Family forms are changing rapidly in Western society, and with them, the microenvironments within which men, women, and children live together. Stuart Aitken argues that, whether environment is taken as physical space or as a metaphor for the social, economic, and psychological basis of families, there remains a tendency to keep defining the meaning of families and communities in terms of older, traditional, "imagined," and idealized structures of politics, gender, and geography.Using the stories of several families in San Diego, Aitken describes geographies of everyday life that contest definitions of cities and communities as mosaics reflecting patterns of social relations. He begins inside the family circle, looking at patriarchal power and the subordination of women, men, and children. Moving beyond the household, he then stresses the importance of place in defining the social and political character of communities and families' interplay within them--whether "communities" are viewed as neighborhoods, towns, or organizations that provide space for fellowship and common purpose. In turn, he shows that as the individual child reaches beyond family life to find a place in these communities, political cultures are reproduced through the child.Aitken suggests ways in which individual and family identities are complexly intertwined with the cultural politics of communities, cities, and regions. He concludes that family and community spaces reproduce and reconstruct themselves daily according to divisions of race, class, gender, and differential access to housing, work, and child-care.


The isolation and culturation of SSCs of different stage of Wuzhishan Mini Porcine (WZSP) with different way of enzymatic digestion and culturation were deaded in this study. The results of the experiment described are as the following: The proper time of isolation and culturation of SSCs of WZSP is 1-20 old days. Different old of piglets with different method. Using DMEM medium as a fundmental culture medium add different gradient at 34 degrees C in a water-saturated atmosphere of 95% air, 5% CO2. The mulberry-shaped SSCs clusters appeared as original generation in 7-8 days culture. The SSCs clusters developed half-suspendedly in the culture medium. SSCs alkaline phosphatase (AKP) staining expressed positively. Mouse embryonic fibroblast was used as feeder layer for the SSCs passage cultured, The SSCs show good attached attributes, but the number of SSCs decreased quickly after 4 days culture. By seminiferous cord fragment culturation can also appear SSCs clusters in 5 days, The SSCs clusters developed half-suspendedly in the culture medium. In addition, the testes placed in cold (4 degrees C) PBS banlanced salt solution for 24 h also can be used as a good matierials for preparation of SSCs. These results indicate that the method of solation and culturation of SSCs are very correct and efficient, all these can be utilized as a good reference for future studies.


BACKGROUND
Vitamin D deficiency is associated with obesity; whether repletion supports weight loss and changes obesity-related biomarkers is unknown.

OBJECTIVE
We compared 12 mo of vitamin D3 supplementation with placebo on weight, body composition, insulin, and C-reactive protein (CRP) in postmenopausal women in a weight-loss intervention.

DESIGN
A total of 218 overweight/obese women (50-75 y of age) with serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] ≥10 ng/mL but <32 ng/mL were randomly assigned to weight loss + 2000 IU oral vitamin D3/d or weight loss + daily placebo. The weight-loss intervention included a reduced-calorie diet (10% weight loss goal) and 225 min/wk of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic activity. Mean 12-mo changes in weight, body composition, serum insulin, CRP, and 25(OH)D were compared between groups (intent-to-treat) by using generalized estimating equations.

RESULTS
A total of 86% of participants completed the 12-mo measurements. The mean (95% CI) change in 25(OH)D was 13.6 (11.6, 15.4) ng/mL in the vitamin D3 arm compared with -1.3 (-2.6, -0.3) ng/mL in the placebo arm (P < 0.0001). Changes in weight [-7.1 (-8.7, -5.7) compared with -7.4 (-8.1, -5.4) kg], body mass index (in kg/m(2): both -2.8), waist circumference [-4.9 (-6.7, -2.9) compared with -4.5 (-5.6, -2.6) cm], percentage body fat [-4.1 (-4.9, -2.9) compared with -3.5 (-4.5, -2.5)], trunk fat [-4.1 (-4.7, -3.0) compared with -3.7 (-4.3, -2.9) kg], insulin [-2.5 (-3.4, -1.7) compared with -2.4 (-3.3, -1.4) μU/mL], and CRP [-0.9 (-1.2, -0.6) compared with -0.79 (-0.9, -0.4) mg/L] [corrected] were similar between groups (all P > 0.05). Compared with women who achieved 25(OH)D <32 ng/mL, women randomly assigned to vitamin D who became replete (ie, 25(OH)D ≥32 ng/mL) lost more weight [-8.8 (-11.1, -6.9) compared with -5.6 (-7.2, -5.0) kg; P = 0.05], waist circumference [-6.6 (-9.3, -4.3) compared with -2.5 (-4.6, -2.0) cm; P = 0.02], and percentage body fat [-4.7 (-6.1, -3.5) compared with -2.6 (-3.9, -2.2); P = 0.04]. Among women with complete pill counts (97% adherence), the mean decrease in CRP was 1.18 mg/mL (46%) in the vitamin D arm compared with 0.46 mg/mL (25%) in the placebo arm (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS
Vitamin D3 supplementation during weight loss did not increase weight loss or associated factors compared with placebo; however, women who became replete experienced greater improvements. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01240213.


This paper focuses on the use of safety barrier analysis, during the design phase of a vessel powered by cryogenic hydrogen, to identify possible weaknesses in the architecture. Barrier analysis can be used to evaluate a series of scenarios that have been identified in the industry as critical. The performance evaluation of such barriers in a specific scenario can lead to either the approval of the design, if a safety threshold is met, or the inclusion of additional barriers to mitigate risk even further. By conducting a structured analysis, it is possible to identify key barriers that need to be included in the system, intended both as physical barriers (sensors, cold box) and as administrative barriers (checklist, operator training). The method chosen for this study is the Barrier and Operational Risk Analysis (BORA) method. This method, developed for the analysis of hydrocarbon releases, is described in the paper and adapted for the analysis of cryogenic hydrogen releases. A case study is presented using the BORA method, developing the qualitative barrier analysis. The qualitative section of the method can be easily adapted to vessels of different class and size adopting the same storage solution. The barrier analysis provides a general framework to analyze the system and check that the safety requirements defined by the ship operator and maritime certification societies are met.


The CLASSICAL Barkan goniotomy procedure is widely used and accepted as the treatment of choice for most cases of congenital glaucoma. In the classical technique, illumination is provided by a hammer light held near the surgeon's head by an assistant who directs it onto the eye along the line of vision of the surgeon. 1-3 If the operation is properly performed, the percentage of success with one or multiple operations is good, but, in practice, the procedure can be exceedingly difficult. One of the most important difficulties encountered is inadequate visualization of the chamber angle during the goniotomy due to problems associated with the illumination system. Reflections from external surfaces can significantly impair the surgeon's view. These reflections arise from the goniotomy lens, the cornea, the knife handle, the knife blade, and from the surgeon's gloved hand. In addition, as the knife is inserted into the eye, the smooth corneal


Two quantum chemistry theoretical models in the gas phase at the density functional theory B3LYP/LACVP(d) level of calculation are proposed to rationalize the hydrazine oxidation by cobalt(II) phthalocyanine (Co(II)Pc). This oxidation reaction involves the net transfer of four electrons. These theoretical models that are described in terms of energy profiles include a through-space mechanism for the transfer of the first electron of the hydrazine and a through-bond mechanism proposed for the transfer of the three electrons remaining. The main difference between both models arises from a one-electron and one-proton alternate transfer for model 1 and a two-electron and two-proton alternate transfer for model 2. The main problem for experimental studies is to determine if the first transfer corresponds to an electron or a chemical transfer. Under this point of view, we proposed two models which deal with this problem. We conclude that model 1 is more reasonable than model 2 because the whole oxidation process is always exergonic.


Targeted advertising is meant to improve the efficiency of matching advertisers to their customers. However, targeted advertising can also be abused by malicious advertisers to efficiently reach people susceptible to false stories, stoke grievances, and incite social conflict. Since targeted ads are not seen by non-targeted and non-vulnerable people, malicious ads are likely to go unreported and their effects undetected. This work examines a specific case of malicious advertising, exploring the extent to which political ads1 from the Russian Intelligence Research Agency (IRA) run prior to 2016 U.S. elections exploited Facebook's targeted advertising infrastructure to efficiently target ads on divisive or polarizing topics (e.g., immigration, race-based policing) at vulnerable sub-populations. In particular, we do the following: (a) We conduct U.S. census-representative surveys to characterize how users with different political ideologies report, approve, and perceive truth in the content of the IRA ads. Our surveys show that many ads are "divisive": they elicit very different reactions from people belonging to different socially salient groups. (b) We characterize how these divisive ads are targeted to sub-populations that feel particularly aggrieved by the status quo. Our findings support existing calls for greater transparency of content and targeting of political ads. (c) We particularly focus on how the Facebook ad API facilitates such targeting. We show how the enormous amount of personal data Facebook aggregates about users and makes available to advertisers enables such malicious targeting.


We presentUBV RI and uvby photometry of HD 81410 obtained on a total of 40 nights during 1987–90, and an analysis of its long-term photometric behaviour. The star is found to show two well-separated minima in its light curve most of the time; probably there are two preferred effective longitudes about which spots are mainly formed. The migration of the phase of the light minimum usually seen in RS CVn stars is absent in HD 81410. The rather small spread in the maximum V amplitudes observed in active RS CVn objects seen at different inclinations of rotational axis implies that the longitudinal asymmetry in the distribution of spots, which causes the light modulation, is largely restricted to within around ±40◦latitudes. The total ranges of rotational periods which are quoted in the literature for several spotted stars based on long-term photometry also imply a similar latitudinal extent of spots about the equator. We find that the light and colour curves produced by an equatorial band of spots limited by latitudes and covering the full range of longitudes across the hemisphere visible at light minimum can be approximated reasonably well by two well-separated circular spots. Further, we find that the net effect in the colours produced by limb-darkening depends on the exact distribution of spots on the stellar surface; it could be even negligible for certain spot distributions. From the spot modeling of the light and colour curves of HD 81410 we find that the maximum temperature difference between the photosphere and spots is around 1400 K. We also find that the light modulation is caused by several small individual spots, and during the epochs of shallow minimum spots are spread out, both latitudinally and longitudinally, over a wider region, as indicated by a higher temperature for the equivalent circular spots at those epochs. It seems that in RS CVn stars the spots occur largely distributed about the equator as in the case of the Sun and the solutions which indicate polar spots result from limiting the number of spots in the modeling to a few. Send offprint requests to : M.V. Mekkaden ? Based on the observations collected at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla


A kinetic study of the oxidative dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene has been performed in a differential flow reactor over a V2O5/TiO2 catalyst. The partial pressures of ethylbenzene and oxygen were varied and rates were measured for the formation of styrene. Kinetics studies reveal that the mechanism of the reaction is of the "Mars Van Krevelen Redox" type. The rate equation deduced, assuming a steady state involving a two stage oxidation–reduction process, represented the data most satisfactorily. The catalyst has been synthesized by a method similar to a solution combustion method and characterized using FT-Raman and powder XRD methods. DFT level computational studies provided a deep insight for the reaction mechanism at the molecular level. According to our calculations ethylbenzene first dissociatively adsorbs over the catalyst and produces an ethylbenzene radical which subsequently adsorbs on the vanadyl group or bridging oxygen V–O–V or bridging oxygen V–O–Ti. The adsorbed radical further loses an H atom to produce styrene. The catalyst is regenerated by molecular oxygen.


Parathyroid carcinoma is a rare tumor that is responsible for <1% of cases of hyperparathyroidism in most parts of the world. An increased incidence of this tumor has been reported in patients with the hyperparathyroidism-jaw tumor (HPT-JT) syndrome, but the etiology of most other cases is unknown. Parathyroid carcinomas tend to occur a decade earlier than adenomas, and the sex ratio approaches unity in contrast to the female preponderance of adenomas. Most patients with carcinomas present with marked hypercalcemia and are more likely to have associated bone and renal disease than those with adenomas. Although fibrosis and mitotic activity are common in carcinomas, these features are not specific for malignancy. The diagnosis of carcinoma should be restricted to those tumors that show invasion of blood vessels, perineural spaces, soft tissues, thyroid gland, or other adjacent structures or to tumors with documented metastases. Mutations of the HRPT2 gene (1q21-q32), which are responsible for the HPT-JT syndrome, have been implicated in the development of a high proportion of parathyroid carcinomas. A subset of patients with mutation-positive carcinomas have germline mutations of the HRPT2 gene. This finding suggests that some patients with apparent sporadic parathyroid carcinomas may have the HPT-JT syndrome or a variant of this syndrome. Because of the high frequency of local recurrence following incomplete excision, an en bloc resection is the preferred surgical approach for treatment of parathyroid carcinomas.


and there can be few authors better qualified for the task here assigned to him, of writing a general introductory account of the country for the interested stranger. It cannot have been an easy task and it would be easy to find fault, but in the main the task has been successfully accomplished. The style is agreeable, the manner discursive, the matter widely informative without being too closely packed. The narrative ranges over the history of the colonial period and down to January 1967, and besides political matters includes chapters on economics, transport, education, local administration, and health.


The set of mod n functions associated with primitive roots of unity and discrete Fourier transform is introduced. These functions naturally appear in description of superposition of coherent states related with regular polygon, which we call kaleidoscope of quantum coherent states. Displacement operators for kaleidoscope states are obtained by mod n exponential functions with operator argument and non-commutative addition formulas. Normalization constants, average number of photons, Heinsenberg uncertainty relations and coordinate representation of wave functions with mod n symmetry are expressed in a compact form by these functions.


In line with current rapidly developing technology, mechanization in industry is increasing. In this case, all components that form a machine are becoming important. Compressor plays an important role in operations of numerous machineries. They are used for increasing pressure by compressing gas. Compressors have various types and especially in industries such as automotive, textile, and manufacturing, reciprocating compressors are frequently used. Reciprocating compressors consist of cylinder, piston, and crank and connecting rod mechanism. These components work by narrowing the volume inside the cylinder and increasing gas pressure inside. In this study, flow structure inside a reciprocating compressor was numerically analysed. For this purpose, models were created for 2 different crank angles of a reciprocating compressor. Simulations were made for different pipe angles of inlet pipe and outlet pipe. Valve openings were kept constant at 6 mm. Input and output angles of inlet and outlet pipes to cylinder was changed as 0°, 30°, 45°, 60° and 90°. As a result, it was determined that as the angle of inlet and outlet pipes changed, general flow structure inside the cylinder changed as well. Especially, there were differences in velocity vectors plotted for input and output of the flow from valve to cylinder.


The [2+2] cycloaddition of (S) - (-) - and (R) - (+) -α-methylbenzyl isocyanate to 2, 3-dihydrofuran was accelerated by compression to produce four diastereomers of a β-lactam. The diastereomers were isolated and the absolute configuration of each diastereomer was determined. The ratio of diastereomer was about 51/49 and did not change with pressure, reaction temperature, and kind of solvent. The reaction of (S) - (+) -1- (1-naphthyl) ethyl isocyanate with 2, 3-dihydrofuran and the reaction of (S) - (-) -α-methylbenzyl isocyanate with various vinyl ethers under high pressure gave similar reactivity and diastereoselectivity to the reaction of α-methylbenzyl isocyanate with 2, 3-dihydrofuran.


Media systems of the 21st century have been described as "hybrid", referring to flows of information being increasingly disseminated, circulated, consumed, and interacted with in overlapping publics at various times by multiple actors with multiple voices. This research describes how the hybridisation of the media system affects populism as a political logic of articulation and how we should take this into consideration when researching populism as a political communication phenomenon. The main research question relates to the interconnection between populism as a logic of articulating a chain of equivalence and the hybrid media environment in which populist communication is being performed and reacted to by multiple actors with various agendas: What does it mean for the articulation of "the people" when anybody can speak or be perceived to speak in its name? The research uses a discourse-theoretical approach to analyse mediated interactions between populist-party representatives, journalists, and citizen activists pertaining to populist radical right communication taking place in online counterpublics. The study's main argument is that the logics of the hybrid media system affect what populist political communication ends up articulating – thus having an effect also on the form and viability of populist movements as a means for political change. The research arrives at four main conclusions. First, due to the hybridisation of the media system, it would be analytically beneficial to regard populist political communication as technologically, organisationally, ideologically, and stylistically hybrid. Second, out of the heterogeneous populist political communication emancipated by online counterpublics, it is likely that its least-appreciated elements will become the defining characteristic of affiliated organisational vehicles in mainstream publics. Third, public scrutiny arising from party organisations being affiliated with extreme online communication is most efficiently deflected by populist leaders by heightening the boundary of difference between the people and the elite. As the logics of the hybrid media system will make populist chains of equivalence brittle unless populist leaders adopt confrontational strategies for responding to critique, thus fourth, populist parties tend to gravitate towards becoming normalising agents for reciprocal antagonism and antipluralism. This makes populist logic less conducive to being a corrective for democracy. The thesis consists of four research articles and a theoretical introduction that engages in depth with literature on populism, its relationship with media, and the role of online publics in facilitating political action. The four sub-studies investigate populist radical right online communication and different actors' reactions to it in Finland, Sweden, and the UK, but the focus of the introduction is on the Finnish case. The first article analyses social media as platforms for populist remediation of political news. The second article compares populist parties' media strategies for responding to racism accusations related to online hate speech. The third article discusses the political consequences and the necessary discursive negotiation caused by populist-party organisations trying to mobilise resources created in controversial online communities. And the fourth article investigates networked civic monitoring of online populist radical right counterpublics.


【In spite of international efforts to control nuclear weapons and chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) weapons, North Korea obtains and sells CBR weapons illegally. As a result, the worldwide threat of CBR weapons is increasing. Unfortunately, civil defense education and training for CBR weapons have not been adopted for real situations because of the long period of absence of an actual combat. In this study, virtual training scenarios that are applied to the simulation were made in 5 steps to cope with CBR situations. These scenarios are expected to have three effects. First, trainings can be improved with experience and education. Second, the problems and health hazards of CBR weapons and supplies can be solved with CBR virtual training simulation experience. Finally, corresponding effects can be recognized and predicted in real situations through roles and mission procedures of simulation scenario.】


In many oil fields only the BHC logs (borehole compensated sonic tool) are available to provide interval transit time (Δtp), the reciprocal of compressional wave velocity VP.
   To calculate the rock elastic or inelastic properties, to detect gas-bearing formations, the shear wave velocity VS is needed. Also VS is useful in fluid identification and matrix mineral identification.
   Because of the lack of wells with shear wave velocity data, so many empirical models have been developed to predict the shear wave velocity from compressional wave velocity. Some are mathematical models others used the multiple regression method and neural network technique.
   In this study a number of empirical models were considered to predict VS from VP. The models had been correlated and a general equation, based on statistical method, was established for carbonate rocks.
   The proposed equation, then, was examined using log data and good results observed.


Background: To assess the risk of recurrence and survival after locoregional and systemic treatment regarding biological features among women with a 1cm-maximal size of breast cancer. Material and Methods: Individual clinicopathological data were collected from 446 patients, treated in the Oscar Lambret and Claudius Regaud centers between 2003 and 2006. 5 patients had bilateral breast cancer. Median age was 59y (range: 26-92). None of the patient had node involvement, but patients could have isolated cells. Surgery consisted of lumpectomy, quadrantectomy or total mastectomy in 95%, 1%, 4% of the patients respectively. Sentinelle node biopsy and axillary dissection were performed in 87% and 13% of the patients, respectively. Estrogen receptor (ER, n=447) and Progesterone receptor (PR, n=448) were determined from tumor tissue microarrays using immunohistochemistry (IHC). Cut-off used for ER and PR positivity was 10% of stained cells. Radiation therapy was delivered to 432 breasts (96%; 45-50Gy) and a boost to 296 (69%; 6-16Gy). Nodal RT was delivered in 29% of the patients. Systemic therapy consisted of hormonotherapy in 380 (85%) including aromatase inhibitors in 38%. Chemotherapy was administered in 18 patients. Only two patients received 1 year of trastuzumab. Results: Pathological tumor size was ranged between 1.0 and 10.0 mm (median: 8.0 mm). The majority of tumors (n= 383 or 85%) were ductal infiltrant carcinoma and 42 (9%) were lobular infiltrant. 189 tumors (48%) contained a ductal carcinoma in situ component. 11/381 (3%) presented lymphovascular invasion. The majority were grade III (n=194 or 45%). Only 53 tumors (12%) were ER negative and 129 (28.8%) were PR negative. Nineteen (5.2%) tumors and 4 (0.9%) patients presented tumors with Her 2 overexpression or gene amplification, respectively.After a median survival of 26 months, 8 patients presented locoregional or distant recurrence. Local, locoregional, and distant metatstases were observed in 3, 2 and 4 patients. Among these 8 patients ¾ were aged more than 50y, all of them had tumors > 5mm and grade II or III. 6 out of the 9 patients were HR+. Presences of lymphovascular invasion and Her2+ status were not correlated to recurrence. Conclusion Mammographic screening increased the rate of small tumors diagnosed and reduces mortality in breast cancer. It is not known if this reduction is more pronounced in certain groups of patients. In the new era of tumor biology new markers that could predict the sensitivity of tumours to local and systemic therapy have to be determined in further studies for more tailored treatments in small tumors. Further pathologic analyses are ongoing and will be presented. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(24 Suppl):Abstract nr 6026.


Abstract. Especially in the field of numerical simulations, such as flow and acoustic simulations, the interest in using virtual 3D models to optimize urban systems is increasing. The few instances in which simulations were already carried out in practice have been associated with an extremely high manual and therefore uneconomical effort for the processing of models. Using different ways of capturing models in Geographic Information System (GIS) and Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), increases the already very high complexity of the processing. To obtain virtual 3D models suitable for simulation, we developed a tool for automatic processing with the goal to establish ties between the world of GIS and CAE. In this paper we introduce a way to use Coons surfaces for the automatic processing of building models in LoD2, and investigate ways to simplify LoD3 models in order to reduce unnecessary information for a numerical simulation.


Sera from 35 fulminant hepatitis patients admitted to the hospital at the USSR AMS Research Institute of Virology in 1985-1989 were studied for specific markers of NB and delta infection. Delta-infection as etiological factor of the disease proved in 26 patients (74.3%). Acute hepatitis of mixed etiology (HBV and HDV) occurred in 17, acute hepatitis delta in 9 patients carrying chronically HBsAg. Acute hepatitis B was verified in the rest 9 patients. Clinical, biochemical and serological aspects typical for the variety of etiological variants of hepatitis running a fulminant course are considered.


: Aim: Over the mid-20th century, stroke mortality has been reducing. The goals behind this are definitely not well known, although the reduction is welcome. Owing to late and early deaths from stroke, the stroke dropped in the United States from the third to the fourth leading cause of death. This lead to a consistent understanding of the factors relating to stroke risk and longevity change. This declaration brings into account the facts that causes have led to the deterioration and how they can be used for this critical general well-being dilemma in the context of potential intercession. Methods: Writing committees have been approved by the Research Statements Oversight Committee of the American Heart Association of Stroke Council and the Manuscript Oversight Committee of the American Heart Association as seats and co-seats based on their prior work. Based on this, they were claimed by the Advisory Board. Our current research was conducted at Jinnah Hospital, Lahore from May 2019 to April 2020. The authors utilized methodical writing surveys, references to distributed clinical and epidemiological investigations, dreariness and mortality reports, clinical furthermore, general wellbeing rules, definitive explanations, individual documents, and master feeling to sum up proof and to show holes in current information. All individuals from the composing bunch had the chance to remark on this record furthermore, affirmed the last form. Until being approved and supported by the Research and Coordination Committee of the American Heart Association, the collection was completed by large American Heart Association app buddy study, Stroke Council investigation and Factual Claims review Committee surveys. Results: The reduction in stroke mortality over the past decades represents a large rise in population health and is demonstrated in all genders and in both race-ethnic and age classes. Despite the overall effects of a decline in stroke loss on people under 64, a substantial drop in stroke mortality is a drop in extended spans of life lost. The decline in mortality is due to decreased stroke incidence and lower cases. These noteworthy upgrades in stroke results are simultaneous with cardiovascular hazard factor control mediations. Although it is impossible to define specifically inferable risks, efforts to reduce hypertension initiated in the 1980s have had the greatest effect on the gradual reduction in stroke mortality. While later introduced, interventions for reducing diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia and smoking, in particular in combination with hypertension treatment, seem in addition to the reduction in stroke killing. The expected impacts of telemedicine what's more, stroke frameworks of care have all the earmarks of being solid yet have not been set up sufficiently long to show their effect on the decay. Different variables had likely impacted, however extra investigations are expected to decide their commitments. Conclusion: The decrease in stroke mortality is genuine and speaks to a significant general wellbeing and clinical medication achievement story. The change from 3 to 4 driving death is the result of a real decline in mortality and not an increase in death from continued lung infection, now the third leading cause of death in America. There is clear evidence that a mixture of mediations and programs can be applied to deterioration based on empirical findings and revised to mitigate risk of strokes, mainly enhanced hypertension management. The change from 3 to 4 driving death is the result of a real decline in mortality and not an increase in death from continued lung infection, now the third leading cause of death in America. There is clear evidence that a mixture of mediations and programs can be applied to deterioration based on empirical findings and revised to mitigate risk of strokes, mainly enhanced hypertension management.


This paper presents an analytical surface potential model for pocket implanted sub-100 nm n- MOSFET. The model is derived by solving the Poisson's equation in the depletion region at the surface with the appropriate boundary conditions at source and drain. The model includes the effective doping concentration of the two linear pocket profiles at the source and drain sides of the device. The model also incorporates the drain and substrate bias effect below and above threshold conditions. The simulation results show that the derived surface potential model has a simple compact form that can be utilized to study and characterize the pocket implanted advanced ULSI devices.


This contribution points out the individual and organizational strategies that can be carried out in order to not to prevent or intervene in the disease but to promote the psychosocial health of employees. Based on the Positive Experiences Model, authors describe two main types of optimizing strategies both at individual and organizational level: 1) preventive optimization strategies, as interventions or actions addressed to the entire population of the organization although nobody has expressed psychosocial distress, and 2) improvement optimization strategies, as interventions addressed to those employees who do not show any psychosocial risk or distress problems, but with some subjective well-being indicators identified as susceptible to be improved. A total of 12 optimization strategies are briefly described. Finally, authors stress the importance of combining both individual and organizational optimization strategies.


Objective: Musculoskeletal models play an important role in surgical planning and clinical assessment of gait and movement. Faster and more accurate simulation of muscle paths in such models can result in better predictions of forces and facilitate real-time clinical applications, such as rehabilitation with real-time feedback. We propose a novel and efficient method for computing wrapping paths across arbitrary surfaces, such as those defined by bone geometry. Methods: A muscle path is modeled as a massless, frictionless elastic strand that uses artificial forces, applied independently of the dynamic simulation, to wrap tightly around intervening obstacles. Contact with arbitrary surfaces is computed quickly using a distance grid, which is interpolated quadratically to provide smoother results. Results: Evaluation of the method demonstrates good accuracy, with mean relative errors of 0.002 or better when compared against simple cases with exact solutions. The method is also fast, with strand update times of around 0.5 msec for a variety of bone shaped obstacles. Conclusion: Our method has been implemented in the open source simulation system ArtiSynth (www.artisynth.org) and helps solve the problem of muscle wrapping around bones and other structures. Significance: Muscle wrapping on arbitrary surfaces opens up new possibilities for patient-specific musculoskeletal models where muscle paths can directly conform to shapes extracted from medical image data.


This paper considers the problem of stabilizing linear and nonlinear continuous-time systems with state and measurement delay. For linear systems we address stabilization via fixed-order dynamic output feedback compensators and present sufficient conditions for stabilization involving a system of modified Riccati equations. For nonlinear systems we provide sufficient conditions for the design of static full-state feedback stabilizing controllers. The controllers obtained are delay-independent and hence apply to systems with infinite delay.


There are two other members, who were not named in the announcement, and the secretary is A. M. Chekotillo, a senior research worker in the V. A. Obruchev Institute of Permafrost Studies. Other bodies, not apparently represented on the Bureau, but closely concerned in permafrost studies, are the Vorkuta coal combine "Vorkutaugol"', the Research Institute for Foundations and Subterranean Constructions of the Academy of Construction and Architecture of the U.S.S.R. [Nauchno-Issledovatel'skiy Institut Osnovaniy i Podzemnykh Sooruzheniy Akademii Stroitel'stva i Arkhitektury SSSR], the West Siberian and Far Eastern Branches of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R. [Akademiya Nauk SSSR], and " Gidroproyekt", an institution of unknown responsibilities active in north-western Siberia.


Objectives Antigen-specific CD4+ T cells epigenetically modified with DNA methylation inhibitors overexpress genes normally suppressed by this mechanism, including CD11a, CD70, CD40L and the KIR gene family. The altered cells become autoreactive, losing restriction for nominal antigen and responding to self-class II major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules without added antigen, and are sufficient to cause a lupus-like disease in syngeneic mice. T cells overexpressing the same genes are found in patients with active lupus. Whether these genes are co-overexpressed on the same or different cells is unknown. The goal of this study was to determine whether these genes are overexpressed on the same or different T cells and whether this subset of CD4+ T cells is also present in patients with lupus and other rheumatic diseases. Methods Multicolour flow cytometry was used to compare CD11a, CD70, CD40L and KIR expression on CD3+CD4+CD28+ T cells to their expression on experimentally demethylated CD3+CD4+CD28+ T cells and CD3+CD4+CD28+ T cells from patients with active lupus and other autoimmune diseases. Results Experimentally demethylated CD4+ T cells and T cells from patients with active lupus have a CD3+CD4+CD28+CD11ahiCD70+CD40LhiKIR+ subset, and the subset size is proportional to lupus flare severity. A similar subset is found in patients with other rheumatic diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis and Sjögren's syndrome but not retroperitoneal fibrosis. Conclusions Patients with active autoimmune rheumatic diseases have a previously undescribed CD3+CD4+CD28+CD11ahiCD70+CD40LhiKIR+ T cell subset. This subset may play an important role in flares of lupus and related autoimmune rheumatic diseases, provide a biomarker for disease activity and serve as a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of lupus flares.


The Trapped sun's thermal radiation in the earth's atmosphere is known as the greenhouse effect. This process is considered very important since it keeps the earth warm and hence possible to live in. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) are considered very important contributors to the greenhouse effect. During the last two decades, the level of greenhouse gases has increased, which plays a major role in global warming and climate change. The Middle East is considered among the most affected areas by climate change. In the current study, Geographical Information System (GIS) has been used to create some temperature maps that could show the air temperature distribution and difference between two different periods of time (past and recent) in different stations that cover the Iraqi governorates. A spatial interpolation method has been used. This method considers known values of temperature at a given location (stations in the current study) to estimate a continuous surface map during a specific period of time. The results of this study showed no significant increase in the average air temperature values, however the area of high air temperature values is growing during the cold and hot months of the year.


Turak Dance is a traditional dance belonged to the community in the Central District of Lakitan (STL) Ulu Terawas Musi Rawas Regency of South Sumatra. Now adays, the existence of Turak Dance is less known to the public in the region of Musi Rawas Regency, both in the terms of performances and the values contained in this dance. The research design was qualitative research with ethnography approach. This research procedure includes three stages: (1) preparation field stage; (2) research field stage, including: data collection techniques, determining subject and object of research, and clarification of data; and (3) data analysis and reporting of research. Based on the results of this research it was known that this dance was created in the history time of the people in Tanjung Sakti (now changes into the Central Tribe Lakitan (STL) Ulu Terawas the arrival of Dutch entourage guests and envoys from the Kingdom of Palembang who intended to control the territory of Tanjung Sakti. Turak Dance at this moment began to be introduced to the community in the region of Musi Rawas Regency and surrounding areas. However, many of the fighting values that exist in this dance less informed to the wider community, because only a few prominent leaders who know the history of the emergence of this Turak Dance.
Keywords: Juang Value, Turak Dance


We have several distance or similarity functions for trees, but their performance is not always adequate in different applications. In the base paper the Extended Sub tree (EST) function, where a new sub tree mapping is proposed. This similarity function is to compare tree structured data by defining a new set of mapping rules where sub trees are mapped rather than nodes. To reduce the time complexity as well as computational complexity of the system, efficient pruning algorithm is proposed. In the proposed system the unnecessary computation is reduced in the tree structured data by using the lossless pruning strategy. This paper provides major advancement in efficiency. This pruning strategy is ignoring the node or sub tree which has greater value than the ignoring probability. By using this technique, we can reduce the extra computation complexity.


Autism is a global health problem, probably due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. There is emerging data that the gut microbiome of autistic children differs from the one of typically developing children and it is important to know which bacterial genera may be related to autism. We searched different databases using specific keywords and inclusion criteria and identified the top ten bacterial genera from the selected articles that were significantly different between the studied patients and control subjects studied. A total of 34 studies that met the inclusion criteria were identified. The genera Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Clostridium, Coprococcus, Faecalibacterium, Lachnospira, Prevotella, Ruminococcus, Streptococcus, and Blautia exhibited the most substantial data indicating that their fluctuations in the gastrointestinal tract could be linked to the etiology of autism. It is probable that autism symptoms are influenced by both increased levels of harmful bacteria and decreased levels of beneficial bacteria. Interestingly, these genera demonstrated varying patterns of increased or decreased levels across different articles. To validate and eliminate the sources of this fluctuation, further research is needed. Consequently, future investigations on the causes of autism should prioritize the examination of the bacterial genera discussed in this publication.


Abstract : Direction of Arrival (DOA) estimation of signals has been a popular research area in Signal Processing. DOA estimation also has a significant role in the object location process of Passive Coherent Location (PCL) systems. PCL systems have been in open literature since 1986 and their applications are not as clearly understood as the DOA estimation problem. However, they are the focus of many current research efforts and show much promise. The purpose of this research is to analyze the DOA estimation errors in a PCL system. The performance of DOA estimators is studied using the Cramer-Rao Bound (CRB) Theorem. The CRB provides a lower bound on the variance of unbiased DOA estimators. Since variance is a desirable property for measuring the accuracy of an estimator, the CRB gives a good indication about the performance of an estimator. Previous DOA estimators configured with array antennas used the array antenna manifold, or the properties of the array antenna structure, to estimate signal DOA. Conventional DOA estimators use arbitrary signal (AS) structures. Constant Modulus (CM) DOA estimators restrict the input signals to a family of constant envelope signals, and when there are multiple signals in the environment, CM DOA estimators are able to separate signals from each other using the CM signal property. CM estimators then estimate the DOA for each signal individually. This research compares the CRB for AS and CM DOA estimators for a selected system. The CRB is also computed for this system when single and multiple and moving objects are present. The CRB(sub AS) and CRB(sub CM) are found to be different for the multiple signal case and moving object cases.


We report the selective etching mechanism of silicon oxide using a mixture of hydrogen fluoride (HF) and NH4F gases. A damage-free selective removal of native oxide has been used in semiconductor manufacturing by forming and removing the ammonium fluorosilicate [(NH4)2SiF6] salt layer. A downstream plasma of NF3/NH3 or a gas-phase mixture of HF and NH4F was used to form (NH4)2SiF6. We modeled and simulated the fluorination of silicon oxide and the salt formation by density functional theory calculation. First, we simulated the successive fluorination of silicon oxide using SiO2 slab models. The fluorination reactions of SiO2 surfaces by the mixture produced a volatile SiF4 molecule or a surface anion of –OSiF4−* with an NH4+ cation with low activation energies. Unlike HF, NH4F produced surface salt species consisting of a surface anion and an ammonium cation. Next, we simulated the (NH4)2SiF6 formation from the two reaction products on fluorinated SiO2 surfaces. (NH4)2SiF6 can be formed exothermally with low activation energies (0.27 or 0.30 eV). Finally, we compared silicon with SiO2 to demonstrate the inherently selective etching of silicon oxide. The fluorination reactions of silicon by the mixture showed the activation energies significantly higher than the SiO2 cases, 1.22–1.56 eV by HF and 1.94–2.46 eV by NH4F due to the less stable transition state geometries. Therefore, the selective salt formation on silicon oxide, not on silicon, is expected in near-room temperature processing, which enables selective etching of silicon oxide.


Stamped pottery develops through the La Tene period in several non-neighbouring European regions from Portugal to Hungary. Due to its irregular distribution, it raises the issue of integration scales and the surprisingly diverse unity of the Celtic world. La Tene art is often approached as a single phenomenon through prestigious material, attributing to elites the privilege of maintaining coherence in La Tene visual patterns. The study of stamping as a vehicle for standardised images through the continent allows to approach the (re)production of those codes within regional assemblages. The analysis of the practice of stamping on pottery in temperate Europe and the Iberian Peninsula shows that it develops suddenly at a local scale during the 5th c. BC, and evolves sometimes converging, sometimes diverging in different production areas. Those artistic evolutions seem to be triggered by major social changes, explaining their concurrence throughout the continent.


Transition path flight times are studied for scattering on two electronic surfaces with a single crossing. These flight times reveal nontrivial quantum effects such as resonance lifetimes and nonclassical passage times and reveal that nonadiabatic effects often increase flight times. The flight times are computed using numerically exact time propagation and compared with results obtained from the Fewest Switches Surface Hopping (FSSH) method. Comparison of the two methods shows that the FSSH method is reliable for transition path times only when the scattering is classically allowed on the relevant adiabatic surfaces. However, where quantum effects such as tunneling and resonances dominate, the FSSH method is not adequate to accurately predict the correct times and transition probabilities. These results highlight limitations in methods which do not account for quantum interference effects, and suggest that measuring flight times is important for obtaining insights from the time-domain into quantum effects in nonadiabatic scattering.


The need to manage risk is widely acknowledged throughout the corporate world, and a well-developed body of knowledge is available to guide efforts to do so. Implementation of principles into practice, however, is mixed, often due not just to a lack of the right skills, but also because of a lack of commitment from senior management. Peter Tufano, Peter Moores Dean and Professor of Finance at the University of Oxford's Said Business School and formerly a professor at Harvard Business School, emphasizes that risk management should be considered an essential C-suite—that is, CEO and board level—activity, and be practiced by nonprofits as well as corporations. Tufano reviews an HBS case study of the World Food Programme (WFP), a division of the UN that feeds about 100 million people at risk of starvation that undertook an Enterprise Risk Management exercise beginning in 2003. He draws lessons from the WFP's experience for colleges and universities to consider as they work to strategically manage their own risks.


The New Lex Mercatoria has gained a placed in the unification of the International Business Law to reconcile the fairest way to solve conflicts that take place between merchants. This is displayed into a legal frame known as UNIDROIT principles, even though the fact that there are several legal systems around the world. This article analyzes the advantages brought by the Lex Mercatoria from the international commerce new tendencies as an alternative to the state law. Specially, it is attempted to show through an analytic methodology the causes, nature and outcomes of the UNIDROIT principles to the international contracts. As a consequence, it is concluded that this figure conception is based onto a detailed development of a private encoder with soft terms and, its application is not set aside from the state jurisdictional intervention.


The modernization through the improvement, the application of technology of fishing utility, the funding support which affects on the activity and organization of fisherman and eventually causes the transformation in the society. The aim of this research was to analyze the impact of fishing technology conversion to social structure of Bajo tribe fisherman. The methods used to collect the primer and secondary data from informant were: completed questionnaire, deep interview with both informants and respondents, and live observation (participate observation). Analysis of data was performed descriptively which is concept development, collect the evidences but did not perform the hypothesis trial, and analyze the variable relationship for hypothesis testing by applying the quantitative and qualitative tabulation. The results of this research was the fishing technology conversion in fisherman society brings up many impacts on various aspects in fisherman's life. The application of every type old technology affected on the consequences or impacts such as the work pattern, social structure, and the fisherman prosperity level. The relationship between the ponggawa as the owner of production utility and the sawi as the worker is not the exploitative characteristic, because both of them still apply the cultural values which help each other not only in teamwork but also in relationship pattern in their daily life. So that the characteristic of the relationship pattern is not exploitative and require each other. The difference does not show the polarization indication because the Bajo tradition to help each other is still applied.


Introduction: Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and curable disease, although, it still causes more than one million deaths annually. Therefore, the aim of this study was to measure the epidemiological status and the burden of TB in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries.
Methods: The study population included 21 countries in the MENA region, covering a population of about 400 million. The Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2019 database was used. The case definition comprises all forms of TB, containing pulmonary and extra pulmonary TB, which are bacteriologically approved or clinically diagnosed. The prevalence, incidence, death, and the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rates per 100,000 people for all national locations by standardized age rates (ASR) were measured.
Results: In 2019, Afghanistan had the highest TB-related incidence 85.09 (95% UI, 73.69_98.46), death 21.91 (95% UI, 13.44_29.78), and DALYs rate 695.21 (95% UI, 454.34_939.49). The highest prevalence rates of TB were in Egypt 28935.42 (95% UI, 26125.54_32251.01). The highest TB-related DALYs rate was attributed to alcohol use, high fasting plasma glucose, and smoking were related to Tunisia, Qatar, and Lebanon, respectively. Between 1990 and 2019, TB- related incidence, prevalence, death, and DALYs rate have decreased by 53%, 42.19%, 76.20%, and 75.95% in MENA region, respectively.
Conclusion: TB has continued to decrease in prevalence, incidence, death, and DALYs rates in the MENA region, although, nowadays with the COVID-19 pandemic, societies may face more challenges for TB prevention, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation.
Keywords: Tuberculosis; disability; burden of disease; DALY; MENA.


This paper addresses the issue of the costs of private clinics in comparison to those of the Greek government. Initially, the work is done an introduction to the basic elements of the Greek Health System. More specifically, described the definition of the health system and the concept of the welfare state is analyzed. Then in the same chapter describes the organizational structure of the Greek Health System, the methods of financing hospitals and sources of financing of the Greek Health System. In addition, it indicates the status of the private health sector in Greece and performed a comparison between private and public health. The next chapter of this thesis deals with theoretical approaches of payment methods of health institutions, focusing on the daily hospital fee, payment in practice, the role of social health insurance funds and the role of the private service sector and private health insurance. Also the costs and financing of health services mentioned in Greece and revenue collection methods and sources of financing of health services. After giving the definition - the importance of financial management then presented and analyzed some financial ratios compared to the 3 major Greek private health groups, the diagnostic and therapeutic Athens center "Ygeia" SA, the Euromedica group and the Voiatriki SA and 2 large public hospitals, the G.H "Ippokrateio" and G.H "Asklipieio Voulas". The last chapter presents the findings of the investigation.


In rarely reported instances, the use of intravesical mitomycin C appears to have caused bladder wall calcification. We report two patients treated for non-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the bladder with transurethral resection and mitomycin c instillation. Both of these patients experienced new onset of severe irritative voiding symptoms shortly thereafter. Although one patient com- pleted a six-cycle course of Bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG), the other only received one instillation due to symptom severity. On cystoscopy the resection beds appeared calcified and necrotic. Biopsies revealed dystrophic calcification and necrosis without evidence of tumor. Resection of this area led to complete resolu- tion of symptoms and normal healing of the resection site. Our results are consistent with the current hypothesis that these cal- cifications are not related to recurrence or persistence of tumor. Although there have not been reported cases of these calcifica- tions signifying recurrence of tumor, it is important for clinicians to rule out recurrence as a cause for these symptoms. Resection of the area has the added benefit of alleviation of irritative void- ing symptoms encountered shortly after mitomycin c instillation.


We present an experimental and theoretical investigation of the temperature dependence of the threshold current for double quantum well GaInNAs-GaAs lasers in the temperature range 10 degC-110 degC. Pulsed measurements of the threshold current have been performed on broad and narrow ridge wave guide (RWG) lasers. The narrow RWG lasers exhibit high characteristic temperatures (T0) of 200 K up to a critical temperature (Tc), above which T0 is reduced by approximately a factor of 2. The T0-values for broad RWG lasers are significantly lower than those for the narrow RWG lasers, with characteristic temperatures on the order of 100 (60) K below (above) Tc. Numerical simulations, using a model that accounts for lateral diffusion effects, show good agreement with experimental data and reveal that a weakly temperature dependent lateral diffusion current dominates the threshold current for narrow RWG lasers.


INTRODUCTION
The aim of this project was to describe the course of pregnancy with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and to estimate risk factors and indications for treatment.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Birth, haematological, and neonatal files were examined retrospectively.

RESULTS
Forty-eight ITP women with 55 pregnancies gave birth to 61 children, 59 live-born. The first singleton pregnancy in the observation period (the index pregnancy) was used for statistics, namely 44 index pregnancies. A maternal platelet fall from the first trimester to delivery was seen, as was a platelet rise three days after delivery (p < 0.0001), even in splenectomised women. Thirty-six per cent of the women had bleeding manifestations, none of which were fatal; 33% of the newborn infants had thrombocytopenia in cord blood. The following risk factors for perinatal thrombocytopenia were found: a sibling with thrombocytopenia, severe maternal thrombocytopenia, male gender. The nadir platelet count in the newborn infants was seen up to seven days after delivery. The presence of an older sibling with neonatal ITP is a risk factor for neonatal ITP in subsequent pregnancies. A significant association was found between the maternal platelet count in the second trimester and the platelet count in cord blood.

DISCUSSION
The diagnosis and treatment of ITP in pregnancy are controversial. Vaginal delivery is generally recommended. The platelet kinetics in pregnancy with ITP is comparable with the platelet kinetics of the spleen.


This paper describes the dynamic modeling of a solar absorption cooling plant that will be built for both research and demonstration purposes by the end of 2007. The synchronizing of cooling loads with solar radiation intensity is an important advantage when utilizing solar energy in air conditioning in buildings. The first part of this work deals with the dynamic modeling of an evacuated tube collector. A field of these collectors feed a single-effect absorption chiller of 35 kW nominal cooling capacity. The simulation model has been done in a modular way under TRNSYS16. In a second part, simulation and ptimization of the system has been investigated in order to determine the effect of several parameters (collector area, tank volume...) on chiller performance.


The present invention relates to a method and nodes for performing bridging of data traffic over an access domain. For doing so, for data traffic received at an access node from a first user domain and destined to a second user domain, the access node identifies a service binding corresponding to the received data. Then, the access node tunnels the data traffic in a Unicast message addressed to an access edge node in accordance with the identified service binding. The tunnelled data traffic is then forwarded to the access edge node. The access edge node receives the tunnelled data traffic, and identifies the service binding corresponding to the received tunnelled data traffic. The access edge node then proceeds with redirecting the tunnelled data traffic to a second access node in accordance with the identified service binding therein. The redirected tunnelled data traffic is received at a second access node, where it is detunnelled and forwarded to the second user domain. The method also provides an access node and an access edge node for performing the invention.


Whole bodies of Xenopus laevis (n = 19) were analysed for chemical composition and morphometrics. The nutrient profile (macronutrients, amino acids, fatty acids and minerals) was evaluated by sex; interactions among variables with body weights and lengths, and comparisons made with different species of marine and fresh water fish. Significant differences were found in morphometric measurements, water content, several minerals and fatty acids between sexes of X. laevis. Amino acid profiles differed in methionine, proline and cysteine, which could underlie different metabolic pathways in frogs when compared to fish. In addition, fatty acid profiles revealed more monounsaturated and n − 6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in frogs than in fish, more similar to values reported for terrestrial than aquatic vertebrates. Important interactions were also found between body measurements and fat, calcium, and phosphorus, as well as between essential and non-essential amino acids. The results indicate that frogs might have particular biochemical pathways for several nutrients, dependent on sex and linked to body weight, which ultimately could reflect specific nutrient needs.


Transient currents for an antenna with a nonlinear load are calculated using finite-difference-time-domain (FDTD) methods. The FDTD electric field across the nonlinear load (which determines the voltage across the load) is calculated by solving a nonlinear equation at each time step. This allows the time step to be at the Courant limit, and is more efficient than reducing the time step size in all the FDTD cells to maintain stability in just the cell containing the nonlinear load. The stability of this approach relative to a simpler approach of approximating the diode as a variable resistor is demonstrated. As a validation of the method the transient current in a long dipole antenna with a nonlinear load excited by a pulsed plane wave is computed and compared with calculated results obtained by another method. The approach given here extends the applicability of the FDTD method to problems involving radiation and scattering from antennas including nonlinear loads. >


Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, as an educational policy, provides opportunities for students to learn these disciplines in more integrated ways than traditional methods. This can be pedagogically accomplished via a design-based approach where students engage collaboratively in solving engineering problems using various domains of knowledge and skills. In this pedagogical process, design thinking is vital. However, little is known about whether students develop this kind of thinking and its mindset when engaging in design-based activities. The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of a design-based activity on design thinking. Participants included 18 ninth-grade students in a small rural school. The data were collected using a Likert-scale questionnaire before and after the design-based activity, in combination with classroom observations and focus group interviews with the students. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to analyse the quantitative data and a thematic analysis method was utilised for the qualitative data. The results indicate that the students were significantly more comfortable with solving engineering problems, even though other aspects of design thinking mindset (e.g., user empathy, collaboratively working with diversity, orientation toward learning, and creative confidence) were not significantly different. These results are discussed based on the enacted nature of the activity.


Prior knowledge and beliefs influence our reasoning in daily life and may lead us to draw unwarranted conclusions with undesirable consequences. The underlying neural correlates of the interaction between belief and logic, prior to making logical decisions, are largely unknown. In this study, we aimed to identify brain regions important in distinguishing belief load of assumptions in logical decision making. Thirty-one healthy volunteers (18-29 years old) participated in an fMRI study and were asked to respond to a series of syllogistic arguments in which assumptions were either congruent (believable) or incongruent (unbelievable) with common knowledge. An interpretable machine learning algorithm, an L1 regularized Support Vector Machine, was used to explain the discriminatory pattern of conditions given the brain activation patterns. Behavioral results confirmed that believable premises were incorrectly endorsed more than unbelievable ones. Imaging results revealed that several connectivity patterns anchored around the insula, amygdala, and IFG were important in distinguishing believable from unbelievable assumptions at different time points preceding logical decisions. Our convergent behavioral and imaging results underscore the importance of the belief loads of our assumptions for a logically sound decision. Our results provide new insights into neural and potential cognitive mechanisms underlying the interaction between belief and logic systems, with important practical implications for social, complex decisions. Highlights Belief load of premises impact logical decisions Regional importance in distinguishing belief load changes in different TRs Belief load of assumptions elicits emotional and salience responses Regional connectivity changes as the reasoning process evolves at different TRs Insula, caudate, amygdala, and IFG were among highly connected hubs during the task Significance It has been experimentally shown that decision-makers often ignore given assumptions in favor of their own beliefs, potentially leading them towards a subjective rather than a logical decision. Consider "Carbon emission tax" given the assumption of "global warming". If a decision-maker does not believe in "global warming", the final decision on "Carbon emission tax" is not driven by factual premises but by the personal belief of the decision-maker. Understanding neural mechanisms underlying the interaction between the decision-makers' beliefs and factual premises sheds light on factors driving belief bias and potential interventions to circumvent it. The main contribution of this study is to investigate neural mechanisms in a logical reasoning task in which the belief load of the assumptions was manipulated.


The danger of buckling and instability structures easily occurs on the steel beam structure, it will make the structure fails before it reaches the cross section ultimate capacity.In that case the strength of a beam is not only determined by cross-section ultimate capacity. The instability of the structure causes lateral torsional buckling eventhough there is no torque on the beam. There is one way to support the stability of the beam; by installing lateral support on its side. This research is intended to obtain information about flexural strength by comparing the theoretical results based on SNI 03-1729-2002 and (Indonesian National Standard Draft) RSNI 03-1729.1- 201x with the results of experimental testing and finite element analysis results (using the ABAQUS program). The flexural specimens which are studied are in the long-span with a length of 3.3 meters span test. The loading uses three-point load system. The results of the test show information that flexural strength for the long-span specimen from experimental test results has the smallest difference of 33.18% of the theoretical result. As for analysis with FEM also hasthe same difference of 33.18% with the experimental results. Failure that occurs for long-span specimen is due to lateral torsional buckling failures.


Water shortages have become a serious issue, so the importance of developing innovative cellulose-based superabsorbent polymer (SAP) was experimentally assessed as an environmentally friendly alternative to acrylate-based SAPs for the optimization of water consumption. The development of a biodegradable superabsorbent hydrogel composite based on a graft copolymer of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and mixtures of different comonomers such as an acrylamide-co-acrylic acid-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid (Am-co-AA-co-AMPS) CMC-g-TerPoly interpenetrating network was characterized by infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), scan electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and swelling capacity in different aqueous media. The optimized CMC-g-(TerPoly) composite showing outstanding superabsorbance with high water retention, the ratio of constituents, temperature, and pH effect on equilibrium swelling have been optimized by using multistage response surface methodology (RSM). In distilled water (d-water), the equilibrium water absorption capacity (EW) of the synthesized composite hydrogels (SAP-IPN1) is 1200 g (d-water/1g hydrogel) which is superior to any other commercial polyacrylate SAP hydrogels, while in saline water the EW is 650 g (s-water/1g hydrogel). The performance of the SAP-IPN for water retention was evaluated by studying several swelling/deswelling cycle measurements. The prepared SAP-IPN hydrogels were found to show pH and salt solution dependence on the swelling behavior. The new SAP-IPN can work with commercial SAP, which is recommended for application as a water reservoir in arid land for irrigation for agriculture purposes.


Still today the problem of counting the errors of a noisy received word is an open problem in literature. This means that when we use an error correcting code we cannot control if the number of errors of the received noisy word is greater than the error correction capability of the code of k errors, k=(d-1)/2, where d is the minimum Hamming distance of the code. The main advantage of our proposal results from the introduction of the Retransmit signal when the syndrome decoder detects an ambiguity situation and cannot correct the noisy word. These ambiguity situations occur when happens one more error than the error correction capability of the error correcting code. This property of the error correcting syndrome scheme allows increasing the error correction capability of an error correcting code by one error at a little increment of bandwidth or delay in the transmission. Although there are some proposals of implementation of errorcorrecting decoders with neural networks in literature our work is completely different in what concerns three main aspects. First we propose the implementation of the retransmit signal based on the detection of ambiguity of the minimum Hamming distance between the received word and each of the codewords, i.e. when there are more than one codeword at the minimum Hamming distance to the too noisy received word. Second we use a constructive approach that does not need training. And finally we use hardlimit neurons that can be implemented in hardware by a single transistor in a high gain setup. We begin with two exhaustive simulation experiments where we introduced all manners of occurrence of two errors in all codewords of two codes with minimum Hamming distances 3 and 4, respectively, which only guarantee all possible one error good corrections, to show how the ambiguities arise in the decoding process. Next we present the building blocks of the error correcting decoder based in hardlimit multilayered perceptrons and then we assembled all them out and show an example for an error correcting decoder for a four codewords error correcting code. Finally we discuss the advantages of our proposal and the consequences of the introduction of the Retransmit signal and define possible ways of evolution of our work. 237 ESANN 2014 proceedings, European Symposium on Artificial Neural Networks, Computational Intelligence and Machine Learning. Bruges (Belgium), 23-25 April 2014, i6doc.com publ., ISBN 978-287419095-7. Available from http://www.i6doc.com/fr/livre/?GCOI=28001100432440.


The therapy of the retina vasculitis is very complex. The basic therapeutic principle is to find a balance between the medicament toxicity and the seriousness of the retina disease. In easy forms of the disease, with a good seeing shaipness, it is sufficient to observe a patient with no therapy at all. For serious diseases the medicaments to be chosen are corticosteroids. If there is no favorable response to the corticosteroid therapy, in bilateral serious forms of the retina vasculitis and especially in the Behchet disease, a therapy with cytostatics is applied. The most frequently used are cyclophosphamide and chlorambucil. In the last few years s highly-selective immunosuppressive cyclosporine A in small doses is used combined with corticosteroids. A new approach to suppressing the auto-aggressive Ag-specific T- cells and their pro-inflammatory products implies the use of a new generation of immunosuppressive medicaments such as tacrolimus (FK 506) and T-cell specific antimetabolites. More recently the desensibilization by the retina S-antigen has been used in the therapy of the retina vasculitis.


Gas chromatographic and mass spectrometric properties of ametryn and its N-dealkylated products were studied to establish the potential use in a recently reported method describing the residue analyses of these compounds by gas chromatography with N-P detection. Electron impact mass spectra show base peaks at the molecular ion (M+), and methane chemical ionization mass spectra give base peaks at (M + 1) ion for all the compounds studied. Characteristic mass spectral fragmentations of ametryn, GS-11354, GS-11355, and GS-26831 are presented. Combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry rather than gas chromatography alone provides unambiguous residue characterization. The technique also allows quantitation of ametryn and its N-dealkylated products that cochromatograph with interfering materials present in a complex substrate.


Universities are increasingly engaged in marketization and are also expected to transform into more sustainable institutions and be change-agents pushing forward the movement of sustainable development. This article introduces an analytical framework originated by Hahn et al. (2015) for understanding tensions concerning corporate sustainability to the context of the Finnish university system in order to answer the following questions: What are the tensions relating to Finnish universities' social and economic sustainability, and what strategies might universities use to cope with these tensions? Through analyzing interviews with university managers and officials from the Ministry of Education and Culture in Finland, we find that Hahn et al.'s framework is generally applicable in analyzing tensions of sustainability in universities, and we identify six tensions relating to the sustainability of Finnish universities. The tensions are related to (1) academic leadership and management legitimacy, (2) regional political tensions and university profiling, (3) political power over the university system, (4) changing academic work and profession, (5) academic autonomy and the role of the state, and (6) the future role of the university institution. Moreover, the article discusses issues regarding how to adapt the framework of corporate sustainability to the context of higher education.


Previous studies have shown complex roles for the B7 receptors in providing both positive and negative regulation of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). B7 blockade can ameliorate clinical EAE by indirectly interfering with CD28 signaling. However, B7 blockade can also result in disease exacerbation, presumably by interfering with regulatory B7:CTLA-4 interactions. Therefore, we have directly targeted T cell CD28 with specific mAbs both during initial Ag priming and after the onset of clinical signs of EAE. We found that CD28 blockade ameliorated EAE during the efferent and afferent limbs of the immune response. Disease amelioration at disease onset was associated with suppression of TNF-alpha production. Finally, Ab blockade of T cell CD28 during the first disease episode resulted in significant attenuation of the subsequent disease course, with no significant relapses. In contrast to previous studies targeting APC B7 with CTLA4-Ig, reagents targeting CD28 can block ongoing disease. Therefore, the present results suggest a clinically relevant therapeutic scenario for human diseases, such as multiple sclerosis.


Spectral analysis of aeromagnetic data collected over north-central California during the summer of 1980 aided in determining magnetic-source bottom depths beneath the survey area. Five regions of shallow magnetic source bottom depths were detected: (1) Secret Spring Mountain and National Lava Beds Monument area; (2) the Mount Shasta area; (3) the Eddys Mountain area; (4) the Big Valley Mountains area; and (5) an area northeast of Lassen Peak. Except for the Eddys Mountain area, all regions exhibiting shallow depths are suggested to be due to elevated Curie-point isotherms. Deeper magnetic source bottom depths were mapped throughout the remainder of the study area, with depths greater than 9 km BSL indicated beneath Lassen Peak and greater than 11 km BSL indicated beneath the Western Cascades, Eastern Klamath Mountains, and Great Valley.


Aim. To investigate the clinical features of solar maculopathy in a long run by optical coherence tomography. Methods. 31 patients (40 eyes) complaining on scotoma appeared after sun gazing without protection were referred to an advisory clinic of Republican Clinical Hospital of Ophtalmology, Kazan. The mean age of patients was 25.2 years, mean visual acuity - 0.72. In addition to the standard examinations, all patients underwent optical coherence tomography. The patients were followed up for up to 5 years. The examinations were performed before the treatment initiation and repeated on the 15th, 30th and 90th day after the treatment completion. 7 patients (8 eyes) were followed up for 5 years. Results. According to the results of optical coherence tomography, focal retinal edema was found in 9 patients (18 eyes) at the first week. Patients received antioedematic drugs and antioxidants. According to the results of optical coherence tomography a lamellar defect has been formed in fovea centralis on 15th day of treatment. Mean visual acuity improved to 0.78. On 30th and 90th days of treatment, lamellar defect persisted, visual acuity remained unchanged. After 5 years, 7 patients (8 eyes) were re-examined. The mean visual acuity was 0.78, the lamellar defect was still observed by optical coherence tomography. No macular degenerative and dystrophic changes were observed in followed up patients. Conclusion. Sunlight causes permanent damage of the retina. In the first week after the sunburn, marked focal retinal edema in the foveolar area was observed on the tomography, with further formation of a lamellar defect that was not accompanied by degenerative changes in the long-term period. Optical coherence tomography is an informative method of diagnosing solar maculopathy.


Modern Movement metal-frame houses can be found across the United States of America from Connecticut to Hawaii. The most well known of these date from the late 1940s and 1950s, and they are often regarded as icons of twentieth-century architecture. On the whole they represented no cohesive effort or common goal, for they were usually one-off designs which neither drew from their context nor offered much towards the development of an industrial building process which the metal frame would suggest: in many ways they were 'art objects' and perhaps they should be appreciated for being just that. The few exceptions to this rule are to be found in Los Angeles, California.


The existence of incompressible surfaces is proven for finite coverings of 3-manifolds that are triangulated by finitely many topological ideal tetrahedra and admit a regular, negatively curved, ideal structure.


South Afiica is a country poorly endowed with natural forests, which account for less than 1% ofthe total land area. Due to the increase in the demand for forest products in the 1970's and 1980's, which could not be met by the natural forests , the two South African pulp and paper giants, Sappi and Mondi, started the Project Grow and Khulanathi schemes respectively. One oftheir objectives was to encourage rural communities, through financial assistance, to plant trees on their farms for sale to the forestry companies. Planting of trees by farmers on their own land for their economic, social and environmental (reafforestation) benefits is called social forestry . Social forestry should bring economic activity, capacity building and community empowerment. The benefits from social forestry are two dimensional. The growers benefit from the financial assistance and the readily available market provided by the company, while the company satisfiesits demand for timber (pulpwood). The primary objective of this study is therefore to identify factors that influence the choice of trees as a land use in communal areas, and to recommend ways of improving benefits accruing to the growers in particular and the community in general. The factors were determined through structured face to face interviews consisting' of both closed and open-ended questions. The results of the study show that the major motivating factor in tree planting is the perceived financial benefits while lack of land is the major limiting factor. Even though tree planting contributes to social upliftment , it was found that there is 'insufficient capacity building, community empowerment and environmental awareness among growers . Cooperatives are recommended as institutions that will enhance growers' participation in tree planting and maximise the grower benefits from trees . As institutions, cooperatives will be better placed to access relevant information in areas such as marketing and have more bargaining power than individual growers. It is further recommended that the afforestation permit system should be reformulated to include permits for communally owned areas.


This paper presents a robust force tracking control of a flexible beam using piezoceramic actuator. Based on the variable structure model reference adaptive control theory, a new force tracking control system using only force measurement is designed. For the derivation of the control law, it is assumed that parameters of the beam and contact surface stiffness are unknown. It is shown that in the closed-loop system designed using bounds on uncertain functions, the contact force tracks a given reference trajectory and beam vibration is suppressed. Digital simulations results show that the closed-loop system has a good transient behavior and robustness to uncertainties of beam's dynamic parameters and unmodeled dynamics as well as contact surface property, which is modeled by a spring.


We explore the market response to announcements of first-time going-concern (GC) audit opinions and, for a subset of these cases, their subsequent withdrawal, from 1993 to 2005. We find that the market fully responds to GC withdrawal announcements but underreacts to the GC announcements themselves, resulting in a downward drift of −14% over the one-year period subsequent to the GC opinion. This result is robust to alternative explanations documented in prior literature. However, after adjusting for transactions costs, the opportunity to earn profits by trading on this market anomaly is limited. We demonstrate that despite such clear adverse signals about the firm's continuing financial viability, this information is not being fully impounded by the market on a timely basis. Our findings differ from those of others who suggest that there is no pricing anomaly associated with GC opinions in the United States. We show that this is likely due to important issues with their research methods.


Abstract Actually, the seismic movement has an irregular cyclic character.This can be equivalent to a determined number of uniform cyclical stresses equivalent in terms of effect. Modeling the behavior of the soil to cyclical stress, is usually done, by establishing a relationship for primary loading like τ = f (γ) and after drawing the diagram "effortless strain curve", in which τ is the stress, and γ is shear deformation. For modeling nonlinear behavior of the soil, we used like nonlinear models. The best known are the hyperbolic model and the Ramberg-Osgood model.


Abstract With mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet accelerating and spreading to higher latitudes, the quantification of mass discharge in the form of icebergs has recently received much scientific attention. Here we make use of very low-frequency (0.001–0.01 Hz) seismic data from three permanent broadband stations installed in the summers of 2009–10 in northwest Greenland in order to monitor local calving activity. At these frequencies, calving seismograms are dominated by a tilt signal produced by local ground flexure in response to fjord seiching generated by major iceberg calving events. A simple triggering algorithm is proposed to detect calving events from large calving fronts with potentially no user interaction. Our calving catalogue identifies spatial and temporal differences in calving activity between Jakobshavn Isbræ and glaciers in the Uummannaq district ∼200 km to the north. The Uummannaq glaciers show clear seasonal fluctuations in seiche-based calving detections as well as seiche amplitudes. In contrast, the detections at Jakobshavn Isbræ show little seasonal variation, which may be evidence for an ongoing transition to winter calving activity. The results offer further evidence that seismometers can provide efficient and inexpensive monitoring of calving fronts.


BackgroundIn this study, physical parameters of the strain of left ventricle (LV), wall stress with a thick-walled ellipsoidal model, and elastic modulus of LV were extracted for distinguishing patients who were stent candidates.Materials and MethodsEighty-eight patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent echocardiography and angiography. Based on angiography results, the patients were divided into two groups (64 patients candidate for PCI (percutaneous coronary intervention) and 24 cases in the control group). Long-axis and short-axis echocardiographic views were acquired. Radial, longitudinal, and circumferential stress were estimated by the thick-walled ellipsoidal model. Circumferential strain (CS) and longitudinal strain (Ls) were obtained for 18 segments in the endocardium layer of LV, and then GLS (global longitudinal strain) and GCS (global circumferential strain) were calculated.ResultAnterior and inferoseptal circumferential wall stresses in end-systole (ES) were statistically significant (P<0.05), but radial and longitudinal stress were not significant (P>0.05). Peak systolic GCS and GLS were lower in the PCI group (-18.13±3.03 and -16.57±2.88%) compared to the control group (-21.97±3.97 and 19.14±2.17%), respectively (p<0.05). The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC) analysis revealed that GLS and GCS had the highest area under the ROC curve with a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 63% for GLS and sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 59% for GCS.ConclusionStress and strain parameters are suggested as non-invasive and quantitative tools for measuring left ventricular function before angiography. Regional elastic modulus was a powerful predictor that can be distinguishing significant CAD patients.


The feasibility of vacuum frying technology to produce high quality banana chips with lower oil absorption and better flavor and color was investigated. The effects of three frying temperatures (120, 130, and 140  C) and three vacuum pressures (21.3, 31.3, and 41.3 kPa) were studied. The quality of vacuum fried chips was subsequently compared with that of chips fried under atmospheric conditions (101.3 kPa) at 170°C. The rate of moisture loss significantly increased (p < 0.05) with the higher temperature and lower vacuum pressure applied in the frying process. In addition, moisture loss was linearly proportionate to the amount of oil content (R 2 = 0.97). Frying chips at 140  C and 21.3 kPa resulted in the most volume shrinkage. No significant (p > 0.05) difference in color (L * = 58.8, a * = 5.1, b * = 23.9) was found in any of the chips fried under each vacuum condition. Banana chips fried under vacuum pressure conclusively contained (p < 0.05) less oil, were lighter in color, had higher volume shrinkage, less crispness, and a harder texture than atmospherically fried chips.


A case of an uncommon muscular structure related to the flexor digitorum longus muscle is reported. This muscular structure originated from the medial border of the tibia below the origin of the flexor digitorum longus muscle. It was a small muscle with a long slender tendon which inserted into the common tendon of the flexor digitorum longus muscle on its lateral side. Accessory muscles of the calf region would be of clinical importance in tarsal tunnel syndrome. Key Words: Tarsal tunnel, Accessory, Flexor digitorum longus muscle


Morphohistochemical investigations of the duodenum in patients with ulcer disease complicated by hemorrhage have revealed two times higher number of mast cells and correspondingly increased amount of histamine and heparin in the periulcerous area. It accounts for the focal obstacle of blood coagulation and arrest of hemorrhage in patients with ulcer disease.


This paper is focused on the application of physical, chemical and meteorological parameters to assessing the level of impacts on environments exposed to gas flaring. Three locations, P, Q and R, where gas flaring activities are ongoing in the Niger-Delta region of Nigeria were selected for this study. Another location (S) with no gas flaring activity was used as control. Soil, rain-water and air samples were collected from study locations for the purpose of analysis. The results from the physicochemical parameters measurements showed that pH of soil and rain-water samples collected at set radial distances of 20, 50 and 100 m from flare points were generally acidic, hence indicating the presence of acid rains and acid soils around the flare locations. Heavy metals (Cr, Cd, As, Pb, Zn, Fe etc.) contaminations of the soil and rain-water samples were also evident, and the distribution followed similar trends as that of pH. Air quality parameters (such as SO2, NO2, H2S, CO, VOC, SPM etc.) also showed higher concentration at test distances near the flare point and lower values at distances farther away from flare point. Based on these findings, it was observed that no safe human activity can take place at radial distances < 2 km away from the flare point. This is adduced to the prevalent abnormal air temperature; poor air quality, soil and rain-water acidity which characterized the selected gas flare locations.


Electrical resistivity ρ of a weak itinerant ferromagnet ZrZn 2 with a low residual resistivity ρ 0 ≃0.46 µΩ cm was measured under hydrostatic pressure P up to 3.2 GPa. T 2 -behavior of ρ, a hallmark of Fermi liquid, was not observed down to 1 K not only at around the ferromagnetic critical point P c ∼2 GPa but over an entire pressure range investigated. The temperature dependence of ρ at low temperatures evolved from T 5/3 in the ferromagnetic phase to T 3/2 in the paramagnetic phase. This change, however, was very weak and it was hard to capture the signature of critical point in the resistivity. Such a breakdown of Fermi liquid over a remarkably wide phase space indicates the lack of some ingredient in the description of magnetic quantum critical point in clean metals.


This guide or resources list is intended primarily for BU students. It helps to find or locate resources on African Cinema in BU Libraries collection as well as online resources accessible thru BU subscription.


The author of Confused Mhlaba, a play in nine scenes, was born in Port Elizabeth in 1952. He matriculated in Transkei and started writing plays while still at school. This is his ninth, and was written in 1973. It was performed in lohannesburg and Soweto the following year, but has since been banned, as has the text of the play, published by Ravan Press in Johannesburg in November 1974. Mhlaba is the sixteen-year-old son of Hlubi Nkululeko, a former political prisoner who spent fifteen years on Robben Island before being released and returning home. We have selected three scenes from the play.


This research presents an analysis of the inferred Late Archaic social structure in Ohio based on degenerative joint disease (DJD, also known as osteoarthritis) and mortuary practices. We tested the hypothesis that mechanical loading involving physical activities is differentially distributed in a population along levels or types of social stratification. This hypothesis was investigated via statistical treatment of DJD as a skeletal stress marker of activity, its occurrence by age and sex, an association with grave goods, and spatial distribution in terminal Late Archaic cemeteries. The skeletal samples used in this study came from three cemeteries, the Boose, Kirian-Treglia (KT), and Duff sites, dating to the Ohio terminal Late Archaic period.

In general, the high overall prevalence of DJD in these people indicates that this population led a rigorous life. This study hypothesized that the burials in the Late Archaic period in Ohio might be socially patterned as evidenced from the unequal distribution of grave goods and skeletal variability in DJD. Nevertheless, the analyses suggest that there is no statistical association between DJD and mortuary practices including grave goods and burial location in a cemetery. As observed in numerous hunter–gatherer populations, the societies in our sample were also characterized by the absence of a marked social stratification. The results suggest that there were only 'natural inequalities' in Late Archaic societies due to biological factors, such as age and sex. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Spent engine oil is hazardous to the environment. Indiscriminate disposal of spent engine oil drain from engines after servicing has been found to affect the environment. An experiment was carried out to determine the effect of spent engine oil pollution on soil characteristics and the ability of Amaranthushybridusto thrive in the soil supplemented with varying concentrations of spent engine oil ranging from 50- 300 mL. Soil pH was slightly increased due to spent engine oil pollution. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium were reduced in the polluted soils and the soil organic carbon was increased. Soil samples polluted with spent engine oil showed increased bulk and particle densities and also decreased water holding capacity and porosity. The spent engine oil pollution affected the phytochemicals and resulted in the increased concentration of anti- nutrient tannin and decreased concentrations of nutrients like alkaloids, flavonoids, etc. The results of this study suggest that spent engine oil at any concentration seriously affects the soil properties and phytochemical analysis showed the inhibitory effects of spent engine oil on Amaranthushybridus.


The National Action Plan of Sweden contains a compilation of conclusions and recommendations derived from the Compilation of Recommendations of ENSREG, key topics of the 2 Extraordinary Meeting under the CNS, the state review of stress test results and findings of the Peer Review Country Report. The country followed the structure proposed in the ENSREG Action Plan. National EUStresstest results were considered as well as ENSREG and CNS aspects. The measures for Topics 1-3 are listed according to the national classification. There are no explicit references to the corresponding ENSREG recommendations and suggestions, Country Peer Review recommendations and aspects from CNS. Such references would have been helpful for assessing the content of the NAcP.


The classic transdomal (dome-defining) suture successfully reduces tip width but on occasion also causes a pinched tip (concave alar rim) and an inversion of the lateral crus. We present a modification of that suture technique which only reduces the cephalic end of the dome. By suturing only the posterior (deep) part of the cephalic end of the dome, the lateral crus is everted and a pinched tip is minimized. It is referred to as the hemitransdomal suture because it only reduces the cephalic half of the dome. Twelve cases were studied indicating dramatic correction of dome width without unwanted side effects.


Recent terrorist attacks in major cities around the world have brought many casualties among innocent citizens. One potential threat is represented by abandoned luggage items (that could contain bombs or biological warfare) in public areas. In this paper, we describe an approach for real-time automatic detection of abandoned luggage in video captured by surveillance cameras. The approach is comprised of two stages: (i) static object detection based on background subtraction and motion estimation and (ii) abandoned luggage recognition based on a cascade of convolutional neural networks (CNN). To train our neural networks we provide two types of examples: images collected from the Internet and realistic examples generated by imposing various suitcases and bags over the scene's background. We present empirical results demonstrating that our approach yields better performance than a strong CNN baseline method.


Graves disease is an autoimmune disease, with a genetic susceptibility, activated by environmental factors like stress, iodine excess, infections, pregnancy and smoking. It is caused by thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin (TSI) or thyroid stimulating antibody (TSAb) and is the most common cause of hyperthyroidism with an incidence of 21 per 100,000 per year. Treatment of Graves disease includes antithyroid drugs such as methimazole and propylthiouracil, radioactive iodine therapy and thyroidectomy. Methimazole, an antithyroid drug that belongs to the thioamides class, is usually the first line of treatment due to lower risk of hepatotoxicity compared to propylthiouracil. Radioactive iodine therapy is reserved for those patients who do not respond to antithyroid drugs or have contraindication or adverse effects generated by antithyroid drugs, and thyroid surgery is an option in people with thyroid nodular disease with suspected malignancy or large goiters such as predictors of poor response to antithyroid drugs and radioactive iodine therapy. Multiple factors influence the management of patients with Graves disease including patient and physician preferences, access to medical services and patients features such as age, complications and comorbidities.