AfterEllis Island:NewcomersandNatives in the 1910 Census. Edited by S. C. Watkins. New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1994. Pp. 151. MARY ELIZABETHBROWN Mnrymount Manhattan College Chief among this book's many virtues is its general organization. The principle writers are members of the Population Studies Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Using National Institute of Health and National Science Fonndation grants, they took one of every 250 households surveyed for the 1910 United States decennial census and put the data in machine-readable form, thus creating a Public Use Sample. In 1990, the University of Pennsylvania held a workshop to discuss potential uses for the computerized data bank. Over the next four years, a number of scholars from various disciplines analyzed the data and produced articles on infant mortality; fertility; household structure, residential segregation, education and occupation. The editor wrote an introduction to the project and another to the 1910 census. Sociologist Ewa Morawksa wrote the kind of commentary one hears at the end ofpanels at conferences. Someone drew up a helpful bibliography and a usable index. The second most useful virtue is the uniform quality of the articles. Each essay explains what the 1910 censns could add to scholarly knowledge ofa particular issue, discusses the mathematical formulas used to artive at statistical analyses, describes the findings in prose, and repeats the salient points in a summary. While this book is probably most useful for graduate students and professionals, it is not necessarily for specialists in statistics. There is some convergence in subject matter. Several scholars not only compared various white ethnic groups, they compared all whites and all blacks. Their findings not only demonstrated variations in white ethnic and white native experiences, they also showed a profound gap between all whites and all blacks, to disadvantage of blacks, in matters such as infant mortality and occupation. However, there isno convergence in analysis or conclusions reached; the essays vary in these matters according to the authors' willingness to press their evidence. Most daring is the article on education, where the authors point to a rough parity in boys' and girls' education to argue for assimilation to American standards. Elsewhere, Miriam Cohen has suggested that Italians, at least, increased their daughters' educational opportunities to maintain the girls' traditional roles as supplementers of family income. The essay on residential segregation, on the other hand, indicates blacks experienced less segregation in 1910 than blacks do in the 1990s. But the authors refrain from concludingwhether residential mixing was a positive experience a sign ofequal housing for blacks and whites or a negative experience denying blacks a neighborhood identity. In conclusion, this compendiumis helpful for research, lectures and assignments, for scholars of migration, and for all those interested in the United States in 1910.


We calculated reduced density characteristic matrix (RDCM) for quantum walk on cycles (QWC) to study asymptotic properties of the most general form of quantum walk on cycles with general $U(2)$ coin operator. As an example, entanglement temperature for general initial state has been calculated and compared to previous results. Also, we have modified RDCM to derive analytical expression for general form of limiting distribution (LD).


An accurate and reliable method of determining resting energy expenditure in the critical care setting is crucial because inadequate caloric intake and excessive caloric intake are both associated with a number of complications. Energy requirements were determined by three different methods in a group of 25 post-cardiac surgery patients in the intensive care unit. Patients were intubated and had a thermodilution pulmonary artery catheter in place. The first method measured resting energy expenditure by indirect calorimetry. For the second method, the results of blood gases drawn at the same time that indirect calorimetry was measured were used in the Fick equation. In the third method, a registered dietitian assessed each patient by using the Harris-Benedict equation with stress factor modification. Indirect calorimetry was considered the standard with which the other two methods were compared. The results showed that, compared with calorimetry, both the Fick equation and the Harris-Benedict equation underestimated resting energy needs. Statistically, only the difference between the Fick equation method and indirect calorimetry was significant. Clinically, however, both methods seem to have applicability.


The economic development of regions is today closely determined by the linkages and networks to external partners as well as their own Hinterlands. Main focus in this paper is on issues related to changes in the system of production, in regional as well as international, and a cross border perspective. Empirically the analysis is based on results from a project analyzing regional development in the Baltic Sea Regions. Issues addressed are spatial impacts of alterations in the economic linkages in the BSR since the transition process started in the aftermath of the break down of the iron curtain. Theoretically the concepts applied are based on economic integration and location. An analytical framework is sketched in the first part of the paper. The second section provides a brief introduction to the economic development in the regions considered, including an assessment of cross border flows, i.e. trade and FDI. Part three is devoted to an analysis of changes in the regional production system with regard to manufacture, and the implication for regional economic performance and employment in the out-sourcing regions as well as in in-sourcing regions. In addition, the issue of 're-outsourcing' is addressed. The latter deals with western companies considering moving production facilities out of the BSR region into areas with lower production costs. The final section summarizes the result with regard to relocation i.e. in border-areas, within the BSR or in a global perspective. Impacts on employment is evaluated as well the paper addresses witch branches in particular are at risk to loose economic weight in the BSR as a consequence of changes in the international division of labor.


Background: Hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is defined as a high eosinophilic granulocyte count in peripheral blood and other tissues. It can be associated with clonal and non-clonal haematological neoplastic diseases. Methods: Here we present a patient with a 27-year history of pruritus, urticarial lesions, recurrent diarrhoea, depression and a monoclonal gammopathy in the setting of HES. Results: The patient presented with erythemas, disseminated plaques, papules and scaling. Eosinophils continuously increased from 14% in 2002 to 65% in 2011. Tryptase levels were >20 µg/l. Skin biopsies were unspecific. In the bone marrow biopsy 30% of eosinophilic differentiated precursors and 10% plasma cells were noticed. Skin and bone marrow initially not indicative for mast cell proliferation were investigated for clonal mast cell proliferation. By immunostaining, single tryptase-, CD117c- and CD25-positive mast cells were detected not only in bone marrow, but also in the skin. Molecular investigations revealed a D816V exon 17 mutation of the c-KIT gene in bone marrow and skin biopsies. Conclusion: In this patient HES was associated with high tryptase levels with 2 underlying clonal cell populations - IgGκ-positive plasma cells and single clonal mast cells with a high percentage of eosinophils in the bone marrow with symptoms of a clonal mast cell activation syndrome. Because of 3 minor criteria the patient finally fulfilled the criteria for systemic mastocytosis (according to the WHO). Patients with high tryptase levels and symptoms of mast cell activation syndrome should be investigated for clonal mast cell disease even in the absence of increased mast cells in the skin and bone marrow.


A number of model transformation approaches have been proposed both from academia and industry since automated manipulation of models plays a central role in model driven development. Ideally, a model transformation technique should also be compatible with manual changes that might be performed by designers on the generated models in order to resolve unforeseen requirements or limited expressiveness of the involved metamodels. This paper proposes an approach to model transformation based on answer set programming. Starting from target models that have been manually modified (and possibly not belong to the co-domain of the transformation being used), the approach is able to deduce a collection of models that approximate the ideal one from which it is possible to generate the previously modified target.


A multiwavelength light source with precise optical frequency spacing can be created by extracting an individual mode of a semiconductor mode-locked laser using an arrayed waveguide grating filter. The outputs of the light source are locked to wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) optical frequency grids using an optical frequency standard light source. They can be successfully modulated by 5 Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) signals and can be transmitted through 100-km-long optical fiber.


The management of software cost, development effort and project planning are key aspects of software development. Functional size measurement (FSM) has been proposed as a tool for these management requirements. Function Point Analysis (FPA) can be considered as the first FSM method published. Based on FPA, other methods have been proposed as improvements and alternatives that differ in their respective views on functional size. FPA is an intuitive approach without theoretical foundation, and without a measurement model. It is therefore unclear, what FPA actually measures and what the differences between the FSM methods are. We use an axiomatic approach based on measurement theory to develop a model for existing FSM methods. In this paper, we propose a model as a generalized representation for a set of methods: IFPUG FPA, Mark II FPA, and FFP. This view can be used as a basis for the analysis of FSM methods and for a discussion of their differences.


Chilli leaf curl virus disease caused by begomoviruses, has emerged as a major threat to global chilli production, causing severe yield losses and economic harm. Begomoviruses are a highly successful and emerging group of plant viruses that are primarily transmitted by whiteflies belonging to the Bemisia tabaci complex. The most effective method for mitigating chilli leaf curl virus disease losses is breeding for host resistance to Begomovirus. This review highlights the current situation of chilli leaf curl virus disease and associated begomoviruses in chilli production, stressing the significant issues that breeders and growers confront. In addition, the various breeding methods used to generate begomovirus resistant chilli cultivars, and also the complicated connections between the host plant, vector and the virus are discussed. This review highlights the importance of resistance breeding, emphasising the importance of multidisciplinary approaches that combine the best of traditional breeding with cutting-edge genomic technologies. subsequently, the article highlights the challenges that must be overcome in order to effectively deploy begomovirus resistant chilli varieties across diverse agroecological zones and farming systems, as well as understanding the pathogen thus providing the opportunities for improving the sustainability and profitability of chilli production.


Cybersickness is an unpleasant side effect of exposure to a virtual reality (VR) experience and refers to such physiological repercussions as nausea and dizziness triggered in response to VR exposure. Given the debilitating effect of cybersickness on the user experience in VR, academic interest in the automatic detection of cybersickness from physiological measurements has crested in recent years. Electroencephalography (EEG) has been extensively used to capture changes in electrical activity in the brain and to automatically classify cybersickness from brainwaves using a variety of machine learning algorithms. Recent advances in deep learning (DL) algorithms and increasing availability of computational resources for DL have paved the way for a new area of research into the application of DL frameworks to EEGbased detection of cybersickness. Accordingly, this review involved a systematic review of the peer-reviewed papers concerned with the application of DL frameworks to the classification of cybersickness from EEG signals. The relevant literature was identified through exhaustive database searches, and the papers were scrutinized with respect to experimental protocols for data collection, data preprocessing, and DL architectures. The review revealed a limited number of studies in this nascent area of research and showed that the DL frameworks reported in these studies (i.e., DNN, CNN, and RNN) could classify cybersickness with an average accuracy rate of 93%. This review provides a summary of the trends and issues in the application of DL frameworks to the EEG-based detection of cybersickness, with some guidelines for future research.


We propose to engineer the coupling of quantum dot networks to reservoirs such that the steady state of electron transport through the network has a large population of a specific multi-electron entangled state. Specifically, we investigate whether the coupling of a linear triple dot network to reservoirs can be tuned such that the steady state has a large population of the spin singlet state with one electron on each of the outer dots as a proof of concept. We find the steady state population by numerically solving the master equation for the triple dot modeled as an open quantum system. The master equation is derived under the Born and Markov approximations. We then compare the results to a perturbative estimate of the population. Our results show promise for engineering the coupling of the triple dot network to reservoirs such that it has a large steady state population of the desired singlet state. This approach and its generalizations to larger networks may provide new routes for dissipative preparation of multi-particle entanglement in solid state quantum circuits.


Aims: Food allergy is a major public health concern. Failures of food allergen avoidance and the consequences for those with food hypersensitivity (allergies, intolerances and coeliac disease) have a forensic context. The aim of this study was to collate and analyse the use of action in the United Kingdom (UK) courts as redress following adverse food allergy reactions or failures of allergen management. Methods: Details of prosecutions during the study period (1 January 2014 to 31 January 2020) were recorded from regular key word Internet searches. National and local news reports were primary sources, along with commentary from enforcement and regulatory professionals. Information was also collected from coroners' inquests by attending hearings and direct contact with coroners and participants in the hearings. Freedom of Information requests were made to local authority enforcement departments. In several cases, the authors had direct involvement in investigations. Results: From 2014 to 2020, there was an increase in reports. Seventy prosecutions were recorded as well as two associated appeals and two applications for Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice. This resulted in 68 convictions; seven individuals received custodial sentences, three of which were suspended although one individual had a tagged curfew imposed. Fines ranged from £50 to £93,000. Details of the law applied and the evidence gathering processes are reported. Conclusion: Legal action, including landmark prosecutions for Gross Negligence Manslaughter and Preventing Future Deaths reports from coroners, with salience of criminal penalties, has led to changes in labelling law and improved allergen management practices better to protect the interests of patients with food hypersensitivities. A central system of collation of such data, and on 'near misses', will enable more focused root cause analysis to further improve allergen management and reduce patient risk.


Approximate probabilistic model checking, and more generally sampling based model checking methods, proceed by drawing independent executions of a given model and by checking a temporal formula on these executions. In theory, these methods can be easily massively parallelized, but in practice one has to consider, for this purpose, important aspects such as the communication paradigm, the physical architecture of the machine, etc. Moreover, being able to develop multiple implementations of this algorithm on architectures as different as a cluster or many-cores requires various levels of expertise that may be problematic to gather. In this paper we propose to investigate the runtime behavior of approximate probabilistic model checking on various state of the art parallel machines - clusters, SMP, hybrid SMP clusters and the Cell processor - using a high-level parallel programming tool based on the Bulk Synchronous Parallelism paradigm to quickly instantiate model checking problems over a large variety of parallel architectures. Our conclusion assesses the relative efficiency of these architectures with respect to the algorithm classes and promotes guidelines for further work on parallel APMC implementation.


INTRODUCTION A total of 17 cases of penetrating neck injury were managed by the otolaryngology team at King's College Hospital over a 3-year period in the 1980s. In April 2010 King's College Hospital became the major trauma centre for South East London. This prospective cohort study compares the incidence, changing demographic features and treatment outcomes of penetrating neck trauma in South East London over the previous 23 years. METHODS Data were collected over a 12-month period (April 2010 to March 2011) and a selective management protocol was introduced to standardise initial investigations and further treatment. RESULTS The past 23 years have seen a 550% increase in the incidence of penetrating neck injuries in South East London, with a marked increase in gun crime. Only 38% of cases underwent negative neck exploration in 2011 compared with 65% in 1987. Selective conservative management based on the absence of haemodynamic instability or radiological findings reduces length of hospital stay, lightens surgical workload and cuts costs without affecting morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSIONS The increased incidence of penetrating neck injury is a reflection of more interpersonal violence rather than a consequence of the larger South East London trauma centre catchment area. Tackling this problem requires focus on wider issues of community prevention. Sharing of data between the four London trauma centres and the police is needed to help prevent interpersonal violence and develop a universal treatment algorithm for other institutions to follow.


For decades, significant thermoelectric enhancements at high temperatures have been witnessed in many materials. However, efficient materials working well near room temperature are still restricted to Bi2Te3-based alloys in both conduction types, in which the scarcity of tellurium is a concern for large-scale applications. Recently, Mg3Sb2–Mg3Bi2 alloys, particularly in n-type conduction, have been revealed to show great potential for efficient thermoelectric applications. The corresponding challenges rely on the realization of sufficient charge carriers with a high mobility, which respectively depends on effective doping and the removal of scattering sources. In this work, both a high carrier concentration and an inherently high mobility are enabled in Sc-doped Mg3Sb2–Mg3Bi2 alloys with coarse grains, synthesized by a melting and hot-deforming technique. This eventually leads to an average figure of merit zT of 1.1 within 300–500 K in optimal compositions, which is superior to that of state-of-the-art n-...


In the novel The Palace of Illusions (2008) by the popular Indian-American writer Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, the ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata is narrated from the point of view of its main heroine Draupadi. Thus, the author gives a new reading and interpretation to the text, which is an extremely important and revered part of the Indian cultural heritage. The image of Draupadi in the novel does not correspond to the traditional figure of the epic heroine. Her motives and character are "modernized" and are made easy to connect for a contemporary and reader; her aspirations and her voice belong to a woman of the present day. At the same time, it can be found that on the ideological level the novel follows quite closely the philosophical concepts of the ancient Indian epic. To come to this conclusion, in my study the main ideas of the novel were compared with the philosophical provisions present in the Bhagavadgītā, that is part of the sixth book of the epic and is perceived today as the doctrinal, philosophical and moral core of the Mahābhārata. In the novel by Ch. B. Divakaruni, the stories of mythical past are reconstructed, reinterpreted from the standpoint of modernity, and used to find answers to questions that are relevant to us today (about an individual quest for purpose, love and happiness, place in the world, etc.). At the same time, The Palace of Illusions combines elements of modern Western and traditional Indian worldviews. Thus, the novel is addressed both to orthodox traditionalists and to representatives of the diaspora, who are losing touch with their cultural heritage. It can be viewed as an interesting example of cultural, as well as cross-cultural hybridization.


Oriented core samples were collected from 18 lava-dike contacts in Iceland, in locations of low to moderate (<100°C) regional hydrothermal alteration. Alternating field demagnetization of these samples shows that they generally carry a strong and stable remanence. Magnetic directions in the lavas follow a simple pattern, demonstrating that the remanence of the contact zone has only been reset within very short distances from the contact surface. On average, this distance may be only one tenth of the thickness of a typical dike (4 m). Other magnetic properties (remanence intensity, susceptibility, Curie point) of the contact zone are affected to a lesser or a less regular degree than the remanence direction. It is concluded that for the crustal depth of this study, thermal conduction models do not apply to temperature anomalies set up by dike intrusions or fissure eruptions in Iceland, presumably because of rapid advection of groundwater into the active fissures. These results also indicate that the magnetic anomalies observed over Iceland are only to a small extent caused by dikes.


This paper presents the results from experiments validating the physics and environmental accuracy of a new robot simulation environment, the search and rescue game environment (SARGE), which is the foundation for series of robot-operator training games. An ATRV-Jr. outfitted with a SICK laser, GPS, and compass was used both in the real-world and in a simulated environment modeled after the real-world testing location in a simulated anomaly detection task. The ARTV-Jr., controlled by the Distributed Field Robotics Architecture, navigated through a series of waypoints in the environment. The simulated ATRV-Jr. matched the actions of the real ATRV-Jr. in both velocity and path similarity within 0.08 m/s and 0.7 m respectively.


Big data analytics is a fast-evolving phenomenon shaped by interactions among individuals, organizations, and society. However, its ethical implications for these stakeholders remain empirically underexplored and not well understood. We present empirical findings from a Delphi study that identified, defined, and examined the key concepts that underlie ethical issues in big data analytics. We then analyze those concepts using stakeholder theory and discourse ethics and suggest ways to balance interactions between individuals, organizations, and society in order to promote the ethical use of big data analytics. Our findings inform practitioners and policymakers concerned with ethically using big data analytics and provide a basis for future research.


The use of wood shavings, as a recycled waste product from the wood furniture industries is an interesting technique to produce lightweight cement composites. This study aims at examining the mechanical properties of wood shavings-cement lightweight composites. First, the wood shavings were pre-treated with water or superplasticizer or Cement Based Bitumen Emulsion (CBBE). Then, the compressive strength and tensile strength of the wood-cement matrix were experimentally evaluated. Finally, it is shown that the addition of wood shavings to cement paste gives a composite with satisfactory mechanical strengths with respect to its weight and higher toughness in addition to environmental and economic benefits.


2.1 The Localisation Research Centre (LRC) The LRC was established at University College Dublin (UCD) in 1995 with financial support from the Irish Government. In 1999, it moved from UCD to the University of Limerick (UL). The LRC a research centre of UL and fully owned by the university. The LRC's mission is to provide the localisation community with a focus point and a research and educational centre.


ABSTRACT YouTube hosts a vast catalogue of instructional videos that are increasingly used in formal education contexts. Teachers regularly use YouTube to select videos for students, but the processes they use to select these resources have been understudied. This study explores how teachers search for videos, and the role of YouTube's complex algorithm in that process. It reports on a case study of nine Australian teachers working across two schools, at various stages of their careers, from a variety of subject domains. When searching for content on YouTube, most teachers use what can be described as a search and scroll method, meaning they enter a relatively simple search term then scroll through the resulting list. This strategy relies on the teacher to select appropriate videos displayed by YouTube's algorithm, representing an entanglement of human and software labour. The considerations of teachers around specificity to learning goals, length, engagement, and affect when choosing videos are discussed as important factors in final selection. While some teachers navigated through the search returns using well-developed content knowledge, others used rushed, or uncritical methods, increasing the influence of the algorithm in their practice.


Positron annihilation lifetime (PAL) measurement is one of the most important nuclear techniques used in materials science. Electrical measurements are also used in materials science. Both PAL and electrical measurements were used here to determine the activation energy of migration of dislocations in one of the most important engineering aluminum alloys: 2024. Samples of 25% deformed (thickness reduction) material have been used for these studies. The isothermal annealing measurements were performed at 583, 603, 623 and 643K for both techniques. The activation energy of migration of the dislocation was found to be equal to 1.24 ± 0.08eV by using PAL measurements and to 1.35 ± 0.01eV by using the electrical technique.


Objective. This study explores the neurophysiological changes, measured using an electroencephalogram (EEG), in response to an arousing warning signal delivered to drowsy drivers, and predicts the efficacy of the feedback based on changes in the EEG. Approach. Eleven healthy subjects participated in sustained-attention driving experiments. The driving task required participants to maintain their cruising position and compensate for randomly induced lane deviations using the steering wheel, while their EEG and driving performance were continuously monitored. The arousing warning signal was delivered to participants who experienced momentary behavioral lapses, failing to respond rapidly to lane-departure events (specifically the reaction time exceeded three times the alert reaction time). Main results. The results of our previous studies revealed that arousing feedback immediately reversed deteriorating driving performance, which was accompanied by concurrent EEG theta- and alpha-power suppression in the bilateral occipital areas. This study further proposes a feedback efficacy assessment system to accurately estimate the efficacy of arousing warning signals delivered to drowsy participants by monitoring the changes in their EEG power spectra immediately thereafter. The classification accuracy was up 77.8% for determining the need for triggering additional warning signals. Significance. The findings of this study, in conjunction with previous studies on EEG correlates of behavioral lapses, might lead to a practical closed-loop system to predict, monitor and rectify behavioral lapses of human operators in attention-critical settings.


Iron (Fe) is a paradox in the modern ocean – it is central to many life-critical enzymes but is scarce across most surface waters. The high cellular demand and low bioavailability of Fe likely puts selective pressure on marine microorganisms. Previous observations suggest that heterotrophic bacteria are outcompeted by small diatoms for Fe supply in the subantarctic zone of Southern Ocean, thereby challenging the idea of heterotrophic bacteria being more competitive than phytoplankton in the access to this trace metal. To test this hypothesis, incubation experiments were carried out at the Southern Ocean Time Series site (March–April 2016). We investigated (a) whether dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved Fe, or both limit the growth of heterotrophic bacteria and, (b) if the presence of potential competitors has consequences on the bacterial Fe acquisition. We observed a pronounced increase in both bulk and cell-specific bacterial production in response to single (+C) and combined (+Fe+C) additions, but no changes in these rates when only Fe was added (+Fe). Moreover, we found that +Fe+C additions promoted increases in cell-specific bacterial Fe uptake rates, and these increases were particularly pronounced (by 13-fold) when phytoplankton were excluded from the incubations. These results suggest that auto- and heterotrophs could compete for Fe when DOC limitation of bacterial growth is alleviated. Such interactions between primary producers and nutrient-recyclers are unexpected drivers for the duration and magnitude of phytoplankton blooms in the Southern Ocean.


The numerical resolution of the low thrust orbital transfer problem around the Earth with the maximization of the final mass or minimization of the consumption is investigated. This problem is difficult to solve by shooting method because the optimal control is discontinuous and a homotopic method is proposed to deal with these difficulties for which convergence properties are established. For a thrust of 0.1 Newton and a final time 50% greater than the minimum one, we obtain 1786 switching times.


L363,586 is a potent, long-acting, somatostatin derivative. Intravenous and intranasal administration to diabetic subjects was effective in reducing both fasting and postprandial hyperglycemia. Also in patients stabilized on a closed-loop insulin infusion device, the intranasal administration of L363,586 was able to improve the glucose imbalance known as dawn phenomenon. Therefore, this analogue associated to standard insulin replacement could be useful in the control of unstable diabetes.


Abstract The Upper Sinemurian sandstone is a primary reservoir target in the North Celtic Sea/St George's Channel Basins. Based on core examination, analysis of gamma ray logs, and interpretation of possible sandbody geometry from well log correlations and seismic character, a marine shelf depositional setting has been interpreted for the Upper Sinemurian sandstone on the northern margin of the North Celtic Sea/St George's Channel Basins. Burrows observed in the cored interval are typical for a marine shelf depositional setting. Wavy, low-angle cross-bedding, reactivation surfaces and truncated cross-bedding suggest deposition by storm-driven, surging geostrophic currents in this setting. Examination of gamma ray logs through the Upper Sinemurian sandstone indicates that it coarsens and cleans upwards and can be divided into at least three units based on changes in curve patterns. Similar log patterns and sedimentary structure sequences in core and outcrop have been observed in elongate single and coalescing shelf ridges in the Ordovician of the eastern Williston Basin in Canada and the USA, in the Cretaceous of Wyoming and Colorado, and the Middle and Upper Jurassic of the North Sea. As will be discussed, the shelf ridge interpretation for some of these examples is controversial, with some workers suggesting an alternative incised shoreface interpretation. These examples range in thickness from 10 to 130m (33 to 425 ft). The 60+m (200+ ft) thickness of the Upper Sinemurian sandstone is well within this range. Such thicknesses suggest that ridge development (sand supply) kept up with basin subsidence. Thus, based on core data, gamma ray log curve examination, and comparisons to other sub-surface and surface examples, the Upper Sinemurian sandstone is interpreted as a series of complex elongate single and coalescing shelf sand ridges. Interpretation of recently acquired seismic data and sequence stratigraphic analysis of the Lower and Middle Jurassic section indicates that the Upper Sinemurian sandstone is part of a series of stacked sequences. These sequences result from increases in sediment accommodation space due to episodes of basin subsidence and their corresponding relative sea-level rises. Six sequences or cycles can be recognized, with each consisting of a basal onlapping, open marine phase which shoals upwards to shallow marine limestone or sandstone. Onlap occurs at and above a marine flooding surface (or its basinward sediment starvation equivalent) and proceeds towards the northern flexural margin of the basin. The next marine flooding surface is cut into or is in conformable contact with the top of the underlying sequence. The upper part of the sequence has a progradational to slightly aggradational seismic character, which results in an overall parallel seismic signature. The best potential Lower/Middle Jurassic clastic reservoir development in the North Celtic Sea/St George's Channel Basins, such as the Upper Sinemurian sandstone, corresponds to the last phase of progradation at the top of a sequence. Six such sequences, with their upper boundaries at the tops of the Lower Sinemurian sandstone, Upper Sinemurian sandstone, Pliensbachian limestone, Toarcian marker, Bajocian sandstone/limestone and Bathonian limestone, respectively, can be delineated in the Lower and Middle Jurassic section in the North Celtic Sea/St George's Channel Basins. The Lower and Middle Jurassic was largely a time of thermal subsidence in the North Celtic Sea and St George's Channel Basins. Early thermal subsidence was interrupted by events of post-rift footwall readjustment along the northern margin of both basins. This resulted in the input of clastic sediments into both basins and deposition of Lower and Upper Sinemurian sandstones in rapidly coarsening-upward cycles and sequences. In contrast, Pliensbachian to Bathonian sequences represent deposition in a period dominated by thermal subsidence and thus coarsen upwards more gradually. With the exception of basin margin uplift and basin centre subsidence influenced by intraplate stresses, extrabasinal effects, such as eustasy, are not thought to be a factor in Upper Sinemurian sandstone deposition and Lower and Middle Jurassic sequence development in the North Celtic Sea and St. George's Channel Basins.


I was interested to note the findings of Dr. Campbell and Dr. Harrison regarding reduced sperm density and motility in smokers (Journal, April 21). In two public hospital infertility clinics, I noted the incidence of smoking in men being investigated for infertility to be 69%. Each series numbered nearly 50 patients and all were seen before 1978. The maximal incidence of smoking in the general adult male population, according to Gray and Hill, occurs in the age group from 30 to 34 years and is 46%. No further conclusions could be drawn, as few smokers had any interest in stopping, so the effect of this could not be studied.


A thermosensitive mutation of simian virus 40 large T antigen (LTA) gene, the tsA58 gene, was cloned downstream of the 6-kbp neurofilament light chain promoter in pPOLYIII and injected into the pronucleus of fertilised oocytes of Sprague-Dawley rats to develop a strain harbouring six copies of the transgene. Immunocytochemical staining of hemizygous adult tissues with antibodies to the C-terminus of LTA showed that the inactive form of LTA was expressed only in the fibres of the internal capsule and in the choroid plexus of the brain. Culturing the former region at 33 degrees C, the permissive temperature for LTA, yielded a cell line, NF2C, which produced active LTA and grew at 33 degrees C but which produced only inactive LTA and eventually died at the non-permissive temperature of 39 degrees C. This clonal cell line was heterogeneous at 33 degrees C, producing the precursor neuronal cell marker nestin and the glial-specific markers glial fibrillary acidic protein, vimentin and S100A1, as well as weakly producing the neuronal cell markers 68-kDa neurofilament protein (NF68) and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) in different subpopulations of cells. However, at 39 degrees C, the cells produced dendritic, neuronal-like processes and elevated levels of NF68 and MAP2, as well as the neuronal markers synaptophysin, neurone-specific enolase, and low levels of tau, all determined by western blotting and immunofluorescent staining. Basic fibroblast growth factor enhanced the growth of the cells at 33 degrees C but also enhanced the formation of dendritic neuronal-like processes at 39 degrees C. It is suggested that NF2C represents a potential stem cell line from adult brain that expresses precursor and glial cell markers at 33 degrees C but undergoes partial differentiation to a neuronal cell phenotype at 39 degrees C.


Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius), a sustainable foodstuff, is perceived as a functional food because it contains biologically active components, e.g., fructooligosaccharides (FOS), inulin, and phenolic compounds that may provide physiological benefits beyond basic nutrition to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. There is a growing public interest in why and how to use yacon. Yacon, originally from South America, has been grown in New Zealand (NZ) since the 1980's. NZ-produced yacon concentrate NZFOS+ contains the purest natural prebiotic FOS. Our study aimed to examine the phytochemical contents of NZFOS+ and its health-related properties. The glycemic index of yacon concentrate was measured by ISO 26642:2010(E) (n = 10). Total phenolic and flavonoid contents were measured by the spectrometric method. The chlorogenic acid content and phenolic profiling were measured using the liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The antioxidant activity of the yacon concentrate and Manuka honey were compared using the cupric reducing antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC), ferric ion reducing antioxidant power (FRAP), and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assays. The results indicated that compared to Manuka honey, yacon concentrate has a lower glycemic index (40 vs. 52); a higher content of total phenolic (5430 mg vs. 744 mg GAE/100 g), total flavonoid (329 mg vs. 22 mg QE/100 g), and chlorogenic acid (11.88 μg vs. 0.08 μg CA/g); and across all assays observed, a significantly higher antioxidant capacity (CUPRAC assay, 892 mg vs. 52.6 mg TE/100 g; FRAP assay, 633 mg vs. 47 mg TE/100 g; DPPH assay, 383 mg vs. 22 mg TE/100 g, respectively). Yacon concentrate has proven potential health benefits and applications associated with the maintenance of health and wellbeing and prevention of chronic diseases. Further investigations are needed for human studies and new applications and use of yacon concentrate. Yacon concentrate (NZFOS+) has potential markets in the development of new food products and new diet therapy applications, e.g., in the form of syrup, and functional prebiotic drinks.


ABSTRACT The published latest Palaeocene to Early–Middle Eocene age limits of the Sabrina microfloras, offshore Aurora Subglacial Basin, East Antarctica, largely depend on 1970s age-range data for fossil pollen and spore species in the continental margin basins of southern Australia. This paper uses updated biostratigraphical data from southern Australia, including the basins closest to the Aurora Basin throughout the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene, to propose that the age of the terrestrial component of the Sabrina microfloras is Campanian to Maastrichtian, not Paleogene. However, the revised age limits do not preclude these microfloras being redeposited more or less intact during the development and expansion of ice-sheets on East Antarctica, i.e. most probably during the late Paleogene based on other evidence from East Antarctica.


Background: Little is known about the work productivity loss in multiple sclerosis (MS). Objectives: To quantify the MS-related work productivity loss and to compare factors associated with labour force participation and work productivity loss. Methods: Participants were from the Australian MS Longitudinal Study. MS-related work productivity loss included absenteeism (time missed from work) and presenteeism (reduced productivity while working). Data were analysed using log-binomial and Cragg hurdle regression. Results: Among 740 MS employees, 56% experienced any work productivity loss due to MS in the past 4  weeks. The mean total work productivity loss was 2.5  days (14.2% lost productive time), absenteeism 0.6  days (3.4%) and presenteeism 1.9  days (10.8%)), leading to AU$6767 (US$4985, EURO€4578) loss per person annually. Multivariable analyses showed that work productivity was determined most strongly by symptoms, particularly 'fatigue and cognitive symptoms' and 'pain and sensory symptoms', while older age, and lower education level were also predictive of not being in the labour force. Conclusion: MS-related presenteeism was three times higher than absenteeism, highlighting the importance of presenteeism being included in employment outcomes. The dominance of symptom severity as predictors of both work participation and productivity loss emphasises the need for improved management of symptoms.


Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common and highly malignant tumor that is prevalent in Southeast Asia. Although the etiological factors associated are now well recognized, the interactions between individual factors and the molecular mechanisms by which they lead to cancer remain unclear. Cytogenetic analysis on HCC has been limited because of poor hepatocyte growth in vitro. The recently developed technique of comparative genomic hybridization (CGH), however, permits screening of the entire genome without the need of cell culture. CGH was applied to the study of genomic aberrations in 67 surgically resected samples of HCC, 3 of adenomatous hyperplasia (AH), and 12 of nontumorous cirrhotic liver surrounding the tumors. All samples were from patients of a racially and etiologically homogeneous population in Southern China, where chronic hepatitis B virus infection is the main etiological factor. CGH analysis of the HCC samples revealed frequent copy number gain of 1q (48/67 cases, 72%), 8q (32/67 cases, 48%), 17q (20/67 cases, 30%), and 20q (25/67 cases, 37%) and common losses on 4q (29/67 cases, 43%), 8p (25/67 cases, 37%), 13q (25/67 cases, 37%), and 16q (20/67 cases, 30%). Our finding of a high incidence of 1q gain strongly suggested this aberration was associated with the development of HCC. Genomic abnormalities were detected in 1 of the 3 AH specimens but absent in all 12 cirrhotic tissues surrounding the tumor. Clinical staging classified 3/67 HCC cases as T1, 53 cases as T2, and 11 cases as T3. No significant difference in the pattern of genomic imbalances was detected between stages T2 and T3. A significant copy number loss of 4q11-q23 was, however, identified in those tumors larger than 3 cm in diameter. Of particular interest was the identification of 8q copy number gain in all 12 cases of HCC that arose in a noncirrhotic liver, compared with only 20/55 cases in HCC arising in a cirrhotic liver. We suggest that 8q over-representation is likely associated with a growth advantage and proliferative stimulation that have encouraged malignant changes in the noncirrhotic human liver. (Am J Pathol 1999, 154:37–43)


The purpose of this paper is to explore non-abelian finite groups with perfect order subsets. A finite groups is said to have perfect order subsets (POS) if the number of elements of each given order can divide the order of the group. The study of such groups was initiated by Carrie E. Finch and Lenny Jones. In this paper, we construct POS-groups by considering semi-direct products of cyclic groups (and sometimes quaternions).


The present study aimed to analyze sleep quality and quality of Life (QoL) in patients undergoing Transcatheter Aortic Valve Implantation (TAVI). It was conducted at the Interventional Cardiology Unit of the Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Vascular Sciences and Public Health of the University of Padova on 27 adult patients who underwent TAVI via the transfemoral approach. Patients completed two validated instruments, i.e., the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the EuroQoL (EQ-5D-5L), on the day of discharge and one month after the hospital discharge. Twenty-seven patients were enrolled with a severe aortic stenosis diagnosis, treated with transfemoral TAVI procedure. The study population included seventeen poor sleepers and ten good sleepers with a median age of 81.92 years overall. The global PSQI evaluation revealed a small significant improvement at follow-up (p-value 0.007). Small positive changes were detected in the Self-care and Usual activity domains of the EQ-5D-5L and the EQ-VAS. No correlation was detected between EQ-5D-5L and sleep quality. The present study confirms the importance of sleep quality monitoring in patients who undergo TAVI procedure for aortic stenosis treatment.


We describe a congenital cerebellar mass in a fetus at 30 weeks GA. The lesion is detected at the prenatal third-trimester ultrasound, confirmed by fetal MRI, and determined as medulloblastoma in postmortem pathologic evaluation.


Foreign language teachers use the spoken form of the target language when they teach. One of their professional responsibilities while teaching is to form a good model of pronunciation for their students. In Turkey, English is the primary foreign language taught in all educational institutions. Prospective English teachers in the English Teacher Education departments in Faculties of Education are the products of that system, and they come to their universities having been taught English for years. This study aimed to investigate the knowledge of the English sound system prospective teachers had acquired before they started their university studies. Statistical analyses showed that the students had serious problems with regard to the sound system of English and that a two-semester first year course would, by itself, not be able to compensate for the significant lack of knowledge the students had. Suggestions as to how to tackle with the problem are presented.


We investigate stereophonic acoustic echo cancellation in which solutions for the system can be nonunique and propose the use of selective-tap adaptive filters to address this problem. The main concept is to employ tap selection to optimize jointly for minimum interchannel coherence and maximum L/sub 2/-norm of the subselected tap-input vectors. The exclusive maximum (XM) tap-selection approach is proposed and applied to normalized least-mean squares (NLMS) and recursive least-squares (RLS) algorithm. We propose an approach for solving the nonuniqueness problem employing XM tap selection in combination with a nonlinear preprocessor. Simulation results show a significant improvement in convergence rate compared with existing techniques.


Abstract Objective: To know the challenges of family caregivers members for the maintenance of care for children with impaired skin integrity after hospital discharge. Method: This is a qualitative study of action research, developed from March to July of 2017. Participants were ten family/caregivers of the children with impaired skin integrity. The data obtained through interviews were submitted to content analysis. Results: The family caregivers of the child with impaired skin integrity received guidelines for home care at discharge, experienced feelings of relief, getting out of the hospital and, for fear of causing physical and emotional damage, sought help in the services and neighborhood, overprotected the child, to avoid complications and readmission, and faced the lack of resources to care for. Conclusion: Maintenance of care for children with impaired skin integrity after hospital discharge requires application of measures of protection from skin wounds, constant surveillance of the child in order to prevent local traumas and infections, and the search for support in the Health, to obtain material resources and guidelines for care.


Background: In an effort to minimize narcotic analgesia and its potential side effects, anti-inflammatory agents offer great potential provided they do not interfere with bone healing. The safety of ketorolac administration after foot and ankle surgery has not been well defined in the current literature. The purpose of this study was to report clinical healing and radiographic outcomes for patients treated with a perioperative ketorolac regimen after open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) of ankle fractures. Methods: A retrospective review was performed on all patients that received perioperative ketorolac at the time of lateral malleolar, bimalleolar, and trimalleolar ankle ORIF by a single surgeon between 2010 and 2016 with minimum 4 months follow-up. Patients received 20 tablets of 10 mg ketorolac Q6 hours. Radiographs were evaluated independently by 2 blinded fellowship-trained orthopedic foot and ankle surgeons to assess for radiographic healing. A total of 281 patients were included, with a median age of 51 years and 138 males (47%). Statistical analysis consisted of a linear mixed-effects regression. Results: In all, 265/281 (94%) were clinically healed within 12 weeks and 261/281 (92%) were radiographically healed within 12 weeks. Within the group of patients that did not heal within 12 weeks, mean time to clinical healing was 16.9 weeks (range = 14-25 weeks), and mean time to radiographic healing was 17.1 weeks (range = 14-25 weeks). In patients taking ketorolac, there were no cases of nonunion in our series (n = 281) and no significant difference found between fracture patterns and healing or complications (P = .500). Conclusions: Perioperative ketorolac use was associated with a high rate of fracture union by 12 weeks. This is the first study to examine the effect of ketorolac on radiographic time to union of ankle fractures. Additional studies are necessary to determine whether ketorolac helps reduce opioid consumption and improve pain following ORIF of ankle fractures. Level of Evidence: Level IV, case series.


In this paper, tests are carried out in order to investigate the strength development of concrete under various binder types, W/B and curing temperature ranged from 5~20℃. Fly ash and blast furnace slag were incorporated by as much as 30%, respectively. Strength development of concrete are estimated using Logistic model and strength ratio of concrete at 28days to that at early age are also investigated. According to experimental results, it is found that good agreements are obtained between measured values and calculated ones using logistic model below 20 ℃. Strength ratio of concrete at 28days to that at early age increases in case W/B decreases and curing temperature increases. Tables and graphs for strength ratio of concrete are provided in this paper. It is capable of obtaining and predicting the periods to attain design strength by considering increment factor of strength easily with the table and graphs presented in this paper. This paper presents the reference data to decide removal time of form, time to reach target strength and strength inspection of remicon whether the test specimens meet the specified criteria of compressive strength. Multi regression models with respect to the relationship between 7days compressive strength and 28 days compressive strength depending on W/B and admixture types are presented.


An audit of volunteers' work at a district general hospital showed its value to be more than 127,000 Pounds. For every 1 Pound the trust invested in volunteers there was a return of 5.57 Pounds. The research showed that volunteers gave 35,464 hours of their free time to the hospital last year. The national average is 27,000 hours per trust.


The dynamics and predictability of Stommel's box model of the thermohaline circulation isstudied. This nonlinear model with idealized geometry of the North Atlantic is solved exactly.A phase space analysis of the model reveals that the optimal perturbation affecting long-termclimate variability is provided by high-latitude haline forcing in the Atlantic ocean, althoughthis perturbation has little resemblance with the most unstable mode of the system and theleading EOF. Furthermore, the predictability problem is investigated by means of singularvector analysis and the evolution of the probability distribution function. Uncertainties in theoceanic initial conditions do increase in the phase space of the model. In the stochasticallyforced box model with identical oceanic initial conditions, the climate predictability is examinedfor the damped persistence forecast. We find that the loss of the predictability is related to thedifferent stages of the variance evolution which is also measured by the relative entropy. Ouranalysis shows that the non-normal system matrix of Stommel's model does affect the dynamicsand predictability of the system which is useful for the interpretation of long-term climatevariability and predictability. DOI: 10.1034/j.1600-0870.1999.t01-1-00012.x


For us, readers of Chaucer living in an age when appeal to religious passions and sentiments as a means for the realization of worldly objectives by some charlatans has grown significantly, reviewing the theme of religious hypocrisy treated in The Canterbury Tales can be useful in a way that it proves a helpful means for recognizing and dealing with the hypocrites. The Pardoner of the Tales is definitely and consensually the most horrible hypocrite character in English literature, and this is evident from both the narrator's description of this character in the General Prologue and in his own self-confession in the prologue to his tale. Accordingly, the hypocrisy of the Pardoner has been a matter of debates and discussions from the very beginning of critical tradition on this character and his tale. The basic view of this critical tradition, however, is that in dealing with the hypocrisy of the Pardoner and in creating this character, Chaucer has drawn on different literary and theological sources. The first part of this study is an attempt to trace instances of the influence of Biblical definition of the word hypocrisy and biblical description of hypocrites in the character of the Pardoner. In the second part, the presence of traces of the Antichrist tradition with hypocrisy as a major attribute of the Antichrist figure will be treated in this character.


New product innovation is critical to the competitive advantage of many firms. However, there is much hoopla, but little evidence, regarding the benefit of innovation speed. Specifically, there exists insufficient, often conflicting evidence about how dimensions of innovation strategy (cost, quality, and speed) relate to one another and how they ultimately affect project success. Evidence from 75 new product development projects clearly indicates that speed is positively related to quality and has the greatest influence on success. However, several external and firm-level factors were found to moderate the effect of innovation strategy dimensions on project success. Results point to the fact that relationships between dimensions of innovation strategy and project success vary with level and source of uncertainty, with the clearest finding being that speed leads to success primarily in more predictable contexts. This suggests that a fast-paced innovation strategy is best when "you know where you're going".


This paper utilizes an adaptive modulation and coding (AMC) scheme and compares the performance of adaptation between single-user multiple input multiple output (SU-MIMO) and multi-user (MU) MIMO with that of SU-MIMO. In long term evolution (LTE), every UE only needs to feed back SU-MIMO rank 1 channel quality indicator (CQI) which could get feedback overhead and computational complexity reduction. This CQI message contains a specific MCS index predicted by the UE. In this AMC scheme, MU-MIMO modulation and coding scheme (MCS) of a user equipment (UE) can be obtained from its SU-MIMO rank 1 (single stream transmission) MCS. According to the SU-MIMO rank 1 MCS and MU-MIMO MCS obtained, we can achieve adaptation between SU-MIMO and MU-MIMO by two-user orthogonal pairing and proportional fair (PF) scheduling. Simulation results show that the adaptation can achieve significant improvement on spectrum efficiency (SE) compared with SU-MIMO by means of the AMC scheme proposed in this paper.


Modern IR cameras are increasingly equipped with built-in advanced (often non-linear) image and signal processing algorithms (like fusion, super-resolution, dynamic range compression etc.) which can tremendously influence performance characteristics. Traditional approaches to range performance modeling are of limited use for these types of equipment. Several groups have tried to overcome this problem by producing a variety of imagery to assess the impact of advanced signal and image processing. Mostly, this data was taken from classified targets and/ or using classified imager and is thus not suitable for comparison studies between different groups from government, industry and universities. To ameliorate this situation, NATO SET-140 has undertaken a systematic measurement campaign at the DGA technical proving ground in Angers, France, to produce an openly distributable data set suitable for the assessment of fusion, super-resolution, local contrast enhancement, dynamic range compression and image-based NUC algorithm performance. The imagery was recorded for different target / background settings, camera and/or object movements and temperature contrasts. MWIR, LWIR and Dual-band cameras were used for recording and were also thoroughly characterized in the lab. We present a selection of the data set together with examples of their use in the assessment of super-resolution and contrast enhancement algorithms.


Fatty-acid-binding proteins are small (14–15 kDa) proteins that bind reversibly with high affinity to hydrophobic ligands. Fatty-acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4), highly expressed in adipocytes and macrophages, plays an essential regulatory role in energy metabolism and inflammation. In a previous study, we reported N-(2-(4-(1-allyl-2,4-dioxo-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-1H-pyrrolo(3,2-d)pyrimidin-6-yl)phenoxy)ethyl)picolinamide (8g), as an effective agent to prevent non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). In the present study, we found 8g to be a novel FABP4 inhibitor that significantly inhibited triglyceride accumulation and the expression of Fabp4 in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. In macrophages, 8g inhibited both Fabp4 and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. Importantly, in a co-culture system of adipocytes and macrophages, which mimics the functional interaction between adipocytes and macrophages within adipose tissue, 8g inhibited the expression of Fabp4 and cytokine production, and downregulated FABP4 and stress kinases. In line with the in vitro results, 8g markedly and dose-dependently decreased the expression of serum FABP4 and atherosclerotic lesion area in apolipoprotein E-deficient (ApoE-deficient) mice, and significantly reduced epididymal fat mass and plasma levels of triglycerides in diet-induced obesity (DIO) mice. All together, 8g is a novel FABP4 inhibitor demonstrated to ameliorate atherosclerosis through the reduction of lipid accumulation and inflammatory response, which may offer a potent therapeutic strategy against atherosclerosis and obesity.


Power Rangers is a 2017 superhero movie that was previously known in Power Rangers film series. Power Rangers attracts consumers of all ages and backgrounds, and it quickly becomes the box office in the world. This movie gets some critics and controversial responds. The urgency of this study is to respond the controversial issues toward the movie considered harmful for children. My aim to have this study is to expose some important issues which relate to minority groups. The study ascertains minority voices perceived as right equality issue despite many negative issues lingering this movie. This issue links to liberties which include freedom of life stated in US Bill of Human Right. This study applies popular literature approach and Hall representation theory. Research result shows the minority voice that reveals the positive image of minority group such as the powerful and independent individual. It also portrays, courage, confidence, humanities, cares and love, friendship and team working, trust and support, justice and anti-bullying. Those issues are gathered in the scenes from the image: the acceptance of color people and the right of LGBT represented by some characters.


ABSTRACT Objective: To characterize metabolic control and verify whether it has any relation with socioeconomic, demographic, and body composition variables in children and adolescents with phenylketonuria (PKU) diagnosed in the neonatal period. Methods: This cohort study collected retrospective data of 53 phenylketonuric children and adolescents. Data on family income, housing, and mother's age and schooling level were collected, and anthropometric measures of body composition and distribution were taken. All dosages of phenylalanine (Phe) from the last five years (2015-2019) were evaluated and classified regarding their adequacy (cutoffs: 0-12 years: 2-6 mg/dL; 12-19 years: 2-10 mg/dL). Adequate metabolic control was considered if ≥7%) of the dosages were within desired ranges. Results: The mean (±standard deviation) age in the last year was 10.1±4.6 years. Most of them were under 12 years old (33/53; 62.3%) and had the classic form of the disease (39/53; 73.6%). Better metabolic control was observed among adolescents (68.4 versus 51.4%; p=0.019). Overweight was found in 9/53 (17%) and higher serum Phe levels (p<0.001) were found in this group of patients. Metabolic control with 70% or more Phe level adequacy decreased along with the arm muscle area (AMA) (ptendency=0.042), being 70.0% among those with low reserve (low AMA), and 18.5% among those with excessive reserve (high AMA). Conclusions: Adequate metabolic control was observed in most patients. The findings suggest that, in this sample, the levels of phenylalanine may be related to changes in body composition.


How does a person's smell affect others' impressions of them? Most body odor research asks perceivers to make social judgments based on armpit sweat without perfume or deodorant, presented on t-shirts. Yet, in real life, perceivers encounter fragranced body odor, on whole bodies. Our "raters" wore blindfolds and earplugs and repeatedly smelled same-sex "donors" in live interactions. In one condition, donors wore their normal deodorant and perfume ("diplomatic" odor) while in the other condition, donors were asked to avoid all outside fragrance influences ("natural" odor). We assessed the reliability of social judgments based on such live interactions, and the relationships between live judgments and traditional t-shirt based judgments, and between natural- and diplomatic odor-based judgments. Raters' repeated live social judgments (e.g., friendliness, likeability) were highly consistent for both diplomatic and natural odor, and converged with judgments based on t-shirts. However, social judgments based on natural odor did not consistently predict social judgments based on diplomatic odor, suggesting that natural and diplomatic body odor may convey different types of social information. Our results provide evidence that individuals can perceive reliable, meaningful social olfactory signals from whole bodies, at social distances, regardless of the presence or absence of perfume. Importantly, however, the social value of these signals is modified by the addition of exogenous fragrances. Further, our focus on judgments in same-sex dyads suggests that these olfactory cues hold social value in non-mating contexts. We suggest that future research employ more ecologically relevant methods.


Abstract A triggering mechanism is presented for the transformation of a wave in the easterlies to an intensifying tropical depression. Thermodynamic processes appear to be of secondary importance at this early stage of tropical storm formation. A development criterion is presented that measures the importance of nonlinear vorticity advection for the dynamics of the wave disturbance. If the contributions of the nonlinearities become significant then formation of an intensifying depression is hypothesized. The hypothesis allows one to predict the tune and place of tropical.storm development. Both climatology and the 1975 hurricane season are analyzed in order to test the theory for Atlantic easterly waves. The development criterion is found to have predictive ability in anticipating tropical storms during August and September 1975, several days prior to development.


Background Biologic drugs are a mainstay in the treatment of juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). The early use of these drugs allows controlling disease activity avoiding its consequences and improving the quality of life of patients. We know the main characteristics of our cohort of JIA patients treated with biologics. Objectives To describe the main characteristics of patients and biological treatments received during the last 5 years (2010–2015) in a pediatric unit of a children's hospital. Methods Retrospective descriptive analytical study of patients diagnosed with JIA (as proposed by ILAR nomenclature) receiving biological treatment from 1 January 2010 to 30 June 2015. Data from medical records collected from patients who biological treatment received. Statistical analysis performed on SPSS.19.0 program. Results Total 105 patients treated with biological drugs in the last 5 years, 2/3 female (67 girls, 64%), 1/3 male (38 boys, 36%), mean age at diagnosis 5.3 years (DE ±3.95años). The distribution of JIA: Oligoarticular arthritis 40% (42 patients). Polyarticular RF negative arthritis 22.9% (24 patients). Enthesitis-Related arthritis 15.2% (16 patients). Systemic 14.3% (15 patients). Polyarticular RF positive arthritis 3.8% (4 patients). Psoriatic arthritis 3.8% (4 patients). Patients with positive antinuclear antibodies (ANA) 24.8% (26 of 105 patients). Of the patients 32.2% (34 patients), i.e. 1/3 had uveitis, of these 41% (14 patients) had positive ANA. Initial treatment with methotrexate 78.1% (82 patients), methotrexate maintained 56.2 (59 patients), with adalimumab 37.1% (39 patients), etanercept 16.2% (17 patients), tocilizumab 2.9% (3 patients). Total received 123 biological treatments: adalimumab 49 (39.8%), etanercept 47 (39.2%), tocilizumab 16 (13%), anakinra 8 (3.5%) and canakinumab 3 (2.4%). Overall median time of monitoring 33.3 months (SD ±22.4 months). Continue with the drug 54 (43.9%), decrement regimen 50 (40.7%), replaced by inefficiency 15 (12.2%) (adalimumab 3, etanercept 4, anakinra 3, tocilizumab 5), suspended for toxicity 4 (3.3%) (anakinra 3, adalimumab 1). No deaths recorded. Conclusions The clinical features in this cohort of JIA patients treated with biologics are similar to those described in other "general series" that do not distinguish the type of treatment. The biological treatments used most often are etanercept and adalimumab, both with similar percentages (mainly in non-systemic JIA). The most commonly used drugs in systemic JIA are anakinra, tocilizumab and canakinumab. The biological treatments appear to be safe based on what has been described: few drugs had to be replaced by toxicity, and was not recorded death by the treatment or the disease itself. Disclosure of Interest None declared


In this paper, we discuss a study of new media for interpersonal communication. The paper motivates, designs and presents a small evaluation of a technology that is intended to support intimacy at a distance. It first presents an ethnographic study examining family communication and the role of artifacts in supporting emotional closeness, e.g. heirlooms, activities and places in the house. The paper then describes a couple of prototypes that were designed to support different types of closeness and how we evaluated one of these prototypes in a study of 3 families (6 households), for two weeks each. The interview data that the study presents show that people were generally positive about the technology, although this depended on the nature of the users' pre-existing communication patterns. One critical point is the importance of pairing blue sky design with down-to-earth deployment: we demonstrate how ethnographic-like work can inform design practice. Finally we discuss user experiences of "telematic emotional communication" and how this has enriched our understanding of remote presence.


Consumer panic buying has a more significant impact on the supply chain than one can imagine. It has sufficient power to disrupt even the most efficient supply chain. The recent COVID19 pandemic has provided adequate proof of panic buying and its consequential effects on the supply chain and in fueling additional panic buying. The lack of research on the panic buying phenomenon was evident as the retail industries were at a loss to cope with the situation. We have developed a quantitative consumer purchase model to assess the purchase intention of a consumer under the influence of panic using regression analysis. The model is developed based on multiple regression analysis and logistic regression analysis of a questionnaire survey, which was conducted with 300 respondents. This consumer decision making model is implemented in an agent-based simulation model, which can evaluate the purchase intention probability of a consumer, given the personal and situational factors. As situational factors play a significant role in uncertain situations, the model focus on the effects of the situation on the consumer's purchase intention. © ESREL 2020-PSAM15 Organizers.Published by Research Publishing, Singapore.


In this paper we study the commutators of fractional type integral operators. This operators are given by kernels of theform $$K(x,y)=k_1(x-A_1y)k_2(x-A_2y)\dots k_m(x-A_my),$$ where $A_i$ are invertibles matrices and each $k_i$ satisfies a fractional size condition and generalized fractional H\"ormander condition. We obtain weighted Coifman estimates, weighted $L^p(w^p)$ - $L^q(w^q)$ estimates and weighted BMO estimates. We also give a two weight strong estimate for pair of weights of the form $(u,Su)$ where $u$ is an arbitrary non-negative function and $S$ is a maximal operator depending on the smoothness of the kernel $K$. For the singular case we also give a two-weighted endpoint estimate.


The authors have examined the pharmacokinetic parameters of azithromycin in phagocytic (J774 macrophages) and non-phagocytic (rat embryo fibroblasts and NRK-cells) cultured cells. Azithromycin demonstrates an exceptionally large accumulation in all the cell types tested (perhaps in two functionally and structurally distinct compartments) and a slow release of the cell-associated drug. Azithromycin probably accumulates in cells by a non-specific transport process following the model of diffusion/segregation. The cell-associated drug distributes mostly in the lysosomal compartment (50-70%) and the remaining part is freely soluble in the cytosol. In fibroblasts, and to a lesser extent in NRK-cells, azithromycin (10mg/l) induces a decrease of the buoyant density of the lysosomes which may be brought about by the drug itself together with osmotically-bound water and/or by the accumulation of low-density materials within these organelles. These observations open important questions with respect to the potential toxicity of azithromycin. The significance of such alterations and of their biological consequences are at present under investigation.


A comparative study for screening the antibiotic potential of Momordica charantia successive extracts in vitro against eleven multidrug-resistant bacterial strains. Momordica charantia fresh fruit was extracted successively in different solvents in the order of increasing polarity from hexane to aqueous followed by screening against eleven antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains including both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacterial strains using Kirby-Bauer's disk diffusion and agar well diffusion method. A study on Staphylococcus epidermidis and Corynebacterium xerosis are reported for the first time. Significant inhibitory activity was noted against most of the resistant human pathogenic strains. Findings reported that ethyl acetate fraction shows the highest zone of inhibition while hexane, petroleum ether, chloroform and aqueous extract were almost resistant. The antibacterial efficacy of Momordica charantia is found to be significant. It's also concluded that the controversy on the antibacterial activity of Momordica charantia fruit extract in different solvents is based on several factors like the solvent used for extraction, plant part, concentration, method of extraction, etc. M. charantia extracts could be used as an alternative anti-microbial to replace antibiotics for treating a broad spectrum of multidrug-resistant bacterial diseases.


Light storage is the controlled and reversible mapping of light fields onto long-lived states of matter [1], forming the basis for quantum memories in optical quantum networks [2-6]. Prominent storage media are warm alkali gases due to their strong optical coupling and long-lived spin states [7-8]. In a dense gas, the random atomic collisions dominate the lifetime of the spin coherence, limiting the storage time to a few milliseconds [9-10]. Here we present and experimentally demonstrate a storage scheme that is insensitive to spin-exchange collisions, thus enabling long storage times at high atomic densities. This unique property is achieved by mapping the light field onto spin orientation, rather than onto higher spin moments. We report on a record storage lifetime for a warm system of 150 milliseconds (1/e) in cesium vapor. Furthermore, our scheme lays the foundations for hour-long quantum memories using rare-gas nuclear spins.


This report contains the working report 'Development of a Management Strategy Evaluation process for IOTC' in support to the 14 Session of the Scientific Committee of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles, 12-17 December 2011. The paper serves as basis for initial discussions on the implementation of an Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE) approach within the IOTC. How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758. The mission of the JRC is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of EU policies. As a service of the European Commission, the JRC functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national. LB-N A -2511-EN -N


The automatic segmentation of intervertebral discs from medical images is an important task for an intelligent clinical system. In this study, a deep learning model based on the MultiResUNet model for the automatic segmentation of specific intervertebral discs is presented. MultiResUNet can easily segment all intervertebral discs in MRI images; however, when only certain specific intervertebral discs need to be segmented, problems with segmentation errors, misalignment, and noise occur. In order to solve these problems, a two-stage MultiResUNet model is proposed. Connected-component labeling, automatic cropping, and distance transform are used in the proposed method. The experimental results show that the segmentation errors and misalignments of specific intervertebral discs are greatly reduced, and the segmentation accuracy is increased to about 94%. The performance of the proposed method proves its usefulness for the automatic segmentation of specific intervertebral discs over other deep learning models, such as the U-Net, CNN-based, Attention U-Net, and MultiResUNet models.


Background Cervical artificial disc replacement (C-ADR) has become a common and accepted surgical treatment for many patients with cervical disc degeneration/herniation and radiculopathy who have failed nonoperative treatment. Midterm follow-up studies of the original investigational device exemption trials comparing C-ADR to traditional anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) have revealed C-ADR patients have less adjacent-level disease and fewer reoperations at 5 to 7 years. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of radiographic adjacent-level disease (R-ALD) with the amount of index-level segmental range of motion (ROM) in C-ADR patients using the long-term follow-up data from the ProDisc-C investigational device exemption trial. Methods This was a post hoc analysis of a 1:1 randomized controlled trial. The initial previously described Food and Drug Administration–approved 2-year study was extended, and consenting patients in the original study were followed at annual intervals up to 7 years. Logistic regression was used to assess any progression in adjacent-level disease (ALD). Ordinal logistic regression was also used to assess the relationship between any progressive R-ALD and final flexion extension (F/E) ROM in C-ADR patients. Spearman's rank-order correlation was used when R-ALD was kept as an ordinal variable to assess the same relationship. Results At the last follow-up visit, the rate of progressive R-ALD was significantly higher in ACDF patients than in C-ADR patients. When C-ADR patients were divided into 3 groups based on final F/E ROM, those with 0° to 3° (n = 19), 4° to 6° (n = 15), and 7° (n = 42) of segmental motion at the index procedure level, the rate of progressive R-ALD trended significantly with final ROM (P = 0.01). Conclusions C-ADR leads to a significant decrease in R-ALD compared to ACDF. The difference in R-ALD is related to the preservation of motion at the index level and resultant preservation of kinematics and forces across the adjacent disc space. Level of Evidence 4.


The spinach triose phosphate/phosphate translocator and the 37-kDa protein are both integral components of the chloroplast inner envelope membrane. They are synthesized in the cytosol with N-terminal extensions, the transit peptides, that are different in structural terms from those of imported stromal or thylakoid proteins. In order to determine if these N-terminal extensions are essential for the correct localization to the envelope membrane, they were linked to the mature parts of thylakoid membrane proteins, the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein and the CF0II-subunit of the thylakoid ATP synthase, respectively. In addition, the transit peptide of the CF0II-subunit that contains signals for the transport across both the envelope and the thylakoid membrane was fused to the mature parts of both envelope membrane proteins. The chimeric proteins were imported into isolated spinach chloroplasts, and the intraorganellar routing of the proteins was analyzed. The results obtained show that the N-terminal extensions of both envelope membrane proteins possess a stroma-targeting function only and that the information for the integration into the envelope membrane is contained in the mature parts of the proteins. At least part of the integration signal is provided by hydrophobic domains in the mature sequences since the removal of such a hydrophobic segment from the 37-kDa protein leads to missorting of the protein to the stroma and the thylakoid membrane.


Causal Dynamical Triangulations (CDT) is a proposal for a theory of quantum gravity, which implements a path-integral quantization of gravity as the continuum limit of a sum over piecewise flat spacetime geometries. We use Monte Carlo simulations to analyse the phase transition lines bordering the physically interesting de Sitter phase of the four-dimensional CDT model. Using a range of numerical criteria, we present strong evidence that the so-called A-C transition is first order, while the B-C transition is second order. The presence of a second-order transition may be related to an ultraviolet fixed point of quantum gravity and thus provide the key to probing physics at and possibly beyond the Planck scale.


Misconfigurations and outdated software are a major cause of compromised websites and data leaks. Past research has proposed and evaluated sending automated security notifications to the operators of misconfigured websites, but encountered issues with reachability, mistrust, and a perceived lack of importance. In this paper, we seek to understand the determinants of effective notifications. We identify a data protection misconfiguration that affects 12.7 % of the 1.3 million websites we scanned and opens them up to legal liability. Using a subset of 4754 websites, we conduct a multivariate randomized controlled notification experiment, evaluating contact medium, sender, and framing of the message. We also include a link to a public web-based self-service tool that is run by us in disguise and conduct an anonymous survey of the notified website owners (N=477) to understand their perspective.
We find that framing a misconfiguration as a problem of legal compliance can increase remediation rates, especially when the notification is sent as a letter from a legal research group, achieving remediation rates of 76.3 % compared to 33.9 % for emails sent by computer science researchers warning about a privacy issue. Across all groups, 56.6 % of notified owners remediated the issue, compared to 9.2 % in the control group. In conclusion, we present factors that lead website owners to trust a notification, show what framing of the notification brings them into action, and how they can be supported in remediating the issue.


A series of experiments was conducted to document tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) activity in serum of swine after inoculation with Salmonella spp endotoxin and after oral or respiratory tract challenge exposure with live Salmonella spp. For experiment 1, a potentially lethal dose of S typhimurium endotoxin (25 micrograms/kg of body weight) was administered IV, and serum TNF activity was measured. High TNF (approx 700 IU/ml) activity at 1 to 2 hours after administration of the inoculum was associated with death, whereas lower TNF (approx 30 IU/ml) activity was associated with a general prolonged state of shock. For experiment 2, pigs were administered a nonlethal dose (5 micrograms/kg, IV) of either S typhimurium or S choleraesuis endotoxin. Difference in the ability to induce porcine serum TNF activity was not observed between strains. During experiment 3, pigs were inoculated with 10(4) colony-forming units of S typhimurium chi 4232 either orally by gelatin capsule (GC) or by intranasal (IN) instillation. A late serum TNF response (17 IU/ml) was measured at 6 weeks after IN inoculation. A serum TNF response was not detected in GC-inoculated pigs. All tissues and feces were test-negative for S typhimurium prior to the 6-week TNF response. Serum TNF activity may be related to clearance of S typhimurium after respiratory tract exposure, but it is not important to or indicative of clearance of orally presented S typhimurium in swine. During experiment 4, pigs were inoculated with 10(6) colony-forming units of S typhimurium chi 4232 similarly as for experiment 3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


Three recently published books on the dramatic events of 1968 in Europe, North America, and elsewhere provide a useful opportunity to look back at that year and ask what caused such passions. Violent protesters in the democratic West claimed to be acting on behalf of a wider cause, but most of them paid little heed to those in Czechoslovakia and Poland who were seeking to ease the oppressiveness of Communist rule. Newly available archival sources and the passage of more than four decades facilitate a reexamination of that momentous year, but many aspects of the events remain nearly as inscrutable today as they were at the time.


[This method was certainly familiar at Cambridge in 1889, and was given by Mr. R. R. Webb to his pupils. I t was, I believe, due to Professor Greenhill, who has drawn attention to it by examination questions at the University of London and elsewhere. The physical meaning of / is the blow or impulse Pt between the colliding bodies, t being the time the collision lasts, and P the average pressure.] C S . J .


The development of a new differential protection scheme for tapped transmission lines using wavelet transform is presented. At each relay locations, using the most suitable mother wavelet, the measured three line currents are decomposed up to third level. Thereafter, third-level approximation coefficients are reconstructed and used to derive the operating and restraining quantities. The proposed scheme has been tested extensively using the PSCAD/EMTDC software package with fault data, generated by modelling UKAI-KAKRAPAR 400 kV line of the Indian power system. The proposed scheme eliminates many of the problems encountered with tapped transmission lines such as high resistance faults, out feed current in case of internal and external faults, insufficient current for tripping and provides better discrimination between external and internal faults in case of loss of generation at one end. At the end, a comparative evaluation of the conventional current differential protection scheme with the proposed scheme is also presented. Dependability and security have been studied separately.


Joint caching and recommendation has been recently proposed as a new paradigm for increasing the efficiency of mobile edge caching. Early findings demonstrate significant gains for the network performance. However, previous works evaluated the proposed schemes exclusively on simulation environments. Hence, it still remains uncertain whether the claimed benefits would change in real settings. In this paper, we propose a methodology that enables to evaluate joint network and recommendation schemes in real content services by only using publicly available information. We apply our methodology to the YouTube service, and conduct extensive measurements to investigate the potential performance gains. Our results show that significant gains can be achieved in practice; e.g., 8 to 10 times increase in the cache hit ratio from cache-aware recommendations. Finally, we build an experimental testbed and conduct experiments with real users; we make available our code and datasets to facilitate further research. To our best knowledge, this is the first realistic evaluation (over a real service, with real measurements and user experiments) of the joint caching and recommendations paradigm. Our findings provide experimental evidence for the feasibility and benefits of this paradigm, validate assumptions of previous works, and provide insights that can drive future research.


The first quantitative calculations on ns2 1S0 Wannier states of alkaline-earth atoms Be through Ba are presented. The two-electron Hamiltonian built on a discrete basis is diagonalised to give the energy positions of the seven lowest members of each Wannier sequence. For each element, the energies are found to obey a two-electron Rydberg law depending on two parameters, a screening constant sigma ' and a quantum defect correction mu ' to the effective quantum number of the parent state ns. The parameters sigma ' and mu ' are nearly the same for each alkaline earth and, moreover, close to those obtained for helium. Treating each ns2 1S0 Wannier state as the lowest member of a Rydberg series converging to the parent state ns, quantum defects are calculated for each ns ms 1S0 series; the linear n dependence of the computed quantum defects accurately reproduces that observed experimentally in several nsms core-excited Rydberg series of Ca and Ba.


Publishing data for analysis from a microdata table containing sensitive attributes, while maintaining individual privacy, is a problem of increasing significance today. The k-anonymity model was proposed for privacy preserving data publication. While focusing on identity disclosure, k-anonymity model fails to protect attribute disclosure to some extent. Many efforts are made to enhance the k-anonymity model recently. In this paper, we propose a new privacy protection model called (p+, alpha)-sensitive k-anonymity, where sensitive attributes are first partitioned into categories by their sensitivity, and then the categories that sensitive attributes belong to are published. Different from previous enhanced k-anonymity models, this model allows us to release a lot more information without compromising privacy. We also provide testing and heuristic generating algorithms. Experimental results show that our introduced model could significantly reduce the privacy breach.


ABSTRACT Although chemotherapy (CT) has some adverse effects on healthy tissues and cells, it is widely preferred for treating patients with cancer. Drug resistance is one of the major impediments to successful cancer treatment. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a technique where cancer cells are rendered permeable to medications. Thanks to this permeability, the dose of the medication required for cancer treatment decreases. Our aim in this study is to examine the effects of short-term extremely low-frequency magnetic fields (ELF-MFs) on CT and ECT treatments in Caco-2 colon cancer cells. The Caco-2 cancer cells were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU, 50 µM) and ECT (strength:1125 V/cm, duration:100 µs, frequency:1 Hz), alone as well as in combinations with ELF-MF (4 mT, 10 min). MTT assay was used to determine the efficacy of the treatments. Our findings in the study showed that ECT was much more successful than 5-FU treatment alone in Caco-2 colon cancer cells. Application of 4 mT ELF-MF after CT significantly increased the viability of the Caco-2 cancer cells compared to the CT group alone (p < .05). An increase in the viability of cells treated with 4 mT after ECT was observed compared to ECT alone. Similarly, there was an increase in the viability of cells treated with MF prior to ECT treatment (p < .05). The results show that exposure to ELF-MF at 4 mT flux density significantly reduces CT and ECT treatment efficacy in Caco-2 colon cancer cells.


State-of-the-art multi-robot information gathering (MR-IG) algorithms often rely on a model that describes the structure of the information of interest to drive the robots motion. This causes MR-IG algorithms to fail when they are applied to new IG tasks, as existing models cannot describe the information of interest. Therefore, we propose in this letter a MR-IG algorithm that can be applied to new IG tasks with little algorithmic changes. To this end, we introduce DeepIG: a MR-IG algorithm that uses deep reinforcement learning to allow robots to learn how to gather information. Nevertheless, there are IG tasks for which accurate models have been derived. Therefore, we extend DeepIG to exploit existing models for such IG tasks. This algorithm we term it model-based DeepIG (MB-DeepIG). First, we evaluate DeepIG in simulations, and in an indoor experiment with three quadcopters that autonomously map an unknown terrain profile built in our lab. Results demonstrate that DeepIG can be applied to different IG tasks without algorithmic changes, and that it is robust to measurement noise. Then, we benchmark MB-DeepIG against state-of-the-art information-driven Gaussian-processes-based IG algorithms. Results demonstrate that MB-DeepIG outperforms the considered benchmarks.


There has been insufficient research into the problems of institutional interaction of the participants of health care provision sphere which should be conceptualized from the biomedical paradigm perspective. The article aimed to reveal bioethical aspects of medical discourse. The authors substantiated their understanding of medical discourse and presented its genre typology. The genre of clinicopathological conferences was explored. This type of medical discourse was found to be the concentrated embodiment of the biomedical perspective of conceptualizing health reality. Alongside with the biomedical approach, bioethical principles of considering and presenting discoursive medical knowledge were employed by the participants of clinicopathological conferences. The ethical and axiological aspects of the discourse under study were represented by various ways of verbal expression of its personalized nature, its values and types of reasoning. Key words: medical discourse, biomedical perspective, clinicopathological conference, ethical and axiological aspects.


Abstract. Silica, SiO2, in dissolved (DSi) and particulate (PSi) form, is both a major product of continental weathering as well as an essential nutrient in terrestrial and aquatic systems. Here we present estimates of the spatial distribution of riverine silica fluxes under natural conditions, i.e. without human influence, to ~140 segments of the global coastal zone. Focussing on the construction of the DSi budget, natural DSi concentration is multiplied with discharge of rivers for each segment for documented basins and segments. Segments with no documentation available are estimated using clustered information based mainly on considerations of local lithology, climate, and lake retention. We approximate fluxes of particulate silica in various forms (PSi) from fluxes of suspended matter, calculated from existing models. Results have been established for silica fluxes, concentrations and yields for drainage basins of the different continents, oceans basins as well as coastal segment basins. For the continental surfaces actually draining into the oceans (exorheic regions, representing 114.7 million (M) km2), 371 M t y−1 of DSi and 8835 M t y−1 of PSi are transported, corresponding to a mean concentration of 9.5 mg l−1 and 226 mg l−1, and to a mean yield of 3.3 t km−2 y−1 and 77 t km−2 y−1, respectively. DSi yields exceeding 6.6 t km−2 y−1, i.e. >2× the global average, represent 17.4% of the global continental ice-free exorheic area but correspond to 56.0% of DSi fluxes. Pacific catchments hold most of the hyper-active areas (>5× global average), suggesting a close connection between tectonic activity and DSi fluxes resulting from silicate weathering. The macro-filters of regional and marginal seas intercept 33% and 46% of the total dissolved and particulate silica fluxes. The mass of DSi received from rivers per unit square area of various oceans ranges over more than one order of magnitude. When expressed per unit volume and when individual regional seas are considered this figure ranges over two to three orders of magnitude, an illustration of the heterogeneity of the land to sea connection.


Infectious tuberculous tenosynovitis (TS) of the extensor tendons of the wrist is an exceptional location of musculoskeletal tuberculosis. We present a case of tuberculous extensor TS in a 52-year-old diabetic male patient presenting as a huge mass on the dorsum of the hand, in the absence of other pulmonary or extrapulmonary manifestation of tuberculosis. This report increases physicians' vigilance when dealing with patients with risk factors of tuberculosis, allowing early diagnosis and optimal treatment.


The purpose of this study is to develop the fuzzy logic RSC(Roll Stability Control) system to prevent the rollover for the SUV(sport utility vehicle). The SUV model used in this study is the 8-DOF model considering the longitudinal, lateral, yaw and roll motions. The longitudinal and transversal weight transfers are considered in the computation of the vertical forces acting on a wheel. The engine torque is obtained from the throttle position and the r.p.m. of the engine map. The fuzzy logic controller input consists of the roll angle error and its derivative. The output is the brake torque and the throttle angle. The engine torque controller controls the throttle valve angle. The brake controller independently controls both right and left wheels. When the roll angle is ±4.5° defined as the critical roll angle, the front inner tire experiences the 1/100 ~ 1/50 of the total vertical forces, and the rollover starts. To prevent the rollover in advance, the target angle ±4.5° is adopted to control the vehicle stability. The RSC system begins operating at ±4.5° and stops at 0°. The simulations are conducted to evaluate the controller performance at right turns for the excessive steering angle. When the roll angle error and its derivative exceed the limited point, the RSC system makes the longitudinal velocity of the SUV decrease the brake torque and adjusts the throttle angle. The roll motion of the SUV is then stabilized.