The palynology of sedimentary profiles aiming palaeoenvironmental reconstructions require quantitative analysis, so that the environment can be inferred from the palynomorphs. The percentage of pollen grains in each taxon, in relation to the total counted in the sample is largely used in this study, but often can significantly distort the results because it is a relative analysis. The absolute analysis of pollen concentration can correct these distortions, and should also be included in the methodology to ensure more reliable results.


Info 2022 Permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) speed control is generally done using flux-oriented control, which uses conventional proportional-integral (PI) current regulators, but still remain the problem of calculating the coefficients of these regulators, particularly in the case of control hybridization, the development of artificial intelligence has simplified many calculations while giving more accurate, and improved results, this paper presents and compares the performance of the flux oriented control (FOC) of a PMSM powered by pulse width modulation (PWM) using PI regulator, fuzzy logic control (FLC) and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS), in this work we present another approach of a neuro ANFIS using the hybrid combination of fuzzy logic and neural networks. This ANFIS is a very powerful tool and can be applied to various engineering problems. To make up for the deficiency of fuzzy logic controller. To understand the performance, characteristics, and influence of each controller on the system response, we use MATLAB/Simulink to model a PMSM (0.5 kW) powered by a three-phase inverter and controlled by the FOC, FOC-FLC, and FOC-ANFIS.


Introduction Total knee arthroplasty is a common operation performed to relieve pain and restore functional activity. While overall widely successful, a subset of patients has continued pain postoperatively with no identifiable cause. Neuroma formation has been identified as a possible contributor to this unexplained pain, often necessitating an additional procedure for neuroma removal. The purpose of our study was to evaluate if prophylactic neurectomy could reduce the occurrence of postoperative pain. Methods A total of 112 patients were compared, 44 control patients and 68 neurectomy patients. Demographic information, Numerical rating pain scale (NRS) and Knee Society Scores (KSS) were collected pre- and post-operatively. Patients were additional asked if they were overall satisfied with the operation. Results There were no differences between groups with respect to age (Median: 71 vs 69 years, p = 0.28), male sex (41% vs 44%, p = 0.85), or body mass index (Median: 32.2 vs 31.3, p = 0.80). When comparing the degree of change following surgery there were no statistically significant differences observed in NRS pain scores (Median change: −7 vs −6, p = 0.89) or KSS scores (Median change: +44 vs +40, p = 0.14). Similarly, there was no statistically significant difference in overall patient-reported satisfaction with the knee replacement (82.5% vs 86.6%, p = 0.59). Conclusion We did not find a statistically significant difference in NRS, KSS, or overall patient satisfaction between the prophylactic neurectomy and control patient groups. Larger studies with evaluation of the nerve diameter will be needed to determine which patients are at risk for symptomatic neuroma development following total knee arthroplasty.


Introduction Post transplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) is a strong independent predictor of mortality. Metabolic syndrome is known risk factor for diabetes and non alcoholic fatty liver disease(NAFLD) is a liver manifestation of metabolic syndrome. The aim of study was to analyze influence of pretransplant glucose metabolism and NAFLD on PTDM and to see any change in pattern of fatty liver post transplant. Materials and Methods Fifty chronic kidney disease, end stage renal disease(CKD-ESRD) patients who underwent renal transplantation were enrolled in study. Demographic data were collected; anthropometric variables were measured. Measurements of plasma glucose in the fasting state and 2 hours after ingestion of 75 g glucose, fasting insulin, c-peptide, beta cell function and insulin resistance were done within1 week before transplant and followed in post transplant period at 1,3 and 6 months.HOMA model was used to define beta cell function and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance (IR) = (FI x G) /22.5 Beta cell function (B) = (20 x FI) / (G -3.5) Insulin sensitivity (IS) = 100/ IR; FI=fasting insulin (&mgr;IU/ml), and G=fasting glucose (mmol/l) HbA1c, UGS abdomen and fibroscan were done pretransplant and repeated at 3, 6 months post transplant. Diabetes was defined according to ADA criteria. Results PTDM developed in 17(34%) patients. Mean age was 32.26 + 9.51 years. 2 hr plasma glucose was found to be higher in group that developed PTDM (123.18±8.15vs 97.30±1.72, p=0.010). HbA1c, FBS, fasting insulin, c peptide, insulin resistance and beta cell function were found to be non significantly higher in the group that later developed PTDM. Anthropometric variables, gender, basic disease, dialysis duration, NAFLD had no bearing on development of PTDM. No significant change was seen in pattern of fatty liver post transplant. Discussion The incidence of PTDM in our study was 34%(17/50 patients) which is comparable to study by Vincenti et al, who reported 30% incidence of PTDM(1).The mean duration of development of PTDM in our study was 30 days post transplant. In our study,2hr plasma glucose predicted development of diabetes in post transplant period which is similar to findings of a study done by Rao M et al(2). Conclusion PPBS is more sensitive parameter then FBS in predicting PTDM. Anthropometric measures and NAFLD are not predictive of PTDM in our group of patients where malnutrition acts as a confounder. References: 1. Vincenti F, Friman S, Scheuermann E et al. Result of an international, randomized trial comparingglucose metabolism disorders and outcome with cyclosporine versus tacrolimus. Am J Transplant 2007;7:1506-14. 2. Rao M, Jacob CK, Shastry JCM. Post-renal transplant diabetes mellitus-Aretrospective study. Nephrol. Dial. Transplant 1992;7:1039–1042.


This art-based research focuses on applying metal oxide in glass art to create 'Chinese glass calligraphy'. Dian Shi is a glass artist inspired by the shades of ink in Chinese calligraphy and this research emerged from her artistic practice using metal oxide melted into glass. The use of metal oxide in glass to give colour has a long history, for example, oxides were used in the 19 th and 20 th centuries by Amalric Walter and Henri Cros. Today, glass artists usually obtain coloured glass ready-made from a company. However, some are not satisfied with the available palette. Some develop their own colour using different quantities of metal oxide. Researchers have explored metal oxide for creative practice in glass art, such as Max Stewart, Heike Brachlow and Sylvie VandenHoucke. Glass artists/researchers have also been inspired by traditional calligraphy in creative PhDs. Chinese ink on paper can create different shades - dark to light. Similarly, percentages of metal oxide can dictate tone and colour in glass. Dian Shi set out to explore this idea through the research question: how might metal oxide be used in glass to emulate the ink shade of Chinese calligraphy for creative expression? It was believed that several glass making methods could be combined with oxides to create innovative effects. In order to address this question, a contextual review, including case studies and interviews was undertaken. Practical studio tests were used to identify possible practical routes. These tests were divided into two phases. Phase one explored: different shades in glass ingots, sheet glass and lampworked glass rods. Phase two focused on compatibility between metal oxide coloured glass developed in phase one and clear furnace glass. The main aim, was to create calligraphy using glass and oxide that 'floated' inside of glass forms or could 'stand-alone'.


The purpose of this chapter is to provide Pre-K through college educators, parents, and administrators who are involved with special education, insight into the processes and procedures from the perspective of a parent. The parent's perspective and involvement with their special needs child is critical in shaping the lifelong, special education experience. The literature and research shows a strong correlation to student success when parents are actively involved in this process. Rooted in the federal and state guidelines from the 2004 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), all students are entitled to education services from birth through age 21. Recommendations for the Individual Education Plan process as well as strategies for navigating special education services are revealed in this narrative.


Rat pup ultrasonic vocalizations (USV) are usually studied in outbred rats belonging to either Long-Evans, Sprague-Dawley, or Wistar stocks, but these were not compared so far. We therefore performed a stock comparison and analyzed USV of male pups (postnatal day 11) belonging to these three stocks. Pups of all three stocks showed substantial isolation-induced USV, but differed in various call features, like call numbers, peak frequency, and frequency modulation. Also, three different call types were identified by means of a quantitative approach based on peak frequency and frequency modulation, and it was found that their proportions differed between stocks. These results are discussed with respect to functional aspects of pup USV.


Background: Carfilzomib, a second generation proteosome inhibitor, is effective in the treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Recent phase II and phase III trials have demonstrated the efficacy of weekly dosing strategies. The aim of this study was to examine high dose once weekly carfilzomib in combination with weekly dexamethasone and low dose weekly cyclophosphamide (wCCD) in RRMM. It was hypothesized that this may offer a potent yet convenient and more financially viable triplet-based treatment option than existing combinations.
 Methods: The MCRN-003/MYX.1 multi-centre single arm phase II clinical trial is run through the Myeloma Canada Research Network (MCRN) with support from the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG). Patients who had at least one but not more than three prior lines of therapy and who did not have proteosome inhibitor (PI) refractory disease were eligible. Treatment consists of carfilzomib (20 mg/m2 day 1 of first cycle then escalated to 70 mg/m2 for all subsequent doses) given on days 1, 8, and 15 of a 28-day cycle, plus weekly oral dexamethasone 40 mg and cyclophosphamide 300 mg/m2 capped at 500 mg on days 1, 8, 15 and 22. Treatment continues until progression or intolerance, except for cyclophosphamide which is discontinued after 12 cycles. The total sample size of 76 patients includes a 6 patient lead-in phase where safety at 70 mg/m2 was evaluated. The primary objective was to observe an overall response rate (ORR) ≥ 80% after 4 cycles of protocol therapy. Secondary endpoints include safety, toxicity, kinetics of and maximal response depth and overall survival. This analysis is based on the locked data base of 2018 July 13.
 Results: Of the 76 patients accrued 1 was subsequently determined to be ineligible on the basis of bortezomib refractory disease, and 1 did not receive any protocol therapy due to a cardiac event occurring post-study registration but prior to treatment commencement. All patients who received therapy were included in the analysis as per protocol inclusive of the bortezomib exposed patient. Among these 75 patients, median age was 66 years with 33% being > 70 years of age. Thirty-seven percent were female. Thirty-nine percent received 1 prior line, 44% received 2 prior lines and 17% received 3 prior lines of therapy. High risk cytogenetics [(t4;14), t(14;16) and del P53] were identified in 32%. Twenty percent had ISS stage III disease and 11% had R-ISS stage III disease. Prior PI and immunomodulatory drug exposure was noted in 87% and 81% respectively.
 Within the first 4 cycles of therapy 84% (95% CI, 76-92%) of patients achieved PR or better, with ≥ VGPR achieved in 52% and ≥ CR in 9% (table 1, p = 0.0006). There was a trend toward a better ORR after 4 cycles based on the presence or absence of high-risk cytogenetics (75% vs 94% respectively, p = 0.051) not meeting statistical significance. The median duration of follow-up at the time of data analysis was 13.9 months (range 0.2 to 22.8 months). 18 patients have died with an estimated 1-year OS of 80%. The cause of death as assessed by the investigator was myeloma in 13 patients with 3 dying from a cause possibly or probably related to the study intervention.
 During the first 4 cycles of treatment, non-hematologic toxicity ≥ grade 3 occurred in 33% of patients; most commonly infection (16%) and fatigue (7%). Grade 3/4 anemia was observed in 17%, thrombocytopenia in 33% and neutropenia in 20%. Grade 3 or greater hypertension was seen in 4%, dyspnea in 1%, pulmonary edema in 1% and thrombotic microangiopathy in 4%; all resolved with no long-term sequelae. To date 37 (49%) patients have discontinued carfilzomib, 11 due to toxicity and 16 due to disease progression.
 Conclusion: This prospective phase II study demonstrates that wCCD is a safe and effective regimen in the treatment of RRMM. The study met its primary endpoint demonstrating a ≥ 80% ORR after 4 cycles of therapy. These results compare favourably to published phase III data examining weekly carfilzomib and dexamethasone as well as the established twice-weekly dosing strategies. This regimen will be a useful triplet-based option for RRMM especially in patients refractory to immunomodulatory agents who would otherwise be ineligible for the carfilzomib-lenalidomide-dexamethasone combination.

 Venner: Janssen: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Amgen: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria. Leblanc:Celgene Canada: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Janssen Inc.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Amgen Canada: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda Canada: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Sandhu:Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; Amgen: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Bioverativ: Honoraria. White:Amgen, Celgene, Janssen, Takeda: Honoraria. Chen:Amgen: Honoraria. Louzada:Celgene: Honoraria; Janssen: Honoraria; amgen: Honoraria; pfizer: Honoraria. Hay:Amgen: Research Funding; Novartis: Research Funding; Janssen: Research Funding; Roche: Research Funding; Seattle Genetics: Research Funding; Kite: Research Funding.


BACKGROUND
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy, a known teratogen often associated with drug use and smoking is a well-known public health concern.

AIM
This study provides prevalence data for alcohol, smoking, and illicit drug use before, during, and after pregnancy among Inuit. Factors associated with alcohol use are also identified.

METHODS
Two hundred and eight Inuit women from Arctic Quebec were interviewed at mid-pregnancy, and at 1 and 11 months postpartum to provide descriptive data on smoking, alcohol, and drug use during pregnancy, and the year before and after pregnancy. Sociodemographic and family characteristics potentially associated with alcohol use were documented.

RESULTS
Ninety-two percent of the women reported smoking and 61% reported drinking during pregnancy. Episodes of binging during pregnancy were reported by 62% of the alcohol users, which correspond to 38% of pregnant women. Thirty-six percent of the participants reported using marijuana during pregnancy. Alcohol use and binge drinking during pregnancy were more likely to be reported by women who lived in less crowded houses, had a better knowledge of a second language, drank alcohol more often and in larger amounts prior to pregnancy, and used illicit drugs. Binge drinkers were more likely to be single women and to have had fewer previous pregnancies. Postpartum distress and violence were more likely to be experienced by women who used alcohol during pregnancy. Binge drinking during pregnancy was best predicted by drinking habits before pregnancy, maternal symptoms of depression, the use of illicit drugs during pregnancy, and the number of young children living with the mother.

CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm that alcohol is a major risk factor to maternal and child health in this population, underscoring the need for culturally relevant and effective prevention programs.


On-line parameter adaptation schemes are widely used in metaheuristics. They are sometimes preferred to off-line tuning techniques for two main reasons. First, they promise to achieve good performance even on new instance families that have not been considered during the design or the tuning phase of the algorithm. Second, it is assumed that an on-line scheme could adapt the algorithm's behaviour to local characteristics of the search space. This paper challenges the second hypothesis by analysing the contribution of the parameter adaptation to the performance of a state-of-the-art reactive tabu search (RTS) algorithm for the maximum clique problem. Our experimental analysis shows that this on-line parameter adaptation scheme converges to good instance-specific settings for the parameters, and that there is no evidence that it adapts to the local characteristics of the search space. The insights gained fromthe analysis are confirmed by further experiments with an RTS algorithm for the quadratic assignment problem. Together, the results of the two algorithms shed some new light on the reasons behind the effectiveness of RTS.


Purpose To present the outcome of the interrupted iontophoresis-assisted treatment arm in an ongoing randomised clinical trial (NCT04427956). Methods A randomised clinical study of corneal cross-linking (CXL) using continuous UV-A irradiation at a rate of 9 mW/cm2 and three different types of riboflavin and riboflavin delivery mode: (1) iso-osmolar dextran-based riboflavin (epithelium-off), (2) hypo-osmolar dextran-free riboflavin (epithelium-off) and (3) iontophoresis-assisted delivery of riboflavin (epithelium-on) for the treatment of progressive keratoconus. Inclusion criteria were an increase in the maximum keratometry value (Kmax) of 1.0 dioptre over 12 months or 0.5 dioptre over 6 months. The primary outcome in evaluating treatment efficacy was Kmax. Recently presented stratified detection limits were used post hoc to confirm the enrolment of patients with truly progressive keratoconus and in the assessment of the need for re-CXL. Results Thirteen patients had been randomised to iontophoresis-assisted CXL when the treatment arm was interrupted; two patients dropped out. Of the remaining 11 patients, 7 were deemed as having truly progressive disease according to the more recent stratified detection limits. The disease continued to progress in three patients according to the original definition (increase in Kmax≥1 D), necessitating re-CXL with epithelium-off CXL. This progression was confirmed by post hoc analysis using the stratified detection limits for progression. Conclusions The iontophoresis-assisted CXL protocol failed to halt further disease progression in 27% of the patients. The failure rate increased to 38% when considering only the patients deemed to have truly progressive disease using the stratified detection limits.


In the context of the EUROCAT study, data on selected congenital malformations and chromosome aberrations were collected from the Canton of Zurich (1988-1997). It was found that the major proportion of severe and early malformations, such as anencephalus and holoprosencephaly, were detected prenatally; for oral clefts and meningomyeloceles this was not the case, at any rate in regard to isolated (non-syndromic) malformations. However, if these defects occur in combination with a chromosome aberration, the likelihood of such a case being registered is higher. For the same reason, i.e. due to abnormal ultrasound findings and intrauterine growth retardation, trisomies 13 and 18 were more often detected prenatally than trisomy 21.


The current study indicated  possibility  determining the inhibitory activity of silver nanoparticles which synthesis by the  Cinnamomum zeylanicum bark against 5 pathogenic bacterial isolates of to Multidrugs resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected from hospitals (Azadi Education, Kirkuk General, Tuz General), Silver nanoparticles showed their inhibitory effect against bacteria by the Well diffusion method and The Diameter of inhibition zones ranged between (23-14)mm As for the growth inhibition assaysilver nanoparticles showed activity against the bacterial species at concentrations of ( 25,50, 75, 100)%, respectively through the absence of colony growth on the surface of the culture media at these concentrations Therefore it is possible to use nanoparticles synthesis from plants for some minerals due to their effective inhibitory properties that they have against bacteria.


SAGE Publications The Truth about Hormones By Vivienne Parry. Published by Atlantic Books, London, 2008. Paperback 304pp. Price £8.99. ISBN 978 1 84354 429 6. Hormones are mysterious, misunderstood and magical, regulating mood, metabolism, reproduction, development and physique. The title of this book suggests a challenge to the convential wisdom concerning hormones, but it is, in fact, a wellresearched text, which is referenced and supported by interviews with leading endocrinologists. Parry's telling of the story of various hormones from discovery to function and disease provides a genuine insight into the world of endocrinology. It is interspersed with anecdotes such as JFK's Addison's disease and the role of big pharma in the HRT controversy. Newer hormones are explained, in particular the role of leptin and other hormones involved in the regulation of fat metabolism and appetite regulation. The book reads initially as a summary text of the endocrine system, then as a series of linked short stories. The style and emphasis of the book, particularly with the long section on HRT, is perhaps more likely to attract female readers. There seems to be relatively little on testosterone therapy or on the use of anabolic steroids and subjects that remain topical and controversial. Thyroid disease is also a common clinical problem and remains an area where entrenched views on diagnosis and treatment persist, so it was disappointing that thyroid hormones received only a passing mention. Nonetheless, there is plenty to maintain interest including sex, growth, ageing and the elixir of youth. This book would also be valuable for those interested in a career in health as the sections on HRT and the contraceptive pill, for example, put into context why these areas ignite political as well as endocrine passions. Hormones are subject to many myths, as can be seen in the lay and medical press, so Vivienne Parry's book The Truth about Hormones is a welcome contribution. It does exactly what it says on the cover.


Pyrolysis has a long history as a thermo-chemical conversion process to convert biomass to biofuels. It has large future potential driven by increased interest in renewable energy sector. Biomass supplies about 14% of the world's total energy needs. The pyrolysis product such as bio-oil, charcoal and gaseous products have multi-dimensional uses. Bio-oil can be suitable substitute for fuel oil or diesel fuel in many static applications including boilers, furnaces, engines and turbines for electricity generation. Pyrolysis gas and charcoal contains significant thermodynamic properties for heat and power generation in various types of industries. Council green waste, one of the sources of renewable energy, has a positive environmental impact resulting in no net releases of carbon dioxide and very low sulphur content. Pyrolysis process can successfully be applied for converting council green waste into bio-energy. Recent progress in green waste pyrolysis is elaborated and discussed in this paper. The sustainability of bio-fuel generation using pyrolysis, uses and applications of pyrolysis products, environmental impacts of pyrolysis process and recent progress in pyrolysis process modelling and simulation are also presented and discussed in this paper.


BACKGROUND
Neuroblastoma is the most common non-central nervous system (CNS) solid malignant tumor in children. The surgical treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma presents a challenge, and the benefits of aggressive surgical resection have been called into question.

OBJECTIVES
To examine our experience with surgical resection of neuroblastoma.

METHODS
We report on a retrospective chart review of our preliminary surgical experience in 25 patients with neuroblastoma who underwent surgery performed by a single surgeon at two institutions over a 3 year period. Demographic data, including stage of tumor and risk stratification, were recorded. Primary outcome was total gross resection. Patients were followed for 3 years after surgery.

RESULTS
We found that 80% of the patients, including those with high-risk neuroblastoma tumors, had total gross resection of their tumor with minimal operative morbidity and no mortality; 88% had greater than 90% resection of their tumor. Overall, 3 year survival was 84% (21/25).

CONCLUSIONS
Resection of neuroblastoma, even large, high-risk, bilateral tumors, was possible when performed by surgical teams with considerable experience.


Abstract
Metasedimentary rocks occurring as minor components of Mauranipur- Babina greenstone belt of the Bundelkhand craton were analyzed for major oxides and trace elements to constrain the composition and weathering history of their provenance and the tectonic setting prevailing at the time of deposition. On the basis of mineralogy and geochemical compositions, two types of lithologies are identified. First, a texturally immature, medium to coarse grained, light-coloured rock distinguished as Arkose. Second, a fine grained, dark coloured metapelitic rock containing adequate amount of mafic minerals, identified as greywacke. CIA (chemical index of alteration) and CIW (chemical index of weathering) values and Th/U ratios suggest that the source area of these sedimentary rocks had only been weekly weathered. ICV (Index of compositional variability) values of these rocks are <<1, suggesting that the sediments are generally immature. Low degree of weathering in their source region, immature nature and minor sorting influence on the detritus are the features which suggest high rate of erosion, rapid sedimentation, potentially marked relief and short distance transportation of the debris, derived from a tectonically active source region. Th- Sc- Zr systematic suggests insignificant degree of recycling. Assessment of provenance composition using Al2O3 - TiO2, Sc-Th/Sc and (CaO+MgO) - SiO2 – (Na2O+ K2O), variation diagrams, REE patterns and (La/Yb)n ratios suggest that the studied sedimentary rocks were derived from mixing of debris of felsic and mafic composition in different proportions. The provenance modelling using REE data indicates that the arkoses can be best modelled with an 80% TTG and 20% granite mixture. On the other hand the greywacke can be best modelled with a mixture having 50% TTG, 40% basaltic rocks and 10% granite.  It is suggested that the basin experienced contemporaneous sedimentation of immature detritus derived from a young craton comprising TTG and granitic batholiths and syn-depositional volcanic centres in an active tectonic environment.


Embodiments of the diagonal Bell Laboratories layered space-time (D-BLAST) architecture for multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) communication are developed wherein information symbol vectors are encoded using codewords from a lattice code [called a diagonally layered lattice (DLL) code], which are formatted onto the diagonals of a space-time frame. Decoding is done using a sphere decoder for each diagonal based on soft statistics obtained after zero forcing (ZF) or minimum-mean-square-error (MMSE) filtering and decision feedback. These operations give rise to an effective parallel channel model with channel gains with nonidentical statistics and additive noise which is Gaussian in the ZF-filtering case and non-Gaussian in the MMSE-filtering case. The so-called full modulation diversity (FMD) property is nevertheless shown to yield the maximum achievable diversity orders over the MIMO channel for both the ZF- and the MMSE-filtering-based decoders respectively, for any arbitrary fading distribution. In the case of the independent, identically distributed (i.i.d.) Rayleigh fading MIMO channel with K-transmit and N-receive antennas (with NgesK), these diversity orders are NK-K(K-1)/2 and NK for ZF- and MMSE-filtering-based decoding, respectively. The error probability analysis also yields a design criterion for optimizing transmit power allocations. Several lattice design methods are proposed for the effective parallel channel models. Two methods are proposed to achieve high coding gain in the Rayleigh fading MIMO channel; a third method is proposed that minimizes the exact symbol error probability (SEP) and can be tailored for any given fading distribution. A novel soft decision feedback decoder is also proposed based on the list sphere decoder to mitigate error propagation due to hard decision feedback. The salient feature of the proposed DLL schemes is that they have nearly full rate and full (or high) diversity order and yet a much lower decoding complexity than other existing full rate, full diversity space-time block codes (STBCs). The frame error probability (FEP) performance of the optimized DLL schemes for moderate-to-high spectral efficiencies and a wide range of signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) can be quite close to the performance of the best performing, but more complex to decode, STBCs. Moreover, the proposed DLL schemes significantly outperform other existing MIMO systems of comparable decoding complexity.


The ability to rapidly process others' emotional signals is crucial for adaptive social interactions. However, to date it is still unclear how observing emotional facial expressions affects the reactivity of the human motor cortex. To provide insights on this issue, we employed single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate corticospinal motor excitability. Healthy participants observed happy, fearful and neutral pictures of facial expressions while receiving TMS over the left or right motor cortex at 150 and 300 ms after picture onset. In the early phase (150 ms), we observed an enhancement of corticospinal excitability for the observation of happy and fearful emotional faces compared to neutral expressions specifically in the right hemisphere. Interindividual differences in the disposition to experience aversive feelings (personal distress) in interpersonal emotional contexts predicted the early increase in corticospinal excitability for emotional faces. No differences in corticospinal excitability were observed at the later time (300 ms) or in the left M1. These findings support the notion that emotion perception primes the body for action and highlights the role of the right hemisphere in implementing a rapid and transient facilitatory response to emotional arousing stimuli, such as emotional facial expressions.


The use of living, alkyllithium-initiated anionic polymerization to prepare chain-end functionalized polymers and heteroarm, star-branched polymers is discussed. The scope and limitations of specific termination reactions with a variety of electrophilic species are illustrated for carbonation, hydroxyethylation, amination, and sulfonation. The methodology of using substituted 1,1-diphenylethylenes to provide a general, quantitative functionalization procedure is outlined and illustrated with examples of amine and phenol end-functionalization. A methodology is described for the synthesis of functionalized, star-branched copolymers with compositionally heterogeneous arms of controlled molecular weight and narrow molecular weight distribution using 1, 3-bis(1-pbenylethenyl) benzene.


Naturally occurring epothilones have been synthesized starting from enantiomerically pure aldol compounds 9-11, which were obtained by antibody catalysis. Aldolase antibody 38C2 catalyzed the resolution of (+/-)-9 by enantioselective retro-aldol reaction to afford 9 in 90% ee at 50 % conversion. Compounds 10 and 11 were obtained in more than 99% ee at 50% conversion by resolution of their racemic mixtures using newly developed aldolase antibodies 84G3, 85H6 or 93F3. Compounds 9, 10 and 11 were resolved in multigram quantities and then converted to the epothilones by metathesis processes, which were catalyzed by Grubbs' catalysts.


It is extremely difficult for cancer chemotherapy to control the peritoneal metastasis of advanced ovarian carcinoma given its inability to target disseminated tumors and the severe toxic side effects on healthy organs. Here, we report antitumor M1 macrophages developed as live-cell carriers that deliver anticancer drugs for the treatment of the metastatic ovarian carcinoma. Engineered doxorubicin-loaded M1 macrophages (M1-Dox) significantly enhanced tumor tropism by upregulation of CCR2 and CCR4 compared with their parent cells. Meanwhile, M1-Dox inhibited doxorubicin-induced tumor invasion, whereas commercial Lipo-Dox did not limit these side effects. Importantly, our data uncovered a drug delivery mechanism by which M1-Dox transferred drug cargoes into tumor cells  via a tunneling nanotube pathway. The tunneling nanotube network acted as a transportation expressway for ultrafast drug delivery of M1-Dox, leading to efficient ovarian carcinoma cell death. Furthermore, genetic, pharmacological, and physical perturbations of these tunneling nanotubes obviously decreased drug transfer of M1-Dox, which further validated the evident correlation between drug delivery of M1-Dox and tunneling nanotubes. Finally, in peritoneal metastatic ovarian carcinoma-burdened mice, M1-Dox specifically penetrated into and accumulated deep within disseminated neoplastic lesions compared with commercial Lipo-Dox, resulting in reducing metastatic tumors to a nearly undetectable level and significantly increasing overall survival. Overall, the strategy of engineered macrophages for ultrafast and accurate drug delivery via the tunneling nanotubular expressway potentially revolutionizes the treatment of metastatic ovarian carcinoma.


We present the nucleotide sequence of a 1599‐base pair (bp) DNA fragment containing the entire GAL7 gene that encodes galactose‐1‐phosphate uridyltransferase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The deduced peptide was composed of 364 amino acid residues. The expected molecular weight was 42 005 daltons, which agreed with the observed value for the purified enzyme.1 The 3′‐end of the GAL7 transcript mapped at a position 82 bp downstream from the UAA termination codon by the S1 nuclease protection experiment. We constructed a GAL7′‐lac′Z fusion on various types of yeast plasmid vectors. The fused gene on any type of vector was induced by galactose and repressed by glucose as for the GAL7 gene on the chromosome. The response of GAL7′‐lac′Z fusion to gal4Δ and gal80Δ regulatory mutations was also similar to the response of the chromosomal GAL7 gene. By using various deletions in the 5′‐flanking region of the gene fusion, we delimited the sequence essential for galactose controlled expression with a 180 bp‐fragment of DNA lying 92 bp upstream of the transcription initiation site.


Due to the potential benefits of triamterene in diuretic resistance, this study was performed to assess whether triamterene add-on to the standard treatment of heart failure (HF)-related diuretic resistance improves outcomes. A randomized clinical trial was performed on 45 hospitalized patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction who had diuretic resistance. Patients were randomized to receive either triamterene 50 mg plus hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg (n = 23) or hydrochlorothiazide 50 mg alone (n = 22) until hospital discharge. The primary outcomes were changes in weight and fluid input to output (I/O) ratio. Secondary outcomes were respiratory rate, hospitalization duration, serum sodium and potassium, estimated glomerular filtration rate, creatinine, and blood urea nitrogen levels during the study period. The mean (SD) of weight changes was not significantly different in the intervention and the control groups [-6.3 (4.8) vs. -4.8 (2.4) kg, respectively; P = 0.1]. No significant differences were shown in I/O changes between the two groups [208.0 (243.4) in the intervention and 600.2 (250.3) in the control group; P = 0.4]. Although the respiratory rate of triamterene-treated patients decreased, the difference did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.2). Other secondary outcomes were also similar in both groups. This study did not support the use of triamterene as an add-on therapy for patients with HF-related diuretic resistance. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.


Standard deep learning methods, such as Ensemble Models, Bayesian Neural Networks and Quantile Regression Models provide estimates to prediction uncertainties for data-driven deep learning models. However, they can be limited in their applications due to their heavy memory, inference cost, and ability to properly capture out-of-distribution uncertainties. Additionally, some of these models require post-training calibration which limits their ability to be used for continuous learning applications. In this paper, we present a new approach to provide prediction with calibrated uncertainties that includes out-of-distribution contributions and compare it to standard methods on the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (FNAL) Booster accelerator complex.


This paper explicates competing conceptions of the WTO by examining the relationship between the perceived legitimacy crisis of the WTO and the emergence of development onto the global trade agenda. The general argument is that the WTO legitimacy debate in trade law literature can be understood as a proxy for a development debate. By reconstruing the legitimacy debate as a development debate, this paper shows how implicit within legitimacy arguments are competing conceptions of the WTO's function and purpose and that these conceptions are embedded within a broader development framework.
The unfortunate effect of the contestations and justifications of the WTO's legitimacy has been the obscuring of normative assumptions underpinning conceptions of the WTO. One suspects that the more the discourse continues in this tug-of-war of legitimacy, the more entangled our understanding of the WTO will be. Gaining a better sense of what conceptions of the WTO are dominating legal thought allows for a more substantive and detailed debate as to what the function and purpose of the WTO should be.


Mutations in CRB1, the human homolog of Drosophila Crumbs, cause autosomal recessive blinding disorders of the retina. Whereas Crumbs is implicated in apical-basal epithelial polarity and photoreceptor morphogenesis, the role of CRB1 in normal or diseased retina remains unclear. We characterized the retinal organization in vivo of patients with CRB1 mutations and found that, unlike other inherited retinal degenerations studied to date, the CRB1 mutant retinas are remarkably thick in cross-section and lack the distinct layers of normal adult retina. There are coarse outer and inner zones and a thick surface layer around the optic nerve. The abnormal retinal architecture in CRB1 mutations resembles that of immature normal retina. The results suggest that the CRB1 disease pathway disturbs the development of normal human retinal organization by interrupting naturally occurring apoptosis.


In France, stratiform fluorite deposits occurred at the base of Mesozoic sedimentary units from the Paris Basin around the Morvan massif, and reserves are estimated to about 5Mt. Detailed paragenetic sequence, fluid nature and the timing of the mineralization are still poorly constrained. In this study we examine the petrographical properties, trace elements composition and isotopic signatures of the fluorite deposits. These investigations provide insights into the parameters controlling the mineralization stages. The petrographical observations revealed a distinct growth zonation of fluorite crystals and a mineral paragenesis composed of multiple fluorite stages associated with various minerals (barite, sphalerite, galena and others). Significant variations of U, Th, Sr, Ba, and especially U/Th ratios are recorded from all fluorite stages. Concerning Rare Earth Element (REE), a bell-shaped pattern is recognized for all fluorite stages. Sr isotopic data of fluorite (Sr/Sr= 0.7119 to 0.7134) are incompatible with a seawater signature. Available microthermometric data and the thermal history of the basin indicate hydrothermal fluid flow. A preliminary isochron data suggest a Lower Cretaceous age for the fluorite mineralization at the Pierre-Perthuis deposits.


Sumaila, U. R., Teh, L., Watson, R., Tyedmers, P., and Pauly, D. 2008. Fuel price increase, subsidies, overcapacity, and resource sustainability. - ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 832-840.Global fisheries are currently overcapitalized, resulting in overfishing in many of the world's fisheries. Given that fuel constitutes a significant component of fishing costs, we expect recent increases in fuel prices to reduce overcapacity and overfishing. However, government fuel subsidies to the fishing sector reduce, if not completely negate, this positive aspect of increasing fuel costs. Here, we explore the theoretical basis for the expectation that the increasing fuel prices faced by fishing enterprises will reduce fishing pressure. Next, we estimate the amount of fuel subsidies to the fishing sector by governments globally to be in the range of US$4.2-8.5 billion per year. Hence, depending on how much of this subsidy existed before the recent fuel price increases, fishing enterprises, as a group, can absorb as much as this amount of increase in their fuel budget before any conservation benefits occur as a result of fuel price increases.


Abstract The objective of this study was to explore the correlation between bone marrow edema, stage of necrosis, and area ratio of necrosis with the hip pain grading in non-traumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head. Bone marrow edema grading at all levels and the hip pain grade differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Bone marrow edema grading increased by levels of 0, 1, and 2, whereas average pain rating increased as well to 40.73, 104.66 and 143.49. I ~ III period stage of necrosis and the hip pain grade difference was statistically significant (P < 0.001), with the average grade progress pain stage by the death of a rank gradually increased, I period, II period, III period was 57.00, 88.58 and 120.62, respectively. Area ratio of necrosis between 0 ~ 3 were positively correlated with pain, compared the two was statistically significant (P < 0.001), and with the degree of pathological changes is aggravating, increase the average rank of levels of pain. 0, 1, 2 and 3 are 36.88, 98.03, 123.87 and 151.93 respectively. We can choose the treatment method and evaluate treatment effect by considering a patients' degree of bone marrow edema, stage of necrosis and area ratio of necrosis.


In this paper, we propose a basic control method for the leg-wheel robot moving on unexplored rough terrains. When moving on a rough terrain, the compliance values and the trajectories of legs are set up according to the environment without using external sensors. And the step axis mechanism that we have developed, realizes the stable rolling movement of the robot. The proposed method is evaluated by a walking experiment in an outdoor natural terrain.


An important task in astroparticle physics is the detection of periodicities in irregularly sampled time series, called light curves. Many periodogram methods for light curves may be characterized as fitting periodic models using least squares regression. We generalize this approach and allow robust regression and weighted regression. This gives a unified concept which includes further methods proposed in the literature, allows to create new methods and take additional information about measurement accuracies into account. We compare all these methods using simulated data. We observe that if the quality of the measurement accuracies is dubious, they should be ignored, and that robust methods can be helpful if the light curve contains outliers. Finally, we propose a new way to determine valid periods by robust fitting of a distribution to the periodogram and outlier detection. In our simulations, this leads to better detection rates for periodic fluctuations with unexpected shape and less wrong detections in light curves of pure red and white noise. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Statistical Analysis and Data Mining 6: 73–89, 2013


Important and crucial element in the management of the technological flow of production of sugar product standards is the period of time the enrichment of massecuite, since its neutralization in the process of crystal formation in vacuum apparatus, excess sugar solution. Although currently proposed and implemented in the industry, including as a front-end accompany the process, a number of ways in the real world sugar production in many cases have to resort to the services of an experienced operator. It is obvious that in any case it is necessary to have a surround-dependent glucose solution data on time for the excess sugar solution into the vacuum apparatus. With regard to the period of the enrichment of depleted sucrose solution are entered into this substance excess sucrose solution, it should be noted that this problem is theoretically still insufficiently developed. It is obvious that for practical purposes it is desirable to have a simple and convenient for engineering calculation of sugar processing time dependencies of the specified volume of water from the operating parameters of the process (the required concentration of sucrose, temperature of the solution stirring). The problem is the quantitative analysis of sucrose crystallization in vacuum apparatus, including the timing of enrichment solution to the excess syrup, period of time processing massecuite total this apparatus has been investigated in many works. However, due to its importance to the task of obtaining commercial sugar high standards this issue required further in-depth examination. In the article to support the enrichment process solution sucrose due to neutralize this solvent system in vacuum apparatus, from the standpoint of diffusion theory provides a more reasonable compared to known so far, quantitative analysis of this process. Where as sucrose crystals team are considering a system of balls, uniformly distributed in vacuum apparatus. On the basis of the solution obtained by calculation formulas, results of numerical experiment reflects the graphic way.


The overall objective of the project (1996-2001) was to enhance the country's transport and trade effectiveness in the maritime sector in an environmentally sustainable manner. It aimed to help increase port productivity, efficiency and capacity to meet the demand of port users and operators at competitive rates through extension of facilities, mechanization and improved management of the Mauritius Port Authority (MPA), formerly the Mauritius Marine Authority, the Cargo Handling Corporation Ltd. (CHCL) and the Mauritius Freeport Authority (MFA), redefine the role of MPA as a landlord port authority working through as series of competitive concession contracts with performance indicators for port operations, support the development of MFA to promote Mauritius as an attractive tax-free base for regional trade, and support port development with sound environmental protection, including control of marine pollution, and port operations and vessels' safety enhancement.


Liver damage has recently emerged as one of the biggest issues in aquaculture; many farms are experiencing the "liver syndrome," which manifests as liver enlargement (up to two to three times its original size) and colour changes. One of the main causes of the disorders may be xenobiotic challenge brought on by drug addiction and environmental contamination. There are very few effective medications that can protect the liver from harm and/or aid in the regeneration of hepatic cells, despite the enormous breakthroughs in contemporary medicine. In the current investigation, fish Cirrhinus cirrhosus with paracetamol-induced hepatotoxicity were supplemented with Phoenix pusilla fruit extract. Its hepatoprotective efficacy was proven by the restoration of the liver indicators ALT, AST, protein, and histological changes. Phoenix pusilla fruit contains a large number of secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids, which may act in a number of different ways to shield the hepatocytes from harmful chemicals. Thus, the current study concluded that Phoenix pusilla fruit may effectively prevent liver damage from paracetamol by protecting it from oxidative damage and tissue-damaging enzyme activities.


In this paper, we aim to segment an image degraded by blur and Poisson noise. We adopt a smoothing-and-thresholding (SaT) segmentation framework that finds a piecewise-smooth solution, followed by k -means clustering to segment the image. Specifically for the image smoothing step, we replace the least-squares fidelity for Gaussian noise in the Mumford-Shah model with a maximum posterior (MAP) term to deal with Poisson noise and we incorporate the weighted difference of anisotropic and isotropic total variation (AITV) as a regularization to promote the sparsity of image gradients. For such a nonconvex model, we develop a specific splitting scheme and utilize a proximal operator to apply the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM). Convergence analysis is provided to validate the efficacy of the ADMM scheme. Numerical experiments on various segmentation scenarios (grayscale/color and multiphase) showcase that our proposed method outperforms a number of segmentation methods, including the original SaT.


Samples were collected from the stimulated saliva of 113 students enrolled in institutions of higher education. The students were divided into three "carries-diagnostic groups" on the basis of indications given by the Dentocult saliva test, which shows the frequency of lactobacilli and other aciduric microorganisms in saliva. The frequency of such microorganisms in 1 ml saliva in Group A was less than or equal to 103, in Group B greater than 10(3), less than 10(4) and in Group C greater than or equal to 10(4). The rate of secretion of saliva in Group A was significantly higher than in Group C (P less than 0.05). On the average, a rise was noted in the fluoride and calcium concentrations with increasing "caries activity". In the material as a whole, there was a negative and highly significant correlation between the secretion rate of saliva and the concentrations of fluoride and calcium. In the examination by groups, significant correlations were observed between fluoride concentration and rate of saliva secretion in Group A, and with respect to fluoride and calcium only in Group C. The results suggest that the extra salivary fluoride is likely to be derived from the enamel.


The amino acid sequence of kalij pheasant lysozyme has been analyzed. From the comparison of the tryptic peptide pattern of kalij pheasant lysozyme and maps from other bird lysozymes followed by the sequencing of tryptic peptides, the amino acid sequence of kalij pheasant was found to be: KVYGRCELAAAMKRLGLDNYRGYSLGNWVCAAKYESNFNTHATNRNTDGSTDYGIL- QINSRWWCNDGKTPGSRNLCHIPCSALLSSDITASVNCAKKIVSDGNGMNAW- VAWRNRCKGTDVSVWTRGCRL. This sequence had 9 amino acid substitutions compared with hen egg-white lysozyme. Two of these substitutions, positions 34 and 121, were newly detected in phasianid birds. The protein genealogy of phasianid bird lysozymes showed some discordance with the morphological classification of these birds.


The need to accurately and efficiently estimate room impulse responses arises in many acoustic signal processing applications. In this work, we present a general family of algorithms which contain the conventional normalized least mean squares (NLMS) algorithm as a special case. Specific members of this family yield estimates which are robust both to different noise models and choice of parameters. We demonstrate the merits of our approach to accurately estimate sparse room impulse responses in simulations with speech signals


We propose a random-matrix model for families of elliptic curve L-functions of finite conductor. A repulsion of the critical zeros of these L-functions away from the centre of the critical strip was observed numerically by Miller (2006 Exp. Math. 15 257–79); such behaviour deviates qualitatively from the conjectural limiting distribution of the zeros (for large conductors this distribution is expected to approach the one-level density of eigenvalues of orthogonal matrices after appropriate rescaling). Our purpose here is to provide a random-matrix model for Miller's surprising discovery. We consider the family of even quadratic twists of a given elliptic curve. The main ingredient in our model is a calculation of the eigenvalue distribution of random orthogonal matrices whose characteristic polynomials are larger than some given value at the symmetry point in the spectra. We call this sub-ensemble of SO(2N) the excised orthogonal ensemble. The sieving-off of matrices with small values of the characteristic polynomial is akin to the discretization of the central values of L-functions implied by the formulae of Waldspurger and Kohnen–Zagier. The cut-off scale appropriate to modelling elliptic curve L-functions is exponentially small relative to the matrix size N. The one-level density of the excised ensemble can be expressed in terms of that of the well-known Jacobi ensemble, enabling the former to be explicitly calculated. It exhibits an exponentially small (on the scale of the mean spacing) hard gap determined by the cut-off value, followed by soft repulsion on a much larger scale. Neither of these features is present in the one-level density of SO(2N). When N → ∞ we recover the limiting orthogonal behaviour. Our results agree qualitatively with Miller's discrepancy. Choosing the cut-off appropriately gives a model in good quantitative agreement with the number-theoretical data.


We introduce an optimal stopping problem for selling an asset when the fixed but unknown distribution of successive offers is from one of n possible distributions. The initial probabilities as to which is the true distribution are given and updated in a Bayesian manner as the successive offers are observed. After receiving an offer, the seller has to decide whether to accept the offer or continue to observe the next offer. Each time an offer is observed a fixed cost is incurred. We consider both the cases where recalling a past offer is allowed and where it is not allowed. For each case, a dynamic programming model and some heuristic policies are presented. Using simulation, the performances of the heuristic methods are evaluated and upper bounds on the optimal expected return are obtained. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Naval Research Logistics, 2013


We assessed the validity of death certificate data for alcohol-related mortality in a population-based follow-up study of young, male US Army veterans. In a random sample of more than 18,000 men who entered the service between 1965 and 1971, there were 446 postservice deaths through Dec 31, 1983. For 426 of these deaths, we obtained both the death certificate and all other available medical and legal records pertaining to cause of death. A nosologist recorded each death certificate in accordance with the ninth revision of the International Classification of Diseases. A medical panel, without having access to the death certificates, assigned underlying and contributory causes of death on the basis of a review of only the medical and legal records. The panel recorded 133 alcohol-related deaths, or more than six times the number (21 deaths) determined by the original death certifiers. Omission of elevated blood alcohol levels in deaths due to injury accounts for most of the underreporting of alcohol-related mortality on the death certificates. Our findings suggest that death certificate data grossly underestimate the contribution of alcohol to mortality, especially in the area of injury, and the validity of official vital statistics for alcohol-related deaths would be enhanced if death certifiers incorporated all available antemortem and postmortem diagnostic information.


ABSTRACT van Gaalen, J.F.; Tebbens, S.F., and Barton, C.C., 2016. Longshore sediment transport directions and rates from northern Maine to Tampa Bay, Florida: Literature compilation and interpretation. This paper examines site-specific and regional longshore sediment transport directions and rates along the U.S. seaward coast from the northern Maine border to the mouth of Tampa Bay, Florida. From previous studies, it is known that along the coast, there are nodal zones, i.e. locations of divergence or convergence in longshore current, as well as variations in current direction and sediment transport rate. Available published field-based studies of sediment transport directions and rates were compiled to create a map of the direction and rate of longshore transport. A detailed compilation of local and regional published studies is provided in tables and in a sequence of eight regional maps. Compiled studies of longshore transport reveal a dominant southward direction. On the regional scale, 12 nodal zones are identified. At the local scale, the number of nodal zones increases by approximately an order of magnitude. This work builds upon the Master's thesis of van Gaalen (2004).


BACKGROUND Necrotizing soft-tissue infections (NSTIs) are rapidly progressing infections frequently complicated by septic shock and associated with high mortality. Early diagnosis is critical for patient outcome, but challenging due to vague initial symptoms. Here, we identified predictive biomarkers for NSTI clinical phenotypes and outcomes using a prospective multicenter NSTI patient cohort. METHODS Luminex multiplex assays were used to assess 36 soluble factors in plasma from NSTI patients with positive microbiological cultures (n = 251 and n = 60 in the discovery and validation cohorts, respectively). Control groups for comparative analyses included surgical controls (n = 20), non-NSTI controls (i.e., suspected NSTI with no necrosis detected upon exploratory surgery, n = 20), and sepsis patients (n = 24). RESULTS Thrombomodulin was identified as a unique biomarker for detection of NSTI (AUC, 0.95). A distinct profile discriminating mono- (type II) versus polymicrobial (type I) NSTI types was identified based on differential expression of IL-2, IL-10, IL-22, CXCL10, Fas-ligand, and MMP9 (AUC >0.7). While each NSTI type displayed a distinct array of biomarkers predicting septic shock, granulocyte CSF (G-CSF), S100A8, and IL-6 were shared by both types (AUC >0.78). Finally, differential connectivity analysis revealed distinctive networks associated with specific clinical phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS This study identifies predictive biomarkers for NSTI clinical phenotypes of potential value for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approaches in NSTIs. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01790698. FUNDING Center for Innovative Medicine (CIMED); Region Stockholm; Swedish Research Council; European Union; Vinnova; Innovation Fund Denmark; Research Council of Norway; Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development; DLR Federal Ministry of Education and Research; and Swedish Children's Cancer Foundation.


Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) is a rare autosomal dominant disorder manifested by involvement of multisystem including skin, central nervous system, heart, kidneys and eyes. Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is also a multisystem disorder that primarily affects the lungs. We report a case of tuberous sclerosis complex associated lymphangio-leiomyomatosis (TSC-LAM) in a 26-year-old female patient who was presented with spontaneous pneumothorax and renal angiomyolipomas. In clinical examination; We found multiple angiofibromas over her face, shagreen patches over upper and lower back and ungual fibromas in both fingers and toes. HRCT of chest revealed right sided pneumothorax with multiple thin walled cysts in both lungs. Ultrasonogram (USG) and Computer Tomography (CT) scan of abdomen revealed bilateral angiomyolipomas. We managed her pneumothorax with intercostal chest tube drainage and oxygen inhalation.
Bangladesh Med J. 2019 May; 48 (2): 51-54


Modifications made to the Long Trace Profiler (LTP II) system at the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory have significantly improved the accuracy and repeatability of the instrument. The use of a Dove prism in the reference beam path corrects for phasing problems between mechanical errors and thermally-induced system errors. A singe reference correction now completely removes both error signals from the measured surface profile. The addition of a precision air conditioner keeps the temperature in the metrology enclosure constant to within +/- 0.1 degree(s)C over a 24 hour period and has significantly improved the stability and repeatability of the system. We illustrate the performance improvements with several sets of measurements. The improved environmental control has reduced thermal drift error to about 0.75 microradian RMS over a 7.5 hour time period. Measurements made in the forward scan direction and the reverse scan direction differ by only about 0.5 microradian RMS over a 500 mm trace length. We are now able to put 1-sigma error bar of 0.3 microradian on an average of 10 slope profile measurements over a 500 mm long trace length, and we are now able to put a 0.2 microradian error bar on an average of 10 measurements over a 200 mm trace length. The corresponding 1-sigma height error bar for this measurement is 1.1 nm.


This three-part series provides a reinterpretation of Christian theology in the light of the Church's acknowledgement since Vatican II of the covenant between God and the Jewish people.


Specimens of the feather-legged fly, trichopoda pennipes (fabricius, 1781), were detected in gy, Perly and Monniaz (canton of geneva, Switzerland), parasitizing adults of nezara viridula (l.). this is the first record of this nearctic species in Switzerland north of the alps, and one of the first records in temperate europe. t. pennipes could have a potential to control the population of n. viridula , a pest that causes increasing damages in various crops and is known to be the principal host of this tachinid fly.


Abstract : An exploratory investigation of the dynamic effects of fuel sloshing in tip tanks on suddenly excited bending oscillations was conducted with two simplified model beam-tank systems. The larger system consisted of a cylindrical tank 7.5 inches in diameter and 10 inches long mounted on the tip of an 80-inch cantilever beam and the smaller system consisted of a cylindrical tank 4.2 inches in diameter and 6.9 inches long mounted on the tip of an 18-inch cantilever beam. Several fluids of different densities and viscosities (water, carbon tetrachloride, benzene, and linseed oil) were used in combination with various conditions of tank fullness. Recorded oscillations of the beams after sudden release from an initially deflected position showed the effects both of fluid damping and of the variation in effective mass on the beam motion. High-speed motion pictures were used to study the fluid motion. a Envelope curves of the beam-displacement time histories are compared to show the effects on the oscillations of variation in tank fullness, fluid density, fluid viscosity, and tank shape. The effective weight of fluid for the smaller test system is shown for each successive cycle of vibration, and the variation of effective fluid weight with tank fullness is presented. The results of this investigation indicate that after several cycles substantial damping may be obtained from fuel sloshing in a tip tank and the effective mass of the fuel may vary considerably under certain conditions of tank oscillation. For the fluids tested no effects attributable to viscosity were observed but for a given beam-tank system the density of fluid and tank fullness were found to be important parameters.


This article is the first in a two-part series on telemedicine programs. In this issue, the technological aspects of telemedicine and its advantages and disadvantages are presented. Part II, in the September issue, will focus on the legal issues of telemedicine.


We explore the dynamics of starting plumes by analysis of a series of new small-scale laboratory experiments combined with a theoretical model for mass, momentum, and buoyancy conservation. We find that the head of the plume ascends with a speed which is approximately 0.6 times the characteristic speed of the fluid in the following steady plume, in accord with Turner (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 13 (03), 1962, pp. 356–368), and so the fluid released from the source eventually catches the head of the flow. On reaching the top of the plume it recirculates and mixes in the plume head. We estimate that approximately $0.61\pm 0.04$ of the total buoyancy released from the source accumulates in the plume head, with the remainder in the following steady plume. Using measurements of the volume of the head, we estimate that a fraction $0.16\pm 0.08$ of the volume of the head is entrained directly from the ambient, with the remainder of the fluid in the head being supplied by the following steady plume. These results imply that the buoyancy force exerted on the plume head plus the momentum flux supplied by the following plume exceeds the rate of change of momentum of the plume head even including the added mass of the plume head. We propose that the difference is associated with a drag force resulting from the displacement of ambient fluid around the plume head. Using our experimental data, we estimate that the drag coefficient $C_{d}$ has a value $4.2\pm 1.4$ , with the range in values associated with the uncertainty in our estimate of entrainment of fluid directly into the plume head. As a test, the proposed model is shown to provide a reasonable description of a starting plume rising through a stratified environment in the region below the maximum height of rise of the associated steady plume, although, above this point, the shape of the plume head changes and the model breaks down.


paralysis of the muscles of both upper linbs and of the trunk, and also of the intercostal muscles, thus causing the breathing to be entirely abdominal. There was also partial paralysis of the lower limbs. No loss of sensation could be detected at any place. The temperature was 1ox0 F lpilse uIo, and respirations 3. No pam was complained of, but the'child was very restless constantly wanting to be turned from side to side. There was no-heaaiche, and the mental powers were perfect; there was no loss of control of the bladder or rectum, no priapism, and no rigidity or twitching of any of the muscles. The pupils were somewhat dilated, and seemed? inactive, but equal. There was no squint. Swallowingwas not difficult, and the speech was clear. At 7.30 P.a. of the, same day Dr. Barrs of Leeds saw the case wit;h me. when we' found that the condition of matters was very similar, except that the paralysis of the legsawas more advanced, and the muscles of deglutition seemed somewhat involved, and sensation seemed slightly impaired as regards delicacy of differentiation. The knee-jerks were absent. The spleen Was not felt. The respiration had at this time a most marked repemblance to that seen in a frog-that is, on inspiration a peculiar dis.tension of the region below the chin took place. There was not, even at this time any indication of cyanosis, and the number of respirations was notjabove 30. At ihidnight the facial'muscles became involved and speech indistinctAthe pulsd'waas failing and becoming rapid (126 per minute and intermittent), but the respirations were not much quickened, and there was no cyanosis At I A.X. (September xgth) the heart failed very rapidly, slight cyanosis appeared, and he died quietly ten minutes later. He was quite conscious and clear mentally up to 12.30 but after that heseemed to wander. No post-mortem examination could be obtained. The diagnosis of Landry's paralysis of a descending form was made from (i) progressive, symmetrical, motor paralysis, affecting first the muscles of the neck-the " stiff neck" complained of-then the arms, forearms, chest, legs, etc.; (2) sensation did not seem at all disturbed until a few hours before death, and even then only slightly; (3) absence of -rigidity, twitching, pain, or spasm; (4) mental functions unimpaired, and no loss of control over the emunctories. It is difficult to see any connection between the slip into the pit and the disease which caused death, as there was no sign whatever of any damage to the spine, and the symptoms do not seem to point to the possibility of the case being one of spinal injury or the results arising therefrom. Nor do I consider it was a case of infantile paralysis, although infantile paralysis has much in common with this disease. The case was an extremely rapid one, as will be seen by noticing the dates. Little is known as to the pathology of Landry's paralysis, and I would suggest that it is caused by an acute anterior poliomyelitis, somewhat after the nature of that found in infantile paralysis, but instead of the lesions being at spots scattered about the spinal cord, commencing symmetrically at a certain level of the cord, and spreading thenoe rapidly upwards and downwards. In the case above described the lesion probably commenced in the cord about the level of the second eervical vertebra.


A study was conducted to determine the diversity and
abundance of shorebird species habituating the mudflat area of Jeram Beach and Remis Beach, Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia. Direct observation technique (using binoculars and video camera) was applied to record the presence of bird species in the sampling sites from August 2013 until July 2014. A total of 32 species of shorebird were recorded during both migratory and non-migratory seasons. Of these, eleven species (48%) are migrants, six species (26%) have both migrant and resident populations, four species (17%) are vagrants and two species (9%) are residents. The compositions of the birds differed significantly in all months (χ2 = 84.35, p < 0.001). There is a significant difference in avian abundance between migratory and non-migratory seasons (Mann Whitney, t = 2.39, p = 0.036). The avian abundance were differed significantly in Jeram and Remis Beaches during migratory periods (t = 4.39, p = 0.001) but not during
non-migratory periods (t = 0.78, p = 0.456). Shorebird diversity was also affected by tidal cycle. There is a significance difference between high tide and low tide (Mann-Whitney, t = 78.0, p < 0.005). Frequency of disturbance also affected the shorebird distribution
(Mann-Whitney, t = 57.0, p = 0.0134). Therefore, this study concluded that tides and disturbances are two factors that affecting temporal distribution of shorebird in mudflats area.


Practically, co-authored research work reaches higher visibility and impact as compared to the individual published work. The objective of this study is to analyze the correlation between the number of coauthors in a published paper and the number of times that paper is cited in the literature. The analysis is divided into three categories: (i) research field-based analysis; (ii) influential co-author-based analysis and (iii) influential first author-based analysis. The ArnetMiner dataset version 6 is used for analysis. The research methodology is composed of research-field-based, influential co-authors-based, and influential co-author as a first author-based correlational analysis of citations for research articles. The research area is defined for each research article using the abstract from the dataset. The results show that most of the research fields have increasing citability with a greater number of co-authors. Research fields like programming languages carry more citations and knowledge representation and reasoning carry fewer citations with a higher number of co-authors in a paper. With an increased H-index of co-author and first co-author in a paper, the association between co-authors and citations is more negative than positive. However, in the field of bioinformatics, the association is positive both with influential an co-author and first co-author of a paper. This paper fulfils the need to identify role of collaboration in gaining research citability. It enhances the credibility of research both in academia and industry.


Context. MHD waves can be responsible for plasma fluctuations and short-term variations of the pulsar emission. Aims. We consider the properties of plane and cylindrical MHD waves that can exist in the force-free magnetosphere. Methods. Waves are considered by means of a linear analysis of the force-free MHD equations. Results. We argue that these particular types of MHD waves can exist in the magnetosphere of pulsars. These waves are closely related to the Alfven waves of the standard magnetohydrodynamics modified by the force-free condition and non-zero charge density. We derive the dispersion equation fror magnetospheric waves and show that the wave periods are likely within the range ∼10 −2 −10 −6 s depending on the magnetospheric parameters.


High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a non-cardiogenic edema which afflicts susceptible persons who ascend to altitudes above 2500 meters and remain there for 24 to 48 h or longer. Incidence varies with the rate of ascent and the altitude, while contributing factors include exertion and perhaps cold. Individuals susceptible to HAPE have low hypoxic ventilatory drive and an increased pulmonary vasoconstrictor response to hypoxia. Pathophysiologically, excessive pulmon ary hypertension is the sine qua non of HAPE, but other factors must also be present to produce permeability edema. Clinical manifestations of mild HAPE are dyspnea with exertion, decreased exercise ability, and dry cough. Symptoms of more advanced HAPE are dyspnea, tachycardia, and tachypnea at rest, cyanosis, ataxia, change in consciousness and productive cough. Coma may rapidly ensue. Death usually follows misdiagnosis and lack of prompt treatment. Therapy consists of improving oxygenation and reducing pulmonary hypertension either by giving supplemental oxygen or descending to a lower altitude. Positive airway pressure devices, morphine, and diuretics may be adjunctive therapy, primarily when oxygen and/or descent are not possible. The leak rapidly reverses with treatment, and without residual lung damage. Slow, gradual ascent is the best prevention of HAPE, but acetazolamide has been anecdotally effective for HAPE-susceptibles. The capricious nature of the disorder mandates better public education efforts so that HAPE can be correctly recognized and treated.


In this paper, we introduced the concept of (axis,width,disparity) symmetry map. It is a stereo extension of the monocular concept of (axis,width) symmetry map. In its principle, this concept can be used for the detection of any symmetric obstacle provided that its approximate width and height are known. In this paper, we used it for vehicle detection. As the presence or absence of road features, and hilly or plan road do not perturb the process, the proposed method is an alternative to v-disparity approach.


Plasmid partitioning superstructure system Partitioning and sharing DNA between dividing cells is critical for all domains of life. Prokaryotes must share certain plasmids as well as their genomic DNA to survive. Schumacher et al. studied the partition system that segregates a conjugative plasmid in the prokaryote Sulfolobus. The system consists of three proteins. AspA spreads along the plasmid DNA to create a protein-DNA superhelix. The ParA motor protein is linked to the protein-DNA superhelix through the ParB protein, which has structural similarities to eukaryotic centromere segregating proteins. Science, this issue p. 1120 Plasmid DNA partition proteins in a prokaryote form a complex protein-DNA superstructure that segregates the DNA to daughter cells. Although recent studies have provided a wealth of information about archaeal biology, nothing is known about the molecular basis of DNA segregation in these organisms. Here, we unveil the machinery and assembly mechanism of the archaeal Sulfolobus pNOB8 partition system. This system uses three proteins: ParA; an atypical ParB adaptor; and a centromere-binding component, AspA. AspA utilizes a spreading mechanism to create a DNA superhelix onto which ParB assembles. This supercomplex links to the ParA motor, which contains a bacteria-like Walker motif. The C domain of ParB harbors structural similarity to CenpA, which dictates eukaryotic segregation. Thus, this archaeal system combines bacteria-like and eukarya-like components, which suggests the possible conservation of DNA segregation principles across the three domains of life.


Introduction The aim of this exploratory study was to examine whether the kurtosis metric can contribute to investigations of the effects of combined exposure to noise and solvents on human hearing thresholds. Methods Twenty factory workers exposed to noise and solvents along with 20 workers of similar age exposed only to noise in southern China were investigated using pure-tone audiometry (1000–8000 Hz). Exposure histories and shift-long noise recording files were obtained for each participant. The data was used in the calculation of their Cumulative Noise Exposure (CNE) which was adjusted using the kurtosis data recorded for each worker. Passive samplers were used to collect solvent concentrations for each worker exposed to solvents over the full work shift. Results We observed an interaction between noise exposure and solvents for the hearing threshold at 6000 Hz. This effect was observed only when the CNE level was adjusted by the kurtosis metric. Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.


Server-assisted signature plays an important role in all kinds of applications in electronic commerce. It can be applied to the settings where a user employs public network servers to help her execute digital signature operations. In this paper, we discuss a problem of how to construct forward secure single-server, multi-server and threshold-server assisted signature schemes using Bellare-Miner Scheme and propose three signature schemes. In the single-server assisted signature scheme, the user (signer) can employ a server to help her produce a signature. In themulti-server assisted scheme, the number of employed servers is increased to n, therefore, it is infeasible for an attacker to forge a valid signature if she can't corrupt all servers and the signer. In the threshold-server assisted signature scheme, the generation of a valid signature needs the cooperation of the user and a quorum of servers. The scheme is more robust because the system can still get the correct signature as soon as no more than threshold servers are corrupted. These three schemes maintain the forward secure property, that is, even if the current secret key is exposed, an adaptive chosen-message adversary can't forge any signature pertaining to previous time period. Finally, we prove the proposed schemes are correct and forward secure.


The learner-centered paradigm departs from traditional teaching models by focusing on students more than teachers and learning more than teaching. Thus, classes are more egalitarian; they emphasize critical thinking, active learning, and real-world assignments. Graduate students in learner-centered classrooms were surveyed about perceptions of their experiences in relation to the key dimensions of the learner-centered paradigm and noted that the approach contributed to their feeling respected as learners, developed their critical thinking skills, and encouraged their self-directedness. Based on these findings, post-secondary instructors are encouraged to experiment with learning-centered approaches to further explore this promising model.


One of the most critical challenges in today's CMOS VLSI design is the lack of predictability in chip performance at design stage. One of the process variability comes from the voltage drop variations in on-chip power distribution networks. Power distribution systems in integrated circuits are used to provide the voltages and currents the devices need to operate properly. It provides the voltages and currents that devices in a circuit need to operate properly and silicon success requires its careful design and verification. In our work, we have Proposed the cell characterization methodology for instantaneous IR drop analysis as well as Power Up analysis for MTCMOS, computed resistances and capacitors based on technology data for 130nm node. A sample program was written to realize the mesh structure. This new algorithm is very efficient and scalable for huge networks with a large number of variation variables.


Martin Ramirez created nearly 450 drawings of remarkable visual clarity and expressive power while confined in a California mental institution for more than twenty-five years. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, he achieved posthumous fame with recent exhibitions of his works. Eighty important drawings, culled from public and private collections, comprehensively survey his achievement and demonstrate that he was one of the great draftsmen of the twentieth century. The richness of Ramirez's drawings and the depth of historical and cultural influences in his work point to his deep engagement with society. The artist's unique process-employing found items, homemade pigments, matchsticks, and large swaths of paper- is explored, as are his personal experiences of poverty, exile, and confinement. The volume includes recent research about Ramirez's life, family, and art, and features examples from a cache of previously unknown drawings by Ramirez, whose discovery caused a great sensation. This dazzling book displays Ramirez's skill and inventiveness and shows why his work is worthy of its own place in the annals of modern art.


AbstractThe development of our society has in many ways changed the relationships between the political parties and the citizens. Fewer citizens are active in political parties, which has contributed to the fact that we see a form of catch-all effect and a development of parties that organizes more in forms of professional organisations. This paper has made a research of modells of democratic ideals and values between leaders and party-members in political parties in the local area. The purpose has been to show how these ideals and values can reflect back on the political development. The result shows that the development has created a form of catch-all effect and a professionalism in the parties. The parties has a desire to recruit more members but have at the same time difficulties to invite to partcipation and shows a lack of including enviroment. The result shows that interaction and an inclunding environment is key terms to recruit and keep members, but it also shows that the effects of participation depends on the internal structures of the democratic processes in the parties. The problem with a weak intra-party democracy is that it hastens the weakening of bond between the political parties and the society. The result indicates that values disappear when political parties can be less described as a social movement. This suggests that words like intra-democracy, party-members and civil society are terms that are becoming less and less used in the political environment of today.Keywords – political parties, civil society, party-members, participation, intra-democracy


The following historical case study considers the initial history of Louisiana College. It utilizes primary and secondary sources, including dissertations, local histories, news articles, speeches, catalogs, yearbooks, and financial statements. The methods employed were historical, but the framework was that of an educationist. Beyond merely telling the story of the initial years of Louisiana College, the goal was to understand what contributed to the college's perpetuity in light of the mortality of similar institutions. As we face a period of a demography unfavorable to our system of colleges and universities, it is imperative that leaders and the broader stakeholders of particular institutions have a grasp of the factors that lead to institutional health and decline.


In this work, we report a novel and ultrasensitive dual-signal fluorescence emission detection system for protamine and trypsin based on the electrostatic interaction between polyethyleneimine (PEI) surface-modified positively charged carbon quantum dots (CDs-PEI) and the anionic fluorescent dye Eosin Y. The fluorescence system exhibited yellow-green fluorescence from Eosin Y and blue fluorescence from CDs-PEI. As a cationic peptide, protamine quenched the yellow-green fluorescence of Eosin Y at 542 nm through electrostatic interaction. In the presence of trypsin, protamine was specifically hydrolyzed by trypsin, which led to the subsequent recovery of the fluorescence of Eosin Y. Simultaneously, the blue fluorescence emission of CDs-PEI at 452 nm remained constant during the whole process. Hence, a ratiometric fluorescent nanoprobe for protamine and trypsin detection with high sensitivity was successfully constructed based on CDs-PEI and Eosin Y. For protamine detection, the ratiometric fluorescence intensity (I542/I452) exhibited an excellent linear relationship in the range of 0.1-5.2 μg mL-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.03 μg mL-1. And the linear relationship between I542/I452 and trypsin concentration ranged from 0.4 to 56 ng mL-1 with an LOD of 0.21 ng mL-1. Upon evaluating the performance of this method for the detection of trypsin in actual human urine samples, satisfactory results were finally obtained.


Manganites with the formula La1−xCaxMnO3 for 0.2 < x < 0.5 undergo a magnetic field driven transition from a paramagnetic to ferromagnetic state, which is accompanied by changes in the lattice and electronic structure. An isotropic expansion of the La0.75Ca0.25MnO3 cell at the phase transition has been observed experimentally. It is therefore expected that there will be a large entropy change at the transition due to the first order nature. However, the maximum obtained value for the entropy change in Ca-doped manganites merely reaches a moderate value in the field of a permanent magnet. The present theoretical work aims to shed light on this discrepancy. A combination of finite temperature statistical mechanics and first principles theory is applied to determine individual contributions to the total entropy change of the system by treating the electronic, lattice and magnetic components independently. Hybrid-exchange density functional (B3LYP) calculations and Monte Carlo simulations are performed for La0.75Ca0.25MnO3. Through the analysis of individual entropy contributions, it is identified that the electronic and lattice entropy changes oppose the magnetic entropy change. The results highlighted in the present work demonstrate how the electronic and vibrational terms can have a deleterious effect on the total entropy change. ∗ email@example.com


The rapid rise of China, since her opening up to the world in 1979, has certainly transformed the dynamics of global politics. In the almost four decades hence, for better or for worse, Asia has a 'front-row seat' to the impact and consequences of this phenomenal transformation of China's political economy. China's partici pation in this regional (and global) production web accelerated and deepened the economic integration in Asia. By 2000, scholarly attention began to focus then on the economic rise of China attempting to understand the Chinese model of fast-paced economic development, not unlike the literature relating to the rise of the Little Dragon (or Tiger) economies of Asia in the 1980s. As the rapid growth continued, China begins to more proactively participate in regional and global affairs—the so-called China's peaceful ascendance—a cottage industry of research on what that 'ascendance' might mean to regional and world order as well as burgeoning research on 'managing China' and 'socializing China' into global norms. This attention shifted radically when the 2008 global financial crisis hit as China was thrust into a different plane in global and regional affairs. Concerns began to surface about the waning US power and hegemony in light of China's growing clout then became the focus of scholarly attention—are we witnessing a power transition in Asia? What are the implications and consequences of this power transition? What do all these mean to rivalries and alliances in Asia? Is the prospect of major conflict in Asia unavoidable? What about the implications and impacts of the deepening regional economic integration to peace, security and stability in Asia? Are we actually witnessing an Asian century? These are just some of the many questions that have piqued scholarly interest and tickled their imagination. As Asia's international relations become the focus of the world's attention, it is timely to take stock and take another look at how extant theories, perspectives, frameworks and approaches can help us make sense of Asian international relations today. Furthermore, Asia's international relations also provide us an opportunity to reassess the utility of our existing theories. Therefore, rather than impose a particular theoretical perspective, we ask our colleagues to reflect on how we can understand the international relations and politics of Asia vis-à-vis our current stock of theories as well as how Asia can help reassess our theories. In this special issue, we assembled four essays that take a stab at a Guest Editorial


BACKGROUND
This study investigated the association between sociodemographic and behavioral factors and health standards based on physical fitness component scores in a sample of Brazilian schoolchildren.

METHODS
A sample of 1457 girls and 1392 boys aged 6 to 18 years performed a test battery of 5 items: 1) sit-and-reach, 2) curl-up, 3) trunk-lift, 4) push-up, and 5) progressive endurance run (PACER). The cut-off scores for gender and age suggested by the FitnessGram were adopted.

RESULTS
The findings showed that the sociodemographic and behavioral factors significantly associated with the ability of schoolchildren of meeting the health standards varied according to the fitness test. In the 5 tests used girls presented lower chance of meeting the health standards. Age and socioeconomic class were negatively associated with the performance in all physical tests. Schoolchildren aged ≤ 9 years or from families of lowest socioeconomic class presented approximately twice the chance of meeting the health standards than those aged ≥ 15 years and from more privileged families, specifically in the push-up (OR = 2.40; 95% CI 2.01-2.82) and PACER (OR = 2.18; 95% CI 1.84-2.54) tests.

CONCLUSIONS
Interventions to promote health-related physical fitness should not only consider gender and age of schoolchildren, but also selected sociodemographic and behavioral factors, especially socioeconomic class and leisure activities.


To support a water treatment plant in meeting trihalomethanes (THM) legislation, different THM control strategies using existing treatment processes were investigated. The effectiveness of optimised coagulation and of powdered activated carbon (PAC) (0–25 mg/L) as a mean of supplementing natural organic matter (NOM) removal was assessed. Simultaneous full-scale and bench-scale trials were performed to document THM reductions. At the plant, source and treated water total organic carbon (TOC) was monitored online. At full scale, optimised acidified alum coagulation (3.2 mg/L Al) achieved the maximum NOM removal and the lowest THMFP concentration. Although PAC (11 mg/L) showed a small reduction in TOC (7%) and taste- and odour-causing compounds, results indicated no significant THM reductions. Coagulation and PAC adsorption trials showed a good agreement between bench-scale and plant results.


This paper focuses on the relation between madness and labour in mental healthcare models. These models have been historically constructed and have produced the concepts and practices of attention and care, mainly in the mainstream of labour. This paper aims at understanding, through a series of theoretical studies, the concepts and practices produced at the birth of Psychiatry; in Social and Sector Psychiatry as well as in Institutional Psychotherapy in France; in the Italian Democratic Psychiatry and in the Psychiatric Reform in Brazil. In addition, it investigates the connection between Mental Health and Solidarity Economy in Brazilian reality, advocated by the III National Mental Health Conference 2001 and founded as an intersectoral policy of social inclusion through labour, in 2004. We will focus on the existing micropolitics of the process which constitutes self-manageable collective labour in the attention models of Mental Health.


GH and IGF-I have shown remarkable consistency of effect in a wide range of catabolic conditions. Doses of around 10 IU/m2/day of GH and 80 micrograms/kg/day of IGF-I over short periods of time can improve net protein synthesis and preserve lean body mass. Most studies have reported metabolic endpoints, but favorable clinical effects have included decreased hospital stay and mortality in burns, improved respiratory muscle function in COAD, preserved grip strength post-operatively, and improvements in cardiac and bowel failure. Adverse effects of GH treatment are uncommon and usually related to glycaemic control. GH and IGF-I have differential effects on insulin concentrations--increasing or decreasing concentrations, respectively. The hypoglycaemic effects of IGF-I are dependent on route of administration and are avoided by subcutaneous delivery. Occasional patients have needed to discontinue GH treatment due to hyperglycaemia, although the anabolic action of GH may be partially mediated by increased insulin levels. The co-administration of GH and IGF-I has theoretical advantages by both increasing IGF binding-protein concentrations and balancing glycaemic control. An initial study with combination therapy in calorically-restricted volunteers has shown anabolic effects greater than with either agent alone. This approach requires further study in catabolic patients. There is a need for large, well-designed trials with clinical rather than purely metabolic end-points, and some of these are already underway. Should these studies confirm the early findings, financial considerations will become paramount, although it remains possible that treatment may be self-financing if lengths of hospital admissions are shortened.


MATHEMATICAL MODELING FOR THE EXTRACTION OF URANIUM AND MOLYBDENUM WITH EMULSION LIQUID MEMBRANE, INCLUDING INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION AND COST EVALUATION OF THE URANIUM RECOVERY. Emulsion liquid membrane systems are double emulsion drops. Two immiscible phases are separated by a third phase which is immiscible with the other two phases. The liquid membrane systems were classified into two types: (1) carrier mediated mass transfer, (2) mass transfer without any reaction involved. Uranium extraction, molybdenum extraction and solvent extraction were used as purposed elements for each type of the membrane systems in the derivation of their mathematical models. Mass transfer in emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) systems has been modeled by several differential and algebraic equations. The models take into account the following : mass transfer of the solute from the bulk external phase to the external phase-membrane interface; an equilibrium reaction between the solute and the carrier to form the solute- carrier complex at the interface; mass transfer by diffusion of the solute-carrier complex in the membrane phase to the membrane-internal phase interface; another equilibrium reaction of the solute-carrier complex to release the solute at the membrane-internal phase interface into the internal phase. Models with or without the consideration of film resistances were developed and compared. The models developed in this study can predict the extraction rate through emulsion liquid membranes theoretically. All parameters required in the models can be determined before an experimental extraction run. Experimental data from  literature (uranium extraction) and (molybdenum extraction and solvent extraction) were used to test the models. The agreements between the theoretical predictions and the experimental data were very good. The advantages of emulsion liquid membrane systems over traditional methods were discussed. The models developed in this research can be used directly for the design of emulsion liquid membrane systems. The results of this study represent a very significant step toward the practical applications of the emulsion liquid membrane technology.


The theory of biological rectification originated from the study of physiological processes of the human body. Biological processes are defined by certain structures; biological rectification is achieved by biological structures too. These rectifying biological structures are the biological rectifying valves, a definition adopted from physics. An extension of this notion leads to a generalization of the rectification phenomena in biological systems. The practical value of this theoretical concept is widely presumed. Here we show that the loss of rectification may result in dysfunction or even destruction of the biological system, the rectification implies the simplification of biological processes, reduce the utilization of energy in biological systhems and in general can help in understanding the processes in the human body and biology better. We hope that experts of different scientific fields will probably confirm or disprove this hypothesis.