An addition circuit for adding two decibel measurements received at input terminals 12 and 14, first substracts the inputs in a subtractor circuit 16 to obtain a difference d. Then, based upon the magnitude of the difference d, the addition circuit determines the value of 10 log [1+10 d/10 ] or 20 log [1+10 d/20 ] in a read-only memory circuit 20. A selector circuit 24 determines which of the two input decibel measurements is the larger and controls the complementer circuit 18 so that the value of the difference d is always negative. The output of the read-only memory circuit 20 is added to the larger of the two input in an adder 22.


Density-based clustering can identify clusters with irregular shapes and has intuitive interpretations, but struggles with large-dimensional data due to the curse of dimensionality. We introduce a graph-based clustering framework called Skeleton Clustering to adopt density-based clustering idea to multivariate and even high-dimensional data. The proposed framework constructs a graph representation of the data as a first step and combines prototype methods, density-based clustering, and hierarchical clustering. We propose surrogate density measures based on the skeleton graph that are less dependent on the dimension and have meaningful geometric interpretations. We show by empirical studies that the proposed skeleton clustering method leads to reliable clusters in multivariate and even high-dimensional data with irregular shapes.


142 Introduction: Polymorphisms in genes in the nucleotide excision repair (NER) and base excision repair (BER) pathways have been described that may lead to differential DNA repair capacity. In the absence of chemotherapy, decreased DNA repair may lead to increased accumulation of genetic mutations in tumor cells, increased biologic aggressiveness, and worse survival. Methods: We evaluated the relationship between DNA repair polymorphisms and overall survival (OS) among patients with early stage NSCLC treated with surgical resection at Massachusetts General Hospital from 1992 to 2001. Analysis was restricted to patients who did not receive any neoadjuvant or adjuvant treatment. We specifically investigated the polymorphisms XRCC1 Arg399Gln, hOGG1 Ser326Cys, APE1 Asp148Glu, ERCC2 Asp312Asn, ERCC2 Lys751Gln, and ERCC1 8092C/A, from the BER and NER pathways. Analyses of genotype associations with survival outcomes were performed using Cox proportional hazards models and Kaplan-Meier methods and the log-rank test. Results: There were 430 patients. Median age was 69 years (range 31-89). 49% were women. 238 (55%) were Stage IA, 134 (31%) were Stage IB, 10 (2%) were Stage IIA, and 48 (11%) were Stage IIB. The histologies were: 48% adenocarcinoma, 29% squamous cell, 12% bronchioalveolar, 5% large cell, and 6% NSCLC not otherwise specified. There were 28 (6%) never smokers, 232 (54%) former smokers, and 170 (40%) current smokers. All patients had surgical resection as their treatment, with 62% having lobectomy, 27% wedge or segmentectomy, and 11% other resections. There have been 214 deaths. On analysis of individual polymorphisms, the variant Cys allele of the hOGG1 polymorphism was associated with better overall survival (p = 0.02 by log rank test; 5 yr OS for Ser/Ser 53%(95% CI 46-60), for Ser/Cys + Cys/Cys 65% (95% CI 57-72). Using the group with total 0-2 variant alleles as a reference group (n=110), we analyzed groups with 3-4 (n=151) and > 5 variant alleles (n=169). Adjusting for age, sex, pack-years of smoking and stage, we found that that higher number of variant alleles was associated with better survival (adjusted HR for > 5 variant alleles 0.67 (0.47-0.95), for 3-4 variant alleles 0.72 (0.51 - 1.03), Ptrend = 0.03). Conclusions: Increasing numbers of variant alleles among the DNA repair polymorphisms in the NER and BER pathways may be associated with improved overall survival in early stage NSCLC treated with surgery alone. Supported by NIH grants CA074386, CA092824, CA090578, Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute Young Clinical Scientist Award, American Cancer Society Postdoctoral Fellowship, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation


AIM
To elucidate the relationship between clinical presentation and outcome.

METHODS
A single institution retrospective chart review of patients admitted with the diagnosis of colon cancer. We used univariate and a multivariate analysis to identify symptoms association with mortality. An odds ratio based clinical score was created to evaluate the contribution of the quality of symptoms to outcome. Primary measure of outcome was survival.

RESULTS
During the study period, 236 patients met the inclusion criteria. Overall survival was 60.6%, mean follow-up 3.0 years. A bivariate analysis showed that increasing number of symptoms is not associated with mortality. However, a symptom-specific analysis performed using a logistic regression model controlling for age, stage and the duration of complaints revealed that the presence of melena was independently associated with mortality [P = 0.04, odds ratio (OR) 7.4], while rectal bleeding was associated with survival (P = 0.004, OR 3.9). Applying the proposed clinical score to an receiver operating characteristic curve showed that score > 1 had a strong association with mortality. The same logistic regression model was applied. The results showed that a score > 1 was an independent predictor of mortality (P < 0.001) and associated with node-positive disease (P = 0.008).

CONCLUSION
The quality of symptoms rather than quantity is correlated with outcome among patients with colon cancer. The proposed clinical scoring system may correctly predict the patient's outcome.


This paper proposes a framework for detecting the suspected abnormal region of the bladder wall via magnetic resonance (MR) cystography. Volume-based features are used. First, the bladder wall is divided into several layers, based on which a path from each voxel on the inner border to the outer border is found. By using the path length to measure the wall thickness and a bent rate (BR) term to measure the geometry property of the voxels on the inner border, the seed voxels representing the abnormalities on the inner border are determined. Then, by tracing the path from each seed, a weighted BR term is constructed to determine the suspected voxels, which are on the path and inside the bladder wall. All the suspected voxels are grouped together for the abnormal region. This work is significantly different from most of the previous computer-aided bladder tumor detection reports on two aspects. First of all, the T1-weighted MR images are used which give better image contrast and texture information for the bladder wall, comparing with the computed tomography images. Second, while most previous reports detected the abnormalities and indicated them on the reconstructed 3-D bladder model by surface rendering, we further determine the possible region of the abnormality inside the bladder wall. This study aims at a noninvasive procedure for bladder tumor detection and abnormal region delineation, which has the potential for further clinical analysis such as the invasion depth of the tumor and virtual cystoscopy diagnosis. Five datasets including two patients and three volunteers were used to test the presented method, all the tumors were detected by the method, and the overlap rates of the regions delineated by the computer against the experts were measured. The results demonstrated the potential of the method for detecting bladder wall abnormal regions via MR cystography.


Learners' participation in public primary schools in Narok South Sub- County has been low. Many primary schools register high cases of learners dropout in public primary schools. This is also characterised by high cases of truancy. The objective of the study was; to assess the influence of personal truancy dynamics on learners' participation in public primary schools. The study was guided by Maslow's hierarchy of needs and the person-centred theories. This study adopted a mixed methodology and applied a concurrent triangulation research design. The target population was 304 respondents comprising 16 head teachers, 160 teachers and 128 parents' representatives, from which a sample of 172 respondents was determined using Yamane's Formula. Stratified sampling was used to create four different strata based on the number of zones in the Narok South Sub- County. From each zone, two head teachers and two parents' representatives were selected using purposive sampling. However, from each zone, 39 teachers were selected using simple random sampling. This procedure enabled the researcher to sample eight head teachers, eight parents' representatives and 156 teachers. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from teachers, whereas an interview schedule was used to gather qualitative information from head teachers and parents' representatives. Piloting was conducted amongst 18 respondents (10.0% of 172) from schools in Narok South Sub- County to establish validity, reliability, credibility, and dependability. Validity was established through expert judgment. Reliability was established using the split-half technique and a reliability coefficient, r = 0.719, was obtained using Cronbach Alpha Method, which indicated high internal reliability. Credibility was ascertained by data triangulation through multiple analysts. Dependability was ascertained through detailed reporting. Qualitative data were analysed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using ANOVA Test Analysis in Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 23) and presented using tables. The study established that learners' personal environmental dynamics have a great influence on the extent to which learners participate in public primary schools. However, many learners who often play truant manifest signs of boredom, lack of interest, isolation, always quiet, rarely playing together with their peers, lack interest in studies and are rarely ready for school.


We study a brightening of the Lyman- a emission in the cusp which occurred in response to a short-lived south-ward turning of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) during a period of strongly enhanced solar wind plasma concentration. The cusp proton emission is detected using the SI-12 channel of the FUV imager on the IMAGE spacecraft. Analysis of the IMF observations recorded by the ACE and Wind spacecraft reveals that the assumption of a constant propagation lag from the upstream spacecraft to the Earth is not adequate for these high time-resolution studies. The variations of the southward IMF component observed by ACE and Wind allow for the calculation of the ACE-to-Earth lag as a function of time. Application of the derived propagation delays reveals that the intensity of the cusp emission varied systematically with the IMF clock angle, the relationship being particularly striking when the intensity is normalised to allow for the variation in the upstream solar wind proton concentration. The latitude of the cusp migrated equatorward while the lagged IMF pointed southward, confirming the lag calculation and indicating ongoing magnetopause reconnection. Dayside convection, as monitored by the SuperDARN network of radars, responded rapidly to the IMF changes but lagged behind the cusp proton emission response: this is shown to be as predicted by the model of flow excitation by Cowley and Lockwood (1992). We use the numerical cusp ion precipitation model of Lockwood and Davis (1996), along with modelled Lyman- a emission efficiency and the SI-12 instrument response, to investigate the effect of the sheath field clock angle on the acceleration of ions on crossing the dayside magnetopause. This modelling reveals that the emission commences on each reconnected field line 2–2.5 min after it is opened and peaks 3–5 min after it is opened. We discuss how comparison of the Lyman- a intensities with oxygen emissions observed simultaneously by the SI-13 channel of the FUV instrument offers an opportunity to test whether or not the clock angle dependence is consistent with the "component" or the "anti-parallel" reconnection hypothesis. Key words. Magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers; solar wind-magnetosphere interactions) – Space plasma physics (magnetic reconnection)


This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of action learning in agripreneurship training in Osun State. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the effect of action learning program on individual participant, assess the suitability of Practical Entrepreneurship Teaching Engagement (PETE) model to agripreneurship training program, identify success factors for action learning program in agripreneurship and assess the effectiveness of the training program. Simple random sampling technique was used to select a total of 169 respondents from a population of 300 selected FADAMA agripreneur applicants in Osun State. Structured questionnaire was used to collect data which were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and mean. The hypothesis was tested using correlation. The findings revealed that majority (74.0%) of the respondents were male, the mean age of the respondents was 30±3.32 years, 74.0 percent had either Bachelors' degree or Higher National Diploma, 91.1 percent were experienced agripreneurs and 43.2 percent specialized in livestock production. With a grand mean of 3.37 and 2.68, the findings showed that action learning had much benefits to individuals and the PETE model is suitable for agripreneurship training respectively and 66.3 percent had their expectations from the training largely met. The correlation analysis showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between highly skilled facilitators or coaches (r = 0.147, p = 0.046*), well-coordinated self-directed team process (r = 0.243, p = 0.001*), effective team presentations (r = 0.249, p = 0.001*), support of top decision makers (r = 0.158, p = 0.032*), implementation and application of lesson objectives (r = 0.352, p = 0.000*) and the effectiveness of the training program. Based on the findings, it was concluded that action learning approach is effective in the delivery of agripreneurship training and the PETE model is also a suitable approach. It is recommended that policy makers adopt the PETE model and action learning approach in the delivery of entrepreneurship trainings.


Results of investigation in a group of 91 patients with infiltrative and disseminative forms of tuberculosis are presented. It is established that, at an initial level of IFN-gamma below 100 pg/ml, a higher frequency of development of the drug-induced liver injury takes place as manifested by increasing activity of the basic markers of cytolysis. Administration of the interferon inductor (cycloferon) favors positive clinical and laboratory dynamics of the tubercular process, increases the level of endogenous IFN-gamma (especially for an initial level below 100 pg/ml), and restricts the expression of drug-induced hepatotoxicity reactions.


Background: Greece maintains one of the highest levels of smoking (40%). During economic crisis cigarette consumption seems to decrease. Economic problems possibly affect smoking cessation (S-C).

Aim: To assess the impact of the economic crisis on S-C in a Greek S-C clinic.

Methods: Comparison of the number of patients, reasons and strategies used for S-C and their efficacy between 2008 (-beginning of crisis) and 2012 (great impact of crisis on salaries, unemployment). Results: The number of smokers who attended the S-C clinic reduced in 2012 (n=134) compared with 2008 (n=345) (p<0.001). Mean age,mean value of Fagerstrom Test for Nicotine Dependence and number of cigarettes did not differ between years (46±11.7years, 10.7±7.4, 31.25±13 respectively). The main reason of S-C was health problems (75.6% all years). Economic issues were a significantly more important reason for quitting in 2012 compared with 2008 (27% vs. 8%, p<0.001). In 2012 89% of smokers were concerned about coverage of S-C medications from their insurance vs. 55% in 2008(p<0.001). In 2012 87% of the smokers knew about electronic cigarette and 9.5% had used it, whereas in 2010 42% knew about it and 0.5% had used it. In 2012 65.8% tried S-C without medication vs. 52.1% in 2008 (p=0.03). In 2011 43.2% of relapses (after 6months) were due to anxiety-economic problems vs. 23% in 2008 (p=0.02) (in 2011 53% of relapse were unemployed). Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was significantly lower in 2012 (p=0.03) especially in patients who relapsed. Conclusions: Economic problems and stress may affect S-C.


Having young children generally intensifies gendered patterns of time use. During the 1990s, this pattern changed in several Nordic countries, where welfare state arrangements support gender equality and work–family balance more comprehensively than elsewhere. We investigate the impact of parenthood on men's and women's time use across welfare state regimes, performing ordinary least squares regressions using data from the Multinational Time Use Study for Germany, Italy, and Canada (N = 57,367 weekdays/53,292 weekends). We find convergence of men's and women's time use over the 1990s but uncover no strong evidence of the Nordic pattern emerging elsewhere. Instead, in countries with less comprehensive family policies and less support for gender equality, parenthood continued to reinforce traditional patterns of behavior on weekdays. There is evidence of change on weekends in Germany and Canada, where fathers became more involved domestically, but not in Italy, suggesting certain welfare state regimes may preserve gendered behavior more than others.


Abstract Three {n10}/[001] tilt grain boundaries (n = 2, 3, and 4) of MgO were studied as a function of pressure from first principles within density functional theory. Our results show that the physical properties of the grain boundary are very distinct from the bulk properties. The predicted symmetric boundary containing well-defined dislocation pipes at zero pressure transforms to asymmetric boundaries with denser structures at higher pressures. The asymmetric boundary structure stable at 50 GPa can be associated with a shear in the boundary plane, whereas the asymmetric boundary structure stable at 100 GPa can be associated with an additional shear in the direction perpendicular to the boundary plane. Unlike in the bulk, several nonequivalent sites exist for vacancy formation in the boundary regions, and the calculated Schottky defect formation enthalpy varies among different boundaries with the {310} and {410} boundary values at zero pressure being similar to the bulk value. Pressure increasingly stabilizes the boundary vacancies relative to the bulk thereby causing an enhancement in the vacancy concentration, which is further enhanced due to high-binding energy for cation-anion vacancy pairs in the interfacial regions. Also, the grain boundary was shown to induce electronic states in the band gap below the conduction band, which can trap the electrons inside the free space at the interface. Additional states with strong electron localization character appear at the boundary in the presence of the vacancies. Our results are expected to be useful to understand how grain boundaries can serve as primary storage sites for defects and high-diffusion pathways


The Kovalevskaya exponents are calculated for a class of systems generalizing Toda chains: systems with exponential interaction. It is shown that the known cases of algebraic integrability have no direct analogues in the case of spaces with pseudo-Euclidean metrics because the full-parameter expansions of the general solution contain complex powers of the independent variable.


Preoperative assessment is a very crucial step in anesthesia management. Anatomical resection (lobectomy or pneumonectomy) offers best long-term prognosis to a lung cancer patient. At the same time, surgery cannot be offered to a patient who is expected to become ventilator dependent, postoperatively. Hence, it is very important to have an objective preoperative assessment for risk stratification. This review article provides a systematic approach for the prognostication of patients planned for pulmonary resection.


Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is caused by whiteflyborne viruses of the genus Begomovirus (family Geminiviridae). The disease has long been regarded as the most important of those affecting cassava in sub-Saharan Africa, and has been the subject of much research, especially since the onset of the current very damaging pandemic in eastern and central Africa. This review considers the main features of CMD and the various possible means of control. The main emphasis to date has been on the development and deployment of virus-resistant varieties. These are widely adopted in countries where CMD has caused serious problems, and provided a powerful incentive for farmers to abandon some of the most susceptible of their traditional varieties. Only limited use has been made of phytosanitation involving CMD-free planting material and the removal (roguing) of diseased plants. Cultural methods of control using varietal mixtures, intercrops or other cropping practices have also been neglected, and there is a need for much additional research before they can be deployed effectively. Nevertheless, the severe losses now being caused by CMD in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa could be greatly decreased through the application of existing knowledge.


BACKGROUND
The maintenance/repair of farm machinery is a common farming activity. Dermal exposure to organic solvents has not been well documented. A pilot study was conducted to characterize exposure to organic solvents.

METHODS
A survey questionnaire was administered to 31 Kentucky farmers in 2008. Dermal exposure assessment was conducted in 10 farmers while farmers performed farm machinery maintenance/repair tasks using a solvent sampling patch. Benzene, toluene, xylene, and n-hexane were analyzed.

RESULTS
All four organic solvents were identified from the samples with toluene (<0.5-36,000 microg/patch) and xylene (15-5,700 microg/patch) at significantly higher levels. Twenty-six farmers reported the use of personal protective equipment <50% of their time repairing/maintaining farm machinery on the questionnaire; only two farmers wore gloves during the exposure assessment.

CONCLUSIONS
Farmers routinely use solvent products for farm machinery maintenance/repair. Dermal exposure to organic solvents is a potential hazard. Further studies to characterize and evaluate exposure in larger samples of farmers are needed.


In this paper, we present a semi-autonomous teleoperation framework for a pick-and-place task using an RGB-D sensor. In particular, we assume that the target object is located in a cluttered environment where both prehensile grasping and non-prehensile manipulation are combined for efficient teleoperation. A trajectory-based reinforcement learning is utilized for learning the non-prehensile manipulation to rearrange the objects for enabling direct grasping. From the depth image of the cluttered environment and the location of the goal object, the learned policy can provide multiple options of non-prehensile manipulation to the human operator. We carefully design a reward function for the rearranging task where the policy is trained in a simulational environment. Then, the trained policy is transferred to a real-world and evaluated in a number of real-world experiments with the varying number of objects where we show that the proposed method outperforms manual keyboard control in terms of the time duration for the grasping.


In the early 1990s about 70 percent of Americans believed that some 2,000 US Army soldiers were
still being held captive in secret prisons in Vietnam, despite there being no proof that any prison
camps had survived in South East Asia after the Fall of Saigon (1975). Elaborating on the limited
bibliography available, this essay examines the strategies adopted by the Nixon Administration,
some independent organizations, and the future Presidential candidate Ross Perot, to shift the focus
from the people actually fighting and dying in the Vietnam War to these imaginary prisoners. These
strategies involved politicians of both major parties, celebrities from the star system and the media.
It will also be seen how a substantial part of American popular culture helped to disseminate the
myth of the Prisoners of War (POWs) and the Missings in Action (MIAs) through fiction, cinema, TV
and comics (and later video games). Only the great works of literature generated by the Vietnam
War (e.g. by Tim O'Brien and Michael Herr) abstained from taking part in this major falsification plot.


Events early in life can program brain for a pattern of neuroendocrine and behavioral responses in later life. This mechanism is named "developmental phenotypic plasticity". Experimental evidences from rodents show that early experiences influence long-term development of behavioral, neuroendocrine and cognitive functions. While some neonatal conditions lead to positive outcomes, offspring might also display neurological dysfunctions in adulthood in case of adverse conditions during the early development. Different factors have been suggested to mediate the effects of neonatal conditions on offspring development but their exact contribution as well as their interaction still needs to be clarified. Studies based on rodents have been developed to model the long-term effects of early environmental conditions on the developing brain. These studies highlight importance of maternal behavior in mediating the effects of early environmental conditions on the offspring. However, other studies suggest that aside from the level of maternal care, other factors (gender, neonatal glucocorticoid levels) contribute to the adjustment of offspring phenotype to early environmental cues. Altogether, rodents-based evidence suggests that developmental plasticity is a very complex phenomenon mediated by multiple factors that interact one to each other. Ultimately, the goal is to understand how early life events can lead to advantageous phenotype in adult life, or, on the contrary, can predispose individuals to psychopathologies such as depression or anxiety.


Background: Many articles describing the comorbidities on the gastrointestinal, neurological, and respiratory manifestations of the COVID-19 infection. The cardiovascular system is often affected and caused acute myocardial infarction, venous thromboembolic events, and monitoring with high sensitivity cardiac troponin. Ischemic stroke remains the most common subset of neurological manifestations in COVID- 19 infection.
Aim of research: This comparative cross-sectional retrospective study was carried out to assess and compare the association between COVID -19 infection and the risk of acute ischemic stroke among both Saudi and Egyptian infected patient.
Subjects and Methods: Data was collected through a well-structured questionnaire, distributed among patients who infected with COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The questionnaire includes patients' Socio-demographic and history of chronic diseases, laboratory investigations, time of getting stroke after COVID-19 infection and symptoms of COVID infection and stroke, as well as stroke outcomes. Then, data was statistically been analyzed using (SPSS, version 25) statistical program.
 Results: 635 participants (288 Egyptians and 347 Saudis) were included in this study who were infected with COVID-19 and completed the data of the questionnaire. Most of participants were young (< 46 years old), and females. The total percent of participants who had stroke due to infection with COVID-19 and recovered without side effect was 1% & 1.2%, while 1.7% & 0.9% recovered but having some side effects among Egyptians and Saudis respectively. All these patients with stroke had medical history of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia with elevated levels of D-dimer, C-reactive protein, white blood cell, neutrophils and low level of lymphocytes.
conclusion: Our research supports the fact that COVID- 19 infection is associated with a clinical outcome of ischemic stroke that tend to the highest rate of mortality. Also, more research is needed to examine the neurological implications of COVID-19 disease.


In this task 2,000 patents in three languages (English, French and German) were to be classified among approximately 600 categories. We used a classifier based on neural networks of the Winnow type. This classifier is already used for similar tasks in professional applications. We tested three different approaches to improve the classification accuracy: the first one aimed at solving the issue of poorly-documented categories, the second one was meant to enrich the overall training corpus and the third one was based on the processing of the corpus' collocations. Although we ranked first in this competition, none of the three approaches mentioned above provided for a clear improvement in classification accuracy; our results were essentially due to the implementation of the classification algorithm itself.


Lumnitzera racemosa is a non-viviparous evergreen mangrove tree species. It is a massive bloomer from mid-July to mid-August. The flowers are bisexual, self-compatible, self-pollinating and exhibit a mixed breeding system. The plant is temporally dioecious with marked protandry and a non-receptive stigma on day one of anthesis with a receptive stigma on days two and three. Fruit set is approximately 90% due to self and cross-pollination. The floral characters are related to pollination by generalized flower-visiting insects, notably actinomorphy, white spreading petals, limited but easily accessible nectar, and position of stamens. Pollinators include bees, wasps and butterflies. Fruits are invariably 1-seeded despite the presence of 3–5 ovules. Natural regeneration is low perhaps due to abortion of embryos or the feeding of embryos by small grubs. Fallen mature fruits become fibrous in water and this may aid dispersal in the sea. However, fruit germination and seedling establishment is curtailed due to their salinity-sensitivity. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tapro.v6i2.7191 TAPROBANICA, 2014. Vol. 06, No. 02: pp. 100-109 pls. 9-11.


Herein we report generic surface treatment approaches to improve the electronic interfaces of quantum dot-sensitized TiO2 fiber electrodes, thereby promoting their photoanode performance. Highly dense, continuous and nanostructured TiO2 fibrous membranes, without the inclusion of a scattering layer, unlike conventional TiO2 particulate electrodes, showed feasible photoconversion performance under the proposed interfacial engineering modification. The proposed interfacial treatment concerns fibrous membranes both before and after calcination. The chemical vapor pre-treatment on an as-deposited fibrous membrane using tetrahydrofuran (THF) reinforces the physical contact between the fibrous membrane and the transparent conducting substrate and reduces significantly the recombination rate. In the case of post-treatment by F-ion on a fibrous surface, together with the interfacial engineering approach, the ZnS surface passivation layer markedly improves the photoanode performance of the TiO2 fibrous membrane nearly to a factor of 3.2% with a remarkable open-circuit voltage Voc = 0.69 V and Jsc = 13 mA cm−2 under 1 sun illumination (100 mW cm−2). This report provides an excellent platform for studying and understanding the interfacial contacts and mechanisms related to the charge transfer at CdS/CdSe QD-sensitized TiO2 fibrous assemblies. Such implications of this interfacial treatment strategy can be successfully extended to a wide range of photoanode candidates in energy conversion systems and confirm the effectiveness of some alternative nanostructured electrodes for the development of semiconductor-sensitized solar cells.


Eventual consistency (EC) is a relaxed data consistency model that, driven by the CAP theorem, trades prompt consistency for high availability. Although, this model has shown to be promising and greatly adopted by industry, the state of the art only assumes that replicas can crash and recover. However, a Byzantine replica (i.e., arbitrary or malicious) can hamper the eventual convergence of replicas to a global consistent state, thus compromising the entire service. Classical BFT state machine replication protocols cannot solve this problem due to the blocking nature of consensus, some-thing at odd with the availability via replica divergence in the EC model. In this work in progress paper, we introduce a new secure highly available protocol for the EC model that assumes a frac-tion of replicas and any client can be Byzantine. To respect the essence of EC, the protocol gives priority to high availability, and thus Byzantine detection is performed off the critical path on a consistent data offset. The paper concisely explains the protocol and discusses its feasibility. We aim at presenting a more comprehensive and empirical study in the future.


Abstract We report here a drug-drug interaction with tacrolimus in a HIV-positive patient with renal transplant, after switch from highly active antiretroviral therapy with boosted protease inhibitors to the combination bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide. Although the tacrolimus doses were adapted to take account of the pharmacokinetic interactions with protease inhibitors, a tacrolimus overdosage occurred in the patient nonetheless. Through this case report, we highlight the need to consider a sufficient timeframe of withdrawal of protease inhibitors, which induce a prolonged drug-drug interaction with tacrolimus. To conclude, we purport that the combination bictegravir/emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide could be an attractive alternative in the context of transplantation provided a discontinuation of boosted protease inhibitors for more than 48 hours before introducing tacrolimus.


A retrospective analysis of 143 studies of abdominal scintigraphy with technetium-99m pertechnetate for the diagnosis of ectopic gastric mucosa (usually located in Meckel diverticulum) was undertaken. The rectilinear scanner was used for 57 studies and the gamma camera for 86. The final diagnosis, at laparotomy or after clinical and laboratory investigation with long-term clinical follow-up, was correlated to the interpretation of the scintigrams. Of 57 rectilinear scans, five were true positive, 46 true negative, two false positive, and four false negative. Of the 86 camera studies 10 were true positive, 74 true negative, one false negative, and one patient showed large bowel activity (positive atypical study). The results of this analysis indicate the value of the properly performed and interpreted abdominal pertechnetate scintigraphy in the diagnosis of (bleeding) ectopic gastric mucosa; it was also shown that the sensitivity and the specificity of this test have improved since the introduction of the gamma camera and the standardization of the procedure.


A necessary strategy to improve our technologies is to provide them with useful pieces of deterministic previous knowledge about the processes and the equipment. Our attention was previously focused on the industrial control systems, implemented with low level devices (controllers, sensors, actuators), that need knowledge on the specific controlled plants as well as on the general theoretical foundations. This was done on-line with the help of internal models, or off-line with planners whose design is assisted by simulations. This paper is orienting the same effort in the direction of the intelligent sensors field. A brief overview of the relationship between sensors and knowledge is provided. A particular architecture of sensors relying on modeling techniques and some internal model estimators for the velocity and for the weariness of the railway cars are illustrating the role of the models in sensors and estimators.


: The effect of the level of ascorbic acid on the formation of uric acid in the animals and human organisms has been learned. Activation of the hydroxylation of adenyl purins and uric acid by ascorbic acid has been found. A hypothesis was made about the activation of formation of glucocorticoids by ascorbic acid. Glucocorticoids, perhaps, lower the level of uric acid. Hypothesis was confirmed by experiments.


In modern industry, there usually exist high-precision stages, such as reticle stages and wafer stages in VLSI lithography tools, metrology stages in coordinate measurement machines, motion stages in CNC machine tools, etc. These stages need high-precision measurement/metrology systems for monitoring its XY movement. As the metrology systems are quite accurate, we often cannot find a standard tool with better accuracy to implement a traditional calibration process for systematic measurement error (i.e., stage error) determination and measurement accuracy compensation. Subsequently, self-calibration technology is developed to meet this challenge and to solve the calibration problem. In this chapter, we study the self-calibration of two-dimensional precision metrology systems and present a holistic self-calibration strategy. This strategy utilizes three measurement views of an artifact plate with mark positions not precisely known on the un-calibrated two-dimensional metrology stage and constructs relevant symmetry, transitivity, and redundancy of the stage error of the metrology stage. The misalign‐ ment errors of all measurement views, especially including those of the translation view, are totally determined by detailed mathematical manipulations. Then, a redundant equation group is synthesized, and a least-square–based robust estimation law is employed to calculate out the stage error even under the existence of random measure‐ ment noise. Furthermore, as the determination of the misalignment error components of the measurement views is rather complicated but important in previous and the proposed methods, this chapter also significantly analyzes the necessity of this costly computa‐ tion. The proposed approach is investigated by simulation computation, and the simulation results prove that the proposed determination scheme can calculate out the stage error rather exactly without random measurement noise. Furthermore, when there exist various random measurement noises, the calibration accuracy of the proposed strategy is also investigated, and the results illustrate that the standard deviations of the calibration error are consistently with the same level of those of the random measure‐ ment noises. procedure for performing a standard self-calibration is also introduced for engineers to facilitate actual implementation.


BACKGROUND
Lymphadenitis is common in HIV-positive patients. Diagnosis of the infections associated with this condition is complex, particularly in the case of tuberculosis. Rapid and specific detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. tuberculosis) is fundamental in ensuring adequate treatment. In addition, frequent causes of lymphadenitis such as those associated with lymphoma and histoplasmosis, among others, must be eliminated as possible causes.

OBJECTIVES
To evaluate the accuracy of polymerase chain reaction as a tool for the diagnosis of lymphadenitis resulting from M. tuberculosis.

METHODS
In this study, a protocol was developed using the following procedures: direct microscopy using Ziehl-Neelsen staining, culture in Lowenstein-Jensen medium, histology and polymerase chain reaction.

RESULTS
A total of 104 patients were included in the study. According to histopathology, 38 patients (36%) were found to have nonspecific chronic lymphadenitis, 27 (26%) had tuberculous lymphadenitis, 11 patients (10.5%) had lymphoma and 9 (8.7%) had histoplasmosis. When Lowenstein-Jensen culture was performed, positive tests for tuberculous lymphadenitis increased by 30%. With polymerase chain reaction, M. tuberculosis DNA was detected in 6 out of 38 samples of non-specific chronic lymphadenitis. Three of these patients were followed up, developed symptoms of tuberculosis and were cured following specific treatment.

CONCLUSION
The data obtained in this study suggest that all cases of lymphadenopathies should be submitted to histopathology, Lowenstein-Jensen or Ogawa culture and polymerase chain reaction. Polymerase chain reaction may prove to be useful in providing an early and accurate detection of cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis in HIV-positive patients with lymphadenopathies, avoiding empirical treatment and the possible development of resistant strains.


Most information security methodologies are aimed at large enterprise organizations with a top-down structure, while relatively smaller organizations have insufficient knowledge to adopt this methodology. Most of the frameworks used by enterprises focus on high-level policy-making and the overwhelming amount of controls might suffocate practitioners in smaller organizations. This article examines the results of an exploratory study, performed in the Netherlands in Q1&Q2 of 2010. The study used expert panel research followed by a survey. The research found essential interventions to easily and effectively increase security maturity for mid market organizations. The research also found barriers for not implementing these interventions by the midmarket. This paper provides a minimum core set of practices for organizations. It shows that mid market organizations struggle with implementing relevant interventions. This research contributes a new pragmatic approach to assist mid market organizations' practitioners with more guidance on how to effectively establish the desired state of security maturity.


Trails are significant features in landscapes, and many ancient pathways have developed into routes of great importance for recreation and tourism in contemporary societies. Nevertheless, international research on recreational trails has hitherto mainly focused on managerial and environmental aspects of trails and less on trails from a social science perspective, such as conflict management. This study explores the role of recreational trails as a potential tool for managing conflicts in a multifunctional landscape. The findings originate from a case study of the southern Jämtland mountain region in Sweden, an area where land-use conflicts exist and where tourism is a major concern. The study examines the recreational trail as an applied example where actors in the mountain landscape "negotiate" and collaborate. Through the recreational trail, dialogue and discussions are made possible among stakeholders. Findings show that trails can function as facilitators for communication and can thus enhance the possibilities of building trust and promoting collaboration between actors. This research contributes to the existing literature on handling multiple land-use interests and adds to previous knowledge by taking on a rather new approach, where the recreational trail becomes a facilitator for communication.


ISRAEL Ethnocracy: Land and Identity Politics in Israel/Palestine, by Oren Yiftachel. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2006, xi + 294 pages. Appendix to p. 300. Notes to p. 309. Refs. to p. 334. Index to p. 350. $69.95. Reviewed by Yoav Peled As a Jewish state by self-definition, Israel cannot be a liberal democracy. A liberal democracy must accord equal individual citizenship rights to all of its citizens, regardless of ascriptive affiliation; for its selfdefinition to have any meaning, a state that defines itself as Jewish must privilege Jews in one way or another. These two principles of citizenship are thus incompatible. The theoretically interesting debate in Israel has been, therefore, over the question of whether Israel can be described as an "ethnic democracy," or is in reality a non-democratic "ethnocracy." The "ethnic democracy" thesis was introduced by sociologist Sammy Smooha in 1990, and "ethnocracy" was offered as a counter-thesis by Oren Yiftachel shortly afterwards. The book under review is the culmination of Yiftachel's work on the concept of "ethnocracy" during the past 15 years. Yiftachel uses a thick definition of democracy in order to argue that Israel should not be characterized as such. His definition includes equal and inclusive citizenship, civil rights, protection of minorities, and periodic, universal, and free elections. He argues persuasively that "despite the complex understanding of democracy, we must acknowledge that below a certain level, and with structural and repeated deviations from basic democratic principles ... 'democracy' is no longer a credible classification" (pp. 91-92). However, Yiftachel's unit of analysis is not the State of Israel within its internationally recognized borders, but rather the Israeli control system that encompasses both the sovereign State of Israel and the Palestinian territories it has occupied for the past 40 years. He argues that 'Israel proper'... simply does not exist, since it is impossible to define 'Israel' as a spatial unit, and it is difficult to define the boundaries of its body-politic ... Israel operates as a polity without borders. This undermines a basic requirement of democracy - the existence of a 'demos' (pp. 96-97). Yiftachel, a political geographer, also stresses "the dynamics of Israel's political geography, which have caused the state to radically change its demography, alter patterns of ethnic territorial control, rupture state borders, incorporate Jewish and block Palestinian diasporas, and form strong links between religion, territory and ethnicity" (p. 100). He concludes that it is the Jewish ethnos, not the Israeli demos, that rules the Jewish state, which therefore should be defined as an ethnocracy, rather than a democracy. Yiftachel's argument is forceful and suggestive, as attested by its wide acceptance among students of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and by Palestinian political activists in Israel. However, his rejection of the distinction between the sovereign State of Israel and the Israeli control system renders the debate about Israel's democratic character superfluous. …


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 45, 2004

1538

Mitochondria have been implicated in the carcinogenic process because of their role in apoptosis and other aspects of tumour biology; in particular, somatic mutations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) have been observed in a wide variety of human tumours. In addition we have recently pinpointed mtDNA damage in human skin cancer for the first time in the skin cancer literature (Durham et al., 2003). In our current study we have established a quantitative real time PCR methodology to determine the levels of a novel mtDNA deletion in the minor arc of the mitochondrial genome, in tumour and histologically normal perilesional skin. We have compared the incidence of a novel mtDNA deletion, using three separate methodologies, namely: long extension PCR, a deletion specific PCR and a quantitative real time Taqman PCR. Long extension PCR of a 5.5kb region of the minor arc detected the deletion in 6 out of 30 samples, primarily in the tumour or the perilesional dermis rather than the epidermis. Using a non quantitative deletion specific PCR technique, the deletion was detected in 73% of our 30 samples. The pattern of expression of the deletion was dependent upon the type of tumour. For example, the deletion was found in 3 of the 5 Basal cell carcinomas (BCCs), while in Squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) the deletion was generally observed in the perilesional dermis, rather than the tumour. In concordance with the Long PCR data, those samples with the strongest PCR product were those that contained the corresponding deletion band in the Long PCR. Using cloned wild type and deleted templates, we have established a real time Taqman PCR assay which is specific for the novel minor arc mtDNA deletion. Realtime PCR analysis of our 30 samples, showed a maximal level of deletion of around 5% compared to wild type although most samples had levels of the deletion of less than 1%. As our tumour and normal skin samples are from sun exposed sites we examined whether the novel minor arc mtDNA deletion is useful as a marker of sun exposure. A comparison of the expression of the deletion in sun exposed to sun intermittent revealed differences in the levels of the deletion between the two body sites. In exposed dermis, 100% (n=10) samples contained levels of deletion greater than 0.1% with the highest containing 2.6% deleted mtDNA. In contrast, in the sun intermittent samples only 33% (n=6) dermis contained levels of deletion greater than 0.1%, with the highest being only 0.2%. For epidermis 50% of the sun exposed samples were higher than 0.1%, while no sun intermittent samples were over 0.1%. In summary we have established a quantitative real time PCR methodology for the detection of a novel mitochondrial deletion which may serve as a highly sensitive marker of sun exposure in skin and consequently may be used as an early marker of skin cancer development. Durham, S.E., Krishnan, K.J., Betts, J. & Birch-Machin, M.A. (2003). Mitochondrial DNA damage in non-melanoma skin cancer. Br J Cancer , 88, 90-5.


We studied the effects of 2 different dosages of highmolecular- weight poly-γ-glutamic acid (hm γ-PGA) derived from Bacillus subtilis chungkookjang on lipid metabolism in a high-fructose diet-induced hypertriglyceridemic animal model. For 4 weeks, rats were fed either AIN-93 diet (normal control, NC; n = 10) or modified AIN-93 diet in which cornstarch was substituted with 63% fructose (n = 30) to induce hypertriglyceridemia. After 4 weeks, the hypertriglyceridemic rats were treated with daily oral doses of 0 mg (hypertriglyceridemic control, HC), 2.5 mg (hypertriglyceridemic, low hm γ-PGA, HL), or 5 mg·kg·bw(-1)·d(-1) (hypertriglyceridemic, high hm γ-PGA, HH) hm γ-PGA for 4 weeks. The HL and HH groups exhibited significantly lower levels of serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and free fatty acids than the HC group. The administration of hm γ-PGA reduced serum ALT and AST levels. The activities of lipogenic enzymes such as hepatic malic enzyme and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase as well as glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase mRNA expression were significantly decreased by hm γ-PGA administration (p < 0.05). These results indicate that hm γ- PGA has an anti-hypertriglyceridemic effect in highfructose diet-induced hypertriglyceridemic rats.


Three experiments employing a five-choice button-pressing task tested the ability of Parkinsonian patients to learn and generate sequences of movement, and to switch between alternative sequences at will. It was found that patients could learn and generate individual patterns of movement normally, even complex ones involving an incompatible stimulus-response relationship. They had difficulty, however, in maintaining a sequence if two different ones had been learnt and subjects were required to switch spontaneously from one to the other within a trial. Providing external cues at the start of each sequence to guide the ordering of movements improved the stability of patients' performance. Most errors in sequencing consisted of reverting to the alternative pattern of movement. Parkinsonian subjects thus show an impairment in motor set similar to that found previously in cognitive activity.


Motivated by recent increases in network traffic, we propose a decentralized network edge-based solution to peak-hour broadband congestion that incentivizes users to moderate their bandwidth demands to their actual needs. Our solution is centered on smart home gateways that allocate bandwidth in a two-level hierarchy: first, a gateway purchases guaranteed bandwidth from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) with virtual credits. It then self-limits its bandwidth usage and distributes the bandwidth among its apps and devices according to their relative priorities. To this end, we design a credit allocation and redistribution mechanism for the first level, and implement our gateways on commodity wireless routers for the second level. We demonstrate our system's effectiveness and practicality with theoretical analysis, simulations and experiments on real traffic. Compared to a baseline equal sharing algorithm, our solution significantly improves users' overall satisfaction and yields a fair allocation of bandwidth across users.


The recent success of raw audio waveform synthesis models like WaveNet motivates a new approach for music synthesis, in which the entire process — creating audio samples from a score and instrument information — is modeled using generative neural networks. This paper describes a neural music synthesis model with flexible timbre controls, which consists of a recurrent neural network conditioned on a learned instrument embedding followed by a WaveNet vocoder. The learned embedding space successfully captures the diverse variations in timbres within a large dataset and enables timbre control and morphing by interpolating between instruments in the embedding space. The synthesis quality is evaluated both numerically and perceptually, and an interactive web demo is presented.


Highly attenuated poxviral vectors, such as modified vaccinia virus ankara (MVA), are promising vaccine candidates against several infectious diseases. One of the approaches developed to enhance the immunogenicity of poxvirus vectors is increasing the promoter strength and accelerating during infection production levels of heterologous antigens. Here, we have generated and characterized the biology and immunogenicity of an optimized MVA-based vaccine candidate against HIV/AIDS expressing HIV-1 clade B gp120 protein under the control of a novel synthetic late/early optimized (LEO) promoter (LEO160 promoter; with a spacer length of 160 nucleotides), termed MVA-LEO160-gp120. In infected cells, MVA-LEO160-gp120 significantly increased the expression levels of HIV-1 gp120 mRNA and protein, compared to the clinical vaccine MVA-B vector expressing HIV-1 gp120 under the control of the commonly used synthetic early/late promoter. When mice were immunized with a heterologous DNA-prime/MVA-boost protocol, the immunization group DNA-gp120/MVA-LEO160-gp120 induced an enhancement in the magnitude of gp120-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell responses, compared to DNA-gp120/MVA-B; with most of the responses being mediated by the CD8+ T-cell compartment, with a T effector memory phenotype. DNA-gp120/MVA-LEO160-gp120 also elicited a trend to a higher magnitude of gp120-specific CD4+ T follicular helper cells, and modest enhanced levels of antibodies against HIV-1 gp120. These findings revealed that this new optimized vaccinia virus promoter could be considered a promising strategy in HIV/AIDS vaccine design, confirming the importance of early expression of heterologous antigen and its impact on the antigen-specific immunogenicity elicited by poxvirus-based vectors.


The article describes simulation of the existing technological process of step forging that is used at JSC "Metallurgical Plant "Electrostal" for production a round profile by using the finite element method.


The centrifugation method has advantages in producing silicon isotopes. The selection of appropriate working gas, development of gas centrifuges, their arrangement for effective separation of the isotopes and optimization of the production process are considered. The resulting mole fraction of 28Si is better than 0,999 9. The requirements for the production processes in growing single crystals and the related problems are analysed in detail and estimates of the uncertainties associated with the necessary tests are given.


The present study analyzes whether and how the most common diagnoses within the Specific Learning Disorder (SLD) category are characterized by different intellectual profiles. The issue is relevant to the current debate on the unitary vs. decomposable nature of the SLD category and may help define specific interventions. Intellectual profiles were obtained using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children -IV (WISC-IV) on 1049 children diagnosed with SLD using the ICD-10 codes. Four major subsamples were compared: reading disorder, spelling disorder, disorder of arithmetical skills, and mixed disorder of scholastic skills. The four main WISC-IV indexes (verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed) were considered. Results showed that all SLD subgroups share similar weaknesses in working memory and processing speed, but also showed that they are characterized by partly different intellectual profiles. These specificities should be considered in the definition of SLD.


Abstract Medicinal plants that are used today have been known by people of ancient cultures around the world and have largely been considered due to their medicinal properties. Cornus mas L. (Cornelian cherry) is one of these medicinal plants with high level of antioxidant activity. Cornelian cherry is an attractive ornamental plant with delicious fruit having nutritional and therapeutic values. The main purpose of this paper is to present and summarize the pharmacological and therapeutic effects from researches done on Cornelian cherry in studies from 2000 to 2016. Information and findings in this review were taken from electronic journals in some websites including PubMed, Elsevier, ISI, Google scholar, SID and relevant books. C. mas L. is important in terms of decoration and is used in traditional medicine to treat diarrhea, inflammatory bowel disease, cholera, fever, malaria, kidney stones, urinary tract infections, cancer, bleeding and heat stroke. Several studies have shown that Cornelian cherry fruit plays an important role in prevention of atherosclerosis, blood sugar, lipid profiles and reduction of fat accumulation in the liver. Cornelian cherry has antimicrobial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anticancer effects as well as protecting liver, kidney and cardiovascular system. Using Cornelian cherry in pharmaceutical and food industries has caused fantastic value of this plant. Pharmaceutical properties of Cornelian cherry seeds, fruits, leaves and stems have led the need of further studies to explore the other unknown effects or review mechanism of its pharmacological effects for preparation of new drugs.


Abstract. We develop a rigorous formalism for the description of the kinetic evolution of interacting entities modeling systems in mathematical biology within the framework of the evolution of marginal observables. For this purpose we construct the mean field asymptotic behavior of a solution of the Cauchy problem of the dual BBGKY hierarchy (Bogolyubov-Born-Green-Kirkwood-Yvon) for marginal observables of the dynamical systems based on the Markov jump processes, exhibiting the intrinsic properties of the living entities. The constructed scaling limit is governed by the set of recurrence evolution equations, namely by the dual Vlasov-type hierarchy. Moreover, the relationships of the dual Vlasov hierarchy for the limit marginal observables with the Vlasov-type kinetic equation is established.


A search for slowly moving superheavy magnetic monopoles has been performed using a combination of scintillation counters and proportional chambers which are situated on the ground near sea level. The minimum threshold threshold of the energy loss is set at 1/20 of the minimum ionisation. An upper flux limit of 1.8*10-12 cm-2 sr-1 s-1 for magnetic monopoles was obtained over a wide velocity range from 2.5*10-4 c to 1.0*10-1 c at the 90% confidence level. The velocity range for the trigger system was set from 10-4 c to 10-1 c.


Item wording effects were investigated using scenarios depicting a fictitious leaders behavior, 496 respondents, and a questionnaire containing regular, polar opposite, negated polar opposite, and negated regular item versions. Oblique-rotated exploratory factor-analytic results showed clear item wording factors; confirmatory factor-analytic results showed the item formats to yield separate wording factors but that the regular items had substantially more trait variance than did the other item formats. Implications for future research are discussed.


Student-faculty interactions and college adjustment were analyzed as predictors of academic achievement. Participants included undergraduate freshmen enrolled in an Introduction to Psychology course (N = 86) from a large university in the southeastern United States. It was hypothesized that student-faculty interactions and college adjustment would predict academic achievement and that student-faculty interactions would be a greater predictor than college adjustment. A hierarchical multiple regression model was analyzed and the model was not significant as a predictor of academic achievement. Further analysis determined that a significant correlation existed between college adjustment and academic achievement. Together these findings suggest that student-faculty interactions and college adjustment combined are not predictors of academic achievement. However college adjustment was a significant contributor to academic achievement within this study.


Literature pertaining to the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) is growing but there are few studies dealing with disciplinary differences. The SoTL relating to History is a recently emerging development. But what use is SoTL for History if it can not be translated into improving teaching practice? This paper examines the process of identifying current thinking in the specific SoTL of History, especially the teaching of historical thinking, and applying it to the development of a new history curriculum for first year students.


The radio signals produced by extensive air showers initiated in the atmosphere by high energy cosmic rays are routinely observed and registered by the various instruments of the CODALEMA experiment located at the Nançay radio observatory and notably by the large array of self-triggering stations equipped with wide band and dual polarization antennas. Precise comparisons between observed radio signals and simulations performed with the SELFAS code allow most of the main features of the primary cosmic ray to be determined : arrival direction, energy and Xmax estimates from which the composition in the energy range covered by CODALEMA may be derived. After a presentation of the analysis methods, its sensitivity will be discussed and the results obtained over a significant set of experimental events will be detailed.


Imaging is currently performed in oncologic patients for staging. Images are evaluated by radiologist and lesions with the liver are detected manually. Currently there is no software available which is able to detect and measure tumor volumes automatically. We are developing a software that may be able to detect tumor and give volumetric measurements automatically. Using this software a radiologist may be able to compare computer generated volumetric data in serial imaging of the patients over time, which may help in assessing progression or regression of disease and help in treatment planning.


The World Medical Association (WMA) has developed the Declaration of Helsinki as a statement of ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects, including research on identifiable human material and data. It has undergone numerous revisions and amendments, the most recent being in Fortaleza–Brazil (2013). This new version includes various improvements and modifications which substantially easier to read, with a greater number of subsections. It is emphasized that the research ethics committee is recognized as a fundamental part of the research, the importance of disseminating research and compulsory informed consent. The Declaration of Helsinki is constantly evolving, and is arguably a document that provides the basis for the undertaking of any research. His knowledge and reading, is mandatory for all health professionals.


Abstract : Presented in this paper is an on-going project to develop a new generation of virtual human models that are highly realistic in terms of appearance, movement, and feedback (evaluation of the human body during task execution). Santos(Trademark) is an avatar that exhibits extensive modeling and simulation capabilities. It is an anatomically correct human model with more than 100 degrees of freedom. Santos(Trademark) resides in a virtual environment and can conduct human-factors analysis. This analysis entails, among other things, posture prediction, motion prediction, gain analysis, reach envelope analysis, and ergonomics studies. There are essentially three stages to developing virtual humans: (1) basic human modeling (representing how a human functions independently); (2) input functionality (awareness and analysis of the human's environment); and (3) intelligent reaction to input (memory, reasoning, etc.). This paper addresses the first stage. Specifically, we discuss a new human model in terms of mechanics and appearance. We present an optimization-based approach to kinematic and dynamic motion analysis. This approach allows the avatar to operate with complete autonomy rather than with dependence on stored animations and data, or restrictions associated with inverse kinematics. With dynamic analysis, it is not necessary to solve equations of motion. A novel approach for determining reach envelopes is also presented, and this approach provides a unique tool for ergonomic studies. Methods for evaluating the physiological status of the virtual human as tasks are completed are discussed. Finally, additional on-going research is summarized. The result is an exciting step towards a virtual human that is more extensive and more complete than any other.


In this paper we extend earlier work on the effects of disparate retirement rates on the partisan composition of the contemporary House of Representatives (1954–2006). Gilmour and Rothstein had posited that the Grand Old Party's (GOP) 'permanent minority' status in the House between 1954 and 1994 was the principal cause of this differential. Contrary to expectations, we find that even after their takeover of the House in 1995, Republican Members of Congress (MCs) continued to leave the chamber voluntarily at higher rates than their Democratic colleagues, both to retire completely from public life and to seek higher office. Ceteris paribus, even as the GOP made considerable offsetting gains in its ability to re-elect incumbents and to retain open seats, this continued disparity significantly attenuated the size of their legislative majority and contributed to their ousting as the majority party in the elections of 2006. We conclude the paper with some speculations regarding the reasons for the persistence of relatively high rates of Republican retirements.


Our study supports the reliability and validity of profile analysis in children with neurobiological disorders. Three mutually exclusive WISC-III profiles were identified that characterized the majority of children with autism (low coding or Freedom from Distractibility Index with low Comprehension), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disability (low Coding or FDI without low comprehension), and brain injury (low Performance without low Coding or FDI). The profiles suggest attention, writing, and performance speed deficits in autism, ADHD, and LD; global visual-motor problems in brain injury; and specific difficulty with language comprehension and social reasoning in autism. Children with anxiety, depression, and behavior disorders did not exhibit distinct profiles. Our profile analysis is based on the simple rank ordering of standard scores. The profiles are clinically useful because they may alert clinicians to certain diagnostic possibilities, they reveal characteristic strengths and weaknesses that have implications for educational intervention, and they are consistent with preliminary WISC-IV data.


This paper examines how inhabitants of Shimshal, a small mountain community in northern Pakistan, resist their subordination in two realms of interaction with outsiders: (a) as porters for Western tourists, and (b) as animal herders whose pastures have been placed within the boundaries of a limited-use national park. I describe a shift in emphasis from mainly material forms of everyday resistance, to resistances aimed at negating the discourses that legitimise Shimshalis' continued subordination in these realms. I argue that community members' efforts to involve non-locals in their representational struggles effectively reconstitute some of the physical terrain of those struggles – specifically trekking trails and pastures – as third spaces, provisionally beyond dualistic understandings of porter/trekker, global/local, and self/other. The paper concludes by considering the hybridity implicit in this form of resistance; specifically, that to move beyond a dualistic understanding of self/other is to practice the hybridization of self.


Many applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) require the capability to navigate to some goal and to perform precise and safe landing. In this paper, we present a visual navigation system as an alternative pose estimation method for environments and situations in which GPS is unavailable. The developed visual odometer is an incremental procedure that estimates the vehicle's ego-motion by extracting and tracking visual features, using an onboard camera. For more robustness and accuracy, the visual estimates are fused with measurements from an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and a Pressure Sensor Altimeter (PSA) in order to provide accurate estimates of the vehicle's height, velocity and position relative to a given location. These estimates are then exploited by a nonlinear hierarchical controller for achieving various navigation tasks such as take-off, landing, hovering, target tracking, etc. In addition to the odometer description, the paper presents validation results from autonomous flights using a small quadrotor UAV.


Usually, semistructured interviews are conducted face-to-face, and because of the importance of personal contact in qualitative interviews, telephone interviews are often discounted. Missing visual communication can make a telephone conversation appear less personal and more anonymous but can also help prevent some distortions and place the power imbalance between adult interviewer and (child) respondent into perspective. In this article telephone and face-to-face interviews are compared in order to analyse the general applicability of telephone interviews and their peculiarities when researching children. The data consists of 112 semistructured interviews with 56 children aged 5, 7, 9 and 11, conducted in Germany. Each child was interviewed twice; once on the telephone and once face-to-face. By triangulating qualitative and quantitative analytical steps, both interview modes are compared from a number of perspectives. The results showed very little difference between the two modes of interview and therefore challenge the reluctance to conduct semistructured telephone interviews, both in qualitative research and with children. Dependent on the research question, relevant distinctions could be the lower interviewer involvement, the lower number of opinions and suggestions stated by respondents and fewer signs of tension and tension release in telephone interviews.


Decisions taken in the process of organizing and managing construction structures pose various risks and can adversely affect people's lives. Geotechnical risks constitute a large part of the risks of construction projects. Technical problems related to soil characteristics can lead to delays in the schedule and cost overruns in the budget of the projects. Geotechnical risks with the potential to cause major damage to projects must ultimately be prevented before they happen. Recently, many technological tools are available to use strategically for the management of such risks. The integration of various numerical methods with different technological tools might be effective for this purpose. The use of the right method or tool will greatly contribute to geotechnical risk management. Since the management of these risks can directly and/or indirectly affect the work program, the healthy progress of the project depends on the adoption of correct risk management approaches and strategies. With the aim of o determine the effect of technological tools in the management of geotechnical risks in this study, literature review about the management of geotechnical risks in construction projects was examined, and the methods used were compiled. The results of this study are expected to be a guide in terms of introducing technological tools to practitioners in the sector and improving risk management in their course.


Acupuncture has had a successful story in Brazil. With its use in the public health system supported by legislation since 1988, its recognition as a medical specialty in 1995 enabled the introduction of an annual board examination and the creation of an official Medical Residency Programme. Since then, medical acupuncture has developed considerably, mostly through its massive spread into the Brazilian public health system. Brazil is the only country outside China that has created a Medical Residency Programme on Acupuncture. The 2-year programme consists of 5760 training hours, beginning with major clinical areas (internal medicine, neurology, orthopaedics and gynaecology) during 24 weeks in the first year. The residents study and practice acupuncture using the traditional Chinese Medicine approach and also the biomedical model. Specialists educated by this programme are therefore expected to have an optimum knowledge of both Western and Eastern medicine. Since it was first created, nine public health institutions have adopted the residency programme on acupuncture so, rather than being an alternative therapy, acupuncture has become an easily accessible and well-accepted conventional medical resource in Brazil.


Citrullination is an essential post-translational modification in which the guanidinium group of protein and peptide arginines is deiminated by peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs). When deregulated, excessive citrullination leads to inflammation as in severe periodontal disease (PD) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Porphyromonas gingivalis is the major periodontopathogenic causative agent of PD and also an etiological agent of RA. It secretes a PAD, termed Porphyromonas PAD (PPAD), which is a virulence factor that causes aberrant citrullination. Analysis of P. gingivalis genomes of laboratory strains and clinical isolates unveiled a PPAD variant (PPAD-T2), which showed three amino-acid substitutions directly preceding catalytic Residue H236 (G231 N/E232 T/N235 D) when compared with PPAD from the reference strain (PPAD-T1). Mutation of these positions in the reference strain resulted in twofold higher cell-associated citrullinating activity. Similar to PPAD-T1, recombinant PPAD-T2 citrullinated arginines at the C-termini of general peptidic substrates but not within peptides. Catalytically, PPAD-T2 showed weaker substrate binding but higher turnover rates than PPAD-T1. In contrast, no differences were found in thermal stability. The 1.6 A-resolution X-ray crystal structure of PPAD-T2 in complex with the general human PAD inhibitor, Cl-amidine, revealed that the inhibitor moiety is tightly bound and that mutations localize to a loop engaged in substrate/inhibitor binding. In particular, mutation G231 N caused a slight structural rearrangement, which probably originated the higher substrate turnover observed. The present data compare two natural PPAD variants and will set the pace for the design of specific inhibitors against P. gingivalis-caused PD.


Induced hypothermia, a therapy that recently gained the attention of a broad spectrum of US and international medical authorities for its neuroprotective benefits in post-cardiac arrest patients, may represent an underexplored therapeutic option in patients with severe cardiac failure by optimizing hemodynamics and augmenting cardiac contractility. The authors present the first case report, to their knowledge, of a patient with severe congestive heart failure who underwent cooling prior to successful left ventricular assist device implantation.


This investigation is divided into three parts. First, the W-band dielectric properties of different biological tissues are determined. Then, the electromagnetic field in the human eye and skin is simulated for plane-wave exposure. An analytical method is used to investigate the specific absorption rate (SAR) inside a layered model of the human skin between 3-100 GHz. Furthermore, the SAR inside a detailed model of the human eye is investigated numerically by the finite-difference time-domain method for a frequency of 77 GHz. Maximum local SAR values of 27.2 W/kg in skin tissue and 45.1 W/kg in eye tissue are found for 77 GHz and an incident power density of 1 mW/cm/sup 2/. In the third part of the investigation, the temperature changes of superficial tissue caused by millimeter-wave irradiation are measured by a thermal infrared imaging system. The exposure setup is based on a horn antenna with a Gunn oscillator operating at 15.8-dBm output power. The measurements showed a maximum temperature increase of 0.7/spl deg/C for a power density of 10 mW/cm/sup 2/ and less than 0.1/spl deg/C for 1 mW/cm/sup 2/, both in human skin (in vivo), as well as in porcine eye (in vitro). The comparison of the temperature measurements with a thermal bio-heat-transfer simulation of a layered skin model showed a good agreement.


Background. Nephroid metaplasia is a benign and rare lesion that is confined to the lamina propria of the urinary tract. The leading cause of these lesions is previous trauma to the urothelium. Method. We report a case of nephroid metaplasia of a graft kidney from a living-unrelated donor. This patient presented to our clinics due to painless gross hematuria 1 month after renal transplantation. Result. Although malignancy was suspected in the beginning due to a filling defect demonstrated by urography, only percutaneous excision of the tumor was performed to preserve the renal function. However, the pathological result disclosed nephroid metaplasia. Conclusion. Hematuria warrant aggressive evaluation because underlying malignancy in a immunocompromised patient might be relatively progressive.


The article discusses certain issues related to the protocol form of pre-trial investigation of criminalcases. A hypothesis is tested that defines protocol proceedings as a simplified (accelerated) form of pre-trialinvestigation used in criminal proceedings in the Republic of Kazakhstan. A comparative analysis of theprotocol form of pre-trial preparation of materials has been carried out. This form was in force in the 1959Criminal Procedure Code of the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic. The simplified procedure for pre-trialproceedings was introduced by the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan in 1997.The accelerated procedure for pre-trial investigation has been in force in the criminal procedurelegislation of the Republic of Kazakhstan since 2014. The authors came to the conclusion that the protocolform is a full-fledged procedural production of the pre-trial investigation. This form practically does notcontain elements of simplification, and the introduced changes and additions have brought to naught theaccelerated procedure. This led to the fact that most of the cases are terminated due to violation of thetimeframe for the investigation.


Abel equations are among the most natural ordinary differential equations which have a Godbillon-Vey sequence of length 4. We show that the associated Poincare mapping can be expressed by iterated integrals with three functions which are solutions of a system of partial differential equations.


In April 2010, the State of Arizona established the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act, commonly known as SB 1070. Characterized at the time as the harshest anti-immigration law in the country, SB 1070 sought to drive illegalized immigrants out of the state by making ordinary life unlivable for them. This article examines four claims regarding the birth, life and possible death of SB 1070. First, the law emerged as a political response to a right-wing populism by promising to preserve White hegemony in Arizona by blunting the growth of the state's Latino population. Second, the law facilitated the state's interest in legitimacy by promising to restore "the border,' "citizenship' and "sovereignty' as protections against the consequences of globalization. Third, once the Arizona business community, which had been silent about SB1070, realized that the law was threatening economic growth, it mobilized to forestall further anti-immigrant legislation in the state. Fourth, the June 2012 decision by the US Supreme Court in the case of Arizona v United States signals that SB1070 and copycat legislation around the country will loose political traction as the threats they pose to capital accumulation become more widely recognized, and the investor class and their political allies mobilize to stop the passage or weaken the impact of these laws.


Purpose - The paper aims to study the effect of the unemployment rate and its volatility on crime in the USA. It proposes that not only the unemployment rate, but also its volatility affect the crime. Design/methodology/approach - First, the volatility of the unemployment rate is calculated using ARCH models. Next, using the results from the first stage the ARDL approach to cointegration is used to examine the link between the unemployment rate and its volatility on the crime. Findings - The cointegrated or long-run relationships are found only for burglary and motor-vehicle theft. The results indicate that the unemployment rate has a significant effect on burglary and motor-vehicle theft only in the short run and the unemployment volatility has a negative effect on motor-vehicle theft regardless of time span. However, it has a positive effect on burglary in the short run and no effect in the long run. Originality/value - The effect of unemployment rate on crime is documented in the literature. However, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that emphasizes the importance of unemployment rate volatility on the crime.


This paper develops a fundamental understanding of multidatabase concurrency control, which reveals the principles of multidatabase concurrency control to accommodate the two-level hierarchy of globally and locally independent transaction mallagemcnts. Local extensibility is proposed as a unifying principle in the combination of global and local transaction managements. Under this general principle, the key issues of ensuring the isolation and semantic atomicity of global transactions are addressed. Correctness criteria are formulated for various situations and recoverable global transactions arc constructed. Our discussions are conduded upon the only basic assumptions of serializability and recoverability all local database systems. The preservation of the necessary balance between the demands of global transaction management and local autonomy provide us with an enhanced theoretical understanding of the limitations of global transaction management in multidataba.se systems.


In recent years, rheological measurements of cells and tissues at physiological and pathological stages have become an essential method to determine how forces and changes in mechanical properties contribute to disease development and progression, but there is no standardization of this procedure so far. In this study, we evaluate the potential of nanoscale atomic force microscopy (AFM) and macroscopic shear rheometry to assess the mechanical properties of healthy and cancerous human colon tissues. The direct comparison of tissue mechanical behavior under uniaxial and shear deformation shows that cancerous tissues not only are stiffer compared to healthy tissue but also respond differently when shear and compressive stresses are applied. These results suggest that rheological parameters can be useful measures of colon cancer mechanopathology. Additionally, we extend the list of biological materials exhibiting compressional stiffening and shear weakening effects to human colon tumors. These mechanical responses might be promising mechanomarkers and become part of the new procedures in colon cancer diagnosis. Enrichment of histopathological grading with rheological assessment of tissue mechanical properties will potentially allow more accurate colon cancer diagnosis and improve prognosis.


In this paper, the cell formation problem is considered with ratio level data with an objective of minimising the cell load variation. The attempt has been made to propose a simulated annealing (SA) based on the perturbation scheme as random insertion perturbation scheme (RIPS). The ratio level data is distinguished by utilising the workload information gathered from process times, production quantity of parts and also from the capacity of the machines. A modified grouping efficiency (MGE) is used to measure the performance of the system. From the results it is observed that the simulated annealing produces the solution does not differ significantly from the optimal solutions for the benchmark problems. The algorithms which we have chosen the benchmark problems are K-means, modified ART1 and genetic algorithm taken from the literature.


The need to get 'fit' has resulted in a planetary fitness centre expansion, which has by the principle of cause and effect brought out a massive number of different fitness exercising programmes, methods, equipment and props, with an aim to achieve better and faster training results, i.e. the wanted transformational anthropological status. The new fitness programs are emerging almost every day, which in spite of a vast marketing support and a current publicity are forgotten very fast. Within those conditions, in order to achieve satisfaction and trust of your clients, the offered programmes need to produce wanted effects in regards to the transformation of targeted abilities or characteristics of those who perform exercises. This presents constant challenges to the fitness industry, along with the obligation to seek for optimum, scientifically accepted and proven exercising methods. It is because of those reasons that the professional fitness centres are interested in introducing and applying only proven training methods, using highly sophisticated and technologically advanced equipment. This paper deals with a detail analysis of vibration training methods as one of the three methods which have been developed through a research designed for the astronauts. It was released into public after the fall of the "Berlin Wall 1989" and opening the secret USSR and USA documents. The current research defines the related units starting from epistemology of the vibration training, its application as an alternative to developing conditional capacities (strength, muscle endurance, increasing mobility, elasticity, muscle coordination and the balance between reduced pain and muscle tone, increasing peripheral circulation, etc.) clinical use in physiotherapy and vibration training (in regards to strength increase, power, flexibility, mineral bone density, increased cardio-vascular functions as well as reducing pain) and vibration training as one of the means to athlete recovery (body's regeneration processes) so as to prevent negative training effects (the development of overtraining and chronic fatigue). Each of the units will contain information which is relevant to the theory and practice in sport, recreation and convalescence of athletes and patients. Article visualizations:


Choledochal cysts are rare congenital malformations of the biliary tract. Though most cysts are diagnosed incidentally, some present directly with complications. We report on the case of an 11-month-old girl admitted for abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. Ultrasonography revealed intraabdominal fluid and the absence of a choledochal cyst diagnosed 2 months earlier. Laparotomy for suspected rupture of a choledochal cyst was planned and a choledochojejunostomy with Roux-en-Y was performed. Spontaneous rupture of a choledochal cyst is rare and occurs most frequently in children under the age of 4. The exact cause is yet unknown and several factors have been implicated. The most probable cause is the combination of pancreatic reflux and epithelial irritation of a weakened cyst wall. Choledochal cysts should preferably be treated as soon as the child is 6 months old. Complete excision of the cyst is mandatory because of the risk of malignant transformation.


Skin sensitization associated with allergic contact dermatitis is a common health problem and is an important consideration for toxicologists in safety assessment. Historically, in vivo predictive tests have been used with good success to identify substances that have the potential to induce skin sensitization, and these tests formed the basis of safety evaluation. These original tests are now being replaced gradually either by in vitro assays or by further refinements of in vivo methods such as the local lymph node assay. Human data have also been available to inform classification decisions for some substances and have been used by risk managers to introduce measures for exposure reduction. However, humans encounter hazards in the context of exposure rather than in the form of intrinsic hazards per se, and so in this article, we have examined critically the extent to which human data have been used to refine classification decisions and safety evaluations. We have also evaluated information on the burden of human allergic skin disease and used this to address the question of whether, and to what extent, the identification and evaluation of skin sensitization hazards has led to an improvement of public and/or occupational health.


In the present study, the role of learning potential assessment as part of cognitive assessment for vocational guidance was investigated for a population (N=262) of junior secondary students. Mean scores, distribution of scores, inter-correlation of scores and predictive validity were evaluated. The mean learning potential scores indicated a level of general reasoning and learning potential higher than the academic level of the students at the time of assessment and the distribution of the scores indicated tertiary level potential for some learners. Statistically significant correlations were found between the LPCAT learning potential scores and three sub-tests of the Differential Aptitude Test (Form R) (DAT-R) namely Verbal Reasoning, Comparison and Spatial Perception. Furthermore, all cognitive scores showed statistically significant correlations with the aggregate end-of-year academic performance in English, Life Orientation and Mathematics. Based on the results of this study, verbal reasoning is a better predictor of aggregate academic performance than learning potential based on non-verbal figural reasoning. A total of 35.3% of the variance in academic performance was predicted by combining learning potential and aptitude scores. The unique explanation of variance in academic performance by means of the LPCAT post-test results alone was 12.9%, while for Verbal Reasoning aptitude alone it was 29.2%. [INSERT 6-8 KEY WORDS] Learning potential, vocational guidance, Learning Potential Computerised Adaptive Test (LPCAT), adolescents, predictive validity.


LFG c(onstituent)-structure and f(unctional)-structure analyses provide the detailed syntactic structures necessary for subsequent semantic analysis. The f-structure encodes grammatical functions as well as semantically relevant features like tense and number. The c-structure, in conjunction with the φ-mapping, provides the information on linear precedence necessary for semantic scope and anaphora resolution. In this paper, we present a system in which a stochastic LFG-like grammar of English provides the input to the semantic processing. The LFG-like grammar uses stochastic methods to create a c-structure and a proto f-structure. A set of ordered rewrite rules augments and reconfigures the proto f-structure to add more information to the stochastic output, thereby creating true LFG f-structures with all of the features that the semantics requires. Evaluation of the resulting derived f-structures and of the semantic representations based on them indicates that the stochastic LFGlike grammar can be used to produce input to the semantics. These grammars combine the advantages of LFG structures, e.g. the explicit encoding of grammatical functions, with the advantages of stochastic systems, e.g. providing connected parses in the face of less-than-ideal input.


Just as they did for other communist parties around the world, events in 1956 brought a crisis to the Communist Party of Canada (CPC). Khrushchev's Secret Speech and the Soviet invasion of Hungary produced a reckoning with what exactly it meant to be a communist and a marxist-leninist.
 In Canada, this reckoning would lead to a mass exit of party members and to a precipitous decline in the general fortunes of the party after 1956. In existing histories, this crisis has been presented as though it played out in quite strictly bipolar fashion as a conflict between a growing
 minority of independent marxists on the one hand and, on the other, a larger group of party leaders and their supporters who remained committed to a Soviet-aligned marxist-leninist politics in Canada. In fact, the ideology of the crisis was more complex. Ideological reactions to 1956 could
 range, at least, across stalinist, liberal, marxist-leninist, or independent-marxist iterations. Taking 1956 to constitute a year of refusal in the CPC, this essay follows the trajectories of these ideologically distinct 'modes of refusal' and suggests an alternative history.


Myofibroblastoma (MFB) is a rare mesenchymal tumor arising in breast's soft tissue with a great variety of microscopic features that can be mistaken with a wide variety of biphasic lesions. The authors report a rare case of myofibroblastoma of the breast arising in a mammary hamartoma (MH), present a review of the clinicopathological features of these lesions, and make some diagnostic considerations. The tumour consisted of a well-circumscribed nodule. MFB component comprised about fifty percent of the lesion and was made up of bipolar spindle cells arranged in fascicular clusters separated by bands of hyalinized collagen. There were fat cells and several residual hamartoma glands intermingled and distorted in MFB area. MFB component was positive for Desmin, CD34, bcl-2, and Calponin. To the best of our knowledge, MFB has not been reported in MH, neither has any of the reports described mammary glands joined within MFB.


Resistance to the pressor effects of angiotensin II, but not norepinephrine, has been observed in sodium depletion, potassium depletion, and cirrhosis. We tested the response to arginine vasopressin (AVP) in each of these conditions. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were made sodium depleted with furosemide and a low-sodium diet for 3 days, potassium depleted by feeding a low-potassium diet for 14-21 days, or cirrhotic by inhalation of carbon tetrachloride for 8 wk. In conscious rats, the pressor response to graded doses of AVP was reduced in sodium depletion by 27-43% compared with control rats. Sodium-depleted rats were also found to have enhanced baroreceptor reflexes, since the decrease in heart rate for a given increase in mean arterial pressure was greater than in control rats. When the ganglionic blocker pentolinium tartrate was given to sodium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was restored to control levels. In potassium-depleted rats the pressor response to AVP was 21-52% lower than that in controls, whereas cirrhotic rats also had a blunted response to AVP (14-41% lower than control). However, there was no evidence in either of these two states of enhanced baroreceptor activity, and pretreatment with pentolinium tartrate did not restore the pressor response to normal. Therefore, although resistance to the pressor effect of AVP was found in all three conditions, the mechanism of this effect was different in sodium depletion compared with potassium depletion and cirrhosis. We conclude that resistance to the pressor action of AVP in sodium depletion was secondary to resetting of the baroreceptors.


Organoclays (OCs), formed by surface modification of clay minerals using organic compounds, are typical additives for providing rheology for oil-based drilling fluids (OBDFs). There are different studies on the effect of OCs on the rheological properties of oil-based systems under high-pressure, high-temperature (HPHT) conditions, but finding new OCs as rheology control agents is attractive for drilling fluid engineers. This work reviews different OCs used in OBDFs, namely, organo-montmorillonite (OMMT), organo-sepiolite (OSEP), and organo-palygorskite (OPAL). Furthermore, the structure of OCs in OBDFs, their rheological properties, and the thermal stability of OCs were investigated. Besides, the role of fibrous and layered OCs in enhancing the rheological properties of OBDFs is illustrated. Finally, the synergistic use of different OCs to enhance the thermal stability and rheological properties of the OBDFs is presented. The study highlights research gaps and recommendations for research approaches and potential areas that need further investigation. The application of OCs in OBDFs is a wide field and has huge potential to be developed. The use of OCs in OBDFs will promote development in the oil and gas industry.


Presents an analysis of requirements for real-time object-oriented database models. The analysis is based on the assumption that in the future, real-time databases will need real-time, object-oriented, distributed, and active database features. We consider the problem of real-time object-oriented database model requirements in three steps. First, we list the aspects that we find important on real-time, object-orientation, distribution and rule handling. Second, we give a set of features of all of the aspects that should constitute the very core of a real-time object-oriented database model. Finally, we give an extended set of features that represents useful extra functionality to the models.