Introduction: Abi (CYP17A1 and lyase inhibitor) and cabo (multi-targeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor including MET and VEGFR2) have complementary mechanisms of action and both have significant single agent activity in CRPC. Cabo decreases evidence of skeletal disease on 99m Tc bone scans to a marked degree. Rationale exists for cabo to enhance abi efficacy. Methods: In vitro proliferation experiments have been done with WST-1 assay to evaluate anti-cancer activity of abi and cabo as single agents and in combination in androgen receptor (AR) positive and negative, hormone sensitive and castration resistant cell lines (PC-3, VCaP, LAPC4 and LAPC4-CR). An in vivo established subcutaneous model of LAPC4-CR in female mice has been used to compare single agents and combination therapy. A phase 1 dose escalation trial using a 3 + 3 design with a fixed dose (1,000 mg) of abi and 5mg BID prednisone with escalating doses of cabo (20mg, 40mg and 60mg) is ongoing in pts who are castration resistant and pre or post chemotherapy. This study includes assessment of therapy response using 18 F-NaF and 18 F-FDG PET/CT combined with 99m Tc bone scan and diagnostic CT abdomen and pelvis. Results: In vitro proliferation studies demonstrated single agent activity between 2 and 10 μM for abi and cabo in all cell lines (including AR negative PC-3) and the ability of cabo to enhance abi activity. In LAPC4 and VCaP, abi plus cabo decreased AR and PSA protein levels to the same degree or more than abi or cabo alone. In vivo LAPC4-CR studies showed abi retarded growth until day 14 only, single agent cabo caused 66% growth suppression at day 25 with effect durable until day 39. At day 39, abi + cabo resulted in no growth from baseline. In the phase 1 trial, 8 pts have been enrolled and no dose limiting toxicities (DLT) have been observed in the first 28 days of therapy for the 3 patient cohorts treated at both 20 mg and 40 mg. Two patients have been treated at 60mg without DLT in the first cycle (third patient enrollment pending). The number of 4 week cycles for the 20mg cohort are: 9+, 9, 8+ (all post docetaxel); 40mg: 2, 3+, 3+; 60mg: 1+, 1+. Preliminary findings from PET/CT studies of 6 patients with baseline and follow-up after 8 weeks of therapy: extent of bone disease and change in SUVmax on NaF PET/CT show potential for better definition of disease burden and therapy response than 99m Tc bone scan plus CT; potential negative prognostic outcome for patients with 18 F-FDG-avid disease. Conclusion: Preclinical in vitro and in vivo studies show cabo enhances abi efficacy in prostate cancer. Mechanistic studies are being conducted to identify the biological basis for this finding. The ongoing phase 1 clinical trial with drug trough levels, CTC enumeration and bone turnover assessments will help define the recommended phase 2 dose of abi + cabo combination therapy. Citation Format: Christopher J. Sweeney, Katherine Zukotynski, Xiaodong Wang, Andrew Wick, Amanda Fredericks, Bon Lam, Philip Kantoff. Cabozantinib (cabo) + abiraterone (abi) combination therapy in castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC): preclinical evaluation and interim results of an investigator-sponsored phase 1 clinical study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-166. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-LB-166


Homogenated stratum coreum, callus and psoriatic scales were extracted with (1) phenol water (PW) and (2) the combined use of trypsin digestion and phenol water extraction (TPW). The serological properties of the various preparations obtained were compared, using indirect haemagglutination, absorption and inhibition tests. The PW and TPW water phases contained two different antigens which were common to all three tissues. In addition, the periodate-treated TPW water phase of stratum corneum contained an erythrocyte-sensitizing antigenic determinant. This, however, cross-reacted with the untreated and periodate-treated preparation of psoriatic scales, whereas callus lacked the determinant present after treatment with periodate. Apparently callus and psoriatic scales lacked some components present in stratum corneum, but determinants specific for callus or psoriatic scales were not detected.


The relation between language and thought has occupied linguists for at least a century. Neo-Whorfianism, a weak version of the controversial Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, holds that our thoughts are subtly influenced by the grammatical structures of our native language. One area of investigation in this vein focuses on how the grammatical gender of nouns affects the way we perceive the corresponding objects. For instance, does the fact that key is masculine in German (der Schlussel), but feminine in Spanish (la llave) change the speakers' views of those objects? Psycholinguistic evidence presented by Boroditsky et al. (2003, §4) suggested the answer might be yes: When asked to produce adjectives that best described a key, German and Spanish speakers named more stereotypically masculine and feminine ones, respectively. However, recent attempts to replicate those experiments have failed (Mickan et al., 2014). In this work, we offer a computational analogue of Boroditsky et al. (2003, §4)'s experimental design on 9 languages, finding evidence against neo-Whorfianism.


Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease endemic in more than 88 countries and is spreading over and over mainly due to transmigration and drug resistance. Unfortunately, despite increasing incidence, effective vaccine is still lagging behind. Unraveling CD8+ T-cells' contribution in infection control has recently led a new concept into Leishmania vaccine research field as T-cell vaccine. Therefore we studied the efficacy of a CD8 stimulating T-cell vaccine (a string of beads) in two distinctive approaches as homologous DNA-DNA or heterologous DNALive prime-boost strategies. Here we hypothesized that CD8+ T-cell stimulation by polytope constructs diverts primary Th2 responses into Th1 resulting in disease control. Four recently reported H-2Kd restricted epitopes from proteins out of Leishmania vaccine candidate repertoire were included in the polytope construct (besides 13 HLA-A2 restricted peptides from Leishmania well known vaccine candidates). Protective effect of the polytope construct was evaluated by clinical (footpad swelling and parasite burden) and immunological (IFN-γ/IL-5 ELISA, IFN-γ ICCS and CFSE) assays after L. majorEGFP infectious challenge of Balb/c mice. In this study, DNA-DNA prime-boost regimen specifically stimulated CD8+ T-cells resulting in partial protection in test group compared to controls. Protective effect was clearly compromised by CD8+ T-cell depletion at the time of infectious challenge resulting in predominant Th2 response. This directly confirmed CD8+ T-cells' role in early stage Th1 response polarization. Heterologous primeboost regimen (DNA priming and live L. tarPT-EGFP boosting), however was less effective inducing CD8+ T-cells and partial protection induced did not last long. These preliminary results for polytope constructs seem as sparkles of hope in Leishmania vaccination.


Although tumor molecular-profile-directed therapy appears promising in early clinical studies, there are many practical challenges to its successful clinical application in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). These challenges may be broadly classified as those relating to tumor (heterogeneity), tissue (acquisition and processing), testing (assays for molecular profiling) and trials (clinical evaluation of molecular markers and drugs). Strategies to overcome these challenges include (i) understanding the biological basis of tumor heterogeneity and of carcinogenesis in the large subset of patients with no currently evident driver events; (ii) technological advances in minimally invasive acquisition of tumor and next-generation sequencing (NGS) which would enable single-platform analysis of molecular alterations in limited tissue at a reasonable turnaround time (TAT); (iii) deliberation in early stages of drug development as well as clinical trial design to identify, validate and assess the clinical utility of biomarkers in conjunction with drugs and (iv) collaboration to improve understanding of and accrual to trials enrolling patients with rare molecular alterations.


Group B streptococci (GBS) are the leading cause of life-threatening neonatal bacterial infections in developed countries. The newborn is initially colonised during passage through the birth canal. Maternal vaginal carriage is usually asymptomatic. How safe and effective are strategies aimed at preventing severe neonatal GBS infection? To answer these questions, we conducted a review of the literature using the standard Prescrire methodology. In France, Group B streptococci are present in the vagina of about 10-15% of women towards the end of pregnancy. Mother-to-child transmission can occur when the membranes rupture, or during delivery. About one-third of infants born to mothers who carry Group B streptococci are colonised at birth. GBS colonisation rarely affects the newborn's health but, during the first 7 days of life, about 3% of colonised children develop a serious early-onset infection, particularly meningitis, which may be fatal or leave sequelae. Late-onset infections (after 7 days of life) do not appear to be linked to intrapartum colonisation. The risk of early neonatal GBS infection increases in cases of preterm delivery, maternal fever during delivery, and membrane rupture more than 18 hours before delivery. These situations account for 50% to 75% of early neonatal GBS infections. Several randomised trials suggest that intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis in women who carry Group B streptococci, from the onset of labour until delivery, reduces the risk of early-onset neonatal GBS infection from 4.7% to 0.4% (p = 0.02). Other antibiotic strategies are less well assessed or appear to be less effective. Penicillin G (benzylpenicillin) is the antibiotic of choice, while penicillin A (ampicillin or amoxicillin) is an alternative. In case of penicillin allergy, erythromycin or clindamycin are generally active against Group B streptococci and carry no particular risks for the infant. The greatest risk associated with penicillin, especially injectable forms, is an anaphylactic reaction, which can have severe consequences for both mother and child. The estimated frequency is about 5 cases per 10 000 treatments. The possible long-term adverse effects of antibiotic exposure during delivery are poorly documented in children. We found no randomised trials of standard vaginal screening for Group B streptococci between 35 and 38 weeks of gestation, or of a rapid PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test at the time of delivery. In a retrospective study conducted in the US, screening followed by antibiotic therapy if the results were positive was associated with a lower risk of early neonatal infection, but the methodology does not allow firm conclusions to be drawn. The risk-benefit balance has not been determined in terms of neonatal mortality. Widespread implementation of screening guidelines coincided with a decline in the incidence of early neonatal GBS infections in several countries. In the United Kingdom, systematic antibiotic therapy is recommended in high-risk situations, without systematic screening for Group B streptococci. In practice, the first priority is to identify situations in which there is a high risk of neonatal GBS infection, and to administer antibiotics during labour, after screening for GBS carriage, if possible. Outside of these situations, the risk of an anaphylactic reaction must be minimised by choosing the prophylactic antibiotic based on maternal allergy history, and by avoiding antibiotic prophylaxis altogether if the mother has a history of anaphylaxis, whatever the cause.


This data set provides Daymet Version 3 model output data as gridded estimates of daily weather parameters for North America and Hawaii: including Canada, Mexico, the United States of America, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. The island areas of Hawaii and Puerto Rico are available as files separate from the continental land mass. Daymet output variables include the following parameters: minimum temperature, maximum temperature, precipitation, shortwave radiation, vapor pressure, snow water equivalent, and day length. The data set covers the period from January 1, 1980 to December 31 of the most recent full calendar year. Each subsequent year is processed individually at the close of a calendar year. Daymet variables are continuous surfaces provided as individual files, by variable and year, at a 1-km x 1-km spatial resolution and a daily temporal resolution. Data are in a Lambert Conformal Conic projection for North America and are distributed in a netCDF file (version 1.6) format compliant to Climate and Forecast (CF) metadata conventions.


We examine the relationship between legislators' electoral environment and the provision of constituency service in the Texas State Legislature. Using fictitious constituent requests soliciting information on voter registration and a government program, we analyze the relationship between legislators' previous vote share and the probability of legislator response. To account for possible simultaneity bias of constituency service and election results, we employ an instrumental variables approach. In contrast with previous empirical studies, we find that legislators' response rates to constituent requests decreases in their electoral security across a wide range of model specifications that control for legislator-specific characteristics. We also investigate how electoral security affects legislators' provision of legislative public goods and find some suggestive evidence that electoral security increases the number of bills legislators author, but has little effect on other measures of legislative production.


Titanium and its alloys, particularly Ti6Al4V, which is widely utilized in the marine and aerospace industries, have played a vital role in different manufacturing industries. An efficient and cost-effective way of joining this metal is by laser welding. The effect of laser power and welding speed on the tensile, microhardness, and microstructure of Ti6Al4V alloy is investigated in this paper. Results show that the microhardness is highest at the fusion zone and reduces towards the base metal. The microstructure at the fusion zone shows a transformed needle-like lamellar α phase, with a martensitic α' phase observed within the heat affected zone. Results of tensile tests show an improved tensile strength compared to the base metal.


Optical communication is attracting more and more attention because of its huge bandwidth to meet the ever increasing demand of emerging computing/networking applications. In this paper we study distributed scheduling algorithms to resolve output contentions in WDM optical interconnects with wavelength conversion ability. We consider the general case of limited range wavelength conversion, including the full range wavelength conversion. Two types of limited range wavelength conversions, circular symmetrical and non circular symmetrical, are studied. We introduce the request graph and show that finding the largest group of contention-free connection requests to achieve maximum network throughput is equivalent to finding a maximum matching in the request graph. Compared with the existing algorithm for finding a maximum matching in an arbitrary bipartite graph with time complexity O(N/sup 3/2/ k /sup 3/2/d), the algorithms we present have time complexity of O(k) and O(dk) (independent of interconnect size N) for non-circular symmetrical and circular symmetrical wavelength conversion, respectively, where k is the number of wavelengths per fiber and d is the conversion degree. In addition, our algorithms can be easily implemented in hardware, and used for time slotted WDM optical interconnects where connections hold for different number of time slots.


The purpose of our study has been to analyze the character of the interaction between music labels and media and to examine to what extent the artist brand is being considered in music labels relationship with media. This has resulted in our research question:What characterizes the large music labels relationship with media?For this study we have used a qualitative approach to achieve a deeper understanding of our chosen topic. We have conducted seven interviews with representatives from both major record labels and media companies with great knowledge about our subject. Five of the interviews were conducted face-to-face and two were performed via e-mail.In the final chapter we answer our research question and thus present our conclusions. By analyzing our empirical data along with theoretical framework we have identified twenty factors that characterize major record labels relationship with media. These features are: adaptation, trust, informality, regularity, participation, common interests, knowledge, respect, friendly distance, professional closeness, good will, networks, habitual behaviour, commitment, passion and exchange. Furthermore, the analysis of how the artist's brand is being considered in the relationship between music labels and media has brought an understanding of the importance of brands to stand out in a noise society and how important the employee engagement is for the process.


The DIPPER architecture is a collection of software agents for prototyping spoken dialogue systems. Implemented on top of the Open Agent Architecture (OAA), it comprises agents for speech input and output, dialogue management, and further supporting agents. We define a formal syntax and semantics for the DIP-PER information state update language. The language is independent of particular programming languages, and incorporates procedural attachments for access to ex-ternal resources using OAA.


Homoepitaxial single crystal diamond layers with bright photoluminescence (PL) of silicon‐vacancy (SiV) color centers at 738 nm wavelength have been grown on (100) diamond substrates by a microwave plasma CVD using a controlled Si doping via adding silane to CH4H2 reaction gas mixture in the course of the deposition process. In the range of the silane concentrations SiH4/CH4 explored, from 0 to 2.4%, the SiV PL intensity shows a nonmonotonic behavior with silane addition, with a maximum at 0.6%SiH4/CH4, and a rapid PL quenching at higher Si doping. The maximum SiV concentration of ≈450 ppb in the samples has been determined from optical absorption spectra. It is found that the SiV PL intensity can strongly, an order of magnitude, increase within non‐epitaxial inclusions in single crystal diamond film.


A general framework to assess the joint effect of pulse shaping and spreading sequence statistics on asynchronous DS-CDMA is developed. With this, the effect of three possible pulse shapes (rectangle, band-limited rectangle, and square-root raised-cosine) associated with three possible spreading sequences (i.i.d., chaos-based, and optimum) is analyzed. Improvements up to 16% in users capacity are shown over traditional systems.


Learning is an important aspect of life through which humans stay in tune with their biological and physical environment through which that environment is allowed to take shape around them. The complexity and the occurrence of variation in an environment help generate new experiences and provide the humans the opportunity to learn something new. This paper presents an analysis of the change that is evident as the scenario changes from E-learning to M-Learning and then to P-Learning. This paper also provides a glimpse of the extended opportunities of pervasive setup. The new challenges and design techniques of active learning systems are also suggested in this paper.


Glaucoma is a disease that destroys the optic nerve of the eye. As a result, it causes vision loss or blindness. However, with immediate diagnosis and treatment, eyes can be protected against severe vision loss. Most vision loss cases due to Glaucoma are preventable if the disease is treated in the early stages. Most Glaucoma cases happen without signs and symptoms because peripheral vision can be damaged before an individual's central vision is affected. The existing procedures to detect Glaucoma are time consuming and inconclusive at the clinic. Thus, the detection can benefit from an automated computer vision-based technique of eye images. Nevertheless, the major problem of intraocular pressure (IOP) that leads to Glaucoma goes under detected. This paper proposes an automatic risk detection process of Glaucoma by extracting a portion of the eye sclera and measuring the red area percentage. The database used in this research was acquired from Princess Basma Hospital containing one hundred facial images divided into fifty healthy cases and fifty non-healthy cases that have high pressure in the eye.


Aim and Purpose: Most patients with facial palsy experience spontaneous recovery by 3 weeks to 3 months. As electrical stimulation is a popular intervention the study was conducted to explore it as an option for enhancing recovery in patients with facial palsy. So the aim of the study was to determine the potential efficacy of applying electrical stimulation to facial nerve trunks in early phase of facial nerve palsy of idiopathic onset. Methodology: The study design was a pretest – post test control V/S experimental group, with a sample size of 50 subjects. Convenient sampling was used and subjects were randomly allocated into two groups. The outcome measure used was the Facial Grading System Score (FGS). The inclusion criteria were males and females aged 15-65 years with a clinical diagnosis of lower motor neuron facial palsy of idiopathic origin of less than 7 days onset. The exclusion criteria were subjects with a known cause of facial palsy with onset less than 7 days. Group A was given heat in the form of Infra Red to the ear and face on affected side for 10 minutes for 1 week. Electrical Stimulation for next 3 weeks to affected facial nerve trunk branches was then given. Parameters used were Surged Faradic Current with pulse duration 0.1ms, pulse frequency 50 Hz, and surge duration: interval ratio was 5:5. Intensity was increased to produce mild contraction of facial muscles stimulated at nerve trunk branch. 15 contractions daily were given. Both Group A and B subjects were explained the condition, taught exercises, and given advices about care required. Subjects in group B were asked to follow up after 4 weeks. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Level of significance was kept at 5%. Results: For group A and B difference in mean values of facial grading system scores at end of 4 weeks was found to be statistically significant (z=4.861, z= 4.016 respectively, p < 0.001). However at the end of 4 weeks difference in median values between the groups was not found to be statistically significant (z=0.420, p=0.675) Conclusion: Outcome demonstrates neither benefit nor harm with electrical stimulation in subjects with early facial palsy. [Sheth M S et al NJIRM 2013; 4(3) : 29-32]


Research has shown that code anomalies may be related to problems in the architecture design. Without proper mechanisms to support the identification of architecturally-relevant code anomalies, software systems will degrade and might be discontinued as a consequence. Nowadays, metrics-based detection strategy is the most common mechanism to identify code anomalies. However, these strategies often fail to detect architecturally-relevant code anomalies. A key limitation is that they solely exploit measurable static properties of the source code. This paper proposes and evaluates a suite of architecture-sensitive detection strategies. These strategies exploit information related to how fully-modularized and widely-scoped architectural concerns are realized by the code elements. The accuracy of the proposed detection strategies is assessed in a sample of nearly 3500 architecturally-relevant code anomalies and 950 architectural problems distributed in 6 software systems. Our findings show that more than the 60% of code anomalies detected by the proposed strategies were related to architectural problems. Additionally, the proposed strategies identified on average 50% more architecturally-relevant code anomalies than those gathered with using conventional strategies.


A Thesis Dissertation Submitted to Mzumbe University, Dar es Salaam Campus
College in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Degree of
Master of Science in Procurement and Supply Chain Management
(MSc-PSCM)


The theme of this keynote address is conceptual puzzles raised by empirical research on conflict management and resolution. Three types of puzzles are highlighted: those that deal with processes, identities, and situations. The process puzzles include some counter‐intuitive implications of negotiating strategies and interaction process dynamics. The identity puzzles include the ways in which identity is negotiated, perceptions of ingroups and outgroups, and the connection between loyalty to groups and collective action. The situation puzzles address attribution issues, the distinction between passive actors and active agents, and the role of history. An attempt is then made to juxtapose the puzzles toward a larger conception of a field that emphasizes change in the phenomena we analyze in research and shape through practice. A number of these ideas are found also in the research of previous IACM lifetime award recipients, with whom connections are made.


INTRODUCTION: The development of research for diagnosis, prevention and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is of utmost importance due to the fact that it is the main cause of morbidity and mortality in Brazil. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate the phases of the selection process for candidates with the aim to develop a clinical-laboratorial database of hyper alpha lipoproteinemic patients (hyper A) - high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) ≥ 68 mg/dl) and hypo alpha lipoproteinemic patients (hypo A) - HDL-C < 39 mg/dl. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The volunteers were contacted after selection of lipid profiles from individuals treated at the Sistema Unico de Saude (SUS), Campinas-SP and neighboring area. Afterwards, the selected patients went through blood collection, clinical examinations and answered questionnaires on dietary frequency and physical activity. After this preliminary evaluation, some individuals were convened to another blood collection and, subsequently, were submitted to an ultrasonographic exam of the carotid arteries. RESULTS: Only 0.6% and 0.3% from 598,288 lipid profiles were selected for hyper A and hypo A groups, respectively, including gender disparity. Lack of effective questionnaires (75%), missing calls (60%) and non-inclusion were the major hindrances in the construction of this database. DISCUSSION: The difficulties to obtain eligible candidates were also due to the low prevalence of both groups hypo A and hyper A and the high prevalence of pathologies that contribute to non-genetic variations of HDL-C. CONCLUSION: In spite of the obstacles in the development of this database, this study brought about several scientific publications. Furthermore, the development of molecular analyzes and functionality will shortly generate other findings, contributing to the diagnosis and follow-up of HDL dyslipidemias.


THERE is no lack of disquisitions on the role of education in the simpler societies. Africa, in particular, has received enormous attention in this connexion. Commissions and congresses have delivered judgment on education in one or another African society. Missionaries, anthropologists, itinerant journalists, travellers, Government officials, and innumerable others have vouchsafed opinions on the subject until it has become smothered in platitudes and generalizations. But empirical studies of a sociological or psychological kind in field or school are far from numerous. In this paper I shall attempt, in outline, such a study.


BACKGROUND
Limited budgets and increasing training demands on staff development educators require creativity and innovation in providing cost-effective training alternatives. Self-paced learning modules meet these criteria and minimize use of staff time.

METHOD
This article presents a step-by-step guide for the design and implementation of self-paced learning modules.

RESULTS/CONCLUSION
By following the suggested guidelines, even novice staff development educators can assess, design, and implement cost-effective training alternatives for their organizations.


Objective: to report the hemodynamic alterations and intensive care provided to patients with heart failure. Method: descriptive study, of clinical case type, held in May 2013 in a teaching hospital in the city of João Pessoa, PB/Brazil. Medical records were used for data collection (nursing and medical record) and laboratory exams. The research project was approved by the Ethics in Research Protocol 11012512.0.0000.5183/2012. Results: dyspnoea, fatigue and edema were the main hemodynamic changes found in the patient with heart failure. The main involved intensive care are good oxygenation, hemodynamic stability, congestion relief, water control and monitoring of weight. Conclusion: it is expected that further studies are supportive and conducive to therapy of patients with HF and assist professionals in the management of HF, improving health and contributing to the quality of life of patients with this condition. Descriptors: Heart Failure; Hemodynamics; Intensive Care.


Background Rapid radiographic progression (RRP) has occurred in some rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients regardless of any type of biological therapy. However, early diagnosis of RRP is still unknown. Objectives The aim of this study is to find predictive MRI findings for RRP in RA patients. Methods Twenty two RA patients, who treated for 1 year with Adalimumab (ADA) and methotrexate (MTX) combination therapy, were examined by radiography for both hands and feet using total Sharp-van der Heijde scoring (SHS) and compact MRI for both hands using cMRI score (cMRIS) (1) in low field MRI (0.3T) at baseline and 1 year after treatment. We analyzed to find the relationship between MRI and radiographic findings compared with RRP (SHS/y≥3) and non RRP (SHS/y <3) group. Results Patients baseline demographics were: mean age: 60.1 year; RA disease duration: 8.4 year; baseline DAS28(ESR): 6.28; estimated ΔSHS/y: 13.7/y and HAQ-DI:1.9. At 1 year, 60.9% of patients achieved radiographic remission (ΔSHS/y <0.5) and ΔSHS/y was -0.5 (ΔJSN/y: 0.96, ΔJEN/y: -1.54). The cMRI showed 46.8%, 70.9%, 22.7% and 39.8% improvement of cMRISsynovitis, cMRISoedema, cMRISerosion and cMRISerosion + synovitis + oedema, respectively. Three patients were assessed for RRP group (n=3, SHS=6, 8 and 17, mean: 10.3). Other patients were assessed for non RRP group (n=19, -9≤SHS≤2: mean: -2.1). Radiographically, there were significant differences between two groups in ΔSHS/y and ΔJEN/y, (P<0.01). In MRI, significant increase of cMRISoedema at baseline (P<0.05), cMRISoedema at 1 year (P<0.01) and significant decrease of percentage improvement of cMRISoedema (P<0.01), cMRISsynovitis (P<0.05), cMRISerosion + synovitis + oedema (P<0.05) were observed in RRP group compared with non RRP group. These results showed that at baseline, bone marrow oedema in MRI was more predictive than synovitis (P=0.80, NS) or bone erosion (P=0.51, NS) as previously reported (2), and perpetuation of bone marrow edema was important for RRP at 1year. Conclusions In low field MRI, bone marrow oedema was more associated with occurrence of RRP than synovitis or bone erosion in bio-naïve RA patients during ADA and MTX combination therapy. References T.Suzuki et al. A new low-field extremity magnetic resonance imaging and proposed compact MRI score: evaluation of anti-tumor necrosis factor biologics on rheumatoid arthritis. Mod.Rheumatol. 2009: 19. 358-365 F.Gandjbakhen et al. Bone marrow oedema predicts structual progression in 1-year follow up of 85 patients with RA in remission or with low disease activity with low-field MRI. Ann.Rheum.Dis.2011:70.2159-2162 Disclosure of Interest None Declared


How to find and use e-books in the Delaware County Community College research collection. Includes a guide to downloading and software requirements. User and software requirements for downloading e-books.


This research has considered applications created to make life easier for people with disabilities, people with health limitations and the elderly.


Appraising CO2 leakage risks and ensuring the long-term CO2 containment integrity of existing and new wells are key factors in guaranteeing the sustainability of potential CO2 geologic storage in a depleted mature gas field. Particularly, considering CO2 leakage through cement itself (i.e., sheath and plug) and cement interfaces with casing is critical in assessing the CO2 leakage risks and the long-term containment integrity sustainability.
 To estimate CO2 leakage through cement sheath/plug and cement-casing interfaces, two separate work scopes were identified and addressed. First, a corrosion-based cement damage model was developed to assess CO2 leakage risks through cement sheath/plug based on the stress corrosion crack theory, which implies mechanical and chemical corrosion effects on mechanical materials (i.e., chemical-mechanical coupling). Thus, the stress corrosion-based cement damage model can account for corrosion effects on cement due to CO2 exposure in a CO2 geologic storage and assess CO2 leakage through the damaged cement sheath/plug.
 Later, a cement interface debonding model was developed to estimate CO2 leakage risks through cement-casing interfaces. The interface debonding model is based on conventional static failure criteria, as well as analytical hydraulic fracturing methods simulating interface debonding as small-scale hydraulic fracturing caused by CO2 injection. The cement interface debonding model can be applied for cement-casing bond integrity analysis to estimate CO2 leakage risks and rates through the debonded interfaces.


Purpose: Prisoners housed in overcrowded jails suffer increased rates of health problems, especially in regard to communicable diseases. If hospitalized, they become a threat to the staff and other patients by the transmission of pathogens, such as HIV and hepatitis viruses. Their higher mortality rate and the costs of their care, compared with other in-patients, are also of concern.
Methods: In this retrospective analytical study, the medical and cost-accounting records of all prisoners admitted over a period of 12 months, from March 2010 to March 2011, to the Imam Reza University Hospital in Mashhad, northeastern Iran, were reviewed.
Results: During this period, 65 106 patients were hospitalized, of whom only 390 (0.6%) were prisoners. Nevertheless, this group accounted for 1.7% of the annual hospital administrative costs. The average daily cost of a prisoner was 1.3 times that of the other in-patients. Moreover, the mortality rate for the prisoners was 12.7% compared with 5% for other in-patients (RR= 2.47).
Conclusions: The growing number of hospitalized prisoners have an unfavorable outcome but still incur considerable care costs. It therefore seems reasonable to look for substantial reform in the system of detention, screening and registration of prisoners with health problems as well as adhering to infection control measures, harm reduction and early diagnosis and referral to treatment facilities.


Abstract New and previously described "Sphinctozoan" taxa have been collected from six different localities in northern Spain, all of them dated as Late Carboniferous, from Moskovian to Kasimovian in age. The sphinctozoans in the collection are all assigned to the Demospongiae: a new species of polyglomerate type, Cystothalamia vandegraaffi n. sp., and known species Amblysiphonella barroisi Steinmann, 1882, Amblysiphonella carbonaria (Steinmann, 1882), Discosiphonella mammilosa (King, 1943), Discosiphonella maior (Van de Graaff, 1969), and Sollasia ostiolata Steinmann, 1882. Some of these specimens present interesting paleoecological features, such as the use of a piece of calcareous algae as a hard substrate in a soft muddy bottom and a possible branching pattern determined by photophilic or negative geotaxic growth.


Non-volatile memory (NVM) technologies such as spin-transfer torque magnetic random access memory (STT-MRAM) and spin-orbit torque magnetic random access memory (SOT-MRAM) have significant advantages compared to conventional SRAM due to their non-volatility, higher cell density, and scalability features. While previous work has investigated several architectural implications of NVM for generic applications, in this work we present DeepNVM, a framework to characterize, model, and analyze NVM-based caches in GPU architectures for deep learning (DL) applications by combining technologyspecific circuit-level models and the actual memory behavior of various DL workloads. We present both iso-capacity and isoarea performance and energy analysis for systems whose lastlevel caches rely on conventional SRAM and emerging STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM technologies. In the iso-capacity case, STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM provide up to 4.2× and 5× energy-delay product (EDP) reduction and 2.4× and 3× area reduction compared to conventional SRAM, respectively. Under iso-area assumptions, STT-MRAM and SOT-MRAM provide 2.3× EDP reduction on average across all workloads when compared to SRAM. Our comprehensive cross-layer framework is demonstrated on STT-/SOT-MRAM technologies and can be used for the characterization, modeling, and analysis of any NVM technology for last-level caches in GPU platforms for deep learning applications.


The purpose of the present paper is to provide a more homogeneous dose distribution in the target volume from compensated anterior and posterior fields while the healthy lung is spared by de-weighting the lateral fields. A compensation computation which used linear iterations to compute the most homogeneous dose distribution across the target volume was applied to produce optimum compensator designs. The equivalent tissue-air ratio (E-TAR) inhomogeneity correction was applied for the computations using a GE target series II planning computer. The compensators designed were tested for accuracy in a modified water/lung phantom using a scanning diode and an anthropomorphic phantom using thermoluminescent dosimeters. A comparison has been made between the compensated and uncompensated plans for the first nine patients who we have treated with this technique. The dose profiles produced by the computation agreed with the prediction of the computed isodose plans to within +/- 2% at the target depth. The thermoluminescent dosimeter (TLD)-measured results in the anthropomorphic phantom agreed with the planning computer within +/- 3%. A comparison of nine compensated plans of radiotherapy patients for large-volume targets in the lung region showed a maximum variation in the target to be 19% uncompensated versus 10% compensated. By providing compensated treatment fields from anterior and posterior treatment portals, a homogeneous dose that conforms well to the target volume is provided. As an added bonus, this enables the lateral lung fields to be significantly de-weighted and the healthy lung is spared considerable dose.


: The culure of Staph. aureus in the exponential growth phase contained 14-18 mg/g of dry orthophosphate biomass and 18-22 mg/g of dry acid insoluble polyphosphate biomass. The extracellular extract of the culture had a phosphohydrolase activity with respect to high molecular polyphosphates, tripolyphosphate and pyrophosphate. Penicillin and bacitracin which inhibited the biosynthesis of the cell wall had no effect on the content of polyphosphates and the phosphohydrolase activity of Staph. aureus. Heliomycin which inhibited the biosynthesis of RNA increased the content of polyphosphates by 1.5 times and decreased the content of ATP by 30 per cent in the cells of Staph. aureus.


Bad pixel correction on pixelated solid-state detectors typically uses the average of the direct neighboring pixels (AVG) to derive the value of a bad pixel. However, the AVG approach was suboptimal for high resolution imaging. Therefore, we developed a least gradient approach (LGA) in this work. In the LGA approach, the gradients of the image in a 5 × 5 box centered at the bad pixel were calculated along the two orthogonal and two diagonal directions. The value of the bad pixel was derived from the average of the two neighboring pixels along the direction in which the gradient was the least. For 18 cardiac SPECT studies, we added to the data randomly generated bad pixels and bad pixels in a specially designed pattern and then corrected the bad pixels using the AVG approach. Images reconstructed from the bad-pixel-free data and the bad-pixel-corrected data were compared. For high resolution imaging, we used line and bar phantom studies to evaluate the AVG and LGA approaches on a pixelated solid-state gamma camera. Patient studies showed no visible qualitative or significant quantitative difference between the images reconstructed from the bad-pixel-free and bad-pixel-corrected data. The maximum segment change ranged from 0% to 7.4% with average of 3.6 for data with randomly generated bad pixels. Blind reading of the images by an expert nuclear cardiologist showed no diagnostic difference for any of the patients. The line phantom studies showed two bad pixels not corrected by the AVG approach but corrected by the LGA approach. Bar phantom studies showed ten bad pixels not corrected by the AVG approach. But 9 out the 10 bad pixels were corrected using the LGA approach. The commonly used averaging approach (AVG) was effective for cardiac SPECT imaging but the least gradient approach (LGA) developed in this work was more effective for high resolution imaging.


Lesson Study (LS) as a learning strategy in college is a new step in improving the quality of learning. During this time, lesson study known only in the learning of Mathematics and Science. This paper discusses how students apply the lesson study at the Faculty of Education Muhammadiyah University of North Maluku Study Program Elementary School Teacher. The main objective of Lesson Study is to: 1) gain a better understanding of the teaching in class 2) obtain certain results that are beneficial for lecturers and students in implementing the learning, 3) improve learning in a systematic, 4) construct a pedagogical knowledge where the lecturers can gain knowledge from other lecturers. There are eight opportunities can be obtained by the lecturer, when he carried out the LS sustainable, namely: 1) to think carefully about the learning objectives, subject matter and fields of study, 2) study and develop the best learning can be developed, 3) deepen the subject matter taught, 4) to ponder over the long-term goals to be achieved students, 5) designing collaborative learning, 6) assess carefully the manner and process of learning and behavior of students, 7) develop pedagogical knowledge, strong, full-power, 8) view own learning outcomes through student and colleague. Lesson study is based on four stages, that is: plan, do, check, and act.


Gallium orthophosphate (GaPO4) single crystals were grown by the reverse temperature gradient method from phosphoric acid solutions under hydrothermal conditions. Twins after (110) were studied by etching faces having been cut perpendicular to one of the twofold axes. Based on the determination of the twin boundary position as well as on the knowledge of the growth rates of different crystallographic forms, a few faces have been chosen to be quite promising for growing high-quality GaPO4 single crystals if they are offered at the referring seed crystal. From the characterization of the grown crystals conditions have been found, which may lead to the reduction of the inversion twin number during the growth process.


The shape control of multi-metal nanocrystals with concave structures is significant for constructing high-efficiency electrocatalysts. Herein, we report an effective one-pot hydrothermal synthetic strategy that allows high-yield production of CuPd@Pd core–shell tetrahedra with concave and Pd-enriched surfaces. It is demonstrated that L-proline plays a vital role as a structure-directing agent in tuning the nucleation and growth of concave CuPd@Pd tetrahedra because of the strong coordination abilities of CO, O–H and N–H groups with metal ions. This bimetallic concave structure can endow the nanocrystals with abundant catalytically active sites and fascinating electronic effects, which are suggested to be favorable for electrocatalysis. When used as an electrocatalyst, the newly developed catalyst presented 4.2 and 2.4 times enhanced mass activity (501.8 A gPd−1) and specific activity (49.3 A m−2) for the formic acid oxidation when compared with those of the commercial Pd black catalyst (120.6 A gPd−1; 20.8 A m−2), respectively. Moreover, the concave CuPd@Pd catalyst exhibits substantially enhanced electrocatalytic stability under harsh electrochemical conditions and superior resistance to COads poisoning; this demonstrates that it is a promising candidate as an anode catalyst in direct formic acid fuel cells.


We investigate an anomalously enhanced jump of the electronic specific heat at the superconducting transition point observed in CeCoIn5 within the fluctuation-exchange approximation. The strong antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation leads to strong-coupling superconductivity with a relatively high transition temperature. Simultaneously, the jump of the specific heat becomes large. This tendency also becomes stronger as the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation becomes stronger.


Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become a major cause of premature mortality and disabilities in China due to factors concomitant with rapid economic growth and urbanisation over three decades. Promoting green space might be a valuable strategy to help improve population health in China, as well as a range of co-benefits (e.g., increasing resilience to climate change). No systematic review has so far determined the degree of association between green space and health outcomes in China. This review was conducted to address this gap. Five electronic databases were searched using search terms on green space, health, and China. The review of 83 publications that met eligibility criteria reports associations indicative of various health benefits from more green space, including mental health, general health, healthier weight status and anthropometry, and more favorable cardiometabolic and cerebrovascular outcomes. There was insufficient evidence to draw firm conclusions on mortality, birth outcomes, and cognitive function, and findings on respiratory and infectious outcomes were inconsistent and limited. Future work needs to examine the health benefits of particular types and qualities of green spaces, as well as to take advantage of (quasi-)experimental designs to test greening interventions within the context of China's rapid urbanization and economic growth.


The detection of low-mass extra-solar planets through radial-velocity searches is currently limited by the intrinsic magnetic activity of the host stars. The correlated noise that arises from their natural radial-velocity variability can easily mimic or conceal the orbital signals of super-Earth and Earth-mass extra-solar planets. I developed an intuitive and robust data analysis framework in which the activityinduced variations are modelled with a Gaussian process that has the frequency structure of the photometric variations of the star, thus allowing me to determine precise and reliable planetary masses. I applied this technique to three recently discovered planetary systems: CoRoT-7, Kepler-78 and Kepler-10. I determined the masses of the transiting super-Earth CoRoT-7b and the small Neptune CoRoT-7c to be 4.73 ± 0.95 M⊕ and 13.56 ± 1.08 M⊕, respectively. The density of CoRoT-7b is 6.61 ± 1.72 g.cm−3, which is compatible with a rocky composition. I carried out Bayesian model selection to assess the nature of a previously identified signal at 9 days, and found that it is best interpreted as stellar activity. Despite the high levels of activity of its host star, I determined the mass of the Earth-sized planet Kepler-78b to be 1.76 ± 0.18 M⊕. With a density of 6.2 −1.4 g.cm −3, it is also a rocky planet. I found the masses of Kepler-10b and Kepler-10c to be 3.31± 0.32 M⊕ and 16.25± 3.66 M⊕, respectively. Their densities, of 6.4 −0.7 g.cm −3 and 8.1± 1.8 g.cm−3, imply that they are both of rocky composition – even the 2 Earth-radius planet Kepler-10c! In parallel, I deepened our understanding of the physical origin of stellar radialvelocity variability through the study of the Sun, which is the only star whose surface can be imaged at high resolution. I found that the full-disc magnetic flux is an excellent proxy for activity-induced radial-velocity variations; this result may become key to breaking the activity barrier in coming years. I also found that in the case of CoRoT-7, the suppression of convective blueshift leads to radial-velocity variations with an rms of 1.82 m.s−1, while the modulation induced by the presence of dark spots on the rotating stellar disc has an rms of 0.46 m.s−1. For the Sun, I found these contributions to be 2.22 m.s−1 and 0.14 m.s−1, respectively. These results suggest that for slowly rotating stars, the suppression of convective blueshift is the dominant contributor to the activity-modulated radial-velocity signal, rather than the rotational Doppler shift of the flux blocked by starspots.


Most prevalent cancers are of epithelial origin and their morbidity often results from secondary tumors. Cancer aggressiveness relates to intratumoral heterogeneity, including rare tumor initiating cells that share many features with adult stem cells. Both normal and cancer stem cells are characterized by their plasticity between epithelial and mesenchymal phenotypes, progressing through a series of reversible intermediates. While a core of regulators (Snail, Zeb1-2,...) is renowned to promote epithelial to mesenchyme transition (EMT), OvoL/Shavenbaby factors now emerge as a family of key epithelial stabilizers. Therefore, pro-EMT and OvoL/Shavenbaby transcription factors could provide a molecular rheostat to control stemness and epithelial-mesenchyme plasticity. We address this question in flies, in which the unique OvoL/Shavenbaby factor offers a powerful in vivo paradigm for functional analyses. Our results show that Shavenbaby is critical for adult stem cell homeostasis, and directly interacts with the Hippo pathway to protect stem cells from death.


Emergency post-coital contraception (EC) is an effective method of preventing pregnancy when used appropriately. EC has been available since the 1970s, and its availability and use have become widespread. Options for EC are broad and include the copper intrauterine device (IUD) and emergency contraceptive pills such as levonorgestrel, ulipristal acetate, combined oral contraceptive pills (Yuzpe method), and less commonly, mifepristone. Some options are available over-the-counter, while others require provider prescription or placement. There are no absolute contraindications to the use of emergency contraceptive pills, with the exception of ulipristal acetate and mifepristone. This article reviews the mechanisms of action, efficacy, safety, side effects, clinical considerations, and patient preferences with respect to EC usage. The decision of which regimen to use is influenced by local availability, cost, and patient preference.


Background Health screening is a preventive and cost-effective public health strategy for early detection of diseases. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has decreased health screening participation. The aim of this study was to examine regional differences in health screening participation between before and during COVID-19 pandemic and vulnerabilities of health screening participation in the regional context. Methods Administrative data from 229 districts consisting of 16 provinces in South Korea and health screening participation rate of each district collected in 2019 and 2020 were included in the study. Data were then analyzed via descriptive statistics and geographically weighted regression (GWR). Results This study revealed that health screening participation rates decreased in all districts during COVID-19. Regional vulnerabilities contributing to a further reduction in health screening participation rate included COVID-19 concerns, the population of those aged 65+ years and the disabled, lower education level, lower access to healthcare, and the prevalence of chronic disease. GWR analysis showed that different vulnerable factors had different degrees of influence on differences in health screening participation rate. Conclusions These findings could enhance our understanding of decreased health screening participation due to COVID-19 and suggest that regional vulnerabilities should be considered stringent public health strategies after COVID-19.


Sixty elementary-school children (9–10 years old) and 82 adolescents (12–13 years old) completed explicit and implicit measures of racial stereotypes about math. 60 Asian, 42 Latino, 21 White, 15 Black, and four multiracial students participated (42% boys). On the explicit measure, children as early as fifth grade reported being aware of the stereotype that Asians = math, but only adolescents personally endorsed this stereotype. On the implicit measure, there was significant evidence for racial stereotypes about math among adolescents. Across both ages, individual students' explicit awareness of the stereotype was significantly correlated with their implicit stereotypes. Early adolescence is a key developmental window for discussing stereotypes before they become endorsed as personal beliefs.


Foodborne diseases are caused by the ingestion of foodstuffs contaminated with microorganisms or chemicals and are considered a growing public health problem worldwide. Contaminated meat is one of the main sources of foodborne illnesses and death caused by agents that enter the body through ingestion. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of cleaning agents on bacteria isolated from raw meat sold in market places in Lahore. The bacterial contaminants were isolated and identified using specific culture techniques and the effect of dettol, lemon juice, vinegar and safeguard on bacterial isolates was determined. The predominant bacterial pathogen isolates were Escherichia coli 25(50%) followed by Salmonella spp. 15(30%), Staphylococcus aureus 6(12%), and Pseudomonas spp. 4(8%). Among the cleaning agents, lemon juice, vinegar, safeguard, and dettol were effective in killing and or reducing the bacteria attached to the meat. Lemon juice was more effective against bacteria than other agents. The raw meat is heavily contaminated with the high incidence of bacterial pathogens, and different pathogens may acquire resistance to different cleaning agents. Therefore, there is an urgent need to minimize the contamination of raw meat sold in market places by the implementation of necessary measures.


This paper describes the multi-methodological approach employed in a partial, situated, contingent and interpretive feminist political analysis of Catholic mothers and daughters. The study draws on a number of sources including transcripts of mother-daughter interviews, autobiographical anecdotes, photographs, music, icons of Catholicism and poetry. It is argued in this paper that a feminist multi-methodological approach is valuable to feminist research as it disrupts the linear and logocentric construct of traditional social science research. Moreover, a multi-methodological and multi-sourced approach opens up sites so that the mothers and daughters in this study could be positioned within specific histories and contexts, and provided with a space so that as women they could reconstruct themselves as self-referential subjects.


A new ultrasonic imaging system combining temporal modulation of the ultrasonic signal by an M-sequence with spatial modulation of the wave field by a rotating M-sequence phase disk has been developed. This system uses neither beam forming nor transducer scanning, and has high resolution both in range and azimuth. The correlation function of the temporal M-sequence determines the range resolution, while the azimuth resolution is determined by the configuration of the rotating M-sequence phase disk. The use of the M-sequence modulations also results in images with high signal-to-noise ratio.


The performance of substandard inertial platform gyros can be improved through the sampled supervision of their operation by a higher grade gyroscope mounted directly on the platform. The relative drift rates of the susbstandard platform gyros are estimated on a cyclical basis. This paper describes techniques for estimating the drift rates. It deals with the method of applying these estimated values in the form of platform correction signals.


Exposure to respirable cristalline silica dust during construction activities can cause silicosis and, in accordance with International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), even lung cancer. Among the different facets of construction, residential buildings are of particular interest because the lack of exposure data for workers employed. In this sector a dry sand-blasting of brick ceiling and renewal activities has been investigated. The survey has been carried out in a civil dwelling and 58 samples have been collected using the SKC aluminium cyclone and Door-Oliver plastic cyclone at flow-rate 2.2-1.7 l/min. The respirable dust samples were analysed by x-ray diffraction using NIOSH Method 7500. Even if the results of this study should be considered preliminary, they showed SLC respirable concentrations even many time above TLV-TWA during a sand-blasting activities and some times also during the other activities. Awaiting the correct classification from European Community, it would be desiderable that the workers would had appropriate information and prevention on the specific risks associated to the dust in the construction activities.


In order to improve the detection character of target parameter with multi-sensor, we proposed a multi-sensor information fusion approach based on neural network algorithm with orthogonal basis functions and recursive least square algorithm. The detection data of the multi-sensor is processed using neural network approach based on recursive least square algorithm, and the average of the neural network outputs is used to implement multi-sensor information fusion. To validate the validity of the algorithm, the simulating example of the multi-sensor information fusion was given. The result shows that the information fusion approach of multi-sensor using orthogonal basis neural network based on the recursive least square algorithm is effective.


Objectives: To determine whether opportunistic screening for Chlamydia trachomatis, based on a selective screening algorithm, is possible in general practice in Belgium; to assess feasibility of the screening strategy with respect to workload, acceptability, and organisational aspects. Methods: Implementation of a pilot screening programme by 37 GPs for a period of 15 weeks. GPs' screening practices were registered and compared with the guidelines they had received. Outcome measures were: the number of patients included in the risk assessment, uptake of screening by eligible patients, prevalence of previously unidentified infection, and uptake of treatment. After the study period GPs evaluated a number of feasibility issues on a scoring form. Results: 326 women underwent the risk assessment and 214 were tested by an amplification assay on a urine sample. Prevalence in women at risk was 6.4%. Overall effective screening rate was 77.6%; 9 of 11 positives took up treatment. Participating GPs found the strategy feasible and perceived that it was well accepted by their patients. Discussion: The screening strategy was easily implemented by most GPs but some of them dropped out. The guidelines were followed relatively well and there were no major logistic problems. The uptake of treat ment was suboptimal. Efforts must be made to stimulate and educate more GPs to perform screening; laboratory and storage conditions should be optimised; refunding criteria should be revised; and overscreening must be avoided.


The Dirichlet Process Mixture Model (DPMM) is a Bayesian non-parametric approach widely used for density estimation and clustering. In this manuscript, we study the choice of prior for the variance or precision matrix when Gaussian kernels are adopted. Typically, in the relevant literature, the assessment of mixture models is done by considering observations in a space of only a handful of dimensions. Instead, we are concerned with more realistic problems of higher dimensionality, in a space of up to 20 dimensions. We observe that the choice of prior is increasingly important as the dimensionality of the problem increases. After identifying certain undesirable properties of standard priors in problems of higher dimensionality, we review and implement possible alternative priors. The most promising priors are identified, as well as other factors that affect the convergence of MCMC samplers. Our results show that the choice of prior is critical for deriving reliable posterior inferences. This manuscript offers a thorough overview and comparative investigation into possible priors, with detailed guidelines for their implementation. Although our work focuses on the use of the DPMM in clustering, it is also applicable to density estimation.


The antabuse reaction, seen in patients imbibing alcohol while being treated with an antidiabetic sulfonylurea, is thought to be due to either an increase in acetaldehyde levels or an alteration in the metabolism of serotonin. Both can occur through an inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase. The oral antidiabetic sulfonylureas, chlorpropamide and tolbutamide, were found to be noncompetitive inhibitors of this enzyme. Acetaldehyde, a metabolite of ethanol, can competitively inhibit aldehyde dehydrogenase. Moreover, the oxidation of ethanol reverses the DPN/DPNH ratio so that the favored pathway of serotonin metabolism is altered, resulting in a decrease of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) and an increase of 5-hydroxytryptophol. Thus, ethanol augments the action of the sulfonylureas. Whether the syndrome results from an accumulation of acetaldehyde due to a block in ethanol metabolism, or whether it is a result of an alteration in the metabolism of serotonin, the noncompetitive inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase by the sulfonylureas, coupled with the actions of ethanol, may be considered as a potential cause.


Simulation of batch distillation binary systems using matlab programming
language, which results in the appearance of the graph using a spreadsheet tool, less
effective and efficient, so it is necessary for the visualization of object-oriented
programming language, in addition to easy to be developed at a time when that will
come, it has other benefits, in a device project software can use a variety of
programming language that supports object-oriented programming, such as C#.Net
and VB.Net. This research aims to display the batch distillation simulation of visual
binary systems using object-oriented programming.
Ethanol-water azeotropic binary system examples and Acetone-Butanol,
Acetone-Ethanol, Butanol-Ethanol zeotropic binary system examples, simulation of
batch distillation with rigorous method using a model Differential-AlgebraicEquations (DAEs), where the completion of the model using the language C#.Net,
the basic concepts of object-oriented programming consists of classes, objects,
abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism. Antoine parameter data and activity
coefficients derived from experimental data. Dimension less time and pressure are
set constant, while the variable composition liquida.
Profile of liquida composition and vapor composition function dimensionless
can be displayed directly from the desktop, to have the azeotropic binary system
value profile activity coefficient is not equal to one, while the binary system
zeotropic approaching one. Profile of liquida composition and vapor composition
maximum from binary system azeotropic is 0.98, while for the binary system
zeotropic approaching one. Economically using C#.Net language faster, time
efficiency and better performance profile.
Keywords: C#.Net, DAEs, Batch distillation, Rigorous method, binary systems


The purpose of this clinical study was to assess low frequency, low intensity magnetic fields in the enhancement of the physical rehabilitation of patients after knee endoprosthesis surgery. The study included 62 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty. Group A consisted of 32 patients who were physically rehabilitated. Group B consisted of 30 patients who were physically rehabilitated and treated additionally with pulsing magnetic fields (5 mT, 30 Hz, 20 min once a day, 5 days weekly). Therapy lasted 3 weeks for both groups. The rehabilitation process was evaluated using a goniometer, tensometer, goniometric pendulum test, Lysholm scale for knee function, and a visual analogue scale (VAS) questionnaire for pain and activity. The changes of measured rates were comparable in both groups. Low frequency and low intensity magnetic fields of examined parameters were not demonstrated to effectively improve the rehabilitation of patients after knee endoprosthesis surgery. Bioelectromagnetics 30:152–158, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


In this thesis, the focus is on the design of reverse supply chains for end-of-life products, in particular end-of-life vehicles. For long-term success of end-of-life management, more economic stimuli are needed than is currently the case. Legislation as a single driving force is insufficient for companies to achieve closed loop supply chains. The key issue is to find eco-efficient solutions, i.e. design and operate an economically low cost network without violating applicable targets imposed by environmental legislation. In this thesis, a case study research methodology is adopted to develop design principles for network design and assess the consequences on the operations research models. Three case studies, which stem from the network of Auto Recycling Nederland, are described in detail.


Voice activity detection (VAD) is an important preprocessing step in speech-based systems, especially for emerging handfree intelligent assistants. Conventional VAD systems relying on audio-only features are normally impaired by noise in the environment. An alternative approach to address this problem is audiovisual VAD (AV-VAD) systems. Modeling timing dependencies between acoustic and visual features is a challenge in AV-VAD. This study proposes a bimodal recurrent neural network (RNN) which combines audiovisual features in a principled, unified framework, capturing the timing dependency within modalities and across modalities. Each modality is modeled with separate bidirectional long short-term memory (BLSTM) networks. The output layers are used as input of another BLSTM network. The experimental evaluation considers a large audiovisual corpus with clean and noisy recordings to assess the robustness of the approach. The proposed approach outperforms audio-only VAD by 7.9% (absolute) under clean/ideal conditions (i.e., high definition (HD) camera, close-talk microphone). The proposed solution outperforms the audio-only VAD system by 18.5% (absolute) when the conditions are more challenging (i.e., camera and microphone from a tablet with noise in the environment). The proposed approach shows the best performance and robustness across a varieties of conditions, demonstrating its potential for real-world applications.


The Conservation of Energy and Conservation of Momentum was balanced in 2016 for the first time, from the perspective of the reflector, to the authors knowledge, when motion of a reflector results after a reflection. The method used for balancing the conservation laws was applied to the model of the Expansion of the Universe and a direct correlation to the peak wavelengths of the Cosmic Microwave Background was determined and associated with the maximum velocities of the Expansion of the Universe model. The method also indicates there may be more celestial bodies moving toward an observer than what is currently observed through modern telescopes. An experimental setup is presented, but not tested, that may be able to view an increase of celestial bodies compared to what is currently observed through modern telescopes.


Electronic packaging trends continue to increase power density while deploying smaller, more delicate components. In portable electronics, including notebook computers and cellular telephones, battery power is at a premium, making passive thermal management solutions preferable. This paper examines a new thermal management solution-a cost-effective, unique material which provides low thermal resistance with minimal stress on components. This paper also compares low thermal resistance at low applied pressure of the new material versus other conventional solutions.


BACKGROUND
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) constitutes a frequent clinical problem in the follow up of patients with liver cirrhosis. The clinical features and diagnoses and survival in a group of 140 cases of HCC are reviewed.

METHODS
All the clinical histories of the patients diagnosed of HCC between 1987 and 1991 in the Unit of Hepatology of the General Hospital of the Vall d'Hebron were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical, analytical, diagnostic, therapeutic and evolutive data were collected.

RESULTS
One hundred forty patients (121 males and 19 females) were included. In 92% of the cases the HCC was established on liver cirrhosis in which alcohol was the most frequent etiologic factor. According to the Pugh-Child classification 31% of the patients were in group A, 32.5% in group B and 36.4% in group C. Clinically, diagnosis was carried out in the course of periodic out patient follow up in 21% of the cases. HBsAg was positive in 8.5% of the cases and anti HCV was 55% and in 78% by ELISA 1 and ELISA 2, respectively. Alphafetoprotein (AFP) was greater than 500 ng/dl in 37% of the cases. The treatment received was: surgical resection in 18 cases, liver transplantation in 3, intraarterial chemotherapy in 11 and intratumoral alcoholization in 8. Symptomatic treatment was administered in 71% of the cases. Global mean survival was 4.4 +/- 0.5 months. Mean survival was greater in patients with better liver function and smaller tumor size in the patients surgically treated and in those diagnosed in the periodic controls.

CONCLUSIONS
Hepatocellular cancer is normally established in patients with liver cirrhosis. The high prevalence of infection by the hepatitis C virus and the low prevalence by hepatitis B virus is of note. The patients with greater survival were those surgically treated and those diagnosed in periodic controls.


Dealing with crosscutting requirements in software development usually makes the process more complex. Modeling and analyzing of these requirements in the software architecture facilitate detecting architectural risks early. Distributed systems have more complexity and so these facilities are much useful in development of such systems. Aspect oriented Architectural Description Languages (ADD) have emerged to represent solutions for discussed problems; nevertheless, imposing radical changes to existing architectural modeling methods is not easily acceptable by architects. Software architecture analysis methods, furthermore, intend to verify that the quality requirements have been addressed properly. In this paper, we enhance ArchC# through utilization of aspect features with an especial focus on Non-Functional Requirements (NFR). ArchC# is mainly focused on describing architecture of distributed systems; in addition, it unifies software architecture with an object- oriented implementation to make executable architectures. Moreover, in this paper, a comparative analysis method is presented for evaluation of the result. All of these materials are illustrated along with a case study.


Ethyl zinc complexes [N{(C3F7)C(Dipp)N}2]ZnEt, [N{(C3F7)C(Cy)N}2]ZnEt, [N{(CF3)C(2,4,6-Br3C6H2)N}2]ZnEt and [N{(C3F7)C(2,6-Cl2C6H3)N}2]ZnEt have been synthesized from the corresponding 1,3,5-triazapentadiene and diethyl zinc. X-ray data show that [N{(C3F7)C(Dipp)N}2]ZnEt has a distorted trigonal planar geometry at the zinc center. The triazapentadienyl ligand binds to zinc in a κ(2)-mode. The zinc-ethyl bonds of [N{(C3F7)C(Dipp)N}2]ZnEt, [N{(C3F7)C(Cy)N}2]ZnEt, [N{(CF3)C(2,4,6-Br3C6H2)N}2]ZnEt and [N{(C3F7)C(2,6-Cl2C6H3)N}2]ZnEt readily undergo oxygen insertion upon exposure to dry air to produce the corresponding zinc-ethoxy or zinc-ethylperoxy compounds. The ethoxy zinc adducts {[N{(CF3)C(2,4,6-Br3C6H2)N}2]ZnOEt}2 and {[N{(C3F7)C(2,6-Cl2C6H3)N}2]ZnOEt}2 as well as the ethylperoxy zinc adduct {[N{(C3F7)C(Cy)N}2]ZnOOEt}2 have been isolated and fully characterized by several methods including X-ray crystallography. They feature dinuclear structures with four-coordinate zinc sites and bridging-ethoxy or -ethylperoxy groups. The ethyl zinc complexes catalyze the Tishchenko reaction of benzaldehyde under solventless conditions affording benzyl benzoate. The reaction of ethyl zinc complexes with dioxygen and their catalytic behaviour in the Tishchenko reaction are affected by the electronic and steric factors of the triazapentadienyl ligand. {[N{(C3F7)C(Cy)N}2]ZnOOEt}2 is an excellent reagent for the epoxidation of trans-chalcone.


Image registration is to find a suitable space transformation, making two or more images match accurately on the same points. The main time consuming is on the matrix computation over the iterative procession. As the image size increasing, the numerical approaches based on the pixel matrix may step up the computation complexity, and it is difficult to perform the large size registration on a single computer in a limited time. Then one of the most efficient solving methods is parallel computing. In this paper, we discuss a multithreading method to produce the image registration computing, detail its parallel implementation on a 4 nodes dual-core cluster, and apply this procession to the meteorological objective tracking. Some experimental results show that this method can produce the large size image registration and reduce the computation time.


In accepting our responsibility to deal with the fundamental injustices still apparent among Indigenous students and their communities we must continue our campaigns aimed at achieving an increase in government effort, resources and the promotion of educational opportunities. While there are successful programs being implemented in some places, it must be acknowledged that these successes are usually isolated, short lived and do not have a wider positive impact on the overall system. This brief paper outlines the key areas for action to improve the outcomes for Indigenous students and their communities.


This paper presents a high level Petri-Net approach for specifying and verifying views over composite Web service. High level Petri-Nets have the capacity of formally modeling and verifying complex systems. A view is mainly used for tracking purposes as it permits representing a contextual snapshot of a composite Web service specification. The use of the proposed high level Petri-Net approach is illustrated with a running example that shows how Web services composition satisfies users' needs. A proof-of-concept of this approach is also presented in the paper.


In the present study, a regression analysis of BMI and body fat percentage in each school year was performed with cross-sectional data in school-aged children. The qualitative changes in physique during the school-age years were examined by showing the changes in the level of body fat accu- mulation with age. The subjects were 789 boys and girls (469 boys, 320 girls) aged 7 to 14 years who participated in regular sports activities. Height, weight and body fat percentage were measured. Fat free mass was calculated by subtracting fat mass from body weight. BMI was calculated as body weight (kg) divided by the square of height (m). Regression analysis was conducted for fat percentage against BMI in boys and girls of all school years, and the level of body fat accumulation was considered, the distributions of the frequency of age change were examined. As a result, in the frequency distribution charts there was a shift from excessive fat to low fat from age 7 to 14 years. A χ2 test was then performed for these frequency distribution charts, and the results showed a significant difference in the frequency distribution in each year (P < 0.01). This trend was clearly in boys, and meaning was found in clarifying the changes with age in the body composition balance in boys and girls.


Integrated Community Centre for Employable Skills (ICCES) is an agency under the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare with policy objective of filling the gap in employment generation by developing the young human resources in line with the poverty alleviation goal of the government of Ghana. The purpose of the study was to find out how the ICCES training programmes are achieving their purpose of increasing access of young person's to skills acquisition and empowerment for productive employment. To harness the needed information, questionnaire, interview and observation, were employed in gathering data from the subjects. The results suggest that participants in the survey had all conferred that the programmes have being helpful to the communities in securing suitable employment that allows them to generate income within the social, family and financial constraints that they face in their communities and as such their social and economic status has being impacted positively.


This research deals with two important aspects of Knowledge Management (KM) within the context of Supply chain Management (SCM): Knowledge Acquisition and Knowledge Application. Supply Chain Learning (SCL) and Applied Supply Chain Process Knowledge (Applied SCPK) are used as proxies for Knowledge Acquisition and Application. This study aims to test the relationship between Applied SCPK, SCL, and Organization Performance. This study also looks at the effect of Environment Knowledge as a moderating variable. About 1608 questionnaires were distributed to all the manufacturing firms in Malaysia. Path Analysis and ANOVA were used to study the various relationships. Results indicate existence of strong relationships between the variables. The combined effect of SCL and Applied SCPK on Organization Performance is more significant than looking at the effects separately. Furthermore, Environment Knowledge is found to have moderating effect on the relationship between Applied SCPK and Organization Performance. This paper demonstrates the application of KM in SCM and shows the effect on Organization Performance. This may guide supply chain managers to create an environment conducive to acquisition and application of knowledge. Copyright # 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The morphological changes in mastocytoma cell death by complement, T cell mediated cytotoxicity and in natural cell death as seen by time-lapse microcinematography are recorded. In complement lysis, progressive changes leading to a final swelling of the cell occur in the absence of cell membrane activity. This is in marked contrast to the T-cell lysis in which violent zeiosis (boiling) of the cytoplasm is a constant feature. Similar changes are seen in natural cell death and the possibility that a similar mechanism is involved in both cases is discussed. Analysis of the data showed that there was no fixed time relation between T cell contact and zeiosis. Target cells were sometimes killed rapidly after contact, but in some cases periods of up to 200 min were observed between contact and killing. After contact and up to the onset of zeiosis target cells retain normal morphology and movement, suggesting that contact itself does not damage the target cell. This is consistent with the data showing that the release of both small and large cytoplasmic markers have similar kinetics. An analysis of the relation between cell volume and time between T cell contact and zeiosis suggested that mastocytoma cells may be more susceptible to c. m. c. during G 1 phase. Studies with peritoneal exudate cells as target cells have allowed the morphological changes to be seen in a variety of other cell types. Macrophages rapidly retract to a spherical form immediately before zeiosis, indicating a change preceding zeiosis. The phase of zeiosis varies with different cell types.


Abstract Microalgae have been mentioned as a promising feedstock for biodiesel production. In this study, microalgae Chlorella vulgaris (MCV) was cultivated in a bioreactor with wastewater. After biodiesel production from MCV oil via transesterification reaction, chemical and physical properties of MCV methyl ester were evaluated with regular diesel and ASTM standard. Besides, engine performance and exhaust emissions of CI engine fuelled with the blends of diesel-biodiesel were measured. The GC-MS analysis showed that oleic and linoleic acids were the main fatty acid compounds in the MCV methyl ester. Engine test results revealed that the use of biodiesel had led to a major decrease in CO and HC emissions and a modest reduction in CO2 emissions, whereas there was a minor increase in NOx emissions. Furthermore, there was a slight decrease in the engine power and torque while a modest increase in brake specific fuel consumption which are acceptable due to exhaust emissions reduction. The experimental results illustrate considerable capabilities of applied MVC biodiesel as an alternative fuel in diesel engines to diminish the emissions.


The various methods of multi-nitridation ONO to improve NAND flash memory have been demonstrated in this paper. Excellent cell performance and reliability are obtained compared to convention ONO: (1) 1.9 V program voltage reduction owing to 23 A EOT (equivalant oxide thickness) reduction (2) More than 20% tighter cell Vt distribution width and 30% narrower Vth shift after 10 K cycling can be achieved by supressing ONO bird's beak encroachment of gate re-oxidation by floating gate (FG)/top oxide nitridation. MN-ONO is a promising technology for high density NAND flash beyond 40 nm generation.


This paper offers an historical perspective to the discussion of the relationship between Christianity and nonhuman-human animal relationships by examining the animal protection movement in English society as it first took root in the nineteenth century. The paper argues that the Christian beliefs of many in the movement, especially the evangelical outlook of their faith, in a considerable way affected the character as well as the aims and scope of the emergent British animal welfare movement - although the church authorities did not take an active part in the discussion and betterment of the conditions of animals. An explicitly Christian discourse, important in creating and sustaining the important philanthropic tradition in Britain, mobilized the movement. The paper also traces the gradual decrease of the centrality of the movement's Christian elements later in the century when evolutionary ideas as well as other developments in society shed ahternative light on the relationship between human and nonhuman animals and brought about different trends in the movement. This paper sees Christianity not as a static and defining source of influence but as a rich tradition containing diverse elements that people drew upon and used to create meanings for them. The paper implicitly suggests that both a religion's doctrines in theory and the outcome of a complex interaction with the changing society in which the religion is practiced determine its potential to influence animal-human relationships.


The introduction of molecular diagnostic methods is crucial for improved understanding of the aetiology and epidemiology of bacterial infections in communities in resource poor settings. A blood sample from a 7 month old patient diagnosed with malaria in 2001 in a Gambian outpatient clinic was reported as culture negative after it was subjected to traditional bacterial culture protocols. We re-addressed the analysis of the blood sample from this case more recently (after 6.5 years in archival storage) in pilot work establishing 16S rRNA PCR in our molecular laboratory. Initial 16S rRNA PCR results confirmed the presence of bacterial DNA in the sample. 16S rRNA sequence analysis identified the organism as Campylobacter spp. In light of the molecular evidence we successfully grew the organism using appropriate culture conditions and subsequently biochemically confirmed that the isolate was Campylobacter jejuni. PCR and DNA sequencing of a set of seven C. jejuni housekeeping genes and in silico Multilocus Sequence Typing (MLST) analysis revealed that the isolate exhibits a novel sequence type (ST) of C. jejuni (ST 2928) and belongs to ST-443 clonal complex. This study demonstrates the potential for molecular tools to enhance the diagnosis of bacterial infections, which remain a major killer globally, not least in children in the developing world. Improvements in diagnostics are needed, and will be important not only for sick individuals but also for populations, where better measures of disease burden will contribute significantly to the improvement of public health policy.


Abstract #2038 Background: The immune response initiation requests the capture and the presentation of the antigens to the specific lymphocytes. The cells that has this capacity are denominated antigen-presenting cells, and the dendritic cell (DC) is the one that has larger specialization degree for these functions. The DC maturation it is considered essential for the beginning of the immune response. The CD83 antigen is a co-stimulator, member of the immunoglobulin superfamily with 45Kd, and your expression is an important marker of the maturation of DC.
 Objectives: To analyze the CD83 antigen expression in the human9s breast fibroadenoma and in the adjacent breast tissue and to identify the clinical features that can influence this expression.
 Material and Methods: It is a retrospective study where 29 histopathologic materials of breast fibroadenomas and the adjacent breast tissue, of 28 women in reproductive age, were analyzed. The immunohistochemistry method was used for analysis of the CD83 antigen expression and, subsequently, the cells were counted by light microscopy. A thousand epithelium cells of each case were analyzed (five hundred of the fibroadenoma and five hundred of the adjacent breast tissue) for statistical calculation of the expression or not of the antigen reaction in the cells. We used parametric test (t-Student) for statistical analysis of the results.
 Results: The CD83 antigen expression positive in the fibroadenoma9s cells (365.52 ± 133.13) in relation to the adjacent breast tissue9s cells (189.59 ± 140.75) was statistically greater (p Citation Information: Cancer Res 2009;69(2 Suppl):Abstract nr 2038.


Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is an invalidating chronic condition subsequent to peripheral lesions. There is growing consensus for a central contribution to CRPS. However, the nature of this central body representation disorder is increasingly debated. Although it has been repeatedly argued that CRPS results in motor neglect of the affected side, visual egocentric reference frame was found to be deviated toward the pain, that is, neglect of the healthy side. Accordingly, prism adaptation has been successfully used to normalize this deviation. This study aimed at clarifying whether 7 CRPS patients exhibited neglect as well as exploring the pathophysiological mechanisms of this manifestation and of the therapeutic effects of prism adaptation. Pain and quality of life, egocentric reference frames (visual and proprioceptive straight-ahead), and neglect tests (line bisection, kinematic analyses of motor neglect and motor extinction) were repeatedly assessed prior to, during, and following a one-week intense prism adaptation intervention. First, our results provide no support for visual and motor neglect in CRPS. Second, reference frames for body representations were not systematically deviated. Third, intensive prism adaptation intervention durably ameliorated pain and quality of life. As for spatial neglect, understanding the therapeutic effects of prism adaptation deserves further investigations.


The aromatic excimers of benzene, naphthalene, anthracene, pyrene, and perylene are systematically investigated using the multiconfiguration quasi-degenerate perturbation theory (MCQDPT) method, which is one of high-level ab initio quantum chemical methods. The reference configuration space for MCQDPT is carefully designed for an appropriate description of the target electronic state with a tractable computational cost. The dimers with eclipsed parallel arrangement are investigated. The basis set dependence of the selected spectroscopic parameters is examined for the benzene and naphthalene dimers, and that of the excimer binding energy is found to be significant. In contrast, the equilibrium intermolecular distance and excimer fluorescence energy are less sensitive to the size of the basis sets used, and they agree with the corresponding experimental values, even with a nonextensive basis set size. The calculated spectroscopic parameters for anthracene, pyrene, and perylene dimers are also in good agreement with the experimental results. The electronic properties of the excimers are discussed in relation to those of the corresponding monomers. The wave functions of the excimers are analyzed in detail to clarify the origin of the attractive nature between the two monomers.


This study was initiated to improve the cooling water quality by chemical coagulation and sedimentation in steel mills. Due to the inefficient flocculation in the settling tanks of blast furnace cooling water systems, the solid particles in the cooling water overflow accumulate and clog the cooling system. To protect the cooling water system from such fouling, proper flocculants must be continuously used. Laboratory tests were performed for the indirect cooling water system of a plate mill. The batch test in the gas scrubbing cooling water system of a blast furnace showed that the proposed coagulant was more effective for the improvement of coagulation and sedimentation than the existing one. During the tests, cationic flocculants were more effective than use of only an anionic flocculant. The suggested combination of anionic and cationic flocculants can probably improve the turbidity removal efficiency of the cooling water. Proper control of the overflow rate by the designed residence time would help turbidity removal efficiency in the settling tank. In addition, the settling can be enhanced by adopting rapid and slow mixing alternatively. Scale problems in blast furnace ooling water system were reduced to some extent by efficient settling.


The long-term goal of machine learning is to learn general visual representations from a small amount of data without supervision, mimicking three advantages of human cognition: i) no need for labels, ii) robustness to data scarcity, and iii) learning from experience. Self-supervised learning and meta-learning are two promising techniques to achieve this goal, but they both only partially capture the advantages and fail to address all the problems. Self-supervised learning struggles to overcome the drawbacks of data scarcity, while ignoring prior knowledge that can facilitate learning and generalization. Meta-learning relies on supervised information and suffers from a bottleneck of insufficient learning. To address these issues, we propose a novel Bootstrapped Meta Self-Supervised Learning (BMSSL) framework that aims to simulate the human learning process. We first analyze the close relationship between meta-learning and self-supervised learning. Based on this insight, we reconstruct tasks to leverage the strengths of both paradigms, achieving advantages i and ii. Moreover, we employ a bi-level optimization framework that alternates between solving specific tasks with a learned ability (first level) and improving this ability (second level), attaining advantage iii. To fully harness its power, we introduce a bootstrapped target based on meta-gradient to make the model its own teacher. We validate the effectiveness of our approach with comprehensive theoretical and empirical study.


The present debate in Yugoslavia about "democratization" of the League of Communists is a consequence of the Party's heritage of anti-Stalinism, the constitutional evolution of the country, and the situation after Tito's death. Nearly two decades ago the Praxis group of political philosophers were the first to criticize the absence of intraparty democracy, and while many of these critics were silenced, their ideas have re-emerged in Yugoslavia during the economic crisis of the 1980's. Within the League, the debate has touched on its responsibility for public policy, its organizational principles, and its monopoly of power. Opposition to reform and fear of political change have limited practical effect of the debate, but it continues to raise fundamental questions ahout the meaning of democracy in a one party system.


Background Hypouricemia is defined as a serum uric acid concentration of less than 2.0 mg/dL and is characterized by increased uric acid clearance or decreased uric acid production. Causes of hypouricemia may be a renal uric acid transporter gene defect or be related to medical diseases or medications that enhance uric acid excretion [1, 2]. A study conducted in Korea reported that among a total of 909 subjects, 30 (3.3%) had hypouricemia, and the SLC22A12 mutation was identified in 11 out of 30 patients with hypouricemia [3]. However, few studies of factors affecting hypouricemia have been conducted on Koreans. Objectives We therefore aimed to investigate the prevalence and possible causes of hypouricemia in the Korean population and to compare our findings to published results of other populations. Methods We retrospectively examined serum uric acid levels from 29,672 subjects who visited outpatient clinics (n=23,228) or were admitted to a tertiary care hospital (n=6,444) between January 2012 and December 2012. These subjects had their uric acid values measured at least once during the one-year period. All individuals with hypouricemia (serum uric acid <2.0 mg/dL, n=424) were reviewed with respect to medical drug history and concomitant diseases identified previously as being associated with hypouricemia. Results The prevalence of hypouricemia among inpatients was 4.6% (299/6,444) and that among outpatients was 0.5% (125/23,228), for an overall prevalence of 1.4% (424/29,672). The possible causes associated with hypouricemia were solid or hematologic malignancies (n=86), diabetes mellitus (n=56), and therapeutic drugs (n=29). The medications were allopurinol (n=11), angiotesin II receptor blockers (n=10), salicylates (n=6), febuxostat (n=1), and warfarin (n=1). In remaining 226 individuals, the cause of hypouricemia was not identified. Overall, the prevalence and causes of hypouricemia were similar to those among the European population. Conclusions Hypouricemia is relatively common in the Korean population. The possible causes associated with hypouricemia are related to underlying diseases and medications, and idiopathic hypouricemia such as hereditary renal hypouricemia does not appear to be rare. Although we cannot definitely conclude because fractional excretion of uric acid was not measured, genetic testing is considered necessary for patients with no known causal diseases or medications. References Bairaktari ET, Kakafika AI, Pritsivelis N, Hatzidimou KG, Tsianos EV, Seferiadis KI, et al. Hypouricemia in individuals admitted to an inpatient hospital-based facility. Am J Kidney Dis 2003;41:1225-32. Bugdayci G, Balaban Y, Sahin O. Causes of hypouricemia among outpatients. Labmedicine 2008;39:550-52. Lee JH, Choi HJ, Lee BH, Kang HK, Chin HJ, Yoon HJ, et al. Prevalence of hypouricemia and SLC22A12 mutations in healthy Korean subjects. Nephrology 2008;13:661-6. Acknowledgements This work was supported by the research fund of Hanyang University (HY-2012-MC). Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.4189


Compounds of the type [Me2Al(µ-OR)]x(R = Me, Et, Prn, Pri, Bun, Bui, Bus, But, n-C5H11, CH2CH2Pri, CH2But, n-C6H13, n-C8H17, n-C10H21 or n-C12H25) have been synthesised and studied by 1H, 13C, 17O and 27Al NMR, IR and mass spectrometry. With the exception of R = CH2CH2Pri, all the compounds with branched-chain alkoxide substituents are purely dimeric (x= 2), while the former and the n-alkyl derivatives exist in solution as an equilibrium between dimeric (x= 2) and trimeric (x= 3) forms. Equilibrium constants and ΔH and ΔS for the trimer–dimer equilibria in solution were obtained for R = Prn. These results, and the NMR spectroscopic data, are interpreted on the basis of steric interactions and ring strain. The kinetics of conversion of [Me2Al(OPrn)]3 into [Me2Al(OPrn)]2 has been investigated, ΔH‡ and ΔS‡ determined, and the identity of the reaction intermediates probed by NMR and mass spectrometry. Ab initio molecular orbital calculations have been carried out on the model compounds [H2Al(µ-OH)]2 and [H2Al(µ-OH)]3. Their relative energies and calculated structures are considered in relation to experimental data.