Proliferative and necrotizing feline otitis externa is a rare disorder of unknown aetiology. This condition was diagnosed by skin biopsy in three adult domestic shorthair cats (3-5 years old) and one kitten (6 months old). The affected cats had large tan to dark brown-black coalescing plaques covering the concave surface of the pinnae and external ear canals. Friable material from the plaques and a thick exudate occluded the ear canals. The cats had a secondary bacterial and/or yeast otitis. Prior to the histopathological diagnosis, all cats received numerous otic preparations as well as oral antibiotics and corticosteroids without resolution. Histologically, all cases had strikingly similar changes; acanthosis with pronounced hair follicle outer root sheath hyperplasia and neutrophilic luminal folliculitis, follicular keratosis and individually necrotic keratinocytes in the outer root sheath of hair follicles. One case was documented via skin biopsy to have persisted for 4 years. The adult cats were treated with topical 0.1% tacrolimus and all showed marked improvement although one cat was lost to follow up. The lesions completely resolved with topical tacrolimus alone in one cat and topical tacrolimus in addition to oral prednisolone in another cat.


In [3] we considered a family of 3-manifolds M4, which were defined as mapping tori of specially constructed surface homeomorphisms (D. Contrary to our claim there, these 3-manifolds in fact admit involutions, as was pointed out to us by M. Sakuma. However, by introducing a slight change in the family of maps (F we are able to recover all the results claimed in [3]. With the change in the maps (D described below we correct the difficulty in [3], which occurs in Lemma 1, and are easily able to adapt the remaining arguments to the new maps (D, thus obtaining the desired examples of closed, orientable, aspherical 3-manifolds with no periodic maps. Recall from [3] that F denotes a closed orientable surface of genus g (g 3) situated in R3 as shown in Figure 1 and that {a1, bi 1 ?I? g} is a set of simple closed curves as shown. b, ~~~~~~~bg


We report on acanthocytosis in a 31‐year‐old woman with homozygous familial hypobetalipoproteinemia due to a mutation affecting the splicing of the APOB gene encoding apolipoprotein B. Treatment with fat‐soluble vitamins was associated with arrest of the usually progressive neurological complications of this condition. However, the acanthocytosis – literally 'thorny' erythrocytes that result from abnormal membrane fluidity – persists despite treatment.


Manual tracking of health behaviors affords many benefits, including increased awareness and engagement. However, the capture burden makes long-term manual tracking challenging. In this study on sleep tracking, we examine ways to reduce the capture burden of manual tracking while leveraging its benefits. We report on the design and evaluation of SleepTight, a low-burden, self-monitoring tool that leverages the Android's widgets both to reduce the capture burden and to improve access to information. Through a four-week deployment study (N = 22), we found that participants who used SleepTight with the widgets enabled had a higher sleep diary compliance rate (92%) than participants who used SleepTight without the widgets (73%). In addition, the widgets improved information access and encouraged self-reflection. We discuss how to leverage widgets to help people collect more data and improve access to information, and more broadly, how to design successful manual self-monitoring tools that support self-reflection.


Abstract Not only is the number of computed tomography (CT) units relative to population in Japan the highest in the world, that of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) units is second only to the United States. This study examines the diffusion pattern of MRI in Japan, as well as the factors that influence it. The number of MRI units has increased sharply, closely following CT, as has been the case in the United States. This pattern of diffusion in Japan was determined mainly by the following factors: the technological attributes of MRI; the market situation of the medical engineering industry; the reimbursement system of health insurance; and Japan's sociocultural background. However, the introduction of MRI in Japan was not linked to any formal assessment of its efficacy or effectiveness.


Androgen receptor was immunolocalized in the epididymal epithelium of rams and in isolated cells using an antibody against a synthetic polypeptide representing a portion of the androgen receptor. Immunostaining was predominant in the epithelium in tissue sections. Concentrations of androgen receptor were determined in cells from the central caput, distal caput, and central corpus epididymidis enzymically dissociated and elutriated to provide two fractions. On the average (n = 18), Fraction I contained 8% principal cells while Fraction II contained 71% principal cells; the stromal cells in each fraction were primarily smooth muscle and fibroblasts. For each sample, the number of DHT receptors (fmol) per 10(6) total cells was greater in Fraction II than in Fraction I. Few cells in Fraction I were immunostained for androgen receptor, whereas most cells in Fraction II were intensely stained. The numbers of DHT receptors per cell, or per principal cell, were similar for the central caput and distal caput, but lower in the central corpus epididymidis. The results support our hypothesis that most epididymal DHT receptors are localized in principal cells and confirm that the region between the central caput and proximal corpus of the ram epididymis is most dependent on androgen stimulation.


In an attempt to answer the aforementioned question, Edwin M. Monsell, MD, PhD, of the Chicago Otology Group, Hinsdale, Ill, and Derald Brackmann, MD, and Fred Linthicum, Jr, MD, of the Otologic Medical Group and House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, reviewed the clinical histories obtained from patients failing vestibular ablative procedures at the April meeting of the American Neurotology Society, Denver. Furthermore, vestibular nerve specimens and one temporal bone from this patient population were studied by light microscopy. The authors identified persistence of the central processes of primary vestibular neurons in three specimens obtained from patients who had ongoing symptoms and ice-water caloric responses after retrolabyrinthine vestibular neurectomy. It was their opinion that this was due to incomplete neurectomy and anatomic variations in the plane of separation of the vestibular and cochlear portions of the eighth nerve in the posterior fossa. Moreover, noting that persistent disabling unsteadiness has been reported


Objective:To provide information on responses to combination antiretroviral therapy in children, adolescents and older HIV-infected persons. Design and setting:Multicohort collaboration of 33 European cohorts. Subjects:Forty-nine thousand nine hundred and twenty-one antiretroviral-naive individuals starting combination antiretroviral therapy from 1998 to 2006. Outcome measures:Time from combination antiretroviral therapy initiation to HIV RNA less than 50 copies/ml (virological response), CD4 increase of more than 100 cells/μl (immunological response) and new AIDS/death were analysed using survival methods. Ten age strata were chosen: less than 2, 2–5, 6–12, 13–17, 18–29, 30–39 (reference group), 40–49, 50–54, 55–59 and 60 years or older; those aged 6 years or more were included in multivariable analyses. Results:The four youngest age groups had 223, 184, 219 and 201 individuals and the three oldest age groups had 2693, 1656 and 1613 individuals. Precombination antiretroviral therapy CD4 cell counts were highest in young children and declined with age. By 12 months, 53.7% (95% confidence interval: 53.2–54.1%) and 59.2% (58.7–59.6%) had experienced a virological and immunological response. The probability of virological response was lower in those aged 6–12 (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.87) and 13–17 (0.78) years, but was higher in those aged 50–54 (1.24), 55–59 (1.24) and at least 60 (1.18) years. The probability of immunological response was higher in children and younger adults and reduced in those 60 years or older. Those aged 55–59 and 60 years or older had poorer clinical outcomes after adjusting for the latest CD4 cell count. Conclusion:Better virological responses but poorer immunological responses in older individuals, together with low precombination antiretroviral therapy CD4 cell counts, may place this group at increased clinical risk. The poorer virological responses in children may increase the likelihood of emergence of resistance.


Background: It is likely that the imbalance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines will determine the outcome in infants with severe respiratory failure receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Aims: We determined if there was an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in serial bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid obtained from survivors and non-survivors of ECMO. Methods: We therefore measured the cellular changes and the molar ratios of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in serial BAL fluid obtained from survivors and non-survivors of ECMO. Fifteen infants surviving ECMO (median age 1 day, range 1–120) and 7 who did not (28 days, range 1–402) were studied. Results: In the lungs of survivors, the increased proportion of airway neutrophils at presentation decreased with time and was matched by a parallel increase in percent alveolar macrophages as the infants' condition improved. The pro- and anti-inflammatory pulmonary cytokine ratios were static in the survivors. In the non-survivors, the ratio of tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) against soluble TNF-receptor 1 (sTNF-R1) and soluble TNF receptor 2 (sTNF-R2) was increased at days 2–3 when compared to the survivors, but the molar ratio interleukin-1β (IL-1β)/soluble IL-1 receptor antagonist (sIL-1RA) was largely undetectable due to undetectable IL-1β. Conclusions: These data suggest that the infants who survive ECMO resolve their pulmonary inflammation and that in non-survivors the ratio of TNF-α against its receptor antagonists is increased and is associated with a poor outcome. Furthermore, this group of infants were unable to produce significant concentrations of IL-1β.


ABSTRACT Epigenetic modifications can contribute to adaptation, but the relative contributions of genetic and epigenetic variation are unknown. Previous studies on the role of epigenetic changes in adaptation in eukaryotes have nearly exclusively focused on cytosine methylation (m5C), while prokaryotes exhibit a richer system of methyltransferases targetting adenines (m6A) or cytosines (m4C, m5C). DNA methylation in prokaryotes has many roles, but its potential role in adaptation still needs further investigation. We collected phenotypic, genetic, and epigenetic data using single molecule real-time sequencing of clones of the bacterium Serratia marcescens that had undergone experimental evolution in contrasting temperatures to investigate the relationship between environment and genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic changes. The genomic distribution of GATC motifs, which were the main target for m6A methylation, and of variable m6A epiloci pointed to a potential link between m6A methylation and regulation of gene expression in S. marcescens. Evolved strains, while genetically homogeneous, exhibited many polymorphic m6A epiloci. There was no strong support for a genetic control of methylation changes in our experiment, and no clear evidence of parallel environmentally induced or environmentally selected methylation changes at specific epiloci was found. Both genetic and epigenetic variants were associated with some phenotypic traits. Overall, our results suggest that both genetic and adenine methylation changes have the potential to contribute to phenotypic adaptation in S. marcescens, but that any environmentally induced epigenetic change occurring in our experiment would probably have been quite labile.


A general formulation of the collision between two heavy ions is presented. While this formalism may also be applied to nuclear structure problems, the emphasis is placed upon the electronic structure. Molecular and relativistic effects on the electronic motion are incorporated into the formalism through the two-centre-many-body-Dirac equation. The various couplings of the electronic system to the nuclear system are illustrated in two cases. First the relative nuclear motion is treated quantum mechanically and then the semiclassical description of this motion is presented. The formalism is applied to inner shell vacancy production, molecular X-ray transitions and both induced and autoionized positron spectra of the quantum electrodynamics of strong fields. Also induced and spontaneous and induced radiationless transitions are discussed.


Transplantable strain of murine lymphosarcoma growing as a free suspension in the peritoneal cavity of isologous hosts was isolated after fractionated irradiation of C57BL mice. A 14-year cultivation led to changes in its properties; the mean survival time of the hosts was shortened, the modal number of chromosomes changed from 41--42 to 39 and their radioresistance increased slightly. Strain specificity remained unchanged.


The report summarizes the findings and conclusions of the Public Policy Project and presents policy implications for other metropolitan areas planning for rapid rail transit development. Impacts of BART on public policy actions and decision-making processes are assessed in four areas--organization, finance, land use and transportation. These BART public policy impact findings are interpreted for each of three different types of communities--urban core, urban residential and suburban.


This report examines the methods and formulas used to reapportion seats in the House of Representatives following a Census. Although modern Congresses have rarely considered the issue of the formula used in the calculations, this report describes apportionment options from which Congress could choose and the criteria that each method satisfies.


Emotions  comprise a vital factor in human instinct and conduct. The most well-known path for individuals to express their assessments, contemplations and speak with one another is through composed content. In this paper, we present a slant investigation framework for programmed acknowledgment of feelings in text, utilizing a troupe of classifiers. The planned group classifier diagram depends on the idea of joining knowledgebased and measurable AI arrangement strategies expecting to profit by their benefits and limit their downsides. The gathering composition depends on three classifiers; two are factual (a Naive Bayes and a Maximum Entropy student) and the third one is an information based apparatus performing profound examination of the regular language sentences. The information based instrument dissects the sentence's content design and conditions and actualizes a catchphrase based methodology, where the enthusiastic condition of a sentence is gotten from the passionate fondness of the sentence's enthusiastic parts. The group classifier composition has been broadly assessed on different types of text, for example, news features, articles and online media posts. The exploratory outcomes demonstrate very good execution with respect to the capacity to perceive feeling presence in text and furthermore to recognize the extremity of the feelings.Estimation examination


Rollovers are complex crashes that have serious consequences for vehicle safety and human life. Bus manufacturers are focusing on passenger life against bus rollovers. Different materials and assembly techniques have been tried out by manufacturers to reduce the deathly impacts of rollovers. The Economic Commission for Europe enforced Regulation No. 66 (ECE R66) for the superstructure strength of buses to provide vehicle safety and protect passenger lives. Thus, design characteristics must satisfy ECE R66 under various load applications, without fail. This paper presents the evaluation of foam applied on the sidewalls of a non-commercial bus during rollover. The non-linear explicit dynamics code LS-DYNA as a solver and ANSA software as FEA pre/post-processors were used throughout the rollover analysis. Results showed that foam application on the sidewalls enhanced the impact resistance of buses during rollovers without making the body structure heavier.


Trees and plants are important elements of outdoor scenes, therefore, it makes demands of research involved in computer graphics on methods to realize the natural-looking trees and plants in various environmental condition, such as windy or stormy weather, to contribute more facticity to the virtual reality. The paper starts from introducing the general background. Then, an approach adopting a series of statistical curves as inputted parameters of tree morphogenesis and motion depiction, which represent ramification modes, phyllotaxes or motion profiles of leaves and stems. Finally, some experimental models in virtual scene were showed.
 We focus on the faithful morphogenesis of tree, swaying motion in wind and the appropriate rendering speed. Aside, all the inputted statistical curves can be modified interactively to integrate the research work of botanists and other experts, which vary with species and districts. Within this methodology, various plant models can be created easily and rapidly without any botanic background, and faithful motion of tree in wind can be simulated easily with proper engineering accuracy and effective computation.


The Belhelvie basic igneous mass lies between 4 and 10 miles north of Aberdeen. It has been described by Stewart (1946) who comments that the south and west margins of the mass can only be approximately located because of lack of exposure. Associated with the igneous mass is a considerable magnetic anomaly (McGregor and Wilson 1967) and it has proved possible to locate this boundary more accurately by means of magnetometer surveys and drilling. Three total field magnetic traverses were located along the lines shown in Fig. 1. Each profile has the same general form, with a very flat, uniform magnetic field over the country rocks (acid gneisses) and a sudden, sharp rise through approximately 2000 gama at the contact (Fig. 2) Thereafter, within the area of igneous rock, the magnetic field shows variations of the order of ±500 gamma. Boreholes were drilled along one of the magnetic traverses and they confirmed that the contact lay approximately at the point of steepest slope of the magnetic profile (Fig. 2). This fact, together with evidence from topography and soil changes allows the western boundary to be re-drawn as indicated on the map. The type of bedrock encountered in the boreholes is entirely in accordance with the general distribution found by Stewart (1946). Ultrabasic rock (peridotite) forms a band about half a mile wide along the south-west margin passing into troctolites to the east. The width of outcrop of the ultrabasic rocks is fairly constant along this side of the mass. A . . .


This book systematically explores and discusses English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) research methods frequently deployed by ELF researchers in analysing their data.

It mainly covers three different approaches: corpus-based, both written and spoken, conversation analytic and narrative approaches. In addition to exploring these different approaches to ELF data, the volume also introduces case studies that utilise them in analysing data in both academic and workplace settings, which facilitates not only the understanding of the ways in which research is conducted but also its findings. Furthermore, the book discusses theoretical underpinnings of ELF research and its recent development in its first part. It is comprehensive both in understanding theory and exploring research methods which can be deployed in conducting ELF research.

The book, therefore, will be of great interest and use for both ELF researchers and educators as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students who are about to embark on their ELF and ELF-related research, and also to those who are new to the field.


This review covers a method for preparing an overbased detergent−dispersion additive called overbased calcium sulfonate solution (OBCSS) containing 38.9% (w/w) CaCO3, with a total base number (TBN) value of 436 mg KOH, starting from neutral calcium sulfonate solution (NCSS).1,2 After the column conditions were optimized, the reaction parameters (PCO2 and the amounts of Ca(OH)2, water, and monoethanolamine (MEA)) were examined throughout the tests. The first product medium alkali calcium sulfonate solution (MACSS) with 8.5% (w/w) CaCO3 (TBN = 95 mg KOH/g) is obtained, but higher base values could not be reached. In the second stage, monoethanolamine is added to the feed as a promoter and high alkali calcium sulfonate solution (HACSS) containing 30.4% (w/w) CaCO3 with the value of TBN = 274 mg KOH/g is obtained. In the third stage of the study, targeted product OBCSS is obtained by using HACSS as a feedstock component instead of NCSS.


BACKGROUND
Whole-body (WB) positron emission tomography (PET) with 2-[(18)F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) is more accurate than other imaging studies for detecting lung cancer and extrathoracic metastatic disease. Thoracic PET (from the skull base through the kidneys) may be equally as useful as WB PET (skull base to mid-thigh). With the recent introduction of hybrid CT-PET systems, use of thoracic PET would minimize radiation dose.

METHODS
A retrospective review of a series of WB PET scans performed in our department was performed to identify patients evaluated for a solitary pulmonary nodule or newly diagnosed lung cancer who had distant extracranial and extrathoracic metastases detected by PET. All patients with true extrathoracic metastases were documented by ancillary radiologic and clinical data. Patients were staged according to the American Joint Committee on Cancer TNM system based on findings within the confines of a thoracic PET and WB PET. Comparison was made between staging based on thoracic and WB PET to determine if there was a significant difference.

RESULTS
Of 1,026 studies, distant extracranial metastases were described in 35 patients with lung cancer. Findings were determined to be false-positive in nine patients. Of the 26 patients with true metastases on WB PET, 25 patients had metastatic lesions within the confines of thoracic PET. Relative to WB PET, the sensitivity of thoracic PET is 96.2% (95% confidence interval, 1 to 99.3%) for detection of distant metastases. Only one patient had an isolated metastasis that was detected only by WB PET. This patient would have been staged IIIB by thoracic PET as opposed to stage IV by WB PET.

CONCLUSIONS
Thoracic PET, when compared to WB PET, is 96.2% sensitive for detecting extrathoracic metastases in patients with newly diagnosed non-small cell lung cancer.


Purpose To describe a modified technique of white line advancement posterior ptosis surgery and to report the success rate of the procedure. Methods A retrospective case series of 60 patients who presented with ptosis with good levator function. The success rate was defined as an MRD1 of greater than or equal to 3.5 mm, symmetrical eyelid position with an intereyelid height asymmetry of ≤1 mm, and a satisfactory eyelid contour at 3 months follow-up. Results Sixty patients (91 eyelids) met the inclusion criteria. Mild postoperative complications occurred in 11 patients that resolved without surgical intervention. Seven patients had recurrence of ptosis: four patients had early recurrence and 3 had late recurrence. The success rate was 88.33% with an average follow-up of 9 months. Conclusion This procedure is a promising technique in cosmetic and functional ptosis correction. The advantage of this posterior approach procedure is that there is no conjunctival resection; it is suitable for young patients who do not have excess eyelid skin. The procedure is quick with a short recovery period. Additionally, it can be combined with another procedure and in different pathology.


Most of the industrial control loops are multivariable control loops, so the control system performance evaluation is the major study of multivariable control system. The combustion control system of power unit is a typical multivariable control system, which is used to guarantee the economy and safety of the boiler. This paper presents a kind of performance evaluation method based on data-driven. The normal operation of the system does not produce additional perturbation and the calculation is simple and convenient to implement. This method can be reliable and accurate implementation to other multivariable control system.


BACKGROUND: Obesity is a multi factorial disease. Data collection plays a fundamental role for conducting papers with high level of quality and obesity surgery lacks the means to carry out prospective studies with high reliability. Data from electronic protocols are more complete, have fewer errors, are more consistent and have a low percentage of violations in relation to paper charts. AIM: 1) To create a theoretical basis of clinical data regarding the multiprofessionalism on metabolic and bariatric surgery; 2) to computerize this basis by transforming it into electronic multi professional protocol; 3) to incorporate it into the SINPE©; 4) to provide the protocol address and their collections for viewing via the Internet using SINPE WEB©. METHOD: The creation of the theoretical background was done in Word© - later transformed into digital form to be used as electronic protocol - based on literature review of nine textbooks in morbid obesity, bariatric surgery and metabolic multi professionalism books, special books in psychology and nutrition applied to the subject. Was added systematic review of the literature based on scientific articles published over the last five years in Medline/Pubmed, Lilacs and Scielo and in theses and dissertations done with electronic protocols. Thus, 10,306 items were computerized in a hierarchical and branched containing data related to medicine, physiotherapy, psychology and nutrition applied to the subject. RESULTS: The complete protocol can be accessed to view in site www.sinpe.com.br CONCLUSIONS: 1) It was possible to create electronic database regarding the clinical multi professionalism on bariatric and metabolic surgery to collect standardized information; 2) it was possible to computerized the database; 3) it is incorporated into the SINPE©; 4) the electronic protocol and its collections were made available for viewing via the Internet using SINPE WEB©.


State Machines and Linear Time Hierarchies Yuri Gurevich University of Michigan (This is joint work with Andreas Blass.) We generalize Neil Jones' Linear Time Hierarchy Theorem to Random Access Machines and (which is harder) to Abstract State Machines. Normalization by Evaluation Helmut Schwichtenberg Universität München (This is joint work with Ulrick Berger and Matthias Eberl.) We extend normalization by evaluation (first presented in LICS '91) from pure, typed λ-calculus to general higher-type rewriting systems. Improvement Theory and Its Applications David Sands Chalmers University Improvement theory is a variant of the standard theories of observational approximation (or equivalence) in which the basic observations made of a program's execution include some intensional information about, for example, the program's computational cost. One program is an improvement of another if its execution is no less costly in any program context. In this talk we give an overview of our work on the improvement theory and its applications. Applications include reasoning about time properties of functional programs, and proving the correctness of program transformation methods.


Abstract Our aim was to reach a better insight of the disposition of people living alone with dementia toward the use of care and support services. In biographical narrative interviews, women and men with dementia communicated to us their opinions, needs, and subjectively perceived level of resources regarding their everyday life and care. Both individual and gender-specific differences concerning the use of formal support become evident in their narrations. We offer indications for a future healthcare practice that is specific to dementia. To fully exploit the potential of participatory research, study designs specific to dementia should be developed further.


Hydrocarbon degrading bacteria were isolated from the petrol contaminated soil of Karachi to determine their biodegradation capabilities of aromatic hydrocarbons such as xylene, phenanthrene, naphthalene, biphenyl and anthracene. Twelve bacterial strains were isolated by culture enrichment technique in Bushnell Hass medium in the presence of petrol. Hydrocarbon degradation capabilities of bacterial strains were assessed by means of enumeration using spread-plate technique. Current study revealed that all of the twelve isolated bacterial strains were able to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons, particularly Pseudomonas sp. SA044, degraded all the tested five aromatic hydrocarbons while Burkholderia sp., Ralstonia sp., Stenotrophomonas sp., Micrococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp. degraded three or more aromatic hydrocarbons. Naphthalene and phenanthrene were the most degraded aromatic hydrocarbons.


This study describes, analyses and provides suggestions for the amelioration of the impact of age-long deforestation on the distribution of forest birds on the islands of Java and Bali (Indonesia). The first section deals with colonisation and extinction processes of forest birds in a number of remaining forest patches on Java. In the regenerating forest of the Krakatau Islands colonisation and extinction of land birds appear to follow vegetation succession, and therefore seem to affect the monotonic change as predicted by MacArthur & Wilson's equilibrium theory of island biogeography. Extinction of forest birds in the Bogor botanical gardens appears to mirror closely the condition of bird communities in the surroundings of this isolated woodland patch. Distribution patterns of forest birds across 19 highly scattered forest fragments ranging from six to 50,000 hectares show clearly that the ability of birds to survive in surrounding habitat reflects the ability to survive in these patches. To show this, four ecological groups of forest birds have been distinguished: (1) forest interior birds, (2) forest edge birds, (3) woodland birds and (4) rural/urban birds. Nestedness patterns (in which species are found in all fragments larger than the smallest one in which it occurs) are found to be strongest for species restricted to forest interior and edge, weaker for secondary growth, and weakest for rural and urban bird species. A large number of forest interior species appear to be absent from most patches smaller than 10,000 ha, and most are entirely absent from forest patches smaller than 100 ha. In the second section of this thesis the conservation status of three globally threatened, high-profile birds is analysed. The endemic, endangered Javan hawk-eagle Spizaetus bartelsi , traditionally considered amongst the most vulnerable forest dwellers, appears to survive in 137-188 breeding pairs in often small and isolated rainforest patches; its survival is explained by (a) juvenile dispersal capabilities, (b) broader niche widths and (c) rather opportunistic feeding. Partly protected by local taboos on hunting, the vulnerable green peafowl Pavo muticus has survived many centuries of human pressure; nowadays at least 1000 birds are scattered across numerous subpopulations. The wild population of the endemic, critically threatened endemic Bali starling Leucopsar rothschildi collapsed since its discovery in 1910 to near extinction in 1990, due to habitat loss and popularity amongst bird-keepers world-wide; despite various conservation measures (captive breeding, awareness programmes, etc.) an intricate web of socio-economic factors prevents the species from emerging from this precarious situation.


In the Argentinean Andes, people craft miniatures in order to please Saint Anne. Most literature on Andean miniatures focuses on their exchange and use. This paper addresses their production process in an attempt to show that the value of miniatures is entangled in practices. Ethnographic description shows that miniatures should please the saint because they are said to be much more complicated to craft than their normally scaled homologues, and thus their production requires more diligence and faith. In this light, it is argued that miniatures are more than a physical reproduction of a larger-scaled model; they are examples in the sense that they completely incarnate key moral values. Yet, their coexistence with industrially manufactured items accounts for the exercise of individual choice in the realization of ritual scaling practices. In the context of an ongoing ethical turn in anthropology, this paper explores the articulation of collective morality and freedom as it relates to ritual scaling practices. In so doing it also highlights the entangled transmission process of technical skills, religiosity, and morality.


The nutritional potential of the leaves and seeds of Solanum nigrum L. Var virginicum was assessed by determining proximate and phytochemical composition. Results indicate protein content of the leaves and seed as 24.90% and 17.63% respectively. Other findings are ash 10.18% and 8.05%, crude fibre, 6.81% and 6.29 and carbohydrate, 53.51 and 55.85% for the leaves and seed respectively. Mineral analysis revealed the order Mg>K>Ca>Fe>Na>Mn>Zn in the leaves and Mg>K>Fe>Ca>Na>Mn>Zn in the seeds. Phosphorus and sulphur levels were 75.22 and 8.55 mg/100g in the leaves and 62.50 and 14.48, g/100g in the seeds. Vitamin content indicate the order vit C>vit B,>Folic acid>Vit E>Vit A in both the leaves and seeds. Phytochemical analysis revealed high oxalate, phenol but low sterol content in the studied plant materials. Cyanide levels were higher in the leaves compared to the seeds. These results suggest that S. nigrum L. Var virginicum to be nutritive despite the presence of some anti-nutritive components like oxalate.


Abstract : Adenosine, a product of adenosine triphosphate metabolism, has been proposed as a mediator of coronary vascular resistance (CVR) in the normal heart. This study was designed to determine if the relationship between adenosine production and CVR is altered in diabetes mellitus, a metabolic disorder characterized by a decrease in insulin function and associated with serious cardiac complications. The relationship between myocardial adenosine production and CVR was studied in normal and chemically-induced diabetic rats and dogs. There was a significant negative correlation between myocardial adenosine content and CVR in the normal rats, but not in the diabetic rats. Diabetic rats exhibited decreased coronary blood flow (CBF) and impaired ventricular pressure development and contractility as compared to controls. Myocardial adenosine content was elevated in the diabetic rats without an associated change in CVR. The effects of exercise conditioning on the relationship between myocardial adenosine content and CVR were also tested because exercise training has been shown by others to increase insulin binding and glucose uptake in blood cells and skeletal muscle, respectively, in both normal and diabetic individuals. Following an eight - week running program, the correlation between myocardial adenosine content and CVR was restored to normal in the diabetic rats. Studies were conducted in dogs for the purpose of studying adenosine release, or the product of CBF and coronary sinus-arterial adenosine concentrations. Under basal conditions, diabetic dogs exhibited decreased CVR and increased coronary blood flow, cardiac work and myocardial oxygen consumption as compared to normal animals. Interestingly, basal adenosine release was not different between the two groups and a significant negative correlation between adenosine release and coronary vasodilatation during intravenous norepinephrine infusion was evident in normal dogs only.


1. 0 antigens to one strain each of Klebsiella type 55-97, Paracolon 0, Group 3, and S. Choleraesuis produce antibodies in rabbits which can be measured by the following techniques: bacterial agglutination, indirect hemagglutination using red blood cells sensitized with bacterial suspension, bacterial polysaccharide or Seitz filtrate of broth culture of the bacteria, and the hemolytic modificaion of the hemagglutination test using bacterial suspension or polysaccharide sensitized red blood cells as antigen.
 2. The highest absolute titers are recorded with bacterial suspension sensitized red blood cells in either the hemagglutination test or the hemolytic modification of this test. Titer differences between paired sera are measured as well by the bacterial agglutination test as by the indirect hemaglutination test. This is true for any of the three bacterial antigens studies.
 3. Cross absorption tests with a Klebsiella antiserum and four forms of the homologous antigen indicate that the Klebsiella organism least two antigenic components giving rise to distinct antibodies.
 4. Differences in titer between bacterial and hemagglutinating antibodies for Klebsiella are the result of the existence of two distinct antigenic components in the bacteria which are measured separately by each test.


Pearsall acknowledges that Gower's decision to write in three languages may be perceived as "a timid hedging of bets on posterior fame, a safe but unspectacular investment" (5), but he argues that "there is a logic in Gower's progress through the languages which reflects the age, as always, with great fidelity" (5). For instance, the morally didactic MO comes in "a long tradition of serious, practical, admonitory writing in Anglo-French" (5). Accordingly, Pearsall suggests that in the MO Gower "places a moral grid over the map of human experience and reads it through that" (8). Truth, for Gower, is a castle under siege, "whose walls are crumbling and showing fissures. It is his duty, not to make daring exploratory forays into the hinterland of experience, but to shore up these fragments against the world's ruin" (8). The same is true for the VC, for when Gower asserts the moral responsibility of man in the face of the forces of Fortune and Nature, "nothing better illustrates the meaninglessness of experience, in the medieval scheme, in comparison with moral truth" (8-9). Gower's "savage Roman obscenity of wit" (9) in this work further suggests something of "the imaginative and verbal licence which Latin provided, when the simple innocence of the laity was not in danger of being corrupted" (9). The most interesting part of the VC, for Pearsall, is Book 1. Pearsall writes: "The Revolt certainly disturbed Gower, but it was a godsend to him as a fulfillment of his prophecies and as a way of getting his poem off to an explosive start" (10). In comparison with Gower's French and Latin works, the CA is "a relaxation from these strenuous moral endeavours … In this poem Gower found, as if by chance, his natural vocation as a polished and fluent verse narrator, and it is this story-teller's gift which is our chief delight in reading Gower, and his chief claim on our attention" (5-6). The bulk of Pearsall's chapter on Gower is therefore dedicated to proving the greatness of the CA, where Gower writes "out of imaginative sympathy and not out of admonitory purpose" (6). Much here is borrowed from Pearsall's previous article, "Gower's Narrative Art" (1966), although often with different nuances and emphases. For instance, more attention is given to Gower's excision of the reference to Chaucer, and Pearsall dwells a little longer on Gower's "verbal artistry" (21). Generally, though, all the same points are made, and Pearsall's conclusion repeats his earlier findings: "The Confessio, however, does in the end become something more than a programme, for it passes beyond prescription to a 'civilization of the heart', in which fine feeling, humane sensitivity and 'gentillesse' take over the role of conscience as the source of virtuous action. Sin is made to seem not so much deadly as stupid and low" (17). Pearsall's brief volume also refers sporadically to some of the minor works, and it includes a chronology of important dates in Gower's life as well as a select bibliography of the more important secondary literature on Gower. [CvD]


Journal of the Malta College of Pharmacy Practice 41 Since October 2008 a number of European countries have been requested to change their legislation in order to liberalize community pharmacy services. This was followed by an EU workshop on pharmacies held in Berlin; where "Director General Jorgen Homquist opened the workshop by explaining the commission's motivation.....: Due to complaints, the Commission is forced to open infringement proceedings, but hopes for a solution without a trial."1 Present at the Summit were representatives from the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union (PGEU) who argued that a financial crisis would follow market liberalization, on the The European Court of Justice on the liberalisation of community pharmacy services


The international prognostic index (IPI) has been established as one of the best predictors of outcome, and several different immunologic subtypes have been established as independent predictors of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). This study was aimed to reassess and re-evaluate the useful value of these prognostic predictors in patients treated with immunochemotherapy. A retrospective analysis of clinical records of immuno-chemotherapeutic (rituximab + CHOP, R-CHOP) and route chemotherapeutic (CHOP) groups was carried out. Standard two-step method of immunohistochemical staining was used to assess the expression of CD10, MUM-1, BCL-6 and BCL-2. The different classification models (Han's algorithm and Muris model) were performed for patients with DLBCL according to the immunohistochemical staining results in both R-CHOP and CHOP regimen groups. Then the data of remission and overall survival rate in different groups were analyzed to investigate the effect of these prognostic factors. Total 126 de novo DLBCL patients were collected in this study, including 51 patients with treatment of R-CHOP and the other 75 patients with treatment of CHOP. The results showed that the R-CHOP group had higher complete remission rate (68.8) than CHOP group (58.7). The patients with IPI score ≤ 2 had significantly higher overall response rate and overall survival rates than the patients with IPI scores > 2 in both groups. The survival rates of different subtypes in Han's and Muris models were not different from each other in R-CHOP group, but were obvious different from each other in CHOP group. It is concluded that IPI is still effective and predictive for identification of different risk groups. Immunochemotherapy can improve the remission and overall survival rate of DLBCL, but weaken the effect of outcome predictor.


Abstract Objectives To explore carers' experiences of everyday life impacted by people with dementia who attended a seven-week cognitive stimulation therapy (CST) group intervention. Methods A systematic review of qualitative studies and qualitative mixed method studies was conducted. Eight databases were searched. The selected studies were screened and assessed for methodological quality using the Rayyan Qatar Computing Research Institute (QCRI) and Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist (CASP-QC). Three studies were included following an inductive content analysis. Results Two themes were identified: 'Enrichment by enhanced communication' and 'Growth through positive emotional interaction'. Conclusion Qualitative research on the impact of the CST group intervention on carers' everyday life with a person with dementia is scarce. Carers experienced feelings of enrichment due to improvement and equality in communication and a possible source of happiness. There was a sense of togetherness and reconnection through music and singing together as well as a sense of mutual growth, increased positive interaction, increased ability to socialize, and feelings of fondness when experiencing glimpses of the previous personality of the person with dementia. Nevertheless, knowledge about the impact of the CST group intervention on carers' personal everyday life is lacking and requires further research.


Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with their high mechanical, electrical, thermal and chemical properties are regarded as promising materials for many different potential applications. Having unique properties they can be used in a wide range of fields such as electronic devices, electrodes, drug delivery systems, hydrogen storage, textile etc. Catalytic chemical vapor deposition (CCVD) is a common method for CNT production especially for mass production. Catalysts impregnated on a suitable substrate are important for production with chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method. Iron catalyst and MgO substrate is one of most common catalyst-substrate combination used for CNT. In this study, CNTs were produced by CCVD of acetylene (C2H2) on magnesium oxide (MgO) powder substrate impregnated by iron nitrate (Fe(NO3)3•9H2O) solution. The CNT synthesis conditions were as follows: at synthesis temperatures of 500 and 800°C multiwall and single wall CNTs were produced respectively. Iron (Fe) catalysts were prepared by with Fe:MgO ratio of 1:100, 5:100 and 10:100. The duration of syntheses were 30 and 60 minutes for all temperatures and catalyst percentages. The synthesized materials were characterized by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Raman spectroscopy. Keywords—Carbon nanotube, catalyst, catalytic chemical vapor deposition, iron


The paper deals with software sensors which facilitates the diagnosis of electrical machines in non-stationary operating conditions. The technique targeted is order tracking for which different techniques exist to estimate the speed and angle of rotation. However, from a methodological point of view, this paper offers a comparison of several methods in order to evaluate their performance from tests on a test bench. In addition, to perform the tests, it is necessary to initialize the different methods to make them work correctly. In particular, an identification technique is proposed as well as a way to facilitate initialization. The example of this paper is that of a synchronous generator. Angular sampling allows the spectrum to be stationary and the interpretation of a possible defect. The realization of the angular sampling and the first diagnostic elements require the knowledge of two fundamental quantities: the speed of rotation and the angular position of the shaft. The estimation of the rotation speed as well as the estimation of the angular position of the shaft are carried out from the measurement of an electric current (or three electric currents and three voltages). Four methods are proposed and evaluated to realize software sensors: identification technique, PLL (Phase Locked Loop), Concordia transform and an observer. The four methods are evaluated on measurements carried out on a test bench. The results are discussed from the diagnosis of a mechanical fault.


Based on Genetic Algorithms,a mathematical model of minimizing total energy for sensor/sctuator placement of simple beam active control was brought forward.A Genetic algorithms software kit Ga205 was developed for optimizing computation.According to computing results,comparing with exhaustion method,Genetic Algorithms has high efficiency and global convergence for sensor/actuator placement question.


Grid technologies are established to share the large-scale heterogeneous resources over multiple administrative domains for processing the application. In these technologies, the grid scheduling problem is crucial that must be solved in order to achieve multiple objectives within different stakeholders (end-users, owner resources and administrators) preferences. The aim of this research is to design and implement the Adaptive Intelligent Grid Scheduling System (AIGSS) in order to achieve multiple objectives named Makespan Time, Grid Efficiency and Total delayed jobs. The popular meta-heuristic algorithms, namely Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) and Tabu Search (TS) algorithms are proposed and developed to maintain the selecting appropriate grid resource to execute each job within the different job inter-arrival times and grid resources. Additionally, the clustering technique named Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) algorithm is proposed for clustering the groups of grid resources as well as jobs based on the degree of characteristic similarity. Moreover, a popular discrete event simulation tool, namely, GridSim toolkit and Alea simulation, is extended by developing the service modules on top of it. Therefore, the experiment is simulated as realistic grid environment in order to measure the proposed system. The experimental results show that the AIGSS provides reasonable multiple objectives to stakeholders within different job interarrival times and machines in grid system. In addition to the experimental results, the proposed system performs better than the other algorithms for different goals of each stakeholder. The performance of AIGSS is compared with the common and heuristic algorithms such as First-Come-First-Serve (FCFS) with Optimization, Earliest Deadline First (EDF), Minimum Tardiness Earliest Due Date (MTEDD), Minimum Completion Time (MCT), Opportunistic Load Balancing (OLB), MIN-MIN, Hill Climbing, EASY Backfilling, Simulated Annealing (SA), and Tabu Searching (TS).


Purpose: The purpose of the study was the quantitative analysis of the working memory representation of dynamic objects related to gaze movement behavior. Methods: Eighteen subjects participated in a virtual street-crossing paradigm. The primary task was collisions avoidance. To investigate the representation format, during a sub-task subjects were asked to reconstruct the traffic scene from memory. Results: The distribution of cars positioned during the sub-task reveals a task-dependent (i.e., collision-relevant) representation of about four cars. In contrast, analysis of gaze behavior did not show a preference for collision-prone cars. Conclusion: Subjects avoided collisions efficiently by applying a gaze strategy adequate to create a representation that fulfills the demands of the task. Collision-prone cars are more likely to be represented in memory, but not more likely to be fixated.


Heavy metal and metalloid contaminations are among the most concerning types of pollutant in the environment. Consequently, it is important to investigate the molecular mechanisms of cellular responses and detoxification pathways for these compounds in living organisms. To date, a number of genes have been linked to the detoxification process. The expression of these genes can be controlled at both transcriptional and translational levels. In baker's yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, resistance to a wide range of toxic metals is regulated by glutathione S-transferases. Yeast URE2 encodes for a protein that has glutathione peroxidase activity and is homologous to mammalian glutathione S-transferases. The URE2 expression is critical to cell survival under heavy metal stress. Here, we report on the finding of two genes, ITT1, an inhibitor of translation termination, and RPS1A, a small ribosomal protein, that when deleted yeast cells exhibit similar metal sensitivity phenotypes to gene deletion strain for URE2. Neither of these genes were previously linked to metal toxicity. Our gene expression analysis illustrates that these two genes affect URE2 mRNA expression at the level of translation. Summary statement We identified two yeast genes, ITT1 and RPS1A, that when deleted, results in yeast cells sensitivity to heavy metals and metalloids. Further investigation indicated that they influence the expression of URE2 gene, a key player in metal detoxification, by upregulating its translation. Our findings suggest that ITT1 and RPS1A play an indirect role in responding to toxic metal stress.


Elliptical airy vortex beams (EAVBs) can spontaneously form easily identifiable topological charge focal spots. They are used for topological charge detection of vortex beams because they have the abruptly autofocusing properties of circular airy vortex beams and exhibit unique propagation characteristics. We study the use of the dynamic phase and Pancharatnam–Berry phase principles for generation and modulation of EAVBs by designing complex-amplitude metasurface and phase-only metasurface, at an operating wavelength of 1500 nm. It is found that the focusing pattern of EAVBs in the autofocusing plane splits into |m|+1 tilted bright spots from the original ring, and the tilted direction is related to the sign of the topological charge number m. Due to the advantages of ultra-thin, ultra-light, and small size of the metasurface, our designed metasurface device has potential applications in improving the channel capacity based on orbital angular momentum communication, information coding, and particle capture compared to spatial light modulation systems that generate EAVBs.


Induction Motor (IM) is most commonly used in different industrial applications, that require fast dynamic response and accurate control over wide speed ranges. Therefore, this paper proposes high performance Direct Torque Control (DTC), which is closed loop control system to improve the dynamic performance of IM. The main objective of this work is to improve the speed response of IM during different load and speed conditions. Proportional-Integral (PI) controller based on Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) technique is used for optimal gains tuning. The results show the improvement in the speed response of DTC using PSO technique when compared with conventional PI and the conventional DTC (without PI), in terms of reducing steady state error, settling time, overshoot and ripple reduction which make this controller more robust to variation in load and speed. The simulation of the overall drive system is performed using MATLAB/Simulink program version 7.10 (R2010a).Keywords: Induction Motor (IM), Direct torque control, PI controller and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO).


Abstract

Public inputs, when referred to as unpaid factors, are included in production specifications characterized by constant returns to scale in all inputs. In equilibrium, the public input rent generated by this configuration must be allocated among firms based on some measure of productive activity. Herein, decentralized environmental regulation is modeled as a public input of the unpaid type. Environmental rent is then rationed to private firms in proportion to their capital investment. Results reveal that source based capital taxation will capture these environmental rents, however, will not yield efficiency in the devolved interjurisdictional framework. The capital tax must be complemented by benefit taxation in order to provide efficient local public expenditures and socially optimal levels of environmental quality.

JEL classification numbers: H42, H54, H71.
Keywords: Environmental federalism, Capital tax, Public inputs, Efficiency.


Using material chip technology, large area n-on-p planar junctions with various boron implantation doses have been fabricated on an Hg1−xCdxTe (x = 0.291) film, similarly grown using molecular beam epitaxy, for the mid-infrared wavelength range. The current–voltage characteristics of p–n junctions have been measured on a cold stage at 77 K and an optimized ion implantation dose has been discovered. Zero bias resistance of all the junctions has been calculated and shows distinct dependence upon the boron implantation doses.


The results of trial experiments carried out with a computer simulation model of total reflection X‐ray fluorescence, TXRF system to determine optimum conditions for detecting certain elements of interest under various analytical conditions in a given ten‐element standard sample is presented in this paper. Results of these trial experiments show that the detectability of elements improved with increasing applied voltages up to about 43kV (for a Molybdenum anode TXRF spectrometer) and atomic number of elements. Variation of geometry such as the glancing incidence angle of the excitation beam reflected slight increase in minimum detection limit, MDL values as the angle of incidence is reduced from an optimum value of 1.6mradian to 1.0mradian. The nature of the sample support was observed to affect the detectability of the elements as good detection limits were obtained if gold is used as sample holder..


This article discusses the phenomenon of dynasties of Jewish physicians in the Late Middle Ages in Egypt and Syria. Based on Muslim Arabic historiographical literature on the one hand, and Jewish sources such as Genizah documents on the other, this paper reconstructs fourteen dynasties of Jewish physicians that were active in the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517). Examination of the families reveals that the most distinguished dynasties of court physicians were of Jewish origin, and had to convert to Islam during the Mamluk period. Moreover, the office of the "Head of the Physicians" was occupied mainly by members of these convert Jewish dynasties. This situation stands in stark contrast to the pre-Mamluk period, in which dynasties of unconverted Jewish court physicians flourished. However, Jewish sources reveal that dynasties of doctors who were also communal leaders continued to be active also during the Mamluk period.


Recording of the intravesical pressure throughout the filling phase in children with low lumbar and high sacral levels of myelodysplasia showed detrusor hyperactivity which could be inhibited by anticholinergic medication in a dose-dependent manner under experimental conditions. Atropine as treatment for urinary incontinence during everyday activity was remarkably effective when given parenterally. Orally administered atropine was associated with 50-100% improvement of incontinence in six of 9 patients and 35-45% in the remaining three patients. Successful treatment with anticholinergic drugs requires careful selection of patients, including recording of the filling-phase intravesical pressure. Only in patients with detrusor hyperactivity is a good result of such treatment to be expected.


Background: Asthma is a chronic lung inflammatory disease driven by over-activation of T helper 2 (Th2) cells. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are innate immune cells characterized by their potential to suppress T-cell response. objective: To characterize MDSCs accumulation and function in allergic asthma in vivo. Methods: Allergic airway inflammation was induced in mice by ovalbumin (OVA) and house dust mite (HDM) challenge. MDSC accumulation was quantified by flow cytometry. To assess the functional in vivo impact, MDSCs were adoptively transferred intravenously (IV) or intratracheally (IT). Results: Our studies demonstrate that neutrophilic MDSCs (PMN-MDSCs) are decreased in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lungs of allergic airway inflammation in vivo. IV- or IT-transferred PMN-MDSCs were recruited to the lungs and BALF of asthmatic mice and suppressed the infiltration and local activity of Th2 and Th17 inflammatory cells. Adoptively transferred PMN-MDSCs reduced PAS-positive cells, pulmonary histopathological inflammatory scores and ameliorated airway hyperresponsiveness in asthmatic mice. Infiltration of inflammatory cells and pro-inflammatory cytokines released in BALF as well as expression of lung inflammatory transcription factors was decreased after PMN-MDSCs transfer. Arginase1, nitric oxide synthase 2, Cyclooxygenase 2 and A20 pathway were involved in the anti-inflammatory role of MDSCs in asthmatic mice. Conclusions: Collectively, our results demonstrate that MDSCs suppress Th2-dominant inflammation and improve lung function in asthmatic mice in vivo. Adoptive cellular transfer of MDSCs may represent an attractive therapeutic strategy for allergic asthma.


Achievement of an esthetic single-tooth restoration in the anterior segment is a difficult task for the restorative dentist. A case is described in which two congenitally missing maxillary lateral incisors were replaced with single-tooth implants. A new technique was used to restore the teeth provisionally with a polyethylene ribbon and resin replacement. Light-cured staining systems for acrylic resins and ceramics were employed to customize both the provisional and final restorations.


The efficacy and toxicity of teicoplanin and vancomycin in the initial empirical antibiotic regimen in febrile, neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancies were compared in a prospective, randomized, unblinded, multicenter trial in the setting of 29 hematologic units in tertiary-care or university hospitals. A total of 635 consecutive febrile patients with hematologic malignancies and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia were randomly assigned to receive intravenously amikacin plus ceftazidime plus either teicoplanin at 6 mg/kg of body weight once daily or vancomycin at 1 g twice daily. An efficacy analysis was done for 527 evaluable patients: 275 treated with teicoplanin and 252 treated with vancomycin. Overall, successful outcomes were recorded for 78% of patients who received teicoplanin and 75% of those who were randomized to vancomycin (difference, 3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -10 to 4%; P = 0.33). A total of 102 patients presented with primary, single-agent, gram-positive bacteremia. Coagulase-negative staphylococci accounted for 42%, Staphylococcus aureus accounted for 27%, and streptococci accounted for 21% of all gram-positive blood isolates. The overall responses to therapy of gram-positive bacteremias were 92 and 87% for teicoplanin and vancomycin, respectively (difference, 5%; CI, -17 to 6%; P = 0.22). Side effects, mainly represented by skin rash, occurred in 3.2 and 8% of teicoplanin- and vancomycin-treated patients, respectively (difference, -4.8%; CI, 0.7 to 8%; P = 0.03); the rate of nephrotoxicity was 1.4 and 0.8% for the teicoplanin and vancomycin groups, respectively (difference, 0.6%; CI, -2 to 1%; P = 0.68). Further infections were caused by gram-positive organisms in two patients (0.7%) treated with teicoplanin and one patient (0.4%) who received vancomycin (difference, 0.3%; CI, -0.9 to 1.0%; P = 0.53). Overall mortalities were 8.5 and 11% for teicoplanin- and vancomycin-treated patients, respectively (difference, -2.5%; CI, - 2 to 7%; P = 0.43); death was caused by primary gram-positive infections in three patients (1%) in each treatment group. When used for initial empirical antibiotic therapy in febrile, neutropenic patients, teicoplanin was at least as efficacious as vancomycin, but it was associated with fewer side effects.


The ATLAS experiment at LHC planned to upgrade the existing Pixel Detector with the insertion of an innermost silicon layer, called Insertable B-layer (IBL). A new front-end ASIC has been foreseen (named FE-I4) and it will be read out with improved off-detector electronics. In particular, the new Read-Out Driver card (ROD) is a VME-based board designed to process a four-fold data throughput. Moreover, the ROD hosts the electronics devoted to control operations whose main tasks are providing setup busses to access configuration registers on several FPGAs, receiving configuration data from external PCs, managing triggers and running calibration procedures. In parallel with a backward-compatible solution with a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a new ROD control circuitry with a PowerPC embedded into an FPGA has been implemented. In this paper the status of the PowerPC-based control system will be outlined with major focus on firmware and software development strategies.


Fifty genotypes of cluster bean [ Cyamopsis tetragonoloba (L.) Taub] with a broad spectrum of variation were assessed for genetic divergence using Mahalanobis D2 technique. The genetic material exhibited wide range of genetic divergence for all the 16 characters investigated. All the genotypes were grouped into ten different clusters. Among the ten clusters it was observed that cluster X had the maximum of 11 accessions followed by cluster V, IV, III, VIII, IX, and II, which had 10, 7, 5, 4, 4, 3, accessions, respectively. Cluster I, VI, and VII exhibited two accessions each in a cluster. The intra and inter cluster distance revealed that the lowest mean intra cluster distance of 27.53 was exhibited by cluster I, while the highest intra cluster distance was recorded by the cluster IX (235.85). It was followed by cluster X with a distance of (233.67). The highest inter cluster distance of 374.88 was recorded between cluster II and VIII, followed by 366.77 between clusters II and VII, whereas the clusters I and VI were the least divergent (94.82) followed by clusters I and III showing a distance of 140.59 between them. On the basis of inter - cluster distances and per se performances observed, the genotypes with specific characters can be utilized for hybridization programme.


The article demonstrates the key lines in digital transformation of Russian taxation bodies aimed at ensuring the development of tax regulating methods. Managing changes in the field of digital economy requires designing and adopting regulatory decisions, which could eliminate barriers and create favorable conditions for the development of this field and cut risks connected with broad application of new technologies. In order to perform their principle functions, including those providing a high level of cash receipts to the budget system of the Russian Federation in conditions of economy digitalization tax bodies today shall develop their own digital platform, around which the ecosystem for taxpayers will be formed. The authors researched the impact of the economy digitalization process on transforming the approach to tax regulation, the focus of which is turning the system of tax bodies into the adaptive digital platform. Key indicators of the digital technology sector of the Russian Federation were studied and opportunities of the sector's impact on tax regulation were identified. On this basis the authors showed the necessity to upgrade software products of tax bodies, which are used within the frames of tax administration. The interconnection of forms and lines of digitalization with processes of institutional changes in tax regulation was described. Among key findings of the research it is necessary to highlight substantiation of the tax system transformation under the influence of speeding-up development of digital technologies and elaboration of practical recommendations aimed at upgrading the tax administration mechanism by introducing automated multifunctional consolidating analytical tools.


The objective of the study was to establish the quasi-continuous courses, using microdialysis technique, of glucose, lactate, and glycerol concentrations in interstitial fluid of abdominal adipose tissue during the standard treatment of acute diabetes complications. Clinical studies were carried out on 31 diabetic patients during the initial 48 h of the treatment. In all but two obese female patients with hyperglycemic hyperosmolar state (HHS) did glucose concentration in perfusion fluid (PF) reflect concentration in capillary blood. The recovery of glucose correlated with patients' body mass index (r = 0.55). It was significantly higher in lean and overweight patients (91 +/- 15%) than in obese patients (55 +/- 31%). The course of lactate concentration in PF coincided with the course in venous blood (2.1 +/- 0.3 mmol/L vs. 2.0 +/- 0.5 mmol/L, P = 0.35). Glycerol concentration was 267 +/- 41 micromol/L and 133 +/- 40 micromol/L in PF and venous blood, respectively (P = 0.004). The study indicated that microdialysis may be an effective tool to monitor concentration of different metabolites in interstitial fluid of the adipose tissue during treatment of the acute complications of diabetes. Applicability of the technique in the monitoring of HHS, especially in obese female patients, needs further investigation.


This study investigated the emergent literacy and language skills of four-year-old children in New Zealand during their kindergarten year prior to school-entry. A total of 92 four-year-old children from a range of socio-economic areas were seen individually at their local kindergarten and were assessed on code-related measures (letter name knowledge, initial phoneme awareness, emergent name writing) and meaning-related measures (story comprehension and retelling ability). Approximately, 60% of the parents completed a home literacy questionnaire. Regression analyses showed no effect for age on any of the code-related measures. In contrast, significant effects for age were found on story comprehension and retelling ability. There were no differences in performance based on gender with two exceptions: Girls performed better than boys on letter name knowledge and early name writing. Questionnaire results suggested literacy activities were valued in the home environment with most parents reporting reading to their child each night, and the majority of parents reported owning more than 60 children's books. Results from the current study suggest more explicit teaching may be necessary within the kindergarten curriculum to facilitate the code-related skills linked to successful word recognition ability and early spelling development.


HCN (hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide gated) pacemaker channels have an architecture similar to that of voltage-gated K+ channels, but they open with the opposite voltage dependence. HCN channels use essentially the same positively charged voltage sensors and intracellular activation gates as K+ channels, but apparently these two components are coupled differently. In this study, we examine the energetics of coupling between the voltage sensor and the pore by using cysteine mutant channels for which low concentrations of Cd2+ ions freeze the open–closed gating machinery but still allow the sensors to move. We were able to lock mutant channels either into open or into closed states by the application of Cd2+ and measure the effect on voltage sensor movement. Cd2+ did not immobilize the gating charge, as expected for strict coupling, but rather it produced shifts in the voltage dependence of voltage sensor charge movement, consistent with its effect of confining transitions to either closed or open states. From the magnitude of the Cd2+-induced shifts, we estimate that each voltage sensor produces a roughly three- to sevenfold effect on the open–closed equilibrium, corresponding to a coupling energy of ∼1.3–2 kT per sensor. Such coupling is not only opposite in sign to the coupling in K+ channels, but also much weaker.


This is an update to the special section "Remote Sensing for Vadose Zone Hydrology—A Synthesis from the Vantage Point" [Vadose Zone Journal 12(3)]. Satellites (e.g., Soil Moisture Active Passive [SMAP] and Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity [SMOS]) using passive microwave techniques, in particular at L-band frequency, have shown good promise for global mapping of near-surface (0–5-cm) soil moisture at a spatial resolution of 25 to 40 km and temporal resolution of 2 to 3 d. Cand X-band soil moisture records date back to 1978, making available an invaluable data set for long-term climate research. Near-surface soil moisture is further extended to the root zone (top 1 m) using process-based models and data assimilation schemes. Validation of remotely sensed soil moisture products has been ongoing using core monitoring sites, sparse monitoring networks, intensive field campaigns, as well as multi-satellite comparison studies. To transfer empirical observations across space and time scales and to develop improved retrieval algorithms at various resolutions, several efforts are underway to associate soil moisture variability dynamics with land surface attributes in various energyand water-rich environments. We describe the most recent scientific and technological advances in soil moisture remote sensing. We anticipate that remotely sensed soil moisture will find many applications in vadose zone hydrology in the coming decades.


Introduction Professionalism is an essential behavior for paramedic students to demonstrate. In the United States, paramedic accreditation standards require educators to evaluate and document summative affective evaluation on each paramedic student before graduation. The 2009 Emergency Medical Services Education Standards identified the affective behaviors as one of the three learning domains and published a grading tool to help educators recognize professional behaviors. However, little attention was given to the validity or reliability of this tool. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 5-point Paramedic Affective Domain Tool. Methods This was a retrospective study with educators that completed evaluations on paramedic students from May 2013 to January 2017. A total of 707 cases met inclusion criteria and 131 unique evaluators from 27 different paramedic programs. A Rasch Partial Credit Model was used to analyze the data. Results Almost 97% of the paramedic students received passing scores and 28.1% (n=199) received perfect scores. Only 3.5% (n=25) failed the evaluation. Scores ranged from 11 to 55 (M = 46, SD = 9.02) and α = 0.97. Evidence suggests that the tool is not valid and the clustering of scores suggests minimal information can be gleaned from the results. Conclusion Serious consideration should be made in the continued use of this tool and future research should focus on developing a new tool that is both valid and reliable.


Study Design. Prospective clinical study. Objective. To report the outcome, radiologic findings, and complications in patients undergoing microsurgical radicular decompression and implantation of Dynesys (Zimmer Spine, Münsingen, Switzerland). Summary of Background Data. The currently available peer-reviewed English-language medical literature addressing the use of the dynamic stabilization systems is limited. Indications, clinical results, and implant failure of Dynesys after microsurgical decompression are still controversial. Methods and Results. This study included a total of 37 consecutive patients (mean age 58 years) presenting with acquired lumbar stenosis, signs of segmental instability, and degenerative disc disease underwent lumbar microsurgical decompression and implantation of Dynesys in 1 (n = 11), 2 (n = 17), 3 (n = 9), and 4 segments (n = 1). One patient was lost to follow-up. Lumbar and radicular pain was present in 33 patients (92%). Clinical evaluation included visual analogue scale (leg and back), distribution and severity of pain (%), Prolo Functional and Economic Status, Stauffer Coventry Scale, patient's self evaluation, and radiologic assessment preoperative and postoperative at 3 and 12 months. Leg and back pain (visual analogue scale) improved at 12 months from 8.4 ± 2.1 to 3.1 ± 1.4 and from 6.7 ± 2.8 to 4 ± 2.8, respectively. Overall pain severity improved due to reduction of radicular pain from 59.2% to 27.3% after microsurgical decompression. Meanwhile, lumbar pain deteriorated from 40.8% to 47.8%. Twenty-seven percent (patient's self-evaluation) and 29.7% (Stauffer Coventry Scale) of the patients described a fair or poor outcome. Moreover, 51% and 54% of the patients had a Prolo Economic Status and Prolo Functional of 4 or 5, respectively. Complications included 4 broken and 2 misplaced screws from a total of 224 screws implanted, 2 loosen systems, and 1 cerebrospinal fistula. At 1-year, a total of 7 patients (19%) required surgical revision. Conclusion. The reported biomechanical principles of Dynesys do not reflect advantages in outcome compared with none or others stabilization systems after microsurgical radicular decompression reported in the literature.


: The process of admixture flocculation in fermentation broth filtrates of penicillin was studied experimentally according to the schemes of rotatabel planning of the 2nd order. Equations describing the effect of the main factors on the process were worked out and the main effects of the pair interactions were found.


Transatlantic studies have begun to explore the lasting influence of Spain on its former colonies and the surviving ties between the American nations and Spain. In Monsters by Trade, Lisa Surwillo takes a different approach, explaining how modern Spain was literally made by its Cuban colony. Long after the transatlantic slave trade had been abolished, Spain continued to smuggle thousands of Africans annually to Cuba to work the sugar plantations. Nearly a third of the royal income came from Cuban sugar, and these profits underwrote Spain's modernization even as they damaged its international standing. Surwillo analyzes a sampling of nineteenth-century Spanish literary works that reflected metropolitan fears of the hold that slave traders (and the slave economy more generally) had over the political, cultural, and financial networks of power. She also examines how the nineteenth-century empire and the role of the slave trader are commemorated in contemporary tourism and literature in various regions in Northern Spain. This is the first book to demonstrate the centrality of not just Cuba, but the illicit transatlantic slave trade to the cultural life of modern Spain.


Though a variety of softwares are available in software market, but only few of these are fully compatible with Web. This is a review of the research on library automation software and their compatibility with the recent advancement of Web as an interface used for accessing the software in www environment. It also focuses on the growth and development of library automation software way back to their origin. It also discussed standards, both in terms of library and Web technology. Finally, the topic on Web interface used in library management software system (LMSs) is covered including the technological implication, Web-based technical services, security issue, database used and evaluation of LMSs.


Background: To analyze the relational factors influencing the formation of cauda equina redundant nerve roots (RNRs) of the lumbar spinal stenosis.Methods: A retrospective study of 116 patients with lumbar spinal stenosis were treated in our department from January 2016 to June 2019. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed to observe the shape and morphology of the redundant nerve roots of the cauda equina.We divided patient into (RNRs) group and non-RNRs( NRNRs) group based on the presence or absence of RNRs on sagittal T2-weighted MR. We analyzed the demographic characteristics, preoperative back pain visual analogue scale (VAS) scores ,preoperative leg pain VAS scores, and preoperative Oswestry disability index(ODI) scores, and also analyzed the rate of spondylolisthesis and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. Simultaneously,the inter-vertebral height, intervertebral foramen height, inter-vertebral height +vertebral height, median sagittal diameter at the inter-vertebral space level(DIW-MSD),median sagittal diameter at the pedicel level(DV-MSD),ROM of the stenotic segment, were statistically analyzed for clinical and radiological significance.Results : Of a total 116 total patients,there were no statistically significant differences in either gender [RNRs group (n = 42, 18/24 female) and NRNR group (n = 74, 38/36 female)], age, BMI index, preoperative back pain VAS score , preoperative leg pain VAS score and preoperative ODI score(p> 0.05);however, there were statistically significant differences regard to the duration of symptoms and the rate of spondylolisthesis and ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (p<0.05);the inter-vertebral height,Intervertebral foramen height, inter-vertebral height+vertebral height, DIW-MSD ,ROM of the stenotic segment were also significantly different between the group (p<0.05).Conclusions:The inter-vertebral height, inter-vertebral foramen height, inter-vertebral height + vertebral height, DIW-MSD and ROM of the stenotic segment were the crucial factors related to RNRs in lumbar spinal stenosis.


.......................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.......................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. viii List of Abbreviations ..................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER 1 ................................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................... 3


The fracture of an inferior vena cava filter strut and its migration to the heart is a rare sequela of implanted inferior vena cava filters. Perforation through the right ventricle into the pericardium with resultant cardiopulmonary compromise is even less frequent. We report the case of a 53-year-old man who presented with chest pain and hypotension consequent to cardiac tamponade. A fractured inferior vena cava filter strut had migrated and perforated his right ventricle. The fractured strut was successfully removed by means of cardiac surgery. Inferior vena cava filters should be placed when necessary to minimize the risk of pulmonary embolism, and regular radiologic monitoring should be performed; however, the eventual extraction of retrievable filters should be considered. In addition to discussing the patient's case, we briefly review the relevant medical literature.


Antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is a coagulation disorder associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. Headache is common in APS patients and often unresponsive to analgesics. We report a case of refractory headache in a patient with APS, who was improved by high-intensity warfarin treatment. The mechanisms of the headache in patients with APS were presumed to be hypercoagulability of microcirculation and thrombotic occlusion of the capillaries, which were associated with antiphospholipid antibodies. Therefore, high-intensity warfarin could be considered as one of the treatments for refractory headache in patients with APS.


Nutraceuticals provide many biological benefits besides their basic nutritional value. However, their biological efficacies are often limited by poor absorption and low bioavailability. Nanomaterials have received much attention as potential delivery systems of nutrients and phytonutrients for multiple applications. Nanomicelles are nanosized colloidal structures with a hydrophobic core and hydrophilic shell. Due to their unique characteristics, they have shown great perspectives in food and nutraceutical science. In this review, we discussed the unique properties of nanomicelles. We also emphasized the latest advances on the design of different nanomicelles for efficient delivery and improved bioavailability of various nutrients. The role of nanomicelles in the efficacy improvement of bioactive components from nutraceutical and health foods has been included. Importantly, the safety concerns on nano-processed food products were highlighted.


The Penicillin Syphilis Group at the University of Pennsylvania has treated 746 patients with penicillin since Nov. 11, 1943. Of these, 283 had neurosyphilis. The average period of observation is 357 days, the longest period of observation being 719 days. One hundred and nineteen had been observed from 120 to 364 days, 55 for 365 to 599 days and 23 for 600 days and over. Thanks to the follow-up workers of the Institute for the Control of Syphilis, 97.7 per cent of these patients have been kept track of and returned for periodic observation and treatment. The material is classified by diagnosis and initial spinal fluid findings in table 1. The patients with negative spinal fluids at the outset showed symptoms against which response could be measured. POINTS DESERVING EMPHASIS IN THIS MATERIAL In order to be considered for penicillin treatment, the patient must have presented some


Organic materials possess many key attributes that make them suitable for exploitation in all-optical signal processing applications including facile tunability of their optical properties, strong and ultrafast nonlinear optical response, and potential for integration into device structures. In this perspective, we present molecular design guidelines for organic chromophores that could serve as the active constituents for such materials. Using a relatively simple model, a candidate class of chromophores, namely cyanine-like polymethines, is identified based on promising microscopic nonlinear optical properties in the near-IR spectral region. The challenges associated with translating these microscopic properties into materials with macroscopic properties suitable for device applications are presented along with molecular engineering approaches for overcoming these hurdles.


Severe injury of the head in relation to the development of dementia paralytica is of considerable medicolegal importance. This relation is constantly being discussed in courts of law and before industrial accident boards. In 1822 when Bayle first isolated dementia paralytica as an organic brain disease, trauma was mentioned as a cause. Since that time the role of trauma in the production of dementia paralytica runs like a red streak through the history of the disease. The problem of the relation between head trauma and dementia paralytica may be stated as follows: Granted that dementia paralytica is a syphilitic disease of the brain, what role does an injury to the head play in the production of initial symptoms of the disease appearing subsequent to such injury and how long delayed may such symptoms be in order to be ascribed to the trauma? What is the role of trauma when symptoms


The article shows that the entrenched orientation of higher education towards the demands of the labor market requires rethinking and adjustment, since in modern conditions it does not guarantee the effectiveness of university's activities and the ability to meet the challenges of the future. The real basis and guarantee of the university's success is now the "synchronization" of its development strategy with the historical and epistemological trends in the development of knowledge, its functions and forms of being. In this context, the role and place of techno-science at university and university processes – research, design, and educational – is becoming especially important. It is argued that the current trends in the development of knowledge and science bring to life (and have already provoked) a new "projective-personal" paradigm of education. It is not focused on mastering the maximum academic knowledge (as it has been so far), but on individualizing the trainee's educational trajectory and mastering the methods of synthesizing knowledge and project activities.


There is some controversy regarding the effects of HNO3 on films of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In this study we examined the change in sheet resistance of an HNO3-modified SWCNT film after different drying times at 85 ◦C using various analytical techniques. The shift and suppression in the Raman spectra, bleaching of the transition peaks related to van Hove singularities and a shift in the original peak in the C 1s XPS spectra provided evidence for p-type doping. A decrease in sheet resistance was also observed in the SWCNTs films due to the removal of residual N-methylpyrrolidone solvent on the surface and bundle of SWCNTs. These results suggest that p-type doping has a larger effect on the sheet resistance than the removal of residual N-methylpyrrolidone by an HNO3 treatment. S Supplementary data are available from stacks.iop.org/Nano/20/475703 (Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version)


While most people haven't heard of eleventh-century cleric Guido d'Arezzo, you couldn't say his contribution has been unsung, since he created the system of musical notation upon which millions of singers and instrumentalists over the years have depended. Roth's fictionalized tale depicts Guido's wrestling with the problem of musical notation from his days as a choirboy in the town of Arezzo to his time in a monastery and to his return to Arezzo as choirmaster teaching his new system. It's certainly an interesting topic for a book, and the book carefully includes historically documented facts (such as the choirmasters' fear that a written system would endanger their livelihood). The invented scenes are strained and fluffy, though, and the text is unclear on some details (since it never explicitly states that Guido is also a monk, readers may wonder what he's doing in the monastery) and silent about matters of significance (why doesn't the book explain that his system noted pitch but didn't differentiate duration, or include the poem from which he drew the system of "do-re-mi" note names?). The collage art makes the human figures ungainly and their faces often unfortunately misshapen, but there's some dramatic geometry in its Italian landscapes. This might be more effective as source material rather than as a direct reading experience, but there aren't a lot of alternative titles about Guido d'Arezzo around, and this will help answer a few of those "who came up with that?" queries with which students often stump their teachers. An author's note and a select bibliography (so select that 60% of it is in Italian) are appended. DS


Abstract Introduction The SARS-Cov-2 infection has multiple neurologic manifestations including encephalitis in multiple cases reported, however the psychosis as principal manifestation of this condition is infrequently. Case Report We report the case of a 48-year-old woman with a confirmed diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 who developed paranoid and self-referential ideas with behavioural alteration and multiple findings on mental examination. Encephalitis associated with Covid-19 was suspected due to the neurological clinical presentation (persistent despite resolve hypoxaemia and systemic symptoms) and brain magnetic resonance image (MRI) that showed asymmetric hippocampal hyperintensities, although cerebrospinal fluid and electroencephalogram (EEG) were normal. The patient received medical treatment with methylprednisolone for 5 days with complete resolution of her symptoms. Discussion The current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has neurological complications either by direct involvement or by para-infectious or post-infectious phenomena. Encephalitis occurs in a small proportion of the cases, while psychiatric symptoms have been described in a variable percentage of the events. However, a psychotic picture such as the one reported in our case is unusual. MRI, cerebrospinal fluid and EEG are important for the diagnostic evaluation of these patients but not obligatory to the diagnosis. The treatment of this condition with corticosteroids has been successful even in cases associated with Anti-NMDA. Our case is the second reported in Colombia, the first to be associated with psychosis.


TOPAS and its academic variant TOPAS-Academic are nonlinear least-squares optimization programs written in the C++ programming language. This paper describes their functionality and architecture. The latter is of benefit to developers seeking to reduce development time. TOPAS allows linear and nonlinear constraints through the use of computer algebra, with parameter dependencies, required for parameter derivatives, automatically determined. In addition, the objective function can include restraints and penalties, which again are defined using computer algebra. Of importance is a conjugate gradient solution routine with bounding constraints which guide refinements to convergence. Much of the functionality of TOPAS is achieved through the use of generic functionality; for example, flexible peak-shape generation allows neutron time-of-flight (TOF) peak shapes to be described using generic functions. The kernel of TOPAS can be run from the command line for batch mode operation or from a closely integrated graphical user interface. The functionality of TOPAS includes peak fitting, Pawley and Le Bail refinement, Rietveld refinement, single-crystal refinement, pair distribution function refinement, magnetic structures, constant wavelength neutron refinement, TOF refinement, stacking-fault analysis, Laue refinement, indexing, charge flipping, and structure solution through simulated annealing.


Abstract Masonry is a construction system that has been used since the beginning of civilization and is still used throughout the world. The finite element method is a recent development that allows complex problems, including structural masonry problems, to be solved. A vast amount of literature exists on finite element modeling, using software such as ABAQUS, to represent experimental masonry models. Based on this established pattern, an experimental and analytical research program was designed and implemented. Thus, a set of tests was conducted to determine the compressive and tensile strengths of the masonry components, i.e., block, mortar, and grout. Bond wrench tests, diagonal tension tests, and horizontal joint shear tests were conducted to characterize the interface between the blocks and the mortar. A finite element model was then developed to represent the physical models and the general conclusion is that the finite element model was able to represent reasonably well the physical models.


Hyperspectral monitoring of large areas (more than 10 km2) can be achieved via the use of a system employing spectrometers and CMOS cameras. A robust and efficient algorithm for automatically combining multiple, overlapping images of a scene to form a single composition (i.e., for the estimation of the point-to-point mapping between views), which uses only the information contained within the images themselves is described here. The algorithm, together with the 2D fast Fourier transform, provides an estimate of the displacement between pairs of images by accounting for rotations and changes of scale. The resulting mosaic was successively georeferenced within the WGS-84 geographic coordinate system. This paper also addresses how this information can be transferred to a push broom type spectral imaging device to build the hyperspectral cube of the area prior to land classification. The performances of the algorithm were evaluated using sample images and image sequences acquired during a proximal sensing field campaign conducted in San Teodoro (Olbia-Tempio—Sardinia). The hyperspectral cube closely corresponds to the mosaic. Mapping allows for the identification of objects within the image and agrees well with ground-truth measurements.


This paper wants to explain and analyze about Pancasila as the ideology of the Indonesian state as a solution / medicine to solve the problem of intolerance, radicalism, and terrorism, which lately is rife in society. Pancasila can be used as an antidote in eradicating intolerance, radical behavior and acts of terror, which endanger national security and the integrity of the Indonesian state. The values contained in Pancasila, whether God, Humanity, Unity, Consensus, and Justice, must be earthed, practiced, and applied in the life of the nation, state and society. Pancasila must become a code of conduct, value system and system of movement for the Indonesian people .


The growing interest in the smart device/home/city has resulted in increasing popularity of Internet of Things (IoT) deployment. However, due to the open and heterogeneous nature of IoT networks, there are various challenges to deploy an IoT network, among which security and scalability are the top two to be addressed. To improve the security and scalability for IoT networks, we propose a Software-Defined Virtual Private Network (SD-VPN) solution, in which each IoT application is allocated with its own overlay VPN. The VPN tunnels used in this paper are VxLAN based tunnels and we propose to use the SDN controller to push the flow table of each VPN to the related OpenvSwitch via the OpenFlow protocol. The SD-VPN solution can improve the security of an IoT network by separating the VPN traffic and utilizing service chaining. Meanwhile, it also improves the scalability by its overlay VPN nature and the VxLAN technology.