INRODUCTION:
Globally, Sexually transmitted infections are a major cause of morbidity. The World Health Organization recommends the use of term "Sexually transmitted infections"(STI) instead of "sexually transmitted diseases" (STD)1 because, sexually transmitted infections may remain symptomless without resulting in disease or they may also end in abortive form.
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the most common cause of STI's in the world. Genital HPV, the known cause of cervical cancer is a very common sexually transmitted disease.
Upto 70% of genital Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infections are subclinical. This Sexually Transmitted Infection, HPV plays a pivotal role in the development of squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of genital tract. In latent infections, the HPV viral DNA can be isolated with no morphological lesions. Genital HPV infection can be detected by clinic al examination, histology,
cytology or molecular analysis. Genital HPV infection, which is often subclinical may be detected during cervical smear test ie PAP smear.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:
A Study on prevalenc e of abnormal cervical cytology using PAP smear as a screening procedure among the attendees of female STD OPD.
• To study epithelial c ell abnormality.
• To study the associated STIs.
• To detect benign cellular changes.
• To reinforce the practice to do PAP smear routinely.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Study Design: Cross-sectional study.
Study Group:
500 female patients were enrolled in the study female. All the female patients attending the STD OP Department. The ethical committee clearance was obtained and informed consent was taken from the recruited women.
Inclusion Criteria:
• All the women aged 19 and above after vaginal sexual exposure.
Exclusion Criteria:
• Pregnant Women & lactating women.
• Females during their menstrual cycle.
• Women below 19 years.
• Females before vaginal intercourse.
• Women who had a total hysterectomy for causes other than cervical cancer.
SUMMARY:
In this study the following observation has been made.
1. In this study the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology was found to be 9.2% . Among the 48 abnormal cytology smears, 4 patients had carcinoma (8.6%), 3 patients had HSIL (6.5%), 6 patients had LSIL (13.0%) and 33 patients (6.6%) had atypical cells on cytology among 500 patients.
2. Among the 46 cases of abnormal cytology 22 (47.8%) patients belonged to the age group of 26 -35 and 12 (26%) patients belonged to the age group of >45. Bimodal age distribution of abnormal cervical cytology has been noted.
3. 43.4% of women who had abnormal cytology reside in urban area.
4. 18 (39%) patients out of 46 patients found to have abnormal cervical cytology were housewives.12 (26%) patients were coolie.
5. 86% of the 46 women with the abnormal cervical cytology belonged to low and middle income group.
6. Among 46 patients, 29 (63%) women were in the primary education level.
7. Women having more than 3 children had increased prevalence (17%) of abnormal cervical cytology, as compared with the women having 2 children (9%).
8. Women with multiple partners had increase prevalence of abnormal cytology (21%) compared to the women who had s ingle partner (9%).
9. Out of 17 patients, who had been on OCP pills for contraception 11.7% had abnormal pap smear in contrast, 2 patients who practiced barrier contraception both (100%) had normal cervical cytology reading. In this study maximum number of patients under gone permanent sterilization.
10. Prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology is more among women with increasing years of married life .out of 46 women 21 (45.6%) had been married since more than 15 years and 13 (28.2%) of them had been married since 10 - 15 years.
11. On spouse assessment genital ulcer (4.3%) and balanoposthitis (2.1%) were found to be associated with abnormal cytology of their partners.
12. Among 15 women who's spouse had extra marital contact 6 (40%) of them had abnormal cervical cytology in contrast in women with the spouse with no extra marital contact only 1% had abnormal cervical cytology. This is found to be statistically significant.
13. Abnormal cervical cytology was found to be greater among women who are not living with the spouse 16.9% compared to the women living with the spouse 8%. Women not living with the spouse include commercial sex workers, widowed, separated and divorced. This increased prevalence in this group may be attributed to multiple partners in them.
14. In this study 9 women were referred through their male partner to our STD OPD, among them 4 (44.1%) had positive findings for abnormal cervical cytology.
CONCLUSION:
• In this study we found 9.2% of prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and inflammatory pap smear were found in 61.2%. Hence the yield of screening in STD clinics will be higher in STI clinics, than in other clinics.
• The risk factors found to be associated with abnormal cervical cytology includes reproductive age group, lower socio-economic and lower educational status, multiparty, multiple partners, associated other sexually transmitted diseases.
• Early screening and detection of dysplasia will reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with carcinoma cervix.
• Inflammatory pap smear were found to be 62.1%. This inflammatory pap smear warrants, repeated pap smear after treating the infection followed by repeat pap smear in 3 months, and 6 months. Persistant inflammatory cytology
warrants further investigations and follow up.


ABSTRACT A 90-year-old woman with severe aortic stenosis experienced hospital readmission for chronic heart failure exacerbations many times and was admitted to our hospital for undergoing transcatheter aortic valve implantation. Thereafter, she fell in the ward and fractured her femoral trochanter, requiring early hip fracture surgery. We proposed that we should perform simultaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation and hip fracture surgery to cardiologist and orthopedist from anesthetic and perioperative management perspective. We considered that it was difficult to maintain cardiovascular function without cardiac intervention during hip fracture surgery and starting rehabilitation as early as possible was important. General anesthesia was induced without any complications, and the tracheal tube was removed after the successive surgeries. On postoperative day 1, bedside rehabilitation was started, and on postoperative day 3, she was transferred from the intensive care unit to the general ward. On postoperative day 32, she was transferred to another hospital. Anesthesiologist should play an important role for decision making in not only intraoperative but perioperative management for critical case, we should communicate with other departments. The successful perioperative management of simultaneous transcatheter aortic valve implantation and hip fracture surgery enabled to start rehabilitation early and prevented further patient hospitalization.


A neural control model based on learning of the system inverse is proposed. Learning control is a control method wherein experience gained from previous performance is automatically used to improve future performance. A learning scheme called the inverse transfer learning scheme is introduced. Compared to previous learning schemes, this scheme provides faster convergences to the minimum error state and reflects properties of highly coupled nonlinear dynamic systems. The scheme is applied to the pole-balancing control problem through computer simulation to demonstrate control capability.<<ETX>>


Based on the Density Functional Theory (DFT) electronic band structure, state
 density, linear optics, elastic, dynamic and thermodynamic properties of
 ??-SrTa2O6 crystal with P4/mbm (No. 127) space group were investigated with
 the help of ABINIT and Wien2k code. In the study, it was found that the
 ??-SrTa2O6 crystal is classified as a semiconductor with an indirect
 bandgap. For this crystal, the dielectric function was obtained and optical
 constants such as energy loss function, extinction coefficient, absorption
 coefficient and reflectivity were calculated. The components of the elastic
 stiffness tensor, the phonon dispersion, the state density and the
 contribution of each atom to the state density were obtained. Finally,
 thermodynamic properties were determined for the ??-SrTa2O6 crystal.
 Furthermore, the changes in free energy (F), internal energy (E), entropy
 (S) and heat capacity (C) depending on the temperature were investigated.


Explorer 45 (S/sup 3/-A) measurements during the recovery phase of a moderate magnetic storm have confirmed that the charge exchange decay mechanism can account for the decay of the storm time proton ring current. The moderate magnetic storm of February 24, 1972, was selected for study, since a symmetric ring current had developed and effects due to asymmetric ring current losses could be eliminated. In this study it was found that after the initial rapid decay of the proton flux, which is a consequence of the dissipation of the asymmetric ring current, the equatorially mirroring protons in the calculated range 5--30 keV decayed throughout the L value range of 3.5--5.0 at the charge exchange decay rate calculated by Liemohn (1961). After several days of decay, the proton fluxes reached a lower limit where an apparent equlibrium was maintained, between weak particle source mechanisms and the loss mechanisms, until fresh protons were injected into the ring current region during substorms. While other proton loss mechanisms may also be operating, the results indicate that charge exchange is more than sufficient as a particle loss mechanism for the storm time proton ringe current decay and that this mechanism must be considered in allmore » studies involving the loss of proton ring current particles. (AIP)« less


Recent quantitative parameter mapping methods including MR fingerprinting (MRF) collect a time series of images that capture the evolution of magnetization. The focus of this work is to introduce a novel approach termed as Deep Factor Model (DFM), which offers an efficient representation of the multi-contrast image time series. The higher efficiency of the representation enables the acquisition of the images in a highly undersampled fashion, which translates to reduced scan time in 3D high-resolution multi-contrast applications. The approach integrates motion estimation and compensation, making the approach robust to subject motion during the scan.


Samuel Beckett, an outstanding 20th century literary figure, has contributed a lot to solving the existential problems of man through a large number of oeuvre. Being familiar with all philosophical schools of thought and especially a proponent of existential philosophical movement, he was well aware of this school of thought characteristics and its underlying themes, such as anxiety, horror, liberty, the harbinger of death and finally consciousness of existing, a perspective on life that is a quest for the meaning of life and existence. In this search, however, he advocates Kierkegaard and the idea that human beings can be understood only from the inside that is, based on their lived and experienced reality and dilemmas not from the outside employing different branches of science. On this line, via the Theatre of Absurd, he tries to demonstrate man's attempt in his query for his estranged self.


Abstract An individual experiences boredom when an activity is neither entertaining nor conducive. Academic boredom and its negative influences include dissatisfaction and low arousal in school activities, depression, high school dropout, lack of academic goal orientation, abusive behaviours as well as poor academic performances among students. The study sought to investigate the efficacy of Systematic desensitization on academic boredom among students in Edo State Secondary Schools. The research used quasi experimental design adopting the pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group experiment. The population for the study consisted of One thousand, five hundred and eighty-two (I,582) SS2 students from Seven (7) public schools in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. The sample for the study was made up of two intact classes comprising of 91 (Ninety-one) SS2 students. The instruments used for the study is Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS), developed by Farmer and Sunberg, adapted from Obisanya with a test retest reliability co-efficient of 0.792. The findings of this study showed that Systematic desensitization was effective in reducing academic boredom. It was also more effective than the control group (non-attention). It is therefore recommended that reciprocal inhibition can be used to desensitize the students by counsellors. In the classroom, the teacher should note individual differences, engage students in classroom activities, use real life situations and also make learning interesting.


The Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care (MoHLTC) invested in a pilot project that introduced nurse practitioners (NPs) into emergency departments (EDs) in order to improve patient care. Since the launch of the project, there have been no documented studies exploring how the NP role has been accepted by others. Role acceptance is critical to NP integration and thus effectiveness of the role in achieving its desired outcomes. This study explored NP role acceptance in the ED as perceived by NPs, physicians and nurses. Case study approach was employed using semi-structured interviews, the researcher's field notes and publicly accessible documents. NP role acceptance was found to be influenced by participants' understanding of the initial impetus for the role, the role itself, their appreciation of value-added components of the role, NP-specific characteristics and professional relationships among NPs, physicians and nurses. Implications for policy, practice, education and research are explored.


Informal care is non-financed care outside the realm of formal healthcare, which represents an increasing challenge for aging societies. Informal care has frequently been neglected in health economic analyses, while in recent years its coverage has increased considerably in the international scientific literature. This review summarizes the methodology of the health-economic assessment of informal care, including the objective and subjective metrics of caregiver burden, its financial and non-financial valuation and practical applications, with special emphasis on the introduction of care-related quality of life instruments (e.g. Care Related Quality of Life - CarerQoL instrument). Care-related quality of life is a different entity from health-related quality of life, the two cannot be combined, so their joint evaluation requires multi-criteria decision analysis methods. Therefore, it is important to determine the societal preferences of care-related quality of life versus health-related quality of life, and map the relationship of care-related quality of life with time. The local validation of tools measuring care-related quality of life, its more widespread practical application and the analysis of its effect on decision making are also important part of the future research agenda. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(35): 1363-1372.


The death of a loved one is considered to be a painful and challenging experience for all bereaved individuals. Concepts such as bereavement, mourning, and grief are used interchangeably, describing social, individual, and situational processes after loss or separation. Each person grieves in different ways. Many theorists who try to shed light on this area to understand the process of bereavement and grief have developed various theories. Due to the interpersonal differences observed in grief reactions and the variety of factors affecting the grief process, grief; It has been defined in three different ways: normal, pathological, and traumatic grief. If individuals are going through the normal grief process, the assistance of an expert is usually not required. If the individual shows signs of pathological grief, they require assistance from an expert to complete the grief process in a healthy way. The aims of this study are to understand the grief process of the bereaved, to explain important concepts, developed theories. For this purpose, electronic research databases (Google Scholar, Electronic Books, Pubmed) have been analysed and searched. The bereavement and grief process were researched in terms of sociodemographic, personality (attachment, neuroticism), social characteristics and risk factors. In addition, it was aimed to comprehensively examine its place in the diagnostic classification, its clinical appearance, grief and treatment approaches.


European incentive policies led to a faster development of renewable energy sources during these last years. These new energy sources highly impact the planning and operation of our electrical system. More flexibility is now required for electrical system operators to be able to counterpace the increase of power variability and unwished energy flow in their networks. Energy storage systems are a possible flexibility and thus open new challenges about research works and studies for grid applications. The task of this paper is to study the use of a lithium-ion battery to remove constraints in electrical grids and to increase the penetration of renewable energy sources in the liberalized electricity market. A linearized model of a lithium-ion battery is presented and is used in an optimization framework. This one is then used to calculate the optimal schedule of storage load and discharge actions in order to produce the highest possible benefits while taking into account hardware and grid constraints. An application in an industrial microgrid is presented to reduce the operation energy cost.


In the framework of the LHC Injectors Upgrade project the improvements required to achieve the parameters of the future beams for the High-Luminosity LHC are being studied and implemented. In order to deliver high brightness beams, control over the beam intensity and emittance is fundamental. Therefore, a highly accurate and reliable transverse emittance measurement is essential. Presently at the CERN Proton Synchrotron, the only operationally available emittance monitors not impacting the facility beam production are the flying wire scanners used to measure the circulating beam profile. The wire scanners will be replaced with a new generation in the next two years and a prototype is already installed. The prototype has been commissioned with beams featuring a wide range of intensities and emittances. This paper evaluates the performance of the prototype with respect to the present system via beam-based measurements. The transverse emittance measurement is discussed, considering the different potential error contributions to the measurement, such as knowledge of the machine optics and the dispersive contribution to the beam size.


Multi-look adaptive weighting (MAW) is an adaptive beamforming method of improving target high range resolution (HRR) signatures for automatic target recognition (ATR) systems. The primary goal in developing MAW is the concern with improving the probability of correct classification (Pcc) and reducing the probability of false classification (Pfc) in ATR systems. An additional objective, driven by operational considerations, is to reduce the radar resources required to achieve a desired Pcc and Pfc. We have shown in previous HRR ATR studies on ground military targets that a significant classifier performance gain can be obtained if speckle noise and scintillation in HRR profiles are reduced through noncoherent averaging of multiple independent coherent processing intervals (CPIs) that are separated by small changes in azimuth angles. Given the advantage of using multi-look CPIs on HRR ATR performance, we have designed MAW specifically to take advantage of the multiple independent CPIs in forming the HRR profiles. From a radar resource perspective, for an HRR ATR system to be operationally useful, the system must operate at a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the range of 20-25 dB. In this paper, we discuss the theoretical foundation underlying MAW and present corresponding MAW-processed HRR ATR results at 20-25db SNR compared against other image processing techniques such as weighted fast Fourier transform (FFT) and high definition vector imaging (HDVI). These results are based upon HRR profiles formed from synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images of targets taken from the high quality Moving and Stationary Target Acquisition and Recognition (MSTAR) data set. We also discuss the impact these image processing techniques have on the HRR ATR performance in terms of radar resources.


Code review is a mature practice for software quality assurance in software development with which reviewers check the code that has been committed by developers, and verify the quality of code. During the code review discussions, reviewers and developers might use code snippets to provide necessary information (e.g., suggestions or explanations). However, little is known about the intentions and impacts of code snippets in code reviews. To this end, we conducted a preliminary study to investigate the nature of code snippets and their purposes in code reviews. We manually collected and checked 10,790 review comments from the Nova and Neutron projects of the OpenStack community, and finally obtained 626 review comments that contain code snippets for further analysis. The results show that: (1) code snippets are not prevalently used in code reviews, and most of the code snippets are provided by reviewers. (2) We identified two high-level purposes of code snippets provided by reviewers (i.e., Suggestion and Citation) with six detailed purposes, among which, Improving Code Implementation is the most common purpose. (3) For the code snippets in code reviews with the aim of suggestion, around 68.1% was accepted by developers. The results highlight promising research directions on using code snippets in code reviews.


Integrated Movement Program in the Field of Health, Economy, Education, Infrastructure, and Environment or abbreviated Gerdu Kempling Semarang City Government was launched based on Local Regulation No. 4 of 2008 on Poverty Alleviation and Instruction of Mayor of Semarang number 054/2/2011 on Acceleration of Poverty Reduction Semarang City. This program targets poverty to fall by 2% every year. To achieve these objectives, Semarang City government cooperates with private parties, state-owned enterprises, universities and NGOs. One of the kelurahans who have implemented Gerdu Kempling program is the Palebon village. The Village get CSR from PDAM Tirta Moedal, PT Telkom and Rotary Club for Rp 200 million which is used to carry out empowerment activities. However, there are some problems that affect the outcome of the Gerdu Kempling program in the Palebon subdistrict. Based on this study, this study evaluates the performance of Gerdu Kempling program in Palebon sub-district by observing the phenomenon of input, process, output, and outcome. The approach used is descriptive qualitative with interview data collection method, questionnaire, and documentation study. The data already collected will be presented and reduced then drawn conclusions. The results of this research are that the program input is correct, but the main problem is in the process of improper policy transformation which involves short time of empowerment that is only 1 year, the types of activities that are not in accordance with the needs of the community and not sustainable, and monitoring evaluation only administrative and no measure of success in the program. These problems affect the results of community appraisal of outputs and outcomes where most people state that they are not yet self-sufficient through the Gerdu Kempling program. However, the community also assessed the greatest impact felt is the field of environment and infrastructure. Keywords: Poverty, Gerdu Kempling, Village


Two new superdeformed (SD) bands have been observed in 150Tb using the reaction 31 P +124Sn and the GAMMASPHERE detector array. These new bands are interpreted as being excited SD configurations involving a proton and a neutron particle-hole excitation, respectively. The configurations are discussed in terms of the occupancy of high-N intruder orbitals. These data are used to provide information on: (i) the contribution to the dynamic mo-ments of inertia due to the occupation of specific orbitals, (ii) the deformation driving effects of the particle-hole states, and (iii) the consequences of these effects on pairing and band-crossings. 21.10.Re, 23.20.Lv, 27.70 +q Typeset using REVJEX


Virtual reality (VR) gaming is a billion-dollar industry that aims at providing a more realistic and exciting immersive experience in computer-simulated environment. Besides hardware capabilities and high-quality 3-D graphics, the feeling of immersion is augmented by incorporating realistic player-game interactions, including the control of game characters movements based on real/natural movements of the player and objects. To this intent, modern VR gaming usually leverages virtual reality headsets and additional devices/sensors whose costs are normally expensive for ordinary games users. In this paper, we propose a low-cost VR gaming system in which the smartphone is used as display and processing units, and its rear camera is used as the main sensor for controlling the character movements in a first-person shooter game (FPS) developed in this work. The VR game system can operate, on average, at 31 frames per second. Regarding the usability, 19 of 24 interviewed users evaluated the character movement precision as good or very good, while 95.8% considered the gun movement as good or very good. Also, all the users would recommend the movement control system as a real-virtual interaction alternative for VR gaming.


Since the last decade the demand for vegetable oils has been growing strongly due to increase in global population and oils consumption. Palm oil also is one of the most important vegetable oils in the world and each year million tonnes of palm oil has been traded globally to be consumed by million people around the world. Malaysia is the second largest producer of palm oil after Indonesia and become the most important industry in growth and development of Malaysia economic. Regarding the matter, the aim of the study is to determine the production of palm oil in the world market, to identify the rate of Malaysia trade of palm oil importer and exporter in the world market and to measure the sustainability status of Malaysia palm oil industry development. In this study, the data uses were collected from FOASTAT, Index Mundi and Department of Statistic (Malaysia) from period 1961 until 2013. The methods used to answer the first objective is by using graph analysis. Whereas, for the second objective is by using Revealed Comparative Advantages (RCA) and Herfindahl Hirschman Index (HHI) method and Self-Sufficiency Ratio( SSR) and Import Dependence Ratio (IDR) method is used to answer the third objective. The result concluded that RCA for Malaysia palm oil industry is more than 1 (RCA= 2.3), which signifies that Malaysia is relatively more specialized in palm oil industry. HHI results calculated that the market share is 4629.67, which means Malaysia palm oil industries at the world market highly concentrated. The average percentage of SSR for Malaysia is more than 100% and the average percentage of IDR is 10%-40%. Its show Malaysia able to develop without strong dependence from other countries that produce palm oil. This clearly pointed out to the fact that Malaysia was strong in exporting of palm oil.


An electron beam diagnostic system for measuring the charge distribution of an ion beam without changing its properties is presently under development for Heavy Ion Fusion (HIF) beam physics studies. Conventional diagnostics require temporary insertion of sensors into the beam, but these capture it, or significantly alter its properties. In this new diagnostic a low energy, low current electron beam is scanned transversely across the ion beam; the measured electron beam deflection is used to calculate the line-integrated charge density of the ion beam, assuming at present a circular charge distribution that is functionally dependent only on radius. The initial application of this diagnostic is being made to the Neutralized Transport Experiment (NTX), which is exploring the physics of space charge dominated beam focusing through neutralizing plasma onto a small spot. The diagnostic system is able to scan an ion beam of up to 3 cm radius. Design and performance of this diagnostic system is presented.


COVID-19 vaccines have been vital in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infections and reducing hospitalizations. However, breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections (BTI) occur in some vaccinated individuals. Here, we study how BTI impacts on the potency and the breadth of the neutralizing antibody response. We show that a Delta infection in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals provides potent neutralization against the current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the Omicron variant. ABSTRACT Numerous studies have shown that a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection can greatly enhance the antibody response to COVID-19 vaccination, with this so called "hybrid immunity" leading to greater neutralization breadth against SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern. However, little is known about how breakthrough infection (BTI) in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals will impact the magnitude and breadth of the neutralizing antibody response. Here, we compared neutralizing antibody responses between unvaccinated and COVID-19-double-vaccinated individuals (including both AZD1222 and BNT162b2 vaccinees) who have been infected with the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant. Rapid production of spike-reactive IgG was observed in the vaccinated group, providing evidence of effective vaccine priming. Overall, potent cross-neutralizing activity against current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern was observed in the BTI group compared to the infection group, including neutralization of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant. This study provides important insights into population immunity where transmission levels remain high and in the context of new or emerging variants of concern. IMPORTANCE COVID-19 vaccines have been vital in controlling SARS-CoV-2 infections and reducing hospitalizations. However, breakthrough SARS-CoV-2 infections (BTI) occur in some vaccinated individuals. Here, we study how BTI impacts on the potency and the breadth of the neutralizing antibody response. We show that a Delta infection in COVID-19-vaccinated individuals provides potent neutralization against the current SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, including the Omicron variant.


Abstract. Here, we describe the development of seven new microsatellite loci from Petaurus breviceps. Together with eight loci from previous studies of gliders, we tested their utility for amplification, multiplexing and polymorphism in two glider species, P. breviceps and P. norfolcensis. Of the 15 loci tested, all were polymorphic in P. breviceps and 12 were polymorphic in P. norfolcensis. Overall, 260 sugar gliders from 13 sites in south-eastern South Australia and 106 squirrel gliders collected throughout south-east Queensland were used in analyses. Numbers of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 27 in P. breviceps and from 2 to 44 in P. norfolcensis. Observed heterozygosity ranged between 0.438 and 0.904 in P. breviceps and between 0.189 and 0.981 in P. norfolcensis. Within the populations analysed, one of the 15 loci for P. breviceps and two of the 12 loci for P. norfolcensis deviated from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium. The microsatellite loci will provide valuable tools for further study of social organisation, mating systems and population biology of these gliding marsupials.


We report on InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot injection microdisk lasers laterally connected with a bus waveguide fabricated by planar technology from the same epi-structure. Various coupling schemes of microlaser with waveguide are studied including a microlaser attached to a waveguide (zero gap), a 100 nm gap for evanescence light outcoupling, and with a waveguide surrounding the resonator. The modes outcoupling and microlaser's loss (Q-factor) are analyzed by simulation of the lasers. A strong decrease in the number of the microdisk resonance lines associated with an increase in loss in the resonator due to the coupling with waveguide is observed in modeling and experimentally. We study the spectral and lasing parameters of the microdisk lasers, as well as characteristics of the outcoupled emission, and demonstrate efficient light outcoupling for 30 and 40 μm diameter continuous wave operating microdisk laser up to 96 °C.


Antebellum Mobile was a cotton port city, and economic dependence upon the North created by the cotton trade controlled the city's development. Mobile's export trade placed the city third after New York and New Orleans in total value of exports for the nation by 1860. Because the exports consisted almost entirely of cotton headed for Northern and foreign textile mills, Mobile depended on Northern businessmen for marketing services. Nearly all the city's imports were from New York: Mobile had the worst export-import imbalance of all antebellum ports.As the volume of cotton exports increased, so did the city's population--from1,500 in 1820 to 30,000 in 1860. Amos's study delineates the basis for Mobile's growth and the ways in which residents and their government promoted growth and adapted to it. Because some of the New York banking, shipping, and marketing firms maintained local agencies, a significant number of Northern-born businessmen participated widely in civic affairs. This has afforded the author the opportunity to explore the North-South relationship in economic and personal terms, in one important city, during a period of increasing sectional tension.


Most countries of the Visegrad group presently undertake meticulous preparation for entry to the Eurozone, which makes the issue of business cycle synchronization contemporary. In this study, we identified business cycle in V4 member states, Germany and the Eurozone and investigated the degree of business cycle synchronization among V4 countries, with Germany and the Eurozone. Quarterly GDP data, season and calendar adjusted from 1995 : 1 through 2016 : 4 (T = 88) were broken down to trend and cyclical elements by the Hodrick‑Prescott filter and used to obtain the relative output gap. Phases of the business cycle were identified through modified BBQ algorithm. Business cycle synchronization was quantified with Pearson correlation coefficient, concordance index and Mink similarity index calculated separately for time segments before EU accession in 2004 and after. Tests of statistical significance were carried out, where relevant. In the period before EU enlargement, few economic cycles were correlated weakly, but many were not synchronized at all or were even negatively correlated. After EU accession, the cycles became closely synchronized among V4 countries or between V4 state and Germany or Eurozone. Although the degree of correlation between V4 countries and Eurozone is not as strong, as for Germany and Eurozone, it is obvious that V4 countries are becoming increasingly prepared for adopting Euro, as their currency, with respect to the requisite of economic cycle synchronization.


This study aims to unravel how different innovation strategies affect firms' modes of integration into the global value chains. By applying the self-selection hypothesis and utilizing longitudinal data of firms in Vietnam on 27,664 observations from 2012 to 2018, we find that innovation strategies affect the probability and modes of integration into the global value chains. While firms that prioritize product innovation and research and development are more likely to export, those that focus on process improvement tend to sell more to foreign direct investment buyers. These relationships are influenced by the quality of the local business environment. The improved quality of the local business environment enhances the positive effects of these innovation strategies on firms' integration into the GVCs. This enhancement effect is particularly important for small- and medium-sized firms. The findings suggest that to support firms in Vietnam to integrate into the GVCs, the quality of the local business environment must be improved and it could be done by enforcing public policies that are complementary to firms' innovation policies.


The wireless local area network (WLAN) is becoming the new era of wireless networking technology for the user with a strong desire for new technology. The main issue is to integrate WLAN with WAN, and handover management between the subnets of the network should be resolved. Handover within the link layer and the network layer should be smooth and seamless. There are many alternative ways and techniques to solve this problem, such as developing a new network protocol, designing a new physical layer, enhancing or creating new algorithms. We try to figure out a proposal to solve this problem. The enhancement or modified protocol has to be developed into a new model then tested in a real network situation. In actual networking, a problem may occur and that problem must be evaluated, and the enhancement and all the modified factors investigated. Performance of handover within a WLAN is important in order to get good service for VoIP, Internet gaming and other Internet services.


Objective: To explore perinatal health care professionals' perspectives on barriers and facilitators to addressing perinatal depression. Background: Perinatal depression is common and associated with deleterious effects on mother, foetus, child and family. Although the regular contact between mothers and perinatal health care professionals may make the obstetric setting ideal for addressing depression, barriers persist, and depression remains under-diagnosed and under-treated. Methods: Four 90-minute focus groups were conducted with perinatal health care professionals, including obstetric resident and attending physicians, licensed independent practitioners, nurses, patient care assistants, social workers and administrative support staff. Focus groups were transcribed, and resulting data were analysed using a grounded theory approach. Results: Participants identified patient-, provider- and system-level barriers and facilitators to addressing perinatal depression. Provider-level barriers included lack of resources, skills and confidence needed to diagnose, refer and treat perinatal depression. Limited access to mental health care and resources were identified as system-level barriers. Facilitators identified included targeted training for perinatal health care professionals', structured screening and referral processes, and enhanced support and guidance from mental health providers. Conclusion: A complex set of interactions between women and perinatal health care professionals contributes to perinatal depression being untreated. Service gaps could be closed by addressing identified barriers through integrated obstetric and depression care and enhanced collaborations. Future intervention testing could include targeted training, improved access, and mental health provider support to empower perinatal health care professionals' to address perinatal depression, and thereby improve delivery of depression treatment in obstetric settings.


Glucose and insulin metabolism in patients with diabetes are profoundly altered by advanced chronic kidney disease. Risk of hypoglycemia is increased by failure of kidney gluconeogenesis, impaired insulin clearance by the kidney, defective insulin degradation due to uremia, increased erythrocyte glucose uptake during hemodialysis, impaired counter-regulatory hormone responses (cortisol, growth hormone), nutritional deprivation and variability of exposure to oral anti-hyperglycemic agents and exogenous insulin. Patients with end stage kidney disease frequently experience wide glycemic excursions, with common occurrences of both hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia. Assessment of glycemia by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) is hampered by a variety of CKD-associated conditions that can bias the measure either to the low or high range. Alternative glycemic biomarkers, such as glycated albumin or fructosamine, are even less reliable than HbA1c. Therefore, HbA1c remains the preferred glycemic biomarker despite its limitations. Based upon observational data for associations with mortality and risks of hypoglycemia with intensive glycemic control regimens in advanced CKD, a HbA1c range of 7-8% appears to be most favorable. Emerging data on the use of continuous glucose monitoring in this population brings promise for more precise monitoring and treatment adjustments to permit fine-tuning of glycemic management in patients with diabetes and advanced CKD.


detection tests alone should be viewed with caution, particularly if they are being used in situations in which they have not been formally evaluated.6 Workers in diagnostic laboratories are under considerable pressure to provide their clinical colleagues with a chlamydial diagnostic service. They will naturally tend to select the test best suited to the population being studied and the workload and technical expertise of the department. They must ensure, however, that the test does not mislead. The first indication of problems may be a report from the clinicians that the laboratory results are at variance with the clinical picture. Such discordant results will indicate the need for careful re-evaluation of the test being used, and if possible, cross testing with a different technique should be performed. Although cell culture remains the method of choice, in many laboratories an antigen detection test may be all that is available.


The first Autunian vertebrate remains are described from the Largentiere Basin, in a well core from the drilling site at Morte-Merie (Geologie Profonde de la France program). Pollen and a branchiopod crustacean found nearby in the core, as well as tetrapod footprints and plants from outcrops, indicate an Autunian age. Sedimentologic analyses reveal a shallow lacustrine deposit. Despite its fragmentary condition, the fossil is determined as a subadult palaeoniscoid close to lacustrine Upper Palaeozoic forms. Its singularity helps to confirm that the Largentiere Basin is part of the "Permian palaeobiogeographic province of South Massif central", but its potential palaeontological relationships suggest that communications were possible with the North Massif central and Middle Europe.


This paper reports case study research findings on recent employment restructuring practices in the state sector under the transition context of China in the mid-1990s. The research focuses on the drive, process, and outcome of downsizing with respect to labour flexibility in the two state-owned machinery manufacturing companies from the management perspective. By employing the Western downsizing approaches as developed by Cameron's (1994), empirical findings on downsizing in the two studied Chinese state firms are examined and analyzed. The research concludes that downsizing is a necessary but not sufficient policy. Massively laying off staff does not come without costs. To the contrary it generates new personnel problems such as unwanted quits and drain of human capital that are critical for the continuous business process of the downsizing firm.


The problem of modeling MPEG-1 VBR video traffic is studied. Based on the analysis of their statistical characteristics, this paper presents a new direct frame-layered traffic model for VBR video traffic using the MPEG-1 scheme and group of pictures (GOP) pattern "IBBPBBPBBPBB". The model can reflect the first- and second-order frame-layered statistical characteristics of this video traffic well simultaneously. Simulation results also show that the model can capture the behavior of this traffic in a queue effectively.


Background Disaster response and recovery researchers and policy makers are increasingly attempting to represent the views of children and adolescents alongside those of adults and other community members following disasters. Objective Children's and adolescents' perspectives regarding the impacts and complications of the 2014 Hazelwood coal mine fire and ongoing smoke pollution event were investigated. Method Sixty-nine children and adolescents (aged 8–16 years) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview methodology and thematic analysis used to analyse the interviews. Results The children and adolescents revealed that the smoke and the response of schools, family members and community impacted the social, emotional and academic wellbeing of some children, while others experienced little impact from the event. Some reported awareness of the event complications on their parents and the community, and demonstrated skills to care for themselves and others, and to participate in disaster risk reduction efforts. Conclusion The perspective of children and adolescents about the consequences of the fire and ensuing circumstances yield important insights which could incorporated into trauma-informed practices and disaster preparation, response and rehabilitation programs to reduce children's and adolescents' vulnerability and to increase their agency following disasters.


Abstract Data from the burst and transient source experiment (BATSE) onboard the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO) have been used to set upper limits on emission in the 20–1800 keV energy range from the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 with Jupiter. For an impulsive event of 1 sec duration we place a 4 sigma upper limit on the equivalent isotropic energy release of 5 × 1020ergs in the 20–50 keV energy band. The upper limit on steady emission observed during the week of the collision is 2 × 1019erg/sec (20–50 keV). We discuss the implications of these observations for impact effects on the jovian atmosphere.


The purpose of the study was to investigate the anti-depressant like effect of ethanolic extract of H. hookerianum (EEHh 200 and 400 mg kgG p.o.,) and its glycosidic flavonoid enriched extract of ethanolic extract of H. hookerianum (GFHh 100 mg kgG p.o.,) in reserpine induced (2 mg kgG i.p.,) Swiss albino mice. The flavonoidal constiteuents in EEHh and GFHh was confirmed by HPLC. The behavioral analysis of forced swimming test, tail suspension test, locomotor activity in mice has been conducted. Brain superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione and lipid peroxidation were estimated biochemically. Brain monoamine oxidase (A and B) activity has been carried out by double beam spectrophotometer. All the values in this study indicated that the GFHh posses well specified antidepressant activity than EEHh due to higher concentration of flavonoids as confirmed by HPLC.


This article attempts to describe, through a case study, what notions teaching staff have concerning conflict, how it develops and how it might be prevented. Conflicts in schools are no more common now than in the past, though some cases do attract a good deal of attention, especially since the school-leaving age was raised to sixteen. Among the most important results of the study is the fact that conflicts occur most frequently during lesson time. However, there are many other occasions when conflict occurs, such as: late arrival at school, the mocking of teaching staff, disrespect shown among peers, verbal and physical abuse, among others. Normally, these incidents take place in the classroom and, to a lesser extent, in recreational or common areas in the educational institution. The highest number of altercations are found in first and second year of Compulsory Secondary Education (12 to 14 years).


Digital Watermarking is the technique used by researchers to hide user defined information along with important information that may be visible or invisible depending upon the requirements of the user. Now Digital Watermarking is concerned with the ownership of the information. Absence of Digital Watermark in the information results in loss of revenue. The Digital Watermark packed with the information should be inseparable. This paper will present here the different tr ends that are followed in the digital watermarking..


A procedure for isolating staphylococcal membranes including preprocessing of the cells with 0.1 M solution of cysteine hydrochloride and subsequent differential centrifugation was developed. The procedure is based on enzymatic lysis with an enzyme preparation from Streptomyces recifensis subsp. lyticus 2435. The membrane preparations had oxidase and dehydrogenase activity and were characterized by a high specific activity of the membrane-bound ATPase. Determination of the cytochrome differential spectra revealed the presence of cytochromes a, b and o in the membrane preparations.


This paper reviews different modification methods to cathode, anode and electrolyte materials in view of their electrochemical properties for application in lithium/sulfur batteries. In the sulfur electrode, carbonaceous materials, conductive polymer materials, and metal oxide adsorbing materials are employed to enhance conductivity and reduce polysulfide dissolution. The effects of anodes and novel electrolytes, such as gel polymer, solid polymer and solid ceramic electrolytes, are reviewed.


The Radon transform is a fundamental tool in many areas. For example , in reconstruction of an image from its projections (CT scanning). Although it is situated in the core of many modern physical computations, the Radon transform lacks a coherent discrete definition for 2D discrete images which is algebraically exact, invertible, and rapidly computable. We define a notion of 2D discrete Radon transforms for discrete 2D images , which is based on summation along lines of absolute slope less than 1. 1 Values at non-grid locations are defined using trigonometric interpolation on a zero-padded grid. The discrete 2D definition of the Radon transform is shown to be geometrically faithful as the lines used for summation exhibit no wraparound effects. There exists a special set of lines in R 2 for which the transform is rapidly computable and invertible. We describe an algorithm that computes the 2D discrete Radon transform and uses O(N log N) operations , where N = n 2 is the number of pixels in the image. The algorithm relies on a discrete Fourier slice theorem, which associates the discrete Radon transform with the pseudo-polar Fourier transform [1]. Finally, we prove that our definition provides a faithful description of the continuum, as it converges to the continuous Radon transform as the discretization step goes to zero.


Raf proteins play a central role in the mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathway and hence are involved in oncogenic transformation and tumor cell proliferation. ISIS 5132 is a 20-base antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxyribonucleotide that specifically down-regulates c-raf expression. We report here an initial study of the safety and tolerability of an i.v. infusion of ISIS 5132 in patients with advanced cancer. A continuous i.v. infusion of ISIS 5132 was administered for 21 days every 4 weeks to 34 patients with a variety of solid tumors refractory to standard therapy. The dose of ISIS 5132 was increased in sequential cohorts of patients, as toxicity allowed, until a final dose of 5.0 mg/kg body weight was reached. Toxicity was scored by common toxicity criteria, and tumor response was monitored. Pharmacokinetic studies were performed for 30 patients treated at doses of < or =4.0 mg/kg/day. The initial dose of ISIS 5132 was 0.5 mg/kg body weight and was successfully increased incrementally to 5.0 mg/kg body weight. Toxicities through the 4.0 mg/kg dose level were not dose limiting. Side effects were minimal and could not be specifically related to ISIS 5132. Two patients had prolonged stabilization of their disease, and one patient with ovarian carcinoma had a significant response with a 97% reduction in CA-125 levels. ISIS 5132, an antisense oligonucleotide against c-raf, was well tolerated at doses up to and including 4.0 mg/kg/day by 21-day continuous i.v. infusion and demonstrated antitumor activity at the doses tested.


Acute myeloblast leukemia (AML) is a classic stem cell disease driven by leukemic stem cells (LSCs). LSCs in general are resistant to the existing therapies and the current treatment prognosis are rather poor. Targeting AML-LSCs has thus been suggested as a new potential approach to improve the current treatment. IL-3 receptor -chain (IL-3R, or CD123) has been shown over-expressed on leukemic blasts, progenitors and LSCs. CD123 signaling contributes to leukemic development. CD123 may thus represent a suitable target for monoclonal antibody based treatment approaches against AML. We immunized mice with purified IL3RA ECD/Fc fusion protein and the IL3RA expressing plasmid respectively. From the immunized mice we generated 3 and 8 hybridoma cell lines that secreted monoclonal antibodies recognize to IL3RA ECD/Fc and CD123 expressed on TF-1 (a CD123 expressing AML cell line) and 8G9 (a CD123 stable-expressing CHO established by us). In particular, among the 11 positive cell lines, one of the antibodies, 5A2, was confirmed with antagonist property to block the binding of IL-3/IL3RA. We demonstrated that 5A2 dose-dependently suppresses the IL-3 induced proliferation of TF-1 cells. In addition, 5A2 can also efficiently internalize into TF-1 cells. These observations suggest that 5A2 can be a potential candidate for development as an antibody based therapy against AML. At present, we are in process of further characterizing 5A2 (including determination of Kd, epitope, cross-species reactivity, inhibition of ex vivo proliferation of patient leukemic cells, along with in vivo efficacy in a suitable animal model, etc.). We are also initiating humanization of 5A2 to identify clinical candidate. We plan to also report and discuss the progresses on some of these studies. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2011 Nov 12-16; San Francisco, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2011;10(11 Suppl):Abstract nr C62.


It is shown that for any Baire space $X$, linearly ordered compact spaces $Y_1,\dots, Y_n$, compact space $Y\subseteq Y_1\times\cdots \times Y_n$ such that for every parallelepiped $W\subseteq Y_1\times\cdots \times Y_n$ the set $Y\cap W$ is connected, and separately continuous mapping $f:X\times Y\to\mathbb R$ there exists a dense in $X$ $G_\delta$-set $A\subseteq X$ such that $f$ is jointly  continuous at every point of $A\times Y$.


In the present contribution the Beja botanical terminology is analyzed from the point of view of semantic motivation. The study is limited only to the unborrowed part of the botanical lexicon (with some exceptions), together 76 terms. First 51 terms are etymologized with help of external comparisons with probable cognates in other Cushitic or Afroasiatic languages. The last 25 terms are understandable from the point of view of internal etymology and their semantic motivation is more transparent than in the preceding cases.


Water deficit causes a number of changes in plant development and physiology and is reported to be a trigger for eucalyptus dieback disorder. Dieback manifests itself in adult individuals, which hampers the selection of tolerant material and, therefore, means potential jeopardy to commercial plantings. Genetic parameters of phenotypic traits were estimated by the mixed model methodology (REML/BLUP), based on the observation of seedlings from twelve commercial eucalyptus clones grown under water stress. The water deficit was simulated by using polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and controlling the water depth administered to the plants for a period of 120 days. Among the evaluated anatomical and physiological characteristics, 10 biomarkers were selected for discriminating the clones, based on their differentiated and significant response among genotypes as well as relevant heritability and accuracy. The best-ranked clones demonstrated tolerance pattern in accordance to the empirical information in the production fields. Our results support the feasibility of early selection for selecting eucalyptus genotypes more tolerant to dieback and to water deficit.


A new strictly anaerobic, moderate thermophilic (optimum temperature, 45°C), cellulolytic, sporeforming bacterium was isolated from Thai compost. The cells of this organism stained gram positive but became gram negative as cultures reached stationary phase. They were nonmotile rods and formed terminal oval spores which swelled the cells. The deep colonies of this organism were spindle shaped and yellowish white. A variety of carbohydrates, such as cellobiose, esculin, and xylose, served as substrates for growth. Ethanol, acetate, butyrate, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide were produced during growth on cellulose or cellobiose. This organism hydrolyzed crystalline cellulose, rice straw, and other cellulosic materials without any chemical pretreatment. Optimal growth occurred at 45°C and pH 7.0. The deoxyribonucleic acid base composition was 40 mol% guanine plus cytosine. The name Clostridium josui sp. nov. is proposed for this new isolate, and the type strain has been deposited in the Fermentation Research Institute, Tsukuba, Japan, as strain FERM P-9684.


Based on an error correction method for digital audio class D power amplifiers, a digital audio class D power amplifier is designed at system level in this paper. The power amplifier includes a high-performance low-complexity 8× interpolation filter, a 5-bit 8th-order sigma-delta modulator, a digital double-edge PWM generator and a H-bridge power stage, and can correct the error caused by power supply noise in power stage and nonlinearity of digital PWM generator. At last, the digital audio power amplifier is simulated, the simulation results indicate the maximal SNR of the power amplifier is 103 dB, which is enough to suit the need of high-performance audio power amplifier.


Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains PAO1 and CHA showing type III system-dependent cytotoxicity towards macrophages ex vivo are able to induce rapid death of adult fly Drosophila melanogaster accompanied by bacterial multiplication to high-titers. The role of P. aeruginosa type III secretion system in rapid fly killing was demonstrated here by using several isogenic CHA mutants, selectively affected in this system. The activation of P. aeruginosa pexsCBA, the regulatory operon of the type III system, and the activation of the Drosophila gene diptericin, showed the host-pathogen recognition during infection process.


The objective of the present paper is to valorize granite powder wastes generated from granite mining and processing industry which cause vast environmental pollutions, in production of valuable building materials using of geopolymer technology by alkaline activating. The current work focuses on the effect of incorporation of granite waste from 0 up to 15% on the characterization of the formed geopolymer and track the formed hardened materials using Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction technique (XRD), whereas the compressive strength and water absorption were used to estimate the optimum ratio of granite waste that can be used without a negative effect on the hardened mortar. Also, the effect of various compaction loads at 12.5 and 25 MPa on the physico-mechanical properties of the hardened mortar using low liquid to solid ratio. The results showed clear enhancement in the structure and performance of the produced geopolymer mortar up to 7.5% granite waste addition giving compressive strength values more than 46 MPa, while the compaction positively enhanced the compressive strength of the formed mortar with increasing of pressure loads with about 20-25% and decreasing the water absorption values by about 70% which can be related to better compaction of the matrix.


Samples of stoichiometric composition Bi1.8Pb0.4Sr2−xKxCa2−yNdyCu3Oz with x = 0, 0.01, 0.02, and y = 0, 0.01, 0.02 were prepared by the solid state reaction method. Post-annealing experiments were carried out at 500 °C for 30 h in order to improve the oxygen homogeneity. They were characterized by the x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique, field emission scanning electronic microscopy (FE-SEM), resistivity, magnetization and Raman measurements. The superconducting transition temperature Tczero of the samples varies from 99 to 110 K for different doping. The superconductivity and the critical current density (Jc) of the sample single doped with K are improved compared with the undoped one. We attribute the change of Tc to the variation of carrier concentration. Additionally, the observed change of the normal state resistivity is related not only to carrier concentration but also to the nature of grain boundary links. These analyses are confirmed by Raman and SEM measurements.


This paper presents a hybrid algorithm that combines Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) and Genetic Algorithms (GAs) and its application on a traffic signal system. FLCs have been widely used in many applications in diverse areas, such as control system, pattern recognition, signal processing, and forecasting. They are, essentially, rule-based systems, in which the definition of these rules and fuzzy membership functions is generally based on verbally formulated rules that overlap through the parameter space. They have a great influence over the performance of the system. On the other hand, the Genetic Algorithm is a metaheuristic that provides a robust search in complex spaces. In this work, it has been used to adapt the decision rules of FLCs that define an intelligent traffic signal system, obtaining a higher performance than a classical FLC-based control. The simulation results yielded by the hybrid algorithm show an improvement of up to 34% in the performance with respect to a standard traffic signal controller, Conventional Traffic Signal Controller (CTC), and up to 31% in the comparison with a traditional logic controller, FLC.


OBJECTIVE
A high incidence of psychotic disorders has been reported in immigrant ethnic groups in Western Europe. Some studies suggest that ethnic density may influence the incidence of schizophrenia. The authors investigated whether this increased incidence among immigrants depends on the ethnic density of the neighborhoods in which they live.

METHOD
This was a prospective first-contact incidence study of psychotic disorders in The Hague, by ethnicity and neighborhood of residence. Over a 7-year period, individuals who made contact with a physician for a suspected psychotic disorder underwent diagnostic interviews and received DSM-IV diagnoses. A comprehensive municipal registration system provided the denominator for incidence rates. Data were sufficient to examine incidence rates in native Dutch and in first- and second-generation immigrants from Morocco, Suriname, and Turkey. The ethnic density of a neighborhood was computed for each immigrant group as the proportion of residents belonging to that group. Multilevel regression analyses predicted the incidence of psychotic disorders as a function of individual ethnicity and neighborhood ethnic density. Models were fitted for all immigrants together and for each immigrant group separately.

RESULTS
A total of 226 native Dutch and 240 immigrants were diagnosed as having a psychotic disorder. Compared with native Dutch, the adjusted incidence rate ratio for immigrants was significantly increased in low-ethnic-density neighborhoods (2.36) but not in high-ethnic-density neighborhoods (1.25). There was a strong interaction between individual ethnicity and neighborhood ethnic density as predictors of incidence of illness. These findings were consistent across all immigrant groups.

CONCLUSIONS
The incidence of psychotic disorders was elevated most significantly among immigrants living in neighborhoods where their own ethnic group comprised a small proportion of the population.


The effects of prostaglandins E1 and F2alpha (PGE1 and PGF2alpha) on the growth of guinea pig epidermis have been studied in vivo. The prostaglandins were injected intradermally into guinea pigs, and tritiated thymidine was injected intraperitoneally prior to sacrifice. The autoradiographic labelling indices (L.I.) were assessed and a significant increase was found 4 h after injection of PGE1 -an effect which lasted for up to 72 h. PGF2alpha injections had no significant effect on the L.I.


The processes of urban regeneration of long-disinvested inner-city neighbourhoods today happening in many European cities sometimes dramatically transform residents' traditional uses of their public places. Focusing on a neighbourhood renowned for its traditional public place sociability – Mouraria, in Lisbon - this study explored the psychosocial processes that may shape the maintenance of that sociability in the face of increasing social diversification and small-scale gentrification brought about by a mixed/bottom-up regeneration plan. A questionnaire survey (n=201) with two types of residents ('traditional residents' and 'new gentrifiers') indicated that: a) both types report using Mouraria's public places for socializing, although traditional residents do so to a greater degree; b) perceived cultural continuity of the neighbourhood is positively related to public place sociability for both groups; and c) this relationship is mediated by both place identification and place knowledge; but d) it is not moderated by type of resident. By implication, we argue that regenerated inner-city neighbourhoods may remain as places of lively public sociability and companionship if residents are able to forge and/or retain a sense of identification with, and intimate knowledge of, the neighbourhood, and view it as maintaining continuity with the past.


Clinical and laboratory data from 42 children (31 females and 11 males) with primary congenital hypothyroidism (CH) diagnosed by neonatal screening over a six-year period are reported. The mean age at onset of thyroid hormone therapy was 33 days. The adequacy of replacement therapy was assessed by repeated TT4, FT4, T3 and TSH serum determinations. The high serum TT4 concentrations frequently observed were not accompanied by clinical evidence of hyperthyroidism. rT3 levels determined in 28 CH children with TT4 greater than 15 micrograms/dl were clearly higher than in the controls. The mean weight, length and head circumference remained always between the 50th and 75th centile. The radiological assessment of the knee, mainly the distal femoral surface, has been considered as an important clinical value in the initial diagnosis and in the evaluation of both severity and duration of disease. The psychomotor development was assessed using Brunet-Lezine's test until age 36 months, Stanford-Binet at 4 and 5 and WISC at 6 years of age. The mean global developmental quotients (GDQ) were always between 85 and 97 at 6 to 72 months of age, only eight children were below 85. A significant correlation was found between GDQ at 6 months and the bone age. The neurological examination showed an impairment of posture, coordination and subtle deficits in motor and perceptual abilities in a small percentage of children.


Abstract.
 Chlorochroa (Rhytidolomia) belfragii (Stål, 1872) and C. (R.) faceta (Say, 1825) are infrequently collected pentatomine stink bugs. They have been assumed to be grass feeders, but specific hosts in the Poaceae were unknown. During fieldwork (North Dakota to Oklahoma) from 2011 to 2014, nymphs and adults of C. belfragii were taken on a chloridoid grass, prairie cordgrass (Spartina pectinata Bosc ex Link), in saline wetlands. Chlorochroa faceta developed on another chloridoid, saltgrass (Distichlis spicata [L.] Greene), and was syntopic with C. belfragii in four saline wetlands in eastern Nebraska. Oklahoma is a new state record for C. faceta. Fieldwork and historical collection records indicate that both pentatomids are found mainly in inland saline communities. Because C. belfragii can be found in and under cordgrass leaf litter, the bug seldom can be collected by sweeping, which probably accounts for the small numbers of specimens in museum collections. Chlorochroa faceta can be collected by sweeping saltgrass when stems of this sod former mostly are erect rather than reclining (matforming). Color images of the fifth instar and adult of both pentatomids are provided.


In today's technological era, the need for speed and accuracy of information is absolutely required by anyone and anywhere. With the help of computerization, a variety of activities in the field of information systems can be effectively and efficiently. In the field have developed various information systems, which is useful to provide quality information. Wherever that information systems play a role, for example in a company, government agencies, non-governmental agencies, even to small traders. Since 2007 the Government of Indonesia has implemented the Family Hope Program (PKH). The program was implemented because of the large number Very Poor Households (RTSM) increasing a problem for the government. The government established the Family Hope Program Implementation Unit (UPPKH) to implement the Family Hope Program (PKH) in order to accelerate poverty reduction as well as the development of policy in the field of social protection. In carrying out the data collection CCT participants, UPPKH West Lombok still use the manual method using Microsoft Excel, so that the data and information obtained less qualified. The system is effective and efficient manner so as to reduce the quality of service to the RTSM. Of the above problems, it needed an information system that can provide data and information quality. Viewing information systems are very influential in the performance UPPKH West Lombok regency, the authors propose Membership Information Systems Web Based Family Hope Program. Which will be designed in php and mysql as database processing.


Results from 31 epidemiology studies linking air pollution with premature mortality are compared and synthesized. Consistent positive associations between mortality and various measures of air pollution have been shown within each of two fundamentally different types of regression studies and in many variations within these basic types; this is extremely unlikely to have occurred by chance. In this paper, the measure of risk used is the elasticity, which is a dimensionless regression coefficient defined as the percentage change in the dependent variable associated with a 1% change in an independent variable, evaluated at the means. This metric has the advantage of independence from measurement units and averaging times, and is thus suitable for comparisons within and between studies involving different pollutants. Two basic types of studies are considered: time-series studies involving daily perturbations, and cross-sectional studies involving longer-term spatial gradients. The latter include prospective studies of differences in individual survival rates in different locations and studies of the differences in annual mortality rates for various communities. For a given data set, time-series regression results will vary according to the seasonal adjustment method used, the covariates included, and the lag structure assumed. The results from both types of cross-sectional regressions are highly dependent on the methods used to control for socioeconomic and personal lifestyle factors and on data quality. A major issue for all of these studies is that of partitioning the response among collinear pollution and weather variables. Previous studies showed that the variable with the least exposure measurement error may be favored in multiple regressions; assigning precise numerical results to a single pollutant is not possible under these circumstances. We found that the mean overall elasticity as obtained from time-series studies for mortality with respect to various air pollutants entered jointly was about 0.048, with a range from 0.01 to 0.12. This implies that about 5% of daily mortality is associated with air pollution, on average. The corresponding values from population-based cross-sectional studies were similar in magnitude, but the results from the three recent prospective studies varied from zero to about five times as much. Long-term responses in excess of short-term responses might be interpreted as showing the existence of chronic effects, but the uncertainties inherent in both types of studies make such an interpretation problematic.


Human activities directly and indirectly interfere with naturally occurring hydrologic processes. Indirect human interferences, such as those resulting from land use and land cover changes, have been studied and modeled in many watersheds throughout the world. These kinds of human interferences usually have considerable impacts on the rising and falling limbs and the peak of a hydrograph. Direct human interferences, such as water withdrawals and return flows, can affect the base flow recession process, which is not greatly affected by the land surface condition. Direct human interferences are usually assumed to be known but are difficult to observe and model. The withdrawals and return flows are frequently added to or subtracted from estimates of naturally occurring streamflow, underlying an assumed linear relationship between streamflow and water withdrawal and return flow. This paper presents an empirical analysis to incorporate groundwater pumping and return flow as variables in the recession process. This technique is subsequently applied to the Salt Creek Watershed, a highly urban watershed located in the Chicago area. On the basis of the historical streamflow observation during 1946–2006, the analysis provides results that explain the impact of the aforementioned direct human activities on the base flow recession process. Moreover, this empirical method allows estimates of human water uses, such as groundwater pumping and return flow, to be made as long as a sufficiently long term streamflow data record is available. This analysis is verified with the data from the Salt Creek Watershed and can also be applied to other watersheds subject to intensive human interferences.


Author(s): Sarka, George | Advisor(s): Torrens, Paul R | Abstract: ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATIONThe Role of United States Public Health Service in the Control of Syphilis during the Early 20th Century byGeorge SarkaDoctor of Public HealthUniversity of California, Los Angeles, 2013Professor Paul Torrens, ChairStatement of the Problem: To historians, the word syphilis usually evokes images of a bygone era where lapses in moral turpitude led to venereal disease and its eventual sequelae of medical and moral stigmata. It is considered by many, a disease of the past and simply another point of interest in the timeline of medical, military or public health history. However, the relationship of syphilis to the United States Public Health Service is more than just a fleeting moment in time. In fact, the control of syphilis in the United States during the early 20th century remains relatively unknown to most individuals including historians, medical professionals and public health specialists. This dissertation will explore following question: What was the role of the United States Public Health Service in the control of syphilis during the first half of the 20th century? This era was a fertile period to study the control of syphilis due to a plethora of factors including the following: epidemic proportions in the U.S. population and military with syphilis; the emergence of tools to define, recognize and treat syphilis; the occurrence of two world wars with a rise in the incidence and prevalence of syphilis, the economic ramifications of the disease; and the emergence of the U.S. Public Health Service with its champions, successes and failures. Methods: To answer this question, an extensive review of literature was done including primary and secondary sources from the military, public health specialists, medical specialists, historical reviews, etc. Summary: The control of syphilis was not possible until the U.S. Public Health Service had the tools to define, recognize and treat this disease which became reality in the early twentieth century. The importance of controlling syphilis for the U.S. Public Health Service surged during the First and Second World Wars where it became a major public health and military problem. It was also obvious that there needed to be both Governmental and public support for the control of syphilis in order for the U.S. Public Health Service to succeed in its mission. Clearly the 1920s and the early 1930s demonstrated that the control of syphilis could not be accomplished until the word syphilis metamorphosized from a taboo to a household term where it could be discussed in pubic in such venues as newspapers, radio, theater, etc. Additionally, there was a need for a champion like that of Thomas Parran MD, the 6th Surgeon General of Public Health to ignite that passion towards the control of syphilis with educational problems, increased research and financial aid. After World War II, a national program for the control of syphilis had less importance to the U.S. Public Health Service due to several reasons. With the advancement in treatment for syphilis and gonorrhea, therapy via the Rapid Treatment Centers was replaced with antibiotics which now included penicillin. This new medication was simple to administer, rapid in onset, safe with minimal adverse side effects and most importantly effective. Secondly, physicians were now able to provide such treatment in their office or clinics. Finally, due to cutbacks in the funding post war by the federal government, treatment of syphilis and gonorrhea became the responsibility of the state rather than that of the U.S. Public Health Service. With the end of War World II, the focus of U.S. Public Health Service and need for reorganization would be necessary because of an epidemiological transition in the nation's disease patterns from that of communicable diseases (tuberculosis, syphilis, pneumonia, diarrheal diseases and diphtheria) to that of chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, hypertension and accidents with their sequelae). However, syphilis stills a role to play in the U.S. Public Health Service with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. Here both moral and ethical decisions about treating patients became paramount and resulted in major policy changes within the Service.


Insights of the chemical mechanism for the hydrothermal synthesis of nanostructured alumina are elucidated for the first time, demonstrating the effect of the NaOH : Al molar ratio not only on the resulting morphology of the material but also on the product yield. Highly uniform pure g-Al2O3 nanorods are synthesised under acidic conditions (pH < 4), while basic medium (pH > 9) lead to g-Al2O3 nanoplates. Maximisation of the morphological purity leads to a decrease in the overall aluminium yield which can be overcome by successful reusability of the synthesis medium in an effort to increase efficiency (yield and productivity) and minimise waste production towards feasible large-scale manufacturing of nanostructured materials.


This article draws upon a research project on intercultural language education conducted online between 2014 and 2017 with people living in the Gaza Strip (Palestine). Because the Gaza Strip has been under blockade since 2007, people cannot travel in and out freely. This context thus prompts educators and scholars to reflect on intercultural competence from a context of protracted crisis and of forced immobility. This study considers pre-service and in-service English teachers' understandings of intercultural competence and how these educators encourage intercultural communicative competence (ICC) in their classrooms in the Gaza Strip, where neither teachers, nor students, may have travelled abroad or experienced a face-to-face intercultural encounter. Based on this analysis, this article argues that frameworks for intercultural education and ICC need to capture non-movement and the lack of face-to-face intercultural encounters as agentic in definitions of interculturality. In other words, ICC should be conceptualised in terms of the actual freedoms and opportunities that individuals have to develop and nurture it. In order to propose such a model, this article connects ICC with the capabilities approach (Nussbaum, 2011; Sen, 1999), the capability of mobility (de Haas, 2010), and with the capacity to aspire (Appadurai, 2004).


After reviewing briefly the basic strategy of analyzing the RHIC data, recent lattice results of the non-pertubative/strong-coupling aspects of quark-gluon plasma probed primarily by the heavy quarks are presented. In particular, free energies of static quarks in various color channels, the Debye screening mass and the spatial string tension above the pseudo-critical temperature are discussed on the basis of the full QCD simulations with staggered quarks and with Wilson quarks. Current status of the equal-time Bethe-Salpeter wave functions and the spectral functions of the charmoniums in quenched QCD simulations is also summarized. It is argued that the hot plasma above the (pseudo-)critical temperature Tc is still strongly interacting up to T ∼ (1.5− 2)Tc so that hadronic bound states or resonances made of strange, charm and bottom quarks in certain channels may survive inside the plasma. An attempt to extract the spectral functions at finite T in full QCD simulations is also mentioned.


Prior research has found that East Asians are less willing than Westerners to seek social support in times of need. What factors account for this cultural difference? Whereas previous research has examined the mediating effect of relational concern, we predicted that empathic concern, which refers to feeling sympathy and concern for people in need and varies by individuals from different cultures, would promote support seeking. We tested the prediction in two studies. In Study 1, European Canadians reported higher empathic concern and a higher frequency of support seeking, compared to the Japanese participants. As predicted, cultural differences in social support seeking were influenced by empathic concern. In Study 2, both empathic concern and relational concern mediated cultural differences in support seeking. Japanese with lower empathic concern but higher relational concern were more reluctant than European Americans to seek social support during stressful times. Finally, loneliness, which was more prevalent among the Japanese than among the European Americans, was partially explained by social support seeking.


This paper examines the treatment of violence in Euripides' Bacchae, particularly in spoken narrative. Bacchae is essentially a drama about violence, and the messenger-speeches establish a dialectic between spectacle and suffering as different conceptions of, and reactions to, violence. The ironic deployment of imagery and allusion, particularly concerning Pentheus' body and head, presents violence as ambiguous. The exodos then provides a model of compassion, in which knowledge of guilt does not preclude sympathy, nor does ambivalence towards violence. Finally, it is concluded that the paradoxical humanitas of this Dionysiac tragedy is grounded in its presentation of violence as a source first of pleasure, then of pain, allowing spectators to be both entertained and shocked.


The working principle and development history of cracking frame and temperature stress testing machine were introduced.Some research work on the crack resistance of early age concretes based on thermal stress test during the past 40 years were reviewed.According to the previous studies in Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute,the influence of aggregate types and temperature histories on the crack resistance by temperature stress testing machine were investigated.Some main aspects for thermal stress test that need to be further investigated were discussed,including standardization of testing machine and test method,controlling of restraint degree,measuring accuracy of Young's modulus,quantification of concrete cumulative damage induced by to-and-fro movements,and calculation method of early age creep,et al.


The prevalence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) aneuploidy in 297 samples from 38 patients with ulcerative colitis of varying duration was investigated by flow cytometry. In 12 patients colitis was complicated by the development of colorectal carcinoma: one had three synchronous carcinomas. Only four of 14 carcinomas were DNA aneuploid. Deoxyribonucleic acid aneuploidy occurred focally in the colorectal mucosa in the presence and absence of carcinoma: rates of aneuploidy (67% in cancer patients and 42% in non-cancer patients), were not significantly different (chi 2 = 1.0962, p = 0.295). A higher rate of DNA aneuploidy was found in dysplastic tissues (21%) compared with non-dysplastic tissues (15%), but again these differences did not reach statistical significance (chi 2 = 1.0747, p = 0.299). Deoxyribonucleic acid aneuploidy and dysplastic change occurred more often with increasing duration of ulcerative colitis (p less than 0.001, p less than 0.005 respectively). We conclude that flow cytometric analysis of cellular DNA content should not replace present morphological methods of assessment of premalignancy in ulcerative colitis, but may be a useful adjunct in the identification of abnormal mucosa.


Here T (.) is an intensity template for the object and φ(x) is a spatial warp. The {Bμ(.)} are basis functions of the warps and the {αμ} are the coefficients. The basis function are fixed and the α's specify different examples of the object. For example T (.) is the image of a face and the φ(.) allow warps to get different shapes of faces. Note that the assumption that the warps can be expressed in terms of basis functions is limited. It is plausible for limited deformations of faces but a very large number of eigenvectors are required to model the movement of lips when speaking (Bregler and Omohundro). It is also not a good way to describe the shape changes of an articulated deformable model – like a person or a cow walking – which are better modeled by parts (e.g., lower leg, upper leg, torso, arms, head) joined at joints, see figure (1) and later part of this lecture.


Knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to high blood pressure among adults in a low-income community in Caucaia, Ceará, Brazil, as well as factors influencing their attitudes toward behavioral risk factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, salt and fat consumption, and lack of physical exercise) were studied. A total of 228 individuals were interviewed using a structured interview protocol. Thirteen focus groups provided a more in-depth analysis of attitudes. According to the findings, the reasons behind behaviors and attitudes are linked to emotions and socioeconomic issues. Behavioral changes involve giving up certain pleasures, for people who are struggling to survive in living conditions imposed by poverty. Living in poverty interferes with the possibility of behavioral change.


Nervous system activity regulates development, homeostasis, and plasticity of the brain as well as other organs in the body. These mechanisms are subverted in cancer to propel malignant growth. In turn, cancers modulate neural structure and function to augment growth-promoting neural signaling in the tumor microenvironment. Approaching cancer biology from a neuroscience perspective will elucidate new therapeutic strategies for presently lethal forms of cancer. In this review, we highlight the neural signaling mechanisms recapitulated in primary brain tumors, brain metastases, and solid tumors throughout the body that regulate cancer progression. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Neuroscience, Volume 45 is July 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.


Despite extensive progress in recent decades, curvature estimation in two-phase models remains a challenge. Well-established curvature computing techniques such as distance function, smoothed volume fraction and height-function directly estimate the interface curvature from the implicit representation of the interface. Most recently, machine learning approach has been incorporated in computational physics simulation. Machine learning is a set of algorithms that can be utilized for training a system which allows predicting the output in the future. In this work, we train a curvature estimation model using machine learning approach for Coupled Level Set Volume of Fluid (CLSVOF) method in which both distance function and volume fraction implicitly represent the interface. Three datasets for the curvature are generated: a) curvature as a function of volume fraction (nine inputs), b) curvature as a function of distance function (nine inputs), and c) curvature as a function of both volume fraction and distance function (eighteen inputs). For each interfacial cell, curvature and input parameters (nine volume fraction and nine distance function values) at nine grid points across the interface are stored. Datasets are utilized to train different curvature computing models using neural network (NN) learning algorithm. Comparison of different datasets reveals that the distance function dataset is the best input for curvature function training. Different available learning algorithms on built-in NN toolbox in Matlab are examined. The curvature estimation function is examined for a dimensional 2D well-defined droplet on different grid resolution. In addition, the curvature estimation model by machine learning approach is compared with conventional methods such as the level set method and height function method for couple of cases. First, the case of elliptical droplet is used to evaluate curvature estimation of different methods in comparison with the analytical solution. Then, the standard case of equilibrium droplet is simulated by CLSVOF solver using different curvature estimation methods to evaluate parasitic currents generation and droplet pressure prediction. The results show that the machine learning curvature function outperforms conventional methods even on coarse grids. Finally, the curvature estimation methods are is utilized to solve a practical case of rising bubble. We observed that the terminal velocity of capped bubble reported by curvature function simulation has the lowest error.


Peptides with ureido group enclosing backbones are considered peptidomimetics and are known for their higher stabilities, biocompatibilities, antibiotic, inhibitor, and charge-transduction activities. These peptidomimetics have some unique applications, which are quite different from those of natural peptides. Hence, it is imperative to appreciate their properties at a microscopic level. In this regard, this work outlines, in detail, the charge transfer (CT) properties, hole-migration dynamics, and electronic structures of various experimentally comprehended ureidopeptidomimetic models using density functional theory (DFT). Time-dependent DFT and complete active space self-consistent field computations on basic models provide the necessary evidence for the viability of CT from the end enfolding the ureido group to the other end with a carboxylate entity. This donor-to-acceptor CT has been reflected in excitation studies, in which the higher intensity band corresponds to CT from the π orbital of the ureido group to the π* orbital of the carboxylate entity. Further, hole-migration studies have shown that charge can evolve from the ureido end, whereas the hole generated at the carboxylate end does not migrate. However, hole migration has been reported to occur from both ends (amino and carboxylate ends) in glycine oligopeptides, and our studies show that the ability to transfer and migrate charge can be tuned by modifying the donor and acceptor functional groups in both the neutral and cationic charge states. We have analyzed the possibility of hole migration following ionization using DFT-based wave-packet propagation and found its occurrence on a ∼2-5 fs time scale, which reflects the charge-transduction ability of peptidomimetics.


Summary. Progressive scoliosis with increasing pelvic obliquity in early childhood of patients with SMA type II is a common feature in this disease. Spinal surgery in muscle disorders should be carried out as soon as a progressive curve of more then 20 Celsius Cobb and a preserved FVC of 20-30% is proved. In later stages or severe forms of SMA II spinal stabilization becomes often impossible due to the respiratory insufficiency, the poor general condition and the severity of the scoliosis with marked pelvic obliquity. A special telescope rod was developed in order to enable a lengthening of this instrumentation during growth for children treated in early childhood. In 15 of 20 patients with SMA II in early childhood not satisfactory results after telescope rod implantation were observed. In spite of the telescope technique crankshaft phenomenon appeared and curve progression were observed. So then we stopped telescope rod implantation. This instrumentation could be in principle a good therapeutical tool for this indication, but its technical manufacturing has firstly to be improved decisively. For SMA II patients younger than 10 years with progressive scoliosis our therapeutic recommendation is nowadays a corset until the age of 10-12 years followed by definitive surgical correction using other multisegmental instrumentation like the Isola(R) system.


Sustainability development is one of the main issues today around the world. Appropriate use of building design strategy of construction process contributes to reducing the consumption of building energy. Green roof can play a positive role to reduction of roof surface temperature and air temperature that can be translated into energy saving means. The aim of research is to investigate the thermal performance of the green roof and the changes that occurs in the indoor thermal environment with diurnal variation of the room during summer and winter season in subtropical Bangladesh and tropical Malaysia. This research was conducted through field measurement. The pilot study was conducted in Malaysia for two weeks before the main field study was done in Bangladesh for duration of one year. The main reason of the pilot study was to clarify the instrumentation. The pilot study results indicated that the green roof is more effective than bare roof in tropical climate. The pilot study suggested a good potential of similar green roof strategy for Bangladesh. To evaluate thermal performance of green roof in Bangladesh, some quantitative data analysis is necessary before largescale implementation of green roof can be introduced. To meet these requirements, field measurements were carried out locally on selected buildings in Dhaka city. Three building were selected for field study, two buildings with green roof and another was a reinforce cement concrete (R.C.C.) bare roof. A set of thermal data loggers were installed to record the air temperature of indoor, outdoor and surface temperature. Data collection was carried out for duration of two months in winter and five months in summer. Thermal performance evaluation was done by comparative study between green roof and typical concrete bare roof. This research also evaluates U-value and RTTV calculation of different types of green roof and bare roof. The research found that green roof on contemporary building has better thermal performance and comfortable compare to bare roof in summer season. During winter, occasionally green roof reduces the indoor temperature to below comfort zone. It also noted that the thermal performance of green roof depends on the different type of design strategy. Constructed sunken, raised, exposed and organized pot plants green roofs can reduce indoor air temperature to 3.67°C, 1.22°C, 2.49°C and 6.8°C compare to outdoor air temperature. Green roofs also achieve a remarkable surface temperature reduction around 27.63°C. As part of an integrated system of green roof, denser plants can offer a better evaporative cooling impact to the micro-climate. This research suggests that the rooftop garden is one of the natural ecological solutions for reducing the effect of Urban Heat Island (UHI). This study concludes that the use of green roof on contemporary buildings of Bangladesh have significant impact on the overall indoor thermal performance. Thus, contemporary buildings should consider employing this sustainable green roof to achieve thermal comfort environment.


Abstractive text summarization is the task of compressing and rewriting a long document into a short summary while maintaining saliency, directed logical entailment, and non-redundancy. In this work, we address these three important aspects of a good summary via a reinforcement learning approach with two novel reward functions: ROUGESal and Entail, on top of a coverage-based baseline. The ROUGESal reward modifies the ROUGE metric by up-weighting the salient phrases/words detected via a keyphrase classifier. The Entail reward gives high (length-normalized) scores to logically-entailed summaries using an entailment classifier. Further, we show superior performance improvement when these rewards are combined with traditional metric (ROUGE) based rewards, via our novel and effective multi-reward approach of optimizing multiple rewards simultaneously in alternate mini-batches. Our method achieves the new state-of-the-art results on CNN/Daily Mail dataset as well as strong improvements in a test-only transfer setup on DUC-2002.


Mission history is in multiple ways transnational: it involves ongoing activities across national borders by non-government actors. Despite being sent by national mission societies, missionaries' lived experiences involved a type of Christian internationalism with contacts, friendships and professional relationships with a variety of foreigners and missionaries from other countries and denominations. Transnationalism, defined as a perspective rather than a theory or methodology, seems well suited for small-scale and local cases rather than the larger ambitions of global history with which it is often confused. The concept of the transnational space invites comparative work on single missions and missionaries that combines the local and the transnational. It enables us to see similarities without losing appreciation of the explanatory power of cultural specificities. Ours is a project to complicate the relation between metropole and colony and our contributors pay attention to 'national' and 'non-national' at the same time.