In the 20th - the American - Century, no visionary stands taller than Vannevar Bush. As the inventor and public entrepreneur who launched the Manhattan Project, helped to create the military-industrial complex, conceived of a permanent system of government support for science and engineering and anticipated the personal computer and the Internet, Bush is our century's reincarnation of Ben Franklin. Beginning with his boyhood as a turn-of-the-century tinkerer in his father's basement in Massachusetts, Bush went on to study and teach electrical engineering at Tufts and MIT. An early academic entrepreneur, he cofounded Raytheon, a highly successful electronics company, in his spare time. At MIT, during the Depression, he built what were then the most powerful computers in the world. During World War II, he was Roosevelt's adviser and chief contact on all matters of military technology, including the atomic bomb. He launched the Manhattan Project and oversaw a collection of 6,000 civilian scientists who designed scores of new weapons. When an Allied victory seemed inevitable, his attention turned to the future. In July 1945 he published his legendary essay, "As We May Think, " widely cited as the inspiration for the personal computer and the World Wide Web. In his landmark "Endless Frontier" report, published only weeks later, he boldly equated national security with research strength, outlining a system of permanent federal funding for university research that endures to this day.


Using the bacterium B. subtilis as a model and antibiotics as metabolic inhibitors which can suppress replication (mitomycin), transcription (rifampycin) or translation (streptomycin), it is shown that carbohydrate-binding proteins (lectins of plant origin) have different action on intracellular processes under study. The effect depends on lectin's structure and on the condition of bacterial reparation/recombination system. Lectins with chitin-binding domain (STA, WGA) is characterized by the most expressed effect on the repair-proficient strain when the inhibitor of template function of DNA (mitomycin C) was used. The absence of such effect on mutants recP and polC may prove that the corresponding bacterial proteins play the role of mediators in transmission of the signal influence of lectins. The representative of ribosome-inactivating lectins--SNA-I--could increase the streptomycin effect. It is proposed that intracellular effects of lectins have complex mechanisms which need participation of repair functions.


Noninvasive optical imaging technology has the potential to improve the accuracy of disease detection and predict treatment response. Pathology provides the critical link between the biological basis of an image or spectral signature and clinical outcomes obtained through optical imaging. The validation of optical images and spectra requires both morphologic diagnosis from histopathology and parametric analysis of tissue features above and beyond the declared pathologic "diagnosis." Enhancement of optical imaging modalities with exogenously applied biomarkers also requires validation of the biological basis for molecular contrast. For an optical diagnostic or prognostic technology to be useful, it must be clinically important, independently informative, and of demonstrated beneficial value to patient care. Its usage must be standardized with regard to methods, interpretation, reproducibility, and reporting, in which the pathologist plays a key role. By providing insight into disease pathobiology, interpretive or quantitative analysis of tissue material, and expertise in molecular diagnosis, the pathologist should be an integral part of any team that is validating novel optical imaging modalities. This review will consider (1) the selection of validation biomarkers; (2) standardization in tissue processing, diagnosis, reporting, and quantitative analysis; (3) the role of the pathologist in study design; and (4) reference standards, controls, and interobserver variability.


The increase in atmospheric CO2 levels can influence the growth of many invasive exotic plant species. However, it is not well-documented, especially for C4 plants, how these growth responses will alter the effectiveness of the world's most widely used herbicide for weed control, glyphosate. We aimed to address this question by carrying out a series of glasshouse experiments to determine if tolerance to glyphosate is increased in four C4 invasive exotic grasses grown under elevated CO2 in nonlimiting water conditions. In addition, traits including specific leaf area, leaf weight ratio, leaf area ratio, root ∶ shoot ratio, total leaf area, and total biomass were measured in order to assess their contribution to glyphosate response under ambient and elevated CO2 levels. Three of the four mature grass species that were treated with the recommended concentration of glyphosate displayed increased tolerance to glyphosate under elevated CO2. This was due to increased biomass production resulting in a dilution effect on the glyphosate within the plant. From this study, we can conclude that as atmospheric CO2 levels increase, application rates of glyphosate might need to be increased to counteract the growth stimulation of invasive exotic plants. Nomenclature: Glyphosate.


An exploratory study has been performed in order to assess the possibility of probing the symmetry breaking mechanism through the $VV$ fusion process using the CMS detector. A model independent analysis was carried out with no assumption on the mechanism restoring the unitarity in the scattering amplitude and without any degrees of freedom beyond the SM. In order to explore the sensitivity of the analysis method to an heavy Higgs resonance, we analyzed a data set produced using an Higgs boson mass of $500GeV$. Moreover, in order to consider the $VV$ fusion cross section in a region where no resonances are present, a sample corresponding to the no-Higgs scenario, that in the SM is equivalent to a very high Higgs mass, has been also studied.


BACKGROUND
The use of homograft tissue instead of various artificial materials in contemporary cardiovascular surgery, although limited by the constant shortage of donor organs, has become the clinically preferable procedure. The proper technique of heart retrieval, with strict donor qualification criteria and sterility procedures, is one of the key points in the successful preparation of allografts to be used later in a selected group of patients undergoing cardiac surgery, especially in the repair of pediatric congenital heart defects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The article presents the most popular surgical technique to use for retrieving a heart for cardiac homograft in multiorgan procurement and routine autopsy, including the immediate preliminary preparation and transport, as recommended by the majority of tissue bank institutions. The qualification criteria for tissue donation, delicate preparation techniques, and sterility protocols are also important issues for successful cardiac homograft retrieval. Recently a tendency towards a growing number of pediatric donors can be observed. The techniques presented in this article should also be applied in cases of homograft retrieval from pediatric donors.

RESULTS
This article analyzes our seven-year-long experience, involving a total number of 608 hearts retrieved for cardiac homografts, with special attention to the main reasons for disqualification of the organs delivered to the tissue bank.

CONCLUSIONS
1. The procedures for the sterility of tissue retrieval, especially in autopsies with heart retrieval, although they may sometimes be difficult for the surgeon or pathologist, are necessary to provide maximum benefit from harvested tissues. 2. The proper technique for pediatric homograft retrieval is twice as important in tissue delivery protocols.


Background: Diarrhoeal disease remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in children, especially in developing countries. Although Nigeria has already achieved remarkable progress in reducing under-five mortality in the last decades, studies done in different parts of Nigeria had shown that diarrhoea is still a major public health problem. Objectives: This study aimed at determining the prevalence of diarrhoea in under-five children who presented to Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital Neni through the period of January 2016 - December 2020, a 5-year review. It is also aimed at noting the influence of other socio demographic factors such as age, sex and seasonal variation on the occurrence of diarrhoeal diseases. Methods: A retrospective study design was used as patients' records were obtained from the medical records for the said duration of study and a pro forma was used in extracting needed information. Results: A total of 128 cases of diarrhoeal disease were recorded out of the 897 under-five aged children that visited the hospital at the said period of study. Thus with a prevalence of 14.27%. Higher number of cases were recorded in the dry season 96 (75.0%) than the wet season; 32 (25.0%) cases. More males were affected; 78(60.1%) than females;50 (39.1%). Children aged 0-11 months were affected more; 62 (48.4%) followed by those within the age bracket of 12-23 months 32(25.0%) with those within the ages 48-59months having the least number of cases; 8 (6.3%). Conclusions: From the study it was concluded that diarrhoea occurs more in the dry season in this region than in the wet season. It was also concluded that the general risk of diarrhoeal disease decreases with increasing age in children and toddlers are the most at risk group of suffering the disease.


Purpose of review In recent clinical trials, immunotherapeutic agents have demonstrated promising results for the treatment of prostate cancer. This review discusses emerging immunotherapies for prostate cancer and their evolving role in sequencing and combination therapy. Recent findings Therapeutic vaccines including PROSTVAC and DCVAC/PCa have completed promising phase 2 trials for the treatment of prostate cancer and phase 3 trials are underway. Recent evidence supports a synergistic relationship between immunotherapy agents themselves, antiandrogens and with cytotoxic chemotherapy. Prostate cancer patients with good prognostic factors, such as minimal disease burden, appear to achieve the optimal benefit from immunotherapy. Summary Therapeutic cancer vaccines and immunomodulating agents have demonstrated activity in the treatment of prostate cancer. Immunotherapies may alter the prostate tumor microenvironment and ongoing studies aim to provide guidance on effective sequencing and combination strategies.


Four new diarylheptanoids (1-4), along with two known tetralones (5, 6), were isolated from the roots of Juglans mandshurica and their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic studies.


Transplantation is one of the greatest medical advances and is considered as a therapeutic method. Transplants of kidney, liver, heart, lungs are currently the most prevalent application of this treatment. However, improving technically transplant due to advances in medical science unfortunately does not affect people's perception of their potential involvement in transplantation procedures. This paper addresses the issue of transplantation giving conceptual approaches for brain death and for organ donation from deceased and alive donor. There are also presented various different views on the issue of transplantation and the opinion of various religions. The articulation of this paper is done in 2 parts and in a total of seven chapters. Moreover, a research took place so as not only to enhance the existing literature on the subject of transplantation, but also to investigate the attitudes and opinions of workers in health units across the process of transplantation and organ donation in Greece. Also, with the support of the specific research, the factors that influence these attitudes are being explored. The survey was conducted with the help of a structured questionnaire and the sample consisted of the non-nursing personnel of the Hospital K.A.T. Some of the most important findings of the research is that the level of education affects the knowledge of people about transplantation issues. Furthermore, people who nourish confidence in the transplant system, they exhibit a positive attitude towards the potential to become organ donors. Future research is proposed to be directed towards investigating the attitudes and the perceptions of those persons who have had a direct experience with transplantation process, either as a relative of a brain dead person, or as a potential transplant recipient.


Political parties have a strategic function in actualize of good governance through representation and recruitment functions. The function of representation is a form of accountability of political parties to the public by absorbing aspirations, articulating and aggregating society's interests into laws, regulations, and policies, as well as overseeing the implementation of public policies. The function representation of political parties also includes forming and running an accountable and effective government, controlling corruption, and strengthening political stability. This study aims to analyze the causes of the governance function of representation and recruitment of the Golkar Party as a political party institution that has not optimally actualize good governance in the reform era. This study also formulates a governance model for the representation and recruitment functions of the Golkar Party, which can promote good governance. The research method uses mixed methods or mixed methods research (MMR), combining quantitative and qualitative approaches with exploratory sequential mixed methods models. The theoretical approach used is the political party representation theory of Bartolini Mair (2001), and Szymanek (2015), and the political party recruitment theory approach put forward by Pippa Norris (2006). The results showed that the governance of the function representation of the Golkar Party in the reform era did not function optimally because the function representation was still electoral, and the strong interests and presence of rent-seekers made the Golkar Party not autonomous, not free from oligarchy and corruption. This study recommends an excellent political party governance model with a functional aspirational house model and a model of educational institutions, regeneration, and recruitment.


This study aimed at identifying and understanding more deeply the self-regulated learning of students with a high GPA, who had multiple roles (as housewives and workers also). The approach employed in this study was the qualitative-phenomenological approach. The subjects of the study were selected by purposive sampling technique and the data were collected using techniques of observations and in-depth interviews. The results indicated that the four subjects conducted self-regulation in learning through regulating cognition, motivation, behavior, and emotion. Moreover, the subjects performed context regulation in order to achieve certain learning objectives. Self-regulated learning performed by the subjects was influenced by specific precipitating situations and the characteristics of each related individual. It was also strengthened by social support given to them.


EU regulations to be proclaimed will insist on product life cycle, Health-Safety-Environment issues and they will further enforce new ecotaxes. Anticipating these demands would afford Steel a competitive advantage and would further improve its image. The objectives of coated steel products, both in terms of process and properties are presented. The new developments of high performance steel surfaces are highlighted.


Teachers slowly became aware of the possibilities of technology as a mediator in teaching-learning processes. They was well aware of the importance of taking into account all the diverse factors that influence learning: it''s necessary to provide training closely linked to students'' professional daily lives, that it was fundamental to establish a climate of acceptance and trust in the classroom, and pay close attention to interaction with students at the same time as guiding them in carrying out the tasks that would enable them to build knowledge, etc. These were factors we was used to taking into account when delivering classroom training but we soon realised that they were also important in my role as an online teacher. I was surprised to discover that technology offered both the students and me the tools needed for mediating in teaching- learning processes, without losing the quality of human contact.


Poisoning is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in INDIA and also a major public health problem of worldwide. A thorough review of the risk factors helps to decrease the incidence and mortality. The study eva luates the cases admitted in R.I.M.S Hospital, KADAPA, Various parameters l ike age, sex, marital status, time of ingestion, agent responsible for incidence; type of poisoning, psychosocial problem, outcome and duration of treatment are analyzed. The objectives of this study are to determine the pattern and severity of poisoning cases admitted to R.I.M.S Hospital. A hospital based study was carried out in the patient admitted to R.I.M.S Hospital with the history of poisoning for the period of 6 months between May 2014 to October 2014. Various parameters were analyzed and compared with other study. There were 206 cases during the 6 months duration and maximum case belonged to second and third decade of l ife. Most common ma nner of poisoning was suicidal and Unintentional bites incidence was mainly during evening hours super vasmol33, was the most commonly abused su bstance. Most of the cases had arrived hospital after one hour of exposure and duration of hospital stay in many cases were less than four days. Based on these findings preventive measures l ike precaution taken at various levels, restriction in free sale of the poisons and promoting Poison Information Centres along with public awareness and proper psychosocial management to decrease the incidence and mortality in poisoning cases can be sugges ted.


Background We aim to compare the safety and efficacy of WEB with coiling for acutely ruptured aneurysms. METHODS: All consecutive ruptured aneurysms with width suitable for WEB (2–10 mm) treated over 5 years (1/1/2015 to 31/12/2019) were included. We recorded WFNS, Fisher grade, patient demographics and aneurysm characteristics (size, location, D/W and aspect ratio, lobulation). Primary endpoints were mRS status at 3 months, aneurysm occlusion on latest available imaging follow-up, retreatment rate and procedural complications. We applied propensity score matching using aneurysm morphology (size, D/N ratio, ASPECT ratio and lobulation) to optimise matching for WEB versus coil comparison and minimise the effects of confounding. Result A total of 493 patients were identified, 97 treated with the WEB device. 1:1 propensity score matching was used to establish a matched group of 97 patients treated with coiling. The WEB arm showed 3% procedural complication rate, with no haemorrhagic complications and use of adjunctive device in 4%. Satisfactory occlusion on follow-up (mean 14 months) was 79%, with 19% retreatment rate. The coil arm had 8% complication rate, with use of an adjunctive device in 52% of cases (balloon 44%, stent 8%). Satisfactory occlusion on follow-up (mean 22 months) was 90%, with 8% retreatment rate. Conclusion Treatment of ruptured wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms with WEB has a lower complication rate than coiling with high rate of satisfactory occlusion. However, there was a higher retreatment rate when compared with patients treated with coiling. An adjunct device (balloon or stent), was used in over 50% of aneurysms in the coiling group.


The article provides a conceptual framework for the importance of ethical workplaces in the sphere of public administration. The main aim of this paper is to identify the attributes of ethical workplaces, which are included in codes of ethics adopted by the selected group of local self-government units in the Slovak Republic. The integral part of the article is devoted to the analysis of ethical norms for public officials in the Slovakian cities. The main finding of this paper is that attributes of ethical workplaces are: mutual rights and duties, reporting of misconduct, ethical virtues and ethical leadership. However, the key benefit of the identified attributes of ethical workplaces might be a comprehensive view, which from the conceptual and inspirational point of view deals with current situations in local self-government in the Slovakia. Various limits and perspectives of the indentified attributes are discussed in the final part of the article.


It is seldom that one comes across a work where history-writing and qualitative research meet succinctly. Add to this an author who communicates crisply and relates real-life narratives that capture and hold the reader's attention. This is such a work. The author read history but did more than that. Since 1960, Axell has interviewed dozens of veterans of all genders, from soldiers to marshals, who took part in the battles on the Eastern Front. Through his reading of history, close acquaintanceship with the Soviet Union and Russian-speaking society, and multiple interviews, Axell brings the experience of the individual and group up close and personal.


World‐wide the number of grid‐connected PV systems is growing fast, especially in the built environment. In order to assure the quality and energy output of these systems, a number of electrotechnical requirements need to be fulfilled, at both component and system levels. In addition requirements with respect to electrical safety need to be met. Part of these requirements are covered by international standards, especially with respect to the PV modules. A number of standards is still under development. In the area of systems and utility interfacing local codes are still in use. These local codes differ significantly from country to country. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Personal digital assistants and other mobile computing devices rely on synchronization protocols in order to maintain data consistency. These protocols operate in environments where network resources such as bandwidth, memory and processing power are limited. We examine a number of popular and representative synchronization protocols, such as Palm's HotSync, Pumatech's Intellisync and the industry-wide SyncML initiative. We investigate the scalability performance of these protocols as a function of data and network sizes and compare them to a novel synchronization approach, CPISync, which addresses some of their scalability concerns. The conclusions of this survey are intended to provide guidance for handling scalability issues in synchronizing data on large, heterogeneous, tetherless networks.


Underdeveloped visual search strategies may be a contributing factor to children's involvement in pedestrian accidents. Although laboratory-based research suggests that the ability to detect targets in a cluttered scene may be less efficient in children compared with adults (Trick et al, 2003 Memory & Cognition 31 1229 - 1237), no study to date has examined this using a real-world, roadside setting. The present study compared the visual gaze behaviour of 8-year-old children (N=5) and adults (N=6) during a real-world, road-crossing task, using an eye-tracker. Participants were asked to cross the road when they felt it was safe. Gaze fixation was analysed using frame-by-frame coding. In the 3 s prior to crossing, children fixated 8% of the time on traffic signs and signals, adults 30%. Children fixated more on traffic-irrelevant features such as buildings and trees than the adults. The children's attention to irrelevant features at the roadside concurs with previous laboratory-based studies and is a likely contributing factor to their involvement in pedestrian accidents.


Abstract Modern physicalists frequently offer the generous concession that although dualism is false, it is not a metaphysical impossibility. And it appears that the proper formulation of physicalism allows for this concessionary position. It would be expected that dualists also could accept that while physicalism is false, it too is a metaphysical possibility. I will argue that a careful analysis of physicalism and dualism shows that in fact these concessionary positions cannot be maintained. In particular, the nature of the metaphysical determination relation which holds between matter and mind on both physicalist and dualist views precludes either from allowing that the other is a metaphysical possibility.


This paper uses wavelet correlation and cross correlation techniques to examine the integration between Indian and Asia Pacific equity markets. In the sense that both time and frequency domains can be taken into consideration, wavelets have been emerged as a perfect trade-off. Our results show that the Indian market is correlated with Asia Pacific markets largely on lower frequencies or longer time horizons implying that diversification opportunities for investors are more likely to exist at higher frequencies or shorter time horizons. The cross correlation result also reveals lead-lag relationship on lower frequencies which suggests investment strategies for investors operating in Indian market facing sudden changes in Asia Pacific markets.


Purpose: To evaluate outcomes of the Boston type I keratoprosthesis (KPro) and associated incidence of glaucoma. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Participants: All patients who underwent KPro surgery at 1 institution from 2003 to 2009 with at least 3 months of follow-up. Methods: Preoperative visual acuity, diagnosis, history of glaucoma, and intraoperative and postoperative parameters were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed to identify factors that may influence increase in intraocular pressure (IOP) and glaucoma development or progression after surgery. Main Outcome Measures: Best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), IOP, postoperative medical and surgical treatments for glaucoma, and KPro retention and complications. Results: Thirty-six KPro procedures were performed in 30 eyes of 29 patients with a mean (±SD) follow-up of 17 ± 19 months (range, 3–67 months). The main indication for KPro implantation was corneal graft failure (77%). Primary KPro procedures were performed in 23% of eyes for limbal stem cell deficiency secondary to chemical burns and aniridia and for herpetic disease. Median preoperative BCVA was hand motions with an overall improvement to 20/330 (range, 20/20 to hand motions) at 9 months postoperatively; mean BCVA was 20/600 (range, 20/40 to NLP) at the last follow-up. Twenty eyes (67%) had a preoperative history of glaucoma, with 8 of those eyes (40%) having undergone previous glaucoma surgery. Twenty-one eyes (70%) underwent concomitant glaucoma surgery. Postoperative increased IOP (22 mm Hg or higher) was noted in 15 eyes (50%), although definite glaucoma development or progression was noted in 7 of those 15 eyes (23% of total eyes). Mean BCVA at the last follow-up in eyes with glaucoma development or progression was 3/200 compared with 20/563 in the remaining 23 eyes. Six patients (20%) required repeat KPro implantation, and retroprosthetic membranes developed in 23 eyes (77%). No patient had vitritis or infectious endophthalmitis develop. Conclusions: The Boston type I KPro is an effective option for management of eyes with poor prognosis for primary or repeat penetrating keratoplasty. Visual potential is limited by preoperative comorbidities; however, glaucoma development or progression of preexisting glaucoma is a significant cause of postoperative visual loss. Rigorous perioperative management of elevated IOP is essential for long-term success of KPro surgery.


Erythrocytes infected with chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum bind chloroquine with an apparent intrinsic association constant of 1.5 x 107 liters per mole. Such high-affinity binding of chloroquine is absent or deficient in uninfected erythrocytes and in erythrocytes infected with chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum.


The identification and classification of noise sources in the ocean is a challenging task due to a myriad of impediments introduced by the complicated oceanic environment. The underwater target recognition system essentially has to identify underwater targets of interest that are heavily masked by the oceanic noise. The characteristic acoustic signatures of the underwater targets of interest, are patterned by feature recognition algorithms operating on data captured by hydrophone. In this paper, an SVM based classifier is used to distinguish between 4 classes of acoustic targets and attempt is made towards improving the performance of the classifier by automating the selection of kernel and algorithmic parameters of the underlying classifier through Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA).


Hexavalent chromium, or Cr(VI), is a highly toxic contaminant in industrial wastewater that needs to be treated before being released. A Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework ZIF-8 was assembled on the surface of mesoporous TiO2 beads to achieve a TiO2/ZIF-8 heterostructure for photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI). The TiO2/ZIF-8 nanobeads exhibited remarkable photocatalytic activity of Cr(VI) reduction relative to that of pristine TiO2 nanobeads attributed to the strong Cr(VI) adsorbing properties of ZIF-8 and improved charge transfer efficiency of TiO2/ZIF-8. This work illustrates a strategy for enhanced photocatalysis by modifying the metal oxide catalyst with high surface area Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework to improve adsorption and charge transfer efficiency.


The ratio of canonical and microcanonical temperatures T(c)/T(&mgr;) of a vibratory antiferromagnetic Ising chain with N spins is given by analytical calculation. The result is T(c)/T(&mgr;)=1+O(N-1), which is consistent with the natural assumption given by Rugh.


ABSTRACT The design of field experiments makes them inappropriate for testing many common political theories. These theories propose that certain factors—for example, income or information—affect how individuals make choices. To test these theories, researchers typically investigate the correlation between the relevant factor and individuals' choices, holding other factors constant. Field experiments, in contrast, allow multiple factors to vary at once: they create real-world disruption and do not control how actors behave in response. Subjects' choices will be affected by the experimental treatment as well as by other changes that occur as the larger system reacts. It will be difficult to isolate the effect of any one factor, particularly without a good preexisting model of the system and how it is likely to respond. If a field experiment will not tell us what we need to know, the benefit of the study cannot outweigh harm, and it also will be unethical.


One-dimensional semiconductor nanostructures, such as Si and Ge nanowires, have attracted extensive research efforts over the past decades (B. Y-K Hu & Das Sarma, 1992; Hirschman et al., 1996; Morales & Lieber, 1998; Holmes et al., 2000; Cui & Lieber, 2001; Cui et al., 2001, 2003; Koo et al., 2004; Audoit et al., 2005; X. Y. Wu et al., 2008; Dailey & Drucker, 2009). They are expected to play important roles as both interconnects and functional components in future nanoscale electronic and optical devices, such as lightemitting diodes (LEDs) (Hirschman et al., 1996; Cui & Lieber, 2001), ballistic field-effect transistors (FETs) (Cui et al., 2003; Koo et al., 2004), inverters (Cui & Lieber, 2001), and nanoscale sensors (Cui et al., 2001; Hahm & Lieber, 2004). Experimental and theoretical investigations showed that in these nanoscale structures charge carriers are confined in the lateral direction of the wires, thus quantum confinement effect is expected to play an important role on the electronic properties. This confinement effect has been observed, for example, in photoluminescence studies, by exhibiting substantial blue-shift of emission with reduction of the nanowire diameter (Z. Wu et al., 2008; Beckman et al., 2006; Bruno et al., 2005). Researchers also found that the band gap of Si and Ge nanowires depends on several factors, such as size (Beckman et al., 2006; Bruno et al., 2005; Arantes & Fazzio, 2007), crystalline orientation (Bruno et al., 2005; Arantes & Fazzio, 2007; Medaboina et al., 2007), surface chemistry (Medaboina et al., 2007; Kagimura et al., 2007), and doping (Medaboina et al., 2007; Peelaers et al., 2007). Recently, particular attention has been given to Si/Ge core-shell nanowires, in which factors, such as heterostructure composition and interface geometry, can be further manipulated to tune the electronic properties of nanowires (Kagimura et al., 2007; Lauhon et al., 2002; Y. Y. Wu et al., 2002; Lu et al., 2005; Trammell et al., 2008; J. Q. Hu et al., 2009; Peng & Logan, 2010; Peng et al., 2011b). Compared to pure Si and Ge wires, the core-shell structure has some greater properties. For instance, a better conductance and higher mobility of charge carries can be obtained, due to the conduction and valence band offsets in the core-shell nanowires (Kagimura et al., 2007; Goldthorpe et al., 2008; L. Yang et al., 2008). The band offsets also offer the heterostructure a wide range of applications in solar cells (Tian et al., 2007) and high-switching speed transistors (Y. J. Hu et al., 2008).


During operation fusion reactor components will be exposed to long periods of neutron irradiation. As such, a reactor's structural steels will become activated and need to be disposed of as radioactive waste. Previous studies have shown that such wastes can struggle to meet low level waste (LLW) requirements meaning that costly geological disposal may be required. In order to explore the waste expectations of steels from European DEMO-like fusion reactors, several radioactive waste management systems have been investigated. This includes their LLW criteria, currently available disposal sites and planned future developments. This information was used to analyse the results of DEMO-like inventory simulations of potential reactor steels. The simulations were performed with the inventory code FISPACT-II and the TENDL2017 nuclear data library. The results suggest that when steels are exposed to near plasma neutron fluxes they will struggle to meet the majority of LLW requirements. For lower neutron fluxes, typical of reactor containment vessels, the waste expectations can be more positive, with several steels able to meet some low level criteria. It can be concluded that steels should not be expected to be consistently internationally classified as LLW 100 years after reactor shut down. As all activated fusion waste cannot be disposed of in a single location, it is recommended that waste disposal strategies are included in any fusion reactor proposal before construction begins. These strategies need to align with the radioactive waste regulations the proposed reactor will be subject to.


The synergistic actions of the nongenetic and genetic factors are crucial to shape mosquitoes' feeding behavior. Unlike males, adult female mosquitoes are evolved with unique ability to take blood meals from a vertebrate host for reproductive success which eventually makes them a potential vector. Processing and integration of chemical information in the neuro-olfactory system followed by salivary actions facilitate blood meal uptake process. Thus, deciphering the underlying molecular mechanism of odor sensing through the detection machinery (olfactory system), odor processing and decision-making by decision machinery (brain), and regulation of saliva secretion by the action machinery (salivary gland) is likely to reveal molecular pathways which can be targeted to disrupt mosquitoes' feeding behavior. Here we summarize how smart actions of highly specialized neurosensory systems guide and manage feeding behavior associated complex events of (i) successful navigation to find a suitable host, (ii) making food choice decisions, and (iii) regulation of the salivary gland actions in mosquitoes.


For the rigid registration of multi-modality medical images, mutual information (MI) technique is unsuitable to clinical diagnose because of high computational cost and low robustness. In this paper, a new concept of equivalent meridian plane (EMP) is proposed, and the EMP and other two normal feature planes are determined using principal component analysis (PCA); the rough registrations of those 2D planes are to be realized at six freedom degree; finally, the refine registrations can be completed using MI in a small neighboring region. This method is called as EMP based MI registration technique. The accuracy and robustness of EMP-MI approach can be verified by applying it to the simulated and real brain image data (CT, MR, PET, and SPECT). The experimental results indicate that the proposed algorithm reduces computational time distinctly and is a global optimal strategy.


Abstract Consider a product system over the positive cone of a quasi-lattice ordered group. We construct a Fell bundle over an associated groupoid so that the cross-sectional algebra of the bundle is isomorphic to the Nica–Toeplitz algebra of the product system. Under the additional hypothesis that the left actions in the product system are implemented by injective homomorphisms, we show that the cross-sectional algebra of the restriction of the bundle to a natural boundary subgroupoid coincides with the Cuntz–Nica–Pimsner algebra of the product system. We apply these results to improve on existing sufficient conditions for nuclearity of the Nica–Toeplitz algebra and the Cuntz–Nica–Pimsner algebra, and for the Cuntz–Nica–Pimsner algebra to coincide with its co-universal quotient.


The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of ramification length and angle on pressure drop and heat transfer in a ramified microchannel. The governing equations for the fluid flow were solved by using Fluent CFD code. Computational results were compared with mathematical model values given in the literature for validation. On the basis of a water-cooled (only water and water+ethanol) smooth microchannel, ramified plates were designed into the heat sink, and then the corresponding laminar flow and heat transfer were investigated numerically. Four different configurations of ramified plates were considered by adjusting the angle and length of the T profile. Results obtained from the numerical tests show good agreement with the mathematical model and these results also demonstrate that the pressure drop increases with increasing both the ramification length and angle. Moreover, the maximum temperature inside the ramified microchannel increases with increasing the ramification length as well as increasing the ratio volume fraction of ethanol.


Business and policy actors increasingly make use of multi-stakeholder interactions (MSI) as a corporate social responsibility strategy to understand, influence, harmonise and meet stakeholders' social, environmental and financial expectations and so to create value. While many researchers and practitioners have recently described the role of MSI for sustainable innovation and development, little is known about how organisations can develop a capability to effectively create and maintain a dialogue with stakeholders and learn from them. The paper explores the organisational characteristics driving two key capabilities needed for effective MSI: stakeholder dialogue and knowledge integration. Based on the empirical evidence from four business cases, the research follows an explorative approach building upon stakeholder and organisational learning theories. Findings indicate that the 'involvement of senior management and employees', 'open culture', 'vision towards sustainability' and 'hierarchical structure' are key drivers of stakeholder dialogue and knowledge integration capabilities.


Discrimination between iron deficiency (IDA) anemia and β-thalassemia trait (β-TT) is a time consuming and costly problem. Because, they have approximate similar effects on routine blood test indices, in some cases, the complementary tests, which are expensive and time consuming, would be needed for differentiate the anemia. Complete blood count (CBC) is a fast, inexpensive, and accessible medical test that is used as a primary test for diagnosis anemia. However, when the CBC indices cannot exactly state the subject, more advanced tests such as electrophoresis of hemoglobin must be performed. In this study, the CBC indices have been considered as the inputs of classifier and the chosen architecture is pattern-based input selection artificial neural network (PBIS-ANN). For evaluation the proposed method, traditional methods, which are still using for the problem such as Mentzer Index (MI), and several automated anemia diagnostic systems such as artificial neural networks (ANN), adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) have been compared with the proposed method. The results indicate that the proposed method significantly outperforms the mentioned methods.


Objective Fat-mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene is known to be involved in the pathophysiology of obesity and a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs9939609 of FTO gene is repeatedly confirmed to be associated with body mass index (BMI) and obesity. The aim of this study is to elucidate effects of FTO gene polymorphism on BMI in Japanese patients with schizophrenia and healthy subjects. Methods Three hundred fifty one patients with schizophrenia and 342 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects participated in the study. Information on BMI and antipsychotic medication was also collected from patients and healthy subjects. Genotype of the FTO SNP rs9939609 was determined by TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. Results There was no significant difference in BMI between patients and healthy subjects. No significant difference in BMI was observed among any medications. We observed no significant difference in rs9939609 allele frequencies between patients and healthy subjects. There was a significant difference in BMI between healthy subjects with risk (AA or TA) genotypes and those with TT genotype. We also observed a significant positive correlation between the number of risk allele (A allele) and BMI in healthy subjects. Conclusion Our study suggested that FTO rs9939609 polymorphism might have some impacts on the BMI in healthy subjects, but might not have same impacts on the BMI of patients with schizophrenia.


Maintain the authenticity and identity of Architecture Rumoh Aceh, the mandate entrusted by its predecessor, the founder utoh or buildings in Aceh for the next generation of Acehnese society, especially who work as experts and historians and cultural buildings. Study Rumoh Aceh can be initiated from the treasury of the culture and customs of Aceh in the past, and continued with tectonic culture that blends the building's existence Rumoh Aceh that we know today. But if not maintained and conservation efforts then gradually Rumoh Aceh will increasingly disappear in Aceh. This is due to the less proficient Utoh building Rumoh Aceh and understand the philosophy and the building process. Rumoh Aceh is Aceh cultural treasures that can still be found in some areas in Aceh Province, among others in the region Lubok Gampong Aceh Besar district. Where there are several buildings Rumoh Aceh are well maintained. However, due to the growing need for space and residential facilities increasingly complex caused the changes and additions to the original building parts. This led to the decreasing number of Rumoh Aceh remaining. So that the necessary effort to organize the village area and an assessment of the suitability of the original typology Rumoh Aceh. Lubok gampong region is an area of the township near the city of Banda Aceh, making it easier to conduct visual observation of the phenomenon of change in residential building typology Rumoh Aceh in the region. The study involved several students who study subjects Architectural Conservation to record symptoms of the changes. Additionally the Aceh provincial government also has set Gampong Lubok as about culture village area periodically ceremonies by presenting the tourists at home and abroad. This is in accordance with the Aceh as Halal Cultural Tourism Destination.


Current statistics and trends for obesity shed light on the overall impact obesity has. Obesity is a global epidemic. This project highlighted the importance of providing nutrition education on the Mediterranean diet to obese adults and how to accomplish it efficiently. The project was implemented in a primary care clinic that lacked a formal and efficient method to provide obese adults with the necessary nutrition education. Over twelve weeks, the plan-study-do act cycle was utilized in this quality improvement project to increase the value and frequency of nutrition education being provided to obese adults that presented to this clinic for their annual exam. By the end of this time frame, the healthcare providers increased the provision of nutrition education to obese adults from 27% of the time to 82.6%. This project facilitated a practice change by translating evidence-based research into clinical practice.


This research is aimed at examining the influence of service marketing mix towards visitor's decision to stay in Andita Syariah Hotel Surabaya. The independent variable on this research are product, price, place, promotion, people, process, pyhsical evidence, promise, patience. While the dependent variable is decision to stay which consist of four indicators, they are  product choice, brand choice, distribution choice and time to stay. Data analysis technique on this research used classic assumption test, multiple linear regression analysis, F-test and T-test. The result of this research shows that the service marketing mix has a simultaneous influence towards the decision to stay in Andita Syariah Hotel Surabaya. While based on partial test, there are three variables of the service marketing mix which significantly influence variable decision to stay, they are place, physical evidence and promise.


Background Pre-gestational diabetes is associated with substantially increased risks of congenital anomalies, but the impact on normally-formed offspring is less well explored. This study explored the risks of fetal and infant death, examining the influence of HbA1c, in normally-formed offspring of women with pre-gestational diabetes. Methods All normally-formed singleton pregnancies in Northern England delivered during 1996–2008 were identified from the Northern Diabetes in Pregnancy Survey. Fetal (≥20 weeks gestation) and infant deaths were identified from the Northern Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey. Relative risks were estimated by comparing the prevalence rates between those with and without diabetes. The associations between peri-conception and third trimester HbA1c with each outcome were examined by logistic regression. Results 400,158 normally-formed singletons were registered during the study period, including 1548 in women with pre-gestational diabetes. There were 46 fetal and 10 infant deaths following pregnancies in women with diabetes. The relative risks of fetal and infant death associated with pre-gestational diabetes were 4.54 (95%CI: 3.41–6.05, p < 0.0001) and 1.82 (95%CI: 0.98–3.38, p = 0.06) respectively. The odds of a fetal or infant death increased by 19% (OR = 1.19, 95%CI: 1.02–1.39, p = 0.02) and 42% (OR = 1.42, 95%CI: 1.09–1.85, p = 0.01) respectively for each percentage increase in peri-conception HbA1c, although third trimester HbA1c was a stronger predictor of late fetal death (OR = 1.67, 95%CI: 1.25–2.24, p = 0.001). Conclusions Pre-gestational diabetes is associated with a substantially increased risk of fetal death in normally-formed offspring. The effect is largely moderated by glycaemic control, with increasing HbA1c conferring higher risks of both fetal and infant death.


On 13th December 2012, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) delivered its judgement in the case de Souza Ribeiro v. France. The case raises important issues pertaining to the protection of right to private and family life and the right to effective remedy of third-country nationals to whom a removal order has been issued, and who are facing deportation. This is the first case brought before the ECtHR concerning the French overseas region of French Guiana in South America. According to the constitution of France, French laws and regulations automatically apply in the overseas regions, although some adjustments – quite relevant for the outcome in his case – may be made according to the special features of the region. The case confirms the existing jurisprudence on the right to effective remedy under Article 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), here, read in conjunction with the right to respect for private and family life, as set out in Article 8 of the Convention. The Court accepted that an appeal against a removal order does not need to have an automatic suspensive effect for it to be considered effective, unless it otherwise may lead to "irreversible damage". In other words, the Court drew a clear distinction between cases concerning Article 13 read in conjunction with Article 2, Article 3, or Article 4 of the Protocol No. 4, as opposed to the other Articles of the ECHR, including Article 8. Nonetheless, the Court noted that minimum procedural safeguards must be in place to protect individuals against arbitrary expulsion, and in the case of Mr de Souza Ribeiro, due to the rapidness of his deportation, he did not have access in practise to effective remedies.


Women business owners are increasingly recognised as having an important impact on the economy, both as a source of employment and of potential growth (OECD, 2004; GEM, 2004; and Henry and Kennedy, 2002). As a result, the Centre for Entrepreneurship, School of Business, WIT has developed an
INTERREG IIIA-funded education and development programme with their partners from the School of Business and Management, University of Wales, Aberystwyth. The programme is the first of its type to be run in South East Ireland. The programme's aims are to facilitate the growth and development of women-owned businesses in South East Ireland and South West Wales. The research for the programme determined the level of women-led businesses in both regions, the type of businesses women set up and the challenges they face. The research also identified the specific training needs of women in business.


The original location of the Danish rune stones The rune stones have always constituted an important source concerning the Viking Age. However, from the establishment of the humanities and the empirical specialisation in the 19th century until c. 1980, the inscriptions have been the main focus. Recently, a more overall, interdisciplinary approach has been adapted in the study of the rune stones. And whereas the inscriptions are the main source for the philologists, landscape archaeology is most suited for the study of the original location of the rune stones.This article presents aspects concerning the original location of the Danish rune stones. The material is presented using two key words, which the author finds central to the attempt to pin down what was important to that age, namely monumentality, and visibility. After that she discusses the possible relation between Danish rune stones and special sites, primarily thing sites, burial sites, and large farms. The choice of these particular categories are based on a comparison with Swedish conditions. The treatment of the question about the association with special sites may be seen as a movement from the actual source material to the mental landscape of the time.Rather more than 200 rune and picture stones are known from Viking Age Denmark, i.e. the present Denmark and Southern Schleswig, Scania, and Halland, but exclusive Bornholm (Fig. 1). Only twelve of these are still in their assumed original location: The Ø. Løgum-stone in South Jutland (DR 15), and the Färlöv-stone in Scania, both erected during the Early Viking Age; the Glavendrup-stone (DR 209) erected on Northwest Funen during the first part of the 10th century; and the following from the time between c.950 and 1050 – the time span in which most rune stones were erected in Denmark. In Jutland, these are Bække 2 (DR 30), Randbøl (DR 40), Jelling 2 (DR 42), and Sjellebro; and in Scania: Fuglie 1 (DR 259), V. Karaby (DR 321), V. Strö 1 and 2 (DR 334 and 335), and Ö. Vemmenhög (DR 268). Add to these the Malt-stone, originally located by the Kongeå River; and the Snoldelevstone (DR 248) on East Sealand, the original locations of which are known, albeit they are now in the Sønderskov Museum and the National Museum, respectively. In the case of another 64 rune stones, the original location may be pointed out with more or less certainty and precision. These 78 rune stones, about which we have some – more or less precise - information (as opposed to a guessed location), thus make up our her source material.To summarize, the material unambiguously points towards monumentality, visibility, and exposure having been the decisive factors to the rune stone erectors when choosing a location for their monument. The connection with large mounds, stone settings, bridges, and – as is the case with a couple of later stones – stone churches (Lund 2, DR 315 and Nr. Åsum, DR 347) is marked, as is the proximity to what is supposed to be long road stretches and communication points. Also, older monuments such as burial mounds and rock carvings seem to have constituted important links to the past, to the ancestors, and to the tradition. Both the Glavendrup- monument, Klebæk Høje with the Bække-stone 2, and the ship setting in Jelling involved older mounds within the newly established monument, just as the new Christian monument of Harald Bluetooth combined tradition and renewal in a sophisticated manner.At the same time, it is characteristic that the rune stones – and monuments altogether – carried a message meant for the posterity, which was the whole idea behind making them. The material used for the rune stones – granite – symbolises constancy, if anything; the use of inscriptions is another way of securing against oblivion, and as a third and further emphasis of the historical character, the memory inscriptions were often followed by a memory formula (for instance Randbøl DR 40: May these runes for Thorgun live long) or a curse protecting the monument. This very preserving quality of the rune stones – and the motion towards a society with a written language – may have been the seed of the rune stones being increasingly used as a form of legal documents in connection with inheritance, boundaries, etc. Both aspects are known to a limited extent from Danish rune stones (such as the mentioned Gunderup 1), and to a larger degree within the late Norwegian and Swedish rune stone material. This function may also have been attached to the thing sites, where public and binding declarations were made.Not surprisingly, when encircling the message of the rune stones, the preservation of the memorial for the posterity is central. That is its explicit message. Apart from this, the very act of erecting a stone and the person or persons behind this, were essential to the custom. The social act of erecting a stone in memory of a deceased reflects pride, honour, and duty. The location of the stone stresses the fact that visibility and publicity and the coupling of the past and the future were decisive factors to the or Viking Age humans who were looking for a suitable location for their rune stone.Gunhild Øeby NielsenInstitut for Antropologi, Arkæologi ogLingvistik, Aarhus UniversitetTranslated by Annette Lerche Trolle


For many applications of time-domain spectroscopy it is desirable to improve the time resolution of electron-optical streak cameras to less than 200 fs in the u.v. visible and i.r. and to ca. 1 ps at X-ray wavelengths. A suite of interactive computer programs has been developed for electron-optical design, taking into account time dispersion. It is possible to analyse rapidly the details of both spatial and temporal imaging properties of currently available streak tubes and to optimize the designs for particular applications. The computed results are shown to be in excellent agreement with the experimental values for the Photochron II streak tube. The expected performance characteristics of a preliminary design for a new tube, the Photochron III, are given.


Weanling rats fed a 60% carbohydrate diet were observed to have a self-limiting elevation in oxygen consumption persisting for 6–9 days. This phenomenon was associated with a diminished food utilization during this interval. The calorigenic response was abolished by feeding the 60% carbohydrate diet in amounts just sufficient to maintain body weight for several days before ad libitum ingestion was permitted. Animals so treated develop some type of adaptation and are referred to as adapted animals. Further studies of this metabolic response were carried out on rats fed the high carbohydrate diet ad libitum at weaning and in other animals after such a period of adaptation. Unadapted weanling rats fed 60% carbohydrate diets ingest calories in excess of their capacity for efficient utilization. During ad libitum feeding, adapted animals were found to accumulate fat at a faster rate than unadapted animals. The evidence obtained is consistent with the conclusion that in the weanling rat lipogenesis is below achievable limits and becomes limiting with regard to food utilization when a high carbohydrate diet is fed. The calorigenic response appears to dissipate ingested calories above those utilizable for energy, including weight gain, and thus maintain a balance between caloric intake and expenditure.


Trypanosomes reveal tricky tricks in vivo The sleeping sickness parasite, Trypanosoma brucei, is covered with variant surface glyco proteins (VSGs) recognized by the host's immune system. The parasite uses a repertoire of 2000 VSG genes to switch between different surface variants, continually evading the host's defensive responses. Classic experiments showed that one variant succeeded another, causing waves of infection; however, infection in animals shows different behavior. Mugnier et al. discovered that several VSGs are expressed simultaneously and that the repertoire for variation is amplified even more by recombination between the genes to make mosaic VSGs. Science, this issue p. 1470 Unexpected dynamics of antigenic variation occur during sleeping sickness in mice. Trypanosoma brucei, a causative agent of African Sleeping Sickness, constantly changes its dense variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) coat to avoid elimination by the immune system of its mammalian host, using an extensive repertoire of dedicated genes. However, the dynamics of VSG expression in T. brucei during an infection are poorly understood. We have developed a method, based on de novo assembly of VSGs, for quantitatively examining the diversity of expressed VSGs in any population of trypanosomes and monitored VSG population dynamics in vivo. Our experiments revealed unexpected diversity within parasite populations and a mechanism for diversifying the genome-encoded VSG repertoire. The interaction between T. brucei and its host is substantially more dynamic and nuanced than previously expected.


INTRODUCTION
 The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic raises many questions about the management of patients with significant comorbidities. Hematologic patients are usually fragile due to an important immunosuppression, so the impact of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is yet to be determined.

 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 We conducted a single-center retrospective observational study of patients with hematologic malignancies diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 at Vall d´Hebron University Hospital (HUVH) between March 1st and May 31st 2020 to analyze their clinical characteristics and evolution. Patient's demographic data, underlying pathology, signs and symptoms of COVID-19, treatment received and clinical course were collected. A statistical analysis was performed to identify the possible variables associated with COVID-19 mortality. For this purpose, we used univariate and multivariable logistic regression models.

 RESULTS
 We identified 70 patients with PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and hematologic malignancy. The median age was 75 years (range 22-91), and 44% were female. The majority (74%) had evidence of active malignancy and 53% were receiving active therapy. Lymphoid pathology (73%) predominated over myeloid. The median number of previous lines of treatment was 0 (range 0-6), 23% had received at least 2 lines, whereas 10% underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) (5 patients allo-HSCT, 2 auto-HSCT). Half of the patients had more than one pre-existing comorbidity (17% obstructive pulmonary disease).
 At diagnosis the most common symptoms were fever (76%), cough (60%) and dyspnea (31%). We observed that 58% of patients presented a chest X-ray compatible with COVID-19. Regarding laboratory parameters, stood out lymphopenia (65% of patients presented <1200 lymphocytes/mm3) and elevation of inflammation parameters, such as D-dimer (median 365 ng/mL, range 50-5860), ferritin (median 1063 ng/mL, range 73-14191), IL-6 (median 59,6 pg/mL, range 3-4079) and PCR (median 11,2 mg/dL, range 0,3-79,9). Empirical therapy for COVID-19 included antibiotics (78%), anti-virals (50%, 3% remdesivir), and hydroxychloroquine (88%). Only 24% received tocilizumab, 50% heparin (33% prophylactic dose), 12% G-CSF, 9% norepinephrine, 4% corticosteroids and 1% ß-IFN. Most of patients (73%) required oxygen therapy: 36% high-flow, 29% low flow and 8% endotracheal intubation. There were 6 patients who did not receive any treatment.
 COVID-19 was acquired via nosocomial infection in 23% of patients, 91% of them requiring hospitalization, 14% in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). The median days of hospitalization since diagnosis was 17 (range 3-55). The case fatality rate (CFR) from COVID-19 was higher in hematologic patients than the one observed in non-hematologic patients at the HUVH (figure 1), being of 41% at 11 days from diagnosis. CFR was higher in patients older than 75 years old (61%), while the mortality among patients receiving active therapy was 42%. The main cause of death was acute respiratory failure (93%). In the univariate logistic regression model, age >75 years (OR 1.07; p=0.008), active malignancy (OR 5; p=0,02), >1 comorbidity (OR 5.3; p=0,049) and high levels of IL-6 (OR 8.2; p= 0.005) were statistically significant. In the multivariable logistic regression model, age ≥75 years (OR 4.4; p=0.01) and IL-6 levels at baseline > 59.6 pg/mL (OR 7.2; p=0.01) were associated with a higher mortality (table 1). The presence of an active malignancy was not a significant variable in the multivariable logistic regression model.

 CONCLUSIONS
 Patients with hematologic malignancies and COVID-19 presented similar symptoms, signs and radiological characteristics to those described in the general population at diagnosis. In our cohort, advanced age and high IL-6 values were associated with higher mortality. Furthermore, it was observed that active hematologic disease is a factor of poor prognosis of COVID-19.

 Disclosures

 Salamero:
 Daichii Sankyo:Honoraria;Celgene:Consultancy, Honoraria;Novartis:Consultancy, Honoraria;Jazz Pharmaceuticals:Consultancy, Honoraria;Pfizer:Consultancy.Abrisqueta:
 Janssen:Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;AbbVie:Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;Roche:Consultancy, Honoraria, Speakers Bureau;Celgene:Consultancy, Honoraria.Bosch:
 Hoffmann-La Roche:Research Funding.


Quality remains as an essential attribute for the appraisal of manufactured products in today's contemporary fast-changing market. The world has witnessed how Quality Management (QM) concepts evolved from a specific departmental area of concern to a system-wide application of total quality or performance excellence. Many manufacturing-based organisations began to pursue the accreditation of international quality standards to be competitive in the global market. In relation to QM implementation, certification to ISO 9001 has been the most prevalent. However, after 30 years of its inception and global acceptation as a QM framework for product compliance, manufacturing companies still struggle to sustain their company's Quality Management System (QMS). Consequently, this scenario also has affected Ready-to-Wear (RTW) garment industry globally with the presence of Quality Control (QC) issues, involving the companies who manufacture the garments. The current literature reveals that the industry is still lacking knowledge on the fundamental aspects of quality and QM, hence leaving a big gap between the Quality Assurance (QA) systems and the actual QM implementation within the garment companies.
Malaysia represents one of the developing economies in the Southeast Asian Region who has a good reputation in supplying RTW apparel for both export and domestic market. Nevertheless, empirical evidence on how QM has been internalised by Malaysia RTW garment manufacturers has not yet been documented. This research examined the level of QM implementation in RTW garment industry and investigated the critical quality issues that hindered the deployment of Total Quality Management (TQM). The final aim of this research is to re-strategise the important QM principles as the core elements in developing a QM framework for an effective implementation of QM in the Malaysia context. The research utilised two sequential phases of data collection and analysis. The first phase of data collection was based primarily on the survey questionnaire to gain a general understanding of QM practices in the Malaysian RTW garment industry. Further investigation was carried out based on interviews mainly with the Head of Department (HOD) at six case-study companies, which represented the three types of Malaysian RTW apparel suppliers. Apart from face-to-face interviews, additional supplementary observations in the production floor as well as revision of documents were also used. The key findings of this research demonstrated that over-reliance to control system quality management is the ultimate reason for an ineffective QM implementation of Malaysian RTW garment manufacturers. Most of the case-study companies were found stagnant at QC and QA stages of QM implementation. Furthermore, the study also confirms the human factors were the main obstacles for the industry to fully adopt ISO-based Quality QMS. A Human-Focus Quality Management (HFQM) framework that gives priorities to the management and utilisation of people as valuable assets in the garment manufacturing sector are therefore developed and proposed. It was conceptualised from the ISO 9001 QM principles which focused on these three aspects: self-directed leadership, an involvement of people and internal customer focus.
The research has made a significant contribution to knowledge in expanding the theory of QM by highlighting the future of ISO 9001 QA System as part of company's international compliance. In addition, this research successfully developed HFQM framework as as a new contribution for Malaysian RTW apparel business towards the successful journey of performance excellence in a labour-intensive manufacturing environment. It is suggested that HFQM framework would bring fundamental changes towards sustaining the quality culture in the Malaysian RTW garment industry. Similar framework could possibly proposed and adopted in other labour-manufacturing companies as a strategy to foster people's engagement for continual improvement.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the Home Enteral Nutrition Characteristics (HEN) recorded by the group NADYA-SENPE during 2009.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
collection and analysis of the data voluntary recorded in the HEN registry from the NADYA-SENPE group from January 1st to December 31st.

RESULTS
6.540 HEN patients were registered, 5.11% more than the previous year and 6,649 episodes (3,135 in women, 47,93%) from 32 different hospitals. 6,238 of them (95,38%) were over 14 years. The mean age of the patients under 14 yr was 3,67 ± 2,86 and it was 72,10 ± 16,89 in those over 14 yr group. The base illness registered more frequently was the neurological disorders in 2,732 (41,77%) patients, followed by cancer patients in 1,838; 28,10%. The enteral access route was registered in 1,123 (17,17%) of the episodes, being more frequent the administration by nasogastric tube 562 (50,04%). The mean length of nutritional treatment by episode was 323 days (10,77 months). 606 episodes of HEN ended, being the principal reasons for discontinuing treatment the patient death in 295 (48,68%) occasions. The transition to oral feeding occurred in 219 (36,14%) cases. Patients maintained normal activity in 2162 (32,55%) HEN episodes and 2,468 (37,13%) cases were living "bed-couch". The level of dependence was "total" in 2,598 (39,07%) of the episodes recorded. The nutritional formula was provided by the hospital in 4,183 (62,91%) cases and by the reference pharmacy in 2,262 (el 34,02%). Consumables were provided by the hospital in 3,531 (53,11%) cases.

CONCLUSIONS
The number of HEN patients recorded increased from the year 2008, continuing the gradual growth increase since the start of registration. The characteristics of the patients remain in the same profile as in previous years.


On-line environments have been incorporated in the Distance learning programmes of the International Equine Institute (IEI) in order to address concerns about streamlining assessment turn-around, distance student attendance at tutorials, providing more detailed and quicker assignment feedback, student peer interaction, student to tutor1 interaction and, of course, student support. The overriding concern was to provide a more flexible, active learning environment to develop and enhance learning opportunities while, concurrently, integrating more closely the learning activities of the student with the University of Limerick (UL) community. The impetus, therefore, was to make studies convenient and attractive to the location of the distance student, while maintaining educational quality through the provision of pedagogical innovations and at the same time providing a social and interactive environment to support the distance student. In so doing, the IEI uses the collaborative learning environment (CLE) Sakai (www.Sakaiproject.org) to support the distance student and also utilises Adobe Connect Pro™ to deliver on-line synchronous desktop-to-desktop tutorials. This chapter outlines aspects drawn from our experiences with the on-line support and delivery of distance learning programmes. Throughout, various recommendations on enhancing the experiences for students are also presented. © 2010, IGI Global.


Water's economic value as well as its intrinsic value for supporting all life on the planet establishes its inherent importance, as well as the strict care that has to be taken into account regarding its management and control. In this context, management entities are faced with two main issues: on the one hand, water losses, and on the other hand, minimal conditions for the network supply. In order to achieve an easier management of water supply systems, analyze its different behaviors through a variety of situations, and to consider different operation conditions, some representative models are built. Their planning requires an extended and complex calibration process that can be accomplished using iterative algorithms, which, nowadays, fasten and facilitate the process. This paper presents a methodology based on a procedure developed by Bhave (1988), and its appliance to Briela's water distribution network, located on Costa da Caparica. This methodology is applied to a model, implanted on the hydraulic software EPANET 2.0, using an iterative algorithm developed in MATLAB. By a partnership with the Almada's SMAS, the necessary data for the construction and analysis of the model was gathered. In that manner, it was possible to obtain our final results concerning the initial estimations of the pipelines' roughness and nodal demands. Since these parameters are conditioned by a high number of factors, they are characterized by a certain degree of physical and mathematical uncertainty, which underlines them as the main points of concern regarding a calibration process. However, there are some other calibration indicators, such as the water losses, the distributed water flow at the entrance of the district metering area (DMA), and the water level in the water tank, which are also considered in the suggested methodology.


Most previous work on the evolution of mobile DNA was limited by incomplete sequence information. Whole genome sequences allow us to overcome this limitation. I study the nucleotide diversity of prominent members of five insertion sequence families whose transposition activity is encoded by a single transposase gene. Eighteen among 376 completely sequenced bacterial genomes and plasmids carry between 3 and 20 copies of a given insertion sequence. I show that these copies generally show very low DNA divergence. Specifically, more than 68% of the transposase genes are identical within a genome. The average number of amino acid replacement substitutions at amino acid replacement sites is Ka = 0.013, that at silent sites is Ks = 0.1. This low intragenomic diversity stands in stark contrast to a much higher divergence of the same insertion sequences among distantly related genomes. Gene conversion among protein-coding genes is unlikely to account for this lack of diversity. The relation between transposition frequencies and silent substitution rates suggests that most insertion sequences in a typical genome are evolutionarily young and have been recently acquired. They may undergo periodic extinction in bacterial lineages. By implication, they are detrimental to their host in the long run. This is also suggested by the highly skewed and patchy distribution of insertion sequences among genomes. In sum, one can think of insertion sequences as slow-acting infectious diseases of cell lineages.


Investments in customer-owned grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) energy systems are growing at a steady pace. This is due, in part, to the availability of attractive economic incentives offered by public state agencies and utilities. In the United States, these incentives have largely been upfront lump payments tied to the system capacity rating. While capacity-based ''buydowns'' have stimulated the domestic PV market, they have been criticized for subsidizing systems with potentially poor energy performance. As a result, the industry has been forced to consider alternative incentive structures, particularly ones that pay based on long-term measured performance. The industry, however, lacks consensus in the debate over the tradeoffs between upfront incentive payments versus longer-term payments for energy delivery. This handbook is designed for agencies and utilities that offer or intend to offer incentive programs for customer-owned PV systems. Its purpose is to help select, design, and implement incentive programs that best meet programmatic goals. The handbook begins with a discussion of the various available incentive structures and then provides qualitative and quantitative tools necessary to design the most appropriate incentive structure. It concludes with program administration considerations.


Objective. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the follow-up pattern of special needs patients (SNP) treated under general anaesthesia (GA) and the failure rates of different treatment procedures and restorative materials. Study Design. The treatment records of the patients who received dental treatment under GA during 2005 to 2009 were reviewed. The duration of follow-up periods, the outcomes of different treatment procedures, and the quality of different restorative materials were recorded and evaluated. Statistics were used for the comparison (SPSS 20.0). Pearson's chi-square test and post hoc analysis were used to evaluate the attendance of postoperative appointments and the associations of failure rates of different treatment procedures and restorative materials. Cohen kappa statistics was used for intraexaminer reliability. Results. A total of 177 patients were included in the study. The attendance of postoperative appointments showed a gradual decrease from 96% to 36% within 24 months (P < 0.05). Restorative procedures had the highest failure rates among all treatment procedures (P < 0.05). Stainless steel crowns showed higher survival rates among different restorative materials (P < 0.05). Pulp treatment in primary molars has higher success rate than primary incisors and canines. Composite restorations placed in primary canines have low survival rates. The intraexaminer reliability was good (k = 0.94). Conclusion. The attendance for postoperative follow-up appointments declined within two years. Restorative treatment was less successful when compared to preventive and pulp treatments. Stainless steel crowns were more reliable restorations with higher survival rates and composite restorations were less durable.


With the increasing demands for water due to increasing population, urbanization and agricultural expansion, groundwater resources are gaining much attention, particularly in the Kandi region of Jammu district, which faces acute shortages of drinking water throughout the year. Groundwater development programmes need a large volume of data from various sources. This study used integrated remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques to provide an appropriate platform for convergent analysis of multidisciplinary data and decision making for artificial recharge to groundwater. Thematic maps were constructed using merged Linear Imaging Self Scanner (LISS)‐III and Panchromatic (PAN) remote sensing data and aquifer parameter thematic layers were prepared from conventional field data. The thematic layers of the aquifer parameters were integrated and a map showing the potential zones for artificial recharge to groundwater was generated. By superimposing the drainage network map over this artificial recharge zone map, and also considering the terrain conditions for artificial recharge, suitable sites for replenishing groundwater in the study area were identified.


Rhizospheric and endophytic fungi are key factors which influence plant fitness and soil fertility. Atractylodes macrocephala is one of the best-known perennial herbs used in traditional Chinese medicine. Continuous cropping has been shown to have a negative effect on its growth and renders it more susceptible to microbial pathogen attacks. In this study, we investigated the effects of continuous cropping on the endophytic and rhizospheric fungi associated with A. macrocephala using culture-independent Illumina MiSeq. Continuous cropping was found to decrease fungal diversity inside plant roots, stems, leaves and tubers. Additionally, we found that the structure and diversity of rhizospheric and endophytic fungal communities were altered by root-rot disease. Fusarium was overrepresented among root-rot rhizospheric and endophytic fungi, indicating that it has a major negative impact on plant health during A. macrocephala monocropping. Canonical correspondence analysis of the control and diseased samples revealed that pH, hydrolysis N, electrical conductivity and Hg content were well-correlated with fungal community composition during continuous cropping. Taken together, these results highlight the ecological significance of fungal communities in maintaining plant fitness and will guide the development strategies to attenuate the negative impacts of A. macrocephala continuous cropping.


Pseudotumor cerebri (PC) is a syndrome characterized by the presence of intracranial hypertension (ICH) and no alteration in the ventricular system. Renal transplanted patients seem more susceptible to develop it due to immunosuppressive therapy. Cyclosporin (CsA) is a rare cause of PC, scarcely reported in the literature, and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of ICH and papilledema in those patients. We report the case of a 10-year-old boy, with a renal allograft for three years, on chronic use of mycophenolate mophetil (MMF), CsA, and low doses of prednisone. The patient presented with headache, vomiting, diplopia, and photophobia. Funduscopy showed bilateral papilledema. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis and imaging tests were normal. After excluding secondary causes, PC was diagnosed based on the chronic use of CsA, which was then replaced by sirolimus. After that, the patient progressively improved, and the papilledema resolved in three months.


Institutional digital repositories are a basic piece to provide preservation and reutilization of learning resources. However, their creation and maintenance is usually performed following a top-down approach, causing limitations in the search and reutilization of learning resources. In order to avoid this problem we propose to use web 2.0 functionalities. In this paper we present how tagging can be used to enhance the search and reusability functionalities of institutional learning repositories as well as promoting their usage. The paper also describes the evaluation process that was performed in a pilot experience involving open educational resources.


Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text Background: Facial advancement represents the essence of the surgical treatment of syndromic craniosynostosis. Frontofacial monobloc distraction is an effective surgical approach to correct midface retrusion although someone consider it very hazardous procedure. The authors evaluated a group of patients who underwent frontofacial monobloc distraction with the aim to identify the advancement results performed in immature skeletal regarding the midface morphologic characteristics and its effects on growth. Methods: Sixteen patients who underwent frontofacial monobloc distraction with pre- and postsurgical computed tomography (CT) scans were evaluated and compared to a control group of 9 nonsyndromic children with CT scans at 1-year intervals during craniofacial growth. Three-dimensional measurements and superimposition of the CT scans were used to evaluate midface morphologic features and longitudinal changes during the craniofacial growth and following the advancement. Presurgical growth was evaluated in 4 patients and postsurgical growth was evaluated in 9 patients. Results: Syndromic maxillary width and length were reduced and the most obtuse facial angles showed a lack in forward projection of the central portion in these patients. Three-dimensional distances and images superimposition demonstrated the age did not influence the course of abnormal midface growth. Conclusion: The syndromic midface is hypoplastic and the sagittal deficiency is associated to axial facial concavity. The advancement performed in mixed dentition stages allowed the normalization of facial position comparable to nonsyndromic group. However, the procedure was not able to change the abnormal midface architecture and craniofacial growth.


The Tenth District economy slowed down in 1998, with employment growing marginally below the national average. Despite very tight labor markets, employment growth remained healthy in many sectors. Construction; trade; transportation, communications, and public utilities; and finance, insurance, and real estate---all posted healthy gains. The manufacturing and service sectors, however, turned in weak growth, a result of the Asian financial turmoil and a shortage of skilled workers throughout the district. District agriculture had a difficult year, as commodity prices plunged in the face of rising supplies and weakening demand. A large aid package from Congress late in the year prevented farm incomes from being considerably less than in 1997.> Gazel and Wilkerson discuss why the district economy is likely to slow further in 1999, growing only modestly compared with the recent past. The expected slowdown of the national economy, continued economic weakness in the rest of the world, and very tight labor markets throughout the district are all likely to play major roles in the district economic slowdown. Some sectors of the district economy, such as manufacturing and mining, are likely to be hurt more than others in the near future. The service sector is likely to repeat its weak 1998 performance, while a reduction in consumer spending will slow growth in retail and wholesale trade in 1999. Construction activity may weaken a bit in 1999, and the district farm economy is likely to face a difficult year unless the government acts to further boost subsidies.


In the recent years Saudi Arabia has experienced rapid economic growth. The significant increase in crude oil prices in the seventies and early eighties enabled the Kingdom to experience a continuous upward trend in its oil revenue which has been utilized to build the country infrastructure and improve public services, especially in education and manpower development, health, and social services. The insurance industry also experienced recent growth, however, it was unable to develop at the same manner, in terms of product, quality of insurance, and efficiency in operation. The main contribution of the paper was to understand the trend in the Saudi Arabian insurance industry and to look ahead and suggest what is needed to maintatin the current momentum for an optimal expansion. We believe the lack of institutions to handle the regulatory constructs, operational details and the awareness of the public will be biggest obstacles to the growth. In our paper, we charted some of the details of these institutions juxtaposing against the Gulf Cooperating Countreis on the one hand and the United States on the other.


Background Sepsis-induced cardiomyopathy (SIC) is known to show cardiac dysfunction in patients with sepsis. Both a decrease or an increase in ejection fraction (EF), an indicator of cardiac function, can occur. The purpose of this study was to identify factors associated with abnormal left ventricular (LV) function measured by EF in patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit (ICU). Methods This was a retrospective study performed from November 2016 to December 2018. Three-hundred and sixty-six patients (mean age, 73 ± 13 years; 191 [52%] men) admitted to the ICU with sepsis were included. Patients were classified into three categories according to LV EF (group 1 –[EF<50%, n = 36], group 2 –[50≤EF<70%, n = 252], and group 3 –[EF≥70%, n = 78]). Echocardiographic assessment was performed within 48 hours of diagnosis of sepsis. We analyzed clinical factors including mortality, echocardiographic findings, and laboratory parameters. Results Decreased LV EF occurred in 36 (10%) patients and hyper-dynamic EF developed in 78 (21%) patients. Of 366 patients, 103 (28%) patients died. Baseline characteristics were similar in the three groups, except female sex an indicator of abnormal EF. Mortality rates were also similar in the three groups; however, mortality rates were significantly higher in patients with abnormal EF (decreased or increased vs. normal). Echocardiographic parameters were significantly different in the three groups, in terms of LV systolic parameters and chamber size. Small left atrium (LA) and small LV were significantly associated with abnormal EF (especially in patients with increased EF). High brain natriuretic peptide was associated with decreased EF. Among these factors, female sex and small LA were significantly associated with abnormal EF in the multiple regression analysis. Conclusion Our findings highlight that female sex and small cardiac size are associated with abnormal EF, and therefore, death. Therefore, female patients and patients with small LA should be monitored closely when they present with sepsis.


The final radiofrequency power amplifier (PA) of a radar transmitter module is a large factor in system efficiency. Typical radar transmitter signals are frequency-modulated with constant-amplitude pulse envelopes in order to optimize efficiency, resulting in spectral broadening and power radiated outside of the radar frequency band. This paper demonstrates a PA with a dynamic power supply which enables high efficiency while reducing the spectral emissions. The resonant pulse-shaping power supply generates a raised-cosine pulse envelope waveform with efficiency greater than 90% and peak envelope power around 6 W. Measured results with a 2.14-GHz GaN power amplifier with an efficiency of 76% at peak power demonstrate over 67% transmitter efficiency.


Most of Orientalis misunderstood about Islam like they were made to touch an elephant, each described it according to the part of body his hands had touched: to one the elephant appeared like a throne, to another like a fan, or like water pipe, or like a pillar. Schimmel attempt to understands of Islam (sufism) very well used Phenomenology Approach, and the result is amazed the others orientalist and most of moslem. Schimmel said thatt the plurality of signs is necessary to veil the eternal One who is transcendent and yet 'closer than the neck vein' (QS 50:16). The signs show the way into His presence, where the believer may finally leave the images behind. Rumi one of Sufis who completed that understading passed way divine love.


Elevated extracellular glutamate in the synaptic cleft causes overactivation of glutamate receptors and kills neurons by an excitotoxic mechanism. Recent studies have shown that glutamate can also lead to toxic injury of white matter oligodendrocytes in myelin sheaths and consequently to axon demyelination. The present study was performed using the rodent model of multiple sclerosis known as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE). The aim of the study was to test the effects of the glutamatergic receptor antagonists amantadine and memantine (antagonists of NMDA receptors), LY 367384 (an antagonist of mGluR1), and MPEP (an mGluR5 antagonist) on the development of neurological symptoms in immunized animals, morphological changes in cerebral myelin, and expression of mRNA of the principal myelin proteins PLP, MBP, MOG, MAG, and CNPase. Pharmacological inhibition of NMDA receptors by amantadine and memantine was found to suppress neurological symptoms in EAE rats, whereas antagonists of the group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs G I) did not function positively. In the symptomatic phase of the disease we observed destruction of myelin sheaths via electron microscopy and decreased levels of mRNA for all of the principal myelin proteins. The results reveal that glutamate receptor antagonists have a positive effect on the expression of mRNA MBP and glycoproteins MAG and MOG but not on myelin ultrastructure.


High-resolution chemical depth profiling measurements of copper films are presented. The 10 μm thick copper test samples were electrodeposited on a Si-supported Cu seed under galvanostatic conditions in the presence of particular plating additives (SPS, Imep, PEI, and PAG) used in the semiconductor industry for the on-chip metallization of interconnects. To probe the trend of these plating additives toward inclusion into the deposit upon growth, quantitative elemental mass spectrometric measurements at trace level concentration were conducted by using a sensitive miniature laser ablation ionization mass spectrometer (LIMS), originally designed and developed for in situ space exploration. An ultrashort pulsed laser system (τ ∼ 190 fs, λ = 775 nm) was used for ablation and ionization of sample material. We show that with our LIMS system, quantitative chemical mass spectrometric analysis with an ablation rate at the subnanometer level per single laser shot can be conducted. The measurement capabilities of our instrument, including the high vertical depth resolution coupled with high detection sensitivity of ∼10 ppb, high dynamic range ≥10(8), measurement accuracy and precision, is of considerable interest in various fields of application, where investigations with high lateral and vertical resolution of the chemical composition of solid materials are required, these include, e.g., wafers from semiconductor industry or studies on space weathered samples in space research.


Abstract In this study, we ask (1) whether measures of the developmental level of the tense/agreement morphemes used by children have diagnostic value, as has been found for tense/agreement consistency; and (2) whether global measures of accuracy can be applied to children four and five years of age. The spontaneous speech samples of 112 four- and five-year-olds with specific language impairment (SLI) or typical language were analyzed. Group differences were seen for the developmental level of the children's tense/agreement morpheme use, but diagnostic accuracy did not reach acceptable levels, in contrast to a measure of tense/agreement consistency applied to the same data. A global measure of grammatical accuracy was found to be useful, but more appropriate for screening children already viewed as at risk for language difficulties. These findings suggest that an extended period of tense/agreement inconsistency may be more central to SLI than alternative measures related to tense/agreement morphology.


"Point-of-Care Ultrasound" (POCUS) is a term that is currently on everyone's lips. Its uses vary and it is often equated with focused ultrasound, emergency ultrasound, and pocket ultrasound, for example. The increase in the use of POCUS has resulted not only in a major atmosphere of change and new opportunities for ultrasound but also in a general sense of uncertainty. Some colleagues even view POCUS as a threat with regard to quality assurance. Because POCUS will play a major role in the clinical routine in the future, it seems important to ensure clear understanding and standardized usage of the term. POCUS is a bedside ultrasound method that covers examinations from head to toe. It not only focuses on the macroanatomy and pathology but also allows direct evaluation of functional anatomical aspects, physiology, pathophysiology, and hemodynamics and provides support during interventions. Treating physicians with diverse areas of specialization and an interest in a specific organ pathology, particular diseases/symptoms, or an intervention personally perform examinations in various situations (emergency admission, consultation hours, intensive care unit, operating room, etc.) in real time while determining the scope and interpreting the findings. Another significant component of POCUS is the concept of focused ultrasound. Focused means that the examiner is limited to one or more yes-no ultrasound questions (from simple to complicated) and does not perform a conventional comprehensive organ examination or examination of a region or functional unit. The focus is less on ultrasound as an isolated diagnostic imaging method and more on the expansion of the clinical examination. This provides the examiner with an additional tool for making reliable and optimal management decisions and for monitoring patients as needed. Conventional comprehensive ultrasound, in contrast, is divided into various well-defined anatomical regions, like the abdomen, lung, vessels, nerves, heart, soft tissues, and musculoskeletal system and is performed by a physician specialized in the particular type of imaging at a specialized medical practice or ultrasound department. It includes comprehensive examination of an individual organ, an anatomical or functional unit or a region with reliable criteria to detect or rule out the presence of certain diseases/injuries. 2 articles in this issue provide examples of this. The study on the role of high-resolution ultrasound in the followup of cervical lymph nodes after RCT shows that intranodal necrosis and changes in the hilar vascularization pattern can be clearly visualized and accurate control of dynamic changes is possible in sonographic tumor follow-up. A further study shows that US-guided HIFU treatment can be reliably performed even in the case of locally advanced pancreatic cancer with involvement of the mesenteric vessels and extensive collateral circulation. A significant consideration regarding the quality of ultrasound is that the method is highly examiner-dependent. Therefore, a further study in this issue shows that the interobserver agreement for ESCULAP seems better than for CEUS-LI-RADS since the perception of contrast washout can vary greatly between individual examiners. The use of high-resolution ultrasound as an established and validated method thus allows more extensive differentiated diagnosis in the hands of experienced specialists and is also suitable for monitoring therapeutic measures. There are 2 main directions or training programs in ultrasound: 1. Conventional comprehensive ultrasound which is performed by a specialist or at a specialized medical practice usually as a referral and 2. POCUS which is performed by the treating physician as a focused examination in real time at the patient's bedside with immediate interpretation. Therefore, the differences essentially relate to the examination location, the qualifications of the examiner, and the scope and objective of the examination. In this connection, it is necessary to determine whether POCUS poses a threat to conventional comprehensive ultrasound or represents a risk to the quality of ultrasound examinations. This concern is evidenced by the fact that POCUS is at the bottom of an examiner-expert pyramid. In this regard POCUS is viewed as acceptable for the intended purpose but is of lower quality than a complete ultrasound examination. Consequently, the fear is that POCUS will be used ubiquitously, resulting in a loss in quality Sevgi Tercanli Joseph Osterwalder Editorial