Venlafaxine is the first of a group of antidepressants that show dual reuptake inhibition of serotonin and noradrenaline (SNRIs). Originally marketed in an immediate release (IR) formulation a microencapsulated, extended release (XR) formulation is now available. Significant differences exist between these two formulations with respect to pharmacokinetic parameters which have an impact on clinical use. The XR has lower maximum plasma concentrations (Cmax) and achieves these at a later time (higher Tmax). The longer apparent elimination half‐life of the drug after single XR doses suggests that it is suitable for once daily dosing compared with the twice daily dosing regimen required by the IR formulation. With respect to antidepressant efficacy the XR formulation is equivalent to other marketed antidepressants and to the IR formulation. Consistent with its pharmacokinetic properties the use of the XR formulation is associated with less nausea and dizziness at the initiation of therapy. While in clinical usage XR might be expected to increase compliance with medication and to reduce discontinuation syndromes there are few comparative studies for which this has been evaluated. The XR formulation of venlafaxine is no worse than the IR form with respect to tolerability and offers some benefits to patients in terms of ease of use. On the other hand there does not appear to be any increase in the efficacy of the active agent. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Summoning is a task between two parties, Alice and Bob, with distributed networks of agents in space-time. Bob gives Alice a random quantum state, known to him but not her, at some point. She is required to return the state at some later point, belonging to a subset defined by communications received from Bob at other points. Many results about summoning, including the impossibility of unrestricted summoning tasks and the necessary conditions for specific types of summoning tasks to be possible, follow directly from the quantum no-cloning theorem and the relativistic no-superluminal-signalling principle. The impossibility of cloning devices can be derived from the impossibility of superluminal signalling and the projection postulate, together with assumptions about the devices' location-independent functioning. In this qualified sense, known summoning results follow from the causal structure of space-time and the properties of quantum measurements. Bounds on the fidelity of approximate cloning can be similarly derived. Bit commitment protocols and other cryptographic protocols based on the no-summoning theorem can thus be proven secure against some classes of post-quantum but non-signalling adversaries.


This thesis examines the microvascular inflammatory response in the skin. The microvascular response includes vasodilatation and plasma exudation. In the first three studies, the combined response was measured in guinea pig skin with a technique based on detection of radiolabelled protein. Transferrin was labelled in vivo by injection of 113mIn and the conversion electrons detected over the skin using a plastic scintillator.

The duration of the microvascular response after histamine and allergen provocation with skin prick test was found to be approximately 20 min, which is considerably shorter than indicated by previous measurements of microvascular perfusion.

The microvascular effects of terbutaline and the NO donor sodium nitroprusside were investigated, as were their effect on the microvascular response to histamine in guinea pig skin. Terbutaline alone showed a small microvascular response interpreted as vasodilatation. The combination of terbutaline and histamine gave a smaller response than histamine alone, indicating an anti-inflammatory effect of terbutaline. Sodium nitroprusside alone showed a substantial microvascular response, which was not different from the combination of sodium nitroprusside and histamine.

The microvascular effect of histamine was examined in two experimental models in the guinea pig, the skin prick test and in the skin window. The microvascular response to saline control was somewhat greater and more variable in the skin widow than in the skin prick test. The response to histamine was comparable. Subtle inflammatory responses may be more difficult to detect with the skin window technique owing to the greater variability.

In the fourth study, the effects of vanilloid receptor agonists were examined in the human skin using laser Doppler perfusion imaging. Anandamide, capsaicin, olvanil and arvanil all caused concentration-dependent increases in skin perfusion after skin prick test. Co-application of capsazepine inhibited the response. The results indicate a role for anandamide as a pararcrine signalling molecule and demonstrates the utility of skin prick test and laser Doppler perfusion imaging as a means of studying local, haemodynamic effects of pharmaceuticals.


This paper analyses income smoothing behavior and procyclical effect of loan loss provisions in Islamic bank. The model includes the use of loan loss provisions for discretionary and non-discretionary purposes in Islamic banks and relates it to the ways of Islamic banks disburse loans. The empirical results show that Islamic banks use loan loss provisions for non-discretionary purposes, while well-capitalized banks and banks focusing on lending activities may use loan loss provisions for income smoothing to a lesser extent. Moreover, it is documented that higher non-discretionary component of loan loss provisions results in a decline in loan growth and hence, non-discretionary provisions are procyclical. In contrast, the discretionary component of loan loss provisions does not exhibit any significant impact on loan growth. Finally, the findings show that the negative link between non-discretionary provisions and loan growth does not hold for well-capitalized banks, and banks focusing on lending activities. This paper, therefore, highlights that higher capitalization and higher loan asset portfolios tend to neutralize the procyclical impact of non-discretionary provisions through their income smoothing behaviour. In this regard, the provisioning system is particularly recommended for less-capitalized banks and banks which do not focus on lending activities since they do not conduct income smoothing strategies.


The consequences of the floods that inundated the territory of Serbia in 2014 indicated a high level of citizen unpreparedness to respond to the situation. Starting from this fact, the basic idea of this research is to examine the level and correlation of certain factors with the students' knowledge about floods as natural disasters. The aim of the research is a scientific explanation of the correlation between students' knowledge about floods and these factors. The research consisted of a survey conducted on a sample of 3,498 respondents who make up 8.96% of the students population. The respondents were students from 19 secondary schools, out of a total of 54 at the territory of 11 affected municipalities of the city of Belgrade. The research results suggest that flood related knowledge is influenced by the students' gender, education and employment status of parents, education acquired in school and in the family, while the knowledge of safety procedures for responding to floods is influenced by fear, gender and the educational level of parents. These results can be used in creating educational programme strategies to enhancing preparedness for response.


Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is one of the most common green leafy vegetables, which is widely cultivated all over the world, but extremely sensitive to cadmium (Cd) contaminated in soil. The effects of three hyperaccumulator plants straw (Solanum nigrum, Bidens pilosa and Galinsoga parviflora) on the antioxidant enzyme activities and osmotic regulators and malondialdehyde (MDA) content under Cd stress were studied by pot culture. Compared with no straw, three kinds of hyperaccumulator straw of S. nigrum straw, B. pilosa straw and G. parviflora straw increased the content of soluble protein and proline in lettuce, the activity of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) in lettuce was also increased, and the content of MDA was decreased. The stress resistance of lettuce was improved and the toxicity of Cd to lettuce was alleviated by using three kinds of hyperaccumulator plant straw.


Amorphous iron oxides in soil were determined by hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry. The results showed that hydroxylamrnine extraction eliminates interference of magnetite and the defect of results being on the high side was overcome to a certain degree compared with oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction. The hydroxylamine extraction-spectrophotometry for the detection of amorphous iron oxides in soil was highly precise (relative standard deviation was less than 2.0%) and highly reliable (recovery rates ranged from 97.5% to 101.5%). Other advantages of the method were rapidness,simplicity and a shorter chromogenic time. In addition, soil incubated anaerobically at constant temperature under laboratory condition was investigated. The results suggested that iron reduction rates during initiation, rapid reaction and steady phases in the soil samples anaerobic incubation were 0.030-0.053, 0.186-0.333 and 0.015-0.030 g x d(-1) x kg(-1), respectively. Significant relationship between the concentrations of hydroxylamine extraction iron and iron reduction rates during rapid reaction phase in soil incubation (r= 0.9907, p<0.01) indicated that hydroxylamine had a higher degree of selectivity in amorphous iron oxides extraction than oxalic acid-oxalic acid ammonium extraction.


The review of literature and patent sources, as well as advertising materials of foreign companies, available in the public domain, on the synthesis, application and manufacturers of vinyl-functional MQ-resins. The contribution of vinyl MQ resins in the creation of organosilicon materials, widely used in various fields of modern technology, medicine and in everyday life, is shown.


Reconstruction of the depositional history of the Colorado River delta's southeast lobe is made possible by combining the delta's documented history, sedimentary and hydraulic principles, past and present depositional environments, and the present distribution of resultant sediment types. Synthesis of these data makes possible reconstruction of the depositional history as follows. 1. Pre-1929 sedimentation was restricted to the slow accumulation of fine detritus in a reducing environment. 2. Deltation began in 1929, and by 1930 the initial delta lobe extended half-way across Matagorda Bay. Progressively siltier prodelta clays were deposited in the study area. Deposition of generally finer prodelta End_Page 1696------------------------------ sediments followed as a second lobe formed on the east flank. 3. Development of southeast lobe began in 1933 at the mouth of an artificially leveed channel that extended 1/2 mile beyond the southern edge of the existing delta plain. After a period of adjustment to this unnatural channel, a normal sequence of prodelta and delta-front environments and associated subenvironments developed and prograded east-southeastward. 4. In 1936 the discharge channel was extended through Matadgorda Peninsula, and the Colorado River began discharging directly into the Gulf of Mexico. Distributaries into the southeast lobe remained open but could divert only a fraction of the total discharge. This decrease in volume of discharge was accompanied by lower flow velocities, a slower progradation rate, and the deposition of generally finer sediments. 5. The lobe entered its destructional phase in 1941, when all distributaries were closed. Wave action has removed most of the subaqueous delta front, beaches and interdistributary bays have formed, and a flourishing marsh has developed. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1697------------


This paper presents a novel approach for efficient tree construction in ALM (Application Layer Multicast) using layered video coding. This mechanism is suitable for the users in heterogeneous environment such as xDSL and CATV, where upload and download speeds are different. We point out some problems in these environments of the ALM and show their solutions at two stages. First, we redefine the "degree parameter" which originally specifies the number of single rate streams the host can transmit, to reflect asymmetric link properties and to accommodate layered streams. Second, we develop an efficient tree construction algorithm using the renewed degree parameter, which maximizes total throughput of all hosts. Simulations using NS-2 prove improvement in throughput, delay and overhead by our proposal. Software implementation is also carried out, and subjective quality improvement is verified.


On November 12, 1985, the Seym dissolved the Central Board of Geology (CUG) and transformed Geological Survey of Poland to the Ministry of Environment Protection and Natural Resources (MOSiZN) and submitted it to the Chief Geologist of the Country. The years 1981-1985 were hard for the Geological Institute because of prolonged economic crisis of the country and several problems with performing of mining and drilling works as well as financial and personnel shortages. During five years the number of personnel reduced by 76 persons (Tab. 1), and the lowest rate of employment was in 1984. The Geological Institute cooperated with geological organisations from 25 countries and with numerous domestic institutions, organized several symposiums and conferences including the XIIIth Congress of Carpathian - Balkan Geological Association. In the years 1981-1985 a five-year plan was being realised. In the meantime it was modified in 1982 and the following major research directions were pointed out then: I. Determining the geological structure of the Polish Lowlands and Carpathian aimed at increasing the oil and gas resources. 2. Determining the geological structure of the entire country aimed at increasing the mineral raw materials resources. 3. Advancing the geological mapping with respect to the Detailed Geological Map of Poland in the scale of 1: 50 000. 4. Organizing the system of stationary site observatories of groundwaters, their observating as well as water quality and purity testing. To affect above purposes 387,071 m have been drilled (Figs. 3 and 4, Tab. 4) and several geophysical works have been carried out (Fig. 5, Tab. 3). The borehole Czaplinek IG I reached the depth of 6006 m below surface (Fig. 6) and became the deepest drilling in the history of the Institute. Geological structure of Poland was studied within the frame of international research programmes (IGCP project no. 86 - research on SW edge of the East-European Platform) as well as with regard to the national projects (deep seismic prospecting, gravimetric layer stripping to the. Sub-Zechstein surface) and regional ones. Some of the latter are listed below. The research in the Polish Lowlands resulted in three outstanding publications i.e. a map atlas of crystalline basement of the Precambrian Platform, an atlas of lithofacies-thickness maps of Vendian to Carboniferous rocks and a map atlas of Permian-Mesozoic rocks of the Polish Basin. The works on the synthesis of the geological structure of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline and the Pomeranian Swell have been completed and the geological-raw material map atlas of the Świetokrzyskie Mts has been prepared in the scale of 1:50000. In the Upper Silesia the investigations reached the deep Carboniferous horizons. The Geological Atlas of the Outer Carpathians was completed in cooperation with Slovakian geologists. In the years 1981-1985 the Institute controlled investigations and prospecting of mineral raw materials. The Institute took part in the national programme on estimating the oil and gas recovery resources as well as in prognosticating their potential areas. In the Lower Silesia an oil outflow from, the main dolomite was obtained in Borowiec oilfield. The Geological Atlas of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin (GZW) - Coal Quality Maps has been compiled in the scale of I : 100 000. the monograph of the Lublin Coal Basin (LZW) has been completed and in the Lower Silesian Coal Basin (DZW) some new black coal resources have been recorded in the Victoria mine coal field. Also new brown coal economic resources have been documented e.g. Bilczew. Gorzkowice - Łeczno. Wola Owadowska. Krosno Odrzanskie, Lubowo, Siedlimowice, Walcz and others, which totally amount many million tons. At Udryn the economic resources of iron. Titanium and vanadium ores have been documented at 263,5 million tons under the C2 category. Under the same category the rock salt resources have been documented at 2082 million tons at Wojnicz. The intensive prospecting for radioactive elements. rare earths elements. Cooper, zine and lead, Molybdenum, tin, sulphur, strontium, phosphorites, barite, fluorite as well as rocky raw materials was carried out in several geological regions of Poland. Geological cartography was prospering (Tabs. 5. 6). The edition of the Detailed Geological Map of  Sudetes in the scale of 1: 25 000 is almost completed now, and the Detailed Geological Map of Poland in the scale of 1 : 50 000 was developing during the reported period. Sixty one sheets of this map have been accepted for publishing, and over a hundred sheets were in progress at the end of 1985. The Magnetic Map of Poland in the scale of 1 : 200000 has been completed and the following other editions in the same scale are nearing completion: Geological Map of Poland. Hydrogeological Map of Poland and Gravity Map of Poland. Concerning the network of groundwater observatories, 7 hydrogeologic stations and 64 observation posts were built in 1981 - 1985 period. At the end of 1985 the observations were taken at 471 posts of the network. Underground potable, curative and thermal waters were being documented. Also purity testing of ground waters was continued. Numerous basic studies (i.e. stratigraphic, petrographic, mineralogic, sedimentologic, paleontologic, geophysical and others) were carried out in the Geological Institute, however economic geology and photogeology studies were progressing, too. Data processing, geological information as well as archivum and museum managment were permanently improved during the reported period


The article is devoted to the study of the terminological family with the base term "robot". The issues concerning the structure of the terminological family, its basic lexical units, the most productive models of term formation and most frequent grammatical forms of terms are considered. Particular emphasis is placed on the specifics of the terminological family. The characteristic features of terminological elements used in the formation of new terms are defined. It is emphasised that the emergence of terminological combinations is a common way of forming new special words. In the course of study, it was found that the terminological family with the base term "robot" belongs to the class of highly deployed families. A five-stage model of the terminological family is presented. About 200 derived terms have been analysed at the five stages of term formation relating to the present state of language development. The scientific hypothesis that the emergence of terms-specifiers of the original concept is the way of forming a special professional terminological family has been proved. The material for research includes the "English-Russian Explanatory Dictionary" by E. M. Proydakov and L. A. Teplitskiy (Moscow, 2019), monographs, scientific publications on robotics in peer-reviewed journals in 2010—2021.


OVERVIEW
In rural settings, referrals to specialists from primary care providers can be difficult for patients and families to follow up on, sometimes requiring that patients travel great distances. Patient care coordination has been shown to decrease the number of ED visits and hospitalizations, but little is known about its effectiveness in assisting with referrals in rural primary care. This article presents three case studies showing how a nurse care coordinator at a rural primary care practice resolved complex issues involving medications, specialists, and diagnoses.


A number of hypothesis tests are used to obtain information about the characteristics of one or more populations. While parametric tests are based on the assumption of normal distribution, non-parametric tests are performed with highly ordered series from the original series. The main purpose of this study is to check whether two independent samples taken from two different populations of normally distributed samples fit the normal distribution with Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro-Wilk tests. And to determine the similarities of Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Sign test to samples with normal distribution by Wilcoxon test and those with non-normal distribution. As a result, it is aimed to compare the strength and effectiveness of the applied tests. We used the MATLAB function in our work which is considered to be useful for researchers.


Objective:The clinical feasibility of oxygen-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lung may benefit from the use of a simple gas delivery method. In this study, the oxygen-induced T1 change of the lung obtained using a closed O2 delivery system was compared with that obtained by a conventional nontight face mask. Material and Methods:Twenty-three healthy subjects (15 men, 8 women, mean age = 25 years, age range = 20–35 years) underwent oxygen-enhanced MRI of the lung using a closed O2 delivery system composed by a tightly fitting face mask and a 60-L reservoir bag (equipment type A: n = 13, 9 men, 4 women, mean age = 24.4 years, age range = 20–32 years), or a clinically available nontight face mask (equipment type B: n = 10; 6 men, 4 women, mean age = 25.8 years, age range = 20–35 years). The effect of 100%-oxygen inhalation was assessed using a Snapshot FLASH T1-mapping technique (repetition time/echo time = 1.5–1.6/0.56 milliseconds; matrix = 128 × 90; acquisition time = 3.3–3.7 seconds; slice thickness = 15–20 mm; number of images = 40). By nonlinear curve fitting, the mean T1 values of the left and right lung at room air and 100%-oxygen ventilation were calculated (T1room air, right; T1oxygen, right; T1room air, left; T1oxygen, left). The average T1 differences (&Dgr;T1 = T1room air − T1oxygen) of the 2 volunteer groups were compared (Wilcoxon signed rank test, Mann-Whitney U test). Results:The mean T1 values obtained using the 2 respiratory equipments at room air or oxygen ventilation were not significantly different (A vs. B at room air ventilation: P = 0.85 for the right lung, P = 0.27 for the left lung; A vs. B at oxygen ventilation: P = 0.55 for the left lung, P = 0.29 for the right lung). With both systems, the mean T1 values decreased significantly after oxygen inhalation (P = 0.03–0.0002). For both lungs, the &Dgr;T1 obtained using the equipment type A was statistically equivalent to that obtained using the equipment type B: &Dgr;T1A, right = 96 ± 19 milliseconds versus &Dgr;T1B, right = 97 ± 34 milliseconds (P = 0.82); &Dgr;T1A, left = 74 ± 47 milliseconds versus &Dgr;T1B, left = 68 ± 63 milliseconds (P = 0.85). Conclusion:Gas delivery in oxygen-enhanced MRI of the lung can be performed with a clinically available standard face mask, without the need for closed sophisticated equipments.


Abstract Background: Understanding how cardiovascular structure and physiology guide management is critically important in paediatric cardiology. However, few validated educational tools are available to assess trainee knowledge. To address this deficit, paediatric cardiologists and fellows from four institutions collaborated to develop a multimedia assessment tool for use with medical students and paediatric residents. This tool was developed in support of a novel 3-dimensional virtual reality curriculum created by our group. Methods: Educational domains were identified, and questions were iteratively developed by a group of clinicians from multiple centres to assess understanding of key concepts. To evaluate content validity, content experts completed the assessment and reviewed items, rating item relevance to educational domains using a 4-point Likert scale. An item-level content validity index was calculated for each question, and a scale-level content validity index was calculated for the assessment tool, with scores of ≥0.78 and ≥0.90, respectively, representing excellent content validity. Results: The mean content expert assessment score was 92% (range 88–97%). Two questions yielded ≤50% correct content expert answers. The item-level content validity index for 29 out of 32 questions was ≥0.78, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.92. Qualitative feedback included suggestions for future improvement. Questions with ≤50% content expert agreement and item-level content validity index scores <0.78 were removed, yielding a 27-question assessment tool. Conclusions: We describe a multi-centre effort to create and validate a multimedia assessment tool which may be implemented within paediatric trainee cardiology curricula. Future efforts may focus on content refinement and expansion to include additional educational domains.


A strong international effort has resulted in the discovery of a dozen powdery mildew resistance loci in grapevine, and their introgression into cultivated grapevines could have a multibillion dollar economic impact. However, some of the resistance loci have minor effects, and most have been shown to be race specific. One approach to combat virulent pathogen strains overcoming race-specific resistance is to stack multiple resistance genes in a single cultivar, but this creates challenges for generating additional seedlings, selecting which genes to use, tracking them with DNA markers, and validating the added value of stacked genes. To identify complementary sets of resistance loci, breeders and pathologists on the US VitisGen grape breeding project developed a strategy to evaluate various resistance gene stacks against phenotypically and genetically diverse isolates of powdery mildew (Erysiphe necator) collected from the eastern US center of diversity. Leveraging the pathogen genetic diversity provides a crystal ball to predict selection for virulence after commercialization. However, even if this approach successfully identifies complementary stacked resistance genes and these become widely adopted in commercial cultivars, history suggests the pathogen will eventually adapt and win. Thus, we must consider complementary disease management tactics and strongly encourage growers to protect this new generation of disease-resistant cultivars. With a coordinated effort, we aim to make powdery mildew resistance breeding easy, efficient, and effective, and to provide the viticultural strategies to protect this investment for future generations of grape growers around the world.


OBJECTIVES
To explore the demographic characteristics and clinical features among patients with osseous (cemento-osseous) dysplasia (OD/COD) of the jaws and to determine the frequency of particular radiographic characteristics.

METHODS
The charts and radiographic reports of 118 patients with OD/COD, obtained from the archives of the University of Toronto discipline of oral and maxillofacial radiology, were reviewed. Demographic and clinical data, radiographic findings and final diagnoses were collected and analyzed to determine typical characteristics.

RESULTS
Of the 117 patients for whom age and sex were known, the majority (97 [82.9%]) were female; these female patients had a mean age (± standard deviation) of 44.3 ± 13.4 years. Eighty-three (72.2%) of the 115 patients for whom symptoms were known were clinically asymptomatic. Ninety-three patients (78.8%) had OD/COD at single sites (i.e., periapical OD/COD), and 25 (21.2%) had OD/COD at multiple sites (i.e., florid OD/COD). In addition, 15 (12.7%) of the cases were associated with one or more simple bone cysts, and 13 (11.0%) were associated with osteomyelitis. In most cases, the OD/COD was unilateral, with the lesion being located in the mandible, usually associated only with the posterior teeth. The lesions exhibited well-defined, sclerotic or corticated margins (108 patients [91.5%]) and were surrounded by a radiolucent border. Minimal effects on surrounding structures were observed. As well, 85 (72.0%) of the lesions were in the mixed radiolucent-radiopaque stage, with dense, cementum-like radiopacities.

CONCLUSIONS
The majority of cases of OD/COD occurred in women in the fifth decade of life, and most cases were asymptomatic. OD/COD was more likely to present as solitary lesions but also occurred in association with simple bone cysts or osteomyelitis.


Background: Background: Background: Background: Cutaneous angiosarcoma is a rare high grade malignant neoplasm in skin of endothelial differentiation. About 50% of cutaneous angiosarcoma affects head and neck region. Objective: Objective: Objective: Objective: To report a case series of primary cutaneous angiosarcoma in Hong Kong focusing in the clinical presentation and demographic features. Materials and method: Materials and method: Materials and method: Materials and method: Materials and method: Case records of patients from 2000 to 2009 with histopathological confirmation of the diagnosis of angiosarcoma were retrieved from the Social Hygiene Service clinics of the Department of Health of Hong Kong. Results: esults: esults: esults: esults: A total of 7 patients with primary cutaneous angiosarcoma were found. All patients were elderly with the age range from 72 to 91 years and a male predominance. Most patients could only be offered with palliative radiotherapy due to extensive disease upon presentation. The prognosis was generally poor. At the time of preparation of this manuscript, three patients has passed away and only one patient remains in remission. Conclusion: Conclusion: Conclusion: Conclusion: Cutaneous angiosarcoma is a high grade malignant neoplasm that mainly affected elderly men with poor prognosis. The tumor can mimic benign skin condition at the early stage and cause diagnostic delay. Clinicians should be alert of the diagnosis especially for suspicious lesions in the head and neck region in elderly patients so as to arrive at an early diagnosis.


RC buildings constitute the prevailing type of construction in earthquake-prone region like Kathmandu Valley. Most of these building constructions were based on conventional methods. In this context, the present paper studied the seismic behaviour of existing RC buildings in Kathmandu Valley. For this, four representative building structures with different design and construction, namely a building: (a) representing the non-engineered construction (RC1 and RC2) and (b) engineered construction (RC3 and RC4) has been selected for analysis. The dynamic properties of the case study building models are analyzed and the corresponding interaction with seismic action is studied by means of non-linear analyses. The structural response measures such as capacity curve, inter-storey drift and the effect of geometric non- linearities are evaluated for the two orthogonal directions. The effect of plan and vertical irregularity on the performance of the structures was studied by comparing the results of two engineered buildings. This was achieved through non-linear dynamic analysis with a synthetic earthquake subjected to X, Y and 45° loading directions. The nature of the capacity curve represents the strong impact of the P-delta effect, leading to a reduction of the global lateral stiffness and reducing the strength of the structure. The non-engineered structures experience inter-storey drift demands higher than the engineered building models. Moreover, these buildings have very low lateral resistant, lesser the stiffness and limited ductility. Finally, a seismic safety assessment is performed based on the proposed drift limits. Result indicates that most of the existing buildings in Nepal exhibit inadequate seismic performance.


In this work, we propose a novel framework for privacy-preserving client-distributed machine learning. It is motivated by the desire to achieve differential privacy guarantees in the local model of privacy in a way that satisfies all systems constraints using asynchronous client-server communication and provides attractive model learning properties. We call it "Draw and Discard" because it relies on random sampling of models for load distribution (scalability), which also provides additional server-side privacy protections and improved model quality through averaging. We present the mechanics of client and server components of "Draw and Discard" and demonstrate how the framework can be applied to learning Generalized Linear models. We then analyze the privacy guarantees provided by our approach against several types of adversaries and showcase experimental results that provide evidence for the framework's viability in practical deployments.


Expanding a limited empirical base on effects of risk comparisons, a pilot experiment explored how varying elements of such comparisons might influence public response. The scenario used was a hypothetical trial of an asbestos‐installing firm for putting students and staff at a junior high school at "unreasonable risk," first used by Slovic et al. (1990). Study participants played the role of jurors in the trial, asked to rate the risk, the firm's guilt, whether it should be made liable for future health effects, whether the school should be occupied in its current condition, and whether the asbestos should be removed at a cost of $3 million. Opportunity samples of New Jersey residents (n= 309) received information intended to vary four comparison attributes: number of dimensions of comparison; single versus multiple ways of expressing mortality; a narrative to explain and justify the risk comparison; and the hypothetical role of the participant (juror vs. parent). The dependent variable was a hazard scale constructed from four of the five postcomparison judgments. ANOVA found format variations swamped in their effect by concern about asbestos, with the absence of a narrative and the parental role being the only attributes that increased negative risk reactions. Multiple regression analyses found that multidimensionality, narrative, role, and the presence of any risk comparison at all had significant effects when these (plus death formats) were the only independent variables. However, only multidimensionality (which increased negative reactions) retained significance when asbestos concern, risk beliefs (no safe level of exposure to a carcinogen; any exposure leads to cancer), and demographic variables were added to the analysis. Concern and risk beliefs alone explained 33% of variance in hazard scores; adding demographics and risk comparison variables only raised explained variance to 36% (having children at home and being exposed to multidimensional risk comparisons raised scores; age and income lowered them). The results underline the potentially small effect of risk comparison information on risk views (at least between subjects), but offer some insight into aspects of message design left unexplored in empirical literature to date.


Following the changes introduced by Legislative Decree no. 66/2017, the Multidisciplinary Evaluation Unitsestablished at the local health districts are mandated to draft a Functioning Profile (FP) based on the ICF Classification, for the purposes of establishing an Individual Project (Law No. 328 / 2000, art.14), as well as thepreparation of the Individualized Educational Plan (PEI) (Legislative Decree no. 66/2017, art. 5). The innovation introduced by the legislation is far-reaching, not only for the impact it has on the organization of the Services and on the procedures relating to school support and accompaniment towards the Life Project. Particularly relevant is the change of perspective brought by the adoption of the anthropological model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). If, so far, the condition of disability hasbeen assessed on the basis of clinical parameters, the Functioning Profile now requires a biopsychosocial assessment of the person which will consider not only deficits and impairments, as well as its effect on the development process of personal experiences (personal factors) and the setting of daily life (environmental factors). Indeed, this threefold focal lens is the only means to comprehend the overall condition of a person with disability – encompassing their needs and wishes – which is intertwined to the quality and the complexity of the social networkto which they belong. Accordingly, the regulation foresees that drafting of the FP be jointly carried forth by physicians, rehabilitationprofessionals, evolutional age psychologists, evolutionary psychologists, social workers, paedagogists, specializedteachers, parents, and not least the very individual as by the principal of autodetermination. Following the modifications introduced with such Decree, the University of Verona began a trial aimed at developing n ICF-based FP model that is both sustainable an organizational level and functional to planning the Individual Projects and the PEI. Such trial has involved the Scaligera local health district 'ULSS Company no. 9 a delegation of family Pediatricians of the province and the Local School Office in Verona.
The FP model produced in the pilot experience which is still active, contains some particular features that allow is formal as well as dynamic use in both the design and the monitoring and evaluation of educational, rehabilitation and care interventions. For this purpose, we created an online platform that processes the data collected and makes it available to the user in real time providing a series of qualitative and quantitative graphs and indicators, describing the biopsychosocial functioning of the subject and his/her needs for social inclusion. The present article describes the main elements of this pilot experience and the results obtained.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the orthodontic services provided by a Finnish health centre, by determining 280 15-16-year-old adolescents' satisfaction with their own dental appearance and general oral health status, and their opinions on certain aspects of orthodontic treatment. Forty-two per cent of adolescents had received or were receiving orthodontic treatment. Most children were satisfied with the alignment of their teeth, but satisfaction was higher in groups with no history of orthodontic treatment, or with completed treatment. The enhancement of appearance and improvement of function were mentioned most often as the most important reasons for starting treatment. Dental casts of 75 randomly selected adolescents were assessed by an orthodontist using the Index of Orthodontic Treatment Need (IOTN), and assessments by the Aesthetic Component of IOTN were compared with the adolescents' own satisfaction. Most adolescents had realistic views about their dental appearance and orthodontic treatment need. Subjects with orthodontic treatment need were found in the groups both with completed treatment and with no treatment experience.


The article presents the rules of appeal proceedings in civil and criminal cases in the Napoleonic Free City of Danzig. The appeals took place before the Revision Commissions which were appointed for civil cases in October 1809 a nd for criminal cases in February 1810. Furthermore, the paper delineates their organizational structure as well as the method of making the final decision (rejecting or accepting the Commission's decision). The contents of this article were based on the rules and regulations which governed the Commissions which hitherto were not used in research. Moreover, the judiciary and the appeals systems were described in the projects of the constitution of the Free City of Danzig (Danzig Senate from 1807, a project by the mayor of Danzig – Gottlieb Hufeland, as well as a project by the French resident Nicolas Massias). However, these plans were not introduced but they were substituted by the rules and regulations of the Revision Commissions. This serves as an illustration of the French influence on the law in Danzig in the Napoleonic era of the Free City. Also the appeal process in the Napoleonic Free City of Danzig was presented against the backdrop of the general history of appeals in the course of legal cases before the judiciary in Danzig. This facilitates the observation of the changes which took place in the course of legal cases throughout history. In particular, it helps in the observations made at the turn of the 18th century as it was the period when the law transformed from Feudalism to Bourgeoisie.


By using the full core plus correlation method recently developed, the accurately analytical charge densities for the lithium-like systems (Z = 3-8) are obtained. The convergence pattern of the charge densities is analyzed. The electron-nuclear cusp condition is calculated for these systems. Also, at the region far from the nucleus, the behavior of the electron density is examined. The present calculations show that the wave functions used in this work can give the satisfactory and self-consistent results in full configuration space.


Q3: What relevant investigations would you request? Routine blood analysis including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, thyroid function tests, and B12; lateral cervical spine radiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of cervical spine. This woman's MRI scans (see figs 1 and 2) revealed a dilated syrinx extending from C2–T3 with characteristic septation in the lower cervical region. There was no evidence of the Arnold-Chiari malformation or a cord neoplasm (see discussion below).


Acoustic echo is the major issue involved in telecommunication system, which is actually a delayed and distorted version of sound reflected back to the source. Cancellation of echoes involves the use of acoustic echo cancellers. Echo cancellation is done by using adaptive filters by making use of adaptive filter algorithms. In this review paper, we have studied and discussed few of the previous work done on these algorithms in relation to acoustic echo cancellation. This paper contains the basic review of all such existing algorithms of the acoustic echo cancellation like LMS, LLMS, NLMS, RLS, AAF, and APA. Finally, comparison of above algorithm is given in order to conclude the discussion.


Convective flow zones were found to surround the discharge current in an electron-beam generated argon plasma. Flow zones were created by the electric field associated with the injected electron beam. A sheet-beam was injected along a confining magnetic field. The discharge current and voltage were varied, and the ion flow near the beam was studied via laser-induced fluorescence. It was observed that the drift velocity, and thus the inferred electric field, was nearly constant even with increasing current, yet the electron density of the beam did increase.


We studied uptake into isolated rat hepatocytes of the bile acid analogue taurodehydrocholate (TDHC) over a concentration range of 2.5-4,000 microM. Uptake was mainly by a saturable sodium-dependent process with a Km of approximately 50 microM and a Vmax of 0.036 nmol.s-1.mg protein-1. A lesser sodium-independent process was evident but was linear in the range studied. Both processes were inhibited by incubation at 37 degrees C under nitrogen in the presence of 3 mM sodium cyanide or by incubation at 0 degrees C. A single transport site was suggested by the Eadie-Hofstee plot of TDHC uptake from 2.5 to 750 microM. TDHC was a weak competitive inhibitor of taurocholic acid (TCA) uptake (Ki = 236 microM) but was not itself taken up by the TCA transport site. TCA exhibited moderately potent mixed inhibition of TDHC uptake. Uptake of both compounds was strongly inhibited by bromosulfophthalein (BSP) and Rose Bengal, whereas 0.5 mM alanine uptake was not affected. BSP exhibited a complex pattern of inhibition of TDHC uptake: mixed partial inhibition. Degree of inhibition of both TDHC and TCA uptake did not increase as BSP concentrations were increased from 50 to 100 microM. BSP did not exert its inhibitory effects by alteration of membrane potential or sodium gradients; 50 microM BSP changed membrane potential less than 10% and sodium gradient not at all. The data indicate that despite close structural analogy between TDHC and TCA, the two compounds are taken up by different sodium-dependent mechanisms. Nonetheless, the similar qualitative and quantitative effects of BSP on their uptakes suggests the mechanisms are related.


treatment, with details of methods, in an admirably concise manner. In the treatment of CDH the essence of Somerville's contribution is his recognition of the role of limbus and the need for its removal in order to achieve concentric stable reduction of the hip. His other invaluable contribution has been the systematic follow-up of his patients treated in a near-standard way so that the results can be clearly defined. It is an intriguing point that it may be as disadvantageous for the hip to have an acetabulum which is too deep as one that is too shallow. The role of eccentric movement of the hip, where the centre of the head is not the centre of all movement, and the contribution of the iliopsoas to this is difficult to contradict. The restoration of the mechanics of the hip by a varus osteotomy which restores the psoas to its normal function of an internal rotator is logical and borne out by the results. The author explains why patients with Perthes' disease may often have poorly-formed hips radiologically but few problems, because they are stable, whilst patients with CDH who have wellformed hips which still have eccentric movement and are unstable, will develop progressive degenerative changes. This also fits in with the well-known susceptibility of articular cartilage to repetitive loading as would occur in the hip with CDH and eccentric movement. The author's contribution to the understanding of hip problems in children and the effective and safe treatment is enormous. The book is unique in representing the wide experience of an original thinker and highly dedicated and skilled orthopaedic surgeon. I would recommend it to orthopaedic surgeons, paediatricians, and all those interested in the musculo-skeletal problems of childhood. G BENTLEY Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery Institute of Orthopaedics, London


The phytochemical profile of Aloe secundiflora (Aloeaceae) and the identity of eight major compounds, including the two main constituents, have been determined from the leaf exudate of this ethnoveterinary used species from Kenya and Tanzania. Analytical HPLC-MS studies of the exudate have revealed that it comprises a mixture of phenolic compounds, mainly anthrones (aloenin, aloenin B, isobarbaloin, barbaloin and other aloin derivatives), chromones and phenylpyrones with a low content of polysaccharides and aliphatic compounds. The high percentage of anthrones in the exudate could provide a first line of evidence for the use of the plant in ethnoveterinary practices.


Abstract Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are an excellent bone tissue repair material both in vitro and in vivo. The interactions between MWCNTs and single type of cells of bone tissue, including osteoblasts, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) or osteoclasts, have been extensively studied. However, the interactions between MWCNTs with different types of cells in the bone microenvironment remain elusive. Bone microenvironment is a complex system composed of different types of cells, which have interactions between each other. In this work, the effects of MWCNTs on bone microenvironment were firstly studied by culture of MWCNTs with BMSCs, osteoblasts, osteoclasts, macrophages and vascular endothelial cells, respectively. Then, co-culture systems of macrophages–BMSCs, macrophages–calvaria and macrophages–BMSCs–vascular endothelial cells were treated with MWCNTs, respectively. The osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs and osteoblasts was inhibited when these two types of cells were cultured with MWCNTs, respectively. Strikingly, when co-culture MWCNTs with BMSCs and macrophages, the osteogenesis of BMSCs was promoted by inducing the M2 polymerization of macrophages. Meanwhile, MWCNTs promoted the bone formation in the osteolysis model of calvaria ex vivo. In addition, the formation of osteoclasts was inhibited, and angiogenesis was increased when treated with MWCNTs. This study revealed the inconsistent effects of MWCNTs on single type of bone cells and on the bone microenvironment. The results provided basic research data for the application of MWCNTs in bone tissue repair.


: The implantation of multiple chronic indwelling vascular cannulas and of a gastric cannula into swine was described. Technics for housing, care, and handling of the animals pre- and post-surgically were established to reduce the incidence of infection and to allow collection of urine and feces in metabolic studies. This regimen has been used in 20 gilts to study absorption, tissue distribution, metabolism, and excretion of nutrients. On the average, the cannulas remained patent for 4 wk.


Multiple-reader study designs have become popular in the radiology literature. We reviewed the major papers published in the American Journal of Roentgenology in the first 4 months of each of the years 1990 and 1995. The review was restricted to prospective studies of image interpretation. In the 1990 literature, we noted eight multiple-reader and 18 single-reader studies; in contrast, in the 1995 literature, we found 29 multiple-reader and eight single-reader studies. This trend reflects an increased awareness of the importance of multiple-reader studies. We examined the Results sections of the 29 multiple-reader studies from 1995 to assess the authors' motives for incorporating such a design. In 16 studies (55%), readers independently interpreted all images. However, the authors usually reported only the average interpretation of the readers; in only seven of the 29 studies (24%) did the authors describe differences among readers' interpretations. In 13 studies, interpretations were performed exclusively through "consensus reading." The method(s) used to achieve a consensus often were not explained. Only two of the 29 studies had more than three readers. In contrast, all of these studies included multiple patients. The average patient sample size was 45. Furthermore, differences observed among patients were routinely reported and/or depicted.


Background The abnormal knee joint motion patterns caused by anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) deficiency are thought to be associated with articular cartilage degeneration. High rates of meniscus tear combined with ACL rupture are observed, and these knees suffer a higher risk of early cartilage degeneration. Research Question This study investigated lower limb muscular force patterns of ACL-deficient knees with a concomitant medial meniscus tear. Methods 12 volunteers and 22 patients were recruited, including 12 patients with isolated ACL deficiency (ACLD) and 10 ACL-deficient patients with a concomitant medial meniscus tear (ACLDM). Level walking data at a self-selected speed were collected before surgery. Then, a musculoskeletal dynamic analysis system, AnyBody, was applied to simulate tibiofemoral flexion moments and muscle forces. Results Our results indicate that the tibiofemoral peak flexion and extension moments in ACLDM patients are significantly lower than in controls. The rectus femoris force in ACLDM patients was significantly lower than in isolated ACL-deficient patients and the controls during mid and terminal stance phase, while no significant difference was found in hamstring and vastus force. Additionally, the gastrocnemius force in ACL-deficient patients both with and without a medial meniscus tear was lower than in controls during mid-stance phase. Significance The ACLDM patients had lower peak tibiofemoral flexion moment, lower gastrocnemius force in mid-stance phase, and lower rectus femoris force during the mid and terminal stance phase. These results may help clinicians to better understand the muscle function and gait pattern in ACL-deficient patients with a concomitant medial meniscus tear.


miRNAs (miRNA) are small RNA molecules that are not to expressed to proteins. Their size is 20–22 nucleotides in length and they are highly conserved molecules among the species. miRNAs are synthesized in the nucleus as a primary miRNA. Primary miRNA is transferred to cytoplasm by Xpo5 protein (exportin-5) and then is processed by Dicer enzyme to a 22-nucleotide-sized long mature miRNA. miRNAs are differentially expressed in different diseases and are released into plasma by normal and tumor tissues during the cell metabolism. Ovarian carcinoma is the deadliest cancer among women. When the disease was diagnosed, the disease usually progressed. Currently, there is no biological marker to detect ovarian carcinoma at an early stage. Furthermore, there is a need for markers that are sensitive to chemotherapy changes and early detection of the disease. Because of this, miRNAs can be detected in plasma and can be used as highly significant biological markers and therapeutic targets for ovarian carcinoma. When the literature of the last 5 years is searched, there are many studies about miRNA and ovarian carcinoma. In this chapter, studies examining the relationship between ovarian carcinoma and miRNA from different angles are summarized under different sections.


Recently, a number of authors [KS, Oh2, Ro] have independently shown that the universal finite type invariant of rational homology 3-spheres on the level of sl2 can be recovered from the Reshetikhin-Turaev sl2 invariant. An important role in Ohtsuki's proof [Oh3] plays a map j1 (which joins the legs of 2-legged chinese characters) and its relation to a map α in terms of a power series (on the level of sl2). The purpose of the present note is to give a universal formula of the map α in terms of a power series F of wheel chinese characters. The above formula is similar to universal formulas of wheel chinese characters considered in [BGRT1] and leads to a simple conceptual proof of the above mentioned relation between the maps j1 and α on the level of sl2.


Background The protein Runt-relatede Transcription Factor 2 (Runx2) promotes the expression of most genes of the bone matrix proteins at the early stage of osteoblast differentiation, leading the cells to acquire an osteoblastic phenotype. Runx2 interacts with the Transforming Growth Factor β (TGF-β) and Bone Morphogenetic Proteins (BMPs) pathways. Furthermore, Runx2 interactions with the Wnt/β-catenin canonical way promote the osteoblastic differentiation of the mesenchymal cells. It is established that the Insulin-like Growth Factors (IGFs) and the Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α) regulate the Runx2 expression in osteoblasts at different stages of differentiation. Instead there are no studies about the role of P Substance (SP), IGF-1 and TNF-α in the regulation of the expression of Runx2 in the human OA osteoblasts. Objectives To evaluate the in vitro expression of Runx2 in human osteoblasts from normal and OA knees after the stimulation with SP, IGF-1 and TNF-α. Methods Osteoblasts have been obtained from human knees of 4 OA patients (2 women, 2 men) undergoing surgery replacement and 5 healthy donors (HD) (2 women, 3 men) with joint traumatic fracture. The osteoblasts were cultured until reaching confluence. At sub-confluence of the third passage, osteoblasts were cultured in one of the following conditions for 24 hours: without any stimulus, with SP (100 μM), with IGF-1 (100 ng/mL) or with TNF-α (10ng/mL). After stimulation, analysis of the expression of Runx2 was carried out by western blotting and immunocytochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed by IBM SPSS 20 analysis software, using Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann–Whitney U tests. Multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to adjust for gender. Results We compared the percentages of expression of Runx2 into the HD and OA groups: no statistically significant difference in the Runx2 expression after the stimulation with the SP was found in both groups, while a statistically significant increase with IGF-1 and TNF-α in HD group (p: 0.08 and 0.043 respectively). In the OA osteoblasts, we found a tendency to decrease the Runx2 expression with IGF-1 and TNF-α (p: 0.068 for both). The comparison HD vs OA showed a non-statistically significant difference between basal values and after the stimulation with SP (p: 0.086) while we found a statistically significant difference with IGF-1 and TNF-α (p: 0.014 for both). We did not find any influence of gender in Runx2 expression. The immunocytochemistry confirmed the findings of Western Blot analysis. Conclusions This study provides evidence that IGF-1 and TNF-α are involved in the regulation of the expression of Runx2 in both normal and OA osteoblasts. However, Runx2 pathway seems to be disregulated in OA suggesting an abnormal osteoblastic differentiation occurs in OA bone. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Foodborne diseases are a major risk for human health. Millions of people become sick as a result of eating contaminated food with microorganisms that cause diseases. S.  aureus is considered as one of the most important pathogenic bacteria, having the ability to  activate certain genes that encode for heat stable enterotoxins and cause Staphylococcal food poisoning. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of multi resistant Staphylococcus aureus that produce enterotoxins in different sources of food . Forty nine isolates were identified as S.aureus, according to morphological and biochemical tests. They were isolated from 387 different food samples from several randomly covered restaurants and supermarkets in different regions of Baghdad. Molecular diagnosis of S. aureus using specific primers for the 16S rRNA gene was carried out by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR ) technique . Susceptibility of 43 isolates of S.aureus was tested against 15 antimicrobial agents. The results revealed that all the isolates were resistant (100%) to mecillinam, highly resistant to vancomycine and meropenemin  (74.4 %) and  moderately resistant to Oxacillin, Erythromycin Cefotaxime, and Cefiximein (67.4, 60.4, 62.8, , 60.5 %, respectively), while they showed low resistance to Gentamicin (34.8%). In addition, all of these isolates were susceptible  to Tigecycline and Amoxicillin/ clavulanic acid and Cefoxitin-Cloxacilin. High percentages of oxicillin resistant S. aureus were isolated from cooked food samples, followed by meat products, and with less percentage from pastry products. Molecular detection of enterotoxins A and B of Staphylococcus aureus isolates was performed using specific primers based on PCR. The results revealed that S. aureus isolated from cooked food had the highest percentage of the isolates producing the enterotoxins A and B. Type A enterotoxin gene showed a higher prevalence than type B gene among cooked food , dairy products and pastry. In conclusion, the results revealed a high prevalence of some classical enterotoxin genes in  multi-drug resistant S.aureus isolated from different sources of food, which can cause food-poisoning  and, consequently, a potential serious problem for public health.


In February 2004 a highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreak erupted in British Columbia. Investigations indicated that the responsible HPAI H7N3 virus emerged suddenly from a low pathogenic precursor. Analysis of the haemagglutinin (HA) genes of the low and high pathogenic viruses isolated from the index farm revealed the only difference to be a 21 nt insert at the HA cleavage site of the highly pathogenic avian influenza virus. It was deduced that this insert most probably arose as a result of non-homologous recombination between the HA and matrix genes of the same virus. Over the course of the outbreak, a total of 37 isolates with, and 3 isolates without inserts were characterized. The events described here appear very similar to those which occurred in Chile in 2002 where the virulence shift of another H7N3 virus was attributed to non-homologous recombination between the HA and nucleoprotein genes.


—It is crucial for robots not only to reason ethically, but also to accurately communicate their ethical intentions; a robot that erroneously communicates willingness to violate moral norms risks losing both trust and esteem, and may risk negatively impacting the moral ecosystem of its human teammates. Previous approaches to enabling moral competence in robots have primarily used norm-based language grounded in deontological ethical theories. In contrast, we present a communication strategy grounded in role-based ethical theories, such as Confucian ethics. We also present a human subjects experiment investigating the differences between the two approaches. Our preliminary results show that, while the role-based approach is equally effective at promoting trust and conveying the robot's ethical reasoning, it may actually be less effective than the norm-based approach at encouraging certain forms of mindfulness and self-reflection.


nsurance sector competes by innovating and developing the core competencies of their human resources. The human resource system can be made effective by having a valid appraisal system that also acts as a true motivator. In order to ensure that the right number of staff with the right capacities is available at the right time and for the right places, appraisal is one of the key factors of organizational ability which is the focus of this study. The purpose of the paper is to know the impact of performance appraisal on the reward, motivation, job satisfaction, superior- subordinate relationship which will finally lead to customer satisfaction and better performance by the insurance sector.
As we know that performance appraisal is one of the most widely used methods for measuring the value of employee performance. The success of performance appraisal depends on how effectively it is implemented. It also depends on how well the employees have understood the performance appraisal system and how positively they are oriented towards their system.


A photocatalytic three-component cascade reaction of quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones, alkenes, and sulfinic acids under metal-, strong oxidant-, and external photocatalyst-free conditions was developed. The reaction was performed at room temperature using air as a green oxidant. Various sulfonated quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones were obtained in satisfactory yields with good functional group compatibility. The preliminary study showed that the current transformation was enabled by the formation of an electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex between quinoxalin-2(1H)-ones and sulfinic acids.


Diamond's unique properties on the nanoscale make it one of the most important materials for use in biosensors and quantum computing and for components that can withstand the harsh environments of space. We synthesize oriented, faceted diamond particles by flash laser heating of glassy carbon at 16 GPa and 2300 K. Detailed transmission electron microscopy shows them to consist of a mosaic of diamond nanocrystals frequently joined at twin boundaries forming microtwins. Striking 3-fold translational periodicity was observed in both imaging and diffraction. This periodicity was shown to originate from nanodimensional wedge-shaped overlapping regions of twinned diamond and not from a possible 9R polytype, which has also been reported in other group IVa elements and water ice. Extended bilayers of hexagonal layer stacking were observed, forming lonsdaleite nanolaminates. The particles exhibited optical fluorescence with a rapid quench time (<1 ns) attributed to their unique twinned microstructure.


Recent improvements in KG-to-text generation are due to additional auxiliary pre-training tasks designed to give the fine-tune task a boost in performance. These tasks require extensive computational resources while only suggesting marginal improvements. Here, we demonstrate that by fusing graph-aware elements into existing pre-trained language models, we are able to outperform state-of-the-art models and close the gap imposed by additional pre-training tasks. We do so by proposing a mask structure to capture neighborhood information and a novel type encoder that adds a bias to the graph-attention weights depending on the connection type. Experiments on two KG-to-text benchmark datasets show our models are competitive while involving fewer parameters and no additional pre-training tasks. By formulating the problem as a framework, we can interchange the various proposed components and begin interpreting KG-to-text generative models based on the topological and type information found in a graph.


Abstract This strategy is ideal for helping therapists in treatment. It is also highly effective when attempting to help students studying counseling, psychiatry, social work, psychology, or other individuals who have a greater than average knowledge of the psychotherapeutic process.


Although the prognosis remains poor, surgical exploration with complete resection provides the only potential cure for patients with adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. However, only 15% to 20% of patients are candidates for resection because of the presence of distant tumor outside the confines of resection or because of locally advanced disease. Even though isolated portal vein involvement has classically been a contraindication for resection, PVR can be performed safely with a low perioperative mortality rate. Besides PV involvement and size, the distribution of histopathologic prognostic factors is no different between patients undergoing PVR and those undergoing standard pancreatic resection. Importantly, overall survival is similar between both groups. Therefore, suspected isolated PV involvement frequently does not preclude operability and, by itself, should not be a contraindication to pancreatic resection.


The authors describe a method for the detection of carbohydrate determinants contained by the cellular surface membrane glycosylated biopolymers, based on the use of horse radish peroxidase-conjugated Arachis, Helix pomatia, Ricinus communis, Lens, Glycine max, Sophora japonica lectins. The pattern of lectin receptor distribution on normal human blood lymphocytes, tonsillar lymphoid cells, and in some forms of leukemia and lymphoma is shown. The authors consider it essential that a lectin kit be used along with enzymochemical and immunocytochemical markers as an additional test for the diagnosis of various forms and types of malignant lymphoproliferative diseases.


The advantages of atrial synchrony over asynchronous ventricular pacing remain unclear in the young, chronically right ventricular (RV) ‐ paced patient. This is in contrast to the older patient with inherent diastolic dysfunction who has been shown to benefit from atrial synchrony with dual chamber (DDD,R/VDD), over single chamber rate response (VVI,R) ventricular pacing. The goal of this study was to noninvasively assess cardiac function in a group of young, RV‐paced patients before and after establishment of atrial synchrony. Echocardiographic data were retrospectively analyzed from 10 patients with congenital or acquired complete AV block, who were VVI,R paced for 10.2 ± 2 years (mean age at study 19.2 ± 8.9 years), and were subsequently converted to DDD,R/VDD pacing (mean age at study 20.7 ± 9.5 years). Paired t‐test analysis of left ventricular (LV) systolic and diastolic function during VVI,R versus DDD,R/VDD pacing did not result in any short‐term difference in LV short axis fractional area of change or FAC (53%± 7.5% vs 56.8%± 8.7%) or mitral maximal velocity (E) normalized to mitral flow velocity time integral (VTI) (5.2/s ± 1.5 vs 4.4/s ± 1.5). A decrease in mitral flow E/A ratio was observed after short term DDD,R/VDD pacing (2.2 ± 0.5 vs 1.9 ± 0.3). Atrial synchronous dual chamber pacing in young patients with complete AV block does not lead to any appreciable early change in global LV function over single‐site RV pacing. Therefore, early establishment of atrial synchrony in the young asymptomatic VVI,R‐paced patient with normal intrinsic ventricular function may not be warranted. (PACE 2003; 26:1208–1211)


The cosmopolitan imagination constructs a world order in which the idea of human rights is an operative principle of justice. Does it also construct an idealisation of human rights? The radicality of Enlightenment cosmopolitanism, as developed by Kant, lay in its analysis of the roots of organised violence in the modern world and its visionary programme for changing the world. Today, the temptation that faces the cosmopolitan imagination is to turn itself into an endorsement of the existing order of human rights without a corresponding critical analysis of the roots of contemporary violence. Is the critical idealism associated with Kantian cosmopolitanism at risk of transmutation into an uncritical positivism? We find two prevailing approaches: either the constitutional framework of the existing world order is presented as the realisation of the cosmopolitan vision, or cosmopolitanism is turned into a utopian vision of a world order in which power is subordinated to the rule of international law. I suggest that the difficulties associated with both wings of cosmopolitanism threaten the legitimacy of the project and call for an understanding and culture of human rights that is less exclusively "conceptual" and more firmly grounded in social theory.


The access scheme is required to have fast access and reliable transmission in satellite communications because of the long propagation delay and different channel characteristics. In this paper we propose a hybrid access scheme based on one phase preamble and channel monitoring/allocation for satellite communications. For fast access, we use an access scheme of 3GPP2 using one phase preamble instead of 3GPP using two phase preambles, and for more reliable transmission, the CM/CA scheme of 3GPP is applied. We investigate the performance of these proposed schemes through simulation. According to the simulation results, we could improve the random access scheme and could support smaller delay in satellite environments.


Due to the complexity of cascading failures and blackouts, the small world theory for complex network research is employed in probing the mechanism of them. In the paper, the original small world network model has been modified in two ways. Firstly, the magnitude of the line impedance regarded as the weight of edges is taken into consideration which is not considered in the original model. The formulae of corresponding parameters of the model are also modified. The calculation results of some practical grids validate the correctness and effectiveness of the new model. Secondly, the complex number format of power flow is introduced as the network flow in the small world model. With the power flow and the topology of grids, the two main factors to the system vulnerability, considered, the improved small world model can be used as a tool for vulnerability analysis of grids.


The goal of ecosystem‐based management (EBM) is to support a sustainable and holistic multisectored management approach, and is recognized in a number of international policy frameworks. However, it remains unknown how these goals should be linked to assessments and management plans for marine fauna, such as mammals and fish stocks. It appears particularly challenging to carry out trade‐off analyses of various ocean uses without a framework that integrates knowledge of environmental, social, and economic benefits derived from nonstationary marine fauna. We argue this gap can be filled by applying a version of the ecosystem‐service approach at the population level of marine fauna. To advance this idea, we used marine mammals as a case study to demonstrate what indicators could operationalize relevant assessments and deliver an evidence base for the presence of ecosystem services and disservices derived from marine mammals. We found indicators covering common ecosystem service categories feasible to apply; examples of indicator data are already available in the literature for several populations. We encourage further exploration of this approach for application to marina fauna and biodiversity management, with the caveat that conceptual tensions related to the use of the ecosystem service concept itself needs to be addressed to ensure acceptance by relevant stakeholders.


This paper reports a study of attitude manifestations in video blogs. We describe the manual annotation of speaker attitudes in a corpus of over 130 video blogs and present an analysis of prosodic and visual cues in relation to attitude states. We use machine learning techniques for the automatic prediction of attitudes from prosodic and visual features in video blogs and compare the performance of prosodic and visual feature sets.


In this research, a novel quasi-3D design method is developed for the centrifugal compressor impeller on the blade-to-blade plane. In this method, an iterative inverse design method called Ball-Spine Algorithm (BSA) is incorporated into the quasi-3D analysis code solving the Euler equations on the blade-to-blade and meridional planes at each shape modification step. In design procedure, the difference between the target and current pressure distribution along the suction or pressure sides of the impeller causes the blade-to-blade profile to be changed and the target pressure distribution to be satisfied. In order to validate the quasi-3D analysis code, the centrifugal compressor of a gas turbine is investigated numerically using a full 3D Navier-Stokes analysis code. The meridional and blade-to-blade planes pressure distributions obtained from quasi-3D and 3D analysis codes are compared showing good agreement between them. Furthermore, the pressure ratio and efficiency of the centrifugal compressor is obtained by some experiments in which the flow parameters at the compressor inlet and outlet are measured. Comparison of 3D analysis results with the experimental results shows good agreements. Finally, the current pressure distribution along the pressure side at 50% span is smoothed and considered as the target pressure distribution. The quasi-3D design procedure converges to a new profile after 400 modification steps. The designed impeller is numerically analyzed showing the flow pattern of the impeller is improved and the total to static efficiency of impeller increases by 0.64 percent and the total pressure ratio increased by 3.38 percent.Copyright © 2011 by ASME


We study the complementarity of active and passive EO sensors in different spectral bands, applied to friend or foe identification of human activities and of individuals. Laser imaging may complement radar or passive EO sensors. The laser may be fired only when required. During field trials, we have recorded dynamic scenarios of interest with as many as ten sensors simultaneously: three active sensors in the NIR and SWIR regions, and seven passive sensors from the blue to the LWIR. The scenes include personnel using objects of interest, as well as reflectance and resolution targets. A good dataset was recorded, for distances from 600 to 1000 m, against different backgrounds and under a variety of atmospheric conditions. These experimental data are under analysis to determine and understand the key phenomena that can be exploited for enhancing target-tobackground discrimination and for defining sensor combinations of interest. We present first results.


Goal of the study. To study the role of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines for the course of atopic dermatitis (AD). Materials and methods. The study involved 72 patients aged 25-55 suffering from atopic dermatitis for 2-30 years and with at least two relapses a year. The AD patients were assigned to the following groups depending on the SCORAD (iSc) index: Group 1: light form (iSc < 30 points), Group 2: moderate to severe form (iSc from 30 to 50 points) and Group 3: severe form (iSc > 50 points). The control group comprised 23 practically healthy subjects aged 25-35. The level of cytokines (IL-1 β, -4, -6, -8, -10, -12, -13, TNF-α and IFN-γ) in blood serum was determined based on the immune-enzyme assay method. Results. A trend to the increased production of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4, -6, -10, -13) at the exacerbation stage and increased synthesis of pro-inflammatory ones (IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-12) at the remission stage was observed in patients with atopic dermatitis, which confirms the dysregulation of reciprocal relationships between Th1 and Th2 lymphocyte subpopulations during the disease.


A European interlaboratory study was conducted to validate an analytical procedure for the detection and quantification of cocoa butter equivalents in cocoa butter and plain chocolate. In principle, the fat obtained from plain chocolate according to the Soxhlet principle is separated by high-resolution capillary gas chromatography into triacylglycerol fractions according to their acyl-C-numbers, and within a given number, also according to unsaturation. The presence of cocoa butter equivalents is detected by linear regression analysis applied to the relative proportions of the 3 main triacylglycerol fractions of the fat analyzed. The amount of the cocoa butter equivalent admixture is estimated by partial least-squares regression analysis applied to the relative proportions of the 5 main triacylglycerols. Cocoa butter equivalent admixtures were detected down to a level of 2% related to the fat phase, corresponding to 0.6% in chocolate (assumed fat content of chocolate, 30%), without false-positive or -negative results. By using a quantification model based on partial least-squares regression analysis, the predicted cocoa butter equivalent amounts were in close agreement with the actual values. The applied model performed well at the level of the statutory limit of 5% cocoa butter equivalent addition to chocolate with a prediction error of 0.6%, assuming a chocolate fat content of 30%.


This research is a case study which assesses profitability of Bombyx mori silkworms cocoon production in Ekiti State Sericulture Development Project Centre, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. Structured questionnaire was administered on 31 respondents made up of 3 management staff, 20 farmers of mulberry and 8 cocoon producers. Data were collected on cost and revenue over a period of five year from 2009 to 2013. The collected data were analyzed using percentage mention, Gross Margin Ratio (GMR), Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) and Rate of Return on Investment (RORI). The results show that investment on cocoon production was not profitable. The GMR obtained were abysmally low and ranged from 3.29% to 12.30%. The RORI obtained was below the bank interest rate of 21%. RORI ranged from 3.40% to 14.02% with an average of 9.26% at five years. The BCR was 1.10 after five years with 0.10kobo as profit on every N1 spent. Funding ranked 1 st with 90.3% mention as major problem militating against cocoon production. In order to solve the problems of fund, loan could be sourced from Agricultural Development Bank at low interest rate since the project is meant to generate revenue for the state.


ABSTRACT Numerous bacteria assemble proteinaceous microcompartments to isolate certain biochemical reactions within the cytoplasm. The assembly, structure, contents, and functions of these microcompartments are active areas of research. Here we show that the Gram-negative sporulating bacterium Acetonema longum synthesizes propanediol utilization (PDU) microcompartments when starved or grown on 1,2-propanediol (1,2-PD) or rhamnose. Electron cryotomography of intact cells revealed that PDU microcompartments are highly irregular in shape and size, similar to purified PDU microcompartments from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 that were imaged previously. Homology searches identified a 20-gene operon in A. longum that contains most of the structural, enzymatic, and regulatory genes thought to be involved in PDU microcompartment assembly and function. Transcriptional data on PduU and PduC, which are major structural and enzymatic proteins, respectively, as well as imaging, indicate that PDU microcompartment synthesis is induced within 24 h of growth on 1,2-PD and after 48 h of growth on rhamnose.


We propose a novel architecture, the event-based Generative Adaptive Subspace Self-Organizing Map (GASSOM) for learning and extracting invariant representations from event streams originating from neuromorphic vision sensors. The framework is inspired by feed-forward cortical models for visual processing. The model, which is based on the concepts of sparsity and temporal slowness, is able to learn feature extractors that resemble neurons in the primary visual cortex. Layers of units in the proposed model can be cascaded to learn feature extractors with different levels of complexity and selectivity. We explore the applicability of the framework on real world tasks by using the learned network for object recognition. The proposed model achieve higher classification accuracy compared to other stateof-the-art event based processing methods. Our results also demonstrate the generality and robustness of the method, as the recognizers for different data sets and different tasks all used the same set of learned feature detectors, which were trained on data collected independently of the testing data.


PAR (principal axis representation) for rotational parts (i.e., solids of revolution) is proposed as an internal representation scheme for constructive solid geometry (CSG). They key idea of PAR is to represent an object uniquely by its principal axis and a set of boundary curves. Since PAR is in an evaluated form, geometrical properties of parts can be computed more directly and efficiently from this evaluated representation than from the original CSG tree. The scheme is described, and operations (e.g. union) on PARs are defined. The uniqueness of the scheme is proved. An algorithm that converts a CSG representation into PAR is presented along with examples. The equivalence of PAR to the CSG scheme for rotational parts is proved.


Virtually all protoporphyrin in erythrocytes of patients with erythropoietic protoporphyria is bound to hemoglobin. The maximum of the fluorescence excitation spectrum of this protoporphyrin-hemoglobin complex shifted, with increasing concentration, from 405 nm to 389 nm. A similar shift was observed when titrating a solution of free protoporphyrin with hemoglobin. The Soret maximum of free protoporphyrin itself, on the other hand, was not concentration-dependent. These observations indicate that spectrofluorometric measurements do not allow conclusions concerning the mode of protoporphyrin binding to hemoglobin. Experiments on protoporphyrin exchange between the hemoglobins A, F and S reinforced the previously drawn conclusion that protoporphyrin is bound to hemoglobin at the heme-binding sites.


This paper attempts to present the main contributions of radio astronomy to our understanding of our own and external galaxies. Cosmic radio waves originate in interstellar gas by three distinct mechanisms; line emission (from hydrogen), thermal emission by free-free electron transitions, and a non-thermal process believed to be synchrotron emission. Each mechanism is discussed briefly. Observations, particularly of the line emission, have provided a great extension of knowledge of the distribution and motion of interstellar gas in galaxies. This includes data on rotation leading to estimates of mass distribution, on spiral structure, on the shape of the galactic disk, and on the relative proportions of gas and stars in different parts of our galaxy and in different galaxies. The synchrotron emission hypothesis implies the existence, in places where non-thermal cosmic radio waves originate, of interstellar magnetic fields and high energy electrons. Two cases of special interest are the remnants of supernovae, which are strong radio sources and may be the primary sources of cosmic rays, and galactic coronas, vast emitting regions which have been found to extend far beyond the stars in our own and some external galaxies. The discovery of radio galaxies has provided a fresh approach to cosmology. They appear to be observable far beyond current optical limits and, although no definite cosmological information has yet been established from radio evidence, it is probable that significant results may be obtained in the not distant future.


We analyzed the effect of growth factors on the localization of the 80-kDa acidic myristoylated alanine-rich C-kinase substrate (80-kDa MARCKS), the major protein kinase C (PKC) substrate, in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. Virtually all 80-kDa MARCKS of quiescent cultures of these cells was membrane bound. However, within 40 min after addition of bombesin (10 nM) to these cells, the content of 80-kDa MARCKS in the cytoplasmic fraction increased 25-fold. Phosphorylated 80-kDa MARCKS was detectable in the cytoplasmic fraction as early as 30 s after addition of bombesin and the translocation was sustained for 6 h i.e. until 80-kDa MARCKS became down-regulated. The ability of bombesin to stimulate translocation of 80-kDa MARCKS was dose-dependent (concentration required to produce 50% of the effect was 0.6 nM bombesin) and was abolished by the specific antagonist [Leu14,13 psi 14CH2NH]bombesin. Furthermore, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) stimulated a dose-dependent (concentration required to produce 50% of the effect was 3 ng/ml) translocation which was comparable to that induced by bombesin in terms of kinetics and magnitude. Translocation was independent of continuous protein synthesis, but dependent on active PKC. Depletion or inhibition of PKC activity abolished the 80-kDa MARCKS translocation induced by either bombesin or PDGF. Furthermore, the neuropeptides beta-endothelin, bradykinin, and vasopressin, which are known to stimulate PKC activity, also promoted translocation. In contrast, epidermal growth factor, insulin and forskolin, which do not activate PKC, failed to cause such an effect. Translocation of 80-kDa MARCKS was also observed in Rat1 cells treated with phorbol ester, PDGF and beta-endothelin. We conclude that the translocation of 80-kDa MARCKS from the membrane to the cytosol is an early response to a variety of growth-promoting factors that stimulate PKC through different signal-transduction pathways.


There is increasing interest in the evaluation of wind turbine control capabilities for providing grid support. Power hardware in the loop (PHIL) simulation is an advanced method that can be used for studying the interaction of hardware with the power network, as the scaled-down actual wind turbine is connected with a simulated system through an amplifier. Special consideration must be made in the design of the PHIL platform to ensure that the system is stable and yields accurate results. This paper presents a method for stabilizing the PHIL interface and improving the accuracy of PHIL simulation in a real-time application. The method factors in both the power and voltage scaling level, and a phase compensation scheme. It uses the reactive power control capability of the wind turbine inverter to eliminate the phase shift imposed by the feedback current filter. This is accomplished with no negative impact on the dynamic behavior of the wind turbine. The PHIL simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed stability analysis method and phase compensation scheme. The strength of the platform is demonstrated by extending the simulation method to wind turbine control validation.


The aim of research paper is to improve the current trends in the higher education systems to understand from the outside which factors might create loyal students. The necessity of having loyal students motivates higher education systems to know them well, one way to do this is by using valid management and processing of the students database. Data mining methods represent a valid approach for the extraction of precious information from existing students to manage relations with future students. This may indicate at an early stage which type of students will potentially be enrolled and what areas to concentrate upon in higher education systems for support. For this purpose the data mining framework is used for mining related to academic data from enrolled students. The rule generation process is based on the decision tree as a classification method. The generated rules are studied and evaluated using different evaluation methods and the main attributes that may affect the student's loyalty have been highlighted. Software that facilitates the use of the generated rules is built using VB.net programming language which allows the higher education systems to predict thestudent's loyalty (numbers of enrolled students) so that they can manage and prepare necessary resources for the new enrolled students. Keyword-Data mining ,decision tree , Exploratory data analysis, Adaptive System .


Besides synthetic drugs, plants derived drugs are also used to manage diabetes. In this study ethanolic leaf extracts (200 & 400 mg/kg body weight) of Mikania cordata were evaluated for hypoglycemic potency. Oral glucose tolerance test was performed on mice at 0, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after glucose (2 mg/kg) administration to determine the rapidity of the extracts to reduce blood glucose level. The extracts exhibited rapid glucose reduction rates and achieved statistical significance (p<0.05 & P<0.01) compared to normal control. An intraperitoneal injection of alloxan (150 mg/kg body weight) was given per mouse to induce diabetes and the animals with blood glucose levels more than 11 mmol/L selected for the experiment. During a study of 14 days both extracts reduced blood glucose level (38.04% for 200 mg/kg & 47.72% for 400 mg/kg body weight) effectively as well as achieved statistical significance (p<0.01) compared to diabetic control, metformin hydrochloride (100 mg/kg body weight) served as positive control. One way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Dunnett's multiple comparison test was performed to analyze the statistical significance of the values. The extract was found safe up to 2000 mg/kg body weight consumption by following acute toxic class method and reduction of body weight in diabetic mice (3.25% & 5.24% respectively for 200 & 400 mg/kg body weight) was observed. Thus the study revealed and corroborated the hypoglycemic significance of the leaf of Mikania cordata.


The AML1 gene on chromosome 21 is disrupted in the (8;21)(q22;q22) and (3;21)(q26;q22) translocations associated with myelogenous leukemias and encodes a DNA-binding protein. From AML1 gene, two representative forms of proteins, AML1a and AML1b, are produced by an alternative splicing. Both forms have DNA-binding domain, but AML1a lacks a putative transcriptional activation domain which AML1b has. Here we demonstrate that AML1a, which solely has no effects as a transcriptional regulator, dominantly suppresses transcriptional activation by AML1b, and that AML1a exhibits the higher affinity for DNA-binding than AML1b. Furthermore a dominant negative form of AML1, AML1a, totally suppressed granulocytic differentiation otherwise induced by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor when AML1a was overexpressed in 32Dc13 murine myeloid cells. Such differentiation block by AML1a was canceled by the concomitant overexpression of AML1b. These data strongly suggest that a transcriptionally active form of AML1 is essential for the myeloid cell differentiation. In addition, we observed an altered expression level of AML1 along with the myeloid differentiation in several hemopoietic cell lines. In these cases, at least, the AML1 expression level is a potential regulator for myeloid cell differentiation.


The CI (Covariance Intersection) fusion method avoids the computation of the cross covariance, and gives the consistent fused estimation. By the CI fusion method, based on the modern time series analysis method, the multichannel ARMA signal CI fusion Wiener filter is presented for the two-sensor systems with unknown cross covariance. It is proved that its estimation accuracy is higher than those of the local Wiener filters, and is lower than that of the steady-state optimal weighted fused Wiener filter with known cross-covariance. A Monte-Carlo simulation result shows that the actual accuracy of the presented CI fusion Wiener filter is close to that of the corresponding steady-state optimal fused Wiener filter. And based on the covariance ellipse, the geometric interpretation of the accuracy


Atomic clocks provide a reproducible basis for our understanding of time and frequency. Recent demonstrations of compact optical clocks, employing thermal atomic beams, have achieved short-term fractional frequency instabilities in the $10^{-16}$, competitive with the best international frequency standards available. However, a serious challenge inherent in compact clocks is the necessarily smaller optical beams, which results in rapid variation in interrogating wavefronts. This can cause inhomogeneous excitation of the thermal beam leading to long term drifts in the output frequency. Here we develop a model for Ramsey-Bord\'e interferometery using optical fields with curved wavefronts and simulate the $^{40}$Ca beam clock experiment described in [Olson et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 073202 (2019)]. Olson et al.'s results had shown surprising and unexplained behaviour in the response of the atoms in the interrogation. Our model predicts signals consistent with experimental data and can account for the significant sensitivity to laser geometry that was reported. We find the signal-to-noise ratio is maximised when the laser is uncollimated at the interrogation zones to minimise inhomogeneity, and also identify an optimal waist size determined by both laser inhomogeneity and the velocity distribution of the atomic beam. We investigate the shifts and stability of the clock frequency, showing that the Gouy phase is the primary source of frequency variations arising from laser geometry.


One of the most commonly encountered tasks in computer vision is the estimation of model parameters from image measurements. This scenario arises in a variety of applications—for instance, in the estimation of geometric entities, such as camera pose parameters, from feature matches between images. The main challenge in this task is to handle the problem of outliers —in other words, data points that do not conform to the model being estimated. It is well known that if these outliers are not properly accounted for, even a single outlier in the data can result in arbitrarily bad model estimates. Due to the widespread prevalence of problems of this nature, the field of robust estimation has been well studied over the years, both in the statistics community as well as in computer vision, leading to the development of popular algorithms like Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC). While recent years have seen exciting advances in this area, a number of important issues still remain open. In this dissertation, we aim to address some of these challenges.
The main goal of this dissertation is to advance the state of the art in robust estimation techniques by developing algorithms capable of efficiently and accurately delivering model parameter estimates in the face of noise and outliers. To this end, the first contribution of this work is in the development of a coherent framework for the analysis of RANSAC-based robust estimators, which consolidates various improvements made over the years. In turn, this analysis leads naturally to the development of new techniques that combine the strengths of existing methods, and yields high-performance robust estimation algorithms, including for real-time applications.
A second contribution of this dissertation is the development of an algorithm that explicitly characterizes the effects of estimation uncertainty in RANSAC. This uncertainty arises from small-scale measurement noise that affects the data points, and consequently, impacts the accuracy of model parameters. We show that knowledge of this measurement noise can be leveraged to develop an inlier classification scheme that is dependent on the model uncertainty, as opposed to a fixed inlier threshold, as in RANSAC. This has the advantage that, given a model with associated uncertainty, we can immediately identify a set of points that support this solution, which in turn leads to an improvement in computational efficiency.
Finally, we have also developed an approach to addresses the issue of the inlier threshold, which is a user-supplied parameter that can vary depending on the estimation problem and the data being processed. Our technique is based on the intuition that the residual errors for "good" models are in some way consistent with each other, while "bad" models do not exhibit this consistency. In other words, looking at the relationship between subsets of models can reveal useful information about the validity of the models themselves. We show that it is possible to efficiently identify this consistent behaviour by exploiting residual ordering information coupled with simple non-parametric statistical tests, which leads to an effective algorithm for threshold-free robust estimation.


We present a robot swarm composed of Pi-puck robots that maintain a blockchain network. The blockchain serves as security layer to neutralize Byzantine robots (faulty, malfunctioning, or malicious robots). In the context of this work, we implemented a framework for high-throughput communication using a decentralized mobile ad-hoc network. This work serves as a building block for secure real-world deployments of robot swarms. Our results show that the use of a blockchain is feasible and warranted in embodied robot swarm deployments.