This paper addresses some formation evaluation challenges and petrophysical particularities regarding two gas fields of Early Pliocene age, belonging to the biogenic hydrocarbon system of Western Black Sea Basin - Romanian continental shelf. Although these structures are located at the same depth and only 15 km apart, the wells that intercepted the sands and silts gas-bearing reservoirs indicate an important lateral facies variation and different reservoir qualities. We analyzed and interpreted data from exploration and appraisal wells that targeted these reservoirs, showing that: (1) there is a limited radioactivity contrast between the reservoir and nonreservoir intervals, so a clay volume determination based solely on the gamma ray log is not practical; (2) the reservoirs are characterized by high capillary-bound water contents, leading sometimes to abnormally low resistivity readings; (3) an additional resistivity suppression might be caused by the limited vertical resolution of the electrical logging tools, in the presence of thinly laminated sand - shale intervals; (4) the identification of gas-water contacts based exclusively on pressure gradients may be inaccurate and should be checked against the results of conventional geophysical logs interpretation and of nuclear magnetic resonance logs, for delineating the intervals with bound water or with movable fluids.


Precise gene editing and genome engineering by CRISPR technology requires simultaneous delivery of multiple DNA-encoded components into living cells rapidly exceeding the cargo capacity of currently utilized viral vector systems. Here we exploit the unmatched heterologous DNA cargo capacity of baculovirus to resolve this bottleneck. We implement hybrid DNA techniques (MultiMate) for rapid and error-free assembly of currently up to 25 functional DNA modules in a single baculoviral vector enabling CRISPR-based genome engineering. Utilizing homology-independent targeted integration (HITI), we achieve up to 30% correct genome interventions in human cells, including precision docking of large DNA payloads in the ACTB locus. We demonstrate baculovirus-vectored delivery of prime-editing toolkits for seamless DNA search-and-replace interventions achieving, with a single vector, highly efficient cleavage-free trinucleotide insertion in the HEK3 locus without any detectable indels. Our approach thus unlocks a wide range of editing and engineering applications in human cell genomes.


A review on spatially flat D-dimensional Friedmann-Robertson-Walker (FRW) model of the universe has been performed. Some standard parameterizations of the equation of state parameter of the Dark Energy models are proposed and the possibilities of finite time future singularities are investigated. It is found that certain types of these singularities may appear by tuning some parameters appropriately. Moreover, for a scalar field theoretic description of the model, it was found that the model undergoes bouncing solutions in some favorable cases.


African-American men are disproportionally affected by prostate cancer in that African-American men are not only at increased risk of prostate cancer compared to American men of European descent, but also are at the highest risk of aggressive prostate cancer and death from prostate cancer. As well vitamin D3 deficiency is rampant in the African-American population. There is a biological component to this deficiency because sun-induced vitamin D3 synthesis in the skin is significantly reduced in melanin-rich pigmented skin. Consequently, about two thirds of African-American men are vitamin D3 deficient compared to about 20% of men of European descent. It is important to maintain a healthy vitamin D3 status because vitamin D3 deficiency increases the risk of prostate cancer mortality. Our group has examined vitamin D3 concentrations, metabolism and mediators in prostate tissue and cells of a racially diverse group of patients to discern differences in African-American men. Citation Format: Larisa Nonn. Vitamin D deficiency and prostate cancer in men with African ancestry. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Sixth AACR Conference: The Science of Cancer Health Disparities; Dec 6–9, 2013; Atlanta, GA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2014;23(11 Suppl):Abstract nr PL01-03. doi:10.1158/1538-7755.DISP13-PL01-03


Poverty alleviation has entered a decisive period. If we want to maintain poverty alleviation results, it is unsustainable to rely on solely on external forces and must rely on its endogenous motivation. Xundian County is located in the Wumeng Mountain area in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River which is a concentrated contiguous extreme poverty-stricken area. Although the natural conditions are poor and the foundation is weak, it took the lead in poverty alleviation throughout the province at the end of 2017 with a poverty rate of 0.35%. Moreover, the poverty alleviation achievements have been stabilized, and the incidence of poverty declined to 0.25% in 2018. These are inseparable from the unique "three stresses and three commentaries" to stimulate endogenous motivation. This article systematically studies the poverty alleviation model of "three stresses and three commentaries" to stimulate endogenous motivation in the county. Through in-depth analysis of the specific content, operation process, work achievements and typical cases of the model, the internal mechanism of action is obtained, and its experience worthy of reference are summarized. It is believed that stimulating endogenous motivation will make poverty alleviation more targeted and poverty alleviation achievements more stable, and it is a mature practice worth promoting to the whole country.


Abstract. The purpose of this paper is showing that the development of Higher Education management through a management software information systems able to provide added value in the advancement of education. Method of approach by collecting data such as some of concepts dan case studies on implementation if management software information systems in several universities. The results of the analysis turned out to higher educations in the digital era need to implement learning strategies by leveraging existing technology. Learning strategies to prepare the lecturers who understand e-learning strategies are effective, the concept of e-learning activities, the provision of technologies that support the smooth process of e-learning. Development of the digital era give higher educations the opportunity to anticipate the impact of globalization which will be towards the direction of internationalization. This could allow higher education to implement distance education. The purpose of this paper is showing that the development of Higher Education management through a management software information systems able to provide added value in the advancement of education. Method of approach by collecting data such as some of concepts dan case studies on implementation if management software information systems in several universities. The results of the analysis turned out to higher educations in the digital era need to implement learning strategies by leveraging existing technology. Learning strategies to prepare the lecturers who understand e-learning strategies are effective, the concept of e-learning activities, the provision of technologies that support the smooth process of e-learning. Development of the digital era give higher educations the opportunity to anticipate the impact of globalization which will be towards the direction of internationalization. This could allow higher education to implement distance education.


Background: Lack of dietary diversity especially for children 6-23 months is critical because they require energy and nutrient-dense foods for both physical, mental growth and development. However, in many low-income countries particularly in rural area, at least meeting the minimum dietary diversity standard has been a major challenge. Therefore, this study aimed to assess minimum dietary diversity and associated factors among 6-23 months children in rural community of Kacha Bira district, Southern Ethiopia.Methods: A community based cross-sectional study was employed on 623 children aged 6-23 months. Two stages cluster sampling method was conducted to select study population. Pre-tested and interviewer administered questionnaire was used for data collection. Data were entered and cleaned by Epi data 3.1, then exported to SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) version 20 for statistical analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression was employed using a p-value < 0.25 and < 0.05, respectively. Results: In this study, the day before data collection 46.1% (95% CI: 42.1-50.0) of 6-23 months children were fed on adequately diversified diets. Maternal age 18-24 years [AOR=3.68(95%CI: 1.18, 6.22)], post-natal care follow up [AOR=8.8 (95%CI: 5.17, 14.98)], children 6-11 months age [AOR=2.04(95%CI: 1.24, 3.39)] and being household food secured [AOR=3.64(95%CI: 2.27, 5.84)] were associated with dietary diversity.Conclusions: In the study area less than half of 6-23 months children were fed on adequately diversified diets, which is very low. All mothers should be encouraged to make postnatal care follow up and measures should take to improve food security of the household.


Background Papillary Renal Neoplasm (PRN) with polarity inversion is a less common subtype of kidney cancer with an apparently recognizable morphology, distinct immunohistochemical profiles, and frequent KRAS mutations. It has been estimated to account 4% of previously diagnosed PRN. Case presentation This is a retrospective case report of two patients diagnosed with PRNRP. Two males were found to have kidney mass accidentally through imaging examination in clinic. Both of the patients had no obvious discomfort and abnormal test indicators. Subsequently, they underwent partial nephrectomy in our center by the same surgeon and followed up closely with an impressive clinical outcome. The pathology reports indicated that their pathological features were consistent with PRNRP. The HE staining showed a monolayer of papillary or tubular structures, with small nuclei away from the cytoplasmic top of the basement membrane. The immunohistochemical results were GATA3 (+), vimentin (-). Conclusion Our case reports and literature review suggested that PRNRP should be separated from traditional PRN and partial nephrectomy is a robust modality for PRNRP. The morphological, immunohistochemical, and genetic information of the cases we presented would provide important material for PRNRP to become a distinct category with benign clinical outcome.


Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to set up the coordinating mechanism for a decentralized distribution system consisting of a manufacturer and multiple independent retailers by means of contracts. It is in the two-stage supply chain system that all retailers sell an identical product made by the manufacturer and determine their order quantities which directly affect the expected profit of the supply chain with random demand. Design/methodology/approach: First comparison of the optimal order quantities in the centralized and decentralized system shows that the supply chain needs coordination. Then the coordination model is given based on buyback cost and compensation benefit. Finally the coordination mechanism is set up in which the manufacturer as the leader uses a buyback policy to incentive these retailers and the retailers pay profit returns to compensate the manufacturer. Findings: The results of a numerical example show that the perfect supply chain coordination and the flexible allocation of the profit can be achieved in the multi-retailer supply chain by the buyback and compensation contracts. Research limitations: The results based on assumptions might not completely hold in practice and the paper only focuses on studying a single product in two-stage supply chain. Practical implications: The coordination mechanism is applicable to a realistic supply chain under a private information setting and the research results is the foundation of further developing the coordination mechanism for a realistic multi-stage supply chain system with more products. Originality/value: This paper focused on studying the coordination mechanism for a decentralized multi-retailer supply chain by the joint application of the buyback and compensation contracts. Furthermore the perfect supply chain coordination and the flexible allocation of the profit are achieved.


40 patients with irritable colon syndrome were treated outpatiently: 26 patients by gastroenterologist and 14 ones by therapist. Management of such patients by gastroenterologist significantly lowered frequency of their hospitalizations and sick leave duration as compared to those treated by therapist.


This chapter analyses appropriate regulatory instruments for public transport markets under monopoly and competition, respectively. For the monopoly case, the operator chooses too low supply, compared to welfare optimum. In contrast, for the competition case the operators choose too high supply, at least for the competition model that we have considered most appropriate. It is found that under monopoly a subsidy should be applied, while under competition taxation should be applied. 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.


Introduction: For the past 7 years, a nursing school has conducted biannual medical missions in a virtually inaccessible area in Haiti. Each medical mission team provides primary care, pediatric and gynecological examinations for up to 6 days in the impoverished island nation. Methods: To improve the safety of participants engaged in this humanitarian travel medicine endeavor and enhance efficiency, the United States National Incident Management System (NIMS) has been implemented as a framework. This integrated system has 5 components: (1) Preparedness, (2) Communication/Information Management, (3) Resource Management, (4) Command and Management, and (5) Ongoing Management/Maintenance. This system was originally designed for government agencies and non-governmental organizations responding to disasters and other global health emergencies. A structural plan using the framework can be implemented as an effective model for future international missions. Results: Implementation of the framework increased efficiency. While missions previously averaged approximately 100 patients daily, after incorporation of NIMS, this figure rose to 140 patients. Additionally, student feedback indicated increases in perceptions of safety and security. Conclusion: The NIMS framework applied by the Haiti medical missions team provided organizational structure and leadership for this humanitarian effort in travel medicine. Integrating NIMS into the mission has extended the outreach of global medical systems to the most rural areas of Haiti and improved care for vulnerable populations with limited access to healthcare. This framework may be used to assist other academic institutions organize safe and effective travel medicine endeavors.


Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) implement a specific form of multi-variate extrapolation and will generate an output for any input pattern, even when there is no similar training pattern. Extrapolations are not necessarily to be trusted, and in order to support safety critical systems, we require such systems to give an indication of the training sample related uncertainty associated with their output. Some readers may think that this is a well known issue which is already covered by the basic principles of pattern recognition. We will explain below how this is not the case and how the conventional (Likelihood estimate of) conditional probability of classification does not correctly assess this uncertainty. We provide a discussion of the standard interpretations of this problem and show how a quantitative approach based upon long standing methods can be practically applied. The methods are illustrated on the task of early diagnosis of dementing diseases using Magnetic Resonance Imaging.


The emission of xenon excited in a capillary discharge in the region around 13 nm has been investigated as a function of current, pressure and tube radius. A semi-empirical model is proposed which reproduces a large number of the experimental data.


Opportunistic ad hoc networks (OppNets) are characterized by intermittent and infrastructure‐less connectivity among mobile nodes with limited internode communication and buffer space. Without persistent end‐to‐end routing information, replication‐based routing techniques are often used to distribute duplicate messages in OppNets, which unfortunately leads to enormous costs of transmission, storage, and energy resources. Prior replication‐based routing schemes were mainly based on several premises, for example, the availability of global network knowledge, unlimited bandwidth capacity, and homogeneous contact patterns. In this paper, we propose a quota‐based routing scheme with finite buffer management, named QRBP, regardless of these weak premises. The QRBP scheme comprises two essential functions. First, only a portion of nodes with higher mobility are delegated to carry a certain quota of message replicas and disseminate those messages to nodes with lower mobility. The message traffic can be evenly diverted to relay nodes, which reduces the transmission overhead in the network. Second, nodes can manipulate message scheduling and dropping to improve the successful delivery rate according to heuristic strategies based on several measures of the quota value, remaining time‐to‐live, and contact rate with the destination. Furthermore, our study conducts extensive simulations under both synthetic and real mobility scenarios. In terms of transmission overhead ratio and successful delivery rate, the QRBP scheme performs better than Epidemic, Spray and Wait, and Temporal Closeness and Centrality‐Based (TCCB) routing schemes, as well as common buffer management policies like Drop Oldest, Drop Newest, Drop Random, and Space‐Time Drop.


Since ethylene application did not induce ripening in detached fruits of the nonripening mutant rin we initiated studies to determine possible involvement of other hormones. We proposed that the lack of ripening in mutant rin tomato fruit may result from a lack of abscisic acid or from excessive endogenous levels of cytokiuiin. Application of abscisic acid (3 X 10-5 M and 10- M) to detached fruits of a normal strain (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. 'Rutgers') reduced the time to initiate ripening by about 50%. This acceleration of the onset of ripening appeared not to be due to an increased rate of ethylene production. Abscisic acid did not alter respiration or ethylene production or induce ripening in rin fruit. Ripening in Rutgers fruit was not influenced by treatment with 6-benzyladenine (4.44 X 107- M, 4.44 X 10-5 M or 1.8 X 10-4 M). Fruits ofthemutant rin showed no response to exogenous BA. However, senescence rates of leaf disks of both Rutgers and rin were significantly inhibited by as little as 10-7 M exogenous benzyladenine. The results are discussed in relation to previous studies of the physiology of rin fruits and it is concluded that endogenous levels of ABA and cytokinins do not account for the lack of ripening in rin fruit.


THE REAPPEARANCE of abdominal symptoms following cholecystectomy frequently provides a source of distress to both the patient and the physician. Dependent upon the lapse of time between the surgical procedure and the onset of symptoms, various diagnoses, such as postcholecystectomy syndrome, spasm of or stones in the common duct, stricture or angulation of the extrahepatic ducts, chronic hepatitis, chronic pancreatitis, and neurogenic factors, are lightly proffered without adequate substantiation, and usually symptomatic therapy is instituted. While these may represent the disorders following gall-bladder surgery, other factors not commonly apparent to the physician at the time may play an integral part in the redevelopment of the symptom complex. A careful history and physical examination augmented by a detailed description of the surgical procedure and findings at the time of the operation will often lead to a clearer understanding of the underlying pathological changes. The proper assessment of the many potential alterations


The haematological modifications developed after physiological stimulation of erythropoiesis, as in the case of exposure to high altitude, are still under debate (Birkeland et al, 1997). We have evaluated changes in haematological parameters in 24 healthy Western subjects, normally living at sea level, exposed to high altitude during a scientific expedition to the `Pyramid', Italy's National Research Committee (CNR) laboratory located in the Kumbu Valley (Nepal) at 5050 m. Blood samples were collected as follows: (A) at standard conditions (Kathmandu, 1200 m); (B) upon arrival at the Pyramid, after 6 d walking from 2800 m up to 5050 m; and (C) after an 8-d stay at the Pyramid. Haemoglobin concentration (Hb), haematocrit (Hct), red blood cell count (RBC), white blood cell count (WBC) and platelet number (Plt) were measured on the spot, using a portable automatic counter (Coulter ACT8). In addition, sera were cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen for later measurement, in our laboratory in Pavia, of erythropoietin (Epo) and soluble transferrin receptor (sTfr) concentrations (Quantikine ELISARD System), ferritin (ftr) concentrations (electrochemiluminescence immunoassay `ECLIA'; Boehringer Mannheim) and serum iron concentration (BM/Hitachi 717). Changes in Hb, Plt, sTfr, ferritin and sTfr/ftr concentrations between times A and B and between times B and C were statistically significant (Table I). Moreover, we observed a significant increase in Epo levels between times A and B and between times A and C, but not between times B and C. Haematocrits were significantly higher at time C with respect to time A and B. Finally, the sTfr/ftr ratio increased threefold between standard conditions (A) and the departure from the Pyramid (C). In a study of possible ways to detect erythropoietin abuse by athletes, Gareau et al (1996) found that subjects treated with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) showed an increased sTfr/ftr ratio (more than 100 times standard levels) compared with untreated subjects. Recently, Magnani et al (1999) confirmed these data in patients treated with a high dose of rHuEpo (200 IU/kg). In contrast, our experience suggests that even in the presence of an important and prolonged physiological stimulation the sTfr/ftr ratios do not increase by more than three times. Finally, after 15 d of progressive physiological stimulation, we did not reach in our measurements the sTfr/ftr ratios (always more than five times basal values) that Gareau et al (1996) and Magnani et al (1999) observed over a period of 15 d after five fixed time (days 0, 2, 4, 8, 10) high-dose (200 IU/kg) rHuEpo administrations. Thus, although our data do not represent a secure tool to determine rHuEpo abuse from physiological stimulation, the sTfr/ftr ratio may help in revealing high-dose rHuEpo administration. However, it remains likely that the sTfr/ftr ratio will not show the same degree of change if rHuEpo is administered at a low dose, especially when iron is also given (Magnani et al, 1999).


Following Green, Armstrong and Soon's (IJF 2009) (GAS) naïve extrapolation, Fildes and Kourentzes (IJF 2011) (F&K) found that each of six more-sophisticated, but inexpensive, extrapolation models provided forecasts of global mean temperature for the 20 years to 2007 that were more accurate than the "business as usual" projections provided by the complex and expensive "General Circulation Models" used by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Their average trend forecast was .007°C per year, and diminishing; less than a quarter of the IPCC's .030°C projection. F&K extended previous research by combining forecasts from evidence-based short-term forecasting methods. To further extend this work, we suggest researchers: (1) reconsider causal forces; (2) validate with more and longer-term forecasts; (3) adjust validation data for known biases and use alternative data; and (4) damp forecasted trends to compensate for the complexity and uncertainty of the situation. We have made a start in following these suggestions and found that: (1) uncertainty about causal forces is such that they should be avoided in climate forecasting models; (2) long term forecasts should be validated using all available data and much longer series that include representative variations in trend; (3) when tested against temperature data collected by satellite, naïve forecasts are more accurate than F&K's longer-term (11-20 year) forecasts; and (4) progressive damping improves the accuracy of F&K's forecasts. In sum, while forecasting a trend may improve the accuracy of forecasts for a few years into the future, improvements rapidly disappear as the forecast horizon lengthens beyond ten years. We conclude that predictions of dangerous manmade global warming and of benefits from climate policies fail to meet the standards of evidence-based forecasting and are not a proper basis for policy decisions.


Forty unsymmetric N-phenyl-N′-pyrimidylurea derivatives were synthesized in moderate-to-good yields by one-pot reductive carbonylation of nitroaromatics using selenium or selenium dioxide as the catalyst, aminopyrimidine derivatives as co-reagents, and carbon monoxide as the carbonyl source. The reaction parameters were investigated, as was the reusability of the catalysts. We found that selenium- or selenium dioxide-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of the nitroaromatics exhibited reaction-controlled phase-transfer phenomena of the catalysts. (© Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, 69451 Weinheim, Germany, 2003)


In this study, a series of aromatically substituted phenanthro[9,10-d]imidazole (PI) fluorophores at C6 and C9 (no. 6 and 9 carbon atoms) have been synthesized and systematically characterized by theoretical, thermal, photophysical, electrochemical, and electroluminescent (EL) studies. C6 and C9 modifications have positive influences on the thermal properties of the new materials. Theoretical calculations suggest that the C6 and the C9 positions of PI are electronically different. Theoretical and experimental evidences of intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) between two identical moieties attaching to the C6 and the C9 positions are observed. Photophysical properties of the fluorophores are greatly influenced by size and conjugation extent of the substituents as well as linking steric hindrance. It is found that the C6 and C9 positions afford moderate conjugated extension compared to the C2 modification. Moreover, ICT characteristics of the new fluorophores increase as the size of the substituted aromatic group, and are partially influenced by steric hindrance, with the anthracene and the pyrene derivatives having the strongest ICT excited properties. EL performances of the fluorophores were evaluated as host emitters or dopants in organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs). Most of the devices showed significantly improved efficiencies compared to the OLED using the nonmodified emitter. Among all the devices, a 5 wt % TPI-Py doped device exhibited excellent performances with an external quantum efficiency >5% at 1000 cd/m2 and a deep-blue color index of (0.155, 0.065), which are comparable to the most advanced deep-blue devices. Our study can give useful information for designing C6/C9-modificated PI fluorophores and provide an efficient approach for constructing high-performance deep-blue OLEDs.


Hydrogen is an attractive, clean, sustainable energy source primarily produced via industry. At present, most reviews on hydrogen mainly focus on the preparation and storage of hydrogen, while the development and utilization of natural hydrogen will greatly reduce its cost. Natural hydrogen has been discovered in many geological environments. Therefore, based on extensive literature research, in this study, the distribution and sources of natural hydrogen were systematically sorted, and the identification method and occurrence state of natural hydrogen were examined and summarized. The results of this research show that hydrogen has been discovered in oceanic spreading centers, transform faults, passive margins, convergent margins, and intraplate settings. The primary sources of the hydrogen include alterations in Fe(II)-containing rocks, the radiolysis of water, degassed magma, and the reaction of water- and silica-containing rocks during the mechanical fracturing. Hydrogen can appear in free gas, it can be adsorbed and trapped in inclusions. Currently, natural hydrogen exploration is in its infancy. This systematic review helps to understand the origin, distribution, and occurrence pattern of natural hydrogen. In addition, it facilitates the exploration and development of natural hydrogen deposits, thus enabling the production of low-cost hydrogen.


Background: Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy [UGIE] in children is safe and useful. Pediatric gastrointestinal endoscopy was introduced relatively recently in Sudan. The indications and patterns of endoscopic findings of UGIE in Sudanese children were not reported before. Objectives: Our objective was to identify the indications and findings of UGIE among Sudanese children and to compare that with others findings. Patients and methods: The Demographic data of the first 200 children less than 15 years of age who underwent UGIE during January 2005 to December 2007 were retrieved from their files and analysed.
Results: Two hundred children had UGIE. Their ages ranged between 6 months and 15 years. 80 and 20 had UGIE because of hematemesis and abdominal pain respectively. 50 children had esophageal varices while peptic ulcer disease was found in 19. 65 out of 100 children who presented with failure to thrive, short stature, and persistent diarrhoea were found to have macroscopic duodenal lesions. 65 duodenal biopsies showed total villous atrophy. H. pylori infection andgastritis were found in 165out of 180 biopsies [91.7%].
Ultrasound abdomen was performed in the 125 children who presented with hematemesis or abdominal pain. 20 out ofthe 52 who had ultrasonographic abnormalities were found to have cavernous transformation of the portal vein, whereas10 children had features of liver cirrhosis.
Conclusions: The patterns of upper GIT diseases in the study population were comparable to literature. However, H. pylori infection and cavernous transformation of the portal vein were higher than reports from other parts of the world.
 Keywords : cavernous transformation, portal vein, H. pylori , hematemesis, esophageal varices. Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 2 (2) 2007: pp. 91-94


The use of physical restraints is a common practice in various clinical settings, especially in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to improve nurses' knowledge and practice regarding physical restraining, with the ultimate goal of reducing the number of consequent complications among ICU patients. A quasi-experimental design with pre-post assessment was used on 38 nurses working in the ICUs and Critical Care Medicine at the Zagazig University Hospitals and 100 patients under their care. A self-administered questionnaire was used to assess nurses' knowledge, an observation checklist for their practice, and a physical assessment sheet for patients. The researcher developed a training intervention based on analysis of assessment data and using pertinent literature to teach nurses guidelines for dealing with restrained patients. This was delivered to nurses in 7 sessions. Evaluation was done immediately (post-test), and two months after implementation (follow-up), along with evaluation of the patients. The results showed marked deficiencies in nurses' knowledge and practices before the program, with significant improvements at the post and follow-up evaluations. Additionally, statistically significant improvements were revealed in patients' signs and physical findings, with much less complications. Therefore, a relatively short-term in-service training in guidelines can significantly improve nurses' knowledge and practice concerning physical restraining of ICU patients, with subsequent reductions in the frequency of related complications among these patients. Therefore, these guidelines should be adopted and its booklet should be available in each department using restraint in the hospital.


Regional rainfall forecasting is an important issue in hydrology and meteorology. This paper aims to design an integrated tool by applying various machine learning algorithms, especially the state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms including Deep Neural Network, Wide Neural Network, Deep and Wide Neural Network, Reservoir Computing, Long Short Term Memory, Support Vector Machine, K-Nearest Neighbor for forecasting regional precipitations over different catchments in Upstate New York. Through the experimental results and the comparison among machine learning models including classification and regression, we find that KNN is an outstanding model over other models to handle the uncertainty in the precipitation data. The data normalization methods such as ZScore and MinMax are also evaluated and discussed.


OBJECTIVES
The objective of the study was to investigate change in bone mineral density (BMD) over time in HIV-infected women in comparison with healthy control subjects similar in age, race, and body mass index (BMI).

DESIGN
This was a prospective cohort study.

METHODS
BMD was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry in 100 HIV-infected females and 100 healthy controls similar in age (41 +/- 1 vs. 41 +/- 1 yr, P = 0.57), BMI (26.1 +/- 0.5 vs. 27.2 +/- 0.4 kg/m(2), P = 0.12), and race (60 vs. 65% non-Caucasian, P = 0.47, HIV-infected vs. controls). Changes in BMD were determined every 6 months over 24 months.

RESULTS
At baseline, HIV-infected subjects had lower BMD at the lumbar spine (1.01 +/- 0.01 vs. 1.07 +/- 0.01 g/cm(2), P = 0.001), hip (0.94 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.98 +/- 0.01 g/cm(2), P = 0.02), and femoral neck (0.83 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.87 +/- 0.01 g/cm(2), P = 0.02). Historical low weight, duration of nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor use, and FSH were significantly associated with lumbar BMD, whereas duration of HIV, BMI, historical low weight, smoking pack-years, N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen, viral load, 25 hydroxyvitamin D, and osteocalcin were associated with hip BMD at baseline. In mixed model longitudinal analyses, BMD remained lower in HIV-infected subjects than in controls over 24 months of follow-up (P = 0.001 for the spine, P = 0.04 for the hip, and P = 0.02 for the femoral neck). These differences remained significant controlling for age, race, BMI, and menstrual function. In contrast, rates of change for the spine (P = 0.79), hip (P = 0.44), and femoral neck (P = 0.34) were not different between the HIV and control groups over 2 yr. In the HIV group, longitudinal changes in BMD were not associated with current protease inhibitor, nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor use but were associated with CD4 count, weight, FSH, N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen, and baseline BMD.

CONCLUSIONS
BMD is reduced at the spine, hip, and femoral neck among women with HIV in relationship to low weight, duration of HIV, smoking, and increased bone turnover. Over 2 yr of follow-up, BMD remained stable but lower in HIV-infected women, compared with control subjects.


This paper assesses the success and sustainability of Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) in the Okavango Delta. It does so by asking the following questions: a) to what extent has CBNRM contributed to sustainable natural resource use, rural economic development, enhanced rural livelihoods and benefit sharing? b) To what extent has power been devolved to the rural communities especially in relation to resource ownership and management? c) What are the existing and potential challenges facing the successful implementation of CBNRM in the Okavango Delta? With illustrations from the three CBNRM projects of Okavango Community Trust, Okavango Kopano Mokoro Community Trust and the Khwai Development Trust, this paper notes that local communities have successfully established community trusts as institutions to provide leadership in their participation in tourism and natural resource management. They also derive socio-economic benefits from CBNRM such as the participation in decision-making, employment and income generation. However, the lack of entrepreneurships and managerial skills, understanding of the concept of CBNRM, poor benefit sharing on CBNRM participants, and enclave tourism are some of the challenges that face CBNRM in the Okavango Delta. In the event that empowerment issues especially training and capacity building are successfully addressed, CBNRM in the Okavango Delta has the potential to be a successful model of community-based tourism


BACKGROUND
Recent research into memory formation under sedation has generated conflicting results. We investigated explicit and implicit memory in ICU patients during moderate to deep propofol sedation following cardiac surgery.

METHODS
Two different methods of memory testing were used; (1). free-association (F-A) word-pair testing (n=33) to test conceptual implicit memory and (2). process dissociation procedure (PDP) (n=26) to detect perceptual implicit and explicit memory. One hour after surgery, whilst sedated, the F-A group received one of two lists of 10 category-exemplar word-pairs through headphones, while the PDP group was presented with one of two lists of 16 five-letter words. When awake and co-operative, the F-A group was tested using F-A testing, and the PDP group was tested using the PDP.

RESULTS
The F-A group had a mean (SD) correct response rate of 7 (9)% for the target list, and 9 (8)% for the distractor list. The PDP group had a mean (SD) correct response rate of 11 (14) and 10 (13)% for the inclusion and exclusion lists, respectively, with mean correct response rates of 13 (14)% for both the corresponding distractor lists. Neither group showed any significant differences between their responses and a list of distractor words (Wilcoxon tests).

CONCLUSION
We found no evidence for memory formation in post-cardiac surgery patients under moderate to deep propofol sedation.


Modern cancer therapies should strive not only to eliminate malignant tissues but also to preserve healthy tissues and the patient's quality of life. Antigen‐specific immunotherapy approaches are promising for either aspect since they are designed to only act against tissues expressing 1 or more specified tumour antigens. In order to develop successful vaccine and adoptive transfer protocols, longitudinal monitoring of cancer patients taking part in clinical trials is mandatory. Here, in vivo expansion of antigen‐specific cells, as well as their ex vivo functional status represent important parameters to be analysed. To obtain results that most closely reflect the cells' in vivo status, functional assays must be carried out with as little in vitro culturing as possible. The present minireview discusses recent advances in these domains.


Low selenium (Se) levels have been found in assoiciation with high incidences of various types of adult cancer. Much less is known about this issue among pediatric cancer patients. Forty-two pediatric patients with a variety of newly diagnosed malignancies were divided into two groups, 20 with localized disease (LD) and 22 with widespread disease (WSD). Analysis of serum collected before the commencement of treatment showed that half the patients had low Se serum levels, lower and more common in WSD than in LD. There was no significant difference in the prevalence of low albumin levels among patients with low Se levels, and most of the newly diagnosed children did not suffer from malnutrition. It was concluded that Se deficiency is common among newly diagnosed pediatric cancer patients, Se levels are lower in WSD than LD, and low Se levels are more prevalent in WSD patients than in LD patients.


This study is concerned with the determination of Zn; Cd, Pb and Cu levels deposited in the livers, muscles and gills of Leuciscus cephalus L., 1758 living in Celtikce stream of Sakarya river by the use of Anodic Stripping Voltammetry (ASV). It was observed that Zn, Cd and Pb were mostly deposited in liver (98.5000 ppm, 4.5354 ppm and 38.9649 ppm respectively) while the highest, Cu level was found in muscles with 6.0330 ppm. It was observed that there was a positive relation between the body weight and Zn, Cd and Cu contents. Pb level on the other hand was found to be negatively correlated with the body weight. There was also a positive correlation between the body weight and Zn , Cd and Pb levels in liver and gills .


Abstract : This thesis surveys the current multimedia electronic mail (e-mail) related standards. The increasing demands for interoperability pushed the international standardization organizations to develop standards for e-mail. The multimedia e-mail related standards include X.400 and ODA. ODA supports formatted text, raster graphics, and geometric graphics. The future standards will be able to support high bandwidth uses such as high-resolution color still-image, full-motion video, voice, and audio. The future components of multimedia e-mail include TIFF for raster graphics, CGM for geometric graphics, JPEG for high resolution color still-image, and MPEG for full-motion video. These multimedia data require vast amounts of storage, processing time, and transmission bandwidth. The standardization efforts can be viewed as selecting the best combination of these three factors, interoperability, and timing consideration. According to this view, the standard for each component is reviewed with frame of background, coding, compression, and current status. With the information from the survey study, a simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of LAN where multimedia data are transmitted. The simulation results show that the high resolution image browsing activity in a LAN will burden the low speed LANs. The adoption of compression chips or high speed LANs such as FDDI will make such high bandwidth activities feasible. Multimedia; Electronic Mail; Standards; Standardization; Simulation; LAN; ODA; CGM; JPEG; MPEG


Staining and visualization of the nucleic acid bands on agarose gels using ethidium bromide (EB) has been a widely used technique in molecular biology. Although it is an efficient dye for this purpose, EB is known to be mutagenic and genotoxic in humans. This led to the emergence of various alternative dyes, which were claimed to be safer and more efficient than EB. However, these dyes portray varied sensitivity and interference with the electrophoretic mobility of nucleic acids. This work aimed at assessing ten nucleic acid-binding dyes and two prestained dyes for these properties by three staining techniques, such as precasting, preloading, and poststaining. Of these, preloading was not suitable for any of the dye while poststaining worked optimal for most of them. Precasting was suitable for only four dyes viz. DNA Stain G, SYBR™ safe, EZ-Vision® in-gel, and LabSafe™. Poststaining was, in general, a costlier method than precasting. The work gives a comprehensive understanding of the performance of nucleic acid-binding dyes for routine molecular biology experiments.


Governments are beginning to commit substantial sums of money to systems for the delivery of electronic public services. These promise citizens improved access to public services and round the clock one-source access to government for all, regardless of their location and levels of mobility. However, identifying priorities and determining how much public money should be committed to particular types of public Electronic Services (e-services) remain problematic. Choice Experiments (CEs) have begun to be used to estimate the value of non-market goods, including quantifying the use and non-use values provided by components of a complex public service. Here we use a CE to determine priorities by forecasting the relative market value of the types of government e-services proposed to be delivered to Alberta households via the Alberta SuperNet.


: This paper analyzes the latest complete Bouguer gravity anomaly map of Slovakia in relation to geological architecture. The observed gravity field consists of regional and local gravity anomalies, as well as marked horizontal gravity gradients. The most remarkable regional feature on this map is the large field with low-density masses in the northern part of Central Slovakia (the so-called Western Carpathian gravity low), which is divided into two gravity sub-lows: the Outer and Inner Western Carpathian gravity low. The source of the first sub-low is the sediments of the Outer Western Carpathian flysch units, and the second one is a crust with prevailing granites and orthogneisses. It is suggested that this field is only the torso of the original one, which stretched along the entire length of Slovakia from the SW to the NE. However, in the youngest stages of tectonic development, the negative gravity anomalous field in the territory of West and East Slovakia changed to a positive one due to the thinning of the lithosphere and crust by the influence of asthenolithic masses from the mantle. The higher density masses in Central Slovakia south of the Carpathian gravity low are not caused only by asthenolithic action. The different tectonic segment with a predominance of metamorphic complexes and a higher average density, in comparison to the low-density granitized complexes in the north, also contributes to its manifestation. The boundary between these two segments in Central Slovakia is a linear and sharp tectonic zone and coincides with the extensive Pohorelá shear zone. Several local anomalies also occur on the complete Bouguer anomaly map, and they were also subjected to geological analysis. These include local areas with a predominance of heavier crust, such as the core mountains in western Slovakia, subvolcanic intrusions, metabasic complexes, and the Cadomian basements. Prominent horizontal gravity gradients reflect the tectonic interfaces (faults, shear zones) that originated mainly during the youngest period of the Western Carpathian tectonic development and were also interpreted. The faults shown in the complete Bouguer anomaly map were active mainly during the transpressional and extensional stage of the Neo-Alpine tectonic development.


ABSTRACT Circumstantial evidence suggests that "Helicobacter heilmannii" infection is an example of zoonosis. The presence of "H. heilmannii" strains in a human subject with acute gastric erosions, in his two cats, and in two unrelated cats was analyzed, and the genetic relatedness of the human and feline strains was assessed. A 580-bp, PCR-amplified sequence of "H. heilmannii" urease B gene (ureB) obtained from biopsies from the human subject and his two cats was restricted withAluI and cloned for sequencing. Analysis of the restriction fragment length polymorphism of the ureB-amplified product suggested the presence of different individual "H. heilmannii" strains in the cats and of three distinct strains in the human subject. One of the "H. heilmannii"ureB sequences amplified from the human subject's biopsies was identical to that derived from one of his cats. The degree of similarity between the other "H. heilmannii" human and feline nucleotide sequences was higher than 97%. Most of the base substitutions were conservative. We conclude that human and animal "H. heilmannii" strains are closely related and that humans can be infected by more than one "H. heilmannii" strain, as has been observed for Helicobacter pylori.


Background: The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is one of the best markers for detecting prostate cancer. Rapid and real time recognition of PSA biomarker could be helpful in the early diagnosis and efficient treatment of prostate cancer. One of the usual methods to identify this biomarker is ELISA, which has a picomolar detection range but requires specialized personnel and also this technique is time-consuming and expensive. Methods: Cost-effective POC devices are great solutions because they are very cost-effective, sensitive and simple, do not require expert operators and have a high response time in a short time. With that in mind, in this work, a novel and simple label-free paper-based electrochemical immunosensor were designed by using conductive Ag-ink and designed directly by pen on paper technique on the surface of photographic paper, which is a suitable substrate for antibody immobilization, for rapid detection of PSA. Results: Based on the obtained results, under the optimum conditions, the synthesized Ag ink has a great substrate for antibody (Ab) and antigen (Ag) immobilization. The linear range was from 0.001 to 30 μg/L and the obtained low limite of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.001μg/L. This immunosensor also tested in human plasma samples, which had good analytical power. Conclusion: The proposed paper-based immunoassay could be a hopefully new and cheap tool for the diagnosis of other biomarkers.


Dual-tone Multi-frequency (DTMF) Signals are used in touch-tone telephones as well as many other areas. Since analog devices are rapidly changing with digital devices, digital DTMF decoders become important. In this survey a brief review of some DTMF detector implementations is given. The Aim of this paper is to implement a DTMF detector, which is ITU complaint, on a fixed point low cost DSP. This detector should be able to detect DTMF tones in multiple-channels with as much as possible channels. Microcontrollers, as the name suggests, are small controllers. They are also used in automobiles, washing machines, microwave ovens, toys .etc. where automation is needed.


Urbanization is increasing at a rapid pace globally. Understanding the links between environmental characteristics, phenotypes, and fitness enables researchers to predict the impact of changing landscapes on individuals and populations. Although avian reproductive output is typically lower in urban than natural areas, the underlying reasons for this discrepancy may lie at the intersection of abiotic and biotic environmental and individual differences. Recent advances in urban ecology highlight the effect of heavy metal contamination on stress physiology; as high levels of glucocorticoid hormones decrease parental investment, these hormones might be the link to decreased reproductive success in areas of high environmental pollution. In this study, we aimed to identify which abiotic stressors are linked to avian reproductive output in urban areas and whether this link is mediated by individual hormone levels. We used fine-scaled estimates (2m2 spatial resolution) of nighttime light, noise, and urban density to assess their impacts on the physiological condition of adult house sparrows (Passer domesticus). We measured circulating levels of lead and glucocorticoid concentrations in 40 breeding pairs of free-living house sparrows and related these physiological traits to reproductive success. Using structural equation modeling, we found that increased urban density levels linked directly to increased plasma corticosterone and lead concentrations that subsequently led to decreased fledgling mass. Sparrows with increased lead concentrations in plasma also had higher corticosterone levels. Although urban areas may be attractive due to decreased natural predators and available nesting sites, they may act as ecological traps that increase physiological damage and decrease fitness. To illustrate, avian development is strongly explained by parental corticosterone levels, which vary significantly in response to urban density and lead pollution. With fine-scale ecological mapping for a species with small home ranges, we demonstrated the presence and impacts of urban stressors in a small city with high human densities.


Kidney dysfunction in patients with heart failure and cardiovascular disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease are common. A recently proposed consensus definition of cardiorenal syndrome stresses the bidirectional nature of these heart-kidney interactions. The treatment of cardiorenal syndrome is challenging, however, promising new therapeutic options are currently being investigated in recent and ongoing clinical trials.


The influence of halogens on the noncovalent interactions of different upper-rim-substituted hexylresorcinarenes with quaternary and diquaternary ammonium iodide salts was investigated in the gas phase by electrospray ionization Fourier-transform ion-cyclotron-resonance (ESI-FTICR) mass spectrometry and in solution by 1H NMR titration studies. The electronic nature of the substituents on the upper rim of the resorcinarene was directly reflected in the order of binding strengths of the hosts towards quaternary and diquaternary ammonium cations in the gas phase. In solution, the opposite trend was observed, with generally higher binding constants for the diquaternary over the quaternary salts. This phenomenon is explained by the synergetic effect originating from the interaction of the halogenated resorcinarenes with the counteranions through enhanced hydrogen bonding, leading to ion-pair binding in solution. The electronegativity of the halogens renders the hydrogen of the hydroxy group more acidic, and hence enforces hydrogen bonding in solution. The collective effect of several weak interactions is manifested in solution, thereby emphasizing the benefits of comparing solution and gas-phase studies in recognition processes.


Magnetization at 5 K and polar Kerr spectra in CoxNi1-x/Pt multilayers were studied as functions of Co content in order to better understand the difference in the behaviour of interfacial Co and Ni atoms. While the magneto-optic enhancement in the Kerr spectra is observed for the whole range of 0<x<1 the enhancement in the magnetization arising from the spin polarization of Pt occurs only for x>0.3 indicating that Pt atoms are not polarized by the Ni atoms. The x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy experiments indicate that there is charge transfer from Pt to 3d bands of Ni at the interface, leading to the loss of ferromagnetism in Ni. Therefore, non-magnetic Ni is not able to polarize Pt and induce a moment. In contrast, in the case of Co, no charge transfer is seen and Co remains ferromagnetic and induces a moment on Pt by polarization effects.


A time-varying reactance in an electrical network absorbs power at some frequencies and returns part of this power at other frequencies, the balance being delivered to the source of the reactance changes. This analysis is a study of these power transfers and establishes steady-stage energy relations which apply under very general conditions to varying reactances, including linear, nonlinear, static and electromechanical systems. These relations include the Manley-Rowe results as special cases and provide a useful description of the external characteristics of varying (and fixed) reactances. An "energy coefficient" is derived which specifies the behaviour of an individual frequency transformation. The modes in which an individual transformation can operate are described and the results related to the characteristics of a wide range of varying reactance devices. An example of the application of the theory is given in the Appendix. This theoretical analysis was undertaken as a basis for digital computer studies of varying reactance systems, since it provides both an over-all description of general characteristics and a means of numerical analysis of particular devices. A fuller account of the work will be available in a later paper by the author [l].


This paper proposes the design and experimental investigation of fuzzy precompensated hybrid proportional-integral (PI) controller for a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM)-driven standalone solar water pumping system. A conventional PI controller usually has fixed gains, which makes them quite sensitive to the parameter variations. In order to improve its performance, both during dynamic and steady-state conditions, the presented controller introduces a fuzzy logic controller, which processes the speed error. The speed along with the processed output is inputted to the PI controller for speed control of PMSM. This topology uses a solar photovoltaic (PV) array to convert the solar power into electrical power. The energy obtained is utilized to rotate the PMSM using a 3-φ voltage-source inverter. The PMSM is coupled to a pump, which performs the water pumping. An intermediate stage dc–dc converter is utilized to maximize the power output using an incremental conductance algorithm. A PV feed-forward term is incorporated to provide an accelerated performance. This topology is modeled and its response is manifested through simulation studies using MATLAB/Simulink under different atmospheric conditions. A hardware validation of it is also carried out using a digital signal processor controller (dSPACE DS-1004) on a developed laboratory prototype.


Radioactivity of high concentrations have existed in the handling nuclear materials in hot cell of PIEF(Post Irradiation Examination Facility). The exhaust filtration system was enabled to process cylindrical filters by using a manipulator in the hot cell. By establishing a double filtration system with two filters, backup protection against leakage or failure of the first is provided by the second filter. Additionally, this a arrangement is arrange intended to increase the total filtration efficiency. The result of the pressure drop changing in the air flow of the cylindrical and HEPA filters is observed by a curved line. A filtering efficiency of more than 99.99% to particle appears in the upstream and downstream during the efficiency test on the HEPA filters. The V-pleats type had a lower pressure drop than the separator type. There was no damage during usage and was found to be suitable with high capacity of air volume. Therefore, by carrying out performance tests of the exhaust filtration system, efficiency and safety can be achieved.


ABSTRACT Studies show that the state plays a positive role in shaping conditions for entrepreneurship and promoting economic growth through entrepreneurial activity. However, the question of how state intervention in entrepreneurship is justified in neoliberal regimes has received scant attention, although it can legitimize public policies. We examine the entrepreneurial slant of the Production and Commerce Development Corporation of Chile (CORFO), which implements regulations and grants financial support to startups. Analyzing interviews with CORFO's state officials, public statements, and official documentation, we review the advent of state-led entrepreneurial policy and explore the post-dictatorial government's principles justifying current state policy. This policy relies on double de-politicization: i) divesting entrepreneurship from political affiliation and ii) propagating a meritocratic rhetoric of social and individual development, oblivious of structural inequalities. We argue that this is functional for this regime as long as it guarantees state intervention in entrepreneurship as a policy of common good.


Abstract: We have studied developmental changes in the structure and concentration of the hyaluronic acid‐binding proteoglycan, neurocan, and of phosphacan, another major chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan of nervous tissue that represents the extracellular domain of a receptor‐type protein tyrosine phosphatase. A new monoclonal antibody (designated 1F6), which recognizes an epitope in the N‐terminal portion of neurocan, has been used for the isolation of proteolytic processing fragments that occur together with link protein in a complex with hyaluronic acid. Both link protein and two of the neurocan fragments were identified by amino acid sequencing. The N‐terminal fragments of neurocan are also recognized by monoclonal antibodies (5C4, 8A4, and 3B1) to epitopes in the G1 and G2 domains of aggrecan and/or in the hyaluronic acid‐binding domain of link protein. The presence in brain of these N‐terminal fragments is consistent with the developmentally regulated appearance of the C‐terminal half of neurocan, which we described previously. We have also used a slot‐blot radioimmunoassay to determine the concentrations of neurocan and phosphacan in developing brain. The levels of both proteoglycans increased rapidly during early brain development, but whereas neurocan reached a peak at approximately postnatal day 4 and then declined to below embryonic levels in adult brain, the concentration of phosphacan remained essentially unchanged after postnatal day 12. Keratan sulfate on phosphacan‐KS (a glycoform that contains both chondroitin sulfate and keratan sulfate chains) was not detectable until just before birth, and its peak concentration (at 3 weeks postnatal) was reached ∼1 week later than that of the phosphacan core protein. Immunocytochemical studies using monoclonal antibodies to keratan sulfate (3H1 and 5D4) together with specific glycosidases (endo‐β‐galactosidase, keratanase, and keratanase II) also showed that with the exception of some very localized areas, keratan sulfate is generally not present in the embryonic rat CNS.


Physical examination, interviews with patients and the results of rating scales for movement disturbances are the basis for the assessment of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, subjectivity in the assessment of the symptoms and the short period of observation are disadvantageous. This paper presents the results of a study to assess the feasibility of using accelerometer data, acquired from smart clothes, to estimate the severity of tremor in patients with PD. Algorithms were implemented to estimate the severity of rest and postural tremor of hands from accelerometer data features. The system developed consists of a pullover with eight integrated accelerometers and a computer. The newly developed system for the detection and assessment of tremor was tested with PD patients. System-based estimates were compared with clinical scores derived via visual inspection of video recordings taken while patients performed a series of standardized motor tasks. A quantifiable objective data acquisition by means of a portable wireless system could evaluate the motor disorders better.


Two women aged 84 and 86 years developed hypothermia after use of pipamperone. In one of the patients repeated administration of pipamperone again induced a decrease of body temperature. Although other clinical and environmental factors may have contributed to the development of hypothermia, a causal relationship between the use of pipamperone and the fall in body temperature appears likely considering the close temporal relationship. Hypothermia has been documented as a side effect of neuroleptics, especially phenothiazines, but it has not been reported in relation to pipamperone. Hypothermia is a potentially lethal condition; the cases described confirm the necessity of being careful with use of neuroleptics in elderly people.


This article revisits the effectiveness of public-sponsored training programs for Germany accounting for dynamic selection into heterogeneous programs. We carefully assess to what extent various aspects of our empirical strategy, such as conditioning flexibly on employment and benefit histories, the availability of rich data, handling of later program participations, and further methodological choices affect our estimates. Our results imply pronounced negative lock-in effects in the short run and positive medium-run effects on employment and earnings when job-seekers enroll after having been unemployed for some time. We find that data and specification issues can have a large effect.


High-quality YBCO films present a characteristic plateau in the logarithmic plot of the critical currents versus field. This plateau can be attributed in the high-current regime to networks of defects having different sizes and distributions. In addition to the intrinsic defects, we created columnar defects across YBCO films by irradiating sets of samples with 0.25 GeV Au ions at different doses. In this paper we show that the width of the plateau is related to the distribution of defects along the grain boundaries. This distribution can be changed by means of ion irradiation. The experimental results are compared with theoretical models both in the low- and in the high-temperature regime. In the low-temperature regime, a model based on Josephson junction arrays fits optimally the experimental Jc(B) data. On the contrary, in the high-temperature regime the film behaves almost as a continuum, where the columnar defects emerge as the only effective pins. In this case we refer to a Bose-glass picture.


The authors studied the effect of short-term (20 min) hypobaric hypoxia at simulated altitudes of 7000 and 9000 m on the peroxidation of lipids in the cerebral cortex, subcortical formations, medulla oblongata and cerebellum of the laboratory rat. In 5- and 21-day-old rats, increased lipoperoxidation was recorded in all the studied regions of the brain. Differences were observed in sensitivity to the degree of hypoxia. In 5-day-old rats the response to both exposures was the same, but in 21-day-old animals exposure at 7000 m stimulated peroxidation in the cerebral cortex only (at 9000 m in all the parts of the CNS examined). In 35-day-old and adult rats, changes in the malondialdehyde concentration were likewise found after exposure at 9000 m, but not in every compartment (in 35-day-old rats in the cerebral cortex and subcortical formations and in adult rats in the cerebral cortex). In young rats, 30 and 60 min after exposure to hypoxia the malondialdehyde concentration was still higher than in older animals.


In electrostatic fields of the order of volts per Angstrom long whiskers of up to 12 water molecules form that have been observed in the field ion microscope. Here we present a detailed analysis on the basis of the density functional theory that substantiates the earlier claims. We present whisker structures and energetics, lower and upper threshold fields, and fragmentation patterns.


Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia duodenalis, and Enterocytozoon bieneusi are common gastrointestinal protists in humans and animals. Two hundred and three fecal specimens from 80 wildlife species were collected in Zhengzhou Zoo and their genomic DNA extracted. Three intestinal pathogens were characterized with a DNA sequence analysis of different loci. Cryptosporidium felis, C. baileyi, and avian genotype III were identified in three specimens (1.5%), the manul, red‐crowned crane, and cockatiel, respectively. Giardia duodenalis was also found in five specimens (2.5%) firstly: assemblage B in a white‐cheeked gibbon and beaver, and assemblage F in a Chinese leopard and two Siberian tigers, respectively. Thirteen genotypes of E. bieneusi (seven previously reported genotypes and six new genotypes) were detected in 32 specimens (15.8%), of which most were reported for the first time. A phylogenetic analysis of E. bieneusi showed that five genotypes (three known and two new) clustered in group 1; three known genotypes clustered in group 2; one known genotype clustered in group 4; and the remaining four genotypes clustered in a new group. In conclusion, zoonotic Cryptosporidium spp., G. duodenalis, and E. bieneusi are maintained in wildlife and transmitted between them. Zoonotic disease outbreaks of these infectious agents possibly originate in wildlife reservoirs.


Will medical radiologic technologists be replaced by sophisticated Software? Will they become robots?
Will they become like the worker in the film "Modern Times" by Charlie Chaplin? This paper has the scope of evaluating the relation between medical radiologic technologists and "AI" (artificial intelligence in medical radiology).
The figure of radiological technologist has a great importance for the necessary collaboration in the environment of a ward where there are great responsibilities from a medical and legal point of view. The Technician is responsible for carrying out the examination correctly: therefore, the level of qualified skills of the technologist is value added. As a matter of fact in the light of working at full capacity and the pressing requirements of the doctors of the wards, the technologist represents, especially in hospital structures not linked to universities, the most valid assistant for medical radiologists. Their ability of identifying anomalies compared to the norm during the examinations, allows to direct the doctor towards a correct preparation and, consequently, interpretation of the examination which is being performed.
We believe that the introduction of Artificial Intelligence in diagnostic imaging does not absolutely hinder the figure of the medical radiologic technologist.


External Borrowing by LDCs: A Survey of Theoretical Issues This paper surveys a broad range of theoretical issues of international borrowing and lending with a focus on the effects of sovereign immunity. The literature in credit market imperfections and existing theoretical models of sovereign borrowing provide a basis for much of the survey. Several institutional features of LDC borrowing are discussed heuristically which have not been formally modelled in the literature. These parts of the survey are intended as an agenda for further work. A brie£ critical review of the econometric implementation of the theoretical models of sovereign lending is included. I am grateful to Willem Buiter and T. Paul Schultz for their many helpful comments on an earlier draft of this survey. I remain solely responsible for all remaining errors or oversights.


A DIDS(Distributed Intrusion Detection System) named as F-DIDS is built to defend against flooding DoS(Denial of Services) attacks in the paper. F-DIDS is composed of F-IDSes which are settled in nodes who need to be protected. F-DIDS is a complete DIDS, in which each node with F-IDS can be the detection centre. Due to no central node, single failure can be avoided in F-DIDS. In F-DIDS, Traffic tables help to build up traffic matrixes. By analyzing traffic matrixes, flooding DoS attacks could be detected and three normal flooding DoS attacks are classified. Local and global communication methods are proposed to reduce the overhead brought from fully distributed architecture. The simulation results and performance analysis show that F-DIDS works effectively.


resulted in a diagnosis of Crohn's disease. The stricture in the barium enema had been attributed to inflammation and the cobblestone appearance of the caecum to luminal ulceration interspersed with islets of normal mucosa. The stricture was due to the presence of pharmacobezoar, whilst tablets indurating into the bowel wall were responsible for the cobblestone appearance. The supposed fistula joining the sigmoid colon to caecum reported on the CT, was shown to be a large caecal diverticulum extending inferiorly towards the rectum. Medications that have been reported as responsible for pharmacobezoar include: aluminium hydroxide gel, enteric-coated aspirin, sucralfate, guar gum, cholestyramine, enteral feeding formulae, Psyllium preparations, Nifedipine XL and Meprobamate [2]. Nifedipine preparations have been reported as upper gastro-intestinal concretions in several published case reports. However this case is especially interesting due to the caecal location of the pharmacobezoar and also the 'cobblestoned' nature of the indurated caecum [4].


Depth Image Based Rendering (DIBR) is a widely used technique to enable free viewpoint television. It utilizes one or more reference texture images and their associated depth images to synthesize virtual camera views. The depth image plays a crucial role for DIBR. However, most of the conventional depth image estimation approaches determine the depth information from a limited set of nearby reference images. This leads to inconsistencies among multiple reference depth images, thus resulting in poor rendering quality. In this paper, we propose an approach that uses the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT) to improve depth images at virtual viewpoints. We extract SIFT features in left and right reference images, and use feature correspondences to improve the consistency between reference depth images. By doing so, the quality of rendered virtual views can be enhanced.


Primary care physicians (PCP) have a major responsibility in identifying patients with obesity eligible for bariatric surgery (BS). The aim was to explore PCPs' attitudes towards BS in order to map potential barriers of referral.

 3526 PCPs in Switzerland were invited to participate in an online survey. PCPs were asked to write the first 5 words coming to their mind about the term "bariatric surgery". Additionally, they had to pick 2 emotions that best described each provided association. Demographic data and obesity-related referral patterns were collected. Cognitive representation network was constructed based on co-occurrence of associations, using validated data-driven methodology.

 216 PCPs completed the study. Respondents were aged 55±9.8 years, had an equal gender distribution and practiced mainly in urban setting (Table 1). The majority of PCPs refer either often (31%) or sometimes (41%) patients for BS, while 7% never refer patients to BS, even if eligibility criteria are met. The PCPs' overall satisfaction with BS was high (88.5%)(Fig. 1). PCPs could be categorized in 3 subgroups based on their cognitive representation of BS: a) indication-focused (most frequent associations: "obesity", "diabetes"/most frequent emotion: "worrying"), b) treatment-focused ("gastric bypass", "weight loss"/"interested"), and c) risk vs. benefit-focused ("complications", "challenging follow-up", "success"/"alert") (Fig. 2&3). There were no relevant demographic or practice related differences between PCPs in the 3 cognitive modules. PCPs with a treatment-focused mindset had a significantly better knowledge of current guidelines on indications of BS (χ2=17.1, P=0.029) and referred in average 5 patients/year, x2 more than PCPs belonging to the other cognitive modules.

 PCPs in Switzerland approve the efficacy of BS, but show reservation to refer eligible patients systematically. PCPs think about BS along 3 cognitive schemes, and the treatment-focused attitude was coupled with the highest willingness to refer eligible patients for BS. Confident knowledge of current indications of BS was the only significant factor that distinguished PCPs with a treatment-focused attitude. Strengthening the collaboration in therapeutic decision-making between PCPs and BS centers has the potential to improve access to optimal care for patients with obesity.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of miR-300 and PTTG1 on osteosarcoma invasion and metastasis and explore the molecular mechanism of osteosarcoma invasion and metastasis.

OBJECTIVE
Western blot was used to detect the expression of PTTG1 in human osteoblasts hFOB1.19 and osteosarcoma cell MG63 and to detect the transfection efficiency of cells transfected with PTTG1-knockdown plasmid; Transwell invasion assay and CCK8 assay detected the effects of knockdown of PTTG1 and overexpression of miR-300 on the invasion and proliferation of osteosarcoma cell MG63. On-line prediction and screening of microRNAs (miRNAs) with complementary PTTG1 binding was conducted. qRT-PCR was performed to examine the expression of miR-300 in hFOB1.19 and MG63 cells, and Western blotting was used to detect the expression of PTTG1 in MG63 cells after transfection with a miR- 300 plasmid. Double luciferase assay was used to detect the targeted binding of miR-300 and PTTG, Transwell invasion assay and CCK8 assay were used to detect the effects of overexpression of miR-300 and overexpression of PTTG1 plasmid on invasion and proliferation of osteosarcoma cell line MG63.

OBJECTIVE
PTTG1 was highly expressed in MG63 cells (P=0.0002). PTTG1 knockdown significantly inhibited the invasion (P=0.0002) and proliferation (P=0.0039) of MG63 cells. Based on the results of online prediction of complementary miRNAs to PTTG1 and analysis of the data from NCBI database, miR-300 was determined as the target miRNA in this study. qRT-PCR results showed a significantly decreased expression of miR-300 in MG63 cells (P=0.0004). Overexpression of MiR-300 in MG63 cells significantly decreased the expression of PTTG1 (P=0.0007), and the expressions of miR-300 and PTTG1 were negatively correlated. Dual luciferase assay showed that miR-300 could specifically bind to PTTG1 (P=0.001). Overexpression of PTTG1 could significantly reverse the effect of miR-300 overexpression on invasion (P=0.0003) and proliferation (P=0.0077) of MG63 cells.

OBJECTIVE
Overexpression of miR-300 can inhibit the invasion and metastasis of osteosarcoma cell MG63 by targeting PTTG1.


ABSTRACT Observers can learn the likely locations of salient distractors in visual search, reducing their potential to cause interference. While there is agreement that this involves suppression of frequent distractor locations, the results are mixed regarding the stage of suppression: the search-guiding priority map or, respectively, the distractor-defining dimension. Critical for deciding this question is whether or not a distractor-position effect (reduced interference by distractors at frequent locations) is accompanied by a target-position effect (slowed response times to targets at frequent locations) when the distractor is defined in a different dimension to the target: priority-map based suppression would impact target as well as distractor signals; distractor-dimension-based suppression only distractor signals. To identify the factors that are critical for observing one or the other effect pattern, the present study adopted a paradigm in which the distractor was likely to appear in a larger region of the display and orthogonally varied display density (singleton saliency) and random swapping of the distractor and non-distractor colours. Both effect patterns were found consistently, with the critical factor being colour swapping/consistency: with swapping colours, observers tend to adopt a priority-map-based suppression strategy; with consistent colours, a dimension-based strategy.


A measure of the harmonics-to-noise ratio (HNR) in voice signals is used for assisting in the classification of voice pathologies. HNR estimation for voice signals has been investigated using time domain, cepstral, Fourier series and Fourier transform analyses. The present investigation focuses on methods that use a direct application of the Fourier transform to the signal. Three approaches to obtaining a HNR index from the power spectrum are reviewed. The present study uses synthetic voice signals to provide an unambiguous assessment of methods. The study highlights the fact that even though the indices derived from the power spectrum are useful in separating pathological and normal voice data sets, they provide only indirect information regarding the HNR of the glottal signal.


A series of syntheses were commissioned by the USDA Forest Service to aid in fuels mitigation project planning. This synthesis focuses on research for assessing the social acceptability of fuels treatments. The synthesis is structured around six important considerations for any social acceptability assessment: defining the fuels treatments being assessed; representing the fuels treatments to people; identifying whose opinion is being sought; deciding how people will be contacted; allowing people to express their judgments; and analyzing and synthesizing the data.


We develop a coarse-grained stochastic model for the influence of signal relay on the collective behavior of migrating Dictyostelium discoideum cells. In the experiment, cells display a range of collective migration patterns, including uncorrelated motion, formation of partially localized streams, and clumping, depending on the type of cell and the strength of the external, linear concentration gradient of the signaling molecule cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). From our model, we find that the pattern of migration can be quantitatively described by the competition of two processes, the secretion rate of cAMP by the cells and the degradation rate of cAMP in the gradient chamber. Model simulations are compared to experiments for a wide range of strengths of an external linear-gradient signal. With degradation, the model secreting cells form streams and efficiently transverse the gradient, but without degradation, we find that model secreting cells form clumps without streaming. This indicates that the observed effective collective migration in streams requires not only signal relay but also degradation of the signal. In addition, our model allows us to detect and quantify precursors of correlated motion, even when cells do not exhibit obvious streaming.


This study aims to determine: (1) whether the mathematical connection ability of students in the application of problem-based learning is higher than direct learning, (2) whether the conceptual understanding ability of students in the application of problem-based learning is higher than direct learning, (3) active activities of students during the implementation of problem-based learning, (4) the level of ability of teachers to manage classes in the application of problem-based learning. This research is a quasi-experimental research. The population of this study is all students of class VIII SMP Negeri 1 Bilah Barat which consists of 4 parallel classes, while the sample in this study taken two classes of population. Inferential analysis of data is done by ANACOVA  test. The results of this study indicate that: 1) students' mathematical connection ability in the application of problem-based learning is higher than direct learning. 2) students' conceptual understanding ability in the application of problem-based learning is higher than direct learning. 3) the level of student's active activity during the application of problem-based learning meets ideal time tolerance, 4) the ability of the teacher to manage learning during problem-based learning gets into the criteria good enough. Keywords: Differences, Mathematical Connection Ability, Conceptual Understanding Ability, Problem-Based Learning, Direct Learning.


EcoRI DNA methyltransferase was previously shown to bend its cognate DNA sequence by 52 ° and stabilize the target adenine in an extrahelical orientation. We describe the characterization of an EcoRI DNA methyltransferase mutant in which histidine 235 was selectively replaced with asparagine. Steady-state kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for the H235N mutant revealed only minor functional consequences: DNA binding affinity (K D DNA) was reduced 10-fold, and k cat was decreased 30%. However, in direct contrast to the wild type enzyme, DNA bending within the mutant enzyme-DNA complexes was not observed by scanning force microscopy. The bending-deficient mutant showedenhanced discrimination against the methylation at nontarget sequence DNA. This enhancement of enzyme discrimination was accompanied by a change in the rate-limiting catalytic step. No presteady-state burst of product formation was observed, indicating that the chemistry step (or prior event) had become rate-limiting for methylation. Direct observation of the base flipping transition showed that the lack of burst kinetics was entirely due to slower base flipping. The combined data show that DNA bending contributes to the correct assembly of the enzyme-DNA complex to accelerate base flipping and that slowing the rate of this precatalytic isomerization can enhance specificity.


Acute anal fissure is a common malady that results in morbidity. If a patient is not responsive to conservative treatment, the current recommended treatments are either anal dilatation or lateral internal sphincterotomy. Both operations promise relatively good results, but the recurrence rates are about 16 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. This fact, together with possible postoperative complications and costs, justifies trying conservative treatment before referring patients for surgery. The authors treated a study group of 25 patients with a topical application of Solcoderm. Another group of 25 patients concurrently treated with the usual conservative treatment served as the control group. Analysis of the early and late results proved Solcoderm to be simple to use, safe, without systemic side effects, cost-effective, and with statistically significant better outcome. Consequently, the authors believe that this method of treatment is justified in cases of acute and fissure and should be attempted before operation.


Background: Immune-modulating therapies impart positive outcomes in a subpopulation of cancer patients. Improved delivery strategies and non-invasive monitoring of anti-tumor effects can help enhance those outcomes and understand the mechanisms associated with the generation of anti-tumor immune responses following immunotherapy. Methods: We report on the design of a microneedle (MN) platform capable of simultaneous delivery of immune activators and collection of interstitial skin fluid (ISF) to monitor therapeutic responses. While either approach has shown promise, the integration of the therapy and diagnostic arms into one MN platform has hardly been explored before. MNs were synthesized out of crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA) and loaded with a model immunomodulatory nanoparticle-containing drug, CpG oligodinucleotides (TLR9 agonist), for cancer therapy in melanoma and colon cancer models. The therapeutic response was monitored by longitudinal analysis of entrapped immune cells in the MNs following patch retrieval and digestion. Results: Transdermal delivery of CpG-containing NPs with MNs induced anti-tumor immune responses in multiple syngeneic mouse cancer models. CpG-loaded MNs stimulated innate immune cells and reduced tumor growth. Intravital microscopy showed deposition and spatiotemporal co-localization of CpG-NPs within the tumor microenvironment when delivered with MNs. Analysis of MN-sampled ISF revealed similar immune signatures to those seen in the bulk tumor homogenate, such as increased populations of macrophages and effector T cells following treatment. Conclusions: Our hydrogel-based MNs enable effective transdermal drug delivery into immune cells in the tumor microenvironment, and upon retrieval, enable studying the immune response to the therapy over time. This platform has the theranostic potential to deliver a range of combination therapies while detecting biomarkers.


A case of Kallmann's syndrome in a woman is presented to evaluate the hypothalamic-pituitary function and status of the genital organs. The diagnosis of Kallmann's syndrome was performed under the determination of low circulating level of estradiol-17 beta and gonadotropins and low sensitivity to an olfactometer. Pituitary response to LRH was observed. Plasma LH response to LRH was observed in a lesser degree compared with the less impaired response of FSH. Daily injection of LRH for 13 days increased pituitary response of gonadotropin secretion. Diminished prolactin secretion and the dissociation of response to TRH and chlorpromazine were shown. Laparoscopic findings revealed a hypoplastic uterus and nearly normal sized ovaries. Ovarian response to exogenous gonadotropins was affirmed by increased estradiol-17 beta level. These results indicated disturbed hypothalamic control of gonadotropins and prolactin, and a reserved pituitary function in this case. Low circulating level of estradiol-17 beta might affect the heterogenous response of the hypothalamic-pituitary axis.


Fe–25mass%Cr–1.1mass%N alloys with different impurity content were produced by solution nitriding and then subjected to tensile tests at ambient temperature. Yield strength and tensile strength of the alloys are much higher than those of conventional austenitic stainless steels, but the brittle intergranular fracture is caused during uniform deformation without local elongation. It was confirmed that the intergranular fracture takes place at high angle random boundary and that the grain boundary segregation of impurities significantly promotes intergranular fracture. Deformation-induced martensite did not concern the intergranular fracture. In addition, it was suggested that marked stress concentration is caused at grain boundary by the piled-up dislocations in planar array and it would be one of the important factors inducing intergranular fracture.


The paper presents an approach aimed at the study of various aspects of traffic passage through a multi-lane road that is based on computational experiments. Microscopic simulation based on models of the type "leader-following models" is considered to be the most adequate and the most accurate means for performing them. The leader-following model of the entire traffic flows in a city road network acquires the more holistic form via the formalism of hybrid dynamic systems or, in other words, event-switched systems. The general formalization of this approach is presented and the corresponding representation of multi-lane traffic according to this approach is presented. The latter includes the detailed formal description of the traffic flow carrier with a certain traffic organization as well as the description of conditions for drivers' choice of acceleration/braking and lane change according to incentive motives for it and positions and speeds of neighboring vehicles and the vehicle itself. Organization of computational experiments allowing to establish the dependence of the average speed of traffic on the density of incoming flows, the distribution of various types of vehicles and their drivers, road organization and other factors in a multi-lane road is considered. It is demonstrated in what way they allow to evaluate quantitatively the dependence of the road throughput on the above factors. Results of calculations are presented and analyzed.


Abstract Lorenz's hypothesis of a quadratic law governing the growth of errors provides an estimate of small error growth in the atmosphere based on the knowledge of large error behavior. An atmospheric model whose simplicity allows for an independent estimate of small error growth was used to investigate the validity of Lorenz's hypothesis. Only errors that are initially infinitesimally small were found to follow Lorenz's law, while errors of large size exhibit higher growth rates. Nonetheless, the results lead to a substantial confirmation of the estimate, based on experimental data, of the doubling time for small errors given by Lorenz for the atmosphere.


Background The present systematic review and meta-analysis was performed to explore the possible effect of bariatric surgery on semen parameters. Material/Methods Studies on the effect of bariatric surgeries on semen parameters were collected by searching Cochrane Library, PUBMED, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and CNKI databases. We extracted information on essential data and outcome measures, including study design, bariatric surgery, and semen parameters at baseline and after the surgery from the included studies, and STATA 12.0 software was applied to conduct the meta-analysis. Predefined subgroup analyses were also conducted by study design and bariatric surgical procedures. The standard mean difference (SMD) was calculated to estimate the effect on semen parameters. Results After the literature search, 6 articles that fulfilled the inclusion criteria were included in the present meta-analysis. The results revealed that patients who had undergone gastric bypass surgery had an increase in semen volume (SMD (95%CI)=0.583 (0.121–1.045), p=0.013). However, the seminal concentration (overall, SMD (95%CI)=−0.123 (−0.418–0.173), p=0.416) and the semen progressive motility (overall SMD (95%CI)=0.148 (−0.148–0.444), p=0.328) remained unchanged after the bariatric surgery. Nevertheless, semen normal morphology experienced an increase in the subgroup of prospective design and sleeve gastrectomy (prospective study, SMD (95%CI)= 0.385 (0.074–0.697), p=0.015, sleeve gastrectomy, SMD (95%CI)=0.880 (0.465–1.296), p=0.000; overall, SMD (95%CI)=0.372 (0.068–0.677), p=0.017). Conclusions In conclusion, based on the limitations of the present meta-analysis, definite conclusions cannot be reached regarding the possible effect of bariatric surgery on semen parameters.


Drought is the most widespread disaster across the globe, every year it affects millions of lives in the world. It impact on rural economy and social systems are complex and long lasting. The empirical analysis of the socio-economic dimensions of drought is important for envision of an appropriate drought management plan. This micro level study has explained the causes, impacts and coping mechanisms for drought by rural communities in drought prone area of Maharashtra. Participatory investigation and livelihood analysis enabled to examine vulnerability of different group of population. The coping mechanism of individual households of a village is also examined in order to understand the individual's response to stress situation. The existing government policies are examined in terms of overall drought resilience system. Mitigation measures and suggestions have been derived from people's perception and study of existing conditions in the village. Based on the findings, policy suggestions and recommendations in this book are very important for a more effective drought management plan.


SUMMARYThe potential use of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) single photon emission tomography (SPET) imaging with 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO) in the management of divers who have undergone a form of decompression sickness (DCS) was investigated using texture analysis. We imaged 50 divers, 10 of whom had only experienced DCS which had been categorized as Type 1, 20 of whom had a history of DCS classified as Type 2 and 20 of whom had not suffered an episode of DCS. A number of divers who had experienced Type 2 DCS had also had incidents of Type 1. The reconstructed SPET images were pre-processed and analysed using a first-order texture analysis technique based on a grey level histogram. The results showed that there was a significant textural difference between the divers who had only suffered episodes of DCS Type 1 and the diving controls and a difference between the divers with a history of Type 2 and the diving controls. No differences were found between the two groups of divers who had a history of DCS. This result suggests that DCS produces a detectable change in 99Tcm-HMPAO SPET brain images. However, the segmentation between the groups investigated was not complete and so the usefulness of this approach appears limited in individual cases but may provide useful information about the effects of different diving practices.


As immigration continues to describe the reality of virtually all industrialized countries, the discourse about its phenomenology and permutations of character as well as policy responses in open, industrialized and market-driven societies related to immigration continue to be among the most heavily researched issues as they drive social and demographic change in significant ways. The fundamental polarity remains between the traditional model of assimilation as compared to the cultural preservation under various models of multiculturalism – aside, of course, from hybrid forms and structuralist approaches. This article examines broad issues of cultural identity, bilingualism, the benefits of membership in a minority group, the changing role of religion (primarily Islam), education and intermarriage, and the significant deviations from the legacy culture minority groups sometimes develop in the process of acculturation without making a full transition to majority culture. At a time when the economic benefits of assimilation appear to be increasingly less controlling in struggles for cultural identity and immigrant rights, there is a number of paradoxes that becomes visible only by taking a historical view over the last twenty years at both the American and European experiences to understand socio-political backlashes from majority voters as well as immigrant responses thereto.