film on a glassy carbon electrode substrate by the electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of PQQ. The electrochemical properties of entrapped PQQ in the PPy film were influenced by the applied potential during electropolymerization and by film thickness, both of which were optimized to yield a stable and reproducible response for entrapped PQQ. The PQQ/ PPy sensor was utilized for the amperometric detection of cysteine, homocysteine, penicillamine, N-acetylcysteine, and glutathione. The response for each thiol in pH 8.42 borate buffer was found to be linear with detection limits (S/N = 3) ranging from 13.2 microM for glutathione to 63.7 nM for cysteine with sensitivities of 0.023 nA/microM and 4.71 nA/microM, respectively. The response and detection limits were found to be sensitive to the nature of the thiol and the solution pH. Furthermore, in the presence of dopamine, ascorbic acid, or uric acid, the pH-dependent redox potential of the PQQ catalyst allows tuning of the detection potential to enhance the selectivity for thiols over these potential electroactive interferences.


Post-Triassic ichthyosaurus are characterized by a tailbend, a downward flexure of the vertebral column that forms the internal skeleton of the lower lobe of the caudal fin. The tailbend arises because several of the vertebrae at the apex of the bend have wedge-shaped centra. There has recently been some question whether the swordfish-like ichfhyosaur Eurhinosaurus, from the upper Liassic (Toarcian), had a tailbend. However, computed tomography of the tail region of an unprepared specimen from the Holzmaden area of Germany confirms a tailbend. This is angled at about 40° to the horizontal, which is less steeply downturned than early restorations depicted, but fairly steep compared with other upper Liassic species. Five markedly wedge-shaped centra, contribute to the tailbend, with lesser degrees of wedging in two others.


Background Better newspaper coverage of mental health-related issues is a target for the Time to Change (TTC) anti-stigma programme in England, whose population impact may be influenced by how far concurrent media coverage perpetuates stigma and discrimination. Aims To compare English newspaper coverage of mental health-related topics each year of the TTC social marketing campaign (2009-2011) with baseline coverage in 2008. Method Content analysis was performed on articles in 27 local and national newspapers on two randomly chosen days each month. Results There was a significant increase in the proportion of anti-stigmatising articles between 2008 and 2011. There was no concomitant proportional decrease in stigmatising articles, and the contribution of mixed or neutral elements decreased. Conclusions These findings provide promising results on improvements in press reporting of mental illness during the TTC programme in 2009-2011, and a basis for guidance to newspaper journalists and editors on reporting mental illness.


Approximately 80% to 90% of the total stone extracted by the ornamental stone industry in the Marble Zone (Alentejo, South Portugal) is wasted and discarded in the numerous quarry waste rock piles across the region. This enormous amount of marble waste, representing millions of tons of stone each year, mostly with an expected high chemical composition of calcium carbonate, has significant potential with regards to reprocessing and use in other industries. This study evaluates the potential viability of these marble waste piles for reprocessing. The methodological approach, designed in two phases, firstly selected potential sites and, secondly implemented a sampling plan to allow for the laboratory analyses. In the first phase, a total of 178 waste rock piles were identified, corresponding to an estimated 70mn tons of marble raw material. In the second phase, 30 selected piles were sampled and chemically analysed by calcimetry, XRF and flame emission spectrometry. The results show that 7 of the sampled piles present CaCO3 content above 97%, and another 14 show contents between 95% - 97%. This indicates that the waste could be reprocessed to produce lime and/or cement (clay materials are found in the surrounding schist outcrops in the region). There is also the potential for aggregate production for civil engineering works.
Keywords: marble, waste reprocessing, lime production


Cross-lingual learning has become a popular approach to facilitate the development of resources and tools for low density languages. Its underlying idea is to make use of existing tools and annotations in resource-rich languages to create similar tools and resources for resource-poor languages. Typically, this is achieved by either projecting annotations across parallel corpora, or by transferring models from one or more source languages to a target language. In this paper, we explore a third strategy by using machine translation to create synthetic training data from the original source-side annotations. Specifically, we apply this technique to dependency parsing, using a cross-lingually unified treebank for adequate evaluation. Our approach draws on annotation projection but avoids the use of noisy source-side annotation of an unrelated parallel corpus and instead relies on manual treebank annotation in combination with statistical machine translation, which makes it possible to train fully lexicalized parsers. We show that this approach significantly outperforms delexicalized transfer parsing.% despite the error-prone translation step.


The costs and benefits of liver transplantation in adult patients at the University of Pittsburgh were reviewed for the period from 1981 through 1984. Indirect costs such as those to support the surgical and hepatology programs, the operating rooms and the clinical pathology department were ignored, and only those costs generated by the liver transplant program were considered in this analysis. Benefits to the patients are survival itself. Over 8.5% of those who leave the hospital return to full‐time employment or other useful activity, including normal, albeit complicated, pregnancies. Most deaths occur during the first 3 months, after which there is a slow decline during the first year. Costs to the patient and/or the third party payers are enormous, and include evaluation as a transplant candidate, procurement of the donor liver, the transplantation itself and lifelong medical‐surgical follow‐up and immunosuppression plus the management of the undesirable consequences of the whole procedure. Laboratory tests alone average over $52,000 per patient. The consumption of blood and blood products is great and averages 30 units per patient. Duration of hospital admissions averaged about 55 days per patient, of which about 10 were in intensive care units. Total dollar costs were not calculated, however. The benefits to medicine are considerable in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills applicable to other disorders and other patients. The authors conclude that with further experience, the costs will decrease and the benefits will increase.


The Canadian government is scrambling to respond to a glut of license applications for cannabis research prompted by the drug9s legalization in the country in October 2018. The queue of applicants—there were 251 in line as of late July—and the attendant monthslong waiting times are frustrating scientists interested in the basic biology and therapeutic possibilities of cannabis. The delays are also prompting criticism of Health Canada, the Ottawa-based agency charged with issuing the permits. Health Canada says it is committed to the research and is trying to speed the process in a number of ways, including boosting the ranks of those reviewing applications.


UNLABELLED
A non-controlled, prognostic cohort study was performed with the aim of establishing markers of neurological development and defining a clinical and epidemiological profile of preterm newborns at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months of gestation-corrected age in terms of primitive reflexes evolution.

RESULTS
At 3 months old of corrected age, all primitive reflexes were present. At 6 months old, all children showed plantar grasp and 2.7% still showed Moro and palmar grasp. Plantar grasp was the unique primitive reflex found at 9 and 12 months of corrected age.

CONCLUSION
It was possible to evaluate the occurence, as well as the disappearing of primitive reflexes in preterm newborns. The results show delay in the disappearing of primitive reflexes even with the use of corrected age.


Background:  Morbidity is an ever present phenomenon among human population. Changing degree of life style sophistication has brought about inevitable changes in morbidity pattern. This has called for vigilance on the part of health care providers so as to be abreast of early changes in morbidity pattern among the practice population. Method:  This is an opportunity survey that was carried out during a free health mission in a non-urban setting. It was designed to throw light into the stage of the affected community along a morbidity transition. A total of 198 subjects came to asses care and necessary information were obtained using a proforma. Analysis was done using SPSS version17. Result:  The mean age of the subjects was 64.33± 18.7 yrs. There were 19.7% males and 80.3% females. The most common diagnosis were in cardiovascular component (28.3%) followed by the general component (23.2%). There was a significant relationship between age of subjects and blood pressure (chi square 36.143, P=0.007). About fourteen per cent (14.6%) of the subjects had normal blood pressure. The largest group was in the first stage hypertension range (37.4%) while 24.2% and 23.7% had first stage and pre-hypertension respectively. Conclusion/recommendation:  Finding from this survey has shown that morbidity among rural community is going beyond mere communicable diseases.  It is recommended that health care providers in such settings should be competent in the management of noncommunicable as well as chronic diseases. The importance of healthy life style should also be part of patient counseling. Keywords: morbidity pattern, opportunity survey, non-urban dwellers


Practical techniques for the determination of image spectra have been developed and become popular in the past few years. Both optical processing systems and digital computers can be used to perform linear filtering via the frequency domain. Optical processing systems use Fourier-transforming lenses and coherent light. Digital computer software uses the Cooley-Tukey algorithm to advantage, while computer hardware must be augmented by optical scanning devices that interface with images. Processing errors arise in both types of systems, but for different reasons. In this paper we present some results concerning errors in the spatial frequency domain.


Learning effective segment depictions and resemblance measures are fundamental to the recuperation execution of a substance based picture recuperation (CBIR) structure. Regardless of wide research tries for a significant long time, it stays one of the most testing open gives that broadly impedes the achievements of real-world CBIR structures. The key test has been credited to the extraordinary "semantic hole" subject that happens between low-level photo pixels got by technologies and raised close semantic thoughts saw by a human. Among various techniques, AI has been successfully analyzed as a possible course to interface the semantic gap in the whole deal. Impelled by late triumphs of significant learning techniques for PC vision and various applications, in this paper, we try to address an open issue: if significant learning is a longing for spreading over the semantic gap in CBIR and how much updates in CBIR endeavors can be cultivated by exploring the front line significant learning methodology for learning feature depictions and likeness measures. Specifically, we explore a structure of significant learning with application to CBIR assignments with a wide game plan of definite examinations by investigating front line significant learning methodologies for CBIR endeavors under moved settings. From our exploratory examinations, we find some encouraging results and compress some huge bits of information for upcoming research.


We have identified previously a repressor element in the transcription start site region of the cyclin E1 promoter that periodically associates with an atypical, high molecular weight E2F complex, termed CERC. Purification of native CERC reveals the presence of the type II arginine methyltransferase PRMT5, which can mono‐ or symetrically dimethylate arginine residues in proteins. Chromatin immunoprecipitations (ChIPs) show that PRMT5 is associated specifically with the transcription start site region of the cyclin E1 promoter. ChIP analyses also show that this correlates with the presence on the same promoter region of arginine‐methylated proteins including histone H4, an in vitro substrate of PRMT5. Consistent with its presence within the repressor complex, forced expression of PRMT5 negatively affects cyclin E1 promoter activity and cellular proliferation, effects that require its methyltransferase activity. These data provide the first direct experimental evidence that a type II arginine methylase is involved in the control of transcription and proliferation.


A Japanese government initiative, "Global 30 Project for Establishing Core Universities for Internationalization," aims to recruit 300,000 additional students from outside Japan by 2020 to study in English, and to send more Japanese students overseas, mainly to English-speaking areas. These and other developments are a response to decreasing numbers of Japanese students studying abroad, and demographic shifts domestically. Gradol (2007), presenting a comprehensive survey of global trends involving English Language education (ELE), outlines a strong economic correlation with language learning. This economic imperative has influenced some Japanese companies to operate in English─such as Uniqlo and Rakuten─and require higher English proficiency from a number of their workforce. This indicates a change in attitudes to the professional use of English in the workplace, but may not be matched by institutions of government and institutions of higher education in Japan. Yamagami & Tollefson (2011) report that globalization forces can offer opportunities and threats for global non-native speakers of English. A higher educational approach promoting awareness and skills necessary to be competent in global contexts and interactions is key to gaining access to predominantly English academic discourse. Such access can lead to the sharing of common life goals and more specific participatory mechanisms across national boundaries and cultures. The promotion of both global awareness and skills, based on Steiner's three-tiered model of social life development, involves discipline-specific information exchanges and knowledge-sharing, specific genres, highly specialized terminology, and a high level of expertise (Swales, 1990). Content and language integrated communication learning or CLICL, prioritizing academic literacies and discipline-specific content, provides learners with knowledge, skills, and life values enabling them to be mobile in local and global workplaces, including academia. Our paper provides an account of CLICL, which balances academic literacies and discipline-specific knowledge, skills, and values. We outline the practicalities that nurture CLICL, or lead to its rejection.


Sludge is a waste formed during treatment of wastewater. In Malaysia, Indah Water Consortium (IWK) has been responsible for providing sewerage services, operating and maintaining over 5,834 public sewage treatment plants and 15,645 km networks of sewerage pipelines since April 1994. IWK generates 3.2 million cubic meters of domestic sludge yearly and the amount is expected to increase due to the increment of population and urbanization. Due to the unpredicted price of diesel in the world market, the world is searching for alternative, cheap and renewable energy resources that promise no environmental impact like biodiesel, bioethanol and biogas derived from renewable biomass. Sludge digestions produce volatile fatty acid (VFAs) which are essential in the production of biodiesel. Therefore, optimization of the anaerobic sludge digestion is needed to fulfil the demand. The objective of this study is to optimize the anaerobic sludge digestion for the production of volatile fatty acids. The digestion of sludge was carried out using an anaerobic sludge digester. The production of the volatile fatty acids was optimized by varying the cycle period of the digestion process and maintaining the concentration of MLSS to 8000 mg/L for each cycle. The highest production of volatile fatty acids was obtained using five days of cycle period which is 441 mg/L as acetic acid (HOAC).


Power Plant Circulating Water (PPCW) waste heat recycling is an important way of increasing a power plant's primary energy ratio. According to the PPCW waste heat regenerative thermal system, the authors propose two modes of heat pump heat regenerative of the system, ASPEN PLUS,one of the most famous softwares of chemical engineering,was used to stimulatethe process.The measures to save energy of power plant's circulating cooling water waste heat recovery system were obtained by analyzing the influence of technological factors such as the coefficient of performance of heat pump (COP) and the substituted position , which were suitable for practical productions.


Maternal Health Accessibility in Tangerang District Banten, 2006. Indonesia has developed many programs to reduce maternal death, which is beliefs related to access to maternal care, but still only limited pregnant women have access to health facility. This research tried to show which variables that contribute the decision to utilize the maternal health care. Using secondary data from survey "Kinerja Pelayanan Kesehatan berdasarkan Indikator Kabupaten Tangerang Sehat 2010", conducted in 2006, by the Health District Office, Kabupaten Tangerang-Banten.. Maternal health utilization was consisted of complete antenatal care (ANC) examination, and delivery attended by professional birth attendance. In term of the ante natal care (ANC), 97.6% of the respondents had at least one time ANC to the health personnel, and 85.7% to the midwife. Complete ANC and at least 4 times meet medical personnel (K4) was 52.5%. Delivery by professional health attendance was around 80.3%, and 70.7% of the delivery were obtained in the health facility. Maternal health utilization is explained by variables ATP (ability to pay) from economic accessibility, and from the social accessibility by knowledge of ANC, knowledge of risk from the pregnancy, risk of giving birth and the involvement in decision making process to choose service delivery, but there was no physical accessibility could explained the utilization difference. Multilevel analysis proved that there was a random intercept from level I to level II, with MOR=2.13. It means there was a difference in median of OR in the level I to level II. The difference can be explained by the supply factor, which is measured by midwife ratio to 10.000 population, with IOR (0.24 – 4.16). Since the variation of IOR exceeded 1, it means the variation among the sub-district is relatively bigger than the contextual variable (midwife ratio). Still this research could explain that midwives were playing the very important role in maternal health accessibility in district level.


ABSTRACT If populists capture the constitutional court, the system of separation of powers will change. The constitutional court does not act as a counterweight to the ruling majority but rather as a tool for the ruling majority itself to advance its interests. This article unpacks this aspect of populist constitutionalism, which I referred to as the instrumental abuse of constitutional courts. Most importantly, it presents and analyses five different techniques by which populists can abuse the constitutional court as an instrument against opposition. These techniques are the 'governing, do not disturb' technique, consisting in not quashing unconstitutional acts; the legitimation technique, through which populists justify their actions; the delegation technique, through which populists shift responsibility for potentially unpopular actions to the constitutional court; the outright counter-opposition technique, through which populists can achieve the liquidation of their opponents; and the extra-legal technique, involving the use of the authority of judges in the media.


The aim of this paper is to espouse what is known about human development and criminal careers. The study of criminal careers is of increasing interest in criminology. It is now generally recognized that it is important to try to understand criminal behavior across the life-course rather than focusing on fragmented incidents which provide only a partial picture of criminal behavior. This paper clarifies the crucial theoretical and methodological issues surrounding the study of criminal careers. It focuses on some major longitudinal studies discussing the onset, persistence, desistance and the duration of a criminal career. The important issues of prediction, risk and specialization are addressed. Criminal career has important implications, given that significant criminal justice, social and health policies such as crime control, and correctional treatment and management are predicated on achieving the reduction of criminal careers of serious and repeat offenders. The challenging question that points the way forward is: 'when do ex-offenders become like non-offenders?'


The contact between a rigid flat and a coated asperity is studied using the finite element method. The substrate is assumed as the power-law hardening elastic–plastic material. The effect of the hardening exponent of the substrate (n) on the contact behaviors including contact load, area, coating thickness variation and stress in the coating, is investigated. It shows larger hardening exponent results in larger contact loads and larger maximum stresses in the coating at a given interference, and leads to smaller contact area at a specific contact load. The coating thickness becomes smaller monotonically as the interference increases for larger hardening exponents, while it recovers gradually after reaching the minimum value for the smaller n cases. This work will give some universal guidance to improve the contact performance for coatings by adjusting the hardening exponent of the substrate and by optimizing the coatings parameters.


A case of tuberculous trochanteric bursitis in a 40-year old man is reported. The findings of x-rays, echo, bone scanning, CT scan and MRI are shown. After one month of anti-TB therapy the bursa was excised en bloc as well as the lateral part of the trochanter. Then a continuous suction irrigation system was applied for 3 weeks using streptomycin solution. The anti-TB therapy was continued for one year. The patient was asymptomatic with no signs of recurrence 5 years postoperatively.


This paper documents how the interaction between short-term investors and analyst recommendations relates to a speculative component in stock prices that results in temporary overvaluation with predictable, large price reversals. In particular, stocks held by short-term institutions with optimistic analyst recommendations have large past outperformance, followed by large negative future alphas. Our results are robust to using Russell 2000 index reconstitutions to capture exogenous changes in institutional ownership, short-term trading and analyst coverage, and are stronger among stocks that are harder to short, consistent with limited arbitrage.


The relative height of the seafloor can be estimated by using two vertically displaced receivers. In this paper, we propose techniques to improve the accuracy of the estimated height. Our results are based on the use of synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imaging, which implies coherent addition of complex images acquired from a moving platform. The SAS processing improves the along-track (or azimuth) resolution, as well as the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), which in turn improves the estimated height accuracy. We show that the shift of the effective center frequency induced by coherent, frequency-dependent scattering affect the time-delay estimates from complex cross correlations, and we propose a correction technique for broadband signals with uneven magnitude spectra. To reduce the effect of geometrical decorrelation and increase the coherence between the images, we beamform the sonar images onto an a priori estimate of the seafloor height before correlating. We develop a mathematical model for the imaging geometry. Finally, we demonstrate our proposed estimators by providing relative seafloor height estimates from real aperture and SAS images, obtained during the InSAS-2000 experiment at Elba Island in Italy. In particular, we demonstrate that the SAS image quality is significantly improved by inclusion of the height estimates as a priori information.


Aim: To determine the endometrial Biopsy In Primary Infertility Patients Methods: A prospective study was conducted in the Department of obstetrics and gynaecology, VIMS, Pawapuri, Nalanda, Bihar, India, India for 1 year. A total of 100 endometrial samples of patients having primary infertility were taken for histopathological evaluation. The endometrial samples were consisted of 95 endometrial biopsy and 5 curettage material. This was grossly greyish white to greyish brown in color. Material was immediately placed in fixative fallowed by routinely processed and paraffin section of 5 -6 micron, using hematoxylin and eosin were prepared and studied microscopically. Results: Out of 100 patients, out of which 33 samples (33%) showed proliferative phase, suggestive of an ovulatory cycle where sparse narrow and straight endometrial glands lined by low coloumnar cells embedded in loose stroma of spindle shaped cells in 22 section, while in 3 sections, endometrial glands were more elongated and lined by tall columnar cells, with stromal edema. Remaining 8 sections showed tortuous endometrial glands lined by pseudo stratified epithelium with compact stroma and slightly enlarged stromal cells. Irregular proliferative endometrium was seen in 9 sections (9%) where irregularly shaped enlarged glands interspersed among normal proliferative glands resulting in dyssynchronous development of endometrium. Simple hyperplasia was seen in 5 (5%) cases where section shows cystically dilated proliferating glands of varying size, lined by tall coloumnar cells with many clear cells, while stroma was dense and compact with stromal cells having scant cytoplasm. Conclusion: In infertility, histomorphological study of endometrium not only shows the hormonal response of endometrium but also gives additional information about the local factors of endometrium concerning atrophy, hyperplasia, specific or nonspecific infections and malignancy.


ABSTRACT The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA) seeks to make the environment and public whole for injury to or loss of natural resources and services as a result of a discharge of oil. This means that restoration projects implemented as part of a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) must be of a sufficient scale to produce resources and services of the same type and quality and of comparable value to those that were lost. Services, for an NRDA, include both the ecological and human uses of the resources. Also, the loss must be quantified from the time of impact until the resource returns to baseline conditions—the level in the absence of the impact. This paper details a series of methods that may be used for scaling NRDA restoration projects and describes how these methods were used in the restoring the injuries incurred as a result of the North Cape oil spill.


ABSTRACT Background: Providing direct care for an individual with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementias (ADRD) is a source of chronic stress for caregivers. Spirituality and religion are important to Alaska Native (AN) identity and this study explored the role of spiritual practices as a coping mechanism for dementia caregivers. Purpose: The aim of the study was to (1) identify stressors experienced by AN people caring for someone with dementia and (2) describe the role of spirituality in coping with those stressors. Methods: This exploratory study conducted interviews with 21 AN caregivers of those with dementia. We employed thematic analysis to interview transcripts to examine relationships among the narratives and explore themes that populated the participants' understandings of ADRD in each of the domains of Kleinman's Explanatory Model of Illness. Results: AN caregivers reported chronic stress related to caregiving, and subthemes included poor health, lack of support, and lack of education on dementia. Caregivers reported using spiritual practices to cope with stress. Conclusion: The use of spiritual practices is identified as a primary resource during challenging caregiving experiences. Community organizations and health care providers should incorporate spiritual practices as part of the support they provide to AN dementia caregivers.


This essay explores the idea that it is possible for a patient to feel ill at ease with a health care professional, even though there is no active ill will on the part of the professional. Noting that the relationship between the patient and the health care professional, especially in the case of the physician, is an asymmetrical one, I suggest that it is incumbent upon professionals to take extra steps to insure that the patient feels at ease in the staff-patient encounter, notwithstanding the good will that health professionals may be assumed to have toward patients generally.


Four newly synthesized octoploid triticales were crossed with three durum wheats reciprocally to study the crossability and endosperm development. Crossability was expressed as % seed-set and data on endosperm development were recorded at different days after pollination (DAP). Overall crossability was relatively higher when durum wheat was used as the maternal parent. Development of endosperm was normal in octoploid triticale x durum wheat crosses. However, in reciprocals endosperm degenerated between 16–19 DAP. Pronounced disturbance in embryo: endosperm chromosome ratio and the tetraploid cytoplasmic background of hybrids seem to be the probable causes of the degeneration of endosperm in durum wheat x octoploid triticale hybrids.


Six iSPHERE oil spill and current tracking buoys were deployed over the continental shelf of northern Norway (Nordkapp region) during spring-summer 2011. These drifters provide real-time GPS position location information to aid in locating marine oil spills and other leeward drifting objects. In this study we assess the differences between the spreading of the surface drifters and the trajectories forecast by the operational Lagrangian oil drift model at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (met.no). The study investigates the reason for these differences, and we use a recently established new skill score as a measure of the model accuracy. The differences observed in this study are the consequence of the combined impact of the modeled wind, ocean and current constituents that force the oil drift model. Each numerical model is run on a grid of 4 km resolution, which means that many mesoscale features are either not represented well enough, or not represented at all. A problem with the ocean model, since eddies in the ocean are typically of a much smaller scale than in the atmosphere (40-50 km), and there are few observations to assimilate into the model. Studies such as this, comparing modeled trajectories with observed drifter trajectories are an important way to indirectly validate and improve ocean models, as well as improving the trajectory model itself.


Acute liver failure is a rare syndrome and is primarily caused by paracetamol toxicity in developed nations. Survival for patients with acute liver failure has steadily improved over the last few decades from approximately 20% to greater than 60%. This marked improvement in survival has been due to a combination of improvements in medical practice and the use of emergency liver transplantation in selected patients. Early recognition and timely initial management in the non-specialist centre can significantly improve outcomes. Patients should be simultaneously discussed with a transplant centre and referred to critical care. Close liaison with transplant centres to ensure timely transfer in deteriorating patients is important.


The status and problems of the roma (gipsy) population have been in the forefront in Hungary and have called for numerous benevolent interventions. Successful planning and implementation of programs aimed at the improvement of their health status must be based on solid facts regarding their problems and the causes behind. The authors give a literature review on research papers discussing the health (disease) status of the Hungarian roma population published between 1980 and 2001. They give a summary on the demography of gypsies, an overview of publications on pregnancy, delivery and infant mortality, on adult morbidity and mortality, on genetic investigations among roma people, as well as on their health behaviour and relations with the health care system, and finally, they give a brief overview of their socio-economic status. The authors sum up the major difficulties of research aimed at roma people, express their concern regarding health research papers published on gypsies; and outline their recommendation on the future direction of research on the health of the roma population.


Objective: To determine effective treatment strategies against bacterial infections of burn wounds with Pseudomonas aeruginosa, we tested different treatment regimens with antibacterial blue light (BL). Background: Infections of burn wounds are serious complications and require effective and pathogen-specific therapy. Hereby, infections caused by P. aeruginosa pose a particular challenge in clinical practice due to its resistance to many antibiotics and topical antiseptics. Methods: LED-based light sources (450-460 nm) with different intensities and treatment times were used. Antibacterial effects against P. aeruginosa were determined by colony-forming unit (CFU) assays, human skin wound models, and fluorescence imaging. Results: In suspension assays, BL (2 h, 40 mW/cm2, 288 J/cm2) reduced bacterial number (>5 log10 CFU/mL). Applying 144 J/cm2, using 40 mW/cm2 for 1 h was more effective (>4 log10 CFU) than using 20 mW/cm2 for 2 h (>1.5 log10 CFU). BL with low irradiance (24 h, 3.5 mW/cm2, 300 J/cm2) only revealed bacterial reduction in thin bacteria-containing medium layers. In infected in vitro skin wounds only BL irradiation (2 h, 40 mW/cm2, 288 J/cm2) exerted a significant antimicrobial efficacy (2.94 log10 CFU/mL). Conclusions: BL treatment may be an effective therapy for P. aeruginosa-infected wounds to avoid radical surgical debridement. However, a significant antibacterial efficacy can only be achieved with higher irradiances and longer treatment times (min. 40 mW/cm2; >1 h), which cannot be easily integrated into regular clinical treatment protocols, for example, during a dressing change. Further studies are necessary to establish BL therapy for infected burns among tissue compatibility and interactions with previous therapeutic agents.


We report on a case of Asperger syndrome (KH), who has considerable linguistic ability with a verbal IQ of 153. Strikingly, he readily and correctly identifies the use of sarcasm, showing mastery of the meta-representation and dissociation characteristic of 'interpretive use'. Current theories of the syndrome largely agree on the constellation of properties which define it, but disagree on whether the basic cause resides in a deficit in Theory of Mind or in a social and emotional deficit. We suggest an account in a 'quasi-modular' version of the modularity hypothesis, as developed by Smith and Tsimpli. We specify a range of quasi-modules (including Theory of Mind and Social Interaction, itself divided into Social Cognition and Social Affect); we outline the structure of the Emotional component, including basic and derived emotions; and we then spell out some of their inter-connections and their relation to the Language Faculty. Our tentative conclusion is that all these components may dissociate, and that high intelligence, combined with linguistic ability, may mask a deficit in Theory of Mind, though not in Social Affect.


Shale gas resources are considered to be extremely abundant in southern China, which has dedicated considerable attention to shale gas exploration in recent years. Exploration of shale gas has considerably progressed and several breakthroughs have been made in China. However, shale gas explorations are still scarce. Summary and detailed analysis studies on black shale reservoirs are still to be performed for many areas. This lack of information slows the progress of shale gas explorations and results in low quantities of stored black shale. The Carboniferous Dawuba Formation, which is widely distributed and considerably thick, is one of the black shale formations targeted for shale gas exploration in southern China in the recent years. The acquisition and analysis of total organic carbon, vitrinite reflectance, types of organic matter, mineral composition, porosity, and permeability are basic but important processes. In addition, we analyzed the microscopic pores present in the shale. This study also showesd the good gas content of the Dawuba Formation, as well as the geological factors affecting its gas content and other characteristics. To understand the prospect of exploration, we compared this with other shale reservoirs which have been already successfully explored for gas. Our comparison showesd that those shale reservoirs have similar but not identical geological characteristics.


In the early 70s a small group of people started the computer music activity in Chile. Among these group of professionals and students, there is a remarkable figure: Jose Vicente Asuar, composer and engineer, pioneer of electroacoustic music in Latin America. This beginning is well documented, although its position within the corresponding historical framework has not an adecuate correlation and there is no a proper theoretical connection with the related works in the next decades, either at Chile and the region or within a global context as well. This paper intends to give a brief review, and as comprehensive as possible, of the historical events involved within this starting point of computer music in Chile. Among these events there are the first explorations in computer assited composition by means of algorithmic procedures, the use of a computer to control analog synthesizers and theoretical texts on these explorations. This little history, small because has few protagonists and occurs in few years, has a leading character in the figure of Asuar, whose relevant technical work, music and thinking is examinated in order to trace paths and prospect links in the future generations. Virtually all the mentioned activities were generated by Asuar, whom carried out difussion through the realease of two LP's. Important is the vanguardistic interdisciplinary work that leads to these works of engineering and art, activity accomplished within the Universidad de Chile. Nevertheless, there is one more achievement by Asuar, maybe the most significant: the creation of an original computer for only one purpose, that is the creation and performing of music. This computer, the COMDASUAR (Asuar Digital-Analogic Computer) created in the late 70s, had several interesting features as being unique at its moment and combine digital and analogic technology in one equipment. This article shows the general structure of this machine, its synthesis engine and its tools for assisted composition as well, highlighting the combination of a quartz digital oscillator and filtering analogic devices, capability for programming western tempered music, microtonal music or other types, serial techniques and aleatoric procedures named by the author as ``heuristic''. At the same time, this text addresses significant milestones of the history of informatics in Chile, specially focusing from 1961 to the 80s, period that is the conceptual and technical soil where computer music establishes their foundations. This period marks the arrive of the first digital computer to Chile in 1961 and the social and political evolution of the country through the use of computers within the socialist project of Salvador Allende at early 70s and the neoliberal economic system implanted by the militar dictatorship from 1973 onwards. The use of informatics in different areas such economics, scientific research or in one hand the violation of human rights and in the other hand the the protection of these rights, are the constitutive elements that gives the conceptual framework for the artistic works with computers in Chile. So, this amalgam will cause, at first, a specificity that confine this knowledge in specialized centers within the academic, state and industrial scopes. The lack of others researchers in this confluence area between art and technology, will cause a gap very notorious if we compare the development on this field in a country like Chile and the main centers of technological and industrial progress located in Europe and North America. After the entry of the first digital machines at the 60s, the consolidation until the 80s, passing through the socialist experience of the network project by Stafford Beer during the Salvador Allende's goverment in the early 70s, it will come the expansion of computing during the growth of the neoliberal economic system by the middle of the 80s. Through this evolution, the achievements by Asuar were forgotten and only viewed with atention abroad within the international electroacoustic community. Moreover, based in Barcelona, the prominent chilean electroacoustic composer Gabriel Brncic put his own algorithm in a colaborative work which reached an state of consolidation with his software ``Ronde-Bosse'' for assited compostion at the early 2000s. Besides this experience, only with the arising of the personal computer alongside the new impulse and the opening of electroacoustic music to new generations due to this technological massification phenomena, a group of researchers, artists and composers will trace a genealogical path between the contemporary chilean computer music and the pioneering realizations by Asuar and conections with Brncic's artistic, technical and pedagogic work. Finally this paper covers the essential ideas within the ``Ronde-Bosse'' and the theoretical corpus on the use of technology in music by Brncic. At the same time, this article completes the panorama of computer music in Chile making a review of the actual state of the art of the Chilean composers that use computers in music, either for acousmatic, mixed or instrumental creations.