We describe streaming 3D video on the Argus sensor space. Argus is a Beowulf-style distributed computer with 64 processors and 64 video camera/capture pairs. Argus is a test-bed for comparing sensor space modeling and reconstruction algorithms. We describe the implementation of tomographic and stereo triangulation algorithms on this space and consider mappings from the sensor space to associated display spaces.


In this paper, we develop a framework for measuring the level of protection offered by relation hiding systems. The framework provides a uniform way to define a variety of privacy notions, including anonymity and unlinkability, by means of information-theoretic metrics. Moreover, based on the framework, a fairness metric for relation hiding systems is proposed. It is envisioned that, due to its generality, the framework will enable the analysis of privacy protecting systems in more detail, while the ability to measure a systempsilas fairness circumvents in some cases the need to evaluate the privacy level that is provided to individual users, thereby reducing the number of times the metrics need to be evaluated by a potentially significant factor.


Seventy-six (13.6%) of 558 third trimester pregnant women had positive vaginal Group B Streptococcal (GBS) colonization. Among these colonizing GBS, 17 (22.4%) of 76 reacted positively to type Ia serum, 6 (7.9%) to type Ib serum, 2 (2.6%) to type II serum, and 23 (30.3%) to type III serum respectively, whereas 22 (28.9%) lacked these heat stable antigens when examined by the agglutination method. Persistence of the colonization of GBS was observed only in 4 (9.9%) out of 44 ampicillin-treated women whereas 65 (86.7%) out of 75 cases in the non-treated group. The colonization rates of GBS in infants born to carrier mothers were 37.5% in the non-treated group and 7.4% in the ampicillin treated group. The levels of ampicillin concentration in cord sera and amniotic fluids were maintained over the MIC of GBS for 7 hours after the drug administration. Type-specific antibodies were assayed by indirect immunofluorescence in both maternal and cord sera. In 58(87%) of 67 cases antibodies to type Ia, in 15(27%) of 55 cases to type II, and in 28(42%) of 67 cases to type III were detected in the maternal sera. No antibody to type Ia was detected in a mother who had an affected infant with the same type of GBS. In cord sera, antibody titres of a premature infant and a low-birth-weight infant were lower than those of their mothers.


Level crossing sampling (LCS) is a power-efficient analog-to-digital conversion scheme for spikelike signals that arise in many Internet of Things-enabled automotive and environmental monitoring applications. However, LCS scheme requires a dedicated time-to-digital converter with large dynamic range specifications. In this paper, we present a compressed LCS that exploits the signal sparsity in the time domain. At the compressed sampling stage, a continuous-time ternary encoding scheme converts the amplitude variations into a ternary timing signal that is captured in a digital random sampler. At the reconstruction stage, a low-complexity split-projection least squares (SPLSs) signal reconstruction algorithm is presented. The SPLS splits random projections and utilizes a standard least squares approach that exploits the ternary-valued amplitude distribution. The SPLS algorithm is hardware friendly, can be run in parallel, and incorporates a low-cost k-term approximation scheme for matrix inversion. The SPLS hardware is analyzed, designed, and implemented in FPGA, achieving the highest data throughput and the power efficiency compared with the prior arts. Simulations of the proposed sampler in an automotive collision warning system demonstrate that the proposed compressed LCS can be very power efficient and robust to wireless interference, while achieving an approximately eightfold data volume compression when compared with Nyquist sampling approaches.


Unusual Pd-catalyzed cyclizations of unsymmetrical allylic acetates, where the nucleophile is tethered to the central allyl carbon, are shown for the first time to be remarkably controlled by heteroatom-mediated preassociation of the reacting partners.


The authors measured the remanent magnetization of superconducting NbTi and MgB2 as a function of time after removing an applied field. At similar reduced temperatures, the density of magnetic flux quanta (fluxons) is found to relax faster in NbTi than in MgB2. Nearer the transition, the relaxation rate in both materials exhibits a saturation that is independent of the initially applied field. This saturation occurs when the distance between fluxons is comparable to the London penetration depth. The temperature dependence of the saturation and time dependence of the relaxation can be characterized by the Anderson-Kim model [Rev. Mod. Phys. 36, 39 (1964)] for fluxon dynamics.


It is known that the kinematics on the Lorentzian surfaces changes according to the casual characters of the vector fields. Suspicions, the character of the generator curve affects the surface growth. Therefore, we determine the model of the growth function in the three‐dimensional Minkowski spacetime with a null generating curve. Moreover, the proposed method is illustrated with various examples.


We present Stochastic Optimisation Software (SOS), a Java platform facilitating the algorithmic design process and the evaluation of metaheuristic optimisation algorithms. SOS reduces the burden of coding miscellaneous methods for dealing with several bothersome and time-demanding tasks such as parameter tuning, implementation of comparison algorithms and testbed problems, collecting and processing data to display results, measuring algorithmic overhead, etc. SOS provides numerous off-the-shelf methods including: (1) customised implementations of statistical tests, such as the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and the Holm–Bonferroni procedure, for comparing the performances of optimisation algorithms and automatically generating result tables in PDF and LATEX formats; (2) the implementation of an original advanced statistical routine for accurately comparing couples of stochastic optimisation algorithms; (3) the implementation of a novel testbed suite for continuous optimisation, derived from the IEEE CEC 2014 benchmark, allowing for controlled activation of the rotation on each testbed function. Moreover, we briefly comment on the current state of the literature in stochastic optimisation and highlight similarities shared by modern metaheuristics inspired by nature. We argue that the vast majority of these algorithms are simply a reformulation of the same methods and that metaheuristics for optimisation should be simply treated as stochastic processes with less emphasis on the inspiring metaphor behind them.


In this paper, we present a traffic information service platform to alleviate difficulties of current urban traffic systems. For problems including difficulty of parking, traffic congestion and passengers missing taxies may be caused by lacking of real time information; the platform can provide useful information based on devices such as vehicle passing sensors, mobile communication modems and smart phones. The platform can gather, transmit, analysis and publish information about location, speed, available cab service, available parking room and requirement of vehicles, parking lots, taxies, and passengers. Acting as universal terminals,smart phones play a key role in gathering transmitting and displaying information. This paper presents the design, implementation and test of the prototype of the platform, and test results show its easily deployable, low cost characteristics.


Abstract For a variety of clinical applications like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) the monitoring of vital signs is a common standard in clinical daily routine. Besides the electrocardiogram (ECG), the respiratory activity is an important vital parameter and might reveal pathological changes. Thoracic movement and the resulting impedance change between ECG electrodes enable the estimation of the respiratory signal from the ECG. This ECG-derived respiration (EDR) can be used to calculate the breathing rate without the need for additional devices or monitoring modules. In this paper a new method is presented to estimate the respiratory signal from a single-lead ECG. The 4th order central moments was used to estimate the EDR signal exploiting the change of the R-wave slopes induced by respiration. This method was compared with two approaches by analyzing the Fantasia database from www.physionet.org. Furthermore, the ECG signals of 24 healthy subjects placed in an 3 T MR-scanner were acquired.


Suwalki province is a region where the distribution of the banned Lithuanian press began quite early, almost immediately after the 1863 uprising. Book smugglers quickly found a route suitable for transporting such publications from Lithuania Minor: they crossed the border in the districts of Vilkaviškis and Naumiestis, transported the press by boats across Vištytis Lake, carried it on their shoulders across the Liepuona stream, took it across the bridge over this river, often from Prussia at Eitkūnai (now Chernyshevsky) or through the Kybartai customs, and then by train from Kybartai railway station. Thousands of books and newspapers were carried across the bridge over the Širvinta. The bundles of the Lithuanian press were even floated along the river or pulled by ropes along its bottom. The state border would also be crossed near Sudargas on the Prussian side, and books would be transported by steamboats along the Nemunas River. Then, through Marijampolė district, they would be transported all over Lithuania. In the second half of the nineteenth century, Marijampolė Gymnasium and Veiveriai Teachers' Seminary became very important secret centres for the awakening of Lithuanian national self-consciousness in Suwalki province. It did not take long for the first signs of Lithuanian national activity to mature at Marijampolė Gymnasium, where the tsarist administration allowed optional Lithuanian language classes. Such patriotic personalities as teachers Petras Arminas and Petras Kriaučiūnas in Marijampolė, who instilled love and respect for the Lithuanian language in their students, introduced them to examples of Lithuanian literature, and ignited a sense of national self-esteem, played an immensely important role. Teachers Tomas Ferdinandas Žilinskas and Juozas Kairiūkštis awakened Lithuanian self-awareness in their students at Veiveriai Teachers' Seminary, where extremely strict censorship conditions were observed. The influence of these educators led to the spread of the banned Lithuanian press among students, to the formation of first groups of its creation, distribution and reading, the growing interest in the cultural traditions and the past of the Lithuanian nation, and the introduction of secret Lithuanian education in primary schools (J. Andziulaitis). "Sietynas" and "Artojai", the secret societies of press distribution established in Sūduva, which rallied supporters from Sūduva region and many local residents, added a powerful impetus to the whole process of book smuggling in Lithuania. Thanks to these organizations, the banned Lithuanian press reached even the remotest villages in the region and was distributed in towns and cities. Members of these societies built extensive book smuggling networks that aimed at distributing the press not only in Sūduva, but throughout the whole territory of Lithuania. Thus, the Lithuanian written word from Sūduva reached many Lithuanians and raised their national self-esteem.


Abstract This work contributes to the theory of judgement aggregation by discussing a number of significant non-classical logics. After adapting the standard framework of judgement aggregation to cope with non-classical logics, we discuss in particular results for the case of Intuitionistic Logic, the Lambek calculus, Linear Logic and Relevant Logics. The motivation for studying judgement aggregation in non-classical logics is that they offer a number of modelling choices to represent agents' reasoning in aggregation problems. By studying judgement aggregation in logics that are weaker than classical logic, we investigate whether some well-known impossibility results, that were tailored for classical logic, still apply to those weak systems


The hypothesis of insufficient cold resistance as a factor limiting the distribution of the dendrophilous ant Lasius fuliginosus eastward of the city of Novosibirsk is proposed and partially tested; this species has colonies of two million individuals and therefore has a significant biocenotic role. The cold resistance and wintering conditions of this ant species in the vicinity of Novosibirsk are studied. The mean supercooling point in three nests was – 14.6 to –18.1°C, down to –23.9°C in the most resistant individuals. The lower lethal temperature does not exceed –12°C. The temperatures in the nests (with 55 cm snow-cover height above it) did not decrease below –1.5°C at 50–60 cm depth during the winter, which indicates wintering temperature conditions comfortable for the ants. The cause of absence of this species in Yakutia, foothills of the Western and Eastern Sayan Mountains, and Tuva, as established by myrmecologists, is likely climatic, initially associated with a decrease in the amount of solid precipitation under the condition of similar or lower air temperatures from Western to Central Siberia, in particular by a third in the vicinity of the city of Krasnoyarsk in comparison to the vicinity of Novosibirsk.


Faced with complex cases of human identification, such as bodies in an advanced state of decomposition, the application of dental techniques becomes necessary to establish the identity of a missing person. In this sense, the existence and obtaining of ante-mortem dental records of an alleged victim, as well as the analysis of the dental specificities of the respective corpse, can constitute a quick and low-cost possibility for human identification by dental features. The objective of this report is to present a forensic case, demonstrating the importance of plaster models for the positive identification of a decomposed body, discussing the inherent aspects of archiving and discarding them after their clinical use. Dental plaster models are substantial for the diagnosis, planning and execution of certain treatments, and must be stored on physical or digital media. Likewise, they have a significant potential for human identification by reliably allowing the three-dimensional evaluation of the teeth, their positions in the dental arches and the dental peculiarities that may be present.


Human regular insulin 500 (U-500) is a form of concentrated insulin that allows injection of high insulin doses with 5 times less volume compared with regular insulin. This concentrated insulin is indicated in patients with type 2 diabetes who require more than 200 units of insulin per day. Insulin U-500 displays both prandial and basal actions, and therefore can be injected as monotherapy in a convenient twicedaily regimen. Available data, mainly retrospective, suggest that insulin U-500 is effective, associated with better adherence, and decreased injection pain compared with non-concentrated insulins. Its main limitations are hypoglycemia and weight gain, and possibility of dosing errors. Randomized trials are needed to compare long-term efficacy and safety of insulin U-500 with other forms of insulin regimens.


During 2002–2007, we assessed the status of the Purple Heron Ardea purpurea in Numidia, Algeria by surveying all the major wetlands in the region. We located six distinct breeding sites; four of these were not previously known. We also investigated nest site selection and determined the species' reproductive success at Dakhla, a dunary pond during two successive years (2006 and 2007). The egg laying period was comparable to that reported for southern Europe (March-May) and a seasonal change of breeding success was recorded. A growth curve was derived for developing nestlings and the impact of an ectoparasite (mite) infestation upon nestling's growth was considered. We also examined 73 food boluses regurgitated by nestlings and identified 329 prey items. Fish, mainly Gambusia holbrookii and Cyprinus carpio, dominated by mass, whereas insects, mainly aquatic Coleopteran larvae and aeshnids (Odonata), were the most frequent prey (67.1%). Loss of habitat is identified as a major threat to the future of colonial herons in Algeria.


In this article, the game-based backstepping control method is proposed for the high-order nonlinear multi-agent system with unknown dynamic and input saturation. Reinforcement learning (RL) is employed to get the saddle point solution of the tracking game between each agent and the reference signal for achieving robust control. Specifically, the approximate optimal solution of the established Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs (HJI) equation is obtained by policy iteration for each subsystem, and the single network adaptive critic (SNAC) architecture is used to reduce the computational burden. In addition, based on the separation operation of the error term from the derivative of the value function, we achieve the different proportions of the two agents in the game to realize the regulation of the final equilibrium point. Different from the general use of the neural network for system identification, the unknown nonlinear dynamic term is approximated based on the state difference obtained by the command filter. Furthermore, a sufficient condition is established to guarantee that the whole system and each subsystem included are uniformly ultimately bounded. Finally, simulation results are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.


It has been proved that an addition of boron carbide and shredded steel scrap introduced as an inoculants to the chromium white cast iron changes the microstructure of castings. The operation increases the number of crystallization nuclei of M7C3 carbides. In this case the B4C carbides act as substrates for the nucleation of M7C3 (chromium carbides). Castings after B4C inoculation have fine grain fracture surface. Primary precipitates of chromium carbide also appeared, lowering the mechanical properties of as-cast parts. Additionally, in order to increase the mechanical properties of chromium cast iron, unidirectional solidification was used. In this case, 0.3 wt. % cerium was used as inoculant.


Low temperature protonation of 1-nitropyrene and its 15N-labelled isotopomer with FSO3H·SbF5 (1∶1) ('magic acid')–SO2ClF (or SO2) or with FSO3H·SbF5 (4∶1)–SO2ClF generates either the dihydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication (NO2 diprotonation) or the hydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication as the principle NMR observable persistent species (depending on the sample concentration, reaction time and the superacid). The latter is independently generated by diprotonation of authentic 1-nitrosopyrene. Variable formation of dihydroxyiminiumpyrenium and hydroxyiminiumpyrenium dications is also observed in the protonation of sterically crowded 1-nitro-2,7-di-tert-butylpyrene, which gives the corresponding dihydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication in FSO3H·SbF5 (1∶1)–SO2ClF (or SO2) and the hydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication by low temperature reaction with FSO3H·SO2ClF or CF3SO3H·SO2. Protonation of the buttressed 1-nitro-2,4,6,8,10-pentaisopropylpyrene and its 15N-labelled isotopomer produces the dihydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication (no NMR evidence for the formation of the hydroxyiminiumpyrenium dication) which, as shown before (J. Chem. Soc., Perkin Trans. 2, 1995, 537), undergoes a facile cyclization to the oxazoline-fused pyrenium cation for which 15N NMR data are now presented. Diprotonation and subsequent cyclization of the singly 15N-labelled 1,3-dinitro-2,4,6,8,10-pentaisopropylpyrene are also studied. Whereas our work reaffirms the generality of NO2 diprotonation in nitropyrenes, it focuses attention on an additional pathway leading to NH(OH) dication formation.PM3 calculations are used as a complementary tool to examine the geometries and energies of the resulting dications.


OBJECTIVE
To establish an immunological method for detecting antibodies of Penicillium marneffei.

METHODS
The recombinant Mp1p protein of Penicillium marneffei was expressed in Pichia pastoris and labeled with HRP (Mp1p-HRP) with a modified sodium periodate method. A double-antigen sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA) was established by determining the optimal coating concentration of Mp1p protein and the concentration of the detecting protein Mp1p-HRP. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay was evaluated by detecting Mp1p antibodies in 100 serum samples from healthy donors, 15 samples from culture-confirmed penicilliosis patients, and 21 samples from patients with culture-confirmed other fungal infections.

RESULTS
A double-antigen sandwich ELISA was successfully established for detecting Mp1p-specific antibody. The specificity of the assay was 100% (121/121) for detecting Mp1p-specific antibody in the sera from healthy donors and patients with other fungal infection. The detection results of the 15 serum samples from patients with culture-confirmed penicilliosis showed positivity for Mp1p antibody in 2 samples and Mp1p antigen positivity in 12 samples; combining the detection results of Mp1p antigen and antibody obviously increased the diagnostic sensitivity to 93.3% (14/15).

CONCLUSION
The double-antigen sandwich ELISA shows a high specificity in detecting Mp1p-specific antibody, and simultaneous detection of Mp1p antigen and antibody can increase the diagnostic sensitivity for penicilliosis.


Aim Our previous research showed that AKT inactivation via small molecule inhibitors did not induce significant apoptosis, but rather markedly increased autophagy in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). The purpose of the current study was to determine whether autophagy inhibition can enhance the anticancer efficacy of an AKT inhibitor (MK-2206). Materials and methods NPC cell lines CNE-2 (Epstein–Barr virus negative) and C666-1 (Epstein–Barr virus positive) were used to conduct the research. Autophagy induction effects were evaluated via Western blotting. Eukaryotic elongation factor-2 (eEF-2) kinase was specifically and stably knocked down using shRNA. The growth and proliferation of the cells were assessed by Cell Counting Kit-8. In CNE-2 xenograft tumors, the antitumor effects of an AKT inhibitor (MK-2206) combined with an eEF-2 kinase inhibitor (NH125) were tested. Results MK-2206 induced eEF-2 kinase-dependent autophagy in NPC cell lines. Knockdown of eEF-2 kinase using shRNA blunted the autophagy activated by MK-2206. Compared with treatment with MK-2206 alone, shRNA or NH125 suppressed eEF-2 kinase and increased the growth-inhibitory effect of MK-2206 on the human NPC cell lines. The synergistic effects of eEF-2 kinase inhibition and MK-2206 were similar to those of the combination of hydroxychloroquine and MK-2206. Moreover, NH125 showed good synergistic effects with MK-2206 in vivo. Conclusion eEF-2 kinase-mediated autophagy induced by AKT inhibition played a protective role in NPC cells. Inhibition of eEF-2 kinase may be an effective method for increasing the efficacy of an AKT inhibitor such as MK-2206 in NPC.


Early IS-outsourcing research is mainly based on three assumptions: the research results are normative, the decision maker acts in a completely rational manner, and the decision is made at a single point in time. Within the last decade, some of these assumptions have been softened, and studies have attempted to broaden the research by investigating the IS-outsourcing decision process from a more descriptive point of view. Our aim is to extend IS-outsourcing research from a static and mostly rational view to a continuous view with decisions that are influenced by non-rational biases. In this research-in-progress paper, which delineates the conceptual foundation for a larger ongoing research project, we present a research model that depicts some of these non-rational biases based on path dependencies between subsequent decisions. The model states two propositions that can be logically derived from cognitive dissonance and prospect theory: sunk cost influences the adherence of a decision maker to the chosen course of action, and the degree of target achievement of a previous decision influences the risk tolerance of the decision maker in an ensuing decision. An upcoming empirical study using an experimental setting will be conducted to confirm these hypotheses.


OBJECT The authors' goal in this paper is to provide the first clinical, radiological, and genetic studies of panventriculomegaly (PaVM) defined by a wide foramen of Magendie and large cisterna magna. METHODS Clinical and brain imaging data from 28 PaVM patients (including 10 patients from 5 families) were retrospectively studied. Five children were included. In adult patients, the age at onset was 56.0 ± 16.7 years. Tetraventricular dilation, aqueductal opening with flow void on T2-weighted images, and a wide foramen of Magendie and large cisterna magna (wide cerebrospinal fluid space at the fourth ventricle outlet) were essential MRI findings for PaVM diagnosis. 3D fast asymmetrical spin echo sequences were used for visualization of cistern membranes. Time-spatial labeling inversion pulse examination was performed to analyze cerebrospinal fluid movement. Copy number variations were determined using high-resolution microarray and were validated by quantitative polymerase chain reaction with breakpoint sequencing. RESULTS Adult patients showed gait disturbance, urinary dysfunction, and cognitive dysfunction. Five infant patients exhibited macrocranium. Patients were divided into 2 subcategories, those with or without downward bulging third ventricular floors and membranous structures in the prepontine cistern. Patients with bulging floors were successfully treated with endoscopic third ventriculostomy. Genetic analysis revealed a deletion in DNAH14 that encodes a dynein heavy chain protein associated with motile cilia function, and which co-segregated with patients in a family without a downward bulging third ventricular floor. CONCLUSIONS Panventriculomegaly with a wide foramen of Magendie and a large cisterna magna may belong to a subtype of congenital hydrocephalus with familial accumulation, younger age at onset, and symptoms of normal pressure hydrocephalus. In addition, a family with PaVM has a gene mutation associated with dysfunction of motile cilia.


In two previous papers, we have discussed simultaneous Rossi X-Ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) and Hubble Space Telescope GHRS observations made of γ Cas (B0.5e) over a full day on 1996 March 14-15. The light curves generated from these data show features that anticorrelate and led us to conclude that the star has multiple surface activity centers that rotate into view every rotational cycle of 1.123 days. In a second paper we found that dips in the UV continuum (UVC) light curve are probably caused by the passage of cool, co-orbiting clouds that are suspended above surface X-ray-active centers. In this paper we use difference spectra from our >21 hr GHRS time series to investigate ≤2% spectral variations within the photospheric Si IV 1394-1403 Å lines as well as smaller variations from features in neighboring wavelengths at 1382-1386 and 1404-1417 Å. Several difficulties arise in interpreting these variations as signatures of surface inhomogeneities, so we have studied both types of variations in the context of the kinematics of occulting circumstellar (CS) structures. By means of model-atmospheres codes and up-to-date line lists, we computed a grid of cloud opacity for various temperatures in our spectral range. Using these synthetic spectra, we are able to identify features as optically thick absorptions due to Fe II, Cr II, and C I lines from "cool" (T<10,000 K) plasma, of Si IV, Si III, S IV, and Ni II lines from "warm" plasma (~10,000-18,000 K), and of Si IV and Fe V lines from hot plasma (≥30,000 K). The variations of the cool- and hot-plasma lines are in phase with the UVC light curve while the warm-plasma line curves lead these curves by 3-4 hr. The cool- and warm-plasma lines participate in the blue-to-red deceleration and appear to be analogues of the "migrating subfeature" pattern found in optical lines by previous observers. The velocity range for these lines is consistent with limits of ±Vsini, suggesting that they are formed in corotating cloudlets that are distinct from the cool clouds we studied in a previous paper. In contrast, warm and hot-plasma lines are "ultrasharp features" ("USFs") that maintain a constant velocity for several hours. The USFs are visible over a wide velocity range, in some cases having a velocity of at least +1500 km s-1. Both cooling and heating of circumstellar plasma is consistent with the existence of strong nonradiative processes operating in some regions above γ Cas. Additionally, the migrating subfeatures find a ready explanation in circumstellar cloudlets forced by magnetic forces into corotation, as was also inferred from the UVC light curve in Smith, Robinson, & Hatzes. The existence of the stationary ultrasharp absorption features, particularly at large positive velocities, is difficult to explain unless one invokes interactions between magnetic loops from the star and a putative field in the circumstellar disc. This picture holds the potential of explaining the hot, flaring character of this star's X-rays and predicts the existence of other X-ray-emitting γ Cas analogues as magnetic Be stars having dense CS discs.


Abstract : Mice singly housed and exposed to 5C are almost as responsive as animals at 25C in carrying out glyconeogenesis following a single injection of cortisone. An LD50 of endotoxin lowers liver glycogen about equally in mice housed at each of the two temperatures, but the dose for mice at 5C is one one- hundredth the dose at 25C. Cortisone given concurrently with the endotoxin prevents glycogen depletion in mice at 25C but not in those housed at 5C, except possibly at certain critical doses. Cortisone also fails to induce an increase in liver tryptophan pyrrolase activity in cold-exposed mice, in contract to those maintained at room temperature, and this failure cannot be ascribed to any alteration in hematin level, the cofactor for the enzyme. These findings are considered as evidence for an impaired capacity for protein (enzyme) synthesis in normothermic animals during acute exposure to cold.


Combinatorial high-throughput optical screening method was developed to find the optimum composition of highly active Pd-based catalysts at the cathode of the hybrid Li-air battery. Pd alone, which is one-third the cost of Pt, has difficulty in replacing Pt; therefore, the integration of other metals was investigated to improve its performance toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Among the binary Pd-based catalysts, the composition of Pd-Ir derived catalysts had higher performance toward ORR compared to other Pd-based binary combinations. The composition at 88:12 at. % (Pd: Ir) showed the highest activity toward ORR at the cathode of the hybrid Li-air battery. The prepared Pd(88)Ir(12)/C catalyst showed a current density of -2.58 mA cm(-2) at 0.8 V (vs RHE), which was around 30% higher compared to that of Pd/C (-1.97 mA cm(-2)). When the prepared Pd(88)Ir(12)/C catalyst was applied to the hybrid Li-air battery, the polarization of the cell was reduced and the energy efficiency of the cell was about 30% higher than that of the cell with Pd/C.


With great wit and forcefulness, Shaw here presents the conditions under which he thought the world could look forward to the future with hope. This book sets out most completely Shaw's indictment of capitalism as the source of both domestic injustice and international enmity, and his arguments for a socialist egalitarian society as the only society assured a healthy future. "The result of his clarity and his thoroughness is that...[h]e has made plain the entire complicated system of modern life." - Chicago Daily Tribune


Background: Routine immunization (RI) is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions, first introduced in India in 1978. Yet, despite the concerted efforts of the government and other health agencies, a large proportion of vulnerable infants and children in India remain unimmunized. Objectives: Objective of this study was to know about perception of caretakers of beneficiaries about RI in terms of knowledge about vaccines and vaccine preventable diseases and reasons for missed opportunity of immunization. Materials and Methods: Community based cross-sectional study was conducted during January-June 2012 in a rural area of Jamnagar district. A total of 200 children aged 12-24 months were selected using stratified random sampling method. Results: Nearly 52% children were fully immunized. Most common reasons for partially immunization were sick child (68.9%) followed by vaccine not available (32.3%) and being outside on the day of session (31.11%). Nearly 61% Guardians knew about Polio vaccine, main source of information about RI was health worker (83.5%). There was statistical significant association between education of mother and immunization status of children. Conclusion: There is a need to strengthen Information Education Communication activities to improve knowledge regarding immunization among people, motivation of health workers to disseminate information regarding immunization. Hence, that immunization coverage should be improved.


The aim of this study was to analyze consonant articulation errors produced by 90 speakers with cerebral palsy (CP). Phonetic transcriptions were made for 37 single-word utterances containing 70 phonemes: 48 initial consonants and 22 final consonants. Errors of substitution, omission, and distortion were analyzed using a confusion matrix paradigm showing the visualization of error patterns. Results showed that substitution errors in initial and final consonants were most frequent, followed by omission and distortion. Consonant omission occurred more frequently on final consonants. In both initial and final consonants, the within-place errors were more prominent than the within-manner errors. The current results suggest that consonant confusion matrices for dysarthric speech may provide useful information for evaluating speech intelligibility and developing automatic speech recognition system of adults with CP associated dysarthria.


1. Four mature Friesian cows were used. For 2 weeks after calving they were fed 3 kg hay (147 g crude protein (nitrogen × 6·25; CP)/kg dry matter (DM)) plus 9 kg concentrates (177 g CP/kg DM) per d and thereafter 4 kg hay plus 12 kg concentrates/d. 2. At approximately the 2nd, 4th and 9th weeks post-partum each cow was given a single intravenous dose of [14C]urea (1 mCi) and [6-3H]glucose (1·5 mCi). Following this, jugular venous blood samples were withdrawn up to 26 h post-injection. 3. The log (specific activity) v time curves were not linear for either metabolite. Glucose irreversible loss rates (IRL) were calculated by a stochastic procedure. The linear part of the urea log (specific activity) v. time curve gave the same estimate for urea IRL rate as a stochastic method of calculation, but urea pool sizes were overestimated so that stochastic analysis of results was preferred. 4. Mean milk yields at the time of the three measurements were 27·1, 30·8 and 27·9 kg milk/d. 5. Urea IRL was significantly lower (P < 0·05) in the first 4 weeks of lactation than in the 9th, and blood urea concentration was lower (P < 0·05) in the 4th than in the 2nd and 9th week, but there was no close correlation between urea IRL and concentration. 6. Glucose IRL rose (P < 0·05) between the 2nd and 9th weeks post-partum, perhaps due to the increase in feed intake. The results were generally consistent with the relationship between milk yield and glucose IRL established by Paterson & Linzell (1974). 7. Urea IRL (y) and milk protein-N (x) production values were used to calculate the efficiency of protein utilization (EPU) as x ÷ (x + 0·35 y). This assumes that 0·35 of urea IRL was due to protein catabolism. EPU was found to be 0·59–0·80 (mean 0·69). 8. The possible contribution of catabolized amino acids to glucose IRL was calculated by assuming that 0·35 of urea IRL was due to protein catabolism and 0·2 of catabolized protein-C passed through the glucose pool. On this basis the contribution of protein-C to glucose-C was < 25 g/kg glucose IRL.


Introduction This report describes the conceptual design of certain parts of the local oscillator subsystem of the ALMA telescope, namely those parts concerned with ne control of the phase of the LO signals, along with related considerations for the correlator and the real-time software. Precise control of the LO phase is needed for fringe tracking, which is simply a matter of causing the LO to follow the variation in delay from the source to the receiver as the earth rotates. The same hardware can be used to e ect suppression of the interferometer response from the unwanted sideband of the rst mixer, which is expected to be incompletely suppressed in the front end; and to suppress certain spurious signals that might get introduced into the signal path after the rst mixer. It can also be used to allow a small amount of ne adjustment of the receiver's center frequency. Quantitative parameters mentioned here are consistent with the ALMA system design as of this writing. Some of these may be changed for practical reasons during the course of development, but the overall design is expected to remain as described here.


In the present paper we study the propagation of horizontally polarised shear waves (SH waves) in an internal magnetoelastic monoclinic stratum with rectangular irregularity in lower interface and is sandwiched between two semi-infinite isotropic elastic media. The dispersion equation has been obtained. It is observed that the dispersion equation is in assertion with the classical Love-type wave equation, for isotropic layer sandwiched between two isotropic half spaces, in the absence of magnetic field and irregularity. The effects of depth of irregularity and monoclinic-magnetoelastic coupling parameters on dispersion curves are depicted by means of graphs. This study shows the remarkable effect of wave number, size of irregularity and magnetic field on the phase velocity. Keywords: SH wave, magnetoelastic monoclinic, irregularity, dispersion equation, perturbation


This paper develops a view of worship according to which worship is a certain sort of life orientation, and argues that according to the Bible, the worship of God normatively is non-instrumental, comprehensive, unconditional orientation of one's life toward God. It then develops a biblical view about how this sort of worship of God is possible. Finally, it argues that it is good to worship God in this way only if God is an Anselmian being—that than which nothing greater can be conceived—and suggests that the God of the Bible, the Psalms in particular, is in fact an Anselmian being.


In this study, the control characteristics and effects of heating control methods on the heating performance and energy consumption of a hot-water heating control system of a residential apartment were researched by simulation and experiment. The purpose of this study is to evaluate operational strategies for improving an indoor thermal environment and reducing f energy consumption in the radiant floor heating system of a residential apartment.


Cancer-testis antigens expressed by different-histotype transformed cells are suitable targets for tumor immunotherapy. However, their heterogeneous expression in neoplastic lesions limits the eligibility of patients for cancer-testis antigen–directed vaccination, and low levels of cancer-testis antigens' expression may impair immune recognition of malignant cells. Because of the primary clinical relevance of cancer-testis antigens' expression in neoplastic tissues, 68 unrelated or sequential metastatic lesions from 56 patients were used to characterize the molecular mechanisms regulating the presence and levels of expression of different cancer-testis antigens of the MAGE family (i.e., MAGE2, 3 and 4) in cutaneous melanoma. Polymerase chain reaction-based methylation analyses showed that methylation status of specific cytosine-guanine dinucleotides in the promoters of investigated cancer-testis antigens correlated with their heterogeneous expression within unrelated metastatic melanoma lesions, and with their homogeneous expression among sequential metastases from three patients with melanoma. Unlike methylated promoters, unmethylated promoters of MAGE2, 3 and 4 genes drove the expression of reporter gene-enhanced green fluorescent protein after transient transfection of cancer-testis antigen–positive Mel 142 melanoma cells. Furthermore, de novo expression of MAGE3 gene induced by the treatment of Mel 195 melanoma cells with the DNA hypomethylating agent 5-aza-2´-deoxycytidine was associated with a 6%–12% demethylation of selected cytosine-guanine dinucleotides in its promoter. Finally, 5-aza-2´-deoxycytidine induced a 16-fold increase of MAGE3 expression in Mel 313 melanoma cells expressing constitutively low levels of the antigen, but did not affect that of Mel 275 melanoma cells expressing high baseline levels of MAGE3. Overall, these findings identify promoter methylation as a shared mechanism directly regulating the expression of therapeutic cancer-testis antigens in metastatic melanomas, and foresee the clinical use of 5-aza-2´-deoxycytidine to design new chemoimmunotherapeutic strategies in patients with melanoma.


Castle man's diseases (CD), also called as giant lymph nodal hyperplasia is a relatively rare condition of uncertain etiology It involves massive proliferation of lymphoid tissues, and may present as nodal or extra nodal mass which may be confused with other causes of lymphadenopathy on clinical as well as gross examination. This diseases mimic's lymphomas and TB. We report a case of multicentric CD, in a patient who was initially suspected to have disseminated kochs but was later histologically confirmed to have Castleman's disease. In this report we also attempt to provide insight through the review of medical literature into the clinical features, pathogenesis and management of this disorder


Some conditions may present with gastrointestinal and rheumatological manifestations. Salmonella osteomyelitis results from direct infection of bone following gut infection and bacteraemia, but in other conditions the pathogenesis is less clear. There may be a microbial cause for rheumatoid arthritis; however, this theory remains unproven.


The ρ(770) meson is the most extensively studied resonance in lattice QCD simulations in two (N_{f}=2) and three (N_{f}=2+1) flavor formulations. We analyze N_{f}=2 lattice scattering data using unitarized chiral perturbation theory, allowing not only for the extrapolation in mass but also in flavor, N_{f}=2→N_{f}=2+1. The flavor extrapolation requires information from a global fit to ππ and πK phase shifts from experiment. While the chiral extrapolation of N_{f}=2 lattice data leads to masses of the ρ(770) meson far below the experimental one, we find that the missing KK[over ¯] channel is able to explain this discrepancy.


The purpose of a group management scheme is to enable its associated transfer layer protocol to be responsive to user determined reliability requirements for multicasting. Group management (GM) must assist the client process in coordinating multicast group membership, allow the user to express the subset of the multicast group that a particular multicast distribution must reach in order to be successful (reliable), and provide the transfer layer protocol with the group membership information necessary to guarantee delivery to this subset. GM provides services and mechanisms that respond to the need of the client process or process level management protocols to coordinate, modify, and determine attributes of the multicast group, especially membership. XTP GM provides a link between process groups and their multicast groups by maintaining a group membership database that identifies members in a name space understood by the underlying transfer layer protocol. Other attributes of the multicast group useful to both the client process and the data transfer protocol may be stored in the database. Examples include the relative dispersion, most recent update, and default delivery parameters of a group.


As a randomized learner model, SCNs are remarkable that the random weights and biases are assigned employing a supervisory mechanism to ensure universal approximation and fast learning. However, the randomness makes SCNs more likely to generate approximate linear correlative nodes that are redundant and low quality, thereby resulting in non-compact network structure. In light of a fundamental principle in machine learning, that is, a model with fewer parameters holds improved generalization. This paper proposes orthogonal SCN, termed OSCN, to filtrate out the low-quality hidden nodes for network structure reduction by incorporating Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization technology. The universal approximation property of OSCN and an adaptive setting for the key construction parameters have been presented in details. In addition, an incremental updating scheme is developed to dynamically determine the output weights, contributing to improved computational efficiency. Finally, experimental results on two numerical examples and several real-world regression and classification datasets substantiate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed approach.


OBJECTIVE
The in vitro effects of two commercial sensitivity relief dentifrices, one containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride as sodium monofluorophosphate (MFP), and the other containing 8% strontium acetate and 1040 ppm fluoride as sodium fluoride, in occluding dentin tubules and reducing dentin fluid flow were compared in a blinded study using hydraulic conductance (Flodec).

METHODS
Human dentin segments were cut from extracted molars, mounted on acrylic blocks, etched, and connected to a Flodec to measure hydraulic conductance. Segments were divided into two groups (n = 6) and treated for one minute with either the arginine/calcium carbonate dentifrice or the strontium acetate dentifrice. The blocks were rinsed, connected to the Flodec, and the conductance was measured. Blocks were rinsed again and incubated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for at least two hours before the next treatment. The cycle was repeated for a total of three treatments (one using a fingertip and the next two using a toothbrush). After the third treatment, the blocks were incubated in PBS overnight and conductance was re-measured. The two groups were further divided into three sets of two segments each, which were challenged for one minute with either 6% citric acid, orange juice, or grapefruit juice.

RESULTS
The hydraulic conductance study showed that the dentifrice containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride provided a significantly higher percentage reduction in fluid flow immediately after fingertip application, as well as after two brushing cycles, compared to the dentifrice containing 8% strontium acetate and 1040 ppm fluoride. After various acid challenges, the percentage reduction in fluid flow of dentin treated with the arginine/calcium carbonate dentifrice remained significantly higher than that of the strontium acetate dentifrice. These results are highly consistent with the results from an independent clinical study which showed that the arginine/calcium carbonate dentifrice provided dentin hypersensitivity relief immediately after direct topical application with a fingertip and massage for one minute per sensitive tooth, whereas the strontium acetate dentifrice did not.

CONCLUSION
Based on this in vitro hydraulic conductance study, the dentifrice containing 8.0% arginine, calcium carbonate, and 1450 ppm fluoride was significantly more effective in reducing fluid flow through dentin tubules as a result of occlusion than the dentifrice containing 8% strontium acetate and 1040 ppm fluoride. Further, the superior occlusion obtained with the arginine/calcium carbonate dentifrice was resistant to acid challenge.


A rotating spray paint atomizer consists of a spinning cup from which paint droplets are Around the periphery of this disk, an axial air flow blows these liquid particles, which are prqjected against the surface to be painted. Under some particular circumstances which occur in industry, this axial air flow may be stopped and, owing to the Coanda effect, the radial flow of paint may be attracted backwards in the direction of the atomizer itself. This "reverse flow effect" is detrimental to industrial performance, and it is the purpose of this work to consider the possibility of predicting and even preventing this phenomenon. Using computational software, a simplified model of an atomizer is first considered and the illustration of the reverse flow effect is shown. In the second part, a full numerical modeling of a real geometry is treated and a solution is suggested to improve the performances of this type of equipment. Recommendations are given for an optimal design which prevents the reverse flow effect in a rotating atomizer. For a given air flow rate, it is shown that the highest output momentum of the jet flow should be obtained.


Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) must be considered among stable angina pectoris patients who remained symptomatic despite optimal medical treatment and to improve prognosis of patients with large myocardial lschemia when occurring at low workload. PCI is preferred for single coronary artery stenosis, while CABG is recommended for severe multivessel disease patients, particularly when diabetes is present. There is no simple decisional algorithm, and, for patients with multivessel disease, each situation must be debated within a multidisciplinary decision-making team (Heart Team), taking into consideration risks and benefits of PCI vs CABG, patients' comorbidities and local experience.


The Optical Radar System (ORAS) provides a complete set of data to derive 3D surface contours of bodies or of body-like scenes primarily in industrial environment. In addition, the intensity as back-scattered from the object is recorded in order to create combined (3D and conventional) images for special tasks in object characterization. ORAS as described in this paper is based on the time of flight principle. Its specifications, measurement results and applications are presented.


It is important to study the shielding effectiveness(SE) of reinforcing material of plastic composite materials against the electromagnetic(EM) waves. In this paper, SE of the shielding material of EM waves was investigated with actual experiments. The materials used in this study were made up of film, fiber and powder of conductive materials - Cu, Al, CF etc. Also, The resin film was used as matrix. The experiment was carried out by using a shielding evaluator(Shielding box) TR17302 with an ADVANTEST spectrum analyzer, model R3361C. It was found from the experimental results that copper, aluminum and carbon fiber were good candidates as a shielding material against the EM waves with increasing the SE as the composite was laminated. The characteristics of the SE against the EM waves depended on a mode of preparation of specimen. The effects of interval of wires on the SE were studied when the orientation and the space of Cu wires were changed. The SE strongly depended on the. orientation and the space of the Cu wire. SE decreased as the space of the Cu wires was increasing.


The objective of the study was to establish causes for the low corporate profitability margins at Kenya Airways. The objective was to understand if the management style had an impact on the Kenya Airways (KQs) performance; to investigate if the impact of other world economical forces had impact on the company profit levels, to evaluate the impact of the cost on profitability level and to examine whether the fuel hedging has an impact on profitability level. Due to the continued significant financial losses that had been incurred over time; the share equity value at the stock market declined consequently causing shareholders loose on their wealth, it led to further resulted to low pricing and devaluing of the KQ wealth capital accumulation and the losses resulted to retrenchment of workers/employees. Hence it is from this reasons that the research come up with problem of the statement for these study of the KQ. The study used the survey research design this was because not much studies had been carried out on Kenya airways. The study used desk research, secondary data evaluation and internet. The data was analyzed and presented through use of descriptive analysis, and content analysis. The findings of study concluded that there was positive relationship between the impact of Euro-zone crisis and fuel hedging to Kenya airways Profitability that led to losses. The study recommended the need to search for new untapped emerging markets in Asia that will cushion against the economic downtimes of the Eurozone crises, to adopt new type of air carrier that is cost and fuel efficient that would in turn save on fuel cost to avoid hedging and losses in profits and to broaden


Lipid profiling in nine bacterial species has been accomplished by laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) using amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin film with 100 nm thickness. Lipid ions could be generated by LDI on a-Si regardless of ion acquisition modes because of a thermal property of a-Si to govern laser-induced surface heating. In a comparative study of lipid profiling in Bacillus lichemiformis by LDI-MS and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), LDI-MS on a-Si shows a higher efficiency in lipid and lipopeptide detection than MALDI-MS. A total of 53 peaks of lipid ions generated by LDI on a-Si in both acquisition modes for m/z 400-1200 was 1.6 times more than that detected by MALDI-MS using three organic matrices-2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, 1,5-diaminonaphthalene, and 2,4,6-trihydroxyacetophenone monohydrate. Also, the authors demonstrate by mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) that LDI-MS provides high detection coverage through whole sample area. MSI results show the detection yield in LDI on a-Si is 94.8% calculated by counting the number of points detected in the analyte ion signal in a whole spot. It means that reproducible detection of lipid ions by LDI-MS is possible even if laser is randomly irradiated at any position within the bacterial sample area applied on a-Si. Lipid profiling by LDI-MS on a-Si was applied to bacterial differentiation of nine bacterial species conducted by performing principal component analysis. Nine bacterial species are successfully distinguishable from each other by LDI-MS lipid profiling.


The high prevalence of aspirin intolerance in asthmatics and patients with nasal polyps as well as reports of familial clustering suggest a genetic disposition of this disease. Our study aimed at obtaining further evidence of hereditary factors in this disease. We included 33 unselected patients from 28 families with aspirin intolerance and rhinosinusitis in this study. Controls were recruited from individuals treated in our ENT clinic for diseases other than aspirin intolerance (n = 52). A questionnaire focused on family histories as well as reports on diseases of the upper respiratory tract or allergies. ASS intolerance was verified either by bronchial or nasal provocation tests. We found cases of aspirin intolerance among parents, siblings, and children of ASS intolerant probands. The children of probands had nasal polyps and rhinosinusitis more often than the children of controls. We propose that ASS intolerance with nasal polyps and asthma represents a complex phenotype, with genetic and environmental factors contributing to its manifestation.


We propose a coded-modulation scheme suitable for beyond 100 Gb#s transmission and 100 Gb#s Ethernet. It is based on polarization multiplexed coded-orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). By using 32-QAM-based polarization multiplexed coded-OFDM, we are able to achieve the aggregate rate of 100 Gb#s, while the OFDM signal bandwidth is only 10 GHz, resulting in a spectral efficiency of 10 bits#s#Hz. The spectral efficiency of the proposed scheme is twice higher than that of the polarization diversity OFDM scheme. We show that the proposed multicarrier scheme is insensitive to polarization mode dispersion (PMD), while the PMD represents a major source of performance degradation in single carrier systems, in addition to fiber nonlinearities. We also describe how to determine the symbols' log-likelihood ratios in the presence of laser phase noise.


Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) has reached astonishing achievements in various fields such as the traffic control of vehicles in a wireless connected environment. In MARL, how to effectively decompose a global feedback into the relative contributions of individual agents belongs to one of the most fundamental problems. However, the volatility of the environment (e.g., the vehicle movement and wireless disturbance) could significantly shape the time-varying topological relationships among agents, thus making the Value Decomposition (VD) challenging. Therefore, in order to cope with this annoying volatility, it becomes imperative to design a dynamic VD framework. Hence, in this paper, we propose a novel Stochastic VMIX (SVMIX) methodology by embedding the dynamic topological features into the VD and incorporating the corresponding components into a multi-agent actor-critic architecture. In particular, the Stochastic Graph Neural Network (SGNN) is leveraged to effectively extract underlying dynamics embedded in topological features and improve the flexibility of VD against the environment volatility. Finally, the superiority of SVMIX is verified through extensive simulations.


The creep-strength enhanced ferritic (CSEF) materials are enormously used for noncorrosive high-temperature application with very high strength at elevated temperatures. The use of these materials for steam piping, super-heater headers, boiler tubes, boiler drum and pressure vessels in supercritical power plants, do require special attention and consideration as the cost of repair is normally higher than the original work cost. The aim of this paper is to provide the guidelines for necessary checks and inspections to be carried out to prevent any defect or premature failure of welds. The focus of these guides, supplement to the well-known ASME and EN standards, is the welding of CSEF materials for combined cycle, supercritical & ultra-supercritical power plants. Assessment of base metal and filler materials, prior to start of any activity, is vital for a quality weld. The qualifications of welding procedures and welders obligatorily be done according to the welding procedure specification. The welding techniques and associated equipment come in precautionary phase. The welding input parameters require strict control during welding and appropriate preheat and post weld heat treatments mandatorily  be carried out,  It is noted that if applicable and appropriate checks are carried out, the weld with required properties can be made and premature failure of these sensitive welds can easily be prevented.


Historically, most of the large prospective clinical trials that established the value of adjuvant chemotherapy for cancer did not collect peripheral blood samples for genetic analysis, thereby severely limiting the possibility of retrospective pharmacogenomic studies designed to correlate outcome and toxicity with patient genetics. The majority of these trials did, however, archive formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissue. We and others have previously demonstrated that genotyping for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in clinically relevant polymorphic genes can be reliably conducted on DNA extracted from FFPE tumor samples, and that the genotypes obtained agree with those from matched whole blood samples. Although many interesting findings have now been generated using this approach, several factors have limited its wider application. The blocks from historical clinical trials are an extremely valuable and limited resource, and sections used for preparing DNA for genotyping cannot be used for other important uses such as the evaluation of protein marker expression by immunohistochemistry, or array-based determination of mRNA levels. Furthermore, the relatively modest number of genotyping assays that could reliably be conducted on DNA extracted from the few FFPE sections available has also inhibited wider application. We now report technical advances that dramatically increase the number of genotypes that can be generated from a single FFPE sample using standard Taqman-based SNP genotyping assays and, furthermore, demonstrate that FFPE tumor cores, of the type used to generate tumor microarrays, can also be used as a source of DNA for high-order genotyping. We demonstrate that through careful determination of the amount of DNA of sufficient integrity for PCR amplification within the samples generated from FFPE materials, it is possible to significantly decrease the amount of template DNA used in standard Taqman-based SNP genotyping assays. This increases both the PCR amplification efficiency as well as the overall reliability of the final genotype. Using these improved methods, DNA was prepared and analyzed from matched sections and cores. On average, these samples yielded sufficient DNA for over 1,000 SNP determinations from a 5 \#956;m section, or from a 0.6 mm core, a significant increase over the 30-50 genotypes obtained from a standard 5 \#956;m section using previously established methods. The dramatic increase in the number of genotyping assays now possible from a single FFPE section should facilitate the greatly expanded application of pharmacogenetic studies to historical clinical trials. We believe that our demonstration of the use of tumor cores in this context is of particular importance since it has previously been established that the harvesting of tumor cores has minimal impact on the utility of the donor blocks for diagnostic and other purposes. Citation Information: In: Proc Am Assoc Cancer Res; 2009 Apr 18-22; Denver, CO. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; 2009. Abstract nr 1642.


Background:Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) after coronary artery bypass graft surgery is a common complication for which, despite many clinical investigations, no definitive etiology has been found. The current use of both high- and low-dose fentanyl as anesthetic techniques allowed us to investigate the effect of fentanyl on the incidence of POCD. Methods:Three hundred fifty patients scheduled to undergo elective coronary artery bypass graft surgery were randomized to receive either high-dose fentanyl (50 &mgr;g/kg) or low-dose fentanyl (10 &mgr;g/kg) as the basis of the anesthetic. All patients underwent neuropsychological testing before surgery and at 1 week, 3 months, and 12 months after surgery. Results:One hundred sixty-eight patients in the low-dose group and 158 patients in the high-dose group were included in the final analysis. Neuropsychological testing was performed on 88%, 93%, and 92% of patients at 1 week, 3 months, and 12 months, respectively. There was no difference between group mean scores at any of the three testing times. Analysis of individual patients by the 20% rule did not detect any differences between groups. The one SD rule, which has fewer false-positive results, detected significantly more patients with POCD in the low-dose group than in the high-dose group at 1 week (23.6% vs. 13.7%; P = 0.03) but not at the other testing times. Patients with POCD spent an average of 1.2 days longer in the hospital than those without POCD (P = 0.021). Conclusions:High-dose fentanyl is not associated with a difference in the incidence of POCD at 3 or 12 months after surgery. Low-dose fentanyl leads to shorter postoperative ventilation times and may be associated with a greater incidence of POCD 1 week after surgery. Early POCD is associated with an increased duration of stay in the hospital.


In determination (in the precipitation reaction in agar gel) of antibodies to the polysaccharide (streptococcus, group A) in the sera of patients suffering from erysipelas there were revealed antibodies against the specific determinant of polysaccharide A. An increase in antibodies in the patients with primary and repeated erysipelas was observed from the second week of the disease; in patients suffering from relapsing erysipelas their titre was increased from the first days of the disease and persisted at this level during the whole observation period (4 weeks). The majority of the patients suffering from relapsing erysipelas 4 weeks and 6 to 12 months after the relapse displayed no changes in the serum antibody level, or its slight fall was seen. The duration of persistence of antibodies to polysaccharide A in testing at the remote periods after the relapse apparently depended on slow reduction of their level and was not associated with any new infection with streptococcus, since the great percentage of the patients studied at this period were subjected to bicillin-5 therapy. The data obtained served as an additional confirmation of participation of hemolytic streptococcus of group A in the development of erysipelas.


Fires are the main driver of land degradation in forest areas in Mediterranean sub‐humid regions and are likely to increase as a result of climate and other global changes. To prevent deleterious processes induced by fire, several policies and strategies have been implemented at national and regional scales. We perform a comparative study of policies and strategies of Portuguese and Spanish (Comunitat Valenciana) cases in order to assess the differences between them and identify their roles in forest fire prevention and in combating and mitigating impacts. To this end, we analyse the sustainability objectives stated in the legislation of each country to identify the strategies used to deal with forest fires and the extent to which they are integrated to achieve the sustainability objectives they pursue. The comparative analysis includes an assessment of sustainability, evaluated by the explicitness of the objectives, and identification of how the lines of action contribute to reach these objectives. We found different levels of complexity and that the adoption or rejection of some of the techniques is closely related to the tradition and the experience of local communities. This analysis highlights the importance of local characteristics and the stakeholders, involvement in designing effective strategies to reduce fire risk. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


This paper presents a finite element force calculation method for a single sided linear induction motor (SLIM) taking account of the movement. To avoid the distortion of air gap elements caused by the movement, moving band is used and the edge parts are renewed at each time step keeping the boundary conditions. In this way, the number of total nodes and elements is not changed. Finally, an example which is the application of the method is given to compute the thrust and normal force of SLIM by Maxwell stress tensor. >


Abstract It is generally known that language learners use some strategies to learn a new language. Cognitive strategies as one of language learning strategies are mostly used by learners who study a foreign language to improve their skills. As one of the cognitive strategies, translation is used in learning a language by foreign language learners. Although some teachers and researchers present negative attitudes towards the use of this strategy in teaching a language, some put emphasis on the necessity and the role of translation in the development of learning.  In order to understand whether learners use translation as a learning strategy in learning English, this study investigated 159 students' opinions about the use of it.  The participants were attending at a preparatory class in a state university and their ages ranged between 18 and 34. The questionnaire was comprised of some information concerning the students' gender and education background and translation strategy use. The findings of the data were statistically analyzed and necessary pedagogical implications were given.


This paper details the salient features of an approach to include the influence of magnetic field saturation, on an instantaneous basis in large turbogenerators, on the values of machine inductances. This is done by means of numerical analysis of two dimentional magnetic fields coupled with a concept of ampere turn drop functions. This method is applied to the determinationof dynamic characteristics of an existing 659 MVA 4-pole turbogenerator, including the instantaneous saturation effect on the inductances, and the effects of instantaneous rotor speed variation coupled with saturation on equivalent damping resistances. Details of this development are given in a set of three companion papers, of which this is Part (I)


The project investigates the 1950s Quatermass films (The Quatermass Experiment [1955], Quatermass II [1957] produced by Hammer, within their production contexts. Despite the assertion that Hammer horror productions were ?initiated by the enormous commercial success? (Hutchings, 1993: 25) of the Quatermass films, they have not been afforded the critical recognition they merit. Reassessment of the cultural importance of the Quatermass phenomenon is needed. This study addresses critical discourses on British film and the fantastic. As part of addressing the neglect within current scholarship of the Quatermass films, the privileging of the realist aesthetic within film criticism is discussed as part of the context for this neglect. While there has been increased interest in horror and science fiction in more recent writings and hitherto neglected films have been re-discovered, the Quatermass films have not enjoyed comparable critical space. My study goes on to illustrate this gap in the literature on Quatermass, which this study redresses. An underlying theme throughout the thesis is hybridity. Moving from discussion of how the hybrid text might cause difficulties for critical discourse that seeks finite definitions of film categories and an emphasis on realism within the film text, I address the hybrid within the production contexts and thematic content of the Quatermass films. How does the British/American co-production inform the films and contemporaneous responses to them? How is the hybrid configured within the text; as something troubling, to be feared, or is the response more complex with the potential for more positive readings?Discussion of the hybrid is combined with the fantastic and the uncanny, the emphasis being on the subversive potential of these modes and how they have potential to de-stabilise the ?real?, and, by extension, dominant ideologies. How might hybridity, the fantastic and the uncanny problematise concepts of identity and ?nation?? Concepts of ?nation? and ?national identity? will be emphasised as contested categories, contingent and inherently hybrid. How are these questions of identity mapped out within and through the Quatermass films and beyond?


Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Precipitation Radar (TRMM-PR) based vertical structure in intense convective precipitation is presented here for Indian and Austral summer monsoon seasons. TRMM 2A23 data is used to identify the convective echoes in PR data. Two types of cloud cells are constructed here, namely intense convective cloud (ICC) and most intense convective cloud (MICC). ICC consists of PR radar beams having Ze>=40 dBZ above 1.5 km in convective precipitation area, whereas MICC, consists of maximum reflectivity at each altitude in convective precipitation area, with at least one radar pixel must be higher than 40 dBZ or more above 1.5 km within the selected areas. We have selected 20 locations across the tropics to see the regional differences in the vertical structure of convective clouds. One of the important findings of the present study is identical behavior in the average vertical profiles in intense convective precipitation in lower troposphere across the different areas. MICCs show the higher regional differences compared to ICCs between 5-12 km altitude. Land dominated areas show higher regional differences and Southeast south America (SESA) has the strongest vertical profile (higher Ze at higher altitude) followed by Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP), Africa, north Latin America whereas weakest vertical profile occurs over Australia. Overall SESA (41%) and IGP (36%) consist higher fraction of deep convective clouds (>10 km), whereas, among the tropical oceanic areas, Western (Eastern) equatorial Indian ocean consists higher fraction of low (high) level of convective clouds. Nearly identical average vertical profiles over the tropical oceanic areas, indicate the similarity in the development of intense convective clouds and useful while considering them in model studies.


Adherent BaSO4 coatings have been electrochemically deposited on anode substrates from aqueous solution for the first time by electrogeneration of acid. At low current densities, thick, nearly continuous coatings comprising unoriented crystallites are obtained. At higher current densities, the coatings are not as continuous but the crystallites are oriented. At short deposition times and under high current densities, the crystallites are oriented with the a axis perpendicular to the substrate. At long deposition times, the orientation switches to the c axis. Electroless deposition under similar conditions yields crystallites that are neither oriented nor facetted.


To the Editor.— Our studies of the effect of the histamine 2 (H 2 ) receptor antagonist, ranitidine, in patients with trauma- and blood transfusion-induced immunosuppression, in patients with multiple myeloma, and in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection, 1 have included a few patients with psoriatic lesions. Some of these patients who were treated with the active drug showed improvement in psoriatic disease, but with recurrence within a few weeks after the therapy was discontinued. Based on these observations, and despite previous randomized, placebo-controlled studies of short-term treatment (28 days) with another H 2 receptor antagonist, cimetidine, which had shown no beneficial effect, 2 an open pilot study of the effect of long-term (4 months) treatment with ranitidine in patients with different forms of psoriasis was initiated. Subjects and Methods.— Six patients were studied in the autumn of 1989 (September 1 through December 31, 1989). All of the patients had


Parental death precipitates a cascade of events leading to more or less detrimental exposures, from the sudden and dramatic interruption of parental care to cohabitation with stepparents and siblings in a recomposed family. This article compares the effect of early parental loss on child survival in the past in the Krummhörn region of East Frisia (Germany) and among the French Canadian settlers of the Saint Lawrence Valley (Québec, Canada). The Krummhörn region was characterized by a saturated habitat, while the opportunities for establishing a new family were virtually unlimited for the French Canadian settlers. Early parental loss had quite different consequences in these dissimilar environments. Event history analyses with time-varying specification of family structure are used on a sample of 7,077 boys and 6,906 girls born between 1720 and 1859 in the Krummhörn region and 31,490 boys and 33,109 girls whose parents married between 1670 and 1750 in Québec. Results indicate that in both populations, parental loss is associated with increased infant and child mortality. Maternal loss has a universal and consistent effect for both sexes, while the impact of paternal loss is less easy to establish and interpret. On the other hand, the effect of the remarriage of the surviving spouse is population-specific: the mother's remarriage has no effect in Krummhörn, while it is beneficial in Québec. In contrast, the father's remarriage in Krummhörn dramatically reduces the survival chances of the children born from his former marriage, while such an effect is not seen for Québec. These population-specific effects appear to be driven by the availability of resources and call into question the universality of the "Cinderella" effect.


The low-carbon economy is one kind of new economic development mode; it could realize the win-win between economic development and environmental protection and is the common prospect of human society to realize the whole world developmental strategy. The green marketing is one economic activities of the enterprise brand-new transformation marketing pattern and one kind of strategic choice to keep pace with the low-carbon economy development. This strategic choice brings forward the resources values choice, the comprehensive demand view choice, the ecological environment view choice and the tertiary benefit view choice.


In recent years, the technique of centralized control of complex production processes has moved from the stage of development and experimentation to widespread industrial implementation. Centralized control equipment is used in large, complex objects, and the control systems themselves are so complex that they cannot be calculated or reasonably selected using the methods used for conventional control and measuring equipment. The work undertaken recently in order to create various calculation methods for centralized control systems, at best, solved individual particular problems, often from different initial positions, and, apparently, there was a need for generalizing work that would give the system designers centralized control is an efficient settlement tool. Of the technical characteristics of centralized control systems, the most essential and most fully reflecting the effectiveness of their operation is accuracy, especially if this concept is broadly approached, including any deviation from the required system behavior in the error. Centralized control systems are used in various fields: to control production processes, for scientific research, including space objects, for testing and researching technical structures, for monitoring the health of complex equipment. These applications have a number of similarities and, however, differ in the number of requirements put forward by individual applications. When writing the article, the main attention was paid to centralized control systems for continuous production processes, which, in contrast to a number of testing and research systems, are characterized by the duration of action, since the production processes themselves in most cases run continuously for many hours, days or even months.


Additional carboxylation of glutamic acid by vitamin K-dependent γ-carboxylase is a common posttranslational modification of many proteins, including some of blood clotting factors. Vitamin K-antagonists, such as warfarin, are often included in the therapy of malignant disease, decreasing the blood coagulation potential. Cancer procoagulant, a direct blood coagulation factor X activator from malignant tissue, is considered as a vitamin K-dependent protein, so it could serve as one of possible targets for the therapy with warfarin. However, there is still no experimental data demonstrating directly the presence of γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) in a cancer procoagulant molecule. The presence of Gla in cancer procoagulant isolated from human amnion–chorion membranes and from human malignant melanoma WM 115 cell line was analyzed directly, using specific anti-Gla monoclonal antibodies. There was no detectable amount of Gla in cancer procoagulant isolated from fetal or malignant tissue. Cancer procoagulant from human tissues does not contain Gla-rich domain. The finding indicates that cancer procoagulant is rather a poor target for warfarin therapy of malignant disease.


Abstract Spring peak flows recorded over a 25-year period in Benton Creek, a small forested watershed in northern Idaho, were studied in their relation to meteorological events. More peak flows were generated by rain-on-snow than by clear-weather snowmelt; the two types of peaks differ in magnitude and in other characteristics. Two rather simple techniques were used to calculate the generative capacity of a rainfall-temperature event and the hypothetical outflow of water from a snowpack during rainy and rainfree periods. Similar data on spring peaks on two regional subbasins were considered also.


Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Related to Occupational Health Problems among Salt Workers Working in the Desert of Rajasthan, India: Kripa Ram Haldiya, et al. Desert Medicine Research Centre (ICMR), India—Workers in the salt industry are exposed to direct sunlight, salt dust and contact with brine. To assess their awareness, attitude and practices related to occupational health problems, 205 salt workers were interviewed about health hazards and problems related to their working conditions, usage of protective measures and suggestions for their improvisation. The brine workers had a fair knowledge of their occupational health problems (98.7%), protective measures (100.0%) and their benefits (100.0%) as compared to non brine workers for whom these figures were 89.0%, 85.8% and 78.7% respectively. The brine workers (29.5%) and non brine workers (31.5%) used unconventional measures to prevent contact with salty water, salt dust, raw salt and glare. There was a huge gap between their knowledge and practice with protective devices, though they suggested improvements in protective devices to increase their acceptability.


Background : Hematology: 21st century is evolutionary in the arena of medicallaboratory sciences but immunological adverse reactions of blood transfusion and possibletransmission of transfusion transmissible infections are still in their peak. Transmission ofplasmodium via blood is significantly important because only a small fraction of infected redcells of donor blood can lead to cause malarial parasitemia in the recipient. Present studywas planned to determine the frequency of Transfusion based transmissible malaria amongapparently healthy blood donors. Method: This study was conducted in the department oftransfusion medicine, Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. A total of 18,274 clinically healthy (volunteerand replacement) blood donors were included from 1stJanuary to 30th December 2014.Blood sample was collected through standard venipuncture method. The presence of malariaantigens was detected by the use of respective good quality immuno-chromatographic (ICT)devices. Results: Among the total 18,274 blood donors, 17,276 (94.53%) were found healthyand safe for transfusion. The remaining 998 (5.46%) donors were infected with any onetransfusion transmissible infection and therefore not suitable for blood donations. Among theinfected donors 20 (0.11%) blood donors were positive for malaria.We also evaluated monthwise prevalence of malaria, with highest positive rate detected in November. According toblood groups, highest prevalence was found in blood group B and the lowest was recorded inblood group AB. Conclusion: This study provided recent scenario of asymptomatic transfusiontransmissible Malaria among healthy blood donors population, therefore, it could play animportant role in limiting by drawing the attention of policy makers and health departmentofficials towards this serious health issue.


Several investigators have recently used the pig (Suidae) as an experimental model in the study of the retinal vasculature (Ashton, Dollery, Henkind, Hill, Paterson, Ramalho, and Shakib, I966; Dollery, Henkind, Paterson, Ramalho, and Hill, I965; Dollery, Henkind, Kohner, and Paterson, I968; Kohner, Dollery, Henkind, Paterson, and Ramalho, I967; Kohner, Dollery, Shakib, Henkind, Paterson, de Oliveira, and Bulpitt, I970; Henkind and Dollery, I966). The retinal circulation in the pig is holangiotic and is said to resemble closely that of man (Bloodworth, Gutgesell, and Engerman, I965; Duke-Elder, I958; Langenbacher, I880). Most of the literature available on this subject either concerns a single aspect of the microcirculation or is confusing. It was felt that a reinvestigation of the retinal vasculature system would be of interest to experimentalists using the pig as a laboratory animal. It is important at the outset to understand the origin of the orbital blood supply in the pig. As is common in the lower mammalia, the major orbital supply is derived from the external carotid circulation via the external ophthalmic artery (Duke-Elder, I958; Prince, Diesem, Eglitis, and Ruskell, I960). The internal carotid is almost vestigial and the cerebral circulation, arising from a carotid rete derived from the ascending pharyngeal artery, makes a minor contribution via the internal ophthalmic artery (Daniel, Dawes, and Pritchard, I953). The retinal arteries arise from the main ciliary vessels and pierce the sclera around the optic nerve head. Retinal veins come out through scleral channels to join the posterior ciliary veins (Prince and others, I960).


Although thrombophlebitis may be a complication of an incompetent great saphenous vein, it usually has a benign outcome. The risk of embolisation is present especially when ascending progression of superficial venous thrombosis extends to the femoral vein. The proximal extension of the thrombus often precedes clinically visible symptoms. Use of colour duplex sonography is superior to phlebography in assessing the saphenofemoral junction area and thrombus propagation in these cases. Our case report details the difficulties encountered in the diagnosis and therapy of a patient with a free-floating thrombus at the saphenofemoral junction.


Bisphosphonates (BPs) are a group of well-established drugs that are applied in the development of metabolic bone disorder-related therapies. There is increasing interest also in the application of BPs in the context of bone tissue engineering, which is the topic of this review, in which an extensive overview of published studies on the development and applications of BPs-based strategies for bone regeneration is provided with special focus on the rationale for the use of different BPs in three-dimensional (3D) bone tissue scaffolds. The different alternatives that are investigated to address the delivery and sustained release of these therapeutic drugs in the nearby tissues are comprehensively discussed, and the most significant published approaches on bisphosphonate-conjugated drugs in multifunctional 3D scaffolds as well as the role of BPs within coatings for the improved fixation of orthopedic implants are presented and critically evaluated. Finally, the authors' views regarding the remaining challenges in the fields and directions for future research efforts are highlighted.


Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is known as a key mediator of angiogenesis, but there is also evidence of its broad significance in neurogenesis and neuroprotection. Cytokines of the VEGF family affect neovascularization and neural development in the brain, particularly during cerebral ischemia, in which there is a coordinated interaction of angiogenesis and neurogenesis that contributes to rapid functional recovery. This review examines the involvement of VEGF family members and their receptors in physiological and pathophysiological processes as well as the relationship between VEGF-A plasma levels and ischemic stroke.


Backgroud: Virtual reality (VR) technology represents the future of medical education due to its unique advantages, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic lasting. We developed a laparoscopic VR surgery collaborative training platform hoping to shed light on future medical education in China.Methods: We constructed a VR surgery training platform and designed surgery curriculum on laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC). 36 first-year postgraduate students in China standardized training program for resident doctor (C-STRD) from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University were enrolled for validation trials. In the Phase I trial, 12 students performed LC in the exploration mode. After training in the surgery learning mode, they performed LC again. The LC scores before and after training were compared. In the Phase II trial, another 12 students were randomly assigned to either the collaborative group or the control group. The former trained with a senior surgeon collaboratively in the surgery learning mode and then performed LC alone in the exploration mode. The latter trained in the surgery learning mode by themselves and performed LC in the exploration mode. The LC scores between groups were compared. The user experience (intention to use, skills improvement, usability, degree of enjoyment) were analyzed through questionnaires from the above 24 students. Interest in surgery learning of Phase I students was compared with 12 students who didn't experience the VR platform.Results: In Phase I trial, the mean LC scores of the students were elevated from 56.83 to 61.17 (p=0.042) after learning in surgery learning mode. In Phase II trial, collaborative group students had higher scores than their rivals (67.17 vs 61.33, p=0.014). Most students have a positive users' experience regarding the intention to use and skills improvement. Collaborative group students had higher evaluation regarding usability. Students who experienced the VR platform were significantly more interested in future surgery learning (3.60 vs 2.58, p <0.05).Conclusion: Our study constructed a VR platform for collaborative surgery training, which showed an excellent training effect. Medical students rated the platform highly, and their interest in learning increased.


Aim: To determine whether there are Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) changes in the white matter pathways such as corpus callosum and internal capsule in patients with Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) and to investigate its relationship with tuber load. Materials and Methods: Our study included 17 children with TSC and 15 healthy controls. Total tuber load of the brain was calculated. Correlation between tuber load and ADC (Apparent diffusion coefficient) and FA (Fractional anisotropy) values at corpus callosum (CC) and internal capsule were investigated. Results: When patients with TSC were compared with control, there was a significant difference in ADC and FA values in the corpus callosum and internal capsule. There was a significant difference in FA values between the anterior and posterior limbs of the internal capsule on both sides. The ADC values of CC splenium were positively correlated with the total cerebral tuber load. Also, The FA values obtained from CC splenium were negatively correlated with the tuber load of the right cerebral hemisphere. Conclusion: Relationships between corpus callosum and internal capsule ADC and FA changes and tuber load show that microstructural damage develops in the white matter pathways. DTI parameters can be used as a more sensitive biomarker in the evaluation of the abnormal structure of white matter in patients with TSC. More comprehensive studies are needed to more clearly demonstrate the relationship between DTI properties of white matter and tuber load in TSC patients.


One of the world's striking trends that have been widely recognized is the aging of its population. The pharmaceutical care of the elderly population is of utmost concern in the westernized countries. Even in India, where the average life expectancy is 62.5 years, the aging population is growing. The number of elderly women at any point of time is reported to be more than the number of elderly men. With the advancement of science and medicine, life span and productive life of an individual has greatly increased. Added to this is the advances made by the pharma industry in providing affordable modern drugs to control the different diseases. All these factors have contributed to the rise in the number and percentage of elderly population all over the world and even in India. Elderly are more likely to experience drug related problems than any other age groups and also the biggest prescription users (40%) than any other group in the community. Hence, it is necessary and essential to elucidate the role of community pharmacist in the pharmaceutical care of elderly. Community pharmacist should possess certain basic skills, relearn basic pharmacy practice skills, apply the skills for elderly care and carry out the preventive care, and also develop a rational and feasible pharmaceutical care plan (PCP) for the elderly care. As such, community pharmacists therefore can implement quite a few aspects of PCP in India and give benefit of their knowledge to the patients at large.


This thesis explores infertility in the ancient medical texts. Fertility was a topic of great interest to ancient medical writers and in the last 30 years their views have received considerable attention from modem scholars.

Although the subject of infertility has been discussed within the wider context of fertility, there has been little work that focuses specifically on infertility. In fact, the only work that has begun to analyse infertility in any detail is Rebecca Flemming's 2013 article 'The Invention of Infertility in the Classical Greek World: Medicine, Divinity, and Gender'. Although Flemming's work is a welcome addition to the scholarship, it is only the beginning, and Flemming herself highlights that more research is needed on this topic. The aim of this thesis, then, is to undertake a full-scale study of infertility focusing on the ancient texts. I intend to show that by approaching the ancient medical texts with the question 'what do these texts tell us about infertility?' instead of 'what do these texts tell us about fertility?' the answers, and therefore our understanding of infertility, are very different.

The first half of the thesis outlines what infertility meant to the ancient medical writers by looking at factors such as the language of infertility, its perceived causes and its various treatments. The second half seeks to build on the first by analysing how responsibility for infertility was shared between the couple in both theory and practice. In the final two chapters, I explore how the apparent system of blame and protection associated with infertility is articulated by the Hippocratic authors.

The focus of this thesis is the Hippocratic corpus, most of which dates from the fifth to fourth centuries BC. However, I also consider other ancient authors, particularly the biological works of Aristotle, in order to place the Hippocratic theories into a wider context. In addition, I will consider evidence beyond the ancient medical texts in order to examine possible alternative sources of advice and treatment available to an infertile couple.


Research, the universal pursuit of new knowledge, is embarking on a fresh journey into artificial intelligence (AI). Nature reports that AI arose nine places to the fourth-most popular search term and that search terms machine learning and deep learning appeared in the top 20 for the first time since 2018. It is pertinent for industrial informatics to embrace this renewed surge of interest in AI with a clear direction and purpose that engages scholars, practitioners, and professionals alike.


Shadows cast by the moving objects may lead to several errors in the process of moving object detection and tracking. Since the shadows are connected to the object and move along with it, false object detection may occur in addition to the problem of false connectivity and loss of background texture. Hence shadow detection is an important preprocessing step for a robust visual surveillance system. However, the conventional methods which usually use a static threshold over the color and/or intensity channels for shadow detection may fail when some object regions have properties identical to the cast shadow (fake shadow). In this paper, we present a novel shadow detection and removal scheme which can effectively deal with the problem of fake shadows using the HOG (histogram-of-oriented gradients) features. In the initial stage of moving object detection we make use of GMM (Gaussian mixture model) to properly segment the foreground regions. Since HSV color space gives a better separation of chromaticity and intensity, it helps to detect the shadows in the segmented foreground but at the same time may also misclassify some object regions as shadow regions. We exploit the fact that these object regions (misclassified regions/fake shadows) change the entire background information as compared to the cast shadows which mostly cause intensity variations over the background and perform a local feature matching process to properly identify the real shadow and fake shadow regions. Once the regions are identified it becomes easy to remove the shadows without any loss of information in the object regions. Experimental results indicate that the proposed method achieves good results in outdoor scenarios.


National income accounting practice is to weight health service activities by their cost so that they can be aggregated into an output index. Quality changes are ignored. We propose an 'ideal' value weighted output index in which the value attached to each output reflects its contribution to health outcomes and other characteristics valued by patients. Calculation of the index for the health system as a whole is currently infeasible because of a lack of data, especially on health outcomes. We demonstrate alternative ways of combining health outcome data with existing information on post-treatment survival, life expectancy and waiting times to construct quality adjusted cost weighted and health outcome weighted indices for a small set of hospital activities for which there are health outcome data.


It is suggested that three types of experiment should be added to those normally used in physics courses. One type is the unusual experiment which engages the emotions through being odd, dramatic, beautiful or puzzling. Another type is intended to establish generalised episodes involving materials and events of common experience, with the purposes of linking school subject matter and daily life and of providing experiences which will be called into play in making subsequent information comprehensible. The third type consists of true problem solving exercises which serve to integrate students' knowledge of physics, making that knowledge more readily recallable and applicable to further problems.