Splenic infarction is an uncommon cause of abdominal pain. In this article, we present a case of isolated splenic infarction presenting with severe abdominal pain, nausea, and with associated generalized weakness. Computed tomography (CT) abdomen and pelvis with contrast revealed multiple splenic infarctions of the entire lower pole with occlusion of the branch splenic arteries, while CT abdomen without contrast was unremarkable. Etiology was later revealed to be thromboembolism secondary to atrial fibrillation. It was managed with anticoagulation. To our knowledge, this is the second case of splenic infarction presenting as an initial manifestation of atrial fibrillation (AF), reported in the literature.


In the task-oriented service computing framework where services are composed together to accomplish a task goal of a user, appropriate component services need to be dynamically selected and bound to the task. When there are many candidate services that provide similar functionality, it is essential to consider quality of services (QoS) such as response time, cost, availability, and reliability to decide which component services to use. Finding a service composite that meets the optimal quality is a well-known NP-hard problem because the time complexity for the global optimization increases exponentially as the number of services or the number of QoS attributes increases. Although there is a heuristic approach that shows a reasonable response time with a certain level of service quality, it often fails when the global QoS constraints become tight. In this paper, we propose an adaptive way of dividing quality levels where candidate services are sampled and their QoS values are evaluated. The range of a quality level is dynamically decided based on the distribution of candidate component services on each QoS attribute, and the tightness of the constraint requirement within a task. Evaluation results show that the proposed approach can successfully reduce the failure rate of service composition while keeping the computation time reasonably low and ensuring the QoS optimality of composite services.


We formulate as a deconvolution problem the causalhoncausal non-Gaussian multichannel autoregressive (AR) parameter estimation problem. The super exponential aljporithm presented in a recent paper by Shalvi and Weinstein is generalized to the vector case. We present an adaptive implementation that is very attractive since it is higher order statistics (HOS) based b u t does not present the high comlputational complexity of methods proposed up to now.


We consider the problem of approximating sliding window joins over data streams in a data stream processing system with limited resources. In our model, we deal with resource constraints by shedding load in the form of dropping tuples from the data streams. We make two main contributions. First, we define the problem space by discussing architectural models for data stream join processing and surveying suitable measures for the quality of an approximation of a set-valued query result. Second, we examine in detail a large part of this problem space. More precisely, we consider the number of generated result tuples as the quality measure and we propose optimal offline and fast online algorithms for it. In a thorough experimental study with synthetic and real data, we show the efficacy of our solutions.


The relatively high imprisonment rates of African American men from poor neighborhoods raise a question of whether felony sentences are influenced by ecological factors, separately from or in conjunction with a defendant's race. To provide insight on the topic, both legal and extralegal effects on imprisonment and sentence length were modeled for nearly 3,000 convicted felons from more than 1,000 census tracts in Ohio. Neighborhood effects were estimated with empirical bayes coefficients as outcomes, derived from hierarchical analyses, to adjust for the small ratio of defendants to tracts. Findings revealed that convicted felons from more disadvantaged neighborhoods were more likely to receive nonsuspended prison sentences, whereas a defendant's race was unrelated to imprisonment. By contrast, neighborhood disadvantage was unrelated to sentence length for imprisoned defendants, whereas African Americans received significantly shorter terms relative to Whites. The processes through which ecological context may operate to affect sentence severity are discussed.


Linear sweep voltammetry was used to study the accumulation behaviour of vitamin K1 at carbon paste electrodes prepared with different types of graphite and pasting agents. The vitamin was found to undergo strong accumulation, but this depended on the type of graphite and pasting agent used. A carbon paste electrode containing Nujol - Ultra Carbon Ultra Superior Purity graphite (25 + 75 m/m) gave the highest sensitivity with adsorptive stripping voltammetry; the optimum accumulation time was 15 min at an open circuit. A variety of procedures were investigated in order to separate vitamin K1 from plasma prior to adsorptive stripping analysis. These procedures were evaluated for plasma levels of the vitamin that are likely to be encountered in pharmacokinetic studies. A solvent extraction method using hexane and ethanol gave the best recovery (91%) and detection limits [180 ng ml-1 in the supporting electrolyte (450 ng ml-1 in plasma)]. However, the analysis time could be reduced by 50% (with some loss of sensitivity) by using ethanol to deproteinate the plasma with the measurement being made directly on the resulting supernatant. As the calibration graphs are linear, quantification can be performed by the method of single standard additions; therefore, relatively short analysis times are feasible.


Smart cards mechanisms are explored to mitigate the burden of the server systems in remote login authentication. Different methods such as geometric approaches are invented and researched. Recently, Wang proposed yet another new scheme utilizing a circle property on an n-dimensional space instead of the simple Euclidean space in past schemes. The author claimed that this new scheme would be more secure than previously proposed scheme. However, in this paper, we show that the scheme of Wang is vulnerable to replaying and off-line password guessing attacks. Countermeasures are also presented.


The Au atom in the title compound, [Au(C10H11ClNOS)(C18H33P)], is coordinated within an S,P-donor set that defines a slightly distorted linear geometry [S—Au—P = 172.45 (5)°], with the distortion due in part to a close intramolecular Au⋯O contact [3.134 (3) Å].


Adapting chromaticities are not considered in characterizing the degree of chromatic adaptation in various chromatic adaptation transforms (CATs). Though several recent studies have clearly suggested that the effect of adapting chromaticities on degree of chromatic adaptation should
 not be ignored, these studies were only carried out under a single adapting luminance level. This study was carefully designed to systematically vary the adapting luminance and chromaticities to investigate whether the adapting luminance and chromaticities jointly affect the degree of chromatic
 adaptation. Human observers adjusted the color of a stimulus produced by a self-luminous display to make it appear the whitest under each of the 17 different adapting conditions. It was found the adapting chromaticities and luminance jointly affected the degree of chromatic adaptation. At
 a same adapting luminance level, the degree of chromatic adaptation was found lower under a lower adapting CCT (i.e., 2700 and 3500 K). A higher adapting luminance can significantly increase the degree of chromatic adaptation, especially when the adapting CCT was low (i.e., 2700 and 3500 K).


This article advances towards the reconceptualization of financial innovation. It examines the calamitous role of financial innovation in the global financial crisis, developing a non-rational theorization of finance within the social economy that factors in the role of affect. Outlining the foundations for such an approach, the analysis draws on Thorstein Veblen and Georges Bataille, whose work encompasses psycho-social conceptions of political-economic agency. From the more anthropological lens of Veblen and Bataille's theorizations, it is possible to move beyond instrumentalist accounts of financial innovation premised on pecuniary expedients and aspirations of market completion. As we argue, in a broader affective economy, contemporary financial innovation serves invidious ends, providing a means of attaining social distinction, constituting a medium for violent expenditure and bestowing access to sovereign expression on its purveyors. Highlighting the non-rational dimension of financial markets prompts a reconsideration of the nature of crisis and the means of its redress.


This report is devoted to development of new method of wave equation solution analysis of the boundary diffraction problem. This method is based on singular wave component that is derived from a rigorous Sommerfeld's solution. Unlike a traditional boundary wave, proposed unit cell wave hasn't an amplitude break and exists really, that allows to obtain the analytical description form of diffraction on a complex amplitude-phase screen. The structure of the diffraction field not only in far zone but also in near diffraction zone depending on profile of the amplitude-phase diffraction grating are presented. The possibility of using the new method for computer modeling of diffraction on a liquid-crystal amplitude-phase mask, which consists of squared cells, for a wavefront reconstruction, structured light beam generation, and image composition is considered. It was shown that the result of diffraction on arbitrary aperture can be treated as a discrete sum of elementary unit cell waves, and diffracted field can be represented via orthogonal wave functions that play a role of eigenmodes as plane waves in free space.


AIM : To evaluate risk factors and prevalence of acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the early period after isolated coronary artery bypass graft (CABG). PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 830 patients with  isolated CABG. All surgeries were performed in 2016. To evaluate  kidney function in preoperative period glomerular filtration rate  (GFR) was estimated by Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology  Collaboration (CKD-EPI) formula. AKI was diagnosed according to  KDIGO criteria. Patients were stratified into two groups according to  estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). RESULTS: The prevalence of AKI in patients group without CKD after CABG was 11,5% (n=59), in CKD-AKI group – 12,3% (n=39).  In patients with CKD and after intraoperative inotropic/vasopressor  therapy use of only 2 medicinal drugs of this group the probability of  AKI development increases 11,16 times (OR 11,46; 95% CI 3,47- 37,83; р<0,01). During complete bypass (CB) when haematocrit  decreases on 1% AKI probability increases on 12,36% (OR 0,89; 95% CI 0,81-0,98; р=0,02). The necessity of haemodialisys,  duration of stay in intensive care unit and hospitalization duration  were equal to all groups. AKI-CKD development significantly increases intrahospital mortality (p<0,05).  CONCLUSIONS : History of CKD increases probability of severe AKI and also mortality in early postoperative period. Revealed risk factors for AKI development are potentially modifiable.


The value of security features tends to decrease gradually, partly because of the continuously increasing ability of counterfeiters to counterfeit or imitate these features and partly because of the increasing capability and availability of equipment. As a countermeasure, numerous non-iridescent and iridescent optically variable devices (OVDs) are continuously being developed. The former comprise novel laser engraving techniques, the latter DOVIDs and ISISs. Although these novel techniques appear highly effective, there are indications that they are beginning to fail, not in the least because organized crime appears to have acquired some of those newer techniques. The response is the synergistic combination of those techniques, which combination expectedly remains beyond the capability of criminal organizations. This ongoing development is currently providing new and exciting security potential. Examples are combinations of diffractive and interference phenomena and of laser perforation techniques with OVDs. The latter combination provide strong protection against counterfeiting as well as forgery.


This paper jointly designs the distributed control law and its communication architecture for large-scale interconnected systems. The novelty is to consider both, the robustness guaranty under topology uncertainty and the performance improvement of the overall system. The proposed framework consists of two steps. The first step aims at finding a set of stabilizing distributed control laws providing H∞ robust performance under topology uncertainty. In the second step the performance of the interconnected system is further improved by searching for the optimal communication topology within acquired set of distributed control laws. In this step, the design of communication architecture is achieved by minimizing the H2 norm. Additionally, a trade-off between performance improvement and communication cost is incorporated. Furthermore, to reduce computational complexity, a strategy to manipulate the existing communication links is proposed to deal with topology variation in the interconnected systems. Finally, the developed method is demonstrated via some examples.


Outer-membrane proteins (OMPs) of Vibrio cholerae strains of O1 and non-O1 serovars were studied. Marked similarity was found in the OMP profiles of different V. cholerae O1 strains but the OMP profile of a non-O1 strain was somewhat different. Antigenic relatedness between the OMPs of different V. cholerae strains was established by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Immunoblotting experiments demonstrated that at least two OMPs of 36 and 25-26 Kda were immunogenic and common to strains of O1 and non-O1 serovars. Antiserum raised against the outer membrane of a V. cholerae strain, and rendered specific for its OMP by absorption with lipopolysaccharide, inhibited in vitro the intestinal adhesion of the homologous and heterologous strains of V. cholerae irrespective of their biotype, serotype and serovar. Furthermore, antiserum to OMPs induced passive protection against vibrio challenge in rabbit ileal loop experiments. These results suggest that the OMPs may be useful in immunoprophylaxis against cholera.


This paper presents an analytical approach to investigate the nonlinear buckling and post-buckling of thin annular spherical shells made of functionally graded materials (FGM) and subjected to mechanical load and resting on Winkler-Pasternak type elastic foundations. Material properties are graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law distribution in terms of the volume fractions of constituents. Equilibrium and compatibility equations for annular spherical shells are derived by using the classical thin shell theory in terms of the shell deflection and the stress function. Approximate analytical solutions are assumed to satisfy simply supported boundary conditions and Galerkin method is applied to obtain closed-form of load-deflection paths. An analysis is carried out to show the effects of material and geometrical properties and combination of loads on the stability of the annular spherical shells.


One of the challenging problems cloud computing is facing today is the security of data in the cloud. Since the physical location of user data in the cloud is unknown and the data are often distributed across multiple cloud services, a user controllable and privacy preserving access control mechanism is necessary for the success of cloud computing in general and for the protection of user data in specific. In this paper, we discuss a novel approach to controlling access to user data in the cloud; the concept is called Permission as a Service (PaaS). Specifically, PaaS separates access control from other services to provide a separate service in the cloud. This allows users to set permissions for all data in a single location. In PaaS, user data are encrypted to maintain confidentiality and permissions are managed via decryption keys. As a proof-of-concept, we discuss the design and implementation of our prototype leveraging attribute based encryption (ABE).


BACKGROUND
Breast cancer heterogeneity is well documented and to some extent is attributed to the presence of cancer stem cells (CSCs). Breast cancer stem cells are identified by the presence of cell surface molecule CD44 and absence of CD24.

METHODS
In the present study a flowcytometric analysis was done to study the expression distribution of CSC phenotype of CD44+/CD24-/low, among different molecular subtypes of breast cancer and to find a correlation with clinicopathological features.

RESULTS
CSCs were observed in all the molecular subtypes of breast cancer. The highest population of CSCs was noted in luminal B (3.4%), followed by TNBC (1.7%), and Her-2 subtype (1.6%). The least number of CD44+/CD24- cells were seen in Luminal A subgroup (1.3%).

CONCLUSION
Existence of cancer stem cells in all the subtypes may suggest the possibility of failure of current therapies in treatment of patients.


Paths We Walk is the inspiring journey of five refugee immigrants from the four corners of the world who have made a new life in Hamilton, New Zealand.


Rats transmit information to each other about which foods are safe to eat. If a rat smells a food odor on the breath of another rat, it is subsequently more likely to eat that food than an alternative. Work byGalef et al. (1988) has shown that the observer rat forms an association between two olfactory stimuli on the breath of the demonstrator rat that has eaten the food, the food odor and carbon disulphide, which is normally present in the rat breath. Bunsey and Eichenbaum (1995) claimed that the hippocampus/subicular region is required for the long-term retention of this nonspatial form of associative memory on the basis that combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum produced a deficit, but lesions of either structure alone did not. We report here a failure to repeat this finding. Rats with either combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum or with amygdala lesions were tested on their ability to remember this association either immediately (testing short-term memory) or after a 24 hr delay (testing long-term memory). Neither lesion group exhibited significant memory deficits on this nonspatial associative task at either test interval. In contrast, a deficit was observed on a spatial memory task (forced-choice alternation t-maze) for animals with combined lesions of the hippocampus and subiculum. These results contradict the findings of Bunsey and Eichenbaum (1995)and support the idea that the hippocampus/subicular region is not required for this nonspatial associative memory.


Before the development of the next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology, carcinogenesis was regarded as a linear evolutionary process, driven by repeated acquisition of multiple driver mutations and Darwinian selection. However, recent cancer genome analyses employing NGS revealed the heterogeneity of mutations in the tumor, which is known as intratumor heterogeneity (ITH) and generated by branching evolution of cancer cells. In this chapter, we introduce a simulation modeling approach useful for understanding cancer evolution and ITH. We first describe agent-based modeling for simulating branching evolution of cancer cells. We next demonstrate how to fit an agent-based model to observational data from cancer genome analyses, employing approximate Bayesian computation (ABC). Finally, we explain how to characterize the dynamics of the simulation model through sensitivity analysis. We not only explain the methodologies, but also introduce exemplifying applications. For example, simulation modeling of cancer evolution demonstrated that ITH in colorectal cancer is generated by neutral evolution, which is caused by a high mutation rate and stem cell hierarchy. For cancer genome analyses, new experimental technologies are actively being developed; these will unveil various aspects of cancer evolution when combined with the simulation modeling approach.


The negative emotions generated following stressful life events can increase one's risk of depressive symptoms and promote higher levels of perceived stress. The process model of emotion regulation can help distinguish between adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies to determine who may be at the greatest risk of worse psychological health across the lifespan. Heart rate variability (HRV) may affect these relationships as it indexes aspects of self-regulation, including emotion and behavioral regulation, that enable an individual to dynamically adapt to the changing demands of both internal and external environments. In this study, we expected individual differences in resting vagally mediated HRV to moderate the influence of emotion regulatory strategies among our sample of 267 adults. We found support for the hypothesis that higher vagally mediated HRV buffers against the typical adverse effects of expressive suppression when evaluating depressive symptoms and found weak support when considering perceived stress. There was no evidence for an interaction between cognitive reappraisal and vagally mediated HRV but there was a significant, negative association between cognitive reappraisal and depressive symptoms and perceived stress. Future work may determine if intervening on either emotion regulation strategies or HRV may change these within-persons over time.


Tantalum capacitors cannot be well modelled by means of the commonly used series R-L-C network, so other equivalent circuits are required when an accurate model is needed. Proposed is a simple and systematic modelling procedure for tantalum capacitors. A canonical passive network (minimum number of elements) is synthesised from the capacitor impedance magnitude. The model is validated using commercial capacitor data from a manufacturer's catalogue.


Professional status based on the criterion of autonomy continues to elude nursing. It is important to determine if this condition is due to the denial of professional status by employing organizations or to the lack of individual autonomy possessed by nurses. Female nursing school students were compared to women students from the schools of education, business, technology, and arts and sciences just prior to graduation. Nursing students scored as high on autonomy and masculinity as other female students, and higher on autonomy-related attitudes and behaviors specific to women. These findings conflict with earlier studies and with the position that nursing's denial of professional status is due to a lack of individual autonomy in nurses.


We present a consistent model for artistic medium reproduction in 3D scene renderings and animations. Computer generated stylized animations should reproduce the medium used by the artists while avoiding the artifacts present in hand-drawn animations. In our model, for each scene object, we create a surface grain according to the object geometry and apply it as additional material properties. Our system aims to make these additional material properties remain consistent to the scene / objects animation while avoiding the shower door and popping effects. Moreover, in contrast with existing methods in which coherence is primarily maintained during walkthroughs, our strategy consists in maintaining the grain attachment for any object rotations and non z-axis (i.e. depth) displacements and refining the grain density according to z-axis displacements. Furthermore to prevent this artifact, we propose to select salient additional material properties and reconstruct it for the whole image through a fractal surface reconstruction process. Our model is fully implemented on GPU, results are obtained without any adaptation of the original 3D scene or objects and the rendering process is real-time.


Using one filter over another can greatly affect the performance of a wavelet system without changing other vital factors. In this paper, various wavelet filter sets will be evaluated and their performance will be judged based on a set of criteria, namely energy compaction and filter tap-size, given that the former provides a tighter performance constraint and the latter directly correlates with execution time. Since, a universal filter tuned for every single application does not yet exist, the proposed evaluation can help in providing a guideline to where certain filter sets should, or should not, be used in order to best exploit them in a given application.


The increasing generation capacity of renewable energy sources poses new challenges to the electrical power systems due to their volatile and intermittent injection. The progress in battery energy storage systems aims to guarantee the stability of the energy power systems by contributing to the provision ancillary services.
In this thesis, we examine the participation of battery energy storage systems in the German Primary Control Response market. At first, the importance of the integration of Battery Energy Storage Systems in the power grids is highlighted, whereas in the next chapter the available balancing services in the European energy markets are presented. In Chapter 4, the German power system and regulatory framework in balancing markets are presented whereas Chapter 5 focuses on the case study of our thesis. The operation, the aging model, the different bidding strategies are shown and the impact of availability and PCR price evolution on revenues is analyzed in order to assess the economic feasibility of such investments.


This article introduces proximal relator spaces.  The basic approach is to define a nonvoid family of proximity relations $\mathcal{R}_{\delta}$ (called a proximal relator) on a nonempty set.  The pair $(X,\mathcal{R}_{\delta})$ (also denoted $X(\mathcal{R}_{\delta})$) is called a proximal relator.  Then, for example, the traditional closure of a subset of the Sz\'{a}z relator space $X(\mathcal{R})$ can be compared with the more recent descriptive closure of a subset of $X(\mathcal{R}_{\delta})$.  This leads to an extension of fat and dense subsets of the relator space $X(\mathcal{R})$ to proximal fat and dense subsets of the space $\mathcal{R}_{\delta}$.


Say what they will, people with ideas expressed in words "make the world go round!" One cannot deny the fact that forceful speakers make an indelible impress upon the affairs of men. Those who would thus describe themselves would do well constantly to study the ideas and the patterns of expression employed successfully by their contemporaries. Here is a commendable collection of addresses dealing with international policies, atomic energy, labor and the cost of living, national defense, the political campaigns, education and civilization, personalities and religion. It is a useful volume to have and to study. Charles A. McGlon


Background:
Somali piracy and armed robbery against ships remain to be one of the major global concerns today. Since 2007, over 1,500 piracy and piratical attacks were reported to the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre. These figures were gradually increased over the years, along with the degree of maritime violence.
Somali pirates, with the urge of ransom payments, have consequently become more threatening and violent against their hostages. Seafarers, who are caught in the crossfire, are exposed to severe fundamental human rights violations during their captivity. They are kidnapped, murdered, tortured and threatened. They are being held as hostages for months. At any given time, over 100,000 seafarers are transiting this 'violent' area, or at least preparing to transit with absolute fear and horror. After their release, the traumatised effects of their captivity remain to pose threats to their livelihood.
The impact of piracy on seafarers' rights is a largely unexplored fragment of law, which needs further attention. In this regard, there seems to be various complex issues that need to be addressed. Hence, the main purpose of this thesis is to shed light on the complexities and critically analyse the alleged deficiencies and shortcomings in the current legal system.
In other words, the author aims to provide a cross-disciplinary assessment of the relevant legal system. Consequently, the author expects to bring global attention to the possible legal deficiencies that currently prevent adequate legal safeguards from being established to protect seafarers in the context of piracy.

Research Questions:
1. Which seafarers' rights are violated and/or affected in cases of piracy?
2. What are the current safeguards for the legal protection of these rights?
3. What are the deficiencies or shortcomings in the current system and how can this system be made more effective?

Main Findings:
Seafarers' rights, as human beings, include the right to life, freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, freedom from forced labour, freedom from discrimination, and right to a legal remedy and access to justice. Seafarers' rights, as employees, include the right to safe and healthy working conditions, right to health and medical care, right to fair remuneration, right to free employment services and continuity of employment, right to social security and welfare, and right to repatriation. Subsequently, the author has analysed the identified rights in line with the relevant international and regional frameworks, which was then followed by a discussion on liability issues and enforcement mechanisms.
Regarding the last research question, Chapter 4 focused on a number of current deficiencies relating to the liability of States and individuals towards the seafarer, applicability of human rights law on vessels, problems caused by the proliferation of open flag registries, disharmony and diversification among distinct legal frameworks and fields of law, and insufficiency of the current enforcement mechanisms.
Primarily, the author has established that maritime law is the common link, binding the fragments of human rights law and criminal law together. The link between human rights law and maritime law is particularly clear in MLC 2006. It is also clear that States have the obligation to protect human rights of people who are subject to their jurisdiction. These issues are reaffirmed under MLC 2006, by establishing extraterritorial jurisdiction of flag States towards seafarers working on board vessels. However, international law remains vague and fragmented regarding the question of whether States have a positive obligation to protect certain rights of seafarers or merely have an optional possibility. Followed by a number of examples, the author argued that the wide recognition and implementation of MLC 2006 might be promoted as a starting point. Meanwhile, the problem of open flag registries could also be resolved through effective application of positive obligations imposed under MLC 2006.
When the author focused on the current disharmony and diversification, she has provided various examples in this regard. For instance, the scope of piratical offences at the international and national level varies greatly, as well as the human rights regimes at the international, regional and national level. Similar discrepancies exist relating to the enforcement regimes. It is established that the current international and regional enforcement regimes are not sufficient to tackle the issue at hand. Thus, the author has combined these findings with a number of initial suggestions:
1. Widespread recognition and national implementation of CMI's Model National Law should be promoted with regard to piracy laws at the national level.
2. Universal application and proper implementation of MLC 2006 must be promoted regarding the effective protection of seafarers' rights.
3. International Labour Organization should consider further amendments to MLC 2006 on the security dimension of protection of seafarers' rights. Meanwhile, BMP Guidelines might be updated and turned into hard laws.


Abstract Economics and social science research often require analyzing datasets of sensitive personal information at fine granularity, with models fit to small subsets of the data. Unfortunately, such fine-grained analysis can easily reveal sensitive individual information. We study regression algorithms that satisfy differential privacy, a constraint which guarantees that an algorithm's output reveals little about any individual input data record, even to an attacker with side information about the dataset. Motivated by the Opportunity Atlas, a high-profile, small-area analysis tool in economics research, we perform a thorough experimental evaluation of differentially private algorithms for simple linear regression on small datasets with tens to hundreds of records—a particularly challenging regime for differential privacy. In contrast, prior work on differentially private linear regression focused on multivariate linear regression on large datasets or asymptotic analysis. Through a range of experiments, we identify key factors that affect the relative performance of the algorithms. We find that algorithms based on robust estimators—in particular, the median-based estimator of Theil and Sen—perform best on small datasets (e.g., hundreds of datapoints), while algorithms based on Ordinary Least Squares or Gradient Descent perform better for large datasets. However, we also discuss regimes in which this general finding does not hold. Notably, the differentially private analogues of Theil–Sen (one of which was suggested in a theoretical work of Dwork and Lei) have not been studied in any prior experimental work on differentially private linear regression.


ABSTRACT The AU-rich elements (AREs) encoded within many mRNA 3′ untranslated regions (3′UTRs) are targets for factors that control transcript longevity and translational efficiency. Hsp70, best known as a protein chaperone with well-defined peptide-refolding properties, is known to interact with ARE-like RNA substrates in vitro. Here, we show that cofactor-free preparations of Hsp70 form direct, high-affinity complexes with ARE substrates based on specific recognition of U-rich sequences by both the ATP- and peptide-binding domains. Suppressing Hsp70 in HeLa cells destabilized an ARE reporter mRNA, indicating a novel ARE-directed mRNA-stabilizing role for this protein. Hsp70 also bound and stabilized endogenous ARE-containing mRNAs encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and Cox-2, which involved a mechanism that was unaffected by an inhibitor of its protein chaperone function. Hsp70 recognition and stabilization of VEGF mRNA was mediated by an ARE-like sequence in the proximal 3′UTR. Finally, stabilization of VEGF mRNA coincided with the accumulation of Hsp70 protein in HL60 promyelocytic leukemia cells recovering from acute thermal stress. We propose that the binding and stabilization of selected ARE-containing mRNAs may contribute to the cytoprotective effects of Hsp70 following cellular stress but may also provide a novel mechanism linking constitutively elevated Hsp70 expression to the development of aggressive neoplastic phenotypes.


Intentional enhancement of regional cerebral blood oxygenation (rCBO2) in specific cerebral locations was studied as a brain exercise. A review of literature showed the effect of brain exercise on brain physiology. Hemoencephalography (HEG), a graphic analog of brain blood flow of oxygenated hemoglobin indicated by non-invasive infrared spectroscopy, was used to guide intentionally increasing rCBO2. A musical note and visual graphic keyed to changes in cortical blood oxygenation was provided to the participant. A primary aim of this study was to demonstrate the capacity of subjects with brain disorders to increase oxygenation of selected brain tissue using HEG and test the hypothesis that multiple repetitions of these brain exercises improved sustained attention measured with a continuous performance test. The impulsivity score for subjects in the exercise group was in the normal range after 10 sessions. In a small set of subjects, low arousal SPECT images showed increased vascularity after 30 half-hour sessions of intentional enhancement of local blood oxygenation.


The use of a total filter of 3 mm of aluminium permits a considerable reduction of the radiation dose in xeromammography using the senographe. In comparison with conventional xeroradiography radiation is reduced by a factor of 2 to 3, in comparison with foilless film by a factor of 10 to 12. The applied tissue dose is between 0.14 and 0.30 rad per exposure. The presently still hypothetic radiogenic risk of carcinoma due to mammography is thus lower for this system than with other systems. The quality of the radiograph and the diagnostic validity are not reduced by this technique.


This study surveys liana communities at 26 sites across undisturbed and disturbed forests from 70 to 2,700 m above sea level in northern parts of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The assessment was conducted following the Papua New Guinea National Forest Inventory (NFI) manual. The results show a total diversity of 68 genera of lianas, belonging to 33 families. No significant difference was observed in abundance of liana species between lowland unlogged (i.e., primary and pristine) and logged (disturbed) forests and lower montane unlogged forests. Richness is not significantly different between lowland and montane sites, as opposed to outcomes in other studies which have often reported a decrease in species richness with elevation. Both types of lowland forests do not show indicator genera, while the unlogged montane forests are characterized by Rubus and Sabia genera. The study shows a high taxonomic richness of lianas in PNG, supporting previous research and underlining that they make a significant contribution to the overall woody species richness and to the ecology and complexity of PNG forest.


SummaryExternal cephalic version (ECV) is not a popular procedure in developing countries such as Nigeria. Over a 3-year period, we prospectively studied women who had ECV in a Nigerian University Teaching hospital. Comparative analysis was made between the successful ECV and the unsuccessful ECV groups. Following adequate counselling, Nigerian women were willing to accept an ECV for the singleton term breech. The ECV success rate was 67%. Favourable factors for success were multiparity (Relative Risk, RR 3.8; 95% confidence interval, CI 1.14 – 12.1), flexed breech (RR 2.4; 95% CI 1.02 – 5.7), unengaged breech (RR 4.8; 95% CI 1.3 – 17.2), normal liquor volume (RR 4.8; 95% CI 1.3 – 17.1) and a posterior placenta (RR 6.8; 95% CI 2.8 – 16). Once turned, 97% of the babies remained cephalic until delivery. The caesarean section rate in each group was higher than the unit rate of 12.7%. There was one fetal death from cord prolapse in the vaginal breech delivery group.


Background Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a very common intrauterine infection which can cause severe developmental disabilities. Transmission of the virus to the fetus occurs in only 40% of primarily infected women. The probability of intrauterine transmission is higher when infection occurs during the second trimester of pregnancy than in the first trimester. The Toll-like receptors (TLRs) protein family plays a key role in both innate immune response to CMV infections and in normal pregnancy. Specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TLRs can affect CMV infections and maternal–fetal interface expression. Therefore, TLR SNPs could be involved in intrauterine transmission determination. Study aim To establish a correlation between TLR2 (rs4696480, rs3804100, rs1898830), TLR3 (rs3775291) and TLR7(rs179008) SNPs with CMV intrauterine transmission during the first and second trimester. Methods SNPs of 83 pregnant women with primary CMV were analyzed by Real-Time PCR and PCR-RFLP assay and compared to intrauterine transmission state. Results Women bearing the GG genotype in the rs1898830 TLR2 SNP who were infected with CMV during the second trimester did not transmit the virus to the fetus. Likewise, in the co-dominant or recessive models of this SNP, a significant association was found between the genotypes and CMV intrauterine transmission. In all cohort women or in women infected during the first trimester, no such associations were found between the tested SNPs and intrauterine transmission of the virus. Conclusion Women bearing the GG genotype in the rs1898830 SNP, who are infected with CMV during the second trimester of pregnancy, have a low likelihood of transmitting the virus to the fetus.


Data used in:

Moore, J.L., Puckett, B., and Schreiber, S.J. Restoration of Eastern oyster populations with positive density dependence.  Submitted to Ecological Applications December 2017.


In Reply. —As is typical of for-profit managed care, Dr Cann dismisses the profit motive in the first paragraph and then hides within the citadel of managed care principles for the remainder of his letter. Our Commentary did not attack managed care principles, and we do not advocate wasting resources for any reason, including physician convenience or excessive profit. We fully support thoughtful efforts at continuous improvement of quality and efficiency. With little mention of quality or research, Cann is ready to halve the number of psychotherapy sessions and decrease dramatically inpatient treatment and is at ease with economic credentialing. On what basis are these decisions being made? Patient satisfaction is a valuable driving force for productive change and certainly is essential to marketing, but it is not sufficient to justify curtailing services. Who are the satisfied providers? Are they independent, certified by academic boards, or credentialed by for-profit companies?


Concerned with the parents awareness related to the childrens mouth health, this work evaluated by the means of 80 charts reviewing. The reason for appointment children from 0 to 3 years old on Baby Clinic ULBRA Torres Campus. The data collected show that in 52,3% of the cases the reason of appointment was prevention, 32,5% was caries, 11,2% was traumatism and only 5% of patients searched for treatment due to affections. It was concluded that, although there is already some knowledge related to baby's appointments, the Surgeon-Dentist must execute active role of educator and together with the pediatrician, approach the children precociously, bringing more information to the populations awareness and maintenance of childrens mouth health.


Shareholder voting is a weak and much-criticized mechanism for controlling managerial opportunism. Among other problems, shareholders are often too uninformed to vote wisely, and majority and supermajority rule permits large shareholders to exploit small shareholders. We propose a new voting system called Quadratic Voting(QV), according to which shareholders are not given voting rights but may purchase votes, with the price of votes being a quadratic function of the number of votes purchased. QV ensures that voting outcomes are efficient under reasonable conditions. We argue that corporations should implement QV, or a simple approximation called square-root voting, and that the law permits them to do so. Certain legal protections for shareholders, such as the appraisal remedy and poison pill, are unnecessary if QV is implemented.


Horner's syndrome is rarely reported after epidural analgesia during labor. The use of Top-Up local anesthetic for controlling labor pain in the first stage of labor, or to dense the block in caesarean deliveries can result in this complication. We reported a cases of Horner's syndrome during epidural analgesia in labor in spite of not giving any Top-Up dose. The case was clinically evident and was successfully managed by stopping the epidural infusion, and reassuring the parturient as well as the family; until the disappearance of the signs and symptoms. The infusion was then restarted, delivery was uneventful and no consequent neurological or psychological problems were noticed after a one-month follow-up.


Stem-loop DNA hairpins containing a 5-base-pair (bp) stem and single-stranded polythymidine loop were investigated using thermodynamic melting analysis and stopped-flow kinetics. These studies revealed the thermodynamic stability and folding kinetics as a function of loop length and counterion concentration. Our results show the unusually high thermodynamic stability for tetraloop or 4 poly(dT) loop hairpin as compared with longer loop length hairpins. Furthermore, this exceptional stability is highly counterion-dependent. For example, in the higher counterion concentration regime of 50 mM NaCl and above, the tetraloop hairpin displays enhanced stability as compared with longer loop length hairpins. However, at lower counterion concentration of 25 mM NaCl and below, the thermal stability of tetraloop hairpin is consistent with the longer loop hairpins. The enhanced stability of tetraloop hairpins at higher counterion concentration can be explained on the basis of the combined entropic effect of loop closure as well as base stacking in the loop regions. The stability of longer loop length hairpins at all counterion concentrations as well as tetraloop hairpin at lower counterion concentration can be explained on the basis of entropic effect of loop closure alone. The thermodynamic parameters at lower and higher counterion concentrations were determined to quantify the enhanced stability of base-stacking effects occurring at higher counterion concentrations. For example, for 100 mM NaCl, excess Gibbs energy and enthalpy due to base stacking within the tetraloops were measured to be -1.2 ± 0.14 and -3.28 ± 0.32 kcal/mol, respectively, whereas, no excess of Gibbs energy and enthalpy was observed for 0, 5, 10, and 25 mM NaCl. These findings suggest significant base-stacking interactions occurring in the loop region of the tetraloop hairpins at higher counterion concentration and less significant base-stacking interactions in the lower counterion concentration regime. We suggest that at higher counterion concentrations, hydrophobic collapse of the nucleotides in the loop may be enhanced due to the increased polarity of the solvent, thereby enhancing base-stacking interactions that contribute to unusually high stability.


Recent morphological and phylogenetic studies of Laurencia in the Atlantic Ocean have modified our current knowledge of the group. Approximately 23% of the worldwide generic diversity has been recorded in this region. Goals. Update the checklist of the Laurencia species in the Atlantic and describe the distribution patterns within the genus. Methods. We obtained records of Laurencia species in the Atlantic from a review of the literature and distributional data were used to define areas of endemism through a PAE (Parsimony of Areas of Endemism) analysis. Results. We propose an updated checklist of the 30 currently recognized species of Laurencia in the Atlantic Ocean; this checklist also includes taxonomic synonyms, nomenclatural remarks, and a detailed distribution for each species. The distributional range for the genus in the Atlantic extends from Bermuda and Northern Europe in the North Atlantic to Brazil and South Africa in the South Atlantic. We were able to define four areas of endemism: Brazil with four endemic species, the Gulf of Guinea with four endemic species, the northeastern Atlantic with three endemic species, and South Africa with four endemic species; also documented was one secondary area (Macaronesian Islands) with the endemic species L. viridis. Moreover, 17 of the 30 species of the Atlantic are also distributed in the Indo-Pacific, of which five are amphi-Atlantic species. Conclusions. The patterns found are related to geological events that occurred in the past, a fact that allows us to formulate a vicariance hypothesis about these species biogeographic history. Therefore, future work that will document new species and the clarification of taxonomic problems will allow researchers to continue enriching this hypothesis.


To explore the significance of ceramide in the skin barrier and its potential utility within the cosmetics industry, an accurate and high-speed method was used to detect the types of ceramides in the skin and blood of a healthy Chinese population. Forearm cortical skin stratum corneum samples were obtained from four healthy subjects using a noninvasive method. In addition, these subjects were collected intravenously to obtain blood samples. Ceramides were detected in skin and blood samples using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with specialized high-resolution Fourier Transform mass spectrometry machine. Data were analyzed using full-flow lipid analysis software. Peaks representing ceramides were detected in all skin samples and some blood samples. The results show that ceramides in skin are predominantly long-chain ceramides, but mainly short-chain in the blood. Simple and fast qualitative and quantitative analysis of ceramide in the skin and blood provides a basis for the precise addition of ceramide in future skin care products and the metabolic regulation and prevention of various diseases.


The high risk of progression found in T1G3 bladder cancer influence the treatment and follow-up of this kind of patients. From January 1983 to December 1992, 803 patients with superficial bladder cancer (first presentation) had observed in the Urology Department at the Spedali Civili in Brescia. In this group, 96 patients were classified as T1G3 and our retrospective study is a critical analysis about their treatment: 13 patients underwent cystectomy as primary treatment and 83 had been cured with a transurethral resection. Of this last group, 26 patients are still without of disease (mean follow-up: 4.2 years), 30 had a recurrence which, in stage and grade, was identical or lower to the initial disease and 27 patients had a progression. Alltogether 36 patients underwent cystectomy: 15 are tumor-free and 21 died. The results of this retrospective study, led us to believe that T1G3 bladder cancer therapy is endoscopic at the beginning. Adjuvant topic chemotherapy treatments improve the recurrence rate tangibily; an early-operated cystectomy permits a good rate of recovery.


A gold nanotip array platform with a combination of ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing and spectroscopic monitoring capability is reported. Adenosine triphosphate is detected down to 1 pM according to the impedance changes in response to aptamer-specific binding. Furthermore, the local molecular information can be monitored at the individual plasmonic nanotips, and hence provide the capability for a better understanding of complex biological processes.


In this paper, a new robust congestion control strategy is proposed for a multi-services architecture, namely a Differentiated-Services (DiffServ) network. In virtue of their robustness capabilities, Sliding Mode-based Variable Structure Control (SM-VSC) techniques are utilized to design our proposed controller on the basis of an inaccurate/uncertain Fluid Flow Model (FFM). Developed for an interconnected network as a hop-by-hop distributed control scheme, the proposed algorithm is shown to achieve the desired performance specifications and requirements. Moreover, the error dynamics of the overall time delay dependent network is analytically shown to be L2 stable.


In this article, I make the following three-part argument. Firstly, I claim that despite the fact that a far greater number of asylum-seekers in Japan, Korea, and Mainland China receive humanitarian protection status than receive refugee status, legal advocacy regarding asylum in East Asia disproportionately focuses on refugee law and policy. Secondly, I argue that by neglecting a potentially productive advocacy framework, this disproportionate focus on refugee law has deleterious consequences for the development of robust and humane asylum systems in the region and for the provision of asylum protection to the greatest number of individuals. Thirdly, I assert that international law provides tools for effective humanitarian protection-based advocacy, and outline four avenues for legal advocacy that I believe can lay the groundwork for progressive reforms of humanitarian protection law and policy in East Asia.


MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are an important class of small, noncoding, regulatory RNAs found to be involved in regulating a wide variety of important cellular processes by the sequence-specific inhibition of gene expression. Viruses have evolved a number of mechanisms to take advantage of the regulatory potential of this highly conserved, ubiquitous pathway known as RNA interference (RNAi). This review will focus on the recent efforts to understand the complex relationship between vertebrate viruses and the RNAi pathway, as well as the role of silencing pathways in the inhibition of pathogenic genetic elements, including transposons and retrotransposons.


Objective and Participants: The authors examined the experiences of primary care providers participating in an integrated healthcare service between mental health and primary care in a university health center. In this program, behavioral health providers work collaboratively with primary care providers in the treatment of students. Participants consisted of the 10 primary care providers participating in the program during the summer of 2004. Methods: The authors evaluated the program using a descriptive survey, analyzed by a combination of measures of central tendency and multidimensional scaling with cluster analysis. Results: They found a 2-dimensional, 3-cluster solution for the last 3 items. Findings indicate that although primary care providers valued behavioral health as a resource, a gap exists between what they believe behavioral health can assist with and their actual referral practice. Conclusions: These findings indicate a need for further communication about the roles that mental health can play in the collaborative treatment of physical symptoms.


Hot pepper seeds may contain split seed coats which can be called as "fish mouth" seeds. Though this character is genetic or varietal, these seeds pose problem for seed treatment and packaging. In an experiment conducted at UAS, Raichur during 2012-13, it is found that the seeds with split seed coat recorded lowest seed quality parameters when treated with combination of polymer and fungicides as compared to no treatment. The seeds with no treatment recorded highest germination (89%), rate of germination (13.0) and seedling vigour index (1541) and polymer-fungicide treatment recorded lowest germination (73%), slow rate of germination (10.2) and produced less vigorous plants (1061). The polymer treatment has no adverse affect on seed quality. In Tetrazolium test under image analyzer, it is showed that the seeds treated with polymer-fungicide combination produced embryos with dead radicle tips, necrotic patches and almost pre-germinated. Whereas seeds with no seed treatment produced healthy and vigorous embryos. The seeds with split seed coats should be packed as naked seeds and their inbred lines should be classified as difficult to produce (DTP) which will help the seed growers.


For a general multi-coil magnetic coupling wireless power transfer (MC-WPT) system with different coil properties and non-negligible cross couplings, there is no analytical solution that connects the resonant frequencies of the system to its electric parameters. Establishing such a generalized analytical solution not only permits quantitative analysis of resonant points but also provides a generic platform for the physical interpretation of resonance. For this purpose, a novel modeling and analysis method of integrating time domain and frequency domain is proposed in this paper, with that all possible resonant points of arbitrary coil MC-WPT systems can be quickly and accurately determined. First, an accurate state-space model of a general MC-WPT system with arbitrary number of transmitters, repeaters, and receivers is established and the analytical current response on each circuit is derived. Then, several key system concepts about resonance are elucidated, based on which the generalized analytical expressions of resonant points of MC-WPT systems, including resonant frequencies and corresponding powers and efficiencies, are derived. Furthermore, the physical interpretation along with the mathematic relationships of several key easy-confusing concepts are deduced, which provides a systematic theoretical criteria for the selection of operating frequency to achieve the resonant states for MC-WPT systems.


A simple Core-SOL-Divertor (C-S-D) model has been developed to investigate qualitatively the overall features of the operational space for the integrated core and edge plasma. To construct the simple C-S-D model, a simple core plasma model of ITER physics guidelines and a two-point SOL-divertor model are used. The simple C-S-D model is applied to the study of the EAST operational space with lower hybrid current drive experiments under various kinds of trade-off for the basic plasma parameters. Effective methods for extending the operational space are also presented. From this study for the EAST operational space, it is evident that the C-S-D model is a useful tool for understanding qualitatively the overall features of the plasma operational space.


symmetric cell division contributes to the development of shape in growing organisms. Bringmann and Bergmann distinguish mechanical from signaling effects as cell division planes are deployed in the developing Arabidopsis leaf. Computational growth models reveal that dividing cells are influenced by both. Early in leaf development, as the midvein is rapidly elongating, mechanical stress dominates. Later in leaf development, as the epidermis enlarges and growth of the midvein slows, local ligand-receptor signaling dominates. The balance of inputs shifts through development, and the final shape of the leaf emerges.


The study examines the barriers related to Library and Information Science. A structured questionnaire was designed and directly administered to the LIS Research Scholars who are currently involved in the Research in the Universities/Colleges of Tamil Nadu (India). A total of 124 questionnaires were distributed and 109 respondents have replied. The majority of common barriers faced by the respondents are 'High Expenditure', 'Lack of Statistical Skills', and 'Inadequate of infrastructures' and 'Poor response in data collection'. The study is also recommended that the Universities/Colleges offered the research programmes should consider to reduce the expenditure in terms of fee structures for the research and also the schools/departments which offer the research programme should redesign the syllabus to include the skills required to carry out the research. Further, it is emphasized that the LIS professionals should encourage and support the research scholars by means of providing the required data for the research.


We conducted a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial on 98 subjects to assess the efficacy of two strengths of topical human leukocyte alpha-interferon, 10(4) and 10(6) IU/g in a 1% nonoxynol-9 base, in the treatment of recurrent genital herpes simplex virus (HSV). The study medication was applied during the prodromal phase or at the first sign of recurrence of the infection. The high-dose alpha-interferon was found to be significantly more effective than the low-dose interferon and placebo with respect to the duration of viral shedding as well as in reducing the time to the end of all subjective symptoms, including pain, burning and itching. No difference between the three groups was found in times to crusting or healing. Further studies of topical interferon in the treatment of HSV and other viral infections are merited.


Common pulmonary vein atresia is a very rare from of congenital cardiac anomaly in which the common chamber of pulmonary veins has no direct communication to the heart or systemic venous system. We report here on one-day-old boy with total anomalous pulmonary venous connection having severe stenosis (sized less than one millimeter in diameter) of vertical vein between common pulmonary vein and superior vena cava. His anatomic feature was considered as a spectrum between common pulmonary vein atresia and total anomalous pulmonary venous connection because of almost atretic draining vertical vein. His clinical presentation and hemodynamic characteristics were the same as common pulmonary vein atresia. He underwent an emergent anastomosis of common pulmonary vein to left atrium at 33 hours after birth under cardiopulmonary bypass, cross-sectional echocardiography and Doppler color mapping. He was discharged home two months after the surgery. Cardiac catheterization after six months revealed normal cardiac function without any evidence of pulmonary venous chamber stenosis. To improve the outcome of surgical intervention for this life-threatening cardiac anomaly, immediate the precise diagnosis using echocardiography followed by emergent surgical correction is in dispensable.


The k-set agreement problem is a paradigm of coordination problems encountered in distributed computing. The parameter k defines the coordination degree we are interested in. (The case k=1 corresponds to the well-known uniform consensus problem.) More precisely, the k-set agreement problem considers a system made up of n processes where each process proposes a value. It requires that each non-faulty process decides a value such that a decided value is a proposed value, and no more than k different values are decided. This paper visits the k-set agreement problem in synchronous systems where up to t processes can experience failures. Three failure models are explored: the crash failure model, the send omission failure model, and the general omission failure model. Lower bounds and protocols are presented for each model. Open problems for the general omission failure model are stated. This paper can be seen as a short tutorial whose aim is to make the reader familiar with the k-set agreement problem in synchrony models with increasing fault severity. An important concern of the paper is simplicity. In addition to its survey flavor, several results and protocols that are presented are new


BACKGROUND
A recent resurgence of primary and secondary syphilis has been observed in certain population groups, particularly among persons infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Liver involvement is an infrequently recognized complication of early syphilis, with no previous reports among HIV-infected patients.

METHODS
We describe 7 cases of syphilitic hepatitis in HIV-positive individuals and review the literature.

RESULTS
At our institutions, all patients presented with a rash consistent with secondary syphilis. Each case was characterized by a conspicuous increase in serum alkaline phosphatase level (mean level +/- standard deviation, 905 +/- 523.6 IU/L) and milder elevations in serum transaminase levels. The mean CD4+ absolute T cell count was 317 cells/mm3, and the median rapid plasma reagin (RPR) titer was 1 : 128. There was a significant correlation between higher CD4+ cell counts and the RPR titers (R=0.93; P=.002). Symptomatic resolution and biochemical improvement, particularly a significant decrease in serum alkaline phosphatase levels (P=.02), occurred following antibiotic therapy.

CONCLUSIONS
Hepatic dysfunction is not uncommon in HIV-infected persons and is attributable to multiple causes. In the appropriate clinical setting, syphilitic hepatitis is an easily diagnosed and reversible etiology of liver dysfunction. The recognition of this entity will prevent unnecessary evaluation of abnormal liver enzyme levels in HIV-positive patients.


LTL synthesis -- the construction of a function to satisfy a logical specification formulated in Linear Temporal Logic -- is a 2EXPTIME-complete problem with relevant applications in controller synthesis and a myriad of artificial intelligence applications. In this research note we consider De Giacomo and Vardi's variant of the synthesis problem for LTL formulas interpreted over finite rather than infinite traces. Rather surprisingly, given the existing claims on complexity, we establish that LTL synthesis is EXPTIME-complete for the finite interpretation, and not 2EXPTIME-complete as previously reported. Our result coincides nicely with the planning perspective where non-deterministic planning with full observability is EXPTIME-complete and partial observability increases the complexity to 2EXPTIME-complete; a recent related result for LTL synthesis shows that in the finite case with partial observability, the problem is 2EXPTIME-complete.


Large power electronics systems like multi-port autonomous reconfigurable solar power plant (MARS) are increasingly being researched upon to integrate emerging energy sources. MARS connects photovoltaic (PV) systems and energy storage systems (ESSs) to high-voltage direct current (HVdc) links/grids and high-voltage alternating current (ac) transmission grids. As these large power electronics systems incorporate complex hierarchical control systems that are close-by and communicate fast, the control systems require an unique power electronic hardware-in-the-loop (PE-HIL) real-time architecture to evaluate individual controllers. In this paper, a PE-HIL real-time architecture is proposed to evaluate one of the hundreds to thousands of digital signal processors (DSPs) that are a part of the complex hierarchical control system. The DSP connects to a central processing unit (CPU) and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) that form a part of the upper levels of the control system. The DSP is part of the lower level of the control system. The proposed PE-HIL architecture is tested and evaluated. Preliminary test results are presented to showcase the concept.


St. Anselm of Canterbury is an important figure in the history of both theology and philosophy. However, his distinction as a writer of poetry in his era remains hitherto under-appreciated. The thesis of this work argues that we find in St. Anselm's body of work a confluence of poetry and philosophy that models a mode of theology valuable to the contemporary context. Utilizing a new Poetic/Dialectic Analytic methodology, it researches the literature that was most influential in Anselm's monastic culture including the trivium curriculum, Boethius, Augustine, and the Psalmic liturgical tradition. After demonstrating a Medieval confluence of poetry and philosophy, the body of Anselm's own work is likewise investigated, followed by an in depth poetic/dialectic analysis of his greatest work, the Proslogion. Finally, a discussion of the theontic semiotics of Anselm's Neo-platonic participatory ontology connects his understanding of God's nature as the source of all being with a doxological account of language that both articulates and demonstrates a form of theology that is simultaneously poetry and philosophy.


In the inductive power transfer systems (IPTSs) of wireless electric vehicles (WEV), the electromagnetic field (EMF) should be lowered for the safety of pedestrians. In general, the EMF should be canceled for every space, time, and load condition of interest. Three generalized design methods for cancelling the EMF of WEV are proposed in this paper. By adding active EMF cancel coils to each primary main coil and secondary main coil, respectively, the EMF generated from each main coil can be independently cancelled by their corresponding cancel coils. Moreover, the EMF can be successfully mitigated if a dominant EMF source only is cancelled with 3-dB margin, which can be applied to any resonant type wireless power transfer systems. Furthermore, no significant power drop may occur if the cancel coils are placed aside from magnetic coupling path. Design examples are shown for U-type and W-type IPTS as well as a wireless stationary EV charger. Experimental verifications are shown for a recently developed I-type IPTS, which has a narrow rail width structure with alternating magnetic polarity along with a roadway. The proposed design methods have been demonstrated, without the loss of generality, to only the secondary coil where relatively large EMF is generated due to high ampere turns. An optimum spacing for cancel coils from main coils and an optimum number of turns are determined. Through experiments, additional EMF mitigation techniques such as the magnetic mirror method, separating pick-up rectifiers, and passive Al plate are provided. Thus, the EMF at 1 m distance from the center of a pick-up becomes under 44 mG even for the maximum power of 12 kW.


As a new computing paradigm, Cloud computing has been advocated by IT industry and academia. It can provide lots of services, however, how to manage these services and guarantee the quality of service, has become one of the key factors for the development of Cloud computing. This paper proposes a hierarchical architecture model of Cloud services resources management and monitoring by integrating the power of Service-Oriented Architecture and the concept of IT service management. The architecture model uses service monitoring and process of IT service management to realize management of Cloud services resources, and then provides foundation for technology to ensure the quality of service of Cloud services. Therefore, it could be used as a reference architecture model of management and monitoring on Cloud services resources.


We present an analytical formalism for the description of Blazhko RR Lyrae light curves. In this formalism the amplitude and frequency modulations are treated in a manner similar to the theory of electronic signal transmission. We consider monoperiodic RR Lyrae light curves to be carrier waves, and modulate their amplitude (AM), frequency (FM) and phase (PM); as a general case we discuss simultaneous AM and FM. The main advantages of this method are the following: (i) the mathematical formalism naturally explains numerous light-curve characteristics found in the Blazhko RR Lyrae stars such as mean brightness variations, complicated envelope curves and non-sinusoidal frequency variations; (ii) our elucidation also explains the properties of the Fourier spectra such as apparent higher order multiplets, amplitude distribution of the sidepeaks, the appearance of the modulation frequency itself and its harmonics. In addition, compared to the traditional methods, our light-curve solutions reduce the number of necessary parameters. This formalism can be applied to any type of modulated light curves, not just to Blazhko RR Lyrae star light curves.


Abstract. The Rhynchonellida is a major group of brachiopods that survived the "big five" mass extinctions and flourished after the Permian/Triassic (P/Tr) crisis. However, phylogenetic and character evolution in the Rhynchonellida across the P/Tr transition is poorly understood. In view of the widespread homoplasy across this order, we employ a tip-dated Bayesian analysis to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships for late Permian–Triassic rhynchonellides. The same data were also analyzed using three other methods: undated Bayesian, equal-weighting, and implied-weighting parsimony. Compared with trees generated by other methods, those constructed by tip-dating best account for the homoplasy in this group and are closer to previous assumptions on the evolution of this order. Based on the analyses of multiple trees, the major increase in lineage richness occurred in the Early and early Middle Triassic. Also, richness in the Anisian almost reached the highest level seen in the Triassic. According to fossil records, a pronounced reduction in shell size and in the development of ornamentation occurred after the P/Tr extinction, which is largely due to the loss of large and highly sculptured genera and the diversification of small-sized and weakly ornamented genera. Ancestral-state estimation of shell size and development of ornamentation, coupled with comparisons of other characters, indicate that the Early–Middle Triassic mature "small-sized taxa" may have characters displayed by juveniles of their ancestors. This suggests that for these genera, paedomorphosis was possibly a strategy to survive and diversify in the harsh environment after the P/Tr extinction.


Sphingosine, the product of enzymatic degradation of sphingomyelin, displays a high cytotoxic activity and is accumulated in animal organs under the action of the tumour necrosis factor (TNF alpha). To elucidate the role of sphingosine in the realization of TNF cytotoxicity, TNF mutants were obtained which differed in their cytotoxic action on L929 cells. The wild strain of TNF and the mutant having a deletion in position 67-71 displayed the highest toxicity and sharply stimulated sphingosine accumulation in mouse hepatocytes. A moderate increase in the sphingosine content was induced by mutants with point and double mutations in positions E127Q, I155L and V150I displaying a much lower toxicity in comparison with the wild strain. The toxic, mutagenic and antimutagenic activities of sphingosine were investigated. Despite the high degree of cytotoxicity, sphingosine did not display any mutagenic activity but had a pronounced antimutagenic effect on E. coli cells. The role of phospholipid enzymatic degradation products in activation of sphingomyelin cycle enzymes stimulating of sphingosine accumulation in animal cells under the action of TNF alpha is discussed.


SciDAC applications have a demonstrated need for advanced software tools to manage the complexities associated with sophisticated geometry, mesh, and field manipulation tasks, particularly as computer architectures move toward the petascale. In this paper, we describe a software component – an abstract data model and programming interface – designed to provide support for parallel unstructured mesh operations. We describe key issues that must be addressed to successfully provide high-performance, distributed-memory unstructured mesh services and highlight some recent research accomplishments in developing new load balancing and MPI-based communication libraries appropriate for leadership class computing. Finally, we give examples of the use of parallel adaptive mesh modification in two SciDAC applications.


Acinic cell carcinoma of the parotid gland in children rarely occurs. Well-differentiated acinic cell carcinoma with lymphoid stroma is a subtype hardly seen but has a better prognosis than conventional acinic cell carcinoma. We hereby report a previously unreported case of a 9-year-old Chinese girl with well-differentiated acinic cell carcinoma with lymphoid stroma associated with osteoclast-like giant cells of the parotid gland. The pathology, diagnosis, presentation, management, and the clinical outcome are discussed and the literature is reviewed.


At various schools, there are problems related to teacher commitment for carrying out their work. In schools that were the object in this study, problems related to low teacher commitment can be seen in the exit interview process when teachers submit resignations. This study objective is to look for the influence of leadership, motivation and perceived workload on teacher commitment at the school. This research was conducted at an Islamic school in the southern city of Tangerang.The method of sampling is census of 61 permanent teachers under the organization. The analizing method is SEM  using SmartPLS tm software. The result from SEM intrepertation shows there is significant influence on leadership and perceived workload, motivation and commitment as well as perceived workload and commitment. Leadership can also influence commitment through mediating perceived workload. Base on the results, the conclusios are, to increase teacher's commitment, we need to see the leadership style of the principles of the school (as direct supervisor), gave a good insight for their perceived workload so that they do not feel overwhelming. Thus their commitment will also increasing.


'... the undergraduate curriculum should seek to promote a more self-educative approach'. That statement by the General Medical Council in July 1990 coincided with the restructuring of the medical curriculum at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. One of the main proposals was the introduction of self-directed learning to reduce didactic teaching in the clinical years of the course. This has led to the development of interactive learning, using learning resources appropriate to the subject being delivered, and particularly to the introduction of computer-assisted learning. This represents a major change in the way medical students are taught, which has implications for all involved in medical education. For staff, it means taking a fresh look at the way they plan and present their teaching. For students, developing the ability to take responsibility for their own learning throughout their working lives can be a challenge but is of paramount importance for effective continuing medical education.


The information management discipline covers a wide range of topics and applications: Integrated business information systems (ERP-systems), data base management, business process management, knowledge management, conceptual modelling, business intelligence methods, calculations, programming and so on. If we want to support the university teaching with sophisticated e-learning tools, which go beyond the provision of information and learning material or simple multiple choice exercises we have to develop different tutoring tools for each subject area. Only such e-learning exercises that are specifically adapted to a subject area enable students to acquire and apply their knowledge in an individual and ambitious way. In this paper, we present e-learning tools, i.e. intelligent tutoring tools, of three different levels, that provide sophisticated e-learning exercises with as much degrees of freedom as possible during the problem solving process. After characterizing the different elearning systems and analyzing their opportunities and limitations, we will focus on a tool for the data base language SQL. This tool is used at the University of Dortmund since several years in two different lectures for bachelor as well as for master degree. Evaluations of the tool's usage in lectures show significant improvements in the understanding of SQL and the final grading.


The problem of experiencing personal well-being as a question of positive functioning of the individual in the actualised areas of life is relevant for modern psychological science and practice. The purpose of the study was to determine the supporting components of the experience of personal well-being of persons with functional visual impairments, the level of severity of which mediates such experiences. The study is based on determining the leading role of internal determinants in the experience of personal well-being in the conditions of functional visual impairment. As a result of the research, a structural model of experiencing well-being of persons with functional impairments is outlined, which includes such components as self-attitude (positive or negative) and experiences of personal capabilities or limitations in actualised ego identities. The study determined that the low degree of expressiveness of the modalities of self-assessment and the negative colour of personal experiences of functional disorders prevent the realisation of person's resourcefulness, the actualisation of its capabilities. Empirical research has shown that distorted self-perception of people with functional visual impairments is mediated by rigidity of self-image, its closedness, and personal experiences of limitations in relation to their own functional disorders in actualised spheres of life. The identified features of the structural components of experiencing their own well-being can be used to develop and implement a correctional programme aimed at forming an adequate level of self-esteem in persons with functional impairments, which confirms the practical significance of the study

https://pp-msu.com.ua/web/uploads/pdf/Scientific Bulletin of MSU. Series Pedagogy and Psychology_2021_Vol. 7, No. 4_66-75.pdf


The aim of this paper is to analyze the material remains of two colonial archaeological sites, located on the coastal plain of the federal state of Rio Grande do Sul. In order to amplify the historical context of the samples we compared the material elements recovered on the sites RS-LN-141 and RS-LN142 with historical information of the area obtained through bibliographic review. The objects of the collection correspond to an initial period of the peopling in the area by Portuguese and mestizo individuals, near to the establishment of the first agropastoral properties and distant from the first interaction of slave raiders and missionaries with the native population.


Cardiovascular abnormalities were present in 11 of 48 (23%) patients with congeital diaphragmatic hernia. Cardiac abnormalities included congenital heart disease, compression of a major vascular structure, cardiac malposition, and abnormalities in pulmonary circulation. The differential diagnosis between isolated congenital diaphragmatic hernia and coexisting cardiac abnormality may be difficult and may require echocardiographic or invasive studies. Mortality in infants with diaphragmatic hernia and cardiovascular abnormalities is 73% in contrast to 27% in those without cardiac abnormalities.


In Oriental medicine, aging is just a natural process like change of seasons. Ancient Oriental people accepted it as a natural thing to be growing older and to die at last. The science of aging has advanced dramatically. In the last 2 decades, advances in genetics and molecular biology have led to extraordinary new understandings in how cells age, how apoptosis programs cells to die, and how neuroendocrinology plays a role in the lifespan of organisms. Today, the matter of primary concern about aging is a cellular and mitochondrial damage of human body induced by reactive oxygen species(ROS). The skin aging can be divided into two areas, intrinsic(chronologic)-aging and photo-aging. There are lots of photo damage about skin aging. The skin is increasingly exposed to ultraviolet(UV) irradiation in life. Therefore, the risk of photo-oxidative damage of the skin induced by reactive oxygen species(ROS) has increased substantially. Nowadays, many people believe that they can stop or at least delay the process of aging. There are lots of treatments that promise to slow the process of aging and the associated ailments. Many of these treatments, for example, exercise, Vit E, Vit C therapy, hormone therapy, restrict diet, are gradually being subjected to clinical trials. But in spite of all efforts, researches and investigations, there is no single method or treatment which is revealed to be truly effective for delaying progress of aging. Every methods insisted on effect for delaying aging process, has its dark side. All we can do is just keeping ourself healthy until the time of death.


This work addresses an attitude controller design using a fuzzy sliding-mode controller, which is mainly composed of the sliding-mode controller and the fuzzy inference mechanism, for a mini-unmanned aerial vehicle (mini-UAV) with propellers, to follow the predetermined trajectory. In this study, a fuzzy sliding-mode controller with a sliding surface vector is proposed, such that a simple fuzzy inference mechanism is adopted with centre of membership functions to estimate the upper bound of lumped uncertainty. Accordingly, the attitude trajectory tracking control using the proposed control strategy is illustrated while a mini-UAV is flying. Finally, the authors use the Lyapunov stability theory to achieve the stability analysis of the overall attitude tracking system degraded by white noise interference. Extensive simulation results are obtained to validate the effectiveness of the fuzzy sliding-mode controller.


OBJECTIVES
Few intravenous myocardial contrast echocardiography trials have evaluated myocardial perfusion in small animals. The feasibility of using intravenous myocardial contrast echocardiography to assess the ischemic area in rats was investigated.

METHODS
Fourteen open chest Wister male rats were examined. Intravenous myocardial contrast echocardiography was performed by fundamental and intermittent mode using a high frequency (5-12 MHz) transducer (SONOS 5500) with injection of NC100100 (20% dilution) into the femoral vein. The mechanical index was set to 1.6. Baseline-subtracted video intensity (256 level) was measured in the anterior, posterior, septal and lateral walls of the left ventricle. The left anterior descending artery was ligated in 16 rats. The area at risk was evaluated by myocardial contrast echocardiography and compared to the area of defect by Evans Blue staining.

RESULTS
All wall segments were clearly opacified (anterior 63.8 +/- 24.7, posterior 27.0 +/- 11.0, septal 44.5 +/- 11.6, lateral 52.3 +/- 19.1), although the baseline-subtracted video intensity of the posterior wall was low. The area at risk was clearly observed, and there was a good correlation with the nonperfused area by Evans Blue staining (y = 1.13x-3.54, r = 0.98).

CONCLUSIONS
Intravenous myocardial contrast echocardiography can detect the perfusion defect even in rats using a high frequency transducer and suitable setup of equipment.


Formulation scientists are faced with a great hurdle of delivering a therapeutic agent into the periodontal pockets, because of the anatomical complexity of the route and the lesion's contours that often leads to poor penetration of the drug to the area. However, recent nanotechnology advancement and innovations through nanodentistry, are increasingly providing a suitable solution for the treatment of many dental disorders including periodontal disease. These nanodentistry innovative approaches have vowed to revolutionize dental therapeutics by way of using nanomaterials, biotechnology, and nanorobotics, that can significantly influence and transform dental disease's diagnosis, prevention, and treatment. The advances have offered possibilities for providing high-quality dental care to a vast number of people around the globe who are currently suffering from periodontal disease. Novel nanotechnology-based carriers and materials such as polymeric nanoparticles, nanogels, nanopores, nanotubes, scaffold matrices, nanoneedles, nanocrystals, quantum dots, nanofibers, and nanofillers have demonstrated promising efficacy and their roles in the disease therapy are of great significance. The aim of this review article is to provide important recent updates on the various nanotechnology-base approaches for periodontal disease therapy. The roles of these recently investigated approaches in the disease treatment are also covered in the review.


Video is rapidly becoming one of the most popular multimedia due to its high information and entertainment capability. It consists of audio, video and text together. Finding desired information in a video clip or in a video database is a difficult and laborious task due to its semantic gap between the low-level feature and high-level video semantic concepts. A video database contains lot of semantic information. The semantic information describes what is happening in the video and also what is perceived by human users. Techniques for rapid video browsing, video retrieval become essential as video material became more and more available and subtle. Video browsing is very important functionality of multimedia systems which offer the user efficient way to view relevant information from large amount of video material. On the other hand, video retrieval enables the user to search for particular video segment based on some description. In this paper, we have presented the work for cricket video event detection as sports media is increasing day by day and all national and international news broadcasts contain specific regular segments devoted to sports. The purpose of the video event detection evolves mainly due to viewing time constraints. The goal of this paper is to outline the advance concepts for cricket highlight generation which is an effort towards summarization.


Heme deficiency precipitated by CoCl2 administration to rats leads to a striking decrease in the inducibility of CYP2B1/B2 mRNA levels and its transcription by phenobarbitone (PB), besides decreasing the basal levels. Exogenous hemin administration counteracts the effects of CoCl2 administration. The binding of nuclear proteins to labeled positive cis-acting element (−69 to −98 nucleotides) in the near 5′-upstream region of the gene is inhibited by CoCl2 administration to saline or PB-treated rats, as assessed in gel shift assays. Administration of exogenous hemin to the animal or addition in vitro to the extracts is able to overcome the effects of CoCl2 treatment. The protein mediating this effect has been purified from CoCl2 administered nuclear extracts by heparin-agarose, positive element oligonucleotide affinity, and heme affinity column chromatography. This 65-kDa protein manifests very little binding to the positive element, but in the presence of certain other nuclear proteins, shows a strong heme-responsive binding. The purified protein binds heme. It is also able to stimulate transcription of a minigene construct of the CYP2B1/B2 gene containing −179 nucleotides of the 5′-upstream region and the I exon in a cell-free system, manifesting heme response. It is concluded that the 65-kDa protein mediates the constitutive requirement of heme for the transcription of CYP2B1/B2 gene.


Tailoring communicable disease preparedness and response strategies to unique population movement patterns between an outbreak area and neighboring countries can help limit the international spread of disease. Global recognition of the value of addressing community connectivity in preparedness and response, through field work and visualizing the identified movement patterns, is reflected in the World Health Organization's declaration on July 17, 2019, that the 10th Ebola virus disease (Ebola) outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) was a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (1). In March 2019, the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI), Uganda, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health (MOH) Uganda and CDC, had previously identified areas at increased risk for Ebola importation by facilitating community engagement with participatory mapping to characterize cross-border population connectivity patterns. Multisectoral participants identified 31 locations and associated movement pathways with high levels of connectivity to the Ebola outbreak areas. They described a major shift in the movement pattern between Goma (DRC) and Kisoro (Uganda), mainly through Rwanda, when Rwanda closed the Cyanika ground crossing with Uganda. This closure led some travelers to use a potentially less secure route within DRC. District and national leadership used these results to bolster preparedness at identified points of entry and health care facilities and prioritized locations at high risk further into Uganda, especially markets and transportation hubs, for enhanced preparedness. Strategies to forecast, identify, and rapidly respond to the international spread of disease require adapting to complex, dynamic, multisectoral cross-border population movement, which can be influenced by border control and public health measures of neighboring countries.


ABSTRACT Cisplatin is a primary chemotherapeutic drug for gastric cancer (GC) patients, but the drug resistance remains the leading cause of treatment failure and high mortality. Curcumol is a bioactive sesquiterpenoid that has reportedly been linked to cisplatin sensitivity in GC. This study focuses on the exact functions of curcumol in the cisplatin sensitivity of GC cells and the molecules of action. The curcumol treatment reduced the viability and migration and enhanced cisplatin sensitivity of GC cells in a dose-dependent manner. Microarray analysis suggested that microRNA-7 (miR-7) was the most upregulated miRNA in GC cells after curcumol treatment. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis showed that the curcumol-affected genes, including the target genes of miR-7, were enriched in the nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) pathway, whose activity was suppressed after curcumol treatment. miR-7 was found to target and suppress RELA proto-oncogene (RELA, also known as p65), a NF-κB subunit. Downregulation of miR-7 blocked the sensitizing effects of curcumol on cells to cisplatin and led to increased expression of NF-κB p65 and snail family transcriptional repressor 1 (SNAIL). Further downregulation of RELA enhanced, whereas upregulation of SNAIL suppressed the sensitivity again. In summary, this study suggests that curcumol sensitizes GC cells to cisplatin via miR-7 and the suppression of the NF-κB/SNAIL axis. The findings may offer new thoughts that curcumol in combination with cisplatin might be a useful strategy for GC management. Graphical Abstract


There is an unmistakable power in narrative to comment on and shape cultural lives. This special issue of Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies is comprised of often unheard stories that seek to queer the relational phenomena of family, home, love, and loss. Authors draw on a range of theoretical perspectives and methodologies to disrupt and dismantle the normative conceptualizations that pervade research and everyday understanding concerning these thematic areas. These essays work in creative and experimental ways to evocatively demonstrate Queer Theory and queer as unique, needed, and generative paradigmatic orientations and conceptual tools for use in Cultural Studies research. They help to advance a more open and tentative understanding of relational stories and fluid and dynamic relational identities.


AIM
This research aimed to explore the link of strength use with job burnout and investigate the role of psychological capital in the strength use-job burnout relationship among Chinese workers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

DESIGN
A descriptive, cross-sectional design.

METHOD
This study was conducted from September to October 2020. A total of 351 employees working at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from five cities in China completed a series of valid and reliable instruments, namely, Strengths Use Questionnaire, Positive Psychological Capital Questionnaire and Job Burnout Questionnaire. The PROCESS macro was used to test our hypotheses.

RESULTS
We found that people with higher strength use had lower job burnout compared with those with lower levels of strength use. Furthermore, resilience and hope acted as mediators of the relationship between strength use and job burnout. Moreover, resilience and hope played equally important roles in the strength use-job burnout relationship.

CONCLUSION
Resilience and hope mediate the association of strength use with job burnout in workers of Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

IMPACT
Health authorities can alleviate employees' job burnout by encouraging strength use and building their psychological capital, especially resilience and hope.


Surgical complications are an unfortunate part of both medical and veterinary practice, but many are considered to be preventable if appropriate measures are implemented. In human healthcare, one of these measures has been the introduction of surgical safety checklists (SSCs). With proven origins in aviation, another high risk industry, checklists have been linked with the reduction of peri-operative complications and deaths in human hospitals by significant amounts. Recognising that the core values of SSCs are equally applicable to veterinary practice, the Animal Health Trust implemented their use in November 2008. Since then, positive outcomes observed include increased unity among the multiple specialist teams working in the theatre environment and improved communicaiton of vital information regarding individual patients and surgical procedures.


In 2006, the Department of Health set up the National Institute for Health Research to develop world-class Clinical Research within the NHS, with the Clinical Research Networks part of this wider spectrum. Participation in clinical research is written into the NHS constitution and operating framework, but the NIHR Clinical Research Network believes that more groundwork is needed to ensure that all parts of the NHS embrace the research culture. The enthusiasm and expertise of researchers in neuroscience is key to the success of the CCRN. To support this, CCRN has created a National Specialty Group for Nervous System Disorders which provides national oversight to assist researchers to access wider patient populations for their multicentre studies and for patients to access research studies at new recruitment sites. Since the inception of the NIHR and the development of the CLRN infrastructure we can see a progressive rise in the number of patients recruited to Nervous System Disorders research, and we also see a progressive rise in the number of studies being adopted onto the Nervous System Disorders portfolio. The figures show that more than half a million people participated in the NIHR Clinical Research Network studies in 2010, compared to 300 000 in the previous year. As part of NIHR, there is now a greater level of support available for clinical scientists, clinical researchers, specialist research nurses and members of the MDT.