One of the key challenges for Oil and Gas industry in current (low price) scenario, is efficient handling of mature Assets. This is because of the fact that reasonable amount of hydrocarbons still exist in such reservoirs but in scattered and partially-drained locations. Moreover, lower production rates, combined with ever-increasing costs, hardly satisfies the economic screening criteria for their expansion with new wells. This study presents an approach used on such a Mature Gas Giant in Pakistan, in order to re-vitalize old wells and exploit the scattered sweet spots (still prevailing in reservoir), with the help of a robust engineering and geological strategy.
 The field under study was discovered in 1950s, in the eastern onshore area of Pakistan. The primary reservoir, under study, is a depletion drive fractured limestone i.e. no pressure support was observed in P/Z data. At present, more than 92% of the EUR has already been produced from this reservoir, which translates to 82% of Field In-Place volume. However, the performances of multiple wells have gone down with time, due to the depletion in Reservoir Pressure and the channeling of water towards producing wells-through the faulted/fractured zone. To cut water production and arrest the Annual field decline of 7-8 %, various activities have been carried out, including cementing, tubing size reductions, chemicals; but all the efforts went in vain.
 In this paper, a detailed approach is presented, that was taken to tap the undrained areas in the vicinity of the existing producers - suffering from water hold ups and low gas rate problems. The Production logs were used first to identify the water production zone. Afterwards, a comprehensive algorithm was developed to analyze the Geological and Geophysical parameters and identify the undrained prospects while keeping minimal capital exposure. So far, a gain of around 10 MMScfd have been observed with the help of two engineered Sidetracks - which has added around 10 - 15 BCF reserves in our portfolio.
 The most common issues encountered in a mature asset are liquid loading and water breakthrough. This study illustrates the methodology to resolve such issues with minimum investment towards the end of field life. It focuses on the benefits of sidetracks as a production enhancement tool, to reduce the annual decline. This paper offers an innovative approach, to utilize each geological and engineering data set in a systematic manner, in order to re-work old wells at optimum locations to evade issues affiliated with gas entrapment and water production. In the end, the paper also describes the evaluation process of production gains, geology, well construction, and completion types, that can be adapted to reap maximum rewards in such mature fields.


Aim: The aim of the present study was to compare the data and epidemiological characteristics of orthopedic trauma patients who presented to the emergency room in the period of pandemic year with the year before the pandemic.
Methods: In the present study, epidemiological characteristics of patients with orthopedic trauma who applied to the emergency department during the COVID-19 year (March 24-July 1, 2020) and the same period of the previous year (March 24-July 1, 2019) were compared. The patients were divided into two groups as pandemic period patients and pre-pandemic group patients (control group). Demographic characteristics, injury mechanisms, fracture types, fracture areas, simultaneous fractures, the locations where the fracture occurred, open fracture types, trauma scores and osteoporosis characteristics were evaluated.
Results: 15,245 patients were evaluated, and 36.5% of these patients were the ones who were admitted to our hospital in the pandemic period while 63.5% of the patients were the ones who were admitted to our hospital in the pre-pandemic period. During the pandemic period, 67.2% of the patients visited due to the low-energy traumas, 14.3% high-energy traumas, 8.1% work accidents and 10.5% traffic accidents. In the pre-pandemic group, on the other hand, the cause was low-energy traumas in 58.4% of the patients, high-energy traumas in 17.8%, work accidents in 12.7% and traffic accidents in 11.1%. In the pre-pandemic group, 87.4% of the patients developed soft tissue traumas, while 12.6% had fractures or dislocations. In the pandemic group, 82.2% had soft tissue traumas whereas 17.8% had fractures or dislocations. 44% of the patients in the pre-pandemic group and 61% in the pandemic group were evaluated to have osteoporotic fractures. 41.4% of the patients in the pandemic group had minor injuries, while 49.5% had serious and 10.1% had critical injuries. In the pre-pandemic group, on the other hand, 36.2% of the patients had minor, 46.4% serious and 17.4% critical injuries.
Conclusion: During the COVID-19 pandemic, because of the effects of long-term inactivity and stress factors, changes were observed in the distribution of the traumatized patients. It should be concluded that people at high risk of osteoporotic fractures should be allowed to practice their physical activities such as walking and exercising at certain time intervals during curfew times such as pandemics.


Heterochrony, which is a change in the developmental rate and timing, is one of the mechanisms proposed to explain alterations in meristic characters, such as the variation in the numbers of skeletal elements between individuals within a population. To verify the possible role of heterochrony in the evolutionary transformation of the cyprinid pharyngeal tooth formula, the development of the pharyngeal dentition in zebrafish (Danio rerio) was studied under the influence of deficiency of thyroid hormones at 28 degrees C and standard zebrafish rearing conditions. Thiourea was used to decrease the level of thyroid hormones, a treatment known to cause retardation of several developmental processes, including skeletal development and tooth formation. Retarded development resulted in a high degree of variability as well as left - right asymmetry in the dentition. Supernumerary teeth developed; these were either extending a tooth row anteriorly or were added lateral to a tooth row, or both. An addition laterally resembled the start of formation of an accessory tooth row. Compared to younger individuals, older zebrafish showed a higher number of supernumerary teeth, often associated with a broadened attachment zone on the jaws. Both anteriorly and laterally positioned supernumerary teeth were regularly displayed. These results support the hypothesis that heterochrony can affect dental characters in cyprinids, as has been suggested in the development of the skull, caudal fin and the Weberian apparatus.


A 2.4 GHz linear CMOS power amplifier (PA) for OFDM WLAN application in 65 nm CMOS technology is presented. The cascode PA operating from 3.3 V employs the proposed asymmetric lightly doped drain MOSFET (A-LDD) structure as common-gate stage to sustain large signal stress and 1.2 V core device as common source stage to provide high frequency operation. Beside, dynamic bias technique is used not only to increase efficiency but also improve the linearity. In the measurement, the breakdown voltage of the A-LDD MOSFET can achieve 6.2 V compared to standard I/O device of 5 V. A PA EVM of -29 dB is achieved at output power of 17 dBm with DC current of 173 mA from 3.3 V supply. Also, it reveals the output P1 dB of PA is 25.3 dBm.


This article studies Pausanias' description of Chinese silk production and Chinese geography within the context of Rome's eastern trade. China was the last stop of land and sea routes connecting Rome and the Far East through Asia Minor, Egypt, Arabia, Persia and India. Although he never journeyed into the Far East, Pausanias provides vivid descriptions of these regions, their products and inhabitants, and the people involved in trade there. The article examines the sources he might have used to construct narratives about the Far East, China and Chinese silk and where such sources might have been made available to him.


Silk is considered as a biomaterial with basically two types of protein embedded and overlapped, namely, fibroin and sericin. Fibroin is the fibrous protein and sericin is the gummy sheath which holds the fibroin fibres together in a core sheath structure in a ratio of 1:3. The present study focuses on the degumming study of the silk cocoons where the removal of sericin is an important factor whether it is textile or Pharmaceutical research. The cocoons were subjected to boiling temperature in 0.02 M sodium carbonate for different time frames for 30 mins, 45 mins, and 60 mins and checked the % removal of sericin with the help of degumming loss % equation. Then the best sample with maximum removal of sericin is forwarded to prepare regenerated silk fibroin where an issue of Island like morphology is procured which is considered as a significant finding in case of drug delivery concepts. The characterization part was done to give a testimony to the fact obtained through research work. To see the effect of sericin removal (Degumming) from fibroin in silk cocoons, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was performed and for Regenerated silk fibroin, along with SEM, Atomic force microscopy (AFM) was also performed.


The addition of malunggay leaf powder (MLP) in cream cheese produced from pure buffalo's milk was investigated to compare the nutritive value, sensory quality and consumer acceptability and determine the optimum level of inclusion of MLP. The cream cheese was produced from pure buffalo's milk and was mixed with 0% MLP (T1), 0.5% MLP (T2), 1% MLP (T3) and 1.5% MLP (T4). Moisture, fat, protein and calorie content of the cream cheese did not differ significantly among treatments while crude fiber content increased significantly with the addition of MLP. The sensory characteristics of pure cream cheese were significantly higher than those with added MLP. The inclusion levels of MLP had significant negative quadratic relationship with the color and general acceptability of the cheese. Texture, aroma, flavor and aftertaste had significant negative linear relations with the levels of MLP. Consumer acceptability of cream cheese with 0.5, 1 and 1.5% MLP was lower than 0% MLP. This indicates that malunggay leaf powder cannot be added to cream cheese from buffalo's milk at the levels used in the study. Inclusion rate for malunggay powder lower than 0.5% should be considered in the production of cream cheese. Keywords: buffalo's milk, cream cheese, malunggay, sensory quality


Social network research often takes the view that networks chiefly influence the spread of culture, with few reciprocal effects. While some network scholars have implied a coevolutionary relationship between the two, cultural sociologists have provided increasingly convincing evidence that it is in fact cultural preferences which mediate network structure, rather than the other way around. In the present work, we attempt to validate one such model of the conversion of cultural capital to network position. We use Twitter data to extract the ego networks of individuals and foursquare check-ins to understand their cultural preferences. Our results are indicative of the importance of considering sociological models in which culture influences network structure.


Purpose: The study has two related purposes. To: 1. describe breast cancer risk factors and screening patterns in a sample of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) women from four tribes in the Northern Plains region; and 2. ascertain associations between women9s risk factors and their adherence to mammographic screening guidelines with the intention of using the results to develop future interventions to increase screening, especially in higher risk non-adherent women. Background: The Indian Health Service (IHS) has noted that challenging economic factors make increases in AI/AN women9s screening participation difficult. In this light, understanding the relationship between risk factors and screening adherence is an important first step in developing low-cost interventions to improve screening participation, especially for women at higher risk of breast cancer. Lending importance to the role of screening in reducing breast cancer deaths in Northern Plains AI/AN women are high rates of later stage (regional or distant disease) diagnoses that are equal to the Non-Hispanic White (NHW) population (95.8 and 95.4/100,000 respectively). Later stage at diagnosis is associated with worse survival profiles. We hypothesized that women at higher risk as compared to women at lower risk on the factors analyzed would be more likely to adhere to annual screening guidelines promoted by their clinics. Procedures/Methods: Criteria for inclusion in this study were: women with no history of breast cancer who were ≥ 40 years of age, and had at least one mammogram on file. We reviewed the charts of a representative sample of ∼20% of eligible women in four tribes (1250 records, 1088 of of which met inclusion criteria). The study collected Gail Model risk factor data and also assigned BIRADS scores to an early and late mammogram where they were available (888 pairs) for each woman. In addition, we collected age at menopause as an additional risk factor. For each Gail Model risk factor (age, age at menarche, age at first live birth, number of first degree relatives with a breast cancer history, breast biopsy—number of biopsies, history of atypical hyperplasia), women were assigned to higher or lower risk categories by comparison with calculated scores for women of the same age. Overall five-year and lifetime Gail Model risk scores, using standard criteria, also were calculated for each woman and compared with predicted risk for women of equivalent ages. For breast density, women were determined to be at lower risk if their BIRADS score was 1 or 2, and at higher risk if they were scored 3 or 4. To ascertain levels of screening adherence, we followed American Cancer Society (ACS) guidelines which recommend an annual mammogram beginning at age 40. We used this standard because it is the recommendation given to women in the clinics where the study was conducted. All women who received screening exams within 1.5 years (18 months) were considered adherent. Results are age-adjusted for each tribal site and across sites. Summary of Findings: Only P-values for older age at menopause (0.02), older chronological age (0.005), and 5-year Gail Model risk scores (0.02) were consistent with our hypotheses that women at higher risk would be more adherent with screening guidelines. There was no significant association between screening adherence and life-time risk (0.12), family history (0.28), age at menarche (0.99), age at first live birth (0.68), biopsy history (0.99), or BIRADS density scores (0.16). Conclusions: The minimal relationship between risk factors and adherence suggests that generally neither individual risk factors nor overall risk predict women9s screening decisions. This suggests that personal and clinic-centered mediators should be identified to guide future interventions to increase the proportion of women who adhere to screening guidelines, especially women who are at greater risk. Citation Information: Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2011;20(10 Suppl):B95.


Background : In the traditional care pathway for prolonged mechanically ventilated (PMV) patients, the patients often progress from an intensive care unit (ICU) directly to their home or to an unspecialised nursing home setting. In these settings, specialised offerings for PMV patients such as round-the-clock respiratory rehabilitation and weaning programmes are usually not being offered. Therefore in the traditional pathway, PMV patients do not receive the integrated rehabilitation and therapy programmes they require. Moreover, patients returning home without professional support are a challenge for the family caregivers, often resulting in unplanned patient readmission to the hospital and ICU. In addition to this suboptimal care situation, PMV patients cause very high resource consumption for hospitals: whereas PMV patients account for ten percent of ICU patients, they can consume up to fifty percent of the ICU resources. Care coordination between stakeholders : In contrast to hospital ICUs, dedicated service offerings outside of the hospital setting have the potential to improve the care that PMV patients receive. In 2011, Linde AG – Healthcare developed an innovative programme for PMV patients offering an integrated, standardized care path outside a hospital's ICU including a patient's own home. The programme spans a variety of operating models to meet individual needs at different stages of the care continuum. The patients can easily move between the operational models of this path, depending on the complexity of care and the support required. The mission of this programme is to manage the whole PMV patient pathway by ensuring highest quality of care in an efficient and effective manner in order to establish an optimal care service offering for PMV patients. To achieve this mission it is essential to integrate the patient pathway between different care providers and decision makers. In addition to the optimisation of care to PMV patients, the optimisation of treatment cost-efficiency in the fragmented setting of public and private providers is the key argument for Linde's innovative care pathway. For being able to attract stakeholders along the path, reimbursement needs to be tailored such that reimbursement is not solely reduced but rather optimized to combine sustainable financial results with optimal patient results i.e. in the form of sharing cost savings, reduced hospitalization and exacerbations as well as by means of telehealth/- monitoring. In order to bring together, manage and improve all the aspects of integration between the stakeholders in the innovative care programme, the Integrated Care Pathway Project (ICPP) assessment tool was developed. It is based on six pillars: Leadership, Interdisciplinary Teams, Coordination of Care, Quality and Safety Assurance, Financial Management and Reimbursement and Patient-centred Care. When looking at integration aspects in the care programme, there are two types of integration to consider: the internal integration between the different operating models of the care pathway of the single provider (Linde Healthcare) as well as the external integration/collaboration with external partners (hospitals, other service providers, community). Assessing internal and external integration levels : Although there are many examples of integration assessment tools for the healthcare market, they are mainly specific for public sector integration assessment or specific disease management pathway integration assessment and therefore do not exactly match the Linde programme's needs. Based on a thorough literature review and the above mentioned main pillars and principles of integration, a specific assessment tool for internal and external integration was developed. This integration assessment tool comprises over 200 questions (internal and external integration each) and is divided into the six main pillars. Data is collected using an interview methodology and subsequent analysis is based on the worldwide standard for RADAR from the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) with its enabler and results areas [1]. For the classification of assessment results, four levels of integration are foreseen: Minimal integration, basic collaboration, and close collaboration – partly integrated and fully integrated respectively [2]. Early results of the first assessments are available with regard to the level of integration. The external integration assessment suggests that the majority of pillars are within the scope of 'basic collaboration'. Concerning the internal integration, the integration level is higher, reaching 'close collaboration – partly integrated'. Based on further evaluations, integration improvement projects will be started. References : 1. McCarthy, G., Greatbanks, R. , Yang, JB.. Guidelines for assessing organisational performance against the EFQM Model of Excellence using the Radar Logic, Manchester School of Management,2002, ISBN-10: 1861151179. 2. Heath B, Wise Romero P, and Reynolds K. A Standard Framework for Levels of Integrated Healthcare. Washington, D.C.SAMHSA-HRSA Centre for Integrated Health Solutions. March 2013.


Cogeneration is an energy conversion process, where electricity and useful heat are produced simultaneously in one process. Also, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced as well. The cogeneration process may be based on the use of steam, gas turbines or combustion engines. However, there have been few models with an output of less than 100 kilowatt. In the present study, a spark ignited gas engine with generation output of 10 kilowatts was developed for micro cogeneration package. The gas engine shows 29.2% of thermal efficiency under Stoichiometric combustion and 33.6% of thermal efficiency under lean combustion. NOx emission shows less than 10ppm at 13% oxygen under stoichiometric combustion and about 100ppm at 13% oxygen under lean combustion.


[structure: see text] The tetraacetylenic compound, (S)-minquartynoic acid (1), is synthesized in seven linear steps and 17% overall yield from commercially available azelaic acid monomethyl ester. The key step is a one-pot three-component Cadiot-Chodkiewicz reaction to construct the tetrayne unit without using either a diyne or a triyne intermediate.


Many seemingly discordant results are reconciled if firm-specific return volatility is characterized as the intensity with which firm-specific events occur. A functionally efficient stock market allocates capital to its highest value uses, which often amounts to financing Schumpeterian creative destruction, wherein creative winner firms outpace destroyed losers, who can be last year's winners. This elevation in firm-specific fundamentals volatility elevates firm-specific return volatility in a sufficiently informationally efficient stock market. These linkages are interconnected feedback loops, rather than unidirectional chains of causality.


Objectives: Human oral mucosal epithelial cells derived from 7 healthy volunteer donors were cultured in a clean room in a cell-processing center (CPC) according to good manufacturing practice guidelines. Cell culture and fabricated transplantable epithelial cell sheets were validated for treating ulcers after endoscopic mucosal dissection. Methods: The clonal growth and morphology of the human oral mucosal epithelial cells seeded on temperature-responsive surfaces were observed. During the cultivation, sterilization tests were performed to validate the environment in the CPC. To validate the purity and morphology of fabricated epithelial cell sheets, cell sheets harvested from temperature-responsive surfaces by temperature reduction were examined by histology and flow cytometry. Results: Human oral mucosal epithelial cells were successfully cultured and harvested as continuous cell sheets from temperature-responsive culture inserts without any animal-derived materials. During the cultivations, the sterile environment in the CPC was confirmed. The results of histological and flow cytometry analysis showed the high reproducibility of stratification and the purity of the fabricated human oral mucosal epithelial cell sheets. Conclusions: The method for fabricating epithelial cell sheets shown in this study was suitable for the validation for clinical trials and suggested usability of the fabricated cell sheets.


Zimbabwe adopted the Bretton Woods-type reform strategy at the end of 1991. These reforms were targeted at achieving rapid and sustainable growth. Export expansion was at the center of the overall strategy and was predicated on a more efficient resource allocation system that entailed trade liberalization and improved international competitiveness of domestic production through increased inflows of foreign capital. This study explores the general equilibrium implications of the policy changes and also applies econometric analysis to test the long-term relationships between FDI, exports and growth. The results confirm that both FDI and exports cause growth. However, exports have a weak causal effect on growth. This result is explained by the fact that the inward-looking policies that have been in place during the relevant period made export production a residual activity. The general equilibrium analysis reveals that combining tariff reductions and targeted investment incentives had a more desired effect on economic performance than separately applying such policies. This result strongly suggests the importance of policy complementarity.


Indonesia is one of the developing countries who are actively carried out their development. In the development of the national economy, a country requires financing either from the government or the community. Acceptance of the government to build a national economy gained through taxes and other admission. One of the sources government use are the community investment through bank, other financial institutions and capital markets. Capital Market in Indonesia is one of the essential elements and benchmarks of the country's economy. One of the characteristics in advanced industrial countries and new industries is the presence of capital markets growth and development. With the growth in the Capital Market, there are so many problems that occurred such as embezzlement, fraud, misuse of funds, and misuse from the irresponsible Market Intermediary. With the problems that occurred, the victim of these problem is the investor who investing their funds in Indonesian Capital Market. Lots of this problems that occurred because there is no institution directly concentrate in investor protection fund. So, the government established Indonesian Securities Investor Protection Fund (ISIPF) for protecting, controlling, monitoring, and regulating the activities that occurred in Capital Market. With the establishment of Indonesia Securities Protection Fund (ISIPF), investor that invest their funds can claim their investment if the violation occurred. With their protection, capital market in indonesia will gain more trust from domestic and foreign investor in the future.


COMPASS is a patient speci'jiic data base containing the longitudinal medical/pharmaceutical event histories of 5.25 million Medicaid recipients in the Llniled States. Sophisticated epidemiologic software is used to process and retrieve phormaceutical exposure and medical event data for conducting post-marketing drug surveillance studies. To date, several studies have been conducted using COMPASS which corraborate findings in more traditional settings. Although important limitations of the COMPASS data are known, the data bases advantages suggest a useful role in PMS studies.


Natural attenuation processes of chlorinated solvents in soils and groundwaters are increasingly considered as options to manage contaminated sites. Under anoxic conditions, reactions with ferrous iron sorbed at iron(hyro)xides may dominate the overall transformation of carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) and other chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons. We investigated mechanisms and product formation of CCl4 reduction by Fe(II) sorbed to goethite, which may lead to completely dehalogenated products or to chloroform (CHCl3), a toxic product which is fairly persistent under anoxic conditions. A simultaneous transfer of two electrons and cleavage of two C-Cl bonds of CCl4 would completely circumvent chloroform production. To distinguish between initial one- or two-bond cleavage, 13C-isotope fractionation of CCl4 was studied for reactions with Fe(II)/ goethite (isotopic enrichment factor epsilon = -26.5% percent per thousand) and with model systems for one C-Cl bond cleavage and either single-electron transfer (Fe(II) porphyrin, epsilon = -26.1 percent per thousand) or partial two-electron transfer (polysulfide, epsilon = -22.2 percent per thousand). These epsilon values differ significantlyfrom calculations for simultaneous cleavage of two C-Cl bonds (epsilon approximately equal to -50 percent per thousand), indicating that only one C-Cl bond is broken in the critical first step of the reaction. At pH 7, reduction of CCl4 by Fe(II)/ goethite produced approximately 33% CHCl3, 20% carbon monoxide (CO), and up to 40% formate (HCOO-). Addition of 2-propanol-d8 resulted in 33% CDCl3 and only 4% CO, indicating that both products were generated from trichloromethyl radicals (*CCl3), chloroform by reaction with hydrogen radical donors and CO by an alternative pathway likely to involve surface-bound intermediates. Hydrolysis of CO to HCOO-was surface-catalyzed by goethite butwastoo slow to account for the measured formate concentrations. Chloroform yields slightly increased with pH at constant Fe(II) sorption density, suggesting that pH-dependent surface processes direct product branching ratios. Surface-stabilized intermediates may thus facilitate abiotic mineralization of CCl4, whereas the presence of H radical donors, such as natural organic matter, enhances formation of toxic CHCl3.


Received ; Received in revised form ; Accepted ; ABSTRACT Statement of the Problem: Smoking affects not only smokers themselves, but also the people around them. 700 million children are exposed to second hand tobacco worldwide. One of the adverse effects of being a passive smoker is oral pigmentation. Purpose: Evaluating association between being a passive smoker and oral pigmentation. Materials and Method: This is a historical cohort. 140 healthy children aged from 4 to 10 with the mean age of 6.68±1.60 years old (70 with a smoker parent and 70 without smoker parents) were examined for oral pigmentation. Environmental factors were evaluated by asking the parents to fill a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Logistic regression and Spearman scale. Results: There was a meaningful relationship between having a smoker parent and oral pigmentation (P-value=0.0001). spearman correlation showed parents' duration of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes per day meaningfully affect the severity of oral pigmentation (R=0.329). The study did not find a statistical relationship between oral pigmentation in passive smoking and sex or house area. Conclusion: Children exposed to secondhand tobacco are at more risk for oral pigmentation. Its severity depends on duration of cigarette smoking and the number of cigarettes per day.


While Ecosystem services have become the subject of wide attention at the academic and political level, knowledge gaps, complexity and uncertainty make them hard to manage in practice (Seppelt at al., 2011). This presentation proposes an innovative methodological tool to help stakeholders optimize the provision of ecosystem services at a landscape scale, a relevant scale to study both collective action and ecological processes (Prager et al., 2012). We present the results of an on-going case study carried out in a cereal plain in the West of France. It focuses on a pioneering initiative of a cooperative aiming to reconcile agricultural production with environmental protection. Our group of researchers in social and ecological sciences developed a method based on one of the most recent design theories, the Concept-Knowledge theory (Hatchuel & Weil, 2009) with local stakeholders, to involve them in the collective exploration of ecosystem services. Efforts were focused on the reintroduction of grasslands in the cereal crop rotations to improve ecological regulation services (Berthet et al., in press). "Grassland" is a subject of controversy, considered as a natural habitat by ecologists vs. a forage production area by farmers. The collective design method made it possible to identify a conceptual model of grassland and to explore its potential properties, some of which were not known by stakeholders initially. Innovative farming practices were developed, not focused on trade-offs between production and conservation, but rather on the identification of new values that could be created by farmers through a renewed management of ecosystem services. This collective exploration process revealed new interdependences between stakeholders. This paper brings together ecological and managerial knowledge to develop an innovative method aimed at fostering the collective design of ecosystem services at a landscape scale. It also gives useful insights to develop ad-hoc governance strategies.


One approach to achieve sustainability is to increase milk production in each animal. Milk production is directly associated with dry matter intake, greater dry matter intake greater milk yield. It is also important how each animal used or partition the energy intake. For this reason the study of regulatory mechanisms of dry matter intake and energy metabolism are important in milk production. Some important factors on the dry matter intake and energy partitioning regulation are the hormones ghrelin, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide and glucagon-like peptide-1.


UNLABELLED
On the basis of 36 cases in sexology, the authors sought the site of the G point on the basis of clinical, ultrasonographic and anatomical findings.

CLINICAL FINDINGS
examination of pleasant vaginal sensitivity. Discovered by patients unaware of it. Recognised by patients aware of it. Ultrasonographic findings: localization of a hypoechogenic zone, above all in the lower third of the vagina, corresponding with pleasant vaginal sensitivity and changing after digital vaginal examination and contractions of the levators. Anatomical findings: dissection of the anterior perineum of cadavers seeking this ultrasonographic hypoechogenic structure. These various approaches lead the authors to locate the G point at the urethral sphincter, as was suggested by Grafenberg in 1950, and to situate vaginal and clitoris sensitivity in the same anatomical entity: the urethro-clitorido-vulval entity.


the reader is somewhat reminded of the perception of Mu'tazilism by European scholars such as Heinrich Steiner in the second half of the nineteenth century, who considered the Mu'tazilites as free-thinkers of Islam. Although this perception is questionable as far as classical Mu'tazilism is concerned, it is, however, certainly valid according to the perception of Muslim modernists who often see in Mu'tazilism a symbol of intellectual freedom and liberty, democracy and humanism, as becomes clear from the examples referred to in this book.


A three-solvent system was used to determine the Hildebrand solubility parameters of organic nonelectrolytes. The experimental Hildebrand solubility parameter represents a weighted average of the mole fraction solubilities of the solute in these three individual solvents (ethyl acetate, 1-propanol, and 1,2-propanediol). The solvent system estimated the Hildebrand solubility parameters of solutes within a range from 8.9 to 14.8 (cal/cm3)2(1). Deviations ranged from 0.8 to 12.9%, with the highest value at the extreme and well within 10% at the median. Estimation of the Hildebrand solubility parameters of solutes within a wider range and with somewhat better accuracy was made with a five-solvent system (hexane, ethyl acetate, 1-propanol, 1,2-propanediol, and water).


The Desert Uplands is a biogeographic region in central-western Queensland that lies within the rangelands area of Australia. In the region, many pastoralists are clearing the scrub and woodland vegetation in order to improve production for cattle grazing. Only limited production gains are possible because of the low rainfall and infertile soils relative to many other areas of Queensland. To assess whether such developments are economic and desirable, a first step is to value the environmental implications of alternate management regimes. A stated preference choice modelling study was undertaken to provide estimates of these values. Attributes included in the choice model pertain to reductions in the population size of nonthreatened species, the number of endangered species lost to the region, and changes in regional income and employment. A nested logit model was used to model the data. Results indicate, inter alia, that the loss of one endangered species to the Desert Uplands region is valued similarly to three jobs lost. The welfare implications of several different policy options regarding levels of tree retention are estimated.


This paper investigates the role of a firm's degree of business development—defined as the extent to which the firm has already developed into a continuous and sustainable market participant—in moderating the benefits of a scientific approach to decision-making, which combines cognition and action-based components. We conducted a field experiment with 261 UK entrepreneurs with different degrees of business development. Our results show that all treated firms experience a positive effect on firm size, but not all on firm revenue. The treatment is associated with a positive effect on firm revenue for firms with a more advanced degree of business development, but a negative effect for firms with a lower degree of business development. We elaborate on the implications of these results for future re-search.


Agricultural commercialization is considered a critical pathway for economic development in Sub Saharan Africa. However, lack of market information and poor infrastructure may impede this development. We employ discrete choice models to investigate traders preferences for high quality soybean traits and explore heterogeneity across traders using primary data from northern Ghana. Random parameter logit (RPL) and latent class logit (LCL) models were both fit to the data and used to estimate marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) for soybean trade attributes. Results suggest that traders significantly discount the price of soybean attributes such as light brown, small size, varieties other than Jenguma" and soybean mixed with foreign materials like stones, straw and husk. However, traders were willing to pay a higher price for a bag of soybean that meets all the preferred trade attributes. We also find significant heterogeneity among traders explained partly by socioeconomic and trade characteristics of the respondents. Three distinct classes were identified per the LCL results with unique preferences, suggesting both skepticism and high price discounting. To ensure consistent information on quality and price of soybean among supply chain actors, there is the need for establishment of multi-stakeholder platform for consensus building on quality standards. Acknowledgement : This material is based upon work supported by the United States Agency for International Development, as part of the Feed the Future initiative, under the CGIAR Fund, award number BFS?G?11?00002, and the predecessor fund the Food Security and Crisis Mitigation II grant, award number EEM?G?00?04?00013. The data was partly funded by the Office of International Program (OIP), UIUC; Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) and the Savanna Agricultural Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-SARI).


Context. Pebble accretion is an emerging paradigm for the fast growth of planetary cores. Pebble flux and pebble sizes are the key parameters used in the pebble accretion models.
Aims. We aim to derive the pebble sizes and fluxes from state-of-the-art dust coagulation models and to understand their dependence on disk parameters and the fragmentation threshold velocity, and the impact of those on planetary growth by pebble accretion.
Methods. We used a 1D dust evolution model including dust growth and fragmentation to calculate realistic pebble sizes and mass flux. We used this information to integrate the growth of planetary embryos placed at various locations in the protoplanetary disk.
Results. Pebble flux strongly depends on disk properties including size and turbulence level, as well as the dust aggregates' fragmentation threshold. We find that dust fragmentation may be beneficial to planetary growth in multiple ways. First of all, it prevents the solids from growing to very large sizes, at which point the efficiency of pebble accretion drops. What is more, small pebbles are depleted at a lower rate, providing a long-lasting pebble flux. As the full coagulation models are computationally expensive, we provide a simple method of estimating pebble sizes and flux in any protoplanetary disk model without substructure and with any fragmentation threshold velocity.


The peculiar politics of the Horn of Africa derives from the region's exceptional pattern of state formation. At its center, Ethiopia was Africa's sole indigenous state to remain independent through the period of colonial conquest, and also imposed its rule on areas not historically subject to it. The Somalis, most numerous of the pastoralist peoples, were unique in rejecting the colonial partition, which divided them between British and Italian Somalilands, French Djibouti, Kenya, and Ethiopia, while formerly Italian Eritrea, incorporated into Ethiopia in the post-World War II settlement, retained a sense of separate identity that fueled a long struggle for independence. These differences, coupled with the 1974 revolution in Ethiopia, led to wars that culminated in 1991 in the independence of Eritrea, the collapse of the Somali state, and the creation in Ethiopia of a federal system based on ethnicity. Developments since that time provide a distinctive slant on the legacies of colonial rule, the impact of guerrilla warfare, the role of religion in a region divided between Christianity and Islam, the management of ethnicity, and external intervention geared to largely futile attempts at state reconstruction. The Horn continues to follow trajectories of its own, at variance from the rest of Africa.


Current literature does not support the efficacy of solitary use of energy-transfer therapies, such as ice or heat treatments, or electrotherapy, for the treatment of idiopathic back pain. Bed rest does not alter the natural history of back pain, and in fact can be detrimental to optimal recovery. Mechanical therapies, such as traction and orthoses, have limited usefulness. Although orthoses do not appear to weaken the trunk, they also do not appear to alter posture out of the brace, do not consistently diminish back muscle action during activities, and do not immobilize the spine. There have been no conclusive studies to substantiate the solitary use of any of these forms of treatment, although some may be beneficial at times in an adjunctive role.


Multipara metric analysis of compound toxicity at the level of individual cells using flow cytometry and cellular imaging-based approaches such as High Content Screening (HCS) have played key roles in the detection of toxicity and classification of compounds based on observed patterns of reversible and irreversible cellular injury. Gold III complex (AuL2) of bidentate ligand derived from the cyclization reaction of Schiff base of 4-amino-5-phenyl-4h-1,2,4-triazole-3-thiol with thioglycolic acid was synthesized and characterized by using melting point, FTIR spectroscopy, HNMR, UV-Visible spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The presence of chloride counter ion in complex was supported by conductivity measurement and the presence of hydrated water was supported by thermal gravimetric studies. We examine the cytotoxic effects of gold complex and its ligand in one cultured cellular models (MCF7 cell line) by High Content Screening (HCS) and analysis and cell viability assay (MMT assay). The inhibitory effect of AuL2 on breast cancer cell growth was due to induction of apoptosis as evidenced by annexin V staining and cell shrinkage. The study found that AuL2-mediated lead to disruption of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential (MMP), cell membrane permeability, nuclear condensation, fragmentation and release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria into the cytosol and also suggesting AuL2 as a potential MCF7 inhibitor compared to doxorubicin as positive control. In this study, data showed that gold (III) complex AuL2 may have therapeutic value in breast cancer treatment worthy of further development.


Thoracentesis is a procedure often performed in children with pleural effusions to assist in diagnosis and management. Its safety and utility for immunocompromised patients with neutropenia (absolute neutrophil count, <1,500 polymorphonuclear leukocytes and band forms per microL) is unclear. We reviewed our experience over a 10-year period to evaluate the role of thoracentesis for neutropenic children with cancer who had pulmonary effusions of presumed infectious etiology. Twenty-two patients were identified, and 18 had absolute neutrophil counts of < or = 500/microL. Empirical antibiotics had been administered to 95% of these patients and antifungal agents to 72%. Two patients' cultures were positive for fungal organisms: Aspergillus terreus in one case and Candida albicans in the other. Both of these patients had been receiving antifungal therapy. Therapy was altered for these two patients plus one additional patient in whose pleural fluid tumor cells were unexpectedly found. Eight of the remaining 19 patients underwent another diagnostic procedure, yielding five additional diagnoses. In conclusion, thoracentesis is safe and should be considered as a diagnostic test for febrile neutropenic patients with pulmonary effusions of presumed infectious etiology, although more invasive tests may be warranted.


This research focuses on the environmental impacts related to the manufacturing of solar photovoltaic (PV) technology. The life cycle assessment (LCA) method was used to assess the environmental impacts for a CS6XVP module. The current supply chain, based in China, was compared to a hypothetical Ontario based supply chain to determine environmental and economic costs. LCA results showed that the manufacturing of modules in Ontario reduced primary energy demands by 22% and GHG emission by 88%. Moreover, the carbon difference between supply chains equated to $5.84 per module. This leads to the conclusion that there are clear environmental benefits to manufacturing PV technology in Ontario; however, the economic benefits of carbon costing are not significant enough to encourage a complete shift in the current supply chain. It is suggested that a change in carbon policy could help to support the development of PV manufacturing and other renewable energy technologies in Ontario.


The obesity epidemic has provoked considerable concern along with suggestions and demands for corrective measures. After surveying the basic features of the epidemic, we turn our attention to self-regulation, which is at the heart of most of the proposed solutions to the epidemic. Information, incentives, and most other tactics to get people to eat less and exercise more all rely on self-regulatory processes. More attention should be paid to the distinction between interventions that depend on individual self-regulation and interventions that bypass self-regulation. A detailed examination of self-regulatory and legislative regulatory alternatives, along with a detailed examination of the causes of the epidemic, leads to the conclusion that we should adopt a cautious and even skeptical approach to intervention. We scrutinize some of the principal proposed solutions to the obesity problem,  few if any of which inspire optimism. The severity of the problem does not justify implementing unproven interventions in the absence of reliable evidence of their effectiveness.


BACKGROUND
It is difficult to predict the recurrence of colorectal liver metastasis after curative hepatectomy. We investigated the relationship between subsequent metastasis and both CEA protein and CEA mRNA (TaqMan PCR) diachronic levels.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
The subjects were 30 patients with colorectal liver metastases. Serum CEA protein and CEA mRNA assays were performed every month after hepatectomy.

RESULTS
Metastasis recurred in 21 of the 30 patients. The CEA mRNA assay showed 26 cases with high (H) levels and 4 with low (L). Among the 15 patients whose protein levels were not elevated (NE group), 6 had recurrence; all 6 belonged to the mRNA H group. None of the 4 patients in the mRNA L group had recurrence. In the protein-elevated (E) group (DFI > 6 months) (n = 7), mRNA was elevated in 5 cases (71.4%) 6 months before recurrence, whereas protein was elevated in 1 case. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of CEA protein/mRNA for identifying recurrence were 71.4/100, 100/44.4, and 80/83.3%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
CEA mRNA is more sensitive than CEA protein in detecting recurrence. CEA mRNA may be useful for identifying high-risk groups or detecting recurrence at an early stage, when the CEA protein level is still low.


Infection with Trypanosoma cruzi decreases the ability of spleen cells from mice to respond to either T cell, concanavalin A (Con A), or B cell, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), mitogens. The effect of infection on the mitogenic response depends on the elapsed time between the day of infection and the time of mitogen presentation. Responses early in infection are normal, whereas later responses to either mitogen are depressed. Spleen cells from late trypanosome-infected mice inhibit the ability of normal spleen cells to respond to Con A or LPS. The cell in the T. cruzi-infected spleen cells responsible for this effect is nonadherent, sensitive to treatment with anti-mouse thymus serum plus complement, but insensitive to treatment with anti-immunoglobulin plus complement. These data indicate that infection with T. cruzi elicits over time the generation of T cells suppressive to T and B cell mitogenic responses.


We analyze the dynamics of two-component vector solitons, namely bright-in-dark solitons, via the variational approximation in Bose-Einstein condensates. The system is described by a vector nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation appropriate to multi-component Bose-Einstein condensates (BECs). The variational approximation is based on hyperbolic secant (hyperbolic tangent) for the bright (dark) component, which leads to a system of coupled ordinary differential equations for the evolution of the ansatz parameters. We obtain the oscillation dynamics of two-component dark-bright vector solitons. Analytical calculations are performed for same-width components in the vector soliton and numerical calculations extend the results to arbitrary widths. We calculate the binding energy of the system and find it proportional to the intercomponent coupling interaction, and numerically demonstrate the break up or unbinding of a dark-bright soliton. Our calculations explore observable eigenmodes, namely the internal oscillation eigenmode and the Goldstone eigenmode. We find analytically that the density of the bright component is required to be less than the density of the dark component in order to find the internal oscillation eigenmode of the vector soliton and support the existence of the dark-bright soliton. This outcome is confirmed by numerical results. Numerically, we find that the oscillation frequency is amplitude independent. For dark-bright vector solitons in $^{87}$Rb we find that the oscillation frequency range is 90 to 405 Hz, and therefore observable in multi-component BEC experiments.


Abstract #5090 Background: Over the past 10 years, surgical management of Breast Cancer has undergone a huge change. More patients are now treated by breast conserving surgery (BCS) and lesser axillary surgery. Therefore, great potential exists to carry out Breast Cancer surgery in day surgery (DS) setting. However, at present few centres in the United Kingdom are practicing this.
 The objectives of the present study were: (i) to review the evidence in literature, (ii) analyse current practice and (iii) conduct a pilot randomised controlled trial (RCT) comparing DS and inpatient surgery (IS) for patients undergoing BCS for Breast Cancer.
 Methods:
 (i) A systematic review of literature searching DS for breast cancer was performed using standard search tools.
 (ii) Age, treatment and length of stay information about all breast patients admitted at a tertiary centre from March, 07 to Jan, 08 was prospectively collected.
 (iii) Newly diagnosed breast cancer patients undergoing BCS with axillary sampling who had passed the DS preassessment were randomised to DS or IS. Physical and psychosocial outcomes were assessed using a Surgical Site Infection Form (Day 7 and Day30), FACT-B questionnaire (Baseline, Day7 and Day30) and a Patient Diary for the first post-operative week.
 Results:
 (i) No RCTs were found in the literature. Ten observational studies describing DS for breast cancer were included. Seven of these found DS to be safe with equivalent complications to IS and 3 highlighted its economic benefits. Only 1 study used a validated psychological distress scoring system and found results in favour of DS.
 (ii) Over the 10-month period there were 288 breast cancer operations. Of these, only 112 (38.9%) stayed in the hospital for > 23 hours. Hence, it would be ideal to consider breast cancer for DS.
 ((iii) There were 18 patients in the pilot RCT; 11 in the DS arm and 7 in the IS arm.
 Physical outcomes: There were no significant differences in pain, nausea or vomiting scores and infection rates. Patients in the DS group mobilised and stepped out of their house earlier (Day2 vs. Day4) after surgery and also more frequently (4 days vs. 3 days) in the first week than the IS group.
 FACT-B: Longitudinal differences in overall FACT B scores obtained on Day 7 and Day 30 compared to Baseline scores are detailed in Table1. A difference of > 5% was considered significant.
 Conclusions: Systematic review of literature showed DS to be safe for the patient but there is lack of evidence in the form of RCTs.
 This pilot RCT shows that DS patients mobilise earlier and have equivalent results for the other physical outcomes. FACT-B scores suggest better quality of life a week after surgery in the DS group.Larger RCTs are needed to support these results. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 5090.


In this paper, the uncertainty analysis method of ITTC (2017) for ship model self-propulsion tests was studied, and the defects of the ITTC method were analyzed, which didn't provide the method to analyze the tests results at different temperatures. Combined with the ship model self-propulsion tests carried out by SSSRI, an improved uncertainty analysis method was proposed. First of all, the ship model self-propulsion test process was combed to determine the error sources of uncertainty, and then according to the test principle of self-propulsion tests, an conversion method of test data at different temperatures was put forward. Furthermore, this improved method can be an additional procedure of ITTC on the uncertainty analysis of self-propulsion tests. At the same time, the steps and methods of uncertainty analysis of ship model self-propulsion tests can be used as a reference for other towing tank tests. At last, an example of the uncertainty analysis of self-propulsion results in SSSRI was presented. The results show that at the nominal temperature of 15°C, at 95% confidence level, the expanded uncertainty of rotational speed n is less than 0.4%, and the expanded uncertainty of thrust T and torque Q is less than 1.0%. The expanded uncertainty of thrust deduction factor t is less than 5.5%, wake fraction w 1.1%, which shows that the test in this paper has achieved high accuracy.


Three herbicide 2,4-D metabolizing bacterial strains were isolated from three independent soil samples of Estonia. The strains, although belonging to various species, contain 2,4-D degradative plasmids with identical restriction patterns. pEST4001 is a 78 kb conjugative plasmid. All Pseudomonas putida PaW340 2,4-D+ transconjugants obtained a 70 kb plasmid pEST4011 - a deletion derivative of the pEST4001. The restriction patterns of the plasmids mentioned above are considerably different from those of the other 2,4-D plasmids pJP4 and pRC10 reported previously.


Magnetic field and electric field are two independent states, known by the law of electromagnetic induction, changes in magnetic flux can generate induced electromotive force. electric wires of all materials can generate magnetic fields, we think that the magnetic field is not a characteristic, but the commonality of all elements, In order to explore the inner connection between the two transformations, we made a series of theoretical assumptions and experimental verification, the first time observed the magnetization phenomenon of copper, prove that magnetization is a process of uneven distribution of charges, the magnetic field is a specific frequency range. It has important reference value for the basic research of electromagnetic waves, guide a research of magnetic materials.


Objective: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients have a significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). An established association exists between vasculopathy in the kidney and eye, suggesting common pathophysiology. After correcting for CKD and classical CVD risk factors, retinopathy is associated with a higher prevalence of CVD. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a novel, non-invasive method of cross-sectionally imaging the retino-choroidal structures. Its use in CKD patients remains unexplored. Design and Method: We used the SPECTRALIS OCT in an exploratory study examining the retino-choroidal structures in 24 patients with hypertension, 24 with varying degrees of CKD and 25 matched healthy controls. Measurements included retinal thickness, retinal nerve fibre layer (RNFL) thickness, macular volume and choroidal thickness. Results: Retinal thickness was reduced across the outer 4 locations on the macula in CKD (p < 0.05). RNFL thickness did not differ between groups. Macular volume was lower in CKD compared to both hypertension (p < 0.0001) and health (p < 0.001). Similarly, CKD was associated with reduced choroidal compared to both hypertension (p < 0.001) and health (p < 0.01). In those with CKD, a thinner choroid was associated with a lower glomerular filtration rate (p < 0.01) and heavier proteinuria (p < 0.01), both important independent CVD risk factors. In CKD, a thinner choroid was also associated with increased plasma levels of systemic inflammatory markers (CRP, IL-6 and ET-1) and to the degree of renal histological injury. Conclusions: The decrease in retino-choroidal thickness in CKD may represent systemic microvascular injury. Thus, OCT could play a clinically significant role in assisting diagnosis of systemic microvascular disease, therapeutic intervention and identification of high-risk CVD patients.


A method for the simultaneous evaluation of the activities of seven major human drug-metabolizing cytochrome P450s (CYP3A4, CYP2D6, CYP2C9, CYP1A2, CYP2C19, CYP2A6, and CYP2C8) was developed. This method uses an in vitro cocktail of specific substrates (midazolam, bufuralol, diclofenac, ethoxyresorufin, S-mephenytoin, coumarin, and paclitaxel) and fast gradient liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. The assay incubation time is 20 min, which is in the linear range for all of the substrates, and the analysis time is 4 min/sample. Substrate specificity was confirmed by incubating Escherichia coli-expressed enzymes with the cocktail. Potent specific inhibitors of the seven enzymes (ketoconazole, quinidine, sulfaphenazole, tranylcypromine, quercetin, furafylline, and 8-methoxypsoralen) were evaluated in cocktail and individual substrate incubations. Five of these inhibitors were further studied to determine more precise IC(50) values for inhibition of the seven enzymes. The IC(50) values obtained in both cocktail and individual incubations were in good agreement with published values. This cocktail method offers an efficient, robust way to determine the cytochrome P450 inhibition profile of large numbers of compounds. The enhanced throughput of this method greatly facilitates its use to assess CYP inhibition as a drug candidate selection criterion.


In mountain ecosystems, species can be said to respond synchronously to environmental change when the elevation ranges of vegetation types and their associated vertebrates expand or contract in the same direction. Conversely, the response is asynchronous when the elevation ranges of vegetation types and associated vertebrates change in different directions. The capacity of vertebrate species to respond synchronously with change in the elevation ranges of the vegetation that comprises their habitat is likely a function of their ecological traits. Here we combine measures of elevation range shifts in 23 vertebrate species with those of their associated vegetation types across 80 yr, on a large elevation transect in California's Sierra Nevada mountains that encompasses Yosemite National Park. Half the species' shifts were synchronous with vegetation shifts, ¼ of the species were asynchronous, and the others showed no relationship. Most species that responded synchronously to changes in vegetation elevation ranges expanded their elevation range, and are inhabitants of low and intermediate elevations. In contrast, those species whose range shifts were asynchronous to associated vegetation shifts inhabit high elevations. These species experienced contraction in elevation range even while their associated vegetation types expanded. However, these species were responding synchronously to a subset of their associated vegetation types. Considering trait-based predictors, omnivores were more synchronous than herbivores. Our results on synchronous and asynchronous elevation shifts with vegetation may permit more accurate modeling of future ranges for vertebrates in California's Sierra Nevada. The approach also offers a new method for use in assessment of vertebrate vulnerability in other mountain regions, and can be an important component of assessing their vulnerability to climate change.


In this paper we present the experimental study of a glow plasma jet (GPJ) obtained from a transferred atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) operating at 60 Hz. The characterization of the emission spectra for both electrical discharges is presented and the electrical circuit features for APGD generation are discussed. The potentiality of GPJ as a source of active species for depletion of contaminants in liquid hydrocarbon fractions is also established.


A central methodological question that any theory of metaphor has to confront is what type of metaphor should serve as its paradigm case. Anyone familiar with the literature has noticed that in general literary critics and rhetoricians are concerned with the so-called 'novel,' 'imaginative' or 'poetic' metaphors, whereas linguists and philosophers of language typically deal with 'conventional,' 'frozen' or even 'dead' metaphors. Those disciplines, like cognitive psychology and anthropology, which have developed an interest in the subject fairly recently, tend to use both living and dead metaphors as their examples, but they rarely present any explicit motivation for having chosen one type rather than another. Actually, the number of authors within any discipline who address this problem at all is very small. One obvious explanation for this phenomenon, as well as for the differences among the disciplines in the type of metaphor they choose to consider, is this: each discipline has asked different questions about metaphor and has thus selected the paradigm cases that most naturally fit its interests, usually without being concerned with the adequacy of these cases for other points of view on metaphor. Since literary critics and rhetoricians concentrate on the poetic or persuasive function of metaphor, their examples tend to be drawn from original poetry and oratory and are thus closer to the 'novel' type; linguists and philosophers of language wish to understand the role of metaphor in the semantics of natural language, and their examples are therefore drawn from conventionalized modes of usage supplied by the lexicon of a native speaker; cognitive psychologists and anthropologists are interested in the way metaphor affects and/or reflects the cognitive and behavioral processes of an individual or a culture, and are therefore preoccupied with metaphor function rather than


The biopharmaceutical industry has invested considerably in the implementation of single‐use disposable bioreactors in place of or in addition to their stainless steel‐counterparts. This new wave of construction materials for disposable bioprocess containers encompass a plethora of uncharacterized secondary compounds that, when in contact with the culture media, can leach, contaminating the bioprocess. One such cytotoxic leachable already receiving attention is bis(2,4‐di‐tert‐butylphenyl)‐phosphate (bDtBPP), a breakdown product of the secondary antioxidant Irgafos 168 in polyethylene‐film based bags. This compound has been demonstrated to inhibit cell growth at concentrations ranging from 0.12 to 0.73 mg/L across an array of cell lines. Here we demonstrate that a further two CHO cell lines exhibit sensitivity to bDtBPP exposure at concentrations lower than that previously reported (0.035–0.1 mg/L). Furthermore, these inhibitory concentrations reflect bDtBPP levels found to leach early into the bioprocess, exposing reactor inoculums to serious risk. Quantitative label‐free LC‐MS/MS revealed that irrespective of cell line or concentration of bDtBPP, 8 proteins were found to be commonly differentially expressed in response to exposure to the compound highlighting biological processes related to cellular stress. Although the glycoprofile of the recombinant antibody remains primarily unchanged, we demonstrate that this compound when spiked at meaningful concentrations 72 h into culture considerably reduces the maximum cell density achieved. Studies like this reinforce the requirement for the complete characterization of all potential leachable compounds from disposable materials to assess their risk not only to the patient but also to the production pipeline itself. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 32:1547–1558, 2016


Interest management in Distributed Virtual Environments (DVEs) is a data-filtering technique designed to reduce bandwidth consumption and therefore enhances the scalability of the system. This technique usually involves a process called interest matching, which determines what data should be sent to the participants as well as what data should be filtered. Although most of the existing interest matching approaches have been shown to meet their runtime performance requirements, they have a fundamental disadvantage—they perform interest matching at discrete time intervals. As a result, they would fail to report events between discrete timesteps. If participants of the DVE ignore these missing events, they would most likely perform incorrect simulations. This article presents a new approach called space-time interest matching, which aims to capture the missing events between discrete timesteps. Although this approach requires additional matching effort, a number of novel algorithms are developed to significantly improve its runtime efficiency.


ABSTRACT:The 2015 Egyptian Surrealists in Global Perspective conference, and the companion 2016 exhibition When Art Becomes Liberty: The Egyptian Surrealists (1938–1965), both held in Cairo, Egypt, explored the history and evolution of the work of Egyptian surrealists and their remarkable legacy within Egypt and in international surrealist circles. This article serves as a preview of contributions to this special issue of Nka, which serves as a followup to these two events, documenting the relationship of the Egyptian surrealists with Western counterparts, especially the French surrealists, and their contributions to internationalism, antifascist global protest, and decolonization, staged and performed outside the West. The artistic and intellectual output of the Egyptian surrealists was primarily centered around activities initiated by the Art and Liberty group (Jama'at al-Fann Wa al-Hurriyyah), the Contemporary Art Group (Jama'at al-Fann al-Mu'asir), and the artists who exhibited with one or both of these groups. In addition to more traditional artistic genres, photography played an important role in the surrealists' artistic practices of the time, as is examined in this issue. This introduction, and the contributions to this issue of Nka that it surveys, affirm that the Egyptian surrealists, among other non-Western modernists, represent the multifaceted aspects of modernity and its global interconnectedness in the twentieth century. The strength of the Egyptian surrealists lay squarely in their theoretical underpinning that emphasized non-Western modernism, not as derivative or secondary to the Western modernism, but as a unique experiment in modernity that is worthy of its own investigation.


Diagnostic accuracy in electrocardiogram (ECG) interpretation is important for medical directors. Both confirming and discarding the diagnosis of a specific abnormality may greatly influence the assessment of an applicant's mortality risk. In the insurance industry, an additional challenge for ECG interpretation is the increasing use of scanned images. This case study illustrates some of the pitfalls in the electrocardiographic interpretation of a common prognostically important ECG abnormality.


We have attempted to review the best available evidence for the commonest gynaecological endoscopic procedures. Controlled studies are the exception rather than the rule, and randomized studies are even rarer. Therefore, the results of large, uncontrolled series must be acknowledged. As a result, for most procedures, sufficient information is now available regarding indications, efficacy, and complications to determine their role in routine clinical practice.


Multi-channel access is a family of multi-service radio resource management solutions that enable a user equipment to aggregate radio resources from multiple sources. The objective is multi-fold: throughput enhancement through access to a larger bandwidth tailored for enhanced mobile broadband, reliability improvement by increasing the diversity order and/or coordinated transmission/reception tailored for ultra-reliable low latency communication service classes, as well as flexibility and load balancing improvement by decoupling the downlink and the uplink access points, for both service classes. This paper presents several multi-channel access solutions for 5G New Radio multi-service scenarios. In particular, throughput enhancement and latency reduction concepts like multi-connectivity, carrier aggregation, downlink-uplink decoupled access and coordinated multi-point connectivity are discussed. Moreover, novel design solutions exploiting these concepts are proposed. Numerical evaluation of the introduced solutions indicates significant performance gains over state-of-the-art schemes; for example, our proposed component carrier selection mechanism leads to a median throughput gain of up to 100% by means of an implicit load balance. Therefore, the proposed multi-channel access solutions have the potential to be key multi-service enablers for 5G New Radio.


Andean roots and tubers are endemic crops and grow in South America, they have high levels of nutrients and bioactive components. This work aimed to determine the polyphenols, flavonoids, and anthocyanins contents in peels and pulps of Andean roots and tubers; to evaluate the antioxidant activity by 2,2'-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6sulphonic acid (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and to establish the correlations between the bioactive content, antioxidant methods and the antioxidant potency composite (APC) index. All trials were based on the absorbance measurements using UV-visible spectroscopy and the correlation coefficients were calculated using bivariate statistical methods. The results obtained show that the polyphenol content in pulps varied from 17.46 to 29.65 mg GAE/g, and in peels was from 14.18 to 28.37 mg GAE/g. The methods for testing antioxidant activity were presented in the following order: FRAP > ABTS > DPPH, the highest APC was for mashua peel, and the lowest APC was for ulluco pulp yellow. The correlations for the variables studied were moderate (0.3 < r < 0.7). In conclusion, it can be mentioned that the Andean roots and tubers can be used as a functional ingredient and medicinal from their pulps and peels.


By Jessica Downs, Social Work
 Advisor: Gary Dick
 Presentation ID: AM_B03
 Abstract: In recent years, mental health has become just as important as physical health. However, the accessibility and quality of mental health to certain populations can be scrutinized for not being as effective for the need that is presented. For my research, I explored the prevalence of depression and overall mental health within a nursing facility. The assumption going into this study was that the elderly population can be overlooked in the expansion of mental health awareness. The study explores the results of PHQ-9 assessments that monitor depression, as well as the public's perception of nursing facilities whether they have experience in them directly or not. Using this information, as well as general observations of the residents, trends can be identified as to why their results might read the way they do. Overall, the study is a snapshot of how the quality of life in a nursing home is perceived as well as how it is experienced.


The present study focuses on the production of pomegranate alcoholic beverage (PAB) from juice of the Wonderful variety. The effect of fermentation temperature (15 and 25 °C) and type of sugar added (adjustment to 20 °Brix) on the physicochemical characteristics, bioactive compounds, and volatile composition were studied. Sucrose, concentrated pomegranate juice, concentrated grape juice, and honey were used to increase the initial sugar content. The produced PABs contained ethanol in concentrations ranging from 7.9 to 10.0% v/v and glycerol from 4.8 to 6.1 g L−1. A decrease in total phenolics content, free radical-scavenging activity, and total monomeric anthocyanin content was observed following fermentation. Total flavonoids content appeared to increase after fermentation only in the cases of concentrated pomegranate and grape juice addition. In general, 22 volatile compounds were identified in PABs (13 esters, 2 fatty acids, and 7 alcohols). Major compounds detected were 3-methyl-1-butanol, 2-methyl-1-butanol, 2-phenylethanol, and ethyl acetate. These findings demonstrate the production prospect of PABs with increased ethanol content, while elaborating on the importance of fermentation temperature and the differences between the selected types of added sugars on end-product composition.


Interest in the elevated-temperature properties of the relatively new engineering metal, ductile cast iron, has prompted the gathering together of data (1 to 5) on the subject and the correlation of them on a uniform basis. In correlating the values obtained by the several laboratories on different melts of somewhat different compositions, use is made of the equation applied originally in the evaluation of effects of time and temperature in the tempering of steel and later adapted by Larson and Miller (6) to the determination of stress rupture and creep values for various conditions of temperature, load, and time from data which had been obtained under limited sets of conditions. The paper demonstrates the application of the Larson-Miller method.


We studied 122 patients with Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (WM) and 98 with splenic marginal zone lymphoma (SMZL); 29 SMZL patients (30%) had a serum MC (IgM in 17 patients). SMZL differed from WM for female prevalence, abdominal and superficial adenopathy, spleen and liver involvement, positive HCV. The median MC level was 2.0 g/dL in WM and 0.95 g/dL in SMZL (P<.001). On BM histology, SMZL was characterized by sinusoidal infiltration (70% of cases) and by a more frequent nodular pattern (P<.01) while WM had a higher incidence of interstitial BM localization. After a median follow-up of 5.3 years, median OS was not reached for SMZL and was 12 years for WM (P=.23; 14 years for asymptomatic WM, 8 years for symptomatic WM). In conclusion, despite similar outcomes of these 2 entities, SMZL appears as a disease with distinct clinical features and BM histology and a peculiar association with HCV infection.


A new method for conversion from signed digit (SD) to conventional signed-magnitude (SM), radix complement, or diminished radix complement representations is presented. For conversion of an n-digit input, sign detection of n SD numbers called 'partial' SD numbers is performed first. Then, the digits of the conventional representation can be generated in parallel. Conversion from radix-2 SD representation to SM representation is presented, as a means of illustrating the method. The proposed method is faster and has a more regular circuit design than the conventional one.


This paper deals with the problem of sliding mode control (SMC) for a class of singular systems with time-varying delay. A sliding mode controller is designed such that the singular system is exponentially admissible and in finite time the trajectory of singular system can be driven onto the sliding surface. By constructing a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional and using the free-weighting matrix approach, the results on exponential stabilization are obtained in terms of strict linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). The derivative of the time-varying delay does not require to be smaller than one is a advantage of this paper. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed main results is illustrated by a numerical example.


Thunderstorms may cause large damages to infrastructures and population, therefore the possible identification of the areas with the highest occurrence of these events is especially relevant. Nevertheless, few extensive studies of these phenomena with high spatial and temporal resolution have been carried out in the Alps and none of them includes North-western Italy. To analyze thunderstorm events, the data of the meteorological radar network of the regional meteorological service of Piedmont region (ARPA Piemonte) have been used in this work. The database analyzed includes all thunderstorms occurred during the warm months (April to September) of a 6-year period (2005–2010). The tracks of each storm have been evaluated using a storm tracking algorithm. Several characteristics of the storms have been analyzed, such as the duration, the spatial and the temporaldistribution, the direction and the distance travelled. Obtained results revealed several important characteristics that may be useful for nowcasting purposes providing a first attempt of radar-based climatology in the considered region.


Parameter efficient transfer learning (PETL) is an emerging research spot that aims to adapt large-scale pre-trained models to downstream tasks. Recent advances have achieved great success in saving storage and computation costs. However, these methods do not take into account instance-specific visual clues for visual tasks. In this paper, we propose a Dynamic Visual Prompt Tuning framework (DVPT), which can generate a dynamic instance-wise token for each image. In this way, it can capture the unique visual feature of each image, which can be more suitable for downstream visual tasks. We designed a Meta-Net module that can generate learnable prompts based on each image, thereby capturing dynamic instance-wise visual features. Extensive experiments on a wide range of downstream recognition tasks show that DVPT achieves superior performance than other PETL methods. More importantly, DVPT even outperforms full fine-tuning on 17 out of 19 downstream tasks while maintaining high parameter efficiency. Our code will be released soon.


ABSTRACT West Nile virus (WNV) is endemic throughout Africa, Eurasia, America, and Australia and has important implications for avian, horse, and human health. In these regions, dead birds are monitored for the presence of WNV through immunohistochemistry (IHC) and PCR. However, a number of the tools for IHC are inadequate owing to their cross-reactivity to other Japanese encephalitis serogroup viruses. Here we have established eight monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to WNV. Four of them bound to the envelope protein, three of them bound to nonstructural protein 1 (NS1), and one bound to precursor membrane protein (prM), as shown by Western blot analysis. The anti-NS1 MAbs and the anti-prM MAb did not cross-react with Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), Murray valley encephalitis virus, or St. Louis encephalitis virus in an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. One NS1-specific MAb, SHW-32B1, and the previously reported NS1-specific MAb, SHW-7A11, were shown by IHC to specifically detect the cytoplasm of degenerated cells in the heart and brain of a WNV-infected goose. Neither of these MAbs were shown by IHC to cross-react with degenerated cells in the brain of a JEV-infected pig. These MAbs are the first reported anti-NS1 MAbs that can be used for WNV-specific IHC using formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections. They may be useful for WNV research and surveillance.


Recently the Arctic has become a highly contested area between a number of countries. 2 Rising prices and increased trade flows in Eurasia and North America have made the North Passages a potentially attractive alternative to the established trade routes. Available research suggests that the Arctic contains huge deposits of natural gas, oil, minerals, fish and other resources. Besides, the Arctic is a polar region and its sensitive environment is of great value for the international community.The de facto Arctic Ocean regime is not fully based on the de jure norms of the law of the sea. Gaps in the international and regional agreements on shipping, scientific research, protection of the Arctic environment; the lack of comprehensive protection for this region compared to the equally remote, though uninhabited Antarctic region; the need to incorporate principles of sustainability and innovative features recognizing the nature of society and economy in the Arctic, all point to a need to update the existing Arctic legal regime.There is a need to establish a unified international regulation in the Arctic. This may entail either acknowledgement and enforcement of the existing law of the sea norms in the Arctic, or adoption of a separate comprehensive legal document on the Arctic Ocean.In this regard the problem of excessive generation of concepts on the legal status of the Arctic is worth mentioning. There have been five concepts so far: the historic title concept, the sector approach concept, the ice formations status concept, the concept of the Arctic States' exceptional rights, and the concept of an international regime for the Arctic. All of them (except for the last one just recently proposed) are interrelated in a way, or have been established on the basis of each other.


Based on the available bibliography three types of deterrent concentration profiles were identified. The cumulative distribution function of Gumbel distribution has the ability to reproduce all identified deterrent concentration variation profiles. The relationships between the ballistics characteristics and deterrent concentration can be expressed using the Gumbel function combined with a polynomial function. In order to deal with variability of mean values of burned propellant characteristics the interior ballistic specific equations should by modified accordingly. Based on available experimental data and the calculated variable ballistic characteristics the developed 0D model and the proposed functions are validated.


The ergonometric methods used in the organization of the medical personnel of stomatological establishments and in designing technical facilities of stomatological rooms help raise the effectiveness of the therapeutic processes and to improve conditions of work of the physician-stomatologist and medical nurses. At the basis of modern ergonomic facilities and principles in stomatology there are the concepts: recumbent patient, sitting medical personnel, invariable presence of an assisting nurse, "long-term" treatment and centralization of the ancillary service.


In the recent past, a number of new methods of utilizing hydrodynamic cavitation to create more intense and energy efficient liquid processes have come into existence. However, it is technically challenging to characterize these processes either quantitatively or qualitatively (Patil NM, M. chemical engineering Thesis submitted to Mumbai University, India, 2001). In this work, a hybrid device producing more energy intensive cavitation has been described, which has a blade positioned in the back pressure zone (downstream side of the orifice plate). This method of cavitation production route has been quantitatively described in the form of hydrophone measured pressure signals. Fast Fourier Transform analysis (FFT) analysis has been applied to the signal obtained at various positions of the blade, and at different inlet and outlet (back) pressures. Qualitatively analysis in terms of cavity size distribution and the total number of cavitational bubbles has been conducted, using a slightly modified technique of inverse FFT reconstruction procedure originally developed by Avvaru and Pandit to model cavity size distribution.


This study sought to investigate the relationship between masculinity, femininity, and marital satisfaction. A number of polynomial multiple regression analyses were performed in an effort to determine the validity of six theoretical models linking sex roles to marital satisfaction. These are the femininity model, masculinity model, sex-typed model, additive androgynous model, interactive androgynous model, and curvilinear model. The sample was composed of 117 couples who completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (Bem, 1974) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976). For men, the results showed that marital satisfaction was related to (a) their self-described levels of femininity and masculinity, (b) the level of self-described femininity of their wives, and (c) the presence of feminine qualities as well as a limited optimal level of masculine qualities which they perceived in their wives. For women, marital satisfaction was associated with (a) the number of self-described feminine qualities and (b) the level of masculinity, as well as an optimal level of femininity, which they perceived in their husbands. Furthermore, small actual-ideal discrepancies in levels of masculinity and femininity ascribed to partners constituted reliable predictors of marital satisfaction for both men and women.


A titanium-based catalytic enantioselective dichlorination of simple allylic alcohols is described. This dichlorination reaction provides stereoselective access to all common dichloroalcohol building blocks used in syntheses of chlorosulfolipid natural products. An enantioselective synthesis of ent-(-)-deschloromytilipin A and a concise, eight-step synthesis of ent-(-)-danicalipin A are executed and employ the dichlorination reaction as the first step. Extension of this system to enantioselective dibromination and its use in the synthesis of pentabromide stereoarrays relevant to bromosulfolipids is reported. The described dichlorination and dibromination reactions are capable of exerting diastereocontrol in complex settings allowing X-ray crystal structure analysis of natural and unnatural diastereomers of polyhalogenated stereohexads.


This paper presents a new set of integrated poverty and inequality estimates for India and Indian states for 1987-88, 1993-94 and 1999-2000. The poverty estimates are broadly consistent with independent evidence on per-capita expenditure, state domestic product and real agricultural wages. They show that poverty decline in the 1990s proceeded more or less in line with earlier trends. Regional disparities increased in the 1990s, with the southern and western regions doing much better than the northern and eastern regions. Economic inequality also increased within states, especially within urban areas, and between urban and rural areas. We briefly examine other development indicators, relating for instance to health and education. Most indicators have continued to improve in the nineties, but social progress has followed very diverse patterns, ranging from accelerated progress in some fields to slowdown and even regression in others. We find no support for sweeping claims that the nineties have been a period of "unprecedented improvement" or "widespread impoverishment".


The extensive use of preservatives during the growth, transport and storage of vegetables has been a concern because of their known or suspected toxicity that jeopardizes human health. This paper reports the development of a technique that rapidly determines the presence of five paraben preservative residues in leafy vegetables using double-vortex-assisted matrix solid-phase dispersion (DVA-MSPD) and UHPLC-electrospray ionization(−)-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry detection. We simplified the original MSPD technique by eliminating the use of mortar/pestle and SPE-column procedures. The DVA-MSPD factors were screened by a multilevel categorical design, and then optimized by Box–Behnken Design plus response surface methodology. The limits of quantification were 1.2–1.8 ng g−1 (dry weight). The satisfactory average recoveries were 85–104% with RSDs less than 10%. The developed method was successfully employed for the rapid determination of selected paraben residues at trace-level in leafy vegetable samples.


The isothermal flow structure and mixing characteristics of a hybrid/dual swirl jet combustor for micro-gas turbine (MGT) were numerically investigated. Location of pilot burner, swirl angle and direction were varied as main parameters with the identical thermal load. As a result, the variations in location of pilot nozzle, swirl angle and direction resulted in the significant change in turbulent flow field near burner exit, in particular, center toroidal recirculation zone (CTRZ) as well as turbulent intensity, and thus the flame stability and emission performance might be significantly changed. With the comparison of experimental results, the case of swirl angle 45o and co-swirl flow including optimum location of pilot burner were chosen in terms of the flame stability and emissions for the development of hybrid/dual swirl jet combustor.


Objective: The purpose of the study was to compare the profitability, efficiency, and productivity indexes of water in forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) and maize (Zea mays L.) production in the Comarca Lagunera in 2019.
Design/methodology/approach: Mathematical models were used to estimate the efficiency and productivity indexes of water used in sorghum and maize production. Data used in the mathematical models was obtained from official statistical sources.
Results: The water efficiency and physical productivity results were 226 L kg-1 and 4.42 kg m-3 and 221 L kg-1 and 4.52 kg m-3 for sorghum and maize, respectively. The efficiency and economic productivity indexes of water were 82.87 and 49.96 m3 per USD profit and $12,067 and $20,018 USD profit per hm3. Nevertheless, social efficiency was higher in maize (7.7 employments hm-3) than sorghum (7.1 employments hm-3), which required 8% more water to produce an employment unit.
Study Limitations/Implications: Models should be used to compare different productivity indexes of sorghum and maize in the Comarca Lagunera which has a shortage of water resources.
Findings/Conclusions: In the case of the Comarca Lagunera, maize was more productive and efficient than sorghum in physical, economic and social terms (employment creation); however, further research must take into consideration dynamic models.


Half the world's population currently lives in urban centres and this share will continue to rise. Urban centres have a crucial role in the social and economic development of countries. As places where people live and co-exist, the urban environment and urban living conditions play a critical role in people's health. Local government is the government institution closest to citizens and the one that is best placed to acquaint itself with city problems. Thus, it is a key contributor to improvements in the health and quality of life of its citizens and of all social groups. The World Health Organization's Healthy Cities strategy plays an essential part in this as it seeks to improve urban environments in ways that contribute to people's enhanced health and human potential.


This paper introduces a new target detection method for multiple disparate sonar platforms. The detection method is based upon multi-channel coherence analysis (MCA) framework which allows one to optimally decompose the multichannel data to analyze their linear dependence or coherence. This decomposition then allows one to extract MCA features which can be used to discriminate between two hypotheses, one corresponding to the presence of a target and one without, through the use of the log-likelihood ratio. Test results of the proposed detection system were applied to a data set of underwater side-scan sonar imagery provided by the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Panama City. This database contains data from 4 disparate sonar systems, namely one high frequency (HF) sonar and three broadband (BB) sonars coregistered over the same area on the sea floor. Test results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed multi-platform detection system in terms of probability of detection, false alarm rate, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves.


As clusters usage grows, a lot of scientific applications (biology, climatology, nuclear physics ...) have undergone rewrites to harness the extra CPU and extra storage provided. These demanding software, besides handling huge amounts of data with peculiar parallel I/O access patterns, are run on clusters, environments where concurrency between those applications occurs. Several propositions have been made to manage both the intensive parallel I/O applications and the cluster constraints. Nevertheless, available Parallel File Systems or Parallel I/O Libraries are based on specific API's, which limit portability and require good knowledge of their internal mechanisms to get good performances. Moreover, Parallel I/O Libraries are usually focused on running only one application without taking into account the load that the other ones generate on the cluster. This paper presents a new strategy to handle parallel I/O in a multi-application and distributed environment. Our framework detects parallel I/O accesses without inter-processes synchronization mechanisms and uses a simple interface based on the classic UNIX system calls (creat/open/read/write/close). In addition, we analyze two scheduling strategies to improve global performances and provide fairness between applications. Early experiments have given promising results and have shown that using such approaches may lead to better performances as well as improvements of quality of service.


BACKGROUND/AIM
Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangements define a distinct group of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), mainly represented by never-smoking young individuals. However, we also encounter elderly patients with ALK-rearranged NSCLC over the age of 80 years. We report herein three cases of these patients that we have experienced.

CASE REPORT
Three patients with ALK-rearranged NSCLC aged 80 years or older received therapy with the ALK-tyrosine kinase, alectinib. Of them, one was male and two had a history of smoking. Comorbidities, especially heart diseases, were prominent. Long-term survival was achieved with alectinib treatment in two patients.

CONCLUSION
ALK-rearranged mutations should be evaluated even in octogenarians with NSCLC, regardless of sex and smoking history. Even if they have comorbid diseases, long-term control might be achieved with alectinib therapy in cooperation with physicians other than chest physicians and medical oncologists.


The authors present an important and timely study that should guide ongoing efforts to address prostate cancer disparities. In this single center, retrospective analysis from a diverse cohort of patients who underwent mpMRI before radical prostatectomy, including 23% (221) African American men, the authors found a similar risk of adverse pathology at the time of surgery for African American and Caucasian men with low risk disease. Furthermore, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV for mpMRI were similar across race. Findings from this rich data set inform historical observations of prostate cancer disparities, particularly for low risk prostate cancer. Specifically, historical evidence has suggested that a subset of African American men with low risk disease may be more likely to have adverse outcomes and different zonal distribution of disease compared to other men (references 2 and 7 in article), which may contribute to lower use of active surveillance for African American men. The current findings suggest that access to advanced diagnostics such as mpMRI may help reduce prostate cancer disparities. The authors should be applauded for their important study. The findings clearly highlight the need for prospective trials to evaluate advanced diagnostic strategies as a potential mitigator of prostate cancer disparities. Until a prospective study is done, treatment decisions for African American men will remain controversial, particularly for those with clinically defined low risk disease.


Abstract The chain code is a widely-used description for a contour image. Recently, a mid-crack code algorithm has been proposed as another more precise method for image representation. A simple and fast algorithm for the restoration of binary images based on mid-crack codes description is presented in this paper. The algorithm developed has the advantages of speed, simplicity, and less storage. The algorithm also can be applied to gray-scale images with multiple regions efficiently.