One of the alternative solution to reduce ash waste in landfills is by utilizing coal fly ash for the removal of metal ion in wastewater, especially acid mine drainage (AMD). In this study, zeolite was synthesized from coal fly ash using a two-step method, hydrothermal and fusion method. The coal fly ash and the zeolite product were characterized physically and were used for the removal of Zn2+ in AMD. The adsorption experiment was carried out using batch method in synthetic AMD solution to study the influential parameters such as adsorbent dosage, contact time, adsorbent isotherms and kinetics. The zeolite synthesized in this study resulting hydroxylsodalite zeolite type, which increases the surface area. It was revealed from the adsorption experiment that the removal efficiency of Zn2+ was 93.47% under the conditions of pH ± 3, initial concentration Zn2+ 100 ppm, optimum contact time 120 minutes, and adsorbent dose 6 g/L. Furthermore, the Langmuir isotherm model and the kinetics model of pseudo-second-order fitted the adsorption data better, with the maximum sorption capacity of 27.32 mg/g. The result of this study indicate hydroxylsodalite synthesized from coal fly ash has great potential as an economical and sustainable material for the removal of metal ion Zn2+ in wastewater.


Monozygotic twins, identical by serological studies, with Huntington's disease are described who were raised in separate households from birth. Age at onset, landmarks of the disease, and behavioural abnormalities were strikingly similar. Previously reported twin studies in Huntington's disease are reviewed. Twin data support the hypothesis that age at onset and several other clinical features of the illness are substantially determined by genetic mechanisms.


Infrared spectra of polyethylene terephthalate and three of its deuterated analogs have been obtained in the region of 70 to 3600 cm-i, polarized spect,ra having been obtained down to 330 cm-l. On the basis of analysis of the predicted spectrum, and with the aid of data from benzene and substituted benzenes, a complete assignment of the spectrum has been made. This assignment suggests a modification of the proposed chain structure of this polymer. It also leads to the conclusion that the changes in the spectrum which occur upon crystallization of the polymer are not associated with different isomeric forms of the -OCH2CH20- portion of the chain, but rather with changes in the symmetry and resonance characteristics of the substituted benzenoid ring framework.


Abstract Mass gatherings are routinely viewed as posing risks to physical health However, social psychological research shows mass gathering participation can also bring benefits to psychological well-being We describe how both sets of outcomes can be understood as arising from the distinctive forms of behavior that may be found when people?even strangers?come to define themselves and each other in terms of a shared social identity We show that many of the risks and benefits of participation are products of group processes;that these different outcomes can have their roots in the same core processes;and that knowledge of these process provides a basis for health promotion interventions to mitigate the risks and maximize the benefits of participation Throughout, we offer practical guidance as to how policy makers and practitioners should tailor such interventions


Background High Resolution peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (HR- pQCT) allows to detect very small cortical breaks, so called "microchannels" in the periarticular bone. These structures resemble an interaction between the bone marrow and synovial compartment potentially allowing communication of inflammation between these two compartments. Objectives To quantify micro-channels in healthy individuals, ACPA-positive individuals and early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Methods HR-pQCT (XtremeCT, Scanco, Switzerland) scans of healthy subjects, ACPA positive subjects without RA and ACPA positive early RA patients were assessed. Transversal, sagittal and coronal planes of the 2nd metacarpophalangeal (MCP) head were scored for microchannels. Analysis was performed by two independent and blinded readers. To search for a potential function these cortical microchannels we performed HR-pQCT measurements of cadaveric hands (n=6, Body Donation Program of the Institute of Anatomy, University Erlangen-Nuremberg) with contrast enhancement to display vessels. After defrosting at room temperature for 24h hours, the radial and ulnar artery was dissected and contrast agent (Imeron 350 Iod/ml, Bracco Imaging, Germany) was injected in both arteries followed by HR-pQCT measurement. The study was approved by the local ethics committee. Results A total of 61 healthy controls (29 females; 32 males), 21 ACPA positive subjects (17 females; 4 males), 35 ACPA positive RA (25 females; 10 males; disease duration 0.66 yrs) were evaluated. Cortical channels were detected in all subjects with distinct localization (Fig. 1a). Most lesions were located intra-articularly at the palmar and radial side of the MCP 2 head. We found a significant difference (p=0.001) in the numbers of microchannels between the three groups with higher numbers in the early RA group compared to the healthy controls (Fig 1b). Using contrast enhanced HR-pQCT images of human cadaver hands we were able to display intracortical and medullar vessels with a size as low as 0.15 mm diameter (Fig. 2a/b). In addition, vascular trees around the wrist and MCP joints could be visualized after 3D segmentation (Fig. 2c). Despite good vascular visualization no contrast enhancement was observed in the intraarticular region of the above described channels. Conclusions Micro-channels in the periarticular bone increase during the development of RA. Until now the function of micro channels is still unclear. If cortical channels reflect breaks, vessels from "inside-out", cartilage anchors or nutritive channels still needs to be determined. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Abstract Genome-wide association studies of breast cancer susceptibility have revealed risk-associated genetic variants and nominated candidate genes; however, the identification of causal variants and genes is often undetermined by genome-wide association studies. Comparative genomics, utilizing Rattus norvegicus strains differing in susceptibility to mammary tumor development, is a complimentary approach to identify breast cancer susceptibility genes. Mammary carcinoma susceptibility 3 (Mcs3) is a Copenhagen (COP/NHsd) allele that confers resistance to mammary carcinomas when introgressed into a mammary carcinoma susceptible Wistar Furth (WF/NHsd) genome. Here, Mcs3 was positionally mapped to a 7.2-Mb region of RNO1 spanning rs8149408 to rs107402736 (chr1:143700228–150929594, build 6.0/rn6) using WF.COP congenic strains and 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene-induced mammary carcinogenesis. Male and female WF.COP-Mcs3 rats had significantly lower body mass compared to the Wistar Furth strain. The effect on female body mass was observed only when females were raised in the absence of males indicating a socioenvironmental interaction. Furthermore, female WF.COP-Mcs3 rats, raised in the absence of males, did not develop enhanced lobuloalveolar morphologies compared to those observed in the Wistar Furth strain. Human 15q25.1-25.2 was determined to be orthologous to rat Mcs3 (chr15:80005820–82285404 and chr15:83134545–84130720, build GRCh38/hg38). A public database search of 15q25.1-25.2 revealed genome-wide significant and nominally significant associations for body mass traits and breast cancer risk. These results support the existence of a breast cancer risk-associated allele at human 15q25.1-25.2 and warrant ultrafine mapping of rat Mcs3 and human 15q25.1-25.2 to discover novel causal genes and variants.


OBJECTIVE
To study the efficacy of total knee anhmplasty (TKA) for the treatment of hemophilic knee arthropathy, and to explore the operative characteristics, the selection of prothesis, the effectiveness and safety of clotting factor replacement treatment.

METHODS
From January 2008 to June 2010, 10 patients (12 knees)with hemophilic anhropathv underwent TKA. The average age was 33.6 years old (ranged, 17 to 49 years). There was 8 cases of type A hemophilia and 2 cases of type B hemophilia. According to Arnold and Hilgartner classification: 7 knees were IV degree and 5 knees were V degree. The level of VIII factor for replacement treatment was more than 80% on operation day, more than 60% within 3 days after operation, more than 40% from the third day to the second week after operation. Added prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) to improve the level of IX factor, and the level of IX factor for replacement treatment was more than 40% on operation day, more than 30% within 3 days after operation, more than 20% from the third day to the second week after operation. Functional training was mainly based on continuous passive motion (CPM) device after surgery. Clinical assessment included hospital for special surgery knee score (HSS) and the individual scores (including pain, function, activity, muscle strength, flexion deformity and stability).

RESULTS
Ten patients (12 knees) were followed-up, and the average duration was 11 months (ranged, 6 to 24 months). The average preoperative HSS score was (44.9 +/- 12.5) (ranged, 29 to 62 scores), whereas the average postoperative HSS score was (84.4 +/- 10.2) (ranged 72 to 96 scores) (P < 0.01). The preoperative individual score including pain, function, activity, muscle strength flexion deformity and stability were significantly improved compared with pre-operation, the differences between them were statistically significant (P < 0.01 ). TKA had the distinct role in relieving pain from preoperative (8.5 +/- 4.1) to postoperative (24.5 +/- 4.4).

CONCLUSION
Under the strict perioperative coagulation factor replacement therapy, TKA is a safe and an effective treatment for hemophmc anhmpathy of knee joint, whicht can effectively relieve pain and improve joint function.


Investigations of lymphatic dysfunction in animals infected with filarial parasites has been hampered by a paucity of techniques to measure efficiency of lymphatic drainage. In this study a 99mTc-sulfur colloid technique was used to assess the efficiency of lymphatic drainage in Patas monkeys infected with filarial nematodes. In all 15 uninfected hind limbs there was rapid and consistent appearance of labeled colloid in the primary lymph node (popliteal) and subsequently in the secondary nodes (abdomino-pelvic) in 11 of 15 limbs. In contrast, in all eight limbs tested 1-9 months after infection there was reduced rate of migration of the colloid and initial appearance in the abdomino-pelvic region: subsequent accumulation was seen in the popliteal region in only four of the limbs. This data indicated that lymphatic vessels were blocked and that collateral vessels channeled the colloid to the secondary lymph nodes. The lymph flow patterns demonstrated by the isotope technique were supported at autopsy.


We analyze the geometry of domain Markov half planar triangu-lations. In [5] it is shown thatthere exists a one-parameter family ofmeasures supported on half planar triangulations satisfying translation invariance and domain Markov property. We study the geometry of these maps and show that they exhibit a sharp phase-transition inview of their geometry atα = 2/3. For α 2/3,we obtain maps of hyperbolic nature with exponential growth andanchoredexpansion. Some results about the geometry of percolation clusters on such maps and random walk on them are also obtained.


The phenomenon of animalistic dehumanisation has been extensively studied in social psychology, but mostly as an intergroup relations tool used to justify the mistreatment of an outgroup. Surprisingly, however, dehumanisation has not been approached as an influence strategy to convince the ingroup to mistreat an outgroup. In the present article, we investigate these possible influence effects. We propose that a message depicting an outgroup in negative animalised terms would lead to lasting unfavourable outgroup attitudes because the animal essence conveyed through the message would immunise ingroup members against subsequent counterinfluence attempts. In one experimental study we compared the effect of three influence messages depicting a despised outgroup (Roma beggars) in negative animalised vs. negative humanised vs. positive humanised terms, followed by a counterpropaganda message advocating for Roma beggars' rights. Results show that the animalisation message leads to a lasting animalised perception of the outgroup (eliciting disgust and repugnancy) that resists exposure to the counterpropaganda positive message. In contrast, the negative humanisation message provokes a brief negative perception of the group (pre-counterpropaganda) that disappears after exposure to the counterpropaganda. The animalisation message also leads to more negative attitudes and discriminatory behavioural intentions towards Roma beggars expressed after the counterpropaganda message (i.e., discrimination in the workplace, hiring intentions, and social proximity), whilst the negative humanisation message does not, showing no difference with the positive humanisation message. These results suggest that animalistic dehumanisation indeed acts as an influence strategy, immunising targets against subsequent counterpropaganda attempts. We discuss implications in the light of essentialisation, forms of dehumanisation and group status, and current non-discriminatory norms.


Optoelectronic devices based on lateral junctions are particularly interesting because carriers are injected perpendicular to both the optical cavity and the direction of quantum confinement (i.e. the epitaxial growth direction). An edge-emitting InGaAs/GaAs laser diode with a lateral p-n junction was fabricated by MBE on a patterned GaAs (311)A substrate. The injection current dependence of the multimode emission was studied. Experimental results revealed a gain spectrum that favors long-wavelength modes as injection current increases.


In developing countries especially in African continent, rapid population growth in cities is a major concern. Majority of governments in Africa have made more effort to develop urban areas as compared to the rural ones. Social and economic activities are more concentrated in urban areas. This is a pushing factor for the rapid population growth in cities as many people, especially young generation, tend to migrate from rural to urban. This growth leads to excessive exploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation and increased pressure on social services. Rapid increased population acts as an encouragement to construct smart cities for achieving needs for present and future generations. Tanzania as one of the developing countries in Africa has taken initiatives in establishing smart cities. The aim of this study therefore, is to examine opportunities and challenges in the development of Smart cities in Tanzania with a case study of Mbeya city. In addition, conceptualization about development of smart cities is proposed to prioritize the planning of smart grid among other smart city infrastructure systems. Conclusively, Mbeya city has a full potential of many strengths and opportunities for successful development as a smart city.


Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is a systemic autoimmune disorder characterized by thromboembolism, obstetric complications, and the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPL). Extracellular vesicles (EVs) play a key role in intercellular communication and connectivity and are known to be involved in endothelial and vascular pathologies. Despite well-characterized in vitro and in vivo models of APS pathology, the field of EVs remains largely unexplored. This review recapitulates recent findings on the role of EVs in APS, focusing on their contribution to endothelial dysfunction. Several studies have found that APS patients with a history of thrombotic events have increased levels of EVs, particularly of endothelial origin. In obstetric APS, research on plasma levels of EVs is limited, but it appears that levels of EVs are increased. In general, there is evidence that EVs activate endothelial cells, exhibit proinflammatory and procoagulant effects, interact directly with cell receptors, and transfer biological material. Future studies on EVs in APS may provide new insights into APS pathology and reveal their potential as biomarkers to identify patients at increased risk.


In some regions of the world black flies are the vector of serious endemic diseases such as onchocerciasis or river blindness. The object of this paper is to present theoretical and numerical solutions to the control of black fly larvae in running waters. The problem is modelled by a diffusion-transport partial differential equation with impulse controls and state constraint. We present the solutions for the one-dimensional case.


Object Sacral tumors are commonly diagnosed late and therefore present at an advanced stage. The late presentation makes curative surgery technically demanding. Sacrectomy is fraught with a high local recurrence rate and potential complications: deep infection; substantial blood loss; large-bone and soft-tissue defects; bladder, bowel, and sexual dysfunction; spinopelvic nonunion; and gait disturbance. The aim of this study was to analyze the complications and morbidity of sacrectomy and the modifications meant to reduce the morbidity. Methods This is a retrospective study of the patients who underwent sacrectomy between February 1997 and September 2008 in the Department of Surgical Oncology, Government Royapettah Hospital, Kilpauk Medical College, in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. Sacrectomy was performed using 1 of the following approaches: posterior approach, abdominolateral approach, or abdominosacral approach, either as sequential or staged operations. The morbidity rate after the sequential and staged abdominosacral approaches was analyzed. Functional assessment was made based on the Enneking functional scoring system. The results were analyzed and survival analysis was done using the Kaplan-Meier method (with SPSS software). Results Nineteen patients underwent sacrectomy, of which 12 operations were partial, 3 were subtotal, and 4 were total sacrectomy. Histological diagnosis included giant cell tumor, chordoma, chondroblastoma, adenocarcinoma of rectum, and retroperitoneal sarcoma. The giant cell tumor was the most common tumor in this series, followed by chordoma. The patients' mean age at diagnosis was 32 years. There were 10 male and 9 female patients. Fortyseven percent of patients had bowel and bladder disturbances postoperatively, and 57.89% of patients had wound complications. The median follow-up duration was 24 months (range 2-140 months). The 5-year overall survival rate was 70.4%, and the 5-year disease-free survival rate was 65% (based on the Kaplan-Meier method). The local recurrence rate (5 cases) was 26.32%. The median duration for first recurrence was 12 months (range 3-17 months). Distant metastasis occurred in 1 patient (5.26%), and 4 patients died, 1 of them due to pulmonary thromboembolism, in the postoperative period. Based on the Enneking system of functional evaluation, 5 patients (26.32%) had excellent outcome, 6 (31.57%) had good outcome, 5 (26.32%) had fair outcome, and 3 (15.78%) had poor outcome. Spinopelvic reconstruction was not performed in any of the patients, and all were ambulatory postoperatively. The staged abdominosacral approach has markedly reduced patient morbidity in terms of reduction of operating time, blood loss, anesthesia complications, and wound complications. Conclusions Sacrectomy, a dreaded operation that often results in morbidity, is now feasible with modifications and improvement in surgical technique. The staged abdominosacral approach reduces the immediate postoperative morbidity. Use of a gluteal advancement flap reduces the incidence of wound complications. With modern surgical facilities and postoperative care, sacrectomy is feasible via the staged abdominosacral approach.


The study of antipsychotic ef ect of the aqueous stem bark extract of Amblygonocarpus andongensis was carried out on amphetamine induced psychosis in 42 Wister albino rats weighing between 105 and 305 2g using two indices feeding and locomotor activity. Twelve out of the 42 rats were divided into two groups; six per group. Group 1 and 2 received 1 5mg/kg body weight o oral amphetamine. Oral chlorpromazine (0.5mg/kg) was administered to group 2 rats in addit on The remaining 30 rats were divided in o 5 groups: A, B, C, D and E, each group comprised 6 rats. All the groups received 1 5 mg/kg body weight of amphetamine but E received 0 5mg/kg oral chlorpromazine in add t on. However, B, C and D received 450, 900 and 1350mg/kg bodywe ght of Amblygonocarpus andongensis aqueous stem bark extract. Feeding and locomotor activities were measured in groups 1 and 2 and A, B, C, D and E rats respectively. The result showed that there were significant dif erences in feeding and locomotor parameters between groups 1 and 2 and among groups A, B, C and E (p<0.05) except group E. In amphetamine psychotic model test, group 2 animals have reduced feeding and locomotor activity as compared to group 1. Conclusively, Amblygonocarpus andongensis has a dose dependent reducing effect on feeding and locomotor activity at 135mg/kg body we ght as compared to chlorpromazine (0.5mg/kg) in amphetamine induced psychosis in Wister albino rats. Hence both Amblygonocarpus andongensis and chlorpromazine may have pharmacokinetic effect on amphetamine and therefore maybe used to treat psychosis induced by amphetamine. f


How does strategic investment affect entry of new technologies and market structure? This article investigates the role of competition in firms' technology adoption decisions in the U.S. wireline broadband industry. I present a model of strategic entry deterrence and study how internet service providers' interactions affect their technology deployment at local markets. The goal is to capture an important trade-off: cable firms adopt a new cable system to provide higher speeds, but the adoption has a preemptive effect on fiber firms' entry. I collect and combine unique firm-level data on broadband technology deployment and markets under entry threat for New York State. I provide evidence of strategic investment by cable incumbents to deter fiber entry. Counterfactual scenarios suggest that the industry has experienced 16% excessive investment in cable adoption and 12% underinvestment in fiber entry both of which are explained by these deterrence strategies. In addition, subsidies to cable incumbents in small markets reduce fiber entry rate by 50%. I also find that policies that promote statewide entry mitigate the effects from these deterrence strategies and increase fiber entry rate by 30%. These results have wide implications for technology diffusion, quality provision and optimal subsidy policy in markets with strategic technology adoption and entry threat.


The paper analyzes the relations between the legal and regulatory production and the gains of popularity for the President and the Prime Minister in France. Using the GMM system estimation, we show that the Executive's popularity depends on legisla- tive activism, creating reasons to legislate frantically, but also that the Executive has strong incentives to strategically set the legislative agenda, possibly timing landmark laws during honeymoon periods. Moreover, if Prime Ministers can benefit actions taken in the last months of their term, this is not true for Presidents. Our results also confirm the traditional view, according to which incumbents are always bestowed with favorable ratings when the economic situation improves.


Background: Little is known about the prevalence and risk factors of diabetes among Gaza Palestinians, 64% of whom are refugees with exceeded sugar intake. We aimed to estimate the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and its association with added sugar intake among residents, with regular visits to primary healthcare centers (PHCs) across Gaza. Methods: From October to December of 2019, a cross-sectional survey was conducted among 1000 citizens and refugees in nine PHCs selected from the five governorates of the Gaza Strip. Information on dietary intake, medical history, and other risk factors was collected by trained health workers, using structured questionnaires. Anthropometry and biochemical data were extracted from the PHC medical record system. Results: Overall, the prevalence of diagnosed T2D and undiagnosed T2D were 45.2% and 16.8%, respectively, in adults aged 42 to 74 years, with the differences among citizens and refugees (diagnosed: 46.2% vs. 43.8%; undiagnosed: 15.7% vs. 18.2%). The uncontrolled glycaemic rate was 41.9% and 36.8% for diagnosed patients in citizens and refugees, respectively. Among those without a clinical diagnosis of T2D, after multivariable adjustment, daily added sugar intake was positively associated with fasting glucose and the risk of undiagnosed T2D (odds ratio, 95% CI, highest vs. lowest intake, was 2.71 (1.12–6.54) (p for trend < 0.001). In stratified analysis, the associations between added sugar intake and the risk of undiagnosed T2D tend to be stronger among refugees or those with higher body mass index. Conclusions: Among Palestinian adults, both citizens and refugees are affected by T2D. Added sugar intake is associated with the risk of undiagnosed T2D.


We document manipulation of a targeting system which used a poverty index score to determine eligibility for social welfare programs in Colombia, including health insurance. We show strategic behavior in the timing of the household interviews around local elections, and direct manipulation when some households had their eligibility scores lowered. Initially the number of interviews increased around local elections. After the algorithm was made public to local officials, the score density exhibited a sharp discontinuity exactly at the eligibility threshold. The discontinuity at the threshold is larger where mayoral elections are more competitive; and smaller in municipalities with less competitive elections, more community organizations and higher newspaper circulation.


Introduction Premature Ovarian Insu�ciency (POI) seriously affects the quality of life, endocrine function, and fertility of women of childbearing age. Currently, Hormone replacement therapy for POI has some limitations, either with low e�cacies or high side effects. Bushen Huoxue (BSHX) plays an important role in alleviating clinical symptoms and improving health status of POI patients. This placebo-controlled, randomised, double-blind, and multicentre clinical trial protocol aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of BSHX in women with POI. Methods and Design We plan to recruit 150 women with POI from four participating hospitals in China. Participants will be randomised in a 1:1 to receive oral BSHX or BSHX placebo. All participants will be treated for 3-month and will be followed up for another 3-month. The primary outcome is questionnaire scores based on the changes in the total symptoms, which is the Chinese version of the Menopause-Speci�c Quality of Life (CMS) 1 . The other measurements include serum sex hormone levels, anti-mullerian hormone (AMH) levels, ovarian peak systolic velocity (PSV; cm/s), and antral follicle count (AFC). In this study, the regulatory effects of traditional Chinese medicine on hormones was evaluated by the changes of serum sex hormone levels, which include serum estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). Ethics and dissemination This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of Jiangsu Province Hospital on Integration Chinese and Western Medicine (2019LWKY014). All participants will provide written informed consent prior to randomization. The results of this research will be presented to academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals. effectiveness and safety of BSHX in the treatment of POI.


A description is given of the relaxation lattice method, a new approach to specifying graceful degradation for a large class of programs. A relaxation lattice is a lattice of specifications parameterized by a set of constraints, where the stronger the set of constraints, the more restrictive the specification. While a program is able to satisfy its strongest set of constraints, it satisfies its preferred specification, but if changes to the environment force it to satisfy a weaker set, then it will permit additional weakly consistent computations which are undesired but tolerated. The use of relaxation lattices is illustrated by specifications for programs that tolerate (1) faults, such as site crashes and network partitions, (2) timing anomalies, such as attempting to read a value too soon after it was written, (3) synchronization conflicts, such as choosing the oldest unlocked item from a queue, and (4) security breaches, such as acquiring unauthorized capabilities. >


In this paper, an equivalent DC duty cycle for the generalized zero-voltage space vectors is proposed such that control of the three-phase AC part and the DC part of the converter circuit can be integrated to achieve the ideal characteristic of single-stage step-up/down AC/DC converter. Depending upon how many modes are chosen and which class of generalized zero-voltage space vectors is selected to increase the equivalent DC duty cycle, different control strategies can be obtained. It is seen that not only the control of the six switches is simplified but also the deadtime circuit for avoiding short circuit of the same arm can be eliminated for the proposed converter. In addition, some guidelines for selecting the LC parameters are described briefly and experimental results given for verifying the validity of the proposed converter.


Opening doors and drawers will be an important ability for future service robots used in domestic and industrial environments. However, in recent years, the methods for opening doors and drawers have become more diverse and difficult for robots to determine and manipulate. We can divide doors into three distinct handling types: regular handles, hidden handles, and push mechanisms. While extensive research has been done on the detection and handling of regular handles, the other types of handling have not been explored as much. In this paper, we set out to classify the types of cabinet door handling types. To this end, we collect and label a dataset consisting of RGB-D images of cabinets in their natural environment. As part of the dataset, we provide images of humans demonstrating the handling of these doors. We detect the poses of human hands and then train a classifier to determine the type of cabinet door handling. With this research, we hope to provide a starting point for exploring the different types of cabinet door openings in real-world environments.


The authors fabricated and packaged 1*4 arrays of In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n photodetectors connected in a GaAs FET bias-switched, common cathode circuit. The bandwidth of the discrete (packaged) photodiodes in the arrays exceeds 11 GHz, and is 5 GHz for the packaged arrays. The on/off isolation ratio for fully packaged arrays using GaAs FET bias switches was measured at both low and high frequencies. It was found that the on/off isolation of the detectors in the array was 70 dB, and the bias switching times were less than 5 ns. The performance characteristics suggest that the p-i-n detector arrays used in a common cathode, current summing configuration have applications for high-freqeuncy digital and analog optical switching applications.<<ETX>>


When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe. John Muir This book is devoted to a description of a single biological species called λ . In Chapter 1 Hershey and I have suggested technical reasons that have favored λ for intensive study. One can expect to learn so much about no more than a few of the millions of species that make up the biological universe. To draw inferences about the biological universe from observations on λ is risky, if not foolhardy. To some extent we can expect each species to display unique solutions, even for general biological problems. I go to some lengths in this chapter to illustrate ways in which solutions found by λ are indeed special ones. "There can be no formula for serendipity" (Wright, 1959). This chapter will focus on two forms of biological organization. One, physiological organization, deals with the temporal and spatial coordination involved in λ growth. The other, genetic organization, is the arrangement of genetic elements in the λ chromosome. This structure is viewed in terms of the physiological organization of λ and in terms of the pathways of natural selection along which the λ genome evolves. PHYSIOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION The Immune and the Derepressed Phases Elements in the immunity region of λ maintain the lysogenic state. Genes situated in other regions of the λ chromosone act at one or another stage in productive growth. These two sets of genes are mutually exclusive in...


Detection of clouds in satellite-generated radiance images, including those from MODIS, is an important first step in many applications of these data. In this paper we apply spectral unmixing to this problem with the aim of estimating subpixel cloud fractions, as opposed to identification only of whether or not a pixel radiance contains cloud contributions. We formulate the spectral unmixing approach in terms of multiple-kernel learning (MKL). To this end we propose a MKL-based unmixing algorithm that drives a multiple-kernel description of cloud, enabling estimation of sub-pixel cloud fractions. This approach is based on supervised learning. We generate training and testing samples by using CloudSat and CALIPSO data to compute cloud fractions within individual MODIS pixels. Results of our study on limited data (1875 training and testing MODIS pixels along with their CloudSat and CALIPSO based sub-pixel cloud fractions) show that the proposed algorithm can effectively estimate sub-pixel MODIS cloud fraction and outperforms support vector machine (SVM) in terms of estimation performance.


―There are many techniques which are used for navigating the visually challenged people, navigation in real time traffic is the main problem. Objective of the project is to provide a solution with the aid of wireless sensor networks (WSNs). ZigBee system is used for indicating the presence of blind person in the bus station. Voice module and APR9600 audio playback systems are used to update and inform the blind person about the bus arriving and reaching destinations and to guide him as to what he has to do next. Microcontroller analysis the information provided and generates the corresponding bus number. ZigBee transceiver sends the bus number and announced in the microphone attached with the system. The system is connected with GPS which indicates the destination given. Audio output is generated by the voice synthesizer. The expected outcome of the project is to obtain an easy navigation system for people with visually impaired."


This paper presents a new algorithm for sequential aggregation of an ensemble of forecasts. At any forecasting step, the aggregation consists of (1) computing new weights for the ensemble members represented by different numerical models and (2) forecasting with a weighted linear combination of the ensemble members. We assume that the time evolution of the weights is described by a linear equation with uncertain parameters and apply a minimax filter (and also Kalman filter, for comparison) in order to estimate the vector of weights given "observations". The "observation" equation for the filter compares the aggregated forecast with the analysis determined in a data assimilation cycle together with its variance. The minimax approach allows one to work with flexible uncertainty description: deterministic bounding sets for uncertain parameters in weight's equation, and error covariance matrices for the "observational" errors. Our key contribution is an uncertainty estimate of the aggregated forecast, for which we introduce an evaluation test. The performance of the method is assessed for the forecast of ground‐level ozone daily peaks over Europe, for the year 2001. Compared to forecasts generated by classical data assimilation, the root mean square error is decreased by 16% for prediction of the analyses and by 20% for prediction of the observations.


In order to clarify the vertical ozone distribution in planetary boundary layer of coastal area with complex terrain, an observation campaign was carried out around Gwangyang Bay with dense pollutant emission sources during two days from June, 4 2007. For this observation are Radiosonde, SODAR (SOnic Detection And Ranging) and Tethered ozone sonde were employed. The surface meteorological and photochemical observation data provided by AWS (Automatic Weather System) and AQMS (Air Quality Monitoring System) were also applied for analysis. Synoptic condition is strongly associated with lower level ozone distribution in complex terrain coastal area. Since mesoscale circulation induced by difference of characteristics of land and sea and orographic forcing is predominant under calm synoptic condition, vertical distribution of ozone is complicate and vertical ozone concentration greatly fluctuated. However in second day when synoptic influence become strong, ozone concentration in lower levels is vertically uniform regardless of observation level. This results in vertical observation indicates that vertical ozone distribution is often determined by synoptic condition and also affects surface ozone concentration.


Objectives: The objective of our study was to find the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism in pregnant females of Kashmir. This was done so as to assess the magnitude of the problem in the valley and to formulate a strategy based on its results.
Methods: The study was done over a period of one year from July 2009 to July 2010 in Government Medical College, Srinagar. Pregnant females attending the out-patient department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, for their routine antenatal check-ups, formed our study population. Their blood samples were taken for estimation of serum FT3, FT4 and TSH levels.
Results: Most of our patients were in the age group of 25-29 years, comprising 45.3% of the total subjects. Out of the total 902 patients, TSH was within range in 788 (87.4%) and elevated in 114(12.6%). In control group (age matched non pregnant females), 91.4% had TSH in normal range while 8.6% had elevated levels. FT4 was within range in 96.2%, low in 3.2% and raised in 0.6% in cases, while as in controls, the percentages were 92.5%, 5.4% and 2.2% respectively. Hence the prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism (Increased TSH within normal FT4) was 12.6% in cases and 8.6% in controls.
Conclusion: A high prevalence of subclinical hypothyroidism was found in pregnant females. Therefore, thyroid screening should be made important in pregnancy and threshold for treating subclinical hypothyroidism should be kept low.


. Spacecraft missions such as Wind and ACE can be used to determine magnetic correlation functions in the solar wind. From such data sets one can obtain spatial and temporal correlations of magnetic fields. Such correlations are fundamental in the theory of magnetic turbulence and are important to describe the statistics of magnetic field lines and the propagation of energetic particles such as cosmic rays. In the present article we compare analytical forms of correlation functions with measurements performed in the solar system. We obtain new values for the correlations length scales and we test our understanding of the turbulence dynamics.


Introduction Background Increased rates of hepatocellular (HCC) and recently, of extra-hepatic cancer have been reported in Autoimmune Hepatitis (AIH). Increased cancer rates in inflammatory bowel disease and following organ transplant have been linked to immunosuppressive (IS) drug therapy; this association has not been assessed in AIH. Aim. Evaluation relationship of cancer risk to non-steroid IS therapy in AIH Methods 241 patients (197 F, age at diagnosis (median (range) 56 (2.5–87 yr), presenting 1971–2007 with AIH (1999 International Group criteria) and followed for ≥6 months. Cancers (ICD-10 code starting with C) were captured by clinical record review and individually linked to data from the English National Cancer Registry. In cases of discrepancy, records were re-checked and a consensus decision made. Patients were censored at death, liver transplant, changed diagnosis to PBC, cessation of follow up, or on 1/1/2014. We excluded cancers diagnosed before or within 6 months of AIH diagnosis or >30 days after follow-up ceased. Standardised incidence ratios (SIR; first cancer only) were calculated, relative to age-gender adjusted UK population rates. For non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), we considered only the years 2000–13, as there was under-reporting of NMSC to the registry prior to this. We estimated (pre-cancer) duration and cumulative dose of azathioprine (received by 208 patients) and total duration of all (non-steroid only) IS drug therapy. Results Follow up was 12 (0.5–43 yr): total 3134 patient-years. There was development of (a) HCC in 10 patients (all with cirrhosis): SIR (95% CI) 41 (20–75); (b) lympho-proliferative cancer in 6 patients: SIR 2.94 (1.08–6.4: (c) ≥1 NMSC in 15 patients (2000–13): SIR 2.95 (1.65–4.87). SIR for all other extra-hepatic cancers remained above unity: 1.51 (1.07–2.07). Using a competing risks regression model, age-adjusted all-cancer risk was associated with duration (Hazard ratio (HR) 1.10 (1.01–1.20) and with cumulative dose (HR 1.07 (1.00–1.15) of azathioprine and with total duration of non-steroid IS therapy (HR 1.07 (1.01–1.14). Compared to those receiving non-steroid IS for <0.25 yr, age-adjusted all-cancer HR was 2.54 (1.13–5.72) and 8.71 (3.55–21.4) in those receiving IS for 0.25–10 yr and for >10 yr respectively. Conclusion Patients with AIH have increased risk of hepatic and extra-hepatic cancer, including lymphoproliferative and NMSC. This risk is associated with duration of non-steroid IS drug therapy. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


In this study, it is focused on the architectural theme and
 inductive methods of Carlo Scarpa. He creates a dialectic
 relationships between place and time and architecture
 through such methods of expression as representation,
 rhetoric, difference and continuance.
In consequence, he proposes his own architecture as a
continuous dialogue with pre-existence, which can be a kind of
 solution of recovery of history and place that are lost in the
 modern architecture.


In this study, it was the purpose to examine the potentiometric titrations of para and nitro substituted aromatic acids in methylethylketone (MEK) as a non-aqueous solvent. Good analytical results were obtained in determining the amount of each acid and the amounts of acids in their ternary mixtures by using 0.0964 N tetrabuthylammoniumhydroxyde (TBAH) as a standard titrant. Methylethylketone (MEK) which is a good solvent for many organic compounds and has a convenient liquid range of -86 to 80 °C was used for titration of the para and nitro substituted aromatic acids. A linear relationship has been found between pKa values of the para and nitro substituted aromatic acids in water and the half neutralization potential (HNP) values determined by potentiometric titration curves of the same acids in MEK.


Summary Small animal models have several advantageous characteristics, but those used in preclinical restenosis research have lacked efficacy in predicting the success of interventions to inhibit restenosis in humans. Large animal models have been more successful than small animal models in predicting efficacy of interventions to inhibit restenosis in humans, but the results of studies carried out with these models have not been uniformly predictive. Confirmation of the results of small animal studies in large animals has not always yielded information predictive of success in humans; however, the absence of such confirmation has had strong negative predictive value. Small animal models used for evaluation of interventions to inhibit luminal narrowing following arterial instrumentation have failed to closely simulate human atherosclerosis and the stenotic lesions subjected to instrumentation in humans. Transgenic, atherosclerotic animals hold promise for the development of more useful small animal models to study mechanisms of the response of diseased arteries to angioplasty and stents. The pig has been the most useful large animal to study stenosis/ restenosis, but more information is needed to overcome the limitations of this model.


Since power electronics converters behave nonlinearly, conventional control strategies such as PID are incapable of obtaining good dynamical performance. This paper addresses implemention of on-line trained neural networks for power electronics converters. A PWM boost converter is used as an example. Real-time implementation of the neural networks is accomplished by using a powerful digital signal processor. The converter is operated as a power amplifier and a power regulator. Both computer simulation and experimental results show that good dynamical performance can be obtained.<<ETX>>


Abstract Objectives Oxidative stress, commonly exposed in our daily life, produces free radicals. Excessively produced free radicals damage body components and eventually promote degenerative diseases. It has been reported that the reinforcement of superoxide dismutase (SOD), the first barrier of the antioxidant system, protects our body from oxidative stress by enhancing the subsequent redox cycle. The use of SOD, an enzymatic antioxidant rather than a simple antioxidant, is still insufficient to evaluate its safety and efficacy. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term consumption safety for enzymatic antioxidants and the effect of SOD supplementation on exercise-induced oxidative stress. Methods This study was designed as a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled in 80 healthy adults. The subjects consumed SOD (250 IU/capsule) daily for 8 weeks and induced oxidative stress via acute aerobic exercise at the beginning and end of the experimental period. The exercise challenge was performed on a treadmill for 30 minutes at an intensity of 60% of each subject's maximal oxygen consumption (VO2 max). Blood and urine samples have collected a total of three times, after overnight fasting, immediately after exercise, and after a 30-minute rest, which was used to evaluate the safety of long-term enzymatic antioxidant supplementation, as well as functional indicators of antioxidant systems and oxidative stress. Results Endogenous antioxidant defense systems, oxidative damage, and even antioxidant balance indicators were compared by considering the interaction between the group and status over time. A single intake of SOD significantly reduced the level of oxidative damage and inflammation indicators (P < 0.05) as it sequentially activated antioxidant enzymes (P < 0.10). Furthermore, long-term intake of SOD showed a stabilized defense response against the same oxidative stress load and improved balance between antioxidant enzymes immediately after exercise (P < 0.05) without any side effects. Conclusions These findings suggest that single and repeated supplementation of SOD may differently improve the antioxidant defense system without side effects. Funding Sources This work was supported by the BK21 Fostering Outstanding Universities for Research funded by the Ministry of Education (Korea) and the National Research Foundation of Korea.


We study energetics of a cooperative low-spin (L) to high-spin (H) transformation in a crystal with two sublattices, where thermo- and photo-induced symmetry-broken phases have been recently observed. The model takes into account an intra-dimer antiferromatic coupling and inter-dimer couplings. Cooperative activation processes for switching between LH and HL states and that from LL to HH states of a dimer are analyzed. It is shown that locally (within a dimer) preferred symmetry-broken, LH and HL, states compete with inter-dimer couplings, which stimulates dynamical disorder via a decrease in the energy barrier for a flip between asymmetric configurations. On the other hand, a locally non-preferred symmetric state (HH) is supported by inter-dimer interaction via a cooperative activation mechanism. We conclude that symmetry-broken states can form an intermediate thermo-induced phase or can be observed as a photo-induced one at low temperatures as a result of local equilibrium. The global equilibrium follow...


Background Hand involvement highly influences the activities of daily life in most patients with Systemic Sclerosis (SSc). Occupational therapy (OT) studies have rarely investigated for improving of hand function. Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness after one and three month of OT, based on a self-administered stretching program directed to maximize the hand performance during the activities of daily life using interview-based and self-administered questionnaires to assess hand function. Methods We enrolled 13 consecutive ScS patients, all female (mean age =62.8 yrs; mean disease duration =14.2 yrs) presenting a clinically evident hand involvement, characterized by pain and reduced range of motion. All patientshad a detailed clinical and laboratory assessment and their organ involvement was also investigated. All patients were evaluated by Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), with Duruoz Hand Index (DHI), HAQ and mental and physical SF36, at baseline, one and three months after having received instructions to finalize their activities on a self-administred stretching program. Results Eight (61,5%) patients had a diffuse form of SSc, while 5 (38,5%) had a limited form. All of them (100%) were ANA positive: 5 (38.5%) had anti-centromere and 5 (38.5%) had anti-topoisomerase I antibodies. Six (46%) patients had a modified Rodnan skin score over 14; digital ulcers were found in 5 (38.5%) cases. At the end of the one-month stretching program, there was a global improvement in the mean values of COPM performance (5,4 vs 6,32) (p=0,003) and satisfaction (6 vs 6,49) (p=0,04) and of total DHI (36 vs 29,3) (p=0,09). Mean values of HAQ assessment (1.71 vs 1.38) (p<0.01) and of mental (33.68 vs 41.03) (p<0.008) and physical (28.92 vs.31.75) SF36 scores also improved. The clinical benefit was confirmed after three month for COPM performance (5,4 vs 6,3) as well as for COPM satisfaction (6 vs 6,6) (p=0,06), for total DHI (36 vs 30) (p=0,08), for HAQ assessment (2,0 vs 1,3) (p=0,007), and for mental (33,68 vs 43,3) and physical (28,92 vs 29,3) (p=0,007) SF36 scores. Conclusions Our preliminary results show how successful OT together with stretching exercises of the hands can be on the health status and the emotional and physical personal perception of finger joint motion, thus improving quality of life and overall hand function in SSc patients. References Mugii N et al. J Rheumatol 2006; Mancuso T et al. J Hand Ther 2009;Poole JL Curr Op Rheumatol 2010. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


In this work we consider the problem of detecting anomalous spatio-temporal behavior in videos. Our approach is to learn the normative multiframe pixel joint distribution and detect deviations from it using a likelihood based approach. Due to the extreme lack of available training samples relative to the dimension of the distribution, we use a mean and covariance approach and consider methods of learning the spatio-temporal covariance in the low-sample regime. Our approach is to estimate the covariance using parameter reduction and sparse models. The first method considered is the representation of the covariance as a sum of Kronecker products as in (Greenewald et al 2013), which is found to be an accurate approximation in this setting. We propose learning algorithms relevant to our problem. We then consider the sparse multiresolution model of (Choi et al 2010) and apply the Kronecker product methods to it for further parameter reduction, as well as introducing modifications for enhanced efficiency and greater applicability to spatio-temporal covariance matrices. We apply our methods to the detection of crowd behavior anomalies in the University of Minnesota crowd anomaly dataset, and achieve competitive results.


Efficient compression of omnidirectional video is important for emerging virtual reality applications. To compress this kind of video, each frame is projected to a 2D plane [e.g., equirectangular projection (ERP) map] first, adapting to the input format of existing video coding systems. At the display side, an inverse projection is applied to the reconstructed video to restore signals in spherical domain. Such a projection, however, makes presentation and encoding in different domains. Thus, an encoder agnostic to the projection performs inefficiently. In this paper, we analyze how a projection influences the distortion measurements in different domains. Based on the analysis, we propose a scheme to optimize the encoding process based on signals' distortion in spherical domain. With the proposed optimization, an average 4.31% (up to 9.67%) luma BD-rate reduction is achieved for ERP in random access configuration. The corresponding bit saving is averagely 10.84% (up to 34.44%) when considering the viewing field being $\pi /2$ . The proposed method also benefits other projections and viewport settings, with a marginal complexity increase.


GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT Abstract A number of unsymmetrical heteroaryl 4-picolyl selenides have been prepared by lithiation of 4-picoline using lithium diisopropylamide under cryogenic conditions. The intermediate 4-lithiopicoline formed was then reacted with elemental selenium followed by the addition of suitable electrophiles to give 4-picolyl alkyl selenides. 4-Lithiopicoline was also made to react directly with diaryl/dibenzyl diselenide to yield mixed 4-picolyl aryl/benzyl selenides. All these hitherto unknown selenides were characterized through various spectroscopic techniques viz., NMR (1H, 13C, 77Se), IR and mass spectrometry.


The concentration of adenine (ATP, ADP, AMP) and pyridine (NADP+, NADPH, NAD+, NADH) nucleotides in the erythrocytes of subjects affected by solid tumors was evaluated using a method which allows their simultaneous extraction and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatographic analysis. The results showed a lower level of ATP in the erythrocytes of subjects affected by solid tumors, whereas no significant modifications were observed in the other compounds. In fact, the mean value of ATP in these subjects was 27 % lower than that of normal adults. This fact is discussed in relation to other enzymatic and metabolic modifications previously observed in red blood cells.


INTRODUCTION
Familial hemiplegic migraine is a rare subtype of migraine with aura that includes, as it progresses, a motor defect together with visual or sensory symptoms or speech disorders. It may be associated to symptoms such as basilar migraine, coma and convulsions. Familial hemiplegic migraine type 2 accounts for 25% of them.

CASE REPORTS
Two patients, who started at the age of 4 years with episodes of motor deficits or seizures, together with an important sensory disorder that lasted for hours, which were sometimes triggered by banal traumatic injuries. A detailed description of the clinical and developmental features, as well as the studies conducted, is provided. The genetic study revealed mutations in gene ATP1A2: in one case this consisted in a nucleotide substitution in exon 18 (G2501A) that had already been reported, while in the other case there was a previously unknown change (c.381+3 G>T) in intron 4.

CONCLUSIONS
We recommend that this condition should be suspected when a disagreement between the duration or the severity of the seizures and the duration and characteristics of the ensuing stupor is detected.


In order to improve the care conditions of elderly patients at the Saint-Nicolas hospital in Angers, two health care techniques have been developed: the diffusion of essential oils and a relaxing massage. We have evaluated their effect on patients and their caregivers and a certain number of advantages have been demonstrated.


Background Obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus often develop obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS). In this study, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) was initiated in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus who developed OSAS during treatment with a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitor, and the effect of the SGLT2 inhibitor therapy on the patients was investigated. Methods The study was conducted in outpatients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with serum hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values of ≥ 6.5% who developed OSAS. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they were receiving treatment with an SGLT2 inhibitor or with other oral hypoglycemic agents: the SGLT2 inhibitor group (n = 9) and non-SGLT2 inhibitor group (n = 7). The patients in the former group were under treatment with one of the following three SGLT2 inhibitors: luseogliflozin (2.5 mg/day), dapagliflozin (5 mg/day) and empagliflozin (10 mg/day). The patients took the drugs once daily, before or after breakfast. The patients were initiated on CPAP therapy for OSAS, and their weight, body mass index (BMI), serum HbA1c level, lipid profile, liver function parameters, serum uric acid, and apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) measured before the initiation of CPAP therapy (baseline) were compared with the values measured 3 months after the start of CPAP therapy. Results The AHI decreased significantly after 3 months of CPAP therapy, as compared to that at the baseline, in both the SGLT2 inhibitor and non-SGLT2 inhibitor groups. There was no significant change in the serum HbA1c value after 3 months of CPAP therapy as compared to that at the baseline in either group. The body weight and BMI increased significantly after 3 months of CPAP therapy in the SGLT2 inhibitor group, but not in the non-SGLT2 inhibitor group. Conclusion The body weight and BMI increased significantly after 3 months of CPAP therapy initiated for OSAS in the type 2 diabetic patients who were receiving SGLT2 inhibitor therapy. Thus, when CPAP therapy is adopted for an obese diabetic patient with OSAS, it should be borne in mind that the body weight may increase if the patient is receiving SGLT2 inhibitor treatment.


The overall architecture of an RNA can be predicted with acceptable accuracy using established computational methods, such as those implemented in the MFold or the RNAFold software. This opens the door for a rational design of RNA molecules, to serve as building blocks in synthetic biology, or as novel therapeutic agents. To that purpose, one must solve the inverse folding problem, i.e. construct an RNA sequence which adopts a specific secondary structure according to established structure prediction methods. However, contrasting with the prediction task, the underlying computational structure of inverse folding is poorly understood, and existing tools either fail to return admissible sequences for some structures, or require extraordinary computational resources. Consequently, the field of RNA bioinformatics is currently craving for both practical and theoretically-sound approaches for the problem.
 In this talk, I will introduce the many flavors of the RNA design problem and illustrate its relevance to the objectives of modern (synthetic) biology. I will outline the strengths and shortcomings of selected approaches, and will briefly present recently contributed methods, developed with collaborators at Univ McGill (Canada), Wuhan Univ. (China) and Univ. Paris-Sud. If time allows, I will also mention results recently obtained with collaborators at Simon Fraser University, which characterize large subclasses of (un)designable secondary structures in simple energy models. These results are currently being extended to more realistic energy models, and could serve as a foundation for exact, computationally-efficient, solutions for RNA design.


Scientists face many severe challenges in extracting value from the increasingly large volumes of data they generate. In this paper we describe the requirements we have derived from working across a wide range of e-science projects. In particular, the CARMEN neuroinformatics project has exposed a range of challenges due to a need to analyse and share large volumes of data. We have identified the four key activities required by scientists with whom we work, and designed an integrated system—e-Science Central—to provide them. This exploits three emerging technologies: software as a service to avoid the need for users to deploy and maintain any of their own software; social networking to allow users to collaborate by sharing data, services and workflows in a controlled manner and Cloud computing to provide scalable compute resources. The system can not only be used through any web browser, but also provides an API so that applications can build on the core functionality. We describe the requirements, and the design that flows from them. This includes data storage with in-built versioning and signing, an in-browser workflow editor and a job scheduling system that allows workflows to be run both on local 'private' clouds and the Microsoft Azure Cloud. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Subjects were shown photographs of UK MPs' faces and asked to judge their political affiliations. Participants were unable to correctly distinguish between Conservative and Labour politicians. However, their responses were used to create computer-generated idealised faces representative of each party, which independent evaluators could correctly identify. These faces give an indication of the mental images we might reference when imagining MPs from the two main UK political parties.


An ethnomedicinal plant, Memecylon umbellatum Burm. f., was investigated for preliminary phytochemical screening and antimicrobial activity. Preliminary phytochemical screening of various extracts of the leaves revealed the presence of various classes of compounds such as amino acids, carbohydrates, flavonoids, gum, oil & resins, proteins, phenolic groups, saponins, steroids, tannins and terpenoids. Bioassay of antimicrobial activity of leaves of petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanol extracts showed significant activity against the human pathogens such as Streptococcus pneumoniae causing brain abscesses, pneumonia and septic arthritis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa causing urinary tract infections and septicaemia, Salmonella typhi causing typhoid fever, Vibrio species causing diarrheal infections and the fungus Candida albicans. The antimicrobial activity of the petroleum ether, chloroform and ethanolic leaf extract showed concentration-dependent activity against all the tested bacteria with the zone of inhibition at various concentrations. Thus the findings revealed the medicinal potential of Memecylon umbellatum against various infectious diseases to develop a drug.


PurposeThe objective of this study was to examine the impact of the pandemic on sustainable agricultural practices (SAP) adoption such as: organic fertilizers, minimal use of tillage, crop rotation, soil burning and crop association in the frame of family farming systems in Ecuador.Design/methodology/approachThe present research employed probit models' estimation with pooled data from 2018 to 2020. The study combined three sources of information with The Survey on Surface and Agricultural Continuous Production, as the main. This study also proposed the analysis of six regions: Coast, Coast Mountains, Northern Highlands, Central Highlands, Southern Highlands and the Amazon.FindingsThe authors see a lower adoption in the year 2020, where the pandemic was one of the causes. The only exception was the use of organic fertilizer. The adoption of these sustainable practices differed across the six regions. The findings also reveal that the employment generated by agricultural enterprises had a negative influence on the adoption of three sustainable practices, and that for the remaining practices the effect was positive.Research limitations/implicationsThe data set lacks information on the acceptance and the application of the practices promoted by agricultural technical assistance, which could provide insights into the effectiveness of the learning process. The limited observation period does not allow for investigating long-term effects on sustainable practices adoption.Originality/valueThis study helps to understand the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic in the adoption of SAP. Additionally, this research can help with the scalability of the practices starting from the regions that are most likely to adopt each of them.


Research shows that low albumin is correlated with higher morbidity and mortality in the dialysis population. The reasons for this are multi-factorial and may be related to inadequate protein intake, infection and sepsis, inadequate dialysis, or catabolism of uremia. USRDS data show that ESRD Network 16 tends to have lower albumins compared to other ESRD Networks.

Objective:  To evaluate albumin status of HD patients at Puget Sound Kidney Centers, Everett, WA (ESRD Network 16) and identify potential factors that may put patients at risk of hypoalbuminemia.

Methods:  Clinical and biochemical data were collected for 3 months on 221 HD patients. Data included serum albumin (bromcresol purple), calcium, phosphorus, CO2, Hct, % saturation, ferritin, PTH, BUN, Kt/V, URR, nPCR, hours of HD treatment, interdialytic fluid weight gains, DW changes, incidence of infection and hospitalization, catheter use for dialysis access, presence of diabetes and other co-morbidities, dialyzer reuse, social/psychological status, and use of nutrition supplements. All biochemical data were collected after the longest interdialytic period and analyzed at the same reference laboratory. Data were averaged for each patient for the 3 months and correlations between parameters were determined using Chi-square analysis.

Results:  25% of all patients had albumins <3.2 g/dL (reference range for normal population 3.5–5.0 g/dL). Patients with lower albumins were significantly more likely to have DM (p < 0.02), use catheters for HD access (p < 0.001), had infections during the previous month (p < 0.001), been hospitalized during the previous month (p < 0.002), have co-morbid issues (p < 0.001), and use nutrition supplements (p < 0.002). No other factors were significantly correlated with lower albumin.

Conclusion:  Factors other than nutrition seem to be related to hypoalbuminemia. This study has prompted improved protocols for catheter care and use, infection control, and early intervention for nutrition supplement use. Increased screening and monitoring at-risk patients (those with diabetes and other co-morbid conditions) has resulted in improved patient care.


Background In this study, we analyzed incidences of VTE in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) after total knee or hip arthroplasty, compared schemes of drug prevention and evaluated their efficiency. Objectives To evaluate the efficiency of prevention of VTE in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis after total knee replacement under comparable conditions Methods We studied 151 patients operated in V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology for the period 2014–2015. Of these, 72 patients with RA (47.7%) and 79 patients with OA (52.3%). For a comparative analysis of the efficiency of anticoagulant therapy, each patient group was divided into 2 subgroups by type of drug therapy. The first - nadroparin calcium (the drug therapy was started for 12 hours after the operation at a dose of 0.1 ml per 10 kg of body weight one time per day), the second - nadroparin calcium with transfer to dabigatran etexilate (the first stage of 4 hours after the operation was started therapy by nadroparin calcium, and then after the removal of the epidural catheter moved to the dabigatran etexilate).Doppler ultrasonography (DUS) was routinely performed preoperatively and on postoperative day 7, 14, then 1 time a month for diagnosing a deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Time of observation was 6 months. Results VTE were reported in 6 (3.9%) patients, 1 of them (0.7%) with RA and 5 (3.3%) with OA. Distal deep vein thrombosis developed on 15 days after total knee replacement in RA patient. He received nadroparin calcium only. 4 patients with VTE after surgery from OA group used nadroparin calcium and 1 patient was on combined drug therapy. Of the 6 cases of VTE 4 (66.7%) were asymptomatic and 2 (33.3%) with development of clinical and laboratory picture. The case of thrombosis in a group of RA was asymptomatic. In a perioperative period of clinically significant bleeding was not seen. Conclusions Cases of VTE in patients with RA, despite the large number of risk factors, under comparable conditions is significantly lower than patients with OA. The number of asymptomatic deep vein thrombosis prevails over the development of clinical and laboratory complex of symptoms in both groups. In patients with RA and OA who were from the first group have reported 5 cases of VTE and only 1 case of VTE have reported in patients who were from second group. Combined drug VTE prevention in patients with RA and OA has been most effective and safe. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Rats were fed a 0% casein diet for 1 week, with or without enteral or parenteral administration of essential amino acids, or a 25% casein diet, in one group supplemented with 5-fluorouracil treatment. Ninety minutes before sacrifice the rats were given a tracer of [3H]orotic acid. Incorporation into the acid soluble fraction, RNA, and DNA was determined in liver, small intestine, bone marrow, and kidney. Nucleotide profile was examined in liver and intestine. Protein deficiency caused inter alia a decrease in body weight; a decrease in RNA/DNA ratio and an increase in the specific RNA labeling in liver and kidney; an altered nucleotide profile in the liver; an increase in the nucleotide/DNA and RNA/DNA ratios and a decrease in the specific labeling of the acid soluble fraction, RNA, and DNA in the bone marrow. These changes were prevented to the same extent by giving essential amino acids, either orally or intravenously. The minor changes in intestinal nucleotide profile in protein deprivation were prevented to a slightly larger extent by amino acids orally than parenterally. 5-Fluorouracil treatment gave a decrease in the RNA/DNA ratio in the liver and kidney but an increase in the nucleotide/DNA and RNA/DNA ratios in the bone marrow. Nucleotide profiles were unaltered. The amount of DNA per gram of tissue decreased in bone marrow and increased in kidney. Parenteral administration per se resulted in almost no changes.


: This article presents results of a study based on the analysis of the development of the theory of reliability whose indicators are formulated indicators of transport systems reliability and contributed to building a system of factors determining their reliability. It is established that the formation of the theory of reliability of transport systems today is not completed. Based on the specifics of the systems, new reliability indicators were proposed and substantiated such as emergency downtime and reliability of emergency downtime. On the basis of the performed studies, it was found that the specifics of the transport process require the introduction of emergency downtime close to the recovery time and the reliability of emergency downtime. It is necessary to introduce two close parameters such as the average recovery time and the average emergency idle time. They are associated with the need to distinguish between the idle time of a technological system, or a separate element when a failure occurs, and the idle time that is needed. For the technological links of the transport system, the main purpose of which is to ensure efficient operation transport process, the probability of emergency downtime can serve as a criterion for assessing their reliability.


Summary Background. The electrode Activa 3389 is widely implanted for deep brain stimulation (DBS) and MRI is often used to control the position of the electrode. However, induced distorsion artifacts may result in imprecise localization and may lead to misinterpretations of the clinical effects and mechanisms of DBS. Methods. In vitro 3D MR study: the proximal and distal contacts of one electrode were spotted by two localizers. The maximal artifact height (MAH) and width (MAW: measured on distal contact), and the distances between the artifact and the localizers (proximal, distal and lateral) were measured on 2 transverse and sagittal MR sequences with 90 degrees rotation of frequency-encoded gradient and phase direction. In vivo 3D MR study: coronal and sagittal reconstructions along the main axis of the electrode were performed on 10 postoperative MR (20 electrodes) to measure MAH and MAW. A Student t test was used to compare in vitro and in vivo measurements. Findings. In vitro study: A MAH of 10.35 mm (� 0.23) and MAW of 3.6 mm (� 0.2) were found. We measured symmetrical extensions of the artifact over the distal contact. In vivo study: A MAH of 10.36 mm (� 0.44) and MAW of 3.56 mm (� 0.30) were obtained. No significant different artifact dimensions were measured between in vitro and in vivo studies (p < 0.0001). Interpretation. Precise 3D localization of the electrode in implanted patients is provided by MR identification of the limits of the distal contact artifact. The position of the other contacts is deduced given the size of the contacts and the intercontact distance.


The discrete element method (DEM) and the moving particle semi-implicit (MPS) method are the most popular mesh-free particle methods in the discontinuum and continuum. This paper describes a state-of-the-art modeling on multi-phase flows using these mesh-free particle methods. Herein, a combinational model of the signed distance function (SDF) and immersed boundary method (IBM) is introduced for an arbitrary-shaped wall boundary in the DEM simulation. Practically, this model uses a simple operation to create the wall boundary. Although the SDF is a scalar field for the wall boundary of the DEM, it is useful for the wall boundary of the CFD through combination with the IBM. Validation tests are carried out to demonstrate the adequacy of the SDF/IBM wall boundary model. Regarding the mesh-free particle method for continuum, the phase change problem is one of the challenging topics, as the solid state is usually modeled by extremely high viscous fluid in the phase change simulation. The phase change simulation is shown to be efficiently performed through an implicit algorithm and a heat flux model in the MPS method. The adequacy of these models is verified by the numerical examples.


A recently discovered generalized Gribov-Lipatov reciprocity holds for the anomalous dimensions of various twist operators in Script N = 4 SYM. Here, we consider a class of scaling operators that reduce at one-loop to twist-3 maximal helicity gluonic operators. We extract from the asymptotic long-range Bethe Ansatz a closed expression for the spin dependent anomalous dimension at four loop order and provide a complete proof of reciprocity. We comment about the interplay with possible, yet unknown, wrapping corrections.


Specular reflections create artifacts in endoscopic images, which may lead to misdiagnosis. In this paper, we propose a method for robust removal of specular reflections by using a thresholding technique in each of the RGB channels to segment the specular reflections from images. We further use dilation to ensure full local segmentation and inpainting to replace the areas of reflections with non-specular regions. Our method also provides a visibility enhancement feature to improve the decreased brightness due to the reflection removal by using the gamma-correction, histogram shift, and histogram equalization. On the Iparkmall Clinic dataset, our method has achieved average Peak-to-Signal-Noise Ratio (PSNR) of 42.62dB with a standard deviation of 5.80 dB and a minimum value of 23.3 dB. The average processing time was 219ms, enabling average 4 5 frames per second (FPS) processing speed on an Intel i7 processor.


Abstract. The collapse of a steel structure required a detailed analysis of the reasons for the catastrophe. Several parts of the whole process of the design and construction had to be assessed. The results of this analysis are presented. Furthermore it will be shown how the design process, the autonomous checking procedure of the structural design, the workmanship, the construction on the erection side, the material characteristics as well as human failure affect the failure.


Abstract STUDY QUESTION Are there age-related differences in gene expression during the germinal vesicle (GV) to metaphase II (MII) stage transition in euploid human oocytes? SUMMARY ANSWER A decrease in mitochondrial-related transcripts from GV to MII oocytes was observed, with a much greater reduction in MII oocytes with advanced age. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Early embryonic development is dependent on maternal transcripts accumulated and stored within the oocyte during oogenesis. Transcriptional activity of the oocyte, which dictates its ultimate developmental potential, may be influenced by age and explain the reduced competence of advanced maternal age (AMA) oocytes compared with the young maternal age (YMA). Gene expression has been studied in human and animal oocytes; however, RNA sequencing could provide further insights into the transcriptome profiling of GV and in vivo matured MII euploid oocytes of YMA and AMA patients. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Fifteen women treated for infertility in a single IVF unit agreed to participate in this study. Five GV and 5 MII oocytes from 6, 21–26 years old women (YMA cohort) and 5 GV and 6 MII oocytes from 6, 41–44 years old women (AMA cohort) undergoing IVF treatment were donated. The samples were collected within a time frame of 4 months. RNA was isolated and deep sequenced at the single-cell level. All donors provided either GV or MII oocytes. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Cumulus dissection from donated oocytes was performed 38 h after hCG injection, denuded oocytes were inserted into lysis buffer supplemented with RNase inhibitor. The samples were stored at −80°C until further use. Isolated RNA from GV and MII oocytes underwent library preparation using an oligo deoxy-thymidine (dT) priming approach (SMART-Seq v4 Ultra Low Input RNA assay; Takara Bio, Japan) and Nextera XT DNA library preparation assay (Illumina, USA) followed by deep sequencing. Data processing, quality assessment and bioinformatics analysis were performed using source-software, mainly including FastQC, HISAT2, StringTie and edgeR, along with functional annotation analysis, while scploid R package was employed to determine the ploidy status. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Following deep sequencing of single GV and MII oocytes in both YMA and AMA cohorts, several hundred transcripts were found to be expressed at significantly different levels. When YMA and AMA MII oocyte transcriptomes were compared, the most significant of these were related to mitochondrial structure and function, including biological processes, mitochondrial respiratory chain complex I assembly and mitochondrial translational termination (false discovery rate (FDR) 6.0E−10 to 1.2E−7). These results indicate a higher energy potential of the YMA MII cohort that is reduced with ageing. Other biological processes that were significantly higher in the YMA MII cohort included transcripts involved in the translation process (FDR 1.9E−2). Lack of these transcripts could lead to inappropriate protein synthesis prior to or upon fertilisation of the AMA MII oocytes. LARGE SCALE DATA The RNA sequencing data were deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo), under the accession number: GSE164371. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION The relatively small sample size could be a reason for caution. However, the RNA sequencing results showed homogeneous clustering with low intra-group variation and five to six biological replicates derived from at least three different women per group minimised the potential impact of the sample size. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Understanding the effects of ageing on the oocyte transcriptome could highlight the mechanisms involved in GV to MII transition and identify biomarkers that characterise good MII oocyte quality. This knowledge has the potential to guide IVF regimes for AMA patients. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by the Medical Research Council (MRC Grant number MR/K020501/1).


A theoretical analysis of the influence of the substrate on the gauge factor of polymer thick-film (PTF) resistors is presented. The main advantage of PTFs is the wide range of substrates that can be used, including flexible polymers such as Mylar polyester. Nevertheless, polymer substrates are not always the optimum PTF carrier. It will be shown that their high Poisson's ratio and low Young's modulus may actually degrade the use of PTFs as strain gauges. New gauge factors are proposed, the planar GFxy and the hydrostatic GFh, which are favoured by polymer substrates and have high values compared to the longitudinal gauge factor GFL.


We investigate spatially flat isotropic cosmological models which contain a scalar field with an exponential potential and a perfect fluid with a linear equation of state. We include an interaction term, through which the energy of the scalar field is transferred to the matter fields, consistent with a term that arises from scalar–tensor theory under a conformal transformation and field redefinition. The governing ordinary differential equations reduce to a dynamical system when appropriate normalized variables are defined. We analyse the dynamical system and find that the interaction term can significantly affect the qualitative behaviour of the models. The late-time behaviour of these models may be of cosmological interest. In particular, for a specific range of values for the model parameters there are late-time attracting solutions, corresponding to a novel attracting equilibrium point, which are inflationary and in which the scalar field's energy-density remains a fixed fraction of the matter field's energy density. These scalar field models may be of interest as late-time cosmologies, particularly in view of the recent observations of the current accelerated cosmic expansion. For appropriate values of the interaction coupling parameter, this equilibrium point is an attracting focus, and hence as inflating solutions approach this late-time attractor the scalar field oscillates. Hence these models may also be of importance in the study of inflation in the early universe.


We show that existing upsampling operators can be unified using the notion of the index function. This notion is inspired by an observation in the decoding process of deep image matting where indices-guided unpooling can often recover boundary details considerably better than other upsampling operators such as bilinear interpolation. By viewing the indices as a function of the feature map, we introduce the concept of 'learning to index', and present a novel index-guided encoder-decoder framework where indices are self-learned adaptively from data and are used to guide the pooling and upsampling operators, without extra training supervision. At the core of this framework is a flexible network module, termed IndexNet, which dynamically generates indices conditioned on the feature map. Due to its flexibility, IndexNet can be used as a plug-in applying to almost all off-the-shelf convolutional networks that have coupled downsampling and upsampling stages. We demonstrate the effectiveness of IndexNet on the task of natural image matting where the quality of learned indices can be visually observed from predicted alpha mattes. Results on the Composition-1k matting dataset show that our model built on MobileNetv2 exhibits at least 16.1% improvement over the seminal VGG-16 based deep matting baseline, with less training data and lower model capacity. Code and models have been made available at: https://tinyurl.com/IndexNetV1.


Summary Background The number of young smokers is increasing, and hence their risk of respiratory problems. This risk is exacerbated by their low level of physical activity, which also reduces lung function. This study aimed to determine differences in lung function and levels of physical activity between smokers and non-smokers. Method This research was conducted from October 2019 to January 2020. The research design was cross-sectional, and a purposive sampling method was used. Pulmonary function was measured by means of spirometry, while physical activity was measured through a modified International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). Results We enrolled 124 university students: 62 smokers and 62 non-smokers. A significant difference in lung function values (< 70 vs ≥ 70) was observed between smokers and non-smokers (p = 0.00). No difference (p = 0.907) in the level of physical activity was seen between smokers and non-smokers, with most subjects in both groups displaying moderate levels. Conclusions Students who smoked had more respiratory problems than those who did not. Although the level of physical activity did not correlate with respiratory problems, these problems were more common in the vigorous catgory.


Objectives: This study examined the factors influencing fatigue during pregnancy. Methods: This was a cross sectional descriptive study on 89 pregnant women who visited a community health center. We collected data during the period between May and August in 2010. The instruments used in this study were demographic data, multidimensional assessment of fatigue (MAF) scale, Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), Brief Encounter Pschychosocial (BEPSI-K) scale, marital satisfaction scale, and the visual analogue sleep satisfaction scale. The MAF scale indicated fatigue, which was considered serious if the score was high. The EPDS scale indicated depression, which was considered serious if the score was high. The BEPSI-K scale indicated the stress level, which showed a high score if the stress was seriously high. Results: There was a significant difference in the fatigue among pregnant women of ages, jobs, and gestational durations. Fatigue was positively correlated with depression and stress and negatively correlated with marital satisfaction and sleep satisfaction. The factors significantly associated with fatigue in the regression model were sleep satisfaction, stress, and gestational duration. Conclusion: Fatigue was a common complaint among women during pregnancy. It is important that nurses recognize fatigue as a real problem during pregnancy and develop strategies to cope with fatigue.


ABSTRACT Yang, X.; Wang, J.; Weng, S.G.; Hou, M.; Zhang, X.Y., and Wang, T.S., 2020. Establishment of Design Hyetographs of 24-hour duration using a bivariate Gumbel-Hougaard copula. In: Guido Aldana, P.A. and Kantamaneni, K. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Coastal Management, and Marine Science Technology. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 104, pp. 166–171. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Design hyetograph with a given return period and selected combinations of rainfall depth, peak intensity and duration, is widely used in engineering design. Recent hydrologic studies on multivariate stochastic analysis of extreme rainfall event have shown that these variables related to design hyetograph are partially correlated, and that copulas perform well for multivariate problems. Therefore, the main aim of the study is to develop a new method using Gumbel-Hougaard copula to construct design hyetograph. Firstly fixing the rainfall duration and rainfall return period, then the pairs total rainfall depth-the corresponding peak can be determined using a specified conditional risk probability, finally the dimensionless hyetograph is scaled to fit the specified design total rainfall depth and the corresponding peak. Shenzhen (China) was chosen for case study, and T-year (50-yr, 100-yr, 200-yr) design hyetographs of 24 h duration were discussed. The proposed method provides an effective rule to optimize the choices for the design hyetograph variables.


The issue of con fl icts of interests has for a long time only been mentioned in passing in relation to recusals of international judges or arbitrators. It now attracts increasing attention, which has two facets. The fi rst one is of normalcy: the exponential growth of international adjudication over the last three decades has turned issues that were previously rather marginal — with few rules, mostly self-regulation, and little institutionalization — into sys-temic issues. The other dimension is pathological: the feeling that the issue is not properly addressed contributes to the climate of mistrust around international adjudication. More generally, the topic of con fl icts of interests turns out to be constantly torn between opposite poles, such as integrity versus quality. These dialectic tensions, which challenge the concept of what makes a good judge or arbitrator, pervade the perception of con fl icts of interests as well as their identi fi cation and management. Con fl icts of interests are an inherently ambiguous issue and exist in a gray zone. The complexity of this phenomenon requires both fi ne-tuned and rigorous regulation through the use of an array of tools and reforms.


In this paper, the stiffness characteristics and the kinematics response of the face of human cadaver are reported. Impact tests with human specimens are necessary to study the biomechanical response to impact, injury mechanisms and injury criteria. To complete existing test data, both INRETS-LBMC (France) and the University of Heidelberg (UNH, Germany) performed impact tests on human cadavers. This work, mainly funded by the European Commission (EC), is part of the task 2.1, of the ADRIA programme (Advanced crash Dummy Research tor Injury Assessment in frontal test conditions). About sixty (including twenty-four funded by the EC) impact tests were performed on fifteen cadavers by INRETS-LBMC. The impacts were delivered by an impactor simulating a steering wheel rim, to the forehead and to the upper maxilla at an angle to the fore-aft vertical (sagittal) plane in order to represent typical accident conditions. The UNH carried out a total of eight tests on four cadavers (funded by the EC). Each cadaver received a padded impact on the left face side and a rigid impact on the right face side. The head kinematics were recorded by high speed film, and the force and the acceleration of the impactor were measured. The paper presents the results of human cadaver tests, including test conditions and sustained injuries, linear and angular acceleration-time histories, force-time histories, kinematics analysis, injury mechanics and medical findings. (A) For the covering abstract of the conference see ITRD E203643.


Title of Document: MATURITY IN READING, REVISITED: A CLOSER LOOK AT ADULT COMPETENT AND MATURE READING Emily Fox PhD 2012 Directed By: Professor Patricia A. Alexander, Department of Human Development This study investigated the nature of higher-level reading development in adults. Theories of reading development vary in what they identify as the desired endpoints of reading development, with one key difference being whether reading is fundamentally seen as instrumental for accomplishing tasks or as a mode of personal growth. Difficulties associated with understanding higher-level reading development from the point of view of reading as essentially instrumental include the conflict between understandings of higher-level reading development as increasingly specialized and understandings of higher-level reading development as involving consistency of reading performance, even in situations of low knowledge or interest. Gray and Rogers (1956) conducted a study of maturity in reading in which they considered the full flowering of the potential of reading to be the engagement in reading as a form of self-development. This study revisited Gray and Rogers's investigation and expanded upon it by including additional relevant aspects of reading maturity derived from consideration of other theories of reading development and the theoretical and empirical literature on higher-level reading development and by focusing on graduate students as competent and potentially mature readers. The current qualitative, descriptive study aimed at seeing what shape mature and competent reading take with regard to the associated experiences, habits, perceptions, ideas, attitudes, behaviors, and cross-situational reading performance of adult readers with strong academic experience and active regular experience of challenging, specialized reading. Reader profiles were created that highlighted aspects of the data that distinguished possible reading maturity, and three individual and more elaborated exemplary case studies were developed based on those profiles. Finally, descriptions of the underlying phenomena of reading maturity and reading competence were developed. Reading maturity was seen to have the essential character of critical openness, to pursue reading for self-development, and to involve a unified view of reading. Reading competence was seen to have the essential character of being schooled, to pursue reading for task-completion or escape, and to involve the dichotomization of reading into effortful, information-gathering reading of nonfiction for school and pleasurable, entertainment-seeking reading of fiction for personal purposes. In addition, reading competence was seen to take two forms, a generalized crosssituational reading capability, and a situationally-reliant reading that depended on familiarity and interest to support successful reading. This latter form was also connected to the high competence associated with expertise. MATURITY IN READING, REVISITED: A CLOSER LOOK AT ADULT COMPETENT AND MATURE READING


This paper reports for the first time on successful atomization and pumping using microfabricated silicon-based high frequency ultrasonic nozzles of a novel design. The nozzle is made of a piezoelectric drive section with transducers isolated from the liquid and a silicon-resonator consisting of multiple Fourier horns with a central channel for liquid flow. Such nozzles possess a number of advantages over conventional metal-based bulk-type ultrasonic nozzles such as microelectromechanical-system (MEMS)-based microfabrication technology for mass production, much higher ultrasonic frequency and thus much smaller drop diameter, much narrower drop-size distribution, and much lower electric drive power requirement. Monodispersed droplets (mist) are produced at the resonance frequency due to pure capillary wave atomization mechanism. For example, more than 93% of the droplets 7.0 mum in diameter were produced at ultrasonic resonance frequency of 484.5 kHz. Pumping is also achieved at the resonance frequency as in atomization


Rodent stroke models are important for evaluating treatments and understanding the pathophysiology and behavioral changes of brain ischemia, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a valuable tool for measuring outcome in preclinical studies. Brain extraction is an essential first step in most neuroimaging pipelines; however, it can be challenging in the presence of severe pathology and when dataset quality is highly variable. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) can improve accuracy and reduce operator time, facilitating high throughput preclinical studies. As part of an ongoing preclinical stroke imaging study, we developed a deep-learning mouse brain extraction tool by using a U-net CNN. While previous studies have evaluated U-net architectures, we sought to evaluate their practical performance across data types. We ask how performance is affected with data across: six imaging centers, two time points after experimental stroke, and across four MRI contrasts. We trained, validated, and tested a typical U-net model on 240 multimodal MRI datasets including quantitative multi-echo T2 and apparent diffusivity coefficient (ADC) maps, and performed qualitative evaluation with a large preclinical stroke database (N=1,368). We describe the design and development of this system, and report our findings linking data characteristics to segmentation performance. We consistently found high accuracy and ability of the U-net architecture to generalize performance in a range of 95-97% accuracy, with only modest reductions in performance based on lower fidelity imaging hardware and brain pathology. This work can help inform the design of future preclinical rodent imaging studies and improve their scalability and reliability.


This case note analyses the decision of the Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) in which it has unconditionally cleared in Phase I the acquisition of the sole control of SanDisk by Western…