We settle a long-standing controversy about the exactness of the fractal Einstein and Alexander-Orbach laws by showing that the properties of a class of fractal trees violate both laws. A new formula is derived which unifies the two classical results by showing that if one holds, then so must the other, and resolves a puzzling discrepancy in the properties of Eden trees and diffusion-limited aggregates. We also conjecture that the result holds for networks which have no fractal dimension. The failure of the classical laws is attributed to anisotropic exploration of the network by a random walker. The occurrence of this newly revealed behavior means that the conventional laws must be checked if they, or numerous results which depend on them, are to be applied accurately.


The established amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) protocol was simplified and optimized for honey bee DNA (Apis mellifera L.). Compared to the original method, the following simplifications were made: (i) the digestion of DNA and ligation of the adapters are performed in one reaction vs. two, (ii) one restriction enzyme is used vs. two and (iii) amplification is accomplished in one reaction vs. two. PCR products are resolved in agarose-Synergel instead of polyacrylamide and are visualized by ethidium bromide staining rather than by autoradiography of labeled primers. Using the modified procedure for honey bee DNA, high reproducibility of the band patterns of PCR products and low sensitivity to the amplification conditions were seen. Analysis of honey bee DNA revealed considerable genetic variability within and between African and European bee samples. African- and European-specific fragments were found.


The paper is concerned with the reduction of a class of stochastic optimal control problems to simpler problems by using decomposition and aggregation. Decomposition is shown to provide a good approximation when the system dynamics involve nearly decomposable matrices or variables with strong and weak interactions. Aggregation provides a good approximation if each decomposed matrix has one or more dominant eigenvalues. It is shown how one can construct nearly optimal controls for the given system from the optimal solutions of the simpler reduced problems. The results extend the corresponding results obtained (Sethi and Zhang, Journal of optimization theory and applications 1998; 99:1–22) in a deterministic environment. The results hold a significant promise in dealing with large dynamic stochastic macroeconomic problems. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The cornea is a remarkable connective tissue that is transparent to visible light as a consequence of the regularly arranged, uniformly-sized collagen fibrils that constitute it. Evidence suggests that this intricate collagen fibril architecture is maintained by the presence of keratan sulphate-carrying proteoglycans (KSPGs) within the corneal stroma. The KSPGs, lumican, keratocan, and mimecan are believed to be involved in the regulation of collagen fibril diameter and fibril spacing. KSPGs have recently been investigated using transgenic technology, which allows the manipulation of gene expression in order to determine the significance of a gene product in a biological system. Thus, to ascertain the role of KSPGs in this thesis transgenic mice were used. Two methodologies were employed to investigate the structural organisation of collagen within normal and mutant mouse corneas small angle X-ray diffraction (XRD) provided quantitative information on collagen fibril spacing, collagen fibril diameter and degree of local order in the fibrillar array averaged throughout the tissue, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) afforded a view of collagen fibril morphology within the tissue. Previous research has shown that a homozygous-null mutation for lumican affects corneal collagen fibril architecture. But no information exists about whether these structural changes develop in adulthood or start early in life. Thus, the role of lumican during neonatal corneal stromal development between days 8 and 14 was explored. Collagen fibril spacing is considerably higher in lumican-null corneas until day 14, and fibril diameter is, on average, smaller-than-normal. TEM provided evidence of stromal disorder in mutants and fibril fusion at day 14, indicating that lumican plays a key role in development of the neonate cornea. Next, the effect of a cysteine-serine substitution in the N-terminal region of lumican was investigated to determine the importance of this region in lumican-collagen interaction. Mutant collagen fibrils are appreciably larger in diameter, signifying failure of lumican to bind collagen and regulate fibril growth. This chapter also investigated the consequences of lumican over-expression, to reveal that excess lumican has no significant effect on mutant corneal stromal ultrastructure. The role of mimecan in the corneal ECM via ablation of gene expression was explored. The extent of ultrastructural alteration was minimal with mutants having collagen fibril spacing and fibril diameter that were essentially unchanged. This work indicated that mimecan plays a minor role in the maintenance of matrix structure in the cornea. Finally, to better understand what structural motifs contribute to KSPG effectivity, the significance of a carbohydrate sulphotransferase gene, ChstS, in the mouse corneal stroma was investigated. The ablation of ChstS, responsible for the production of a carbohydrate sulphotransferase enzyme, revealed that smaller fibril spacing and fibril diameters, and stromal disorganisation are the result. KSPGs are structurally and functionally distinctive. Mimecan appears to have little influence over matrix morphogenesis, and it is possible that absence of mimecan is compensated for by the upregulation of other PGs. In contrast, lumican is an important component of the ECM the structure of lumican bestows this molecule the ability to regulate matrix morphogenesis, as exemplified by absence of lumican and also N-terminal mutation of the core protein. Indeed, the sulphated form of KS is required within cornea, as the absence of a carbohydrate sulphotransferase gene renders the corneal stroma structurally altered.


In this mini-review, we provide an overview of those PTPs (protein tyrosine phosphatases) that are relevant to the immune response, highlighting the function of a number of intracellular and transmembrane PTPs that have been identified as having important negative regulatory roles on distinct aspects of host immunity.


There is increasing interest in developing portable technologies to detect human health threats through hybrid materials that integrate specific bioreceptors. This work proposes an electrochemical approach for detecting 3-Phenoxybenzaldehyde (3-PBD), a biomarker for monitoring human exposure to pyrethroid pesticides. The biosensor uses laccase enzymes as an alternative recognition element by direct oxidation of 3-PBD catalysts by the enzyme onto thin-film gold electrodes. The thin-film gold electrode modified by the immobilized laccase was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry and scanning electron microscopy. The detection method's electrochemical parameters were established, obtaining a linear range of 5 t 50 μM, the limit of detection, and quantification of 0.061 and 2.02 μM, respectively. The proposed biosensor's analytical performance meets the concentration of pyrethroids detected in natural environments, reflecting its potential as an alternative analytical tool for monitoring the pyrethroid insecticide's presence.


The development and application of process-based diagnostics is fundamental in improving
our understanding of the simulation of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
behaviours by coupled general circulation models (CGCMs). Several theoretical frameworks
have potential utility as diagnostics; however, their accuracy in describing the dynamics
governing ENSO evolution has not yet been systematically evaluated. This thesis
presents a comprehensive analysis of a number of theoretical frameworks - the unified
oscillator, Bjerknes stability index, and heat budget equation - to assess their representation
of ENSO dynamics and capacity to diagnose ENSO behaviours in CGCMs.
The unified oscillator description of ENSO was first investigated for its accuracy in replicating
the ENSO cycle simulated by flux-forced output from the Australian Community
Climate and Earth System Simulator ocean model (ACCESS-OM). The unified oscillator
equations for anomalous sea surface temperature, thermocline depth, and zonal
wind stress tendencies were unable to capture the structure, amplitude, and period of
the corresponding tendencies in ACCESS-OM. Furthermore, the unified oscillator was
considerably less effective than the simple delayed oscillator model in replicating the
simulated ENSO cycle. It was concluded that the overly simplified formulation of the
unified oscillator limits its power as a diagnostic of ENSO behaviours.
This thesis also evaluated the effectiveness of the Bjerknes stability index in representing
ENSO ocean feedbacks. Output from ACCESS-OM was used to calculate the Bjerknes
stability index feedbacks, which were compared with the corresponding heat budget
equation feedbacks. Due to the assumption of linearity in its derivation and an oversimplification of the relationship between ENSO variables, the Bjerknes stability index
feedbacks correlated poorly with the original heat budget feedbacks. Therefore, the
Bjerknes stability index could not necessarily be relied upon to accurately quantify
ENSO dynamics. It follows that in its current form, and compared with the heat budget
equation, the Bjerknes stability index has limited utility as a diagnostic tool, particularly in the context of intercomparisons between models that are inherently nonlinear.
Finally, the heat budget equation was employed to diagnose the realism of El Nino
evolution simulated by an ACCESS coupled model (ACCESS-CM1.3). The heat budget
equation for the tropical Pacific was calculated in ACCESS-CM1.3 and the ocean
feedbacks benchmarked against the corresponding terms calculated in ACCESS-OM.
Instead of simulating the central Pacific El Nino type, the ACCESS-CM1.3 captured
a double peaked event with warming centres evolving concurrently in the eastern and
western Pacific. The separation between the two peaks arose due to a westward bias
in the dynamic warm pool edge. Coupling biases in ACCESS-CM1.3 also modified the
magnitude, location, and timing of the heat budget dynamics during El Nino evolution
relative to ACCESS-OM. Finally, some double peaked events in ACCESS-CM1.3 were
erroneously categorised as central Pacific El Ninos by standard SST metrics.
This thesis highlights the importance of considering multiple diagnostics, including those
that inherently account for spatial and temporal variability such as the tropical Pacific
heat budget equation, when evaluating ENSO behaviours in CGCMs.


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Several methods of describing patterns of carpal kinematics from radiographs have emerged due to their potential use in developing personalized treatments for wrist pathologies. Such radiography-derived metrics have been used to infer associations between patterns of scaphoid kinematics and other clinically relevant factors such as sex, but the simultaneous effects of sex and wrist position on scaphoid kinematic metrics has yet to be considered. We sought to investigate the relationship between wrist position in the coronal plane and radiographic measurements of the scaphoid for each sex independently, then identify sex-specific differences in scaphoid measurements and calculated metrics. We retrospectively identified 38 subjects with posteroanterior radial and ulnar deviation radiographs. Radiographic scaphoid measurements were collected and used to calculate five scaphoid kinematic metrics per participant. We used Pearson correlation coefficients to explore the relationships between the degrees of wrist deviation in the coronal plane and radiographic scaphoid measurements for men and women independently. We used the non-parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank test to compare values between sexes. The correlations between degrees of coronal wrist deviation and radiographic measurements of scaphoid inclination were significant only for men. Men also had significantly greater values for all radiographic scaphoid measurements. Our study demonstrated sex-specific differences in the relationship between the degrees of radial and ulnar wrist deviation and scaphoid positioning. Clinical Relevance Our findings show the importance of stratifying by sex in studies of carpal kinematics, such as scaphoid kinematics, and that investigation of strategies to restore normal carpal function should incorporate sex as a biological variable.


This article is devoted to the actual issue of the formation of lingvocultural tolerance of Chinese students as an integral part of the entire complex training tasks. The article deals with the peculiarities of the Chinese mentality and possibility of comprehensive development of the communicative competence and tolerance with the help of the manual "Famous people of Russia. XXI Century", using Internet resources.


The purpose of this paper is to put forward concisely some of the most valuable scientific contributions of academician Pavel Vlad and his disciples to the field of natural product chemistry of terpenoids. Under the guidance and with direct contribution of academician Pavel Vlad, new approaches to determining the absolute configuration of a series of labdanic diterpenoids and of converting them into bi-, tri- and tetra- cyclic compounds have been designed. Novel universal methods for synthesizing tetrahydrofurans from 1,4-glycols, olefins from tertiary alcoholic acetates, as well as dienones by means of photodehydrogenation of unsaturated cyclic ketons have been developed by academician Pavel Vlad.


The cardiopulmonary and clinical effects of the infusion of pentobarbital sodium in combination with fentanyl for long- term anaesthesia in 9 pigs were investigated. Pigs were premedicated with i.m. atropine at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg and azaperon at a dose of 2 mg/kg. General anaesthesia was induced with i.v. thiopental sodium at a dose of 3.3 mg/kg. After induction of anaesthesia, the pigs were intubated and supplied with oxygen during anaesthesia. Anaesthesia was maintained with an i.v. infusion of pentobarbital-sodium at a dose of 45 mg/kg/h and fentanyl at a dose of 0.026 mg/kg/h. Arterial blood pressure, blood gas analyses, arterial haemoglobin saturation (SpO2), end-tidal CO2 concentration (ETCO2), rectal temperature and heart rate were monitored 20, 40, 65, 90, 115, 140, 165, 190 and 215 min after induction. ETCO2, SpO2, pH and blood gas values did not change significantly over time. Temporal changes in arterial blood pressure and heart rate were detected; however, significant differences in heart rates and systolic arterial pressure were not detected. Diastolic arterial pressure increased significantly with time. Rectal temperature was significantly below the baseline value after 65, 90 and 115 min, and then increased significantly 190 and 215 min after anaesthetic administration. It was concluded that infusion of a combination of pentobarbital and fentanyl was suitable for prolonged anaesthesia in pigs.


Abstract Land–atmosphere interaction at climatological time scales in a large area that includes the West African Sahel has been explicitly explored in a regional climate model (RegCM) simulation using a range of diagnostics. First, areas and seasons of strong land–atmosphere interaction were diagnosed from the requirement of a combined significant correlation between soil moisture, evaporation, and the recycling ratio. The northern edge of the West African monsoon area during June–August (JJA) and an area just north of the equator (Central African Republic) during March–May (MAM) were identified. Further analysis in these regions focused on the seasonal cycle of the lifting condensation level (LCL) and the convective triggering potential (CTP), and the sensitivity of CTP and near-surface dewpoint depressions HIlow to anomalous soil moisture. From these analyses, it is apparent that atmospheric mechanisms impose a strong constraint on the effect of soil moisture on the regional hydrological cycle.


It proposes a new kernel , which is named ALCSL &L S kernel , to measure the similarity between signing dynamic signals. ALCSL &L S kernel measures not only the tendency similarity of the signing dynamic signals through the Adaptive Longest Common Subsequence Length (ALCSL) , but also the Local Similarity (L S) of the important parts of the signing dynamic signals after time warping rectification. It has some advantages , including robust to noise and distortion , full of intuition , and easy realization. ALCSL &L S kernel is introduced into the Support Vector Ma2 chine (SVM) to realize the nonlinear classification of signatures in the input space. The signature verification experi2 ment using this method yields satisfactory results.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the leading causes of cancer related death in Asia and Africa (1). It reflects the high burden of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in these areas. Curative treatments of HCC as radiofrequency ablation and resection are impaired by a high rate of tumor recurrence. However, most of the time, HCC is frequently diagnosed at advanced stages where only palliative treatment as transarterial chemoembolization or sorafenib are recommended (1). Major advances have been performed in the field of molecular classification and identification of driver genes of liver carcinogenesis (2).


[1] Energetic electrons (≥50 keV) are injected into the slot region (2 < L < 4) between the inner and outer radiation belts during the early recovery phase of geomagnetic storms. Enhanced convection from the plasma sheet can account for the storm-time injection at lower energies but does not explain the rapid appearance of higher-energy electrons (≥150 keV). The effectiveness of either radial diffusion (driven by enhanced ULF waves) or local acceleration (during interactions with enhanced whistler mode chorus emissions), as a potential source for refilling the slot at higher energies, is analyzed for observed conditions during the early recovery phase of the 10 October 1990 storm. We demonstrate that local acceleration, driven by observed chorus emissions, can account for the rapid enhancement in 200–700 keV electrons in the outer slot region near L = 3.3. Radial diffusion is much less effective but may partially contribute to the flux enhancement at lower L. Subsequent outward expansion of the plasmapause during the storm recovery phase effectively terminates local wave acceleration in the slot and prevents acceleration to energies higher than ∼700 keV. A statistical analysis of energetic electron flux enhancements and wave and plasma properties over the entire CRRES mission supports the concept of local wave acceleration as a dominant process for refilling the slot during the main and early recovery phase of storms. For moderate storms, the injection process naturally becomes less effective at energies ≥1 MeV, due to the longer wave acceleration times and additional precipitation loss from scattering by electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves. However, during extreme events when the plasmapause remains compressed for several days, conditions may occur to allow wave acceleration to multi-MeV energies at locations normally associated with the slot.


Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is expected to become an important and ubiquitous infrastructure technology of supply chain processes and customer service. The low-cost tag, or so-called passive tag, will be likely the factor for widespread adoption of the technology. It must be noticed that the deployment of such tags may create new threats to user privacy due to the powerful tracking capability of the tags. As a result, some sort of security issues must be imposed on the passive tags for addressing the privacy problem. However, providing security in such tags is a challenging task because they are highly resource constrained and cannot support strong cryptography. This paper provides both discussion on the requirements and restrictions of security implementation of a RFID system. It also examines the features and issues pertinent to several existing RFID security solution. Finally, this paper suggests the use of our proposed lightweight security protocol based on Ohkubo's scheme, which protects user privacy using a hash chain mechanism and also provides an analysis of the protocol


Uncertainty quantification has become an increasingly important request in the decision-making process for targeting infill drilling. Serious weaknesses in current reservoir models can be directly attributed to the lack of proper uncertainty handling. In a mature field as the Brage oil field in the northern part of the North Sea, east of the Oseberg field, where there are many long horizontal wells, uncertainty in well markers and well paths have a tremendous impact on the structural uncertainty (+/-10m). These variations on their own can either create or kill infill drilling targets. A stochastic workflow for dealing with uncertainty on horizontal well trajectories has been derived for a consistent updating of velocity and depth models. Such an automated stochastic workflow is an example of a Digital oilfield operation system (DOOS).


The Online Teaching Survival Guide offers faculty a wide array of theory-based techniques designed for online teaching and technology-enhanced courses. Written by two pioneers in distance education, this guidebook presents practical instructional strategies spread out over a four-phase timeline that covers the lifespan of a course. The book includes information on a range of topics such as course management, social presence, community building, and assessment. Based on traditional pedagogical theory, The Online Teaching Survival Guide integrates the latest research in cognitive processing and learning outcomes. Faculty with little knowledge of educational theory and those well versed in pedagogy will find this resource essential for developing their online teaching skills.


Large collections of robots have the potential to perform tasks collectively using distributed control algorithms. These algorithms require communication between robots to allow the robots to coordinate their behavior and act as a collective. In this paper we describe two algorithms which allow coordination between robots, but do not require physical environment marks such as pheromones. Instead, these algorithms rely on simple, local, low bandwidth, direct communication between robots. We describe the algorithms and measure their performance in worlds with and without obstacles.


Abstract This finding is an outcome of the research carried out on the patch with the introduction of metamaterial. A "Dual Split Hexagonal Ring" metamaterial structure is implemented in the ground plane to modify the parameters of patch antenna i.e., circular. This recommended antenna operates on 2.42 GHz. Circular patch alone was not efficient and cannot be applicable for any applications, therefore a dual ring split metamaterial structure was implemented to achieve quality improvement . Keywords: Split ring structure , circular patch, bandwidth, return loss, metamaterial (MTM) Cite this Article Rishu Upadhyay, Bimal Garg. Designing of Circular Patch Antenna Modified by Metamaterial Structure. Journal of Telecommunication, Switching Systems and Networks . 2018; 5(3): 1–5p.


A 68 year old with lower extremity numbness, vibratory sensation loss, coldness and burning of his feet, unsteady gait, frequent falls and a sensory level had an MRI demonstrating aT7 and T8 vertebral body/posterior element lesion with epidural extension, cord compression and foraminal extension (Figures 1-5). Decompressive laminectomy/resection confirmed vertebral hemangioma, a common benign neoplasm that typically remains asymptomatic, found incidentally in 10% of the population. Progressive vertebral body hemangiomas may cause cord or nerve root compression due to epidural tumor extension, expanded bone, hematoma or fracture. Radiographs demonstrate course vertical striations caused by thick trabeculae. CT in indolent lesions demonstrates fat density while compressive lesions demonstrate soft tissue density. Indolent lesions follow fat signal on MRI; symptomatic lesions are T1 isointense/T2 hyperintense. Work-up for aggressive hemangiomas includes angiography to determine vascularity, identify feeding/draining vessels and identify blood supply to the cord. Biopsy helps differentiate hemangioma, lymphoma, myeloma or metastasis. Management of symptomatic hemangiomas includes vertebroplasty for pain, radiation for pain, compression or pre-op and decompressive laminectomy for epidural disease. Embolization of feeding vessels may be performed pre-op or may be curative. Hemangioma causing cord compression and neurologic symptoms by extraosseous extension is much less common than benign hemangioma. Imaging features may suggest potential for progression.


The action of droperidol on the tachycardia produced by atropine and on the serum concentration of cholinesterases was observed during balanced anaesthesia. Without atropine, the mean heart rates of patients who received fentanyl plus droperidol were similar. Atropine increased heart rate only in the presence of droperidol (P less than 0.001) (fentanyl v. fentanyl plus droperidol: P less than 0.05). Droperidol inhibited serum cholinesterases (P less than 0.05); this effect was independent of atropine.


Neil Sinhababu and I presented Backward Clock, an original counterexample to Robert Nozick's truth-tracking analysis of propositional knowledge. In their latest defence of the truth-tracking theories, "Methods Matter: Beating the Backward Clock," Fred Adams, John A. Barker and Murray Clarke try again to defend Nozick's and Fred Dretske's early analysis of propositional knowledge against Backward Clock. They allege failure of truth-adherence, mistakes on my part about methods, and appeal to charity, 'equivocation,' reliable methods and unfair internalism. I argue that these objections all fail. They are still stuck with the fact that the tracking theories fall to Backward Clock, an even more useful test case for other analyses of knowledge than might have first appeared.


A series of earthquakes was recorded along a mapped fault system near Azle, Texas, in 2013. To identify the mechanism of seismicity, geologic, production/injection, and seismicity data are gathered to build a detailed simulation model with coupled fluid flow and geomechanics to model fluid injection/production and the potential onset of seismicity. Sensitivity studies for a broad range of reservoir and geomechanical parameters are performed to identify the influential parameters for injection wellhead pressure and earthquake data. A Pareto-based multi-objective history matching is performed using these influential parameters. The calibrated results are used to identify the controlling mechanisms for seismicity in the Azle area, North Texas, and their relationship to hydrocarbon production and fluid injection in the vicinity.
 Geomechanical interaction has a significant impact on seismicity in the Azle area. Unbalanced loading created by the difference in the net fluid injection and production on different sides of the fault seems to generate accumulation of plastic strain change, likely resulting in the onset of seismicity. Previous studies ignore fluid withdrawal from gas production. Thus, they seem to have significantly underestimated the fluid withdrawal rates, almost by an order of magnitude. The equivalent bottomhole-voidage fluid rate used in this study suggests a drop in history-matched reservoir pore pressure that is consistent with the observed tubinghead pressure trends. Pore pressure increases may not fully explain the seismicity near the Azle area. Instead, geomechanical effects and strain propagation to the basement appear to be the dominant mechanisms. The low fault cohesion and minimum effective horizontal stress obtained from history matching confirm that the faults must be near or at the critically stressed state before the initiation of fluid production/injection. A sensitivity analysis indicates that the minimum effective horizontal stress and fracture gradient play a critical role in the potential risk for seismicity related to fluid injection/production. A streamline flow pattern further shows that there is no fluid movement in the basement formation and the unbalanced loading from different sides of the fault is more likely the controlling mechanism for seismicity.


An investigation of the mutagenicity of aflatoxin Q1 in the Salmonella-mutagenicity test is reported. This mammalian metabolite of aflatoxin B1 was marginally mutagenic to strain TA 98 when either rat or human liver microsomes were present in the test. However, it was mutagenic to TA 100 with the same liver activation sources in the assay. Moreover, it was mutagenic to TA 100 in the absence of liver microsomes. This Q1 mutagenesis, presumably a direct acting base substitution effect, was nearly equal to the liver activated mutagenesis. It was also greater in this respect than aflatoxin B1 or aflatoxicol.


The history of anti-gambling impulses is perhaps as old as the gambling impulse itself, but academic research has thus far neglected the topic of anti-gambling social movements. Using social movement literature as a theoretical guide and ethnographic content analysis as a methodological tool, this paper examines anti-gambling documents produced in the United States over nearly two hundred years. During this period, three distinct periods emerge: first, an early (1816-1915) period framed the gambling act on strict religious grounds as an individual sin. This religious framing was then challenged by the rise of more rational and scientifically-based medical discourses on problem gambling (1915-1980). From 1980 through the present, gambling opponents have modified (and in some cases reversed) their argumentsand now incorporate both moral and scientific rhetoric into their claims. Drawing from sociological research and theory, we identify a process of "frame inversion" in which problem gamblers were once cast as villains to be scorned, but now are characterized as sympathetic victims of the gaming industry. In this first academic study of anti-gambling social movement rhetoric, we develop an illustrative example of how social movements' rhetorical tactics can change over time, and of the kinds of opponents the global gaming industry has facedand might still face in the future.


A theory of the current-ratio (CR) technique in uniform semiconductors, which is widely used to locate gate oxide breakdown (BD) spots in one dimension (i.e., distance from source or drain), is proposed and verified. The theory shows that the CR method is a special case of generalized van der Pauw technique and, as such, can easily be generalized to locate oxide BD spots in two dimensions. We develop the theoretical framework of this new class of BD-spot characterization techniques and then validate the theory by experiments. We conclude by discussing the implications of locating BD spots in two dimensions for reliability projections of ultrathin gate oxides.


This paper presents a weighted lease squares (WLS) algorithm for the design of low-delay quadrature mirror filter (QMF) banks with a prescribed number of zeros of the low-pass filter at /spl omega/=/spl pi/: this is desirable when the filter bank is used for the wavelet decomposition of a signal. The algorithm needs only a few iterations to obtain a solution which optimizes the filter bank design problem in the weighted minimax sense. A design example is provided for illustration.


The entrainment of clear air and its subsequent mixing with a filament of cloudy air, as occurs at the edge of a cloud, is studied in three-dimensional direct numerical simulations that combine the Eulerian description of the turbulent velocity, temperature, and vapor fields with a Lagrangian cloud droplet ensemble. Forced and decaying turbulence is considered, such as when the dynamics around the filament is driven by larger-scale eddies or during the final period of the life cycle of a cloud. The microphysical response depicted innd 2 hr 3 ispace (wherend andr are droplet number density and radius, respectively) shows characteristics of both homogeneous and inhomogeneous mixing, depending on the Damk€ number. The transition from inhomogeneous to homogeneous mixing leads to an offset of the homogeneous mixing curve to larger dilution fractions. The response of the system is governed by the smaller of the single droplet evaporation time scale and the bulk phase relaxation time scale. Variability within the nd 2 hr 3 i space increases with decreasing sample volume, especially during the mixing transients. All of these factors have implications for the interpretation of measurements in clouds. The qualitative mixing behavior changes for forced versus decaying turbulence, with the latter yielding remnant patches of unmixed cloud and stronger fluctuations. Buoyancy due to droplet evaporation is observed to play a minor role in the mixing for the present configuration. Finally, the mixing process leads to the transient formation of a pronounced nearly exponential tail of the probability density function of the Lagrangian supersaturation, and a similar tail emerges in the droplet size distribution under inhomogeneous conditions.


A sensor protein ChvG is part of a chromosomally encoded two-component regulatory system ChvG/ChvI that is important for the virulence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens. However, it is not clear what genes ChvG regulates or what signal(s) it senses. In this communication, we demonstrate that ChvG is involved in the regulation of acid-inducible genes, including aopB and katA, residing on the circular and linear chromosomes, respectively, and the tumor-inducing (Ti)-plasmid-harbored vir genes, virB and virE. ChvG was absolutely required for the expression of aopB and very important for the expression of virB and virE. However, it was responsible only for the responsiveness of katA and, to a limited extent, the vir genes to acidic pH. ChvG appears to play a role in katA expression by repressing katA at neutral pH. ChvG had no effect on the expression of two genes that were not acid-inducible. Because ChvG regulates unlinked acid-inducible genes encoding different functions in different ways, we hypothesize that ChvG is a global sensor protein that can directly or indirectly sense extracellular acidity. We also analyzed the re-sequenced chvG and found that ChvG is more homologous to its Sinorhizobium meliloti counterpart ExoS than was previously thought. Full-length ChvG is conserved in members of the α-proteobacteria, whereas only the C-terminal kinase domain is conserved in other bacteria. Sensing acidity appears to enable Agrobacterium to coordinate its coping with the environment of wounded plants to cause tumors.


The diabetic foot ulcer, which 2% - 6% of diabetes patients experience, is a severe health threat. It is closely linked to the risk of lower extremity amputation (LEA). When a DFU is present, the chief imperative is to initiate tertiary preventive actions to avoid amputation. In this light, clinical decision support systems (CDSS) can guide clinicians to identify DFU patients early. In this study, the PEDIS classification and a Bayesian logistic regression model are utilised to develop and evaluate a decision method for patient stratification. Therefore, we conducted a Bayesian cutpoint analysis. The CDSS revealed an optimal cutpoint for the amputation risk of 0.28. Sensitivity and specificity were 0.83 and 0.66. These results show that although the specificity is low, the decision method includes most actual patients at risk, which is a desirable feature in monitoring patients at risk for major amputation. This study shows that the PEDIS classification promises to provide a valid basis for a DFU risk stratification in CDSS.


Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) has been confirmed to be an accurate method for determining left ventricular function. It is a relatively non-invasive technique without inducing premature ventricular complexes. The response of left ventricular function to afterload stress was assessed using DSA for eight patients with old anterior myocardial infarction and ventricular aneurysm including that of the anterior wall (averaging 30.3 months after the acute episodes). Their ages ranged from 36 to 65 years and one patient was a woman. Prior to the investigation, we confirmed that a single DSA procedure did not alter left ventricular function in a pilot study of one patient (No. 8). After initial DSA in the basal state, methoxamine was infused intravenously (1 to 2 mg/min). When aortic systolic blood pressure increased by 30 to 50 mmHg, a second DSA was performed for each patient. Left ventricular volumes and ejection fractions were calculated by the area-length method, and regional wall motion was assessed by the visual method according to the AHA classification and the curvature radius of the apical ventricular aneurysm was calculated. Methoxamine induced neither acute heart failure nor angina pectoris in the present series. The heart rates decreased, and there were a significant increase in end-systolic volumes (p less than 0.05), end-systolic radii (p less than 0.05), and a significant decrease in ejection fractions (p less than 0.02) after methoxamine infusion. In 32 of 40 segments, regional wall motion was unchanged by methoxamine as assessed by the visual method; whereas, in the other eight, there was a deterioration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


This chapter attempts to establish the role of two cognitive linguistic theories, metaphor theory and conceptual integration theory, in the processing of both conventional and modified phraseological units. It investigates the range of applications and interpretations of the existing cognitive models, furnishing them with attested phraseological material to test their efficiency and applicability as processing templates. It is argued that the two theories can be viewed as complementary: whereas the theory of metaphor is productive in accounting for the processing of a wide range of conventional phraseological units, the theory of conceptual integration can be applied to the analysis of modified phraseological units.


ABSTRACT The main purpose of this study is to investigate pre-school teachers' creativity perceptions through metaphors. This study is a pheno-menological study that is qualitative in nature. The participants were 250 pre-school teachers who worked in the central towns of Adana/Turkey. Data were collected through the Metaphor Questionnaire about the concept of creativity. The data were analyzed using qualitative analysis methods. Results showed that the teachers produced 78 metaphors about creativity. An analysis of the findings in terms of creativity concepts showed that the teachers tried to explain creativity through metaphors about freedom and imagination, which are necessary for creativity. The metaphors produced by the teachers about creativity perceptions were collected under 7 conceptual categories. An analysis of the metaphors used by the teachers, as well as the explanations they provided, indicated that the pre-school teachers did not perceive creativity necessarily including originality.


Superoxide, a form of reactive oxygen species (ROS), is catabolized by superoxide dismutase (SOD) and contributes to carcinogenesis via the oxidative damage it inflicts on cells. The aim of this research was to analyze the potential vitamin D-mediated regulation of the antioxidative "SOD1-to-SOD2 switch" within the human MG-63 osteosarcoma model. For this study, real-time PCR analysis was performed using MG-63 cells exposed to metabolically active 1,25(OH)2D3. First, a sustained statistically significant >2-fold suppression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) transcripts was observed after 10 nM but not at 100 nM of 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment, suggesting a cytostatic effect. In order to assess regulators of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, gene expression of COX2 and COX4l1 of the mitochondrial complex IV and antioxidative enzymes (SOD1, SOD2 and Catalase (CAT)) were monitored. For COX2 and COX4l1, no changes in gene expression were observed. However, a concomitant decrease in CAT and SOD1 mRNA, and increase in SOD2 mRNA after 24 h of 10 nM 1,25(OH)2D3 treatment were observed. A ~8-fold increase in SOD2 mRNA was apparent after 48 ours. The significant increase in SOD2 activity in the presence of vitamin D indicates an antioxidant potential and sensitization of vitamin D during osteosarcoma transformation and mitochondrial detoxification over time.


The products produced by hydrogenation of biomass-derived 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) are potential sustainable substitutes for petroleum-based building blocks used in the production of chemicals. We have studied the hydrogenation of HMF over supported Ru, Pd, and Pt catalysts in monophasic and biphasic reactor systems to determine the effects of the metal, support, solution phase acidity, and the solvent to elucidate the factors that determine the selectivity for hydrogenation of HMF to its fully hydrogenated form of 2,5-di-hydroxy-methyl-tetrahydrofuran (DHMTHF). We show that the selectivity to DHMTHF is affected by the acidity of the aqueous solution containing HMF. The major by-products observed are C6-polyols formed from the acid-catalyzed degradation and subsequent hydrogenation of 2,5-dihydroxymethylfuran (DHMF), an intermediate hydrogenation product of HMF to DHMTHF. The highest yields (88–91%) to DHMTHF are achieved using Ru supported on materials with high isoelectric points, such as ceria, magnesia–zirconia, and γ-alumina. Supported catalysts containing Pt and Pd at the same weight percent as Ru are not as active for the selective hydrogenation to DHMTHF.


The Betic Cordillera in southern Spain is a complex Alpine fold belt that resulted from the Cretaceous through Cenozoic collision of Africa with Europe. The region is illustrative of one of the characteristics of the Alpine-Mediterranean orogen: the occurrence over a limited area of mineral deposits with a wide variety of host rocks, mineralization ages, and styles. The metamorphic basement in the Betic zone is characterized by a nappe structure of superimposed tectonostratigraphic units and consists of lower Paleozoic to Lower Triassic clastic metasedimentary rocks. This is overlain by Middle to Upper Triassic platform carbonate rocks with abundant strata-bound F-Pb-Zn-(Ba) deposits (e.g., Sierra de Gador, Sierra Alhamilla). Cretaceous to Paleogene subduction-related compression in southeastern Spain was followed by Miocene postcollisional extension and resulted in the formation of the Almeria-Cartagena volcanic belt and widespread hydrothermal activity and associated polymetallic mineralization. Typical Miocene hydrothermal deposits include volcanic-hosted Au (e.g., Rodalquilar) and Ag-rich base metal (e.g., Cabo de Gata, Mazarron) deposits as well as complex polymetallic veins, mantos, and irregular replacement bodies which are hosted by Paleozoic and Mesozoic metamorphic rocks and Neogene sedimentary and volcanic rocks (e.g., Cartagena, Sierra Almagrera, Sierra del Aguilon, Loma de Bas).Lead isotope compositions were measured on sulfide samples from nine ore districts and from representative fresh samples of volcanic and basement rock types of the region. The results have been used to evaluate ore-forming processes in southeastern Spain with emphasis on the sources of metals. During a Late Triassic mineralizing event, Pb was leached from Paleozoic clastic metasedimentary rocks and incorporated in galena in strata-bound F-Pb-Zn-(Ba) deposits ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.332 + or - 12, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.672 + or - 12, 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.523 + or - 46). The second episode of mineralization was essentially contemporaneous (late Miocene) throughout the region and did not involve remobilization of less radiogenic Triassic ore Pb. Lead isotope data indicate a dominantly Paleozoic metasedimentary source for polymetallic vein- and manto-type deposits that formed by hydrothermal circulation through the Betic basement, driven by Miocene intrusions ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.747 + or - 20, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.685 + or - 9, 208 /Pb/ 204 Pb = 39.026 + or - 37). Lead in Au-(Cu-Te-Sn) ores is isotopically indistinguishable from that of the calc-alkalic volcanic host ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.860 + or - 9, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.686 + or - 8, 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.940 + or - 27). In contrast, the Pb in volcanic-hosted Pb-Zn-Cu-(Ag-Au) veins was derived from Paleozoic metamorphic and Miocene volcanic rocks ( 206 Pb/ 204 Pb = 18.786 + or - 5, 207 Pb/ 204 Pb = 15.686 + or - 2, 208 Pb/ 204 Pb = 38.967 + or - 9).A comparison of the Pb isotope data from southeastern Spain with published data from selected Pb-Zn deposits in southern Europe (including Les Malines, L'Argentiere, and the Alpine, Iglesiente-Sulcis, and Montagne Noire districts) indicates the importance of a metasedimentary basement as a common source of ore Pb.


ABSTRACT Restorative justice is regarded in modern criminal justice systems as one approach to address inadequacies in the conventional justice model. New Zealand has become a leader in implementing legislatively mandated restorative procedures. This reputation is due in part to a handful of supportive statutes: the Sentencing Act 2002, the Victims' Rights Act 2002, the Parole Act 2002, the Corrections Act 2004 and subsequent amendments to those acts. In this article, I evaluate the practices bolstered by these acts and how effectively they operate, accounting for how legislative design may contribute to achievements and shortcomings in New Zealand's restorative justice programmes. I supplement the results by comparing New Zealand's efforts to those in Vermont, a U.S. state similarly well-regarded for its restorative policies. The evaluation of each jurisdiction's restorative justice programme is based on metrics for restorative success from Bazemore and Schiff (2005. Juvenile justice reform and restorative justice: building theory and policy from practice. Cullompton: Willan Publishing). I employ qualitative and quantitative data, surveying existing evaluations of restorative justice in New Zealand and Vermont, collecting longitudinal statistics, and conducting interviews with restorative justice practitioners. Overall, this analysis reveals that the design of restorative justice programmes requires negotiation; it is difficult to balance the dimensions of effective restorative justice with the needs of modern justice systems.


The Gran Telescopio Canarias (GTC) 10.4m telescope received its First Light on July 13, 2007. At present the GTC is
undergoing commissioning tests. Night time observations are being carried out routinely from Monday through to
Thursday every week. The GTC will begin science observation by the end of the year, and will be offered to the
community in September 2008 for the semester starting in March 09. The two first generation science instruments are
getting ready to be mounted on the telescope. In this talk I will go through the main features of the first generation
science instruments and describe their status of completion. I will also devote some time to the second-generation
instruments that are currently at various states of advancement. These include EMIR, a wide field multi-object K band
cryogenic spectrograph, and FRIDA, which is a near IR Adaptive Optics fed integral field spectrograph. Finally, I will
describe a set of smaller instruments that will complement and indeed extend the observing capabilities of the GTC soon
after the start of science operation.


In April 2006 the Center for Archaeological Research (CAR) of the University of Texas at San Antonio was contracted by the Parks and Recreation Department of the City of San Antonio to perform subsurface investigations within the boundaries of site 41BX1251, in north-central San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. The purpose of the testing was to learn if the concrete abutment of a planned pedestrian bridge over Salado Creek would impact significant archaeological deposits in this site, which is a part of the Walker Ranch National Historic District. Five shovel tests and one backhoe trench were excavated. The shovel tests were placed within the footprint of the abutment and the backhoe trench was place approximately 10 m west of the shovel tests. Two artifacts were recovered from the shovel tests: a small piece of asbestos tile and a small piece of chert debitage. Three artifacts were observed in the backhoe trench: a piece of modern glass and two pieces of chert debitage. All artifacts were located in the upper 30 cm of sediments. No significant cultural deposits were encountered in the tests. It was recommended that the construction work continue as planned, and that no further archaeological work would be needed.


A model is developed for digital control systems with deadbeat unit step response. Deadbeat systems with state feedback and state compensation configurations are synthesised based on the developed model. For plants with inaccessible states, a linear state transformation technique is introduced to obtain deadbeat output compensation design. The state feedback law presented in this paper for a deadbeat controller can be combined with the pole placement technique for a deadbeat observer to solve the observer-controller problems. A practical study that compares various designs is made from the point of view of parameter sensitivity.


Complex socio-economic transformations have left a significant impact on the physical realm of many post-soviet cities resulting in declining living qualities, abundance of massive industrial sites and urban sprawl. Recent attempts to improve the situation are targeted mainly towards regenerating areas close to the city center. However, in many cases regeneration does not guarantee the vitality of these areas and success of the projects. In reality new plans tend to neglect social and economic complexity of renewed areas by replacing these structures with developments profitable for real estate companies. The extension of the international business district together with redevelopment of Calvary market area in Vilnius is one of the examples of such trend. What is more, plans of redeveloping areas in the city center are fragmented and are not contributing to create the overall vision for the center, or focus on social integration and creation of vital and diverse city life, instead the plans might trigger creation of gated communities and large scale retail centers that have negative impact on vitality of this area. This project aims to find ways to develop areas in the city center of Vilnius by integrating the informal market as a generator of vitality for new interventions. There are several projects concerning development of complex structures in the context of post-soviet cities carried out under Metropolitan Spatial Structure research theme in, TU Delft. However, one could recognize a certain gap in lack of insights on the aspects of vitality in these cities. This particular thesis aims to contribute to the mentioned subject while researching the conditions of vital city life in post-soviet context as well as the spatial structure of Vilnius and its center. The conclusion derived from this research will be used to formulate design guidelines for specific area of the city – CBD expansion and Calvary market zone. Intended outcome of the project is the vision for the city center and design proposal for a specific area, in result this project could be used as an example of developing complex structure in post-soviet city.


This article explores the application of existing social media platforms for human–robot interaction. With the increasing popularity of social media platforms that connect humans, we propose to portray domestic robots as buddies on the contact list of family members and present a robot management system that employs complementary social media platforms for humans to interact with the vacuuming robot Roomba and a surveillance robot developed on top of iRobot Create. The social media platforms adopted include short message services (SMS), instant messenger (MSN), an online shared calendar (Google Calendar), and a social networking site (Facebook). Hence, we can provide a rich set of user-familiar, intuitive, and highly accessible interfaces, allowing users to flexibly choose their preferred tools in different situations. An in-lab experiment and a multiday field study are conducted to study the characteristics and strengths of each interface and to investigate users' perception to the robots and behaviors in choosing the interfaces.


Alloys with compositions based on Nd_(16)Fe_(76-x)B_8Zr_x (where x = 0-2.0) have been studied to see the effect of Zr addition on HDDR characteristics. A particular emphasis was placed upon the anisotropy of the HDDR material. Anisotropy of the HDDR powder material has been evaluated by comparing the remanence values of the aligned sample measured along the aligning direction and the direction perpendicular to it. The HDDR characteristics of the alloys were investigated by means of DTA and TPA. Magnetic characterisation of the HDDR processed materials was performed using a VSM and a TMA. The magnetic domain structure of the HDDR materials was examined by means of polarised microscope using a solid HDDR processed material. It has been found that small addition (0.1 at %) of Zr to Nd-Fe-B-type alloy retards the disproportionation kinetics of the hydrogenated material. Desorption characteristic of the disproportionated materials has been found not to be affected significantly by the Zr addition. The Zr addition has been found to facilitate the recombination reaction. The intrinsic coercivity of the HDDR powder has been found to depend strongly on the particle size of the powder. As the particle size decreases, the intrinsic coercivity decreases radically, and this is explained in terms of structural damage and/or oxidation caused during mechanical milling. It has also been found that the degree of alignment representing the anisotropic character of the HDDR powder is enhanced with decreasing particle size.


Use has been made of flow graphs to deduce Feenberg perturbation expansions for radiative interactions. It is demonstrated that these expansions can in certain cases be summed to provide closed form expressions for the molecular response. In particular, it is shown that the coherent state response can be obtained by the summation of a continued fraction perturbation expansion for the harmonic oscillator. Anharmonicity in the lower levels is treated and is shown to introduce Rabi flopping identifiable with multiphoton transitions among isolated tightly coupled subsystems of levels. Relevance to laser induced multiphoton excitation and energy level shift calculations in the presence of a strong field are also discussed.


Background: Lung transplantation (LTX) is an established treatment for end-stage lung disease; however, the post-LTX mortality rate remains high. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of the modified reactive hemophagocytic syndrome diagnostic score (mHScore) and its individual components on mortality after LTX.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 294 patients who underwent LTX at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University, Korea, from January 2012 and December 2020, and classified them into high (n=114, mHScore > 104.0) and low mHScore (n=180, mHScore ≤ 104.0) groups. Triglyceride, ferritin, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, fibrinogen, and cytopenia were used to calculate the mHScore. We compared baseline characteristics and mortality rates as LTX prognostic factors.Results: The high mHScore group had significantly more cytopenia and higher ferritin, triglyceride, lactate dehydrogenase, and C-reactive protein levels than the low mHScore group. The mortality rate was significantly higher in the high than in the low mHScore group (hazard ratio, 4.429, p < 0.001). Multivariate regression analysis revealed that a high mHScore was significantly associated with postoperative mortality, even after adjusting for other confounding factors. A high mHScore was also associated with postoperative complications.Conclusions: The mHScore can be used to estimate post-LTX prognosis and predict postoperative mortality.


During the second year of support under the DOE grant, significant progress was made in two directions: (1) Visualization of structure and tow field in randomly packed beds via Magnetic Resonance Imaging, and (2) Shadowgraphic visualization of natural convection in porous systems. This report describes the activities in detail, cite publications which resulted from this project, and conclude with plans for the last phase of the experimental investigation.


I lobe being an industrial designer. I chose to write this article directly to students and not the educator because I wanted to communicate in a way to which students can relate. I've also included ideas for course and project work that educators can incorporate in their classes. This article will help educators answer questions or direct students with the potential and desire to become successful industrial designers. Besides the entertainment business, there are few careers that offer more diversity than industrial. By receiving a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design one has the choice to work in automotive, furniture, consumer products, special effects, business development, sales, management, computer graphics, and so much more. What other degree offers all of these professional choices? Let's face it, there are very few careers that reward you for being creative. I still cannot believe that I get paid to draw pictures. In fact, there are times when I come into the office and sketch products all day long. The best part is, it's rarely the same product. So I am never doing a monotonous task over and over again. Not only that, I am paid to make the projects I work on look cool and function better. I am able to create new and exciting experiences for people, whether it simply makes them smile or, even better, makes their lives easier. To be honest, there is no better feeling than seeing a product you designed on store shelves or hearing someone say how cool that product is! In other words, industrial design is fun + opportunities + diversity + creativity + coolness. Are you interested? If so, let me tell you more about it; but first, let me tell you more about myself. My situation is somewhat different than most because my mom is an interior designer and my dad is an industrial designer. So, I may have grown up in an environment a little more creative than most children. However, when I was little I wanted to be a lawyer, businessperson, or baseball player. Well, I knew that my baseball career was over when I didn't make the first team for Little League. Then when it came time for picking a career, law and business just didn't sound like that much fun. So I chose to major in Industrial Design and graduated with my degree over five years ago. Now I work in a product development firm that specializes in creative product solutions. I am able to use the skills I learned as an industrial designer every day along with a variety of other skills. Believe it or not, I am also a businessperson. Of the people who graduated in my industrial design studio in college, all have taken a wide range of career paths. I have friends who are designing athletic and urban footwear, motorcycles, aircraft, and movie theaters. Others have even become vice presidents of their companies. We have traveled all over the world including Japan, Italy, Germany, England, China, Russia, etc. As you can see, the possibilities are endless. To become a good industrial designer, there are a lot of things that you can do now to help you on your way. Design firms seek to hire the "complete package," which means not just drawing skills, good ideas, and a cool portfolio. All of the courses you take now help you to become the "complete package:" physics, technology education, photography, English, speech, and math among others. Firms look for designers with a broad range of skills because the more you know, the better a designer you will be and the more you will be able to offer the company. Learn as much as you can about materials, processes, creativity, history, plumbing, and engineering. …


Singlet oxygen oxidation of dialkyl thioketones yields the corresponding ketones and in some cases sulfoxides in varying amounts. Steric considerations on the reactive zwitterionic/diradical intermediates have been invoked to rationalise the product distribution.


Background
Population-based EUROCARE-5 studies demonstrated that childhood cancer survival rates in Lithuania were 10-20% lower than the European mean. We aimed to analyse the change in the outcome of treatment of paediatric malignancies in Lithuania over 30 years.

Methods
A single-centre retrospective analysis of children below 18 years of age treated for cancer at Vilnius University Hospital Santaros Klinikos between 1982 and 2011 was carried out. The minimal requirement of 5-year follow-up after diagnosis was specified for survival estimation. The vital status was assessed using data from the population-based Lithuanian Cancer Registry. To evaluate changes over time, the entire cohort was split into three groups according to the time of diagnosis: 1982-1991, 1992-2001, and 2002-2011.

Results
A total of 1268 children met the inclusion criteria. The shortest median follow-up was 8.9 (IQR 6.4-11.5) years for patients treated in the third decade. The 5-year overall survival of the entire cohort increased from 37.3% (95% CI 30.2-44.3) in 1982-1991 to 70.7% (95% CI 66.4-74.1) in 2002-2011 (p < 0.0001). The same trend was evident when calculated separately for leukaemia (p < 0.0001), lymphoma (p < 0.0005), and solid tumours (p < 0.004). The percentage of cure rose from zero in the early years of the period analysed to 80% in 2010 and 2011. The improvement in the treatment outcome was attributable to the reduction of treatment-related mortality from 45.8% in 1982-1991 to 12.4% in 2002-2011 and disease recurrence from 30.4% to 19.6% for the same periods, respectively.

Conclusions
Significant progress in the cure rate of children treated for cancer at our institution was observed over 30 years. Collaborative national and international clinical and research efforts are crucial to ensure further advances in care and cure.


Software reverse engineering and reengineering techniques are most often applied to reconstruct the software architecture with respect to quality constraints, or non-functional requirements such as maintainability or reusability. In this paper, the performance improvement of distributed software is modeled as a search problem that is solved by heuristic search algorithms such as genetic search methods. To achieve this, firstly, all aspects of the distributed execution of a software is specified by an analytical performance evaluation function that not only evaluates the current deployment of the software from the performance perspective but also can be applied to propose the near-optimal object deployment for that software. This analytical function is applied as the Heuristic search objective function. In this paper a novel statement reordering method is also presented which is used to generate the search objective function such that the best solution in the search space can be found.


Rice seedling of different transgenic lines (T-99, T-112, T-115 and T-121) were grown in sand culture with salt concentration of 0, 50, 100 and 150 mM to determine the effect of salinity on growth, amino acid, and ion contents. It was observed that all the lines could tolerate concentration of up to 50 mM of salt solution. The lines (T-99, T-112 and T-115) were more salt tolerant even at a concentration of 100 mM of NaCl with their relative growth rate (RGR), and net assimilation rate (NAR) were unaffected as compared to the control. With the increase in salt concentrations, the proline contents increased for all the transgenic lines. On the other hand, a gradual decrease in the contents of glycine and arginine were observed with the increase in salinity treatments. A massive increase in the Na+ contents was measured in all the transgenic lines by application of the saline solutions. The K + and Ca ++ contents decreased with the increase in salt concentrations. The present study shows that although the plants accumulated Na, the lines T-99, T-112 and T-115 could tolerate concentrations of up to 100 mM. Key words: Salt stress, proline, glycine, Na, K, Ca, Oryza sativa.


There is evidence that the cytosolic free Ca2+, protein kinase C, and the Na(+)-H+ antiport cross-communicate with one another through positive and negative feedback mechanisms, thereby maintaining cellular Ca2+ and pH homeostasis. This triumvirate may play a role in the development of insulin resistance--a common characteristic of both essential hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. Circulating cells from patients with essential hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus demonstrate elevated cytosolic free Ca2+, increased protein kinase C activity, or both, and these perturbations are associated with augmented activity of the Na(+)-H+ antiport. If present in other cells (e.g., striated muscle cells and adipocytes), these alterations could underlie insulin resistance in essential hypertension and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.


type="main"> There are three reasons why estimation of parametric income distributions may be useful when empirical data and estimators are available: to stabilize estimation; to gain insight into the relationships between the characteristics of the theoretical distribution and a set of indicators, e.g. by sensitivity plots; and to deduce the whole distribution from known empirical indicators, when the raw data are not available. The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey is used to address these issues. In order to model the income distribution, we consider the generalized beta distribution of the second kind (GB2). A pseudo-likelihood approach for fitting the distribution is considered, which takes into account the design features of the EU-SILC survey. An ad-hoc procedure for robustification of the sampling weights, which improves estimation, is presented. This method is compared to a non-linear fit from the indicators. Variance estimation within a complex survey setting of the maximum pseudo-likelihood estimates is done by linearization (a sandwich variance estimator), and a simplified formula for the sandwich variance, which accounts for clustering, is given. Performance of the fit and estimated indicators is evaluated graphically and numerically.


In a geometric context, a collision or proximity query reports information about the relative configuration or placement of two objects. Some of the common examples of such queries include checking whether two objects overlap in space, or whether their boundaries intersect, or computing the minimum Euclidean separation distance between their boundaries. Hundreds of papers have been published on different aspects of these queries in computational geometry and related areas such as robotics, computer graphics, virtual environments, and computer-aided design. These queries arise in different applications including robot motion planning, dynamic simulation, haptic rendering, virtual prototyping, interactive walkthroughs, computer gaming, and molecular modeling. For example, a large-scale virtual environment, e.g., a walkthrough, creates a model of the environment with virtual objects. Such an environment is used to give the user a sense of presence in a synthetic world and it should make the images of both the user and the surrounding objects feel solid. The objects should not pass through each other, and objects should move as expected when pushed, pulled, or grasped; see Fig. 39.0.1. Such actions require fast and accurate collision detection between the geometric representations of both real and virtual objects. Another example is rapid prototyping, where digital representations of mechanical parts, tools, and machines, need to be tested for interconnectivity, functionality, and reliability. In Fig. 39.0.2, the motion of the pistons within the combustion chamber wall is simulated to check for tolerances and verify the design. This chapter provides an overview of different queries and the underlying algorithms. It includes algorithms for collision detection and distance queries among convex polytopes (Section 39.1), nonconvex polygonal models (Section 39.2), continuous collision detection (Section 39.3), penetration depth queries (Section 39.4), Hausdorff distance queries (Section 39.5), curved objects (Section 39.6), and large environments composed of multiple objects (Section 39.7). Finally, it briefly describes different software packages available to perform some of the queries (Section 39.8).


Generally, gasoline is produced abundantly from crude petroleum refinery. Its compound contains paraffins, naphthenes, olefins and aromatics which the amount of carbon atoms from C4 to C11. The decreasing of petroleum reservoirs will influence the gasoline reservoirs as the famous fuel so the synthetic gasoline with high quality is needed to obstruct the rate of crude petroleum exploration in Indonesia. The objective of this research is how to produce gasoline from bagasse as the alternative fuel using iron sulfate as the catalyst at proper temperature. Reaction process occurred in the fixed bed reactor with two zones, first zone was thermal cracking and the second one is catalytic cracking. The effect of various temperature from 2000C to 3000C and effect of methanol concentration as the solvent varied from 10% to 30% were observed in this research while it occurred at constant solvent volume, mass of bagasse, and mass of catalyst. The gasoline product of this research has better characteristic than conventional gasoline from Pertamina with octane number 90 and heating value 19,872 Btu/lb while the highest yield was obtained at temperature 2500C, solvent concentration 20% for 100 minutes. The gasoline was analyzed in Laboratory of Pertamina UP III Plaju, Palembang – South Sumatera, Indonesia.


Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is an alternative source of hematopoietic progenitors and has potential advantages over bone marrow. We present our experience with UCB transplants performed between July 1994 and June 1997 in seven children with hemoblastosis. Two patients underwent transplantation from an HLA-identical sibling donor and five from an unrelated donor. Engraftment was obtained in all but one patient. Acute GVHD was absent in patients with related donors and present in all patients with unrelated donors. No patient showed chronic GVHD. Two patients died from transplant-related complications and a further two relapsed. Four patients were alive with a follow-up of 14, 15, 21 and 39 months post-transplant, respectively. Overall survival was 57% (s.e. 0.19). We conclude that cord blood is a good alternative source of hematopoietic stem cells for children with malignant hematologic diseases.


A ring laser goniometer was investigated in different applications of precision angle measurement, such as the calibration of optical polygons and optical encoders, external angle measurement of rotating objects and inertial angle measurement by rotation of the goniometer itself. The results agree with standard methods of angle measurement to about 0,5 µrad (0,1 ). Further improvement in accuracy is expected mainly from the reduction of noise in the mechanical and electrical setup of the measurement system.


We present a high throughput technique for characterizing liquid crystal electro-optic devices. We show that the optical transmission as a function of incident light polarization for an untwisted nematic device doped with dichroic dye can be simulated as a birefringent slab with uniform tilt and azimuthal alignment angles. Although the actual liquid crystal alignment may be more complex, these slab angles provide the basis of a rapid assessment technique. Implementation of the experiment using machine vision allows many measurements to be made in parallel and so very high throughput characterization of devices is possible.


THIS article discusses the quality of language exploitation mastered by elementary
school children represented by texts they produced in a story telling activity. Twenty
one students in Surakarta were selected purposively as research subjects. They were
selected under several considerations such as being students of elementary school in
Surakarta class 4 and 5, being able to read in Bahasa Indonesia, being interested in
reading stories, and willing to be interviewed. They were asked to tell a story based on
a wordless story book entitledfrog, where areyou? Textstructure and text texture of
the storiesproduced by thestudents are the componentswhichwere analysed to measure
the students' language exploitation quality. The result shows that all subjects have
already mastered the strategies of constructing the structure of a narrative text. They
contain at least three obligatory discourse units of narrative text, such as orientation,
complication, and resolution. Meanwhile, they made several grammatical errors such
as wrong selection of conjunctions, using too many conjunctions in a sentence, and
putting wrongconjunctions.Moreover,some childrenuse some 'mature'wordsshowing
that they are lexically more advanced than other children. It is hoped thatparents and
teachers can benefit from the findings for the children s improvement in language
acqusition.


Novel elastic materials were prepared by mixing semicrystalline polyester-based polyurethane (PU) synthesized at 100°C with nitrochitosan (NCH) and 1,1,1-tris(hydroxylmethyl)propane as crosslinker, and then by curing the mixture at 18,25,40,60, and 80 °C. The effects of cure temperature on the crystallization behavior, miscibility, and mechanical properties of the PUNCH materials were studied by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform IR, wide-angle X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and tensile test. The results indicated that the crystalline structure of the blend films was more easily interrupted as the cure temperature increased, leading to a decrease of the degree of crystallinity. With an increase of cure temperature, the blend films exhibited high crosslinking density and tensile strength, and the phase separation between hard and soft segments of PU enhanced, resulting in a decrease in the glass transition temperature (Tg) of soft segment. Interestingly, the composite films keeping high elongation at break possessed tensile strength higher than that of the native poly(ester-urethane). The enhanced mechanical properties of the blend films can be attributed to the relatively dense crosslinking network and strong intermolecular hydrogen bonding between NCH and PU. Therefore, this study not only provided a novel way by adding NCH into PU matrix to prepare elastic materials, which would remain functional characteristic of chitosan, but also expanded the application field of chitosan.


Subspace clustering is the problem of partitioning data drawn from a union of multiple subspaces. The most popular subspace clustering framework in recent years is the graph clustering-based approach, which performs subspace clustering in two steps: graph construction and graph clustering. Although both steps are equally important for accurate clustering, the vast majority of work has focused on improving the graph construction step rather than the graph clustering step. In this paper, we propose a novel graph clustering framework for robust subspace clustering. By incorporating a geometry-aware term with the spectral clustering objective, we encourage our framework to be robust to noise and outliers in given affinity matrices. We also develop an efficient expectation-maximization-based algorithm for optimization. Through extensive experiments on four real-world datasets, we demonstrate that the proposed method outperforms existing methods.


Inappropriate feeding habits have been identified as major factors associated with the development of baby bottle tooth decay or nursing caries. An in vivo/in vitro combination technique was developed to investigated the plaque pH changes associated with rinsing with eight different infant formulas. These eight formulas represented four categories: 1) formulas with iron, 2) formulas with low iron, 3) soy formulas 4) and protein hydrolyzate formulas (from the manufacturers Mead Johnson Nutritionals and Ross Laboratories). All formulas had the ability to reduce the pH significantly below the pre-rinse plaque pH. Furthermore, the average minimum pH for formulas from the two manufacturers did not differ within each formula category except for the soy-based formulas, where, rinsing with Isomil produced a significantly lower plaque pH than ProSobee. These results suggest that infant formulas are acidogenic and therefore may play a significant role in the development of baby bottle tooth decay.


This cumulative dissertation contains a collection of articles, which address strategic chal-lenges of firms in the telecommunications sector from different perspectives and with hetero-geneous research methodologies.
One research focus is the analysis of the impact of sector convergence in the ICT industry on the competitive environment and value production strategies of telecommunication firms. Traditional value production strategies are more and more challenged due to an increasing competition and intensifying inter-firm interdependencies of ICT firms from the formerly relatively autonomous sectors software, hardware, telecommunications and media. It is shown in this dissertation, that sector convergence has an influence on diversification performance of ICT firms. The role of software development and application operation in the value creation of ICT firms is further analyzed. The results show a strong importance of software based ap-plications for telecommunication firms. An in-depth assessment of cross-sector competition in telecommunications demonstrates a strong mutual competition of media and telecommunica-tion firms. In order to support the realization of the business potential, which results from sec-tor convergence, a methodology for a demand-oriented identification of modular wholesale services is designed.
A second research focus addresses the technological and economic approaches to and chal-lenges of IP service distribution. In addition to the distribution of services over centralized Internet servers, there are alternative distribution approaches, which use dedicated transport capacities or distributed server infrastructures. An exploratory analysis shows that business models for service distribution differ significantly from each other. They, however, address similar consumer requirements with regard to distribution quality and costs. An in-depth eval-uation of the value propositions of distribution technologies shows that their suitability domi-nantly depends on different characteristics of service production and consumption. The intro-duction of a quality differentiation on the data transport level across a single operator's net-work boundaries (inter-provider Quality-of-Service) requires a novel interconnection regime. Such a new regime, in contrast to the present interconnection regime in the Internet, must set incentives for a compliance to quality assurances and support a differentiated pricing. The simulation based assessment of a market scenario for the introduction of inter-provider Quali-ty-of-Service describes the impact of regime design on the competitive position of access and transit service providers in the interconnection market.
This dissertation is written in English, because the majority of articles included were submit-ted in English. The dissertation incorporates just one German article, which has not been translated.


A new dual port input coupler structure is designed and simulated in 140GHz confocal waveguide Gyro-TWT amplifier. The input coupler can transform the input rectangle waveguide mode TE10 to operation mode HE06 in the confocal waveguide and give the speed modulation to electron beam. The efficiency of the mode power transform is about 70%. The band width of simulation is about 4GHz. The simulation result will be used in the gyro-TWT design.


The possible role of RNA in the synthesis of corticosteroids is considered and this must be largely hypothetical in our present state of knowledge. The increase in cytoplasmic ribonucleic acid appears to take place simultaneously with the secretion of increased amounts of corticosteroids from the gland, but it does not necessarily follow that RNA is concerned directly with the synthesis of corticosteroids. Indeed, it is suggested that the function of RNA in steroid synthesis is probably indirect rather than direct. It has been shown previously that RNA is probably involved in the process of protein synthesis.


This study was carried out to improve the rice grain quality of Gyeoungbuk Province from 2002 to 2004. In variation of grain quality characteristics as the cultivation years were changed, the coefficient of variation (CV) of palatability and amylose content were relatively low as 3.9~4.3% and those of protein content and head rice rate were high as 7.9~12.2%. Among the varieties, the tendency of variation was similar with cultivation years changing, CV of amylose content and palatability also low as 2.6~3.6% and those of head rice rate and protein content were high as 5.4~7.2%. In variation as affected by shifting of transplanting times, the CV of protein content was low as 2.2, it was also relatively low in amylose content and head rice rate as 3.1~3.7%, but it was high in palatability as 5.8%. As the nitrogen application levels were different the CV of amylose content was 1.8% that it was not affected by the N levels. But in case of protein content, the CV was 4.4% that the variation was somewhat increased, it suggested that as the N levels were increased the protein content was also increased. From these results, the rice quality characteristics showed the higher variation in the change of cultivation years than that in rice varieties, transplanting times or nitrogen levels.


Leadership, along with its methods and applications, evolves as fast as the business life does. In the 70's, the progressive implication of women in the business life changed a male-oriented universe. The emergence of gender issues appeared. Moreover, for ages, several debates have raised the under-representation of women in top-executive positions. Today, we want to provide our readers a thorough and contemporary reading of gender leadership. This work looks for understanding, describing and even analyzing how gender leadership issues appear within organizations. This book also tends to provide knowledge for leaders about gender issues in business, putting forward its reasons and effects on their leadership. Our research aims at understanding this reality through gender impacts on leadership and also organizations. The whole analysis attempts to provide business knowledge to MBA students and leaders on current gender leadership issues, its reasons and impacts on companies' organizational models.


Objectives To asses the impact of extensive procedures (Diaphragmatic resection, large and small bowel resection, complete peritonectomy, complete omentectomy, paraaortic lmph node dissection, splenectomy, resection of all visible disease) in CRS on the rate of CD, progression free (PFS), and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced EOC. Methods Patients undergoing CRS between 2002–2018 were divided into group#1(2002–2008), and group#2 (2009–2018). Demographic and operative information were retrospectively reviewed. Results 204 patient with EOC (IIIC-IV) underwent CRS between 2002–2018. The number of CRS as well as performing extensive procedures (figure1A) has significantly increased over the whole period (72 in group1 vs 132 in group2: p-value<0.001), and this coincided with a significant increase in the CD rate from 50% to 80% (p-value<0.001) (figure 1A). In stage IIIC, median PFS was significantly higher in group#2 versus group#1 (22 months, 95%CI 16.80–27.19 and 23 months, 95%CI 19.11–26.80 respectively; HR:0.965, p-value=0.036) (figure 1B). However, OS in stage IIIC was not significantly different. In stage IV, there was no statistically significant difference in PFS or OS between groups. Abstract 83 Figure 1 (A) Extensive Procedures and rate of CD. (B) PFS in stage IIIC Conclusions Introducing extensive procedures did significantly affect the PFS in stage IIIC but not in IV. OS was not affected in both stages. The increase in number of EOC cases over the years (72 before 2009 versus 132 after 2009), which was associated with more patients with extensive tumor load and low perfomance status being admitted to our service, coupled with their shorter follow up versus patients from before 2009, may have led to the non-significant increase in OS over time.


This paper describes the motivation, methodology, and findings of a long-term usage study of CERO, a service robot intended to assist partly motion-impaired people with the transportation of light objects in an office environment. We describe the user's experiences with utilizing the robot over a period of 3 months, and the overall process of adapting service robot usage as part of a workgroup setting. The results of the study suggest the need for different modes of operation of a robot. We also question the view of service robots as personalized devices only, and point out the importance of providing transitions between remote- and close proximity control in the use of service robots.


A folded slot with open end is introduced to achieve a dual-band coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed monopole antenna for radio frequency identification (RFID) applications. The designed antenna, which, including the substrate, is only 32 mm in height and 20 mm in width, can operate simultaneously at the 2.45 and 5.8 GHz bands with −1.8 and 2.3 dBi gains, respectively. Its properties make the antenna suitable for RFID tags.


Friction of pavement surfaces and skid resistance are major functional requirements which have to be fulfilled over the service time of pavements. The skid resistance in situ on a pavement surface is measured by non destructive continuous measurement systems at traffic speed like SKM in Germany. To determine decisive performance characteristics it is necessary to develop test methods which simulate the in-situ performance realistically. So the question arises how to predict pavement performance concerning skid resistance for type testing in laboratory. In Germany the test system of the Wehner/Schulze machine offers the possibility to determine the friction of aggregates as well as the friction of real asphalt samples in laboratory. It is furthermore possible to submit the specimen to accumulated polishing procedures to evaluate the changes in friction due to simulated loading of the surface. The aim is to use this test method to evaluate friction performance in laboratory to predict the performance of skid resistance over the service life of a pavement in situ. In Europe today the resistance to polishing is only described by the resistance of aggregates against polishing by determining the polish stone value (EN 1097-8). The influence of bitumen and the grading curve of aggregates used for the asphalt mixture are herewith not taken into account. By using the Wehner Schulze machine and the use of asphalt specimen in the friction after polishing test (FAP, EN 12697-49) a first step was made to tie aggregates performance up to pavement performance in situ. With the new testing machine of BASt FAP test are able to perform in situ on test sites. So in future is will be possible to survey pavements' friction performance over the service life of a pavement. This enables a realistic correlation of pavement performance in situ to laboratory trials with simulated loading by polishing the specimen. With the test method Friction after Polishing a test method is available to evaluate the performance of asphalt with regard to friction already in laboratory to design an asphalt mixture with resists reliable the loading in situ over its service life.


The objective of this scoping review is to map and analyze literature which utilized any kind of psychological or nutritional intervention in treating patients with eating disorders (ED) in Nigeria as well as to assess the effectiveness of such interventions in helping ED patients. This study follows the methodology provided by the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) for scoping reviews. A database search of Google Scholar, PubMed, PsychINFO and Cochrane, from where 68 articles were selected using carefully developed search terms. Six studies were finally selected after two reviewers read the full text to ensure they ticked all the boxes stipulated in the inclusion criteria, while other papers were excluded. Findings revealed that psychological and nutritional interventions were used in treating eating disorders in Nigeria, and the interventions proved effective. Findings indicate that anorexia nervosa is the most frequently diagnosed and treated ED in Nigeria. This is because the majority of studies reviewed focused on anorexia nervosa, only two of the studies analysed eating disorders in general, and none of the studies focused on bulimia nervosa. This finding showed that psychological and nutritional interventions have been used to treat various patients in Nigeria, including adolescents, pupils and undergraduates. Findings from this study build on existing research to assert that psychological and nutritional interventions have proven highly effective in treating eating disorders. This is because the majority of eating disorder cases were treated using either or both of these interventions and, in the end, succeeded in helping patients overcome the disorder.


Periodontal diseases are common chronic inflammatory diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms colonising the subgingival area and inducing local and systemic elevations of pro-inflammatory cytokines resulting in tissue destruction. Apparition and evolution of periodontal diseases are influenced by many local or systemic risk factors. Psychological stress has been suggested as one of them and may negatively influence the outcome of periodontal treatment. However, mechanisms explaining the possible relationship between stress and increased susceptibility to periodontal disease remain poorly understood. Several stress markers are found in blood and saliva of patients with periodontal diseases and influence the development of periodontal diseases by several mechanisms including modifications of the inflammatory response and changes in the composition of the dental biofilm. The aim of this review is to provide an insight into the relationship between psychological stress and periodontal diseases.


The pathogenic mechanism of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and aplastic anemia are associated with immunologic events which lead to glomerular cell injury or hematopoietic cell destruction. We present an extremely rare case of FSGS with aplastic anemia in a 30-yr-old woman. The laboratory examination show-ed hemoglobin 7.2 g/dL, white blood count of 4,200/µl, platelet count 70,900/µl. Proteinuria (2+, 3.6 g/day) and microscopic hematuria were detected in urinalysis. The diagnosis of FSGS and aplastic anemia were confirmed by renal and bone marrow biopsy. She was treated with immunosuppressive therapy of prednisone 60 mg/day orally for 8 weeks and cyclosporine A 15 mg/kg/day orally. She responded with gradually improving her clinical manifestation and increasing peripheral blood cell counts. Prednisone was maintained at the adequate doses with tapering after 8 weeks and cyclosporine was given to achieve trough serum levels of 100-200 ng/mL. At review ten month after diagnosis and initial therapy, the patient was feeling well and her blood cell counts increased to near normal (Hb 9.5 g/dL, Hct 32%, WBC 8,300/µl, platelet 123,000/µl) and renal function maintains stable with normal range proteinuria (0.25 g/day).


In a search for ways to capture foundation phase children's competence in mathematics, a small research team was put together at a South African university four years ago. At first, working only in a single school where the objective was to model 80 learners' growth in competence over four years, the team transformed into a very different entity. This article narrates the founding and development of a community of research practice, which eventually included undergraduate- and postgraduate students, researchers from institutions in Germany, Switzerland and South Africa, teachers at local schools close to the university, and an educational research and survey company. Supported by funding from four different sources, the project is fairly close to reaching the goal of delivering a standardised mathematics competence test for 4-8 year-olds, which is a first of its kind for the country where educational measurement seems to be at a crossroads. In the story line of this community of practice, it is evident that progress can be assessed best by the learning that has been taking place in a community with a notable diversity of people and interests, but with the shared goal of investigating children's mathematical behaviour on a measure that can be trusted.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) on angiogenensis of random skin flaps in rats.

METHODS
Thirty-two SD rats were randomly divided into three CTGF groups (rCTGF 120 ng, rCTGF 160 ng, rCTGF 200 ng) and one control group. Ischemic random dorsal skin flaps (2 cm x 8 cm) were constructed on the backs of the rats. In the CTGF groups, connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) was injected subcutaneously to the rats in the skin flaps at the time of surgery. The same volume of 0.9% NaCl solution was injected to the rats in the control group. Ten days later, the amount of viable tissues within the flaps were examined by planimetry. Specimens from the random skin flaps were harvested for immunohistological and HE staining to examine the microvascular growth.

RESULTS
The immunohistochemical staining and HE staining revealed that the three CTGF groups had more vessels than the control group (21.00 +/- 3.423, 27.38 +/- 3.114 and 37.38 +/- 3.583 vs. 13.88 +/- 1.959, P < 0.05). Similar results were found in the middle parts of the skin flaps (15.50 +/- 2.777, 24.63 +/- 3.335 and 28.63 +/- 4.984 vs. 9.50 +/- 1.927, P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION
CTGF may enhance the survival of skin flaps in a dose-dependent manner, which is associated with an increase in angiogenesis of skin flaps.


Floridcemento-osseous dysplasia (FCOD) is a"fibro-osseouslesion" that characteristically affects the jaw bones of the middle-aged with multi-quadrant radiopaque cementum-like masses. In thepast, the condition was known with a variety of names causing confusion in diagnosis and treatment. The condition is usually asymptomatic and needs no treatment as such. The diagnosis of FCOD is made on the basis of typical clinico-radiological features and biopsy is usually not recommended due to the risk of postoperative infection. This paper reports a rare case of FCOD affecting mandible bilaterally in a forty-two years old woman.


The ground state properties and the properties of the low-lying states of the beryllium isotopes are investigated using the extended version of the Antisymmetrized Molecular Dynamics Multi-Slater Determinant model. The theoretical method is found to be very useful to study the ground state properties of various nuclei including light unstable nuclei. Many experimental data can be successfully reproduced by the present approach. Binding energies, the energies of the 21+ states of the even-even isotopes, electromagnetic transition strengths and quadrupole moments of the proton and neutron distribution are calculated. The abnormal spin and parity of the ground state of 11Be can be described with properly chosen interaction parameters. Interesting phenomena such as the development of cluster structures is observed.


The effect of ceramic thermal barrier coating thickness on the cooling performance of a liquid-propellant rocket engine combustor has been investigated through combustion/cooling performance analysis whose results verified against measured data from hot-firing tests. Also has been confirmed the effect of film cooling amount near the face plate on the coolant temperature and on the thermal barrier coating surface temperature. Some important points to be considered for designing cooling schemes for regeneratively-cooled rocket engine combustor have been drawn and reviewed from present study and further verification of the analysis tool should be performed in the future.


I observe Iris Murdoch's distinctive use of the word 'flux' in discussion of Sartre's Nausea and show that her usage is persuasive and revolutionary, first as Sartre exegesis, second as Heraclitus exegesis, and throughout as a contribution to the philosophy of language. Murdoch's usage of 'flux' frames a comparison of Sartre's Roquentin with other figures who have had similarly flowing experience but without nausea. Roquentin's plight is shown to be 'a philosopher's plight' precipitated by a defective theory of descriptive success. I then show how the Heraclitean fragments would support Murdoch's treatment of flux and on close analysis contradict the established view exemplified in the work of Wittgenstein and Jonathan Barnes. Flux is not a variety of change, and the river image 'cannot be analysed into non-metaphorical components without a loss of substance'.