OBJECTIVES
To construct a classifier that predicts the probability of viral control after analytical antiretroviral treatment interruptions (ATI) in HIV research trials.

METHODS
Participants of a dendritic cell-based therapeutic vaccine trial (DCV2) constituted the derivation cohort. One of the primary end-points of DCV2 was the drop of viral load (VL) set point after 12 weeks of ATI (delta VL12). We classified cases as "controllers" (delta VL12 >1 log10 copies/mL, n=12) or"non-controllers" (delta VL12 < 0.5 log10 copies/mL, n= 10), and compared 190 variables (clinical data, lymphocyte subsets, inflammatory markers, viral reservoir, ELISPOT, and lymphoproliferative responses) between the two groups. Naïve Bayes classifiers were built from combinations of significant variables. The best model was subsequently validated on an independent cohort.

RESULTS
Controllers had significantly higher pre-ART VL (110250 [IQR 71968- 275750] vs. 28600 [IQR 18737-39365] copies/mL, p=0.003) and significantly lower proportion of some T lymphocyte subsets than non-controllers: pre-vaccination CD4+CD45RA+RO+ (1.72% vs. 7.47%, p=0.036), CD8+CD45RA+RO+ (7.92% vs. 15.69%, p=0.017), CD4+CCR5+ (4.25% vs. 7.40%, p=0.011), and CD8+CCR5+ (14.53% vs. 27.30%, p=0.043), and post-vaccination CD4+CXCR4+ (12.44% vs. 22.80%, p=0.021). The classifier based on pre-ART VL and pre-vaccine CD8+CD45RA+RO+ T cells was the best predictive model (overall accuracy: 91%). In an independent validation cohort of 107 ATI episodes, the model correctly identified non-responders (negative predictive value=94%), while it failed to identify responders (positive predictive value=20%).

CONCLUSIONS
Our simple classifier could correctly classify those patients with low probability of control of VL after ATI. These data could be helpful for HIV research trial design.


It is crucial to detect zero-day polymorphic worms and to generate signatures at network gateways or honeynets so that we can prevent worms from propagating at their early phase. However, most existing network-based signatures are specific to exploit and can be easily evaded. In this paper, we propose generating vulnerability-driven signatures at network level without any host-level analysis of worm execution or vulnerable programs. As the first step, we design a network-based length-based signature generator (LESG) for the worms exploiting buffer overflow vulnerabilities. The signatures generated are intrinsic to buffer overflows, and are very difficult for attackers to evade. We further prove the attack resilience bounds even under worst-case attacks with deliberate noise injection. Moreover, LESG is fast and noise-tolerant and has efficient signature matching. Evaluation based on real-world vulnerabilities of various protocols and real network traffic demonstrates that LESG is promising in achieving these goals.


Four new species of Pedaliodes Butler (i.e., P. adrianae, n. sp., P. haydoni, n. sp., P. philinae, n. sp. and P. rodriguezi, n. sp.) are described from the high elevation cloud forests in the Frontino massif in the Colombian Western Cordillera and the northern part of the Central and Eastern Cordilleras. The affinities of these new species with other congeners are discussed. The total number of described species of Colombian Pronophilina is increased to 208, with a particularly high total number of species (88) and proportion of endemic species (26%) in the Western Cordillera.


Anesthetic hepatotoxicity was tested under various conditions of hypoxia in rats pretreated with phenobarbital. Administration of 0.3 MAC halothane or fentanyl in 9% oxygen (fractional concentration of inspired oxygen = 0.09) for 46 min produced centrilobular hepatic injury in all rats (P < 0.001 vs all other groups). Isoflurane, nitrous oxide, and thiopental at 0.3 MAC did not produce hepatic injury greater than that produced in control rats given 9% oxygen, nor was significant injury produced in control phenobarbital-pretreated rats who breathed 6 or 7.5% oxygen for 46 min. With an inspired oxygen concentration of 7.5%, hepatic injury occurred after exposure to 92.5% nitrous oxide (P < 0.05), but not after enflurane, isoflurane, or thiopental. When hypoxia associated with 9% oxygen was extended to 2 hr, 91% nitrous oxide produced significant injury (P < 0.001 compared with the controls), while enflurane, isoflurane, and thiopental did not. These and previous results suggest that all anesthetics can produce liver injury in the hypoxic rat model and that the ranking of hepatotoxicity (most to least) may be halothane, fentanyl, nitrous oxide, enflurane = isoflurane = thiopental.


This work presents a new approach for designing decentralized receding horizon controllers (DRHC) for cooperative multiple vehicle systems with inter-vehicle communication delays arising from communication failures. Using DRHC each vehicle plans its own state trajectory over a finite prediction time horizon. The neighboring vehicles then exchange their predicted trajectories at each sample time to maintain cooperation objectives. Such communication failures lead to large, inter-vehicle communication delays of exchanged information. Large inter-vehicle communication delays can potentially lead to degraded cooperation performance and unsafe vehicle motion. To maintain desired cooperation performance during faulty conditions, the proposed fault-tolerant DRHC architecture estimates the tail part of the neighboring vehicle trajectory that is unavailable due to communication delays. Furthermore, to address the safety of the team against possible collisions during faulty situations, a fault-tolerant DRHC is developed, which provides safety using a safe protection zone called a tube around the trajectory of faulty neighboring vehicles. The radius of the tube increases with communication delay and maneuverability. A communication failure diagnosis algorithm is also developed. The required communication capability for the fault-diagnosis algorithm and fault-tolerant DRHC suggests a hierarchical fault-tolerant DRHC architecture. Simulations of formation flight of miniature hovercrafts are used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed fault-tolerant DRHC architecture.


The purpose of this paper is to present and analyse the fundamental issues related to the process of the deregulation of professions. As this process is closely related to the recognition of professional qualifications, the paper also gives an overview regarding the fundamental legal issues in this field. As countries should approach the deregulation of professions systematically, the core of this paper are the recommendations for an appropriate approach to this process. Key terms: professions, deregulation, mobility, employment, labour law


World economic system theoretically there are three classifi cations of the global capitalist economy, a socialist economic system and the economic system of Islam. Empirically third of the economic system is the role of fi nancial institutions either banks or non-bank much earlier unknown in Islam systematically. Domination of banking institutions that can be felt has penetrated into the fi eld of business and corporate, political, social, educational and cultural. So unwittingly activities of human life as if controlled by a banking institution. In its operation there is one thing that is often a debate among Muslim scholars that the application of interest in the world banking system. Legality rate system which is still considered debatable spawned two views are contradictory. On the one hand, the system considers different interest with usury, while others looked the same interest as usury. The majority of Muslim scholars regard the laws of usury is forbidden. However, the prohibition of usury in the view-modernist Muslim groups understood rationally. In this case the element of injustice became a central issue on the prohibition of usury. While the neo-revivalist Muslim group to understand the legal prohibition of riba-formal. This raises the logical consequence that the legal system of interest applied in the banking world have the same portion as usury. Az-Zuhaili seem to have the same view with the neo-revivalist. For Az-standing interest in law Zuhaili same as usury. However Az-Zuhaili look at the prohibition of usury is not absolute and not 'set in stone'. The prohibition of riba can be correlated with the principle of al-dlaruurah wa al-haajah. According usury when faced with conditions very pushy and the urgent need can be allowed with certain restrictions. Az-Zuhaili view that the constituent requires a more in-depth study. As mentioned in the economics of human needs have no limits (red, human needs are endless). In addition the capacity of necessity one can not be measured with standard capabilities someone else. Giving rise to different legal consequences. This has become an important issue in the study of al-dlaruurah wa al-haajah. This study is a library (library research) that is descriptiveanalytic and normative sociological-historical-philosophical. This study used qualitative data analysis in the form of rationalization of deductive and inductive coherently. Defi nitively al-dlaruurah implies a state of danger or diffi culty excessive and sudden lifethreatening human. While al-haajah may imply a need to be realized spontaneously, so that when the need is not met then it would appear negative consequences. The issue of usury in economic activity, which is still being debated, if communicated with the concept of al-dlaruurah wa al-haajah as mentioned Az-Zuhaili memililiki space and capacity of its own. So it can become a legal usury law. Keyword: Adh-Dharuurah, Al Haajjah, Riba


The genus Liporrhopalum was described by Waterston in 1920 for a single female collected in Peradeniya, Ceylon, by A. Rutherford on 1. viii. 1913 "on laboratory table"; this became the type species as L. rutherfordi. The identity of the host fig species remained unknown until I collected specimens very similar to this species in Hong Kong (Hill, 1967a & b) from Ficus tinctoria Forst. f. ssp. gibbosa (Bl.) Corner. The Hong Kong species was separated from L. rutherfordi, mainly on biological grounds, and was named L. gibbosae Hill. The main reason for this separation was that of host difference, but the number of lamellae on the mandibular appendage also differed (i.e. four and five or six). According to Corner (1965) the subspecies gibbosa of Ficus tinctoria occurs no farther west in S.E. Asia than Malaya, Thailand and the South Andaman Islands (fig. 35), whereas the subspecies parasitica (nominate variety) is found throughout India and Ceylon (fig. 34). Hence it is reasonable to assume that the host fig for L. rutherfordi was a tree of Ficus tinctoria ssp. parasitica (Willd.) Corner var. parasitica, and so the slight differences between the respective female wasps were accepted as specific characters. Recently, collections of fig-wasps have been made by Professor E. J. H. Corner in Borneo (1961 & 1964), New Guinea (1960 & 1964), and the Solomon Islands (1965), and by Dr. J. T. Wiebes in the Philippines (19641965); this together with material collected by Professor Dr. J. van der Vecht in Java in 1954 represents the sampling of a wide selection of Ficus species from subsection Palaeomorphe. As can be seen from table 1, there are thirtynine species or varieties of Ficus comprising subsection Palaeomorphe, of section Sycidium, and the present study includes wasps from sixteen of these


The human fungal pathogen Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is an ascomycete that displays a temperature-dependent dimorphic transition, appearing as a mycelium at 22 degrees C and as a yeast at 37 degrees C, this latter being the virulent form. We report on the in silico search made of the P. brasiliensis transcriptome-expressed sequence tag database for components of signaling pathways previously known to be involved in morphogenesis and virulence in other species of fungi, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Cryptococcus neoformans, Candida albicans, and Aspergillus fumigatus. Using this approach, it was possible to identify several protein cascades in P. brasiliensis, such as i) mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling for cell integrity, cell wall construction, pheromone/mating, and osmo-regulation, ii) the cAMP/PKA system, which regulates fungal development and virulence, iii) the Ras protein, which allows cross-talking between cascades, iv) calcium-calmodulin-calcineurin, which controls cell survival under oxidative stress, high temperature, and membrane/cell wall perturbation, and v) the target of rapamycin pathway, controlling cell growth and proliferation. The ways in which P. brasiliensis responds to the environment and modulates the expression of genes required for its survival and virulence can be inferred through comparison with other fungi for which this type of data is already available.


Residual sulphide minerals, especially pyrite, in the tailings dumps are unstable when exposed to atmospheric oxygen and undergo oxidation resulting in the generation of acid mine drainage (AMD) and the subsequent release of heavy metals and metalloids (Jambor & Blowes, 1998). The problem of sulphide oxidation and the associated AMD, or more generally acid rock drainage (ARD), as well as the solution and precipitation processes of metals and minerals, has been a major focus of investigation for over half a century (Nordstrom et al., 1979; Morin & Hutt, 1997; Jambor & Blowes, 1998; Nordstrom & Alpers, 1999).


Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a matter of determining the order of several cities that must be passed by salesmen. One algorithm in solving TSP is Genetic Algorithm, which has 3 (three) main operators, namely selection, crossover, and mutation. In genetic algorithms, cities are represented as genes, while trips are represented as individuals. Selection is one of the main operators in genetic algorithms and one of the selection operator techniques is tournament selection. Tournament selection compares a number of individuals through "tournament" to choose the best individual based on fitness value, so that individuals will be selected to continue to the next generation. Modification were made in the way of competing individuals to determine the effect of tournament selection on genetic algorithms in TSP. In this study modifications were made to the way of individual tournament, namely first modification tournament selection and second modification tournament selection. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of tournament modification on tournament selection on TSP. The results of this study are the secondmodification tournament selection gets average best fitness higher than the first modification tournament selection, so using the second modification tournament selection gets a shorter total distance compared to the first modification tournament selection.


Objective of this study was to study and compare the effectiveness of inspectors who had different workloads for feed forward and feedback training. The visual search task was simulated to search for specified alphabets called defects. These defects were included of four alphabets in Thai and English such as ภ, ถ, X, and V with different background. These defects were combined in the specified alphabets and were given the different three backgrounds i.e., Thai, English, and mixed English and Thai alphabets. Sixty students were chosen as a sample in this study and test for final selection subject. Finally, five subjects were taken into testing process. They were asked to search for defects after they were provided basic information. Experiment design was used factorial design and subjects were trained for feed forward and the feedback training. The results show that both trainings were affected on mean search time. It was also found that the feedback training can increase the effectiveness of visual inspectors rather than the feed forward training significantly different at the level of .05 Keywords—visual search, feed forward, feedback training.


The new complex, K(3)[Os(CN)(5)NH(3)].2H(2)O, a convenient precursor for the pentacyano-L-osmate(II) series, was prepared and characterized by chemical analysis, cyclic voltammetry, and IR and UV-vis spectroscopies. By controlled aquation in weakly acidic medium, the [Os(CN)(5)H(2)O](3-) ion was generated. Weak absorptions in the UV region for L = H(2)O, NH(3), and CN(-) were found at 287, 272, and 240 nm, respectively, and were assigned to d-d transitions, in terms of a model for tetragonally distorted ions also valid for the members of the iron and ruthenium series. The kinetics of the formation and dissociation reactions of the [Os(CN)(5)L](n-) ions, L = pyridine (py), pyrazine (pz), N-methylpyrazinium (mpz(+)), etc., were studied. At 25.0 degrees C, the formation rate constants for the neutral ligands pz and isonicotinamide were ca. 0.13 M(-1) s(-1) and slightly increased for L = mpz(+) and decreased for isonicotinate. The enthalpies of activation were ca. 22.0 kcal mol(-1), independently of the entering L, and the activation entropies were all positive, ca. 11-13 cal K(-1) mol(-1). The dissociation reactions showed a saturation rate behavior of k(obs) (s(-1)) as a function of the concentration of the scavenger ligand. The specific dissociation rate constant at 25.0 degrees C was 1.06 x 10(-7) s(-1) for L = NH(3) and around 10(-9) s(-1) for py, pz, and mpz(+) (extrapolated to 25.0 degrees C from values measured in the range 60-95 degrees C). These small values are associated with high activation enthalpies (range 30-35 kcal mol(-1)) and positive activation entropies (range 10-20 cal K(-1) mol(-1)). The evidence for both the formation and dissociation processes shows that dissociative mechanisms are operative, as for the iron and ruthenium analogues.


We recently found that in human osteoblasts Homer1 complexes to CaSR and mediates AKT initiation via mTORC2 leading to beneficial effects in osteoblasts including -catenin stabilization and mTORC1 activation (doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA118.006587). Herein we further investigated the relationship between Homer1 and CaSR and demonstrate a link between the protein levels of CaSR and Homer1 in human osteoblasts in primary culture. Thus, when siRNA was used to suppress the CaSR, we observed upregulated Homer1 levels and when siRNA was used to suppress Homer1 we observed downregulated CaSR protein levels using immunofluorescence staining of cultured osteoblasts as well as western blot analyses of cell protein extracts. This finding was confirmed in vivo as the bone cells from osteoblast specific CaSR(-/-) mice showed increased Homer1 expression compared to wild-type. Furthermore, when the commonly used osteosarcoma cell lines MG63 and SAOS-2 were compared to primary osteoblasts, higher levels of Homer1 protein were associated with increased protein levels of the CaSR as well as mTOR and Rictor. CaSR and Homer1 protein were both expressed in osteocytes embedded in the long bones of wild-type mice, and immunofluorescent studies of these cells revealed that Homer1 protein sub-cellular localization was markedly altered in the osteocytes of CaSR(-/-) mice compared to wt. The study identifies additional roles for Homer1 in the control of the protein level and subcellular localization of CaSR in cells of the osteoblast lineage, in addition to its established role of mTORC2 activation downstream of the receptor.


One type of commonly used luminescent material is so-called metal-ion doped phosphor. In such materials, optical and luminescent characteristics may be controlled by the host and metal-ion dopants (lanthanide and transition metal) of the phosphor. Many metal-ion doped luminescent materials can be made in the form of thin films. This feature article briefly reviews the development in the basic design rules of such materials, synthetic approaches (physical vapour deposition and chemical methods), and fabrication processes of metal-ion doped thin-film phosphors. We provide an overview of various techniques used for the structural characterization of metal-ion doped thin-film phosphors. Metal-ion doped luminescent thin films are attracting widespread interest in the optoelectronics field, ranging from flat-panel displays, solid-state lighting, optical waveguides, solar cells, and multifunctional applications. A critical issue for these applications is enhancing luminescence efficiency by considering the specific configuration of thin-film structure differing from the corresponding bulk material. Hence, the factors affecting luminescent properties of thin-film phosphors are identified. Some strategies in improving the performances of thin-film luminescent devices are discussed. Finally, the state of the art in some emerging fields is reviewed and future directions are indicated.


Dengue (DENV) infections are a public health concern worldwide and thus early diagnosis is important to ensure appropriate clinical management. The rapid diagnostic test (RDT) targets nonstructural protein 1 (NS1) detection and is the main tool used for diagnostic purpose. In this study, we evaluated the performance of a new rapid and semi-quantitative microfluidic DENV NS1 immuno-magnetic agglutination assay or IMA (ViroTrack Dengue Acute, BluSense Diagnostics, Copenhagen, Denmark). We studied 233 subjects confirmed to have DENV infection (by a real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction) and 200 control samples were taken from patients with confirmed diagnoses of other febrile illnesses, in Thailand. Samples were tested using the NS1 antigen (Ag) detection methods: in-house NS1 Ag ELISA (ELISA), SD BIOLINE Dengue NS1 Ag RDT (ICT), and ViroTrack Dengue Acute (IMA). Sensitivities of these tests were 86.3%, 78.9%, and 85.5%, respectively. All tests showed high specificity (100%, 99%, and 97% for ELISA, ICT, and IMA, respectively). The sensitivities of both RDTs were affected by the low sensitivity to DENV-2 and DENV-4. NS1 Ag was detected in every patient on day 1 and day 2 after onset of illness by ELISA and IMA with a decline in detection rates over time after day 6 of illness. NS1 detection rate using ICT decreased from 100% on day 1 of illness to 98.6% on day 2 after onset of illness. By day 6, the detection rate was 45.9%. Thus, IMA performed better than ICT for early and rapid diagnosis of DENV infections in endemic countries.


Abstract : The early use of limb tourniquets has been documented to save lives on the battlefield, but has the potential for significant morbidity. This change has four goals: 1. Clarification of tourniquet conversion guidelines. Since its inception, Tactical Combat Casualty Care (TCCC) has emphasized the early and liberal use of tourniquets to control life-threatening hemorrhage in the Care Under Fire (CUF) phase. Because evacuation times in Iraq and Afghanistan have been relatively short, the recommendation in the TCCC Guidelines to re-evaluate the need for a tourniquet in the Tactical Field Care (TFC) phase of care and use other means of hemorrhage control has been de-emphasized in practice by users. There is often no attempt to convert tourniquets to hemostatic or pressure dressings because of the short evacuation times in Afghanistan at present. Increasingly, worldwide casualty care scenarios are anticipated to include long-range evacuation. Recent real-world events in theaters other than the Middle East have demonstrated that reinforcement of tourniquet conversion guidelines is needed at this time. 2. Clarification of effective tourniquet placement. Ineffective venous tourniquets have been shown to be a relatively common occurrence that increases blood loss and complications.1-3 Optimal use of limb tourniquets must result in both cessation of bleeding and stoppage of the distal pulses in the extremity. 3. Clarification of the location of tourniquet placement during CUF. During a prehospital trauma care assessment in Afghanistan in 2012, inconsistencies relating to tourniquet placement were noted between the TCCC guidelines and actual training in some TCCC courses. In particular, high and tight tourniquet placement (also termed hasty tourniquet placement) is not specified in the TCCC Guidelines, which call for tourniquet placement proximal to the bleeding site in the CUF phase.


To explain the patterns of world trade of resources, this paper combines the biological dynamics of the renewable resource and game theoretical explanations of its extraction under different property regimes, with a general equilibrium model of North South trade (Chichilnisky, 1981, 1986). The two regions produce, consume and trade two goods using two inputs, a renewable resource E and capital. To expose the importance of property rights in explaining trade, the two regions are taken as identical except for the property rights regimes on the pool from which the resource is extracted: the South has common property and the North private property. The paper formulates the Nash equilibrium of a game which explains the harvesting of the resource under different property rights regimes: more is supplied at each price under unregulated property rights than it is with private property (Lemma 1). Theorem 1 proves that the difference in property rights by itself explains trade between otherwise identical regions: the South exports the environmentally intensive product even though it has no comparative advantage and the North the capital intensive products. The North overconsumes the resource intensive products which it imports at prices which are below social costs. This occurs even though in equilibrium the prices of all goods and all factors of production are equal across the world. Resources are overextracted and the world pattern of consumption and trade of resources is Pareto inefficient. Several policies which could redress the inefficiency, particularly recent property rights policies towards biodiversity and land ownership in the Americas, are discussed in this paper.


As vaccination efforts against SARS-CoV-2 progress in many countries, there is still an urgent need for efficient antiviral treatment strategies for those with severer disease courses, and lately, considerable efforts have been undertaken to repurpose existing drugs as antivirals. The local anaesthetic procaine has been investigated for antiviral properties against several viruses over the past decades. Here, we present data on the inhibitory effect of the procaine prodrugs ProcCluster® and procaine hydrochloride on SARS-CoV-2 infection in vitro. Both procaine prodrugs limit SARS-CoV-2 progeny virus titres as well as reduce interferon and cytokine responses in a proportional manner to the virus load. The addition of procaine during the early stages of the SARS-CoV-2 replication cycle in a cell culture first limits the production of subgenomic RNA transcripts, and later affects the replication of the viral genomic RNA. Interestingly, procaine additionally exerts a prominent effect on SARS-CoV-2 progeny virus release when added late during the replication cycle, when viral RNA production and protein production are already largely completed.


Assume that Ω1 and Ω2 are two smooth bounded pseudoconvex domains in C 2 that intersect (real) transversely, and that Ω1 ∩ Ω2 is a domain (i.e. is connected). If the ∂–Neumann operators on Ω1 and on Ω2 are compact, then so is the ∂–Neumann operator on Ω1 ∩ Ω2. The corresponding result holds for the ∂–Neumann operators on (0, n− 1)–forms on domains in C. Respectfully dedicated to the memory of M. Salah Baouendi.


The food and feeding habits of the mahsecr Tor tor (Hamilton) has been studied. Tlie species was found to be an omnivour as evident from gut content analysis and R. L. G. value. It can be considered as vo racious feeder subsisting mainly on algae and vegetable matter. The feeding intensity increased with the increasing length of the fish. The food habit of the fish changed from cami - omnivorous to herbi - omnivorous which is also evident from the increasing K. L. G. value increasing with the length of the fish.


Nonpolar resistive switching (RS), which is the coexistence of unipolar and bipolar RS characteristics, in the Pt/MgO/Pt memory device with the nonforming nature is demonstrated. The nonforming nature is ascribed to the relatively high defect density of the MgO film deposited by using the ion beam sputtering in Ar atmosphere. The results of Auger electron spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses combing with the temperature dependence of resistance suggest that metallic Mg filaments are formed in the low resistance state. The voltage-polarity-independent RESET process implies that filaments may be ruptured by local Joule heating, leading to nonpolar characteristics.


Cavitation in turbomachinery can impact performance and lifecycle. The formation and collapse of cavitating bubbles near a surface releases significant energy in a very short time often resulting in erosion damage. Considerable research has focused on understanding the physics of bubble formation and collapse, and how this collapse relates to surface erosion. To date this has been an elusive goal due to the process physics, flow and temporal scales and experimental and computational limitations. This research focused on developing a computational model of cavitation bubble formation and collapse to be used to develop erosion prediction tools. The dynamics associated with the formation of a laser-pulse generated bubble and its collapse against a solid wall was computationally modeled with OpenFOAM using a compressible multi-phase pressure-based solver. A conservation of energy model was developed to predict the localized heating occurring at the focal point of the laser. The temporal bubble dynamics growth, collapse, rebound and associated flow characteristics of high speed re-entrant jet and high pressure waves were modelled as a function of bubble stand-off distance. Results were compared to published research. The model successfully computes bubble formation and collapse dynamics, re-entrant jet structure and magnitude, the associated pressure field, and sensitivity to stand-off distance.


The Backus-Gilbert (BG) method is an inversion procedure for a moment problem when moments of a function and related kernel functions are known. In this paper, we consider the BG method when, in addition, the signal to be recovered is known a priori to be in certain reproducing kernel Hilbert spaces (RKHS), such as wavelet subspaces. We show that better performance may be achieved over the original BG method. In particular, under the D-criterion the BG method with RKHS information for a sampled signal in wavelet subspaces can completely recover the original signal, while the one without any additional information can only provide a constant-valued signal.


Most studies on tropical forest dynamics focus on the processes of deforestation and forest degradation and its associated ecological impacts; comparatively little attention is given to the emergence of forest transitions. This review gives an overview of forest transitions in the tropics as involving a structural reversal from a decreasing to expanding forest area as well as related changes in forest quality and forest landscape. After introducing the concept of forest transition it first summarizes the changing forest area in tropical countries. It then discusses how the identification of a forest transition greatly depends on how forests are defined. Three types of forests with contrasting forest composition are distinguished, i.e. natural forests, modified forests and transformed forests, and forest transitions are characterized as involving either forest conversion or forest restoration. Next, forest transitions are related to changes in forested landscapes and described as involving either forest extension at a retracting agricultural frontier or incorporation of forests in forested mosaic landscapes. These processes are driven by either macro-scale socio-ecological feedbacks or socio-economic changes or by location-specific development of rural forests as part of farming intensification. This paper concludes that forest transitions do not just involve a return of natural forests and/or extension of forest plantations on forest lands, but also a multidimensional co-evolution in social and ecological conditions involving an increasing incorporation of socialized forests in forested landscapes.


The network performances of two commercial wireless local area networks are measured using a novel technique. Current methods of evaluating the performance of WLANs are largely based on file transfer operations using benchmark tests such as Novell's PERFORM3, AT&T's Read/Write, PC Magazine's Lab Series, Smart LAN Performance Test and others. Measurements obtained from these tests must specify the processor type, processor speed and network operating system in order that meaningful comparisons can be made. A simple technique introduced in this paper provides quantitative results in terms of throughput and response time measured at the medium access control sublayer. The method will be useful for evaluating the performance of current and future wireless LAN systems.


SUMMARY Two experiments were conducted to determine the influence of adding neutralized sunflower soapstock (NSS) or soybean oil (SO) to the broiler diet. In experiment 1, one hundred five 15-d-old Ross 308 broiler chickens were used to evaluate the AMEn of NSS by the difference method. In experiment 2, a completely randomized design was used to evaluate the effects of fat source and level on broiler live performance, carcass characteristics, and fatty acid composition of thigh meat. A 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with 2 types of fat (NSS and SO) at 3 levels of inclusion (2, 4, and 6%) was used with 5 replicates per treatment using total of 750 birds. The average AMEn of the NSS was determined as 8,530 kcal/kg. Performance of birds was unaffected by the dietary fat sources. Increasing the fat level from 2 to 6% improved the overall BW gain (P < 0.0001) and FCR (P < 0.001) of broilers, whereas feed intake was unaffected by different fat levels. Hot carcass yield and rib cage weight were higher for SO-fed birds than NSS-fed birds (P < 0.05). Wings and rib cage weights were higher in birds fed the 6% fat diet (P < 0.05). Leg quarter yield decreased with increased levels of fat inclusion (P < 0.01), whereas breast yield increased (P < 0.05). Dietary fat type modified fatty acids of thigh meat, resulting in significantly higher content of C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:1, sum of saturated fatty acids, and sum of monounsaturated fatty acids in birds fed NSS diets, whereas C18:2, C18:3, C20:0, and sum of polyunsaturated fatty acid contents decreased with NSS inclusion (P < 0.05). Saturated fatty acids and monounsaturated fatty acids significantly decreased and polyunsaturated fatty acids increased when dietary fat level increased (P < 0.0001). In conclusion, NSS can be included in broiler diets without any major differences in live performance by modifying the fatty acid profile of meat.


Since 1968, Basic Christian Communities (BCCs) have been
promoted by the Chilean Catholic hierarchy as a defensive
institutional response to increased religious disaffection and
increased political radicalization among marginalized catholics,
within a wider context which has featured both institutional reform of
the Catholic Church and reformist social change in Chile. This
climate of reform within the Catholic Church has given rise generally
to increased flexibility in institutional and pedagogic contexts, and
has given rise more particularly to a positive appreciation of popular
religious discourse and practice, as seen in the emergence of
liberation theologies and BCCs. Against this historical background,
the aim of the thesis is to describe and understand the informal means
of transmission of religious culture realized by a range of pedagogic
practices in a highly selected sample of BCCs.
In the opening section, the object of this research is
introduced, and the main research perspectives are discussed. The
main concepts of a language for a sociological analysis of the
production, recontextualization and informal popular transmission of
religious culture are defined. Significant theoretical issues are
discussed in the light of pertinent research literature. A brief
historical account of the field work and a wider discussion of
methodology closes Part I.
Part II considers the three fundamental fields: the Field of
Production of Theological Discourse, the Recontextualizing Field and
the Field of Pedagogic Practice of the BCC. An analysis is made of
the deep level rules (theological codes) in institutional and
pedagogic contexts within each field, together with a discussion of
the role of the animator. A discussion of the interrelatedness of the
fields will conclude Part II.
Part III focuses on an analysis of eight Bccs selected as
examples of types varying according to the social class position of
the members and previous religious socialization. This analysis takes
the form of a detailed description of twenty-two (22) meetings of the
BCC which examines the theological orientation of forms of
participation, of the representations of social relations and of
strategies for change.
A concluding chapter discusses similarities and differences
among theological codes, and the relation of these to religious
discourse and popular practice in contemporary Chile.


This handbook is conceived and written in the classical German tradition and has all the shortcomings and all the merits of such an undertaking. It constitutes a conscientious compilation of the present state of knowledge in the field of pediatric malignancies and will become obsolete as rapidly as new information becomes available. It is somewhat difficult, however, to visualize just who will benefit from reading this book. Certainly not the pediatrician at large, because on the one hand the information presented is more detailed and more technical than serves his purpose, and on the other hand because the book lacks a unified clinical viewpoint based on personal experience. Many of the authors are obviously comparatively young men of privatdozent rank, who present a thorough compilation of the literature but leave the reader to his own devices when it comes to choosing a particular course. In a rapidly changing field such


We consider the variable selection problem in regression models when the number of covariates is allowed to increase with the sample size. An approach of Zheng and Loh (1995) for the fixed design situation is extended to the case of random covariates. This yields a unified consistent selection criterion for both random and fixed covariates. By using t-statistics to order the covariates, the method requires much less computation than an all-subsets search. An application to autoregressive model selection with increasing order is given. The theory is supported by some simulation results.


Is the numerical integration of nonlinear partial differential equations the only way to tackle atmospheric complexity? Or do cascade dynamics repeating scale after scale lead to simplicity? Using 1000 orbits of TRMM satellite radiances from 11 bands in the short wave (visible, infra red) long wave (passive microwave) and radar regions and 8.8 to 20,000 km in scale, we find that the radiance gradients follow the predictions of cascade theories to within about ±0.5%, ±1.25%, ±5.9% for the short waves, long waves and reflectivities respectively and with outer scales varying between ≈5,000 to ≈32,000 km. Since the radiances and dynamics are strongly coupled, we conclude that weather can be accurately modeled as a cascade process.


I examined the impact of first names on ratings of physical attractiveness as judged by British undergraduate subjects using male and female full-face pictures presented on photographic slides. The photographs were identified with attractive names, unattractive names, or without any name indicated. Subjects rated the stimulus figures for physical attractiveness. Names accounted for approximately 6% of the variance in subjects' ratings of physical attractiveness. This effect was highly significant for pictures of women (p < .001), but nonsignificant for pictures of men (p > .05).


With the emergence of web series in the Indian market, there has been increasing in the viewership among youth. This study focuses on the statistical technique using the factor analysis on constructing the success factors of the Mirzapur web series. The data were collected using a survey questionnaire, and the methodologies used were descriptive statistics and factor analysis. SPSS 20 was used to perform for statistical analysis of the data. The target age group respondents for this study were 18-35 years of age. The results showed some factors were successfully constructed using factor analysis and identifying the success factors of the Mirzapur web series; which is series surrounded with Kaleen bhaiya character, violence, politics, and aggression was the factor why this Mirzapur web series was a great hit, web series like Mirzapur are the future of entertainment industries, availability of the internet and low cost, reflecting the real culture of Mirzapur, language used in the web series similar to the language used in Mirzapur. There are currently more than 500 million people in India, who are online, and it will expand in the future as people are accepting the Internet as a medium for entertainment. This study helps entertainment industries, especially for the upcoming web series.


This study investigates the extent and level of use of information technology (IT) by academics in selected universities in Nigeria. Five Federal universities were used for the study; and data were collected using questionnaire survey. Three parameters were used to measure the extent of use of computers: percentage of academics who used computers, variety of academic application areas in which computer is used, and various uses of available computer software packages. The level of use of computers was measured in terms of computer experience, frequency of use, and accessibility to computers. The study results show that computers were extensively used by the academics, while the level of use of computers was very low. There was negligible use of networking and Internet. Major obstacles to effective use of information technology include lack of access to IT, inadequate skills in use of computers, and incessant power supply. The study concludes that, use of IT is a recent development in these universities, and recommends provision of computers to academics with corresponding training programmes to enable them acquire adequate skills and knowledge of computer potentials.

Keyword: Computer, software, Internet, computer experience, information technology
[Global Jnl Mathematical Sci Vol.2(1) 2003: 57-65]


on 31 Aug. 'Jonagold'/Mark apple ( Malus domestica Borkh.) trees that were chip-budded in Washington and Illinois or 21 Sept. 1989 were sampled in Apr. 1990 to determine if magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be used to nondestructiv ely examine vascular continuity or discontinuity between the rootstock and scion. Images could be placed into three categories based on signal intensity: 1) the rootstock, bud shield, and the bud or new scion growth had a high signal intensity; 2) the rootstock and the bud shield had a high signal intensity, but the scion had a low signal intensity; and 3) the rootstock had a high signal intensity, but the bud shield and scion had a low signal intensity. High signal intensity was associated with bound water in live tissue and the establishment of vascular continuity between the rootstock and scion. Azosulfamide staining and destructive sectioning confirmed that vascular continuity was established when the rootstock, bud shield, and scion had a high signal intensity in images, whereas budding failure occurred when the bud shield and/or the scion had a low signal intensity. Additional trees that had wilted or weak scion growth were collected from Illinois in June 1990. Parenchyma tissue was found in the scion adjacent to the bud shield that interrupted the vascular tissue. Poor scion growth on trees from the 21 Sept. budding in Washington may be attributed to insufficient growth of rootstock and/or scion tissues at the union in the fall.


To analyse the functions of different parts of the prefrontal cortex in emotion, patients with different prefrontal surgical excisions were compared on four measures of emotion: voice and face emotional expression identification, social behaviour, and the subjective experience of emotion. Some patients with bilateral lesions of the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) had deficits in voice and face expression identification, and the group had impairments in social behaviour and significant changes in their subjective emotional state. Some patients with unilateral damage restricted to the OFC also had deficits in voice expression identification, and the group did not have significant changes in social behaviour or in their subjective emotional state. Patients with unilateral lesions of the antero-ventral part of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and/or medial Brodmann area (BA) 9 were, in some cases, impaired on voice and face expression identification, had some change in social behaviour, and had significant changes in their subjective emotional state. Patients with unilateral lesions of the OFC and of the ACC and/or medial BA 9 were, in some cases, impaired on voice and face expression identification, had some changes in social behaviour, and had significant changes in their subjective emotional state. Patients with dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesions or with medial lesions outside ACC and medial BA 9 areas (dorsolateral/other medial group) were unimpaired on any of these measures of emotion. In all cases in which voice expression identification was impaired, there were no deficits in control tests of the discrimination of unfamiliar voices and the recognition of environmental sounds. Thus bilateral or unilateral lesions circumscribed surgically within the OFC can impair emotional voice and/or face expression identification, but significant changes in social behaviour and in subjective emotional state are related to bilateral lesions. Importantly, unilateral lesions of the ACC (including some of medial BA 9) can produce voice and/or face expression identification deficits, and marked changes in subjective emotional state. These findings with surgically circumscribed lesions show that within the prefrontal cortex, both the OFC and the ACC/medial BA 9 region are involved in a number of aspects of emotion in humans including emotion identification, social behaviour and subjective emotional state, and that the dorsolateral prefrontal areas are not involved in emotion in these ways.


Formal methods (e.g. Timed Automata or Linear Hybrid Automata) can be used to analyse a real-time system by performing a reachability analysis on the model. The advantage of using formal methods is that they are more expressive than classical analytic models used in schedulability analysis. For example, it is possible to express state-dependent behaviour, arbitrary activation patterns, etc. In this paper we use the formalism of Linear Hybrid Automata to encode a hierarchical scheduling system. In particular, we model a dynamic server algorithm and the tasks contained within, abstracting away the rest of the system, thus enabling component-based scheduling analysis. We prove the correctness of the model and the decidability of the reachability analysis for the case of periodic tasks. Then, we compare the results of our model against classical schedulability analysis techniques, showing that our analysis performs better than analytic methods in terms of resource utilisation. We further present two case studies: a component with state-dependent tasks, and a simplified model of a real avionics system. Finally, through extensive tests with various configurations, we demonstrate that this approach is usable for medium-size components.


Theoretical procedures yielding accurate structures and stabilization energies of extended hydrogen-bonded complexes having more than 24 atoms are discussed. Accurate geometries of different types of hydrogen-bonded complexes are obtained by gradient optimization performed at correlated ab initio levels using the basis set of TZ + 2P quality. Stabilization energy of these complexes is constructed as a sum of the complete basis set limit of the MP2 stabilization energy and a correction term defined as the difference between MP2 and CCSD(T) stabilization energies. Accurate values of the latter term were obtained with medium basis sets. The results presented for the different hydrogen-bonded complexes support the fact that this correction term possesses a rather insignificant value. Comparing the geometrical and stabilization energy data with experimental results verifies the reliability of the procedure described. It can be concluded that when experimental data on extended hydrogen-bonded complexes either are missing or are not reliable, the theoretical data determined at the level described can be used with confidence.


X-ray powder diffraction, magnetization, electrical resistivity and neutron diffraction experiments were performed on the dense Kondo system U2 (Ni1-x Ptx )2 In. Up to x 0.5 the alloys crystallize in a tetragonal structure with space group P 4/mbm while for x 0.6 they crystallize in space group P 42 /mnm . The observed structural change coincides with the magnetic-nonmagnetic crossover in the system. In the concentration range 0 x 0.5, an antiferromagnetic ordering occurs, characterized by a noncollinear arrangement of the magnetic uranium moments in the tetragonal basal plane. In addition, for x = 0 and 0.2 a commensurate magnetic ordering is formed with a propagation vector k = (0,0,0.5) while for x = 0.5 an incommensurate one with k = (0,0,0.5± ), = 0.06 is found. In the concentration range 0.6 x 1.0 no magnetic ordering down to 1.7 K is observed. The bulk and neutron scattering data exhibit features attributed to the interplay of the Kondo effect and magnetic exchange interactions. For interpretation of the magnetic behaviour of the U2 (Ni1-x Ptx )2 In alloys, a strong modification of the density of states at the Fermi surface has been invoked.


This paper presents an automated computer vision-based system to update BIM data by leveraging multi-modal visual data collected from existing buildings under inspection. Currently, visual inspections are conducted for building envelopes or mechanical systems, and auditors analyze energy-related contextual information to examine if their performance is maintained as expected by the design. By translating 3D surface thermal profiles into energy performance metrics such as actual R-values at point-level and by mapping such properties to the associated BIM elements using XML Document Object Model (DOM), the proposed method shortens the energy performance modeling gap between the architectural information in the as-designed BIM and the as-is building condition, which improve the reliability of building energy analysis. Several case studies were conducted to experimentally evaluate their impact on BIM-based energy analysis to calculate energy load. The experimental results on existing buildings show that (1) the point-level thermography-based thermal resistance measurement can be automatically matched with the associated BIM elements; and (2) their corresponding thermal properties are automatically updated in gbXML schema. This paper provides practitioners with insight to uncover the fundamentals of how multi-modal visual data can be used to improve the accuracy of building energy modeling for retrofit analysis. Open research challenges and lessons learned from real-world case studies are discussed in detail.


Background: Neointima formation contributes to vascular grafts stenosis and thrombosis. It is a complex reaction that plays a significant role in the performance of vascular grafts. Despite its critical implications, little is known about the mechanisms underlying neointima formation. This study compares neointima proteome in different stages and plasma samples. Methods: Heterogenous acellular native arteries were implanted as abdominal aortic interposition grafts in a rabbit model. Grafts were harvested at 0.5, 1, 4, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days post-surgery for histological and proteomic analysis of the neointima. Results: Histological examination showed a transformed morphological pattern and components, including serum proteins, inflammatory cells, and regenerative cells. Proteomics analysis of the neointima showed distinct characteristics after 14 days of implantation compared to early implantation. Early changes in the neointima samples were proteins involved in acute inflammation and thrombosis, followed by the accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. A total of 110 proteins were found to be differentially expressed in later samples of neointima compared to early controls. The enriched pathways were mainly protein digestion and adsorption, focal adhesion, PI3K-Akt signaling pathway, and ECM-receptor interaction in the late stage. All distributions of proteins in the neointima are different compared to plasma. Conclusion: The biological processes of neointima formation at different stages identified with proteome found developmental characteristics of vascular structure on a decellularized small vascular graft, and significant differences were identified by proteomics in the neointima of early-stage and late-stage after implantation. In the acute unstable phase, the loose and uniform neointima was mainly composed of plasma proteins and inflammatory cells. However, in the relatively stable later stage, the most notable results were an up-regulation of ECM components. The present study demonstrates an interaction between biological matter and vascular graft, provides insights into biological process changes of neointima and facilitates the construction of a functional bioengineered small vascular graft for future clinical applications.


Modern CMOS technologies provide digital signal processing capabilities at high integration density and low energy per operation. Hence, expending digital resources to enhance performance-limiting analog building blocks has become a widely explored paradigm in modern ICs. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art in digitally assisted data converter design and provides an overview of commonly used techniques.


An Islamic state led by a Caliph works to achieve objectives of Islamic governance. The objectives of governance between Western (secular democratic system) and Islamic traditions have close proximity, at least in words. These objectives include collective action (ijtimaiyat) and social justice (Aadalah). Collective action is used to provide basic human rights, while the comparable Islamic term ijtimaiya is aimed at providing basic protections. A Western nation state is defined by having legitimacy to tax and maintain an army for defence, while in Islam, comparable terms, though having difference, are Zakat and Jihad. It is required that an Islamic state should achieve effective internal governance by developing legal instruments for achieving the objectives, even if it works under Khilafah, or democracy.


Recent work in deep learning focuses on solving physical systems in the Ordinary Differential Equation or Partial Differential Equation. This current work proposed a variant of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) that can learn the hidden dynamics of a physical system using ordinary differential equation (ODEs) systems (ODEs) and Partial Differential Equation systems (PDEs). Instead of considering the physical system such as image, time -series as a system of multiple layers, this new technique can model a system in the form of Differential Equation (DEs). The proposed method has been assessed by solving several steady-state PDEs on irregular domains, including heat equations, Navier-Stokes equations.


According to Kasser, Ryan, Couchman and Sheldon (2004), materialistic value orientation (MVO) is the belief that it is important to acquire money and material possessions. As an individual difference characteristic, materialism has been viewed as either a personality trait or as a set of values. Belk (1984; 1985) has conceptualized materialism as a personality trait composed of envy, non-generosity, and possessiveness. Belk (1984) selected these three characteristics out of many possible traits because "... they represent distinct and significant expressions of man's relationship to material objects. They represent, respectively, our affiliation with these objects, our willingness to give or share the objects in our possession, and our feelings about the objects in others' possession. "(p. 292). According to Belk (1985), possessiveness is ".the inclination and tendency to retain control or ownership of one's possessions ..." (Belk, 1985, p. 267). Belk defines non-generosity as " ... an unwillingness to give possessions or share possessions with others ..." Belk (p. 268), and refers to Schoeck's (1966) definition of envy "... displeasure and ill will at the superiority of [another person] in happiness, success, reputation, or the possession of anything desirable ..." (p. 13). Envy is distinguished from jealousy as the latter "... refers to the belief that a desired relationship is in danger of being lost ..." (Salovey & Rodin, 1984, p. 780). Richins and Dawson (1992) define materialism in terms of the values of centrality, happiness and success. Centrality refers to the tendency of materialistic individuals to focus their life-style around acquisition and consumption. Happiness is one of the driving forces behind centrality, as the materialistic person believes that acquisition is the path to well-being and overall life satisfaction. Lastly, success in life is defined by an individual's level of material acquisition (Richins & Dawson, p. 304). Origins of Trait and Value-based Materialism These two types of materialism may emerge from either deprivation experiences or cultural influences (Ahuvia & Wong, 2002; Kasser et al., 2004). With deprivation experiences, the individual feels disadvantaged during development and embraces materialistic values as an attempt at compensation (Inglehart, 1990). With cultural influences, the socialization process encourages and models a set of materialistic values, which become internalized (Kasser et al., 2004). Ahuvia and Wong describe these deprivation experiences as felt formative influences "... feelings of economic insecurity ..." (p. 391). Therefore, materialism develops out of feelings of deprivation rather than actual economic deprivation. With materialism development, Ahuvia and Wong distinguish the value based materialism of Richins and Dawson (1992) with the personality based materialism of Belk (1984). Felt formative deprivation was found to be related to personality materialism but not to personal values materialism. Personal values materialism was found to be related to cultural influences or "formative social milieu" (Ahuvia & Wong, p. 392). Personality materialism was found to be related to both formative social milieu and felt formative deprivations (Ahuvia & Wong). As both cultural influences and feelings of deprivation are involved in the development of materialism, it is important to investigate both of these types of materialism. Materialism and the Five-Factor Model of Personality Previous research has indicated that the main personality correlates of materialism are high neuroticism and low agreeableness. Sharpe (2000, p.88) hypothesized a relationship with neuroticism such that materialists are generally not satisfied with life and show low agreeableness due to a more self-centered, competitive orientation (p.89). Sharpe and Ramanaiah (1999) found that individuals scoring higher on the Belk (1985) Materialism Scale were higher on neuroticism and lower on agreeableness compared to the low materialism group. …


Zoonotic thermophilic Campylobacter and nontyphoidal Salmonella enterica are a major cause of foodborne human gastroenteritis worldwide. There is little information about reservoirs of these zoonotic agents in Africa. Thus, chicks of kelp gulls (Larus dominicanus, n = 129) and greater crested terns (Thalasseus bergii, n = 100) were studied at five colonies on the Western Cape coast (South Africa) during summer 2013/2014. Campylobacter spp. occurrence was 14.0% (CI95% : 9.9-19.3), with C. jejuni the most frequently isolated species, whilst that of Salmonella was 27.5% (CI95% : 21.9-33.9) overall, with a higher prevalence in gulls (43.0%, CI95% : 34.8-52.4) than terns (7.0%, CI95% : 3.1-14.4). Among the 16 different S. enterica serovars found, Anatum, Enteritidis and Hadar were the most frequent. The same or highly similar pulsed-field gel electrophoresis genotype was found in some Salmonella isolates from seabirds and humans presenting with salmonellosis in Cape Town hospitals. Both Campylobacter and Salmonella isolates exhibited antimicrobial resistance to several agents, including critically important antimicrobials (quinolones, tetracyclines and β-lactams) and multidrug resistance in Salmonella serovars from kelp gulls. Our results highlight the importance of seabirds as reservoirs of Campylobacter and Salmonella resistant strains and their role in the maintenance and transmission of these bacteria in the environment, with implications for public health.


The present invention is an aliphatic C The step of phase separation the output of the tubular reactor with an aqueous catalyst phase and the organic produce object-to-image; Separating the aldehyde by-product and an organic object-to-image generating α, β- unsaturated C By discharging a portion of the aqueous phase to remove the catalyst and the reaction can, and compensate for the part with the solution, followed by including the step of recycling said portion into the tubular reactor, the aliphatic C An object of the present invention is to improve a method of this type that requires a lower energy input. This is an aliphatic C


[1] In temperate regions, the budburst date of deciduous trees is mainly regulated by temperature variation, but the exact nature of the temperature dependence has been a matter of debate. One hypothesis is that budburst date depends purely on the accumulation of warm temperature; a competing hypothesis states that exposure to cold temperatures is also important for budburst. In this study, variability in budburst is evaluated using 15 years of budburst data for 17 tree species at Harvard Forest. We compare two budburst hypotheses through reversible jump Markov chain Monte Carlo. We then investigate how uncertainties in budburst date mapped onto uncertainties in ecosystem carbon using the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory's LM3 land model. For 15 of 17 species, we find that more complicated budburst models that account for a chilling period are favored over simpler models that do not include such dependence. LM3 simulations show that the choice of budburst model induces differences in the timing of carbon uptake commencement of ∼11 days, in the magnitude of April–May carbon uptake of ∼1.03 g C m−2 day−1, and in total ecosystem carbon stocks of ∼2 kg C m−2. While the choice of whether to include a chilling period in the budburst model strongly contributes to this variability, another important factor is how the species-dependent field data gets mapped onto LM3's single deciduous plant functional type (PFT). We conclude budburst timing has a strong impact on simulated CO2 fluxes, and uncertainty in the fluxes can be substantially reduced by improving the model's representation of PFT diversity.


Study Design. This in vitro study used the alginate bead culture system to probe for differences in the effects of fibronectin fragment on cell proliferation and proteoglycan metabolism by different populations of intervertebral disc cells and articular chondrocytes. Objective. To compare the effects of fibronectin fragment on cell proliferation, and proteoglycan synthesis and degradation by cells from the nucleus pulposus, the anulus fibrosus, and articular cartilage. Summary of Background Data. In articular cartilage, the administration of fibronectin fragment stimulates cartilage degeneration. Fibronectin fragment levels were increased in human intervertebral discs with increased disc degeneration. Fibronectin fragment injected into the central region of the rabbit intervertebral disc induced a progressive degeneration of that disc. Methods. Bovine tails and metacarpophalangeal joints from 14- to 18-month-old animals were used. Alginate beads containing cells isolated from intervertebral discs and articular cartilage were cultured with (1–100 nmol/L) or without (control) fibronectin fragment in the presence of 10% fetal bovine serum. In these cultures, deoxyribonucleic acid and proteoglycan contents, as well as the rate of proteoglycan synthesis were determined. Proteoglycan degradation was measured in cultures with or without 10 nmol/L fibronectin fragment. Results. In articular chondrocytes, fibronectin fragment strongly suppressed proteoglycan synthesis and stimulated proteoglycan degradation; the total proteoglycan content was diminished in a dose-dependent manner. Compared to articular chondrocytes, nucleus pulposus cells responded to fibronectin fragments in a similar, although less pronounced manner. On the other hand, anulus fibrosus cells treated with fibronectin fragment did not show any significant effects on proteoglycan degradation. A slight but statistically significant up-regulation of proteoglycan synthesis was observed at 10 nmol/L fibronectin fragment in outer anulus fibrosus cells. However, total proteoglycan content was decreased significantly at high concentrations of fibronectin fragment. Conclusions. Fibronectin fragment has different effects on cell proliferation, proteoglycan synthesis, degradation, and accumulation by articular chondrocytes and intervertebral disc cells. The different effects of fibronectin fragment in those different cell types suggest metabolic differences between these cells, and may further suggest differences in pathways of fibronectin fragment signaling as well as a differential need of these cells to be involved in tissue remodeling in which both anabolic and catabolic pathways might be altered.


The application of a new formalism designed to model and simulate cell spaces is presented. The paradigm is based on the DEVS and Asynchronous Cellular Automata formalisms combined with inertial or transport delays. Efficient development of the simulators is achieved, reducing the cost of the construction of simulators for these systems. Also, the performance execution was improved through the definition of a flat simulation mechanism. The results obtained are thoroughly detailed, allowing the analysis of the advantages of the proposed approach.


One of the main problems of the CORDIC algorithm is the limited convergence domain, in which the functions can be calculated. Two different approaches can be employed to overcome this constraint: first, an argument reduction method and, second, an expansion of the CORDIC convergence domain. While the first approach requires significant processing overhead due to the need for divisions especially for tanh/sup -1/, the second technique achieves an increased but still limited convergence domain only. In this brief contribution, we present a unified division-free argument reduction method and a regular pipeline/array architecture for floating point or fixed point implementations which results in savings of computation time. In contrast to previous methods we avoid extra CORDIC arithmetic for realization of argument reduction. >


[Clin Psychol Sci Prac 18: 325–330, 2011]

The meta-analytic review of Castell, Kazantzis, and Moss-Morris (2011) is a valuable contribution to the debate about the efficacy of behavioral interventions for chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Again it is found that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has a positive effect on the outcomes of patients with CFS. However, a substantial number of patients do not profit (enough) from this intervention. Increasing our knowledge about the mechanisms of change and other relevant aspects related to the treatment response could help to improve further the efficacy and applicability of CBT for CFS. This commentary discusses some of these aspects and, where possible, research strategies are proposed.


The rich blood supply of the penis, derived from three longitudinal arterial and venous pedicles and numerous transvesical anastomoses allows the raising of a full thickness skin graft obliquely underneath the glans and around the penis. An island flap, which can be as long as 15 cm, is isolated but its blood supply is preserved by cleaving the connective tissue underneath the basic flap. The vascularised island flap is then rotated towards the zone of urethral replacement either in the form of a flap or a tube which can extend as far as the membranous urethra. 150 cases have been operated with this pedicle flap as a one-stage operation. No cases of necrosis were observed, even in the presence of fistulae or periurethral abscesses. A post-operative proximal stricture was observed in 10% of cases and was treated by internal urethrotomy. One third of these failures had to be reoperated with no major difficulties. Two pre-existing urethrocutaneous fistulae also had to be reoperated.


The purpose of this book is to provide a collection of source materials on Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) "from the first Slavic invasions before 1000 A.D. to the Czech Crisis of 1968," which could be used "for a comprehensive undergraduate course." The need for such a collection is obvious to anyone who teaches in this area. There are eighty-eight sources, including selections from chronicles, law codes, constitutions, treaties, letters, descriptions of events or travel accounts by eyewitnesses, and analyses by scholars of events, episodes, or periods of history. Each document is preceded by a brief statement, a paragraph or two, by the authors giving their interpretation of the significance of the source and indicating where the original is located. Of the eighty-eight selections, twenty-three may be classified as containing information about, or dealing with, more than one country, or as being important for a larger segment of Eastern Europe. Of the remaining sources, fifteen are devoted to Hungary, nine to Croatia, Serbia, and Yugoslavia, nine to Bohemia, Slovakia, and Czechoslovakia, ten to Poland, nine to Rumania, six to the Ottomans, four to Bulgaria, three to Greece, and none for Albania. For obvious reasons, it is easier to compile a source book for one country than it is for a multinational area such as Eastern Europe with its diverse languages and histories. Thus if a dozen scholars undertook the same task, restricting themselves to an equal number of documents, I doubt that half of the sources would be identical. A specialist on the Balkans would not have the same appreciation for events north of the Danube. Someone immersed in the study of one or two countries would inadvertently ignore documents from other lands. Thus, for example, in this collection one might question the inclusion of Serbia's declaration of war on Bulgaria in 1885 and the omission of either the Bulgarian Tyrnovo Constitution of 1879 or the Corfu Pact of 1917. Even any number of relevant documents dealing with the Albanian-Chinese accord which was directed against the Yugoslavs and the Soviets might be more appropriate for the undergraduate student. The slighting of Greece, which many regard as the most important country historically in southeastern Europe, could be challenged. These comments are not intended to criticize the authors, but to show that other selections are also possible. The authors have, however, performed a valuable service to the field. In their preface they state that this is "the first work to present significant documents and descriptions from the area's history." Should others be interested in the same goal, this volume would be a good point of departure.


The monthly variability of solar radiation over Mauritius is examined using monthly data from CMSAF (Satellite Application Facility on Climate Monitoring) satellite during the period January 1983-December 2005. It is found that the series analysed have periodicities which can be related to two well-known oscillations (Quasi-Biennal Oscillation - QBO and El Nino Southern Oscillation - ENSO). The results highlight a significant modulation of solar radiation by QBO that indicate the possible modulation of convective activity and cloud cover by this oscillation. A temporal conjunction between El-Nino events and high solar radiation disturbances is shown. Nevertheless, it was difficult to assess a simple correlation between ENSO and solar radiation variability over the studied period. This paper focuses on interannual oscillation and omits the intra-seasonal tropical perturbations (Madden Julian Oscillation, Indian Ocean Dipole, Southern Antarctic Mode). This demonstrates a first approach on the interannual solar radiation variability over Mauritius.


Preliminary results from an on-going experiment exploring the localisation accuracy of a binaurally processed source displayed via a bone conduction headset are described. These results appear to point to decreased localisation accuracy in the horizontal plane when the vertical component is introduced. There also appears to be a significant compression in the area directly in front of the observer ± 15° in elevation from 0°. This suggests that participants tended to localise stimuli presented at elevations greater than and less than ± 30° within a 30° 'window' extending 15° vertically either above or below the horizontal plane defined by the 0° azimuth. The results gathered until now suggest that binaural spatialisation over a bone conduction headset can also reproduce the perception of an elevated source to an acceptable degree of accuracy.


The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC) is essentially an intergovernmental labor agreement that attempts to promote high labor standards among member states, in light of free trade, without transgressing their sovereignty. In effect since January 1994, the NAALC has experienced mixed fortunes. In this paper, we analyze the effectiveness of the agreement by focus ing on its two main components, viz., the cooperative activities and the "complaint mechanism." We find that although the NAALC's accomplishments are modest, the agreement does have the capacity to advance the struggle for labor rights.


We develop diffusion approximations for parallel-queueing systems with the randomized longest-queue-first scheduling (LQF) algorithm by establishing new mean-field limit theorems as the number of buffers n → ∞. We achieve this by allowing the number of sampled buffers d = d(n) to depend on the number of buffers n, which yields an asymptotic 'decoupling' of the queue length processes. We show through simulation experiments that the resulting approximation is accurate even for moderate values of n and d(n). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first derivation of diffusion approximations for a queueing system in the large-buffer mean-field regime. Another noteworthy feature of our scaling idea is that the randomized LQF algorithm emulates the LQF algorithm, yet is computationally more attractive. The analysis of the system performance as a function of d(n) is facilitated by the multi-scale nature in our limit theorems: the various processes we study have different space scalings. This allows us to show the trade-off between performance and complexity of the randomized LQF scheduling algorithm.


The requirement for smooth information such as buying and selling is essential for commodity warehouse receipt system such as dried seaweed and their stakeholders to transact for an operational transaction. Transactions of buying or selling a commodity warehouse receipt system are a risky process due to the fluctuations in dynamic commodity prices. An integrated system to determine the condition of the real time was needed to make a decision-making transaction by the owner or prospective buyer. The primary motivation of this study is to propose computational methods to trace market tendency for either buying or selling processes. The empirical results reveal that feature selection gain ratio and k-NN outperforms other forecasting models, implying that the proposed approach is a promising alternative to the stock market tendency of warehouse receipt document exploration with accurate level rate is 95.03%.


The instrument ball bearings are the key components of movable components for various kinds of measuring and control instruments; they often operate in the environmental condition of high-speed and light preload. In general, the non metal, disposable oilimpregnated retainer material has been used for these kinds of high precision miniature bearing. The engineering practice shows that the common failure mode of them is the wear which appears under the condition of insufficient lubrication condition. As the results, the vibration and noise will be enlarged, so does the frictional torque, which makes the ball bearings to lose its original working accuracy. It is the lifetime test of bearings that can enable the designers and manufacturers to chose the material of the bearing properly, optimize the product structure, mend the manufacturing technique process, and to enhance the technical level of the bearing products significantly. In this paper, the wear lifetime tester has been designed according to the requirements of the life test for the instrument ball bearings, which consists of the main body of tester, electric system, drive unit and computer measure and control system, etc. The motor spindle has been selected to drive the device which is supported by the aerostatic bearing; frequency conversion speed adjustment mode, its scope of rotating speed is between 0 and 10,000 rpm. A pair of bearings can be tested under the pure axial preload condition, the maximum load is up to 50N, the control accuracy is ±2%; the scope of temperature control is up to 200°C. The variation of frictional torque on the bearing couple will be measured by an online torque transducer. The variation of power dissipation can be monitored under arbitrary speed by use of an on-line high-precision power meter. The wear and quality situation of the contact surface of the bearings will be reflected on these two parameters. Meanwhile, the values of temperature and vibration will also be monitored respectively as the accessorial parameters to assess the real quality of the bearings. Experimental results show that this tester has the capable of presetting load, rotating speed and temperature; monitoring the raise of the temperature and vibration of each bearing, frictional torque and the power variation of the apparatus automatically, these parameters can also be saved as a datum file into the computer at the same time. The developed tester can be used to carry on wear lifetime test, it is suitable for various kinds of instrument ball bearings with different structure and dimension which have been applied for different working conditions, it realized the self-service, intelligent management of the test, and provided a basis for the implement of the lifetime and reliability test to the instrument ball bearings.


The Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute (KAERI) has made an effort to develop pyroprocessing technology to resolve an on-going problem in Korea, i.e., the management of spent nuclear fuels. To this end, a test-bed facility for pyroprocessing, called PRIDE (PyRoprocessing Integrated inactive DEmonstration facility), is being constructed at KAERI. The main objective of PRIDE is to evaluate the performance of the unit processes, remote operation, maintenance, and proliferation resistance. In addition, integrating all unit processes into a one-step process is also one of the main goals. PRIDE can also provide a good opportunity to test safeguards instrumentations for a pyroprocessing facility such as nuclear material accounting devices, surveillance systems, radiation monitoring systems, and process monitoring systems. In the present study, a non-destructive assay (NDA) system for the testing of nuclear material accountancy of PRIDE was designed by integrating three different NDA techniques, i.e., neutron, gamma-ray, and mass measurements. The developed neutron detection module consists of 56 3He tubes and 16 AMPTEK A111 signal processing circuits. The amplifiers were matched in terms of the gain and showed good uniformity after a gain-matching procedure (%RSD=0.37%). The axial and the radial efficiency distributions within the cavity were then measured using a 252Cf neutron source and were compared with the MCNPX calculation results. The measured efficiency distributions showed excellent agreement with the calculations, which confirmed the accuracy of the MCNPX model of the system.


This paper analyzes optimal decisions concerning the size of the sample and the price of the paid content for online publishers of digital information goods when sampling serves the dual purpose of disclosing content quality and generating advertising revenue. We show in a reduced-form model how the publisher's optimal ratio of advertising revenue to sales revenue is linked to characteristics of both the content market and the advertising market. Assuming that consumers learn about content quality from the free samples in a Bayesian fashion, we find that it can be optimal for the publisher to generate advertising revenue by offering free samples even when sampling reduces high prior expectations and content demand. In addition, we show that it can be optimal for the publisher to refrain from revealing quality through free samples when advertising effectiveness is low and content quality is high.


Novel solutions and applications in the biomedical field could come from exploiting the electroactive properties of conducting polymers towards the development of responsive smart biointerfaces and of flexible, conformable, biocompatible systems. In this sense it is mandatory to control material's conductivity in situ and this requires the development of suitable patterning processes and the fabrication of individually addressable microelectrodes. Based on the recent introduction by our group of free-standing nanofilms of conductive polymers, the aim of this work was to describe a method for the fabrication of patterned ultra-thin free-standing PEDOT:PSS/Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) bilayer nanosheets. The proposed method involves an ink-jet patterning technique, based on localized overoxidation of PEDOT:PSS by means of a sodium hypochlorite solution. Here we described the fabrication method and characterized the realized nanosheets in terms of their thickness, contact angle, conductivity. The overall process permitted to realize patterned free-standing nanosheets that, despite their low thickness, are very robust and conformable on tissues or on soft and rigid substrates, while allowing for an electrical control of their surface properties. Possible applications are foreseen in the field of conformable electronics, e.g. as electrodes on the brain or smart conductive substrates for cell culturing and stimulation.


Number of patients with mental disorders is increasing in Japan. According to the Patient survey of 2008, the patient of mental disorders has increased from 2,181 thousands of 1996 to 3,233 thousands of 2008. Reflecting this situation, it becomes an important issue how to properly treat the mental disorders among the in-patients of acute somatic care hospitals. In order to clarify the actual situation, we have investigated the prevalence of psychiatric problem as comorbidities and complications among 2,170,720 cases from 900 DPC hospitals from 1st July to 31st October 2010. In total, 144,342 of 2,170,720 cases (6.6%) had some kinds of mental disorders. The highest percentage was observed for MDC01 (17,893 of 142,426 cases: 12.6%) followed by MDC16 (17,357 of 153,743 cases: 11.3%) and MDC10 (7,862 of 71,227 cases: 11.0%) except for MDC17 (Psychiatric DPC group: 100.0%). The highest disorder was dementia (P0+P9=32,788+13,539=46,327), followed by F3 (Mood disorders), F4 (Neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorders) and F2 (Schizophrenia, schizotypal and delusional disorders). The present study has indicated the needs of psychiatric care are large in the Japanese acute somatic care hospitals.


An experiment was conducted during the 2002 and 2003 wet, and 2003 post-wet seasons, in Andhra Pradesh, India, to evaluate the agronomic characteristics of sorghum cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines and their reaction to sorghum shoot fly, Atherigona soccata. The experimental material consisted of 6 isonuclear lines in 6 cytoplasmic backgrounds (A1, A2, A3, A4G1, A4M and A4VzM) and 6 maintainer lines (B). Data were recorded on number of plants with shoot fly deadhearts in the central 2 rows at 14 days after seedling emergence, and expressed as percentage of plants with deadhearts. Data were also recorded on days to 50% flowering, plant height and agronomic desirability. The mean squares due to genotype x CMS systems for plant height, agronomic characteristics and shoot fly infestation were not significant. The isonuclear lines in A1, A2 and A3 cytoplasmic backgrounds flowered 1-2 days earlier than in other CMS backgrounds. The isonuclear lines in A2 cytoplasmic background (except in case of ICSA 26 and ICSA 38) were shorter than in other cytoplasmic backgrounds, but the differences among the CMS systems were not significant. Shoot fly deadhearts in different CMS systems varied from 69.9 to 88.7%. The male sterile lines showed more deadhearts (77.1 (A4M) to 81.0% (A4G1) compared to the maintainer lines (74.4%)). Among the cytoplasms tested, A4M suffered lower deadheart incidence than the other CMS systems.


Personality identification is one of the important things to know yourself and others. This identification is done based on the personality traits possessed by a person based on Kant's personality theory. Not a few teachers who do not understand the student's personality, in the teaching and learning process some teachers who do not understand the student's personality, a teacher will find it difficult to convey learning materials that will attract students' interest which has an impact on the knowledge transfer process being hampered. Then the Fuzzy Tsukamoto method is used to identify the student's personality. The purpose of this research is to help teachers in classifying and recognizing students' personalities so that it is easier to determine treatment in developing their talents and interests. The system input is obtained from personality traits that are suitable for students. The knowledge base was obtained from a Child Clinical Psychologist and was built with the qadidah (IF-THEN). The output of the Fuzzy calculation is that students have a Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholic or Phlegmatic personality. The results of testing this method by doing calculations and testing the system, it is obtained that personality outputs are in accordance with the personality characteristics of students and are running well. So it can be recommended to help teachers in determining the treatment of students.


Abstract. Forest cover monitoring is an important part of forest management in local or regional area. The structure and tones of forest can be identified in high spatial remote sensing images. When forests cover change, the spectral characteristics of forests is also changed. In this paper a method on object-based forest cover monitoring with data transformation from time series of high resolution images is put forward. First the NDVI difference image and the composite of PC3,PC4, PC5 of the stacked 8 layers of time series of high resolution satellites are segmented into homogeneous objects. With development of the object-based ruleset classification system, the spatial extent of deforestation and afforestation can be identified over time across the landscape. Finally the change accuracy is achieved with reference data.


BACKGROUND
Glues are strong, liquid adhesive derived from animal tissues. It has been shown that glue sniffing is associated with demyelinating polyneuropathy. The low molecular weight agents which cause occupational lung disease have generally included the isocyanates exposure to which could result in asthma among workers. Toluene is also used widely in glue and adhesive industry and households where toluene exposure and abuse can occur.

OBJECTIVE
To study some respiratory and neurological disorders that may arise in workers in a bone glue factory in Queisna industrial zone, Menoufyia governorate, Egypt.

METHODS
In a historical cohort study, the exposed participants (n = 50) were recruited from workers in a bone glue factory in Queisna industrial zone, Menoufyia governorate. The unexposed group was selected from workers' relatives who had never worked in glue industry. All participants completed a pre-designed questionnaire on personal and occupational histories. Pulmonary function tests as well as electromyography (EMG) were performed for all participants. Urinary hippuric acid was also measure in all participants.

RESULTS
The prevalence of cough, asthmatic attacks and paresthesia were significantly higher among exposed than unexposed participants. Abnormal spirometric measurements (particularly towards obstruction), abnormal EMG and positive urinary hippuric acid were significantly more prevalent among exposed than unexposed group.

CONCLUSION
Spirometry and EMG should be included in the periodic medical examination for exposed workers for early detection of respiratory and neurological disorders. Urinary hippuric acid could be a useful indicator of the nerve conduction abnormalities and should be measured periodically for these workers.


I provide a simple two-period model comparing lump-sum taxes with proportional labor taxes. The difference to the classical optimal taxation literature is that I introduce a behavioral twist according to which people's aspirations change from one period to another as suggested by empirical evidence. It turns out that the policy implication from this model can differ significantly from the one assuming full rationality. In the behavioral model, a lump-sum tax is much less attractive. This paper does not aim at providing a full-fledged quantitative model, it should rather be seen as a cautionary tale about the robustness of classical optimal taxation results when deviating from full rationality.


INTRODUCTION: Shoulder impingement and rotator cuff tear are commonly seen in shoulder pathology. Pathological changes in the soft tissue around the shoulder can be due to intrinsic degenerative in tendons or extrinsic mechanical compression due to acromion types. Changes in acromion morphology have been postulated, which might be one of the causes of impingement syndrome and rotator cuff tears. But few study results have shown that role of the acromion is doubtful. Our primary objective was to determine acromion types and their prevalence rate with shoulder pathology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Our study was a prospective study. Eighty-five patients who met the inclusion criteria were included in the study. According to Bigliani et al., acromion types were classified as type 1 acromion that has a flat undersurface, type 2 acromion that has a curved undersurface, and type 3 acromion that has a hooked undersurface on supraspinatous outlet view radiographs. Types of acromion were correlated with shoulder pathology (shoulder impingement and rotator cuff tear). RESULTS: Out of 85 patients with shoulder pathology, 43 patients had impingement shoulder syndrome and 42 patients had rotator cuff tear. Mean age for the impingement shoulder syndrome group was 39.6 years and for the rotator cuff tear group it was 58.6 years. Overall right shoulder is affected more as compared with the left shoulder. Type 2 acromion was seen in 64.7% study population, type 1 was seen in 23.5%, and type 3 was seen in 11.8%. CONCLUSION: In our study, type 2 acromion is more frequently seen in shoulder pathology involving rotator cuff tear and impingement syndrome.


Objectives Adenotonsillar hypertrophy is the most common etiology in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), and adenotonsillectomy is the mainstay of treatment modalities. This study evaluates the long-term effectiveness of adenotonsillectomy in children with OSAS. Methods Subjective symptoms evaluated with a 7-point Likert scale and objective respiratory disturbances evaluated by polysomnography were compared before and after adenotonsillectomy. Results A total of 17 children with OSAS aged 4-15 years (mean age, 6.65±3.02 years; male:female, 13:4) completed the study. The mean follow-up period was 57 months (range, 30 to 98 months). Significant changes were found in apnea-hypopnea index (from 12.49±12.96 to 1.96±2.01, P<0.001), apnea index (from 5.64±7.57 to 0.53±0.78, P=0.006), minimum SaO2 (from 81.88±14.36 to 92.76±4.31, P=0.003), snoring (from 43.28±70.63 to 10.70±13.72, P=0.042), and arousal index (from 19.58±7.57 to 11.36±3.99, P=0.006) after adenotonsillectomy. Significant changes were also found after surgery in most of symptoms including snoring, witnessed apnea, morning headache, mouth breathing, gasping during sleep, restless sleep, nasal obstruction, and difficulty with morning arousal. Long-term surgical cure rate and response rate were 47.1% (8/17) and 70.6% (12/17), respectively. Conclusion Most of subjective OSAS symptoms and objective respiratory disturbances improved continuously about 5 years after adenotonsillectomy in children with OSAS. However, close follow-up and a sufficient observation period are necessary because of the risk for long-term incomplete resolution.


The movie Die Wand (2013) was hugely successful in the German-speaking world and once dubbed, also in other countries. It is often described as a film depicting a woman living in utter isolation cut off from any social contact. I, however, argue that the protagonist, though she is without any human contact, creates a family-like order with the animals that have flocked to her. She is the dominant mother figure who takes care of her"children" and defends them when needed.


This article, which is speculative in outlook and emerges from an extended literature review on this subject, takes as its basic premise the notion that the idea of 'creativity'– whether in relation to literacy, schooling or the economy, is constructed as a series of rhetorical claims. These rhetorics of creativity emerge from the contexts of research, theory, policy and practice. Initially, we distinguish 10 rhetorics, which are described in relation to the philosophical or political traditions from which they spring. The discussion then focuses on four rhetorics – play, technology, politics/democracy and the creative classroom – which have most relevance for understandings of literacies and the way in which these are nurtured, encouraged and expressed in different social settings. This article aims to summarise the rhetorics and their major concerns, while considering how selected ones might apply to an instance of media literacy. Key questions addressed in this article ask whether creativity is more usefully understood as an internal cognitive function or an external cultural phenomenon; whether it is a ubiquitous human activity or a special faculty; whether it is necessarily 'pro-social' or should be dissident; and what the implications of a culturalist social psychological approach to creativity might be for analyses of the media literacy of children and young people.


This work presents a sampled-data nonlinear model predictive control scheme with guaranteed stability for differential-algebraic systems. The main challenge is the avoidance of impulsive solutions due to discontinuities in the input or its derivatives. This is guaranteed by requiring the applied input to be sufficiently smooth. Stability is guaranteed by a terminal penalty term, together with a terminal region constraint. The control scheme is illustrated considering the control of an electrical circuit.


A migraine is a severe, painful headache that is often preceded or accompanied by sensory warning signs such as flashes of light, blind spots, tingling in the arms and legs, nausea, vomiting, and increased sensitivity to light and sound. The excruciating pain that migraines bring can last for hours or even days. Migraine headaches result from a combination of blood vessel enlargement and the release of chemicals from nerve fibers that coil around these blood vessels. This causes a release of chemicals that cause inflammation, pain, and further enlargement of the artery. Medical science has proven a clear cut chemical imbalance in the lining of the blood vessels on the surface of the brain which carry pure blood to the brain. Migraine headache typically occurs in only a half of the head. It begins with a warning of some form. This takes the form of visual disturbance like blurring vision or visions of irregular circles of light round bright lights. All this could be terribly irritating. Migraine headache begins around the region of the eyes and forehead. Analgesics are used to relieve the pain, ergot preparations are also effective. Sumatriptan is used for acute attacks of migraine. Beta blockers may also be helpful. In cluster headaches, prophylaxis with drugs such as Valproic Acid, Verapamil, or Lithium Carbonate is more effective than the use of drugs during acute attacks. Tension headaches are controlled well by the use of analgesics. The prevention of a migraine attack is by trying to identify any precipitating factor and avoiding the same. The use of counseling and psychotherapy is essential in highly stressed, nervous and emotional individuals.