High-yield bonds contain a significant component of embedded equity. Because of this equity component, one can use equity-related investments as hedging vehicles to control the total risk of high-yield bonds. A composite hedging strategy, for example, is based on the proposition that a high-yield bond is a dynamic combination of equity and riskless bonds. Yet another hedging strategy involves shorting an equivalent portfolio of long stocks and short calls to eliminate the equity risk of high-yield bonds. The composite hedging technique performs well at the portfolio level, suggesting that any portfolio of high-yield bonds constructed to track a diversified high-yield bond index would be a suitable candidate for a composite hedging strategy. If the portfolio of high-yield bonds is not concentrated in a specific equity sector, however, it is likely to be less influenced by its equity component and can be hedged simply with interest rate futures. Hedging results for the bonds of three individual firms suggest the potential for molding risk-return tradeoffs by focusing separately on equity risk or interest rate risk. A statistical investigation of the market's perception of impending default indicates that market parameters signal a default up to 10 months before the event. This should give investors enough time to work out of a long position in the bonds or to short enough stocks to protect against a precipitous decline in bond and stock prices.


The photoreaction of Crystal Violet (CV) was studied on polymer films, and compared with that in solution as previously reported.1) The spectral change of CV on polymer by irradiation resembled well that in solution; the spectral changes on nylon 6 and cellophane films were similar to that in alcohol, while the spectral change on polyacrylonitrile (PAN) to that in acetonitrile solution. The photoreactions on polymer films, however, differed from those in solutions as follows; (1) the photoreactions took place on polymer films by visible light irradiation, contrary to the case in solutions. (2) The dye was very readily photoreduced on nylon by an electron transfer from carboxylate ion of nylon. (3) The dye existed in aggregate(s), and the photoreaction were governed by D-D mechanism on PAN and cellophane films.


Capsule endoscopy is a frequently used method to evaluate the small bowel, especially in patients with chronic anemia after the upper and lower endoscopies are non-diagnostic. The rate of retention as defined as >2 weeks without passing the capsule is reported in the literature around 1–3% (Liao, 2010). For retained capsules, they can still pass spontaneously if allowed more time but occasionally require retrieval with push enteroscopy. For those infrequent cases that cannot be retrieved with endoscopy, a laparoscopic small bowel resection should be considered as it is both diagnostic and therapeutic. We will describe a case report, brief literature review and some pitfalls and pearls for retained capsule endoscopy using a laparoscopic fluoroscopy-guided small bowel resection.


The process in the inspection line aims inspects, weigh and approve the material. Several equipment make up a line inspection, including, cars elevators that are intended to take the coil mat positioning it and to removing the mandrels and feeding it into the mat out. This paper aims to implement improvements in the positioning system of the car lift, so that it can be removed effectively with a minimal human intervention. A survey of reports daily from the production line inspection during the last 24 months was carried out and charts and graphics ware plotted to locate critical equipment line inspection in terms of annual parades measured in hours. It was found that the elevator car generated a large number of hours of downtime during the process. Analyzing the system more carefully it was noted that these stops occurred during the removal of the core of the coil. A new system was designed that would allow a better positioning of the core in order to reduce the time of stops in the inspection line. It was observed during the system monitoring a monthly average stop in the first year of 68h and 71h in the second year. After completion of the modification it was not observed any more stops due to elevator car. Keywords: Steel, Inspection line, Coil, Car lift, Core coil.


The increased incidence of multiple primary tumors of genital-breast district has been evaluated, with the possibility of early diagnosis which consent greater survival in cancer patients. We found a particular high incidence of second neoplasia associated with vulval tumors (7.4%). With regard to pathogenetic factors, the oncogenic role of certain treatments is undoubtedly important, especially if they are protracted in time. It is necessary that these patients undergo complete gynecological screening for a time period that is much longer than that held sufficient to consider a patient cured.


Swine production represents an important segment of Brazilian economy, and the possibility of increasing production is eminent mainly if considered the low pork consumption when compared to other meat and the consumption of other countries. The increasing need in the international market demands show that in a near future the commercial barriers will be based on welfare, in the protection of the environment as well as in the worker's legislation. Little knowledge is available in the subject of worker's standards in the environmental agents in rural activities as well as the air quality under Brazilian conditions. The objectives of this research were to apply the main used standards related to noise and gases and to estimate occupational risk using measurements of noise level, hydrogen sulfide, methane and oxygen in swine housing, in piglet's nursery and finishing. The results showed that the continuous noise level were below the one found in the standards, however there were observed differences (P < 0.05) in relation to the noise level measured in piglet's nursing cages and in semi-slatted floor. The respective concentrations of hydrogen sulfide and methane were less than 1 ppm and less than 0,1% by volume, which was lower than the recommended limits in NR-15, CIGR and ACGIH. The oxygen level was 21% in average.


Little is known about the way in which the chemical structure of an epoxy resin influences its ability to absorb and desorb moisture. This issue is addressed in a study of dicyandiamide- and amine-cured epoxy resins. The dicyandiamide-cured material will have a significantly lower preponderance of pendant hydroxyl groups than the amine-cured material and may exhibit different behaviour when exposed to moisture. The uptake and loss of moisture was monitored gravimetrically, using broad band dielectric, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis and thickness measurements performed as a function of time at various temperatures. A comparison of the uptake and loss profiles for the first and subsequent cycles indicated significant differences in behaviour attributed to the way in which water can plasticise the matrix. Stresses frozen into the matrix during the cure process are allowed to relax as a consequence of the water hydrating the matrix and create voids and also allow matrix densification. These processes occur during the first hydration cycle and are not reversible. Subsequent hydration and dehydration appear to be reversible after the first hydration cycle. Water in the polymer is distributed between free water which is to be found in microvoids and bound water which is attached to the polymer chain. The amine-cured epoxy resin which contains pendant hydroxyl groups has a greater capacity for water absorption than the ether-containing backbone of the dicyandiamide-cured material.


Recent research on autonomous vehicles (AVs) shows a substantive dive into the technical aspects of AVs, but our understanding of the secondary effects of AVs is minimal in comparison. This article offers a look at how automation of one of the cornerstones of many municipal governments — solid waste collection — could be altered with the advent of AVs. In this article, full-cost accounting is used to assess how changing different inputs to the collection process, including direct, indirect, and capital costs, could yield savings for a municipal government. To conduct the analysis, data from the North Carolina Benchmarking Project for 2016–17 were evaluated, a range of assumptions were made based on the best available information on automation, and three cost scenarios were calculated for two North Carolina cities with differing means of collection today. The findings indicate savings in the long run that could potentially reduce the cost of collecting solid waste by 32–63 percent.


Cell-adhesive proteins such as laminin and fibronectin and their specific receptors play an important role in the processes of cancer proliferation, invasion, and metastasis. In the present study, we cloned the cDNA of 67 kDa-laminin receptor both from human lung cultured cell line (IMR90) and from human small cell lung cancer (SBC3), and determined the nucleotide sequences. In addition, the expression of mRNA in 11 lung cancer cell lines with various cell types was estimated by the method of Northern blot hybridization. As a result, 1.2 kb-message was detected in all cancer cell lines examined. It was also demonstrated that the mRNA level of 67 kDa-laminin receptor was inversely proportional to the population doubling time of the cell line (r = -0.80).


The genotypic diversity in a South African population of Fusarium subglutinansf.sp. pini (F.s. pini) was determined, based on the number of vegetative compatibility groups (VCGs). Isolates of F.s. pinifrom South Africa (69), California (five) and Florida (19) were included in the study. The nit1 (or nit3) and NitM mutants were selected as chlorate resistant sectors and paired on minimal medium. The South African isolates of F.s. pini were assigned to 23 different VCGs. No heterokaryons formed between isolates from South Africa, California and Florida. The high degree of genotypic diversity in the South African population of F.s. pini is probably due to some level of sexual reproduction in the population.


Background: This paper draws on a two-year Department of Health research study on social worker conceptualisations of ethnicity, gender and mental health. The findings and discussion are placed within the `culturalist' and an `integrative' perspective on the mental health needs of Asian women. It is argued that the culturalist perspective has led to an overemphasis of individual and group differences in theoretical and practice debates, and by design or default has resulted in an under-emphasis of the interconnections between `race', ethnicity, gender and social class, as well as an underemphasis on the adequacy and appropriateness of existing service provision. The importance of the latter is highlighted in its integrative nature in pointing to the interconnections between race, ethnicity, gender and social class. Aims: To study professional perspectives to enhance understanding of the interconnections of ethnicity, gender, social class and mental health, to promote improved policy, provision and practice. Methods: Semi-structured interviews with social work professionals to obtain their perceptions of Bangladeshi women's mental illness, well-being, sources of stress and service provision. Results: In understanding the mental health situation of Bangladeshi women, a thematic analysis identified a multiplicity of factors including poverty, poor and overcrowded housing, racism, language, culture, religion, and gender and patriarchy. Low use of social services by Bangladeshi women, combined with fear and mistrust and lack of familiarity, raised important concerns about unmet need. Conclusions: Social worker perceptions demonstrate an understanding that suggests that the experience of ethnicity is gendered and that gender relations are ethnically distinct and impacted by social class. The paper highlights the importance of understanding patriarchy and gender relations, as well as the wider context of race and ethnicity and the interconnections between ethnicity, gender and social class.


Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is widely used by patients across the world. As nurses play a key role in patient care, describing nurses' knowledge, perceived barriers, and practices regarding CAM would be essential. A descriptive design was applied with 170 Korean nurses to measure the nurses' knowledge, perceived barriers, and practice experience regarding CAM. Nurses in Korea reported a lack of knowledge regarding CAM, moderate to high levels of perceived barriers to using CAM, and low levels of CAM practice in nursing. CAM practice in nursing was highly correlated with and affected by the participants' knowledge and clinical experience. This research should motivate all nursing disciplines to reflect upon how to improve CAM knowledge, overcome perceived barriers, and achieve the best nursing practice possible.


The article examines a collection of eight ironcollared hooksfrom early medieval burials of archers in the Kuznetsk basin. Theseitems were found on four funerary sites Sapogovo, Shestaki-II, Esaulka and Vaganovo, dated by researchers at different intervals within the 7th –10th centuries. The finds are subject to typological classification, typological-chronological and comparative analysis, as well as ethnocultural characterization. As a result of the classification, five types of products are identified. All of them belong to the archaeological and ethnographic complex of those buried according to the rite of cremation on the side and the Saratov archaeological culture at the first and second stages of development in the Kuznetsk basin. It was established that in the early Middle Ages, warriors only in special cases used iron bell hooks. A wide typological range of these products, refl ecting their design features, indicates the lack of stable traditions for their manufacture in the region, which allows us to conclude that they are borrowed from neighboring territories of Sayano-Altai. This is also evidenced by a comparative analysis that allows us to conclude that the use of iron hooks for fastening the quiver in the Kuznetsk basin reflects the general dynamics of the development of similar products in Central Asia and steppe Eurasia during the Middle Ages.


Single and multiple ionization cross sections of CO have been measured as a function of the projectile charge. The experiment was carried out at fixed collision energies of 1 MeV using the coincidence time-of-flight technique. The cross sections increase rapidly for small q and more slowly for large q. The branching ratios of all the transient molecular ions and the kinetic energy distribution of the dissociating transient exhibit similar projectile charge dependence. These observed trends are explained quite satisfactorily using a simple model based on perturbation theory and the independent electron approximation. The model predicts that the average value of the projectile - electron interaction strength in collisions resulting in target ionization varies quickly for small q and more slowly for large q.


The results of treatment of twenty children with vitamin-D resistant rickets with massive daily doses of vitamin D have been presented. In these children we were unable to prevent the recurrence of deformities or to restore a normal growth pattern. This failure parallels the inability of this therapy to correct the low serum phosphorus without producing marked hypercalcemia and renal insufficiency. According to roentgenographic evidence, healing of the rickets can he induced by large doses of vitamin D, but cure of the disease cannot be achieved in this manner. Currently, we are continuing with massive doses of vitamin D and also bracing the extremities until the children are five or six years of age and can cooperate in taking vitamin D. The use of multiple osteotomies over an intramedullary nail may be helpful in reducing the recurrence of the deformities.

Data have been presented demonstrating that, during a calcium infusion, the renal tubules in patients with vitamin-D resistant rickets are capable of normal phosphate transport. It is therefore suggested that the low serum phosphorus and hyperphosphaturia characteristic of the disease are caused by extrarenal factors of which secondary hyperparathyroidism is the most important.


This experiment was conducted to expand initial efforts to validate the requirement for normal color vision in air traffic control specialist (ATCS) personnel who work at en route center, terminal, and flight service station facilities. An enlarged data base was developed involving 121 individuals with normal color vision, 31 simple and 44 extreme anomalous trichromats, and 48 dichromats; both protans and duetans were included. The performance of subjects with normal color vision was compared with the performance of individuals in various classifications of color vision deficiency on a battery of color-dependent ATCS tasks. Simulations of the ATC color tasks concerned color coding in flight progress strips (at en route centers), aircraft lights and Aviation Signal Light indicator (in tower operations), and color weather radar (at flight service stations). Errors were rare among normal trichromats. Mean errors were significantly higher at every level (degree) of color vision deficiency than in normals. Approximately 6% of color deficient subjects were able to perform ATC color tasks without error. The 6% were all from the simple anomalous trichromat category; all extreme anomalous trichromats and dichromats were prone to error on ATC tasks. These findings provide support for the requirement of normal color vision in initial medical screening of ATCS personnel.


Criminal law draws a clear distinction between positive acts that cause death, and omissions to do acts that would prevent death. Judges have relied on the differentiation between acts and omissions to determine whether a medical killing is unlawful. However, this act-omission distinction is not an appropriate criterion for determining the lawfulness of the actions of doctors who assist patients who want to die, particularly in cases where competent patients suffer from a medical condition that prevents them from actively killing themselves. This inconsistent application of the act-omission distinction is evident in cases of adult conjoined twins and patients who suffer from locked-in syndrome. Instead, the law should give effect to the rhetoric of respect for patient autonomy and dignity, and regard the consent of a patient of full capacity, in conjunction with the defence of necessity as a complete defence for doctors who help these patients to die a dignified and painless death.


Aim: DNA extraction is an important step from clinical samples for molecular diagnosis of tuberculosis by PCR. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of five DNA extraction methods [boiling, single step proteinase K, GuSCN lysis and izopropanol precipitation (Heliosis, METIS Company, TURKEY), DNA precipitation (Epicentre Technologies), and solid phase absorption (QIAamp DNA mini kit, QIAGEN, Valancia,CA)] in searching Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in smear positive sputum samples. Materials and Methods: A total of 50 sputum samples were extracted directly and after digested with 4% NaOH-NALC methods using 5 DNA extraction methods. All DNA extracts were studied by an in-house PCR method. Results: The rate of the positive detection for 5 extraction methods was 22% with boiling method, 38% with single step proteinase K, 38% with guanidium isothiocyanate lysis and isopropanol precipitation method (Heliosis, METIS ), 42% with DNA precipitation (Epicentre Technologies), and 58% with solid phase absorption (QIAamp). Conclusions: When the rate of positive detection is taken into consideration in smear positive patients, solid phase absorption method seems to be more proper to use routinely for DNA isolation from clinical samples.


The development of new high-performance and stable cultivars requires test multi-environmental validation to deal with the effect of genotype by environment interaction (GEI). With the objective to determine adaptability and stability for grain yield in hybrids and rice varieties through the models AMMI, SREG and REML/BLUP. Six experiments were evaluated during the 2015-2016 dry season in the main producing regions of Venezuela. The ANOVA detected differences for genotype (G), environment (E) and their interaction (GEI), representing 19, 65 and 16 % of the total variation, respectively, with prevalence of hybrid by localities interaction. The first major components of the AMMI and GGE biplot models explained 77 and 83 % of GEI, respectively. The three models coincided and identified the hybrid RHA-180 (H6) with improved average performance, adapted and stable. The hybrid HIAAL (H3) was the most prominent. Among the checks, 'Pionero FL' (V3) was the most stable with moderate yield; the opposite occurred with 'Soberana FL' (V4) and 'SD-20A' (V1), that the AMMI and GGE biplot models identified with high and unstable performances and specific adaptation to locality INIA Guárico (L1), not coinciding with the mixed model. Two megaenvironments were identified with the winning genotypes H6 and V4. There was divergence between AMMI and GGE biplot to identify discriminatory and representative locations. The Plot 199 (L3) was the most representative, while the location L1 discriminated better the genotypes. The GGE biplot analysis was more informative and complete for the GEI analysis. Additional keywords: AMMI, GGE biplot, Oryza sativa, REML/BLUP


The Environmental Monitoring Network has been implemented by the Comunidad General de Riegos del Alto Aragon. This work was funded by La Caixa and the General Community of Alto Aragon Irrigation Districts through collaboration protocols, and by the Spanish
Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the European Regional Development Fund
(ERDF) through the research grants AGL2010-21681-C03-03 and AGL2013-48728-C2-2-R.


Hobbes and Butler both conjure images of an abandoned infant in their respective discussions of vulnerability. Leviathan uses this image to discuss original dominion, or natural maternal right over the child, while for Butler rights discourse produces fantasies of invulnerability that derealize other lives. However, Hobbes's infant in nature has no rights and can only consent to being nourished. Only when able to nourish itself can it claim rights to transfer through the covenant producing a fantasy of individual invulnerability. Vulnerability in the state of nature and the commonwealth's fantasy of invulnerability are together a counter-fantasy to the fantasies of invulnerability of Hobbes's time, through heaven or eternal glory. In question is whether Butler, in her reimagining of community, is, like Hobbes, producing a fantasy, but a meta-fantasy that community can be taken as fantasy without derealizing the fantastic or that fantasizes an honesty about its being fantasy.


Abstract Market reactions to the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) provide new insights into how real shocks and financial policies drive firm value. Initially, internationally oriented firms, especially those more exposed to trade with China, underperformed. As the virus spread to Europe and the United States, corporate debt and cash holdings emerged as important value drivers, relevant even after the Fed intervened in the bond market. The content and tone of conference calls mirror this development over time. Overall, the results illustrate how anticipated real effects from the health crisis, a rare disaster, were amplified through financial channels.


Retinal images are used for the automated screening and diagnosis of diabetic retinopathy. The retinal image quality must be improved for the detection of features and abnormalities and for this purpose preprocessing of retinal images is vital. In this paper, we present a novel automated approach for preprocessing of colored retinal images. The proposed technique improves the quality of input retinal image by separating the background and noisy area from the overall image. It contains coarse segmentation and fine segmentation. Standard retinal images databases Diaretdb0, Diaretdb1, DRIVE and STARE are used to test the validation of our preprocessing technique. The experimental results show the validity of proposed preprocessing technique. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/telkomnika.v10i3.615


Several barriers exist to routine assessment of suicidal ideation (SI) in adolescents across settings, including insufficient time, tools, and training. Such barriers often result in the use of brief or even single-item assessments of SI, which may result in misclassification. The present study sought to compare single- and multi-item assessment of SI in adolescents, and to examine factors associated with different response profiles. Adolescents (n =206) were recruited from the community and completed a lab visit including a single and multi-item assessment for SI. Results suggest that two thirds of adolescents with passive SI go undetected when relying solely on a single-item screener, yet they present a similar clinical profile to those with passive SI who endorse the screener question. The present study provides support for the notion that multi-item assessment paints a more accurate, nuanced picture of SI among adolescents and may be an important component of routine screening.


To understand the contradictory power of austerity politics and, indeed, to teach about this contradictory power, the ideas of Antonio Gramsci provide an important guide. Austerity politics has a 'there is no alternative' durability derived from both the ruling class power behind it and the kernels of common sense that anchor it in everyday concerns of the majority. The challenge, therefore, is not simply a matter of practical politics and organizing. It is fundamentally a matter of political education, Gramsci-style: that slow and difficult work of creating, through carefully facilitated dialogue among the 'subaltern' classes, the kinds of alternative perspectives which reveal austerity for what it is and point to more equitable futures. This article explores a piece of this critical work. For theoretical context, it examines some key Gramscian terms – Hegemony, 'common', and 'good sense' – in order to surface their educational relevance. Then it explores the particular field of cultural experience, narrative, and meaning that shapes how the working-class students the author works with in a University-based labor studies program in New York City engage with college-level education and certain themes associated with austerity. Last, the article describes how, in a classroom-based analysis of the Fiscal Crisis in New York City in the mid-1970s, dialogue can create collective and critical understanding about austerity. The result is a small but important step toward a new common sense.


The virus-host relationship in BALB/cfC3H virgin female mice neonatally infected with an oncogenic virus (mammary tumor virus) (MuMTV) was significantly altered by a brief immunosuppressive treatment during young adult life. Natural immune responses were augmented and changed. The ability of lymphoid cells to attack target cells expressing MuMTV-associated antigens was significantly increased, and a new component, a non-T-cell reactivity, was added to the T-cell reactivity found in normal females. Serum blocking factors were both quantitatively and qualitatively altered.


Written sources of the early Middle Ages recorded several dozen ethnonyms of the steppe tribes, attributed by historians to the peoples of the Hunno–Bulgar circle. This diversity creates certain problems with identifying individual tribes, determining their localization, and analyzing the chronology of their movements. Questions arise as to how these peoples correlated with each other and with large nomadic empires. The main attention of the author was drawn to a group of six similar ethnonyms, which the sources refer to the tribes of the Hunno-Bulgar circle of the 4th — 6th centuries: Alpidzurs, Alcildzurs, Amilzurs, Altziagirs, Ultzinzurs, Ultizurs and one anthroponym Ultzindur. Mentions of these ethnonyms can be found in three historians of the 5th — 6th centuries: Jordanes, Priscus and Agathias, who brought information about these tribes who lived in Northern Black Sea region. Researchers of the 19th — 20th centuries addressed the topic of the studied tribes and their ethnonyms, however, as a rule, in their works, they considered from one to three ethnonyms and did not pay attention to relationships within the entire group as a whole. In this study, for the first time, the information of written sources about all six ethnonyms and tribes to which they belonged is comprehensively considered in connection with the known historical information about the Hunnic and Bulgar confederations of the 5th – 6th centuries. The existing historiography is also presented and a conclusion is made about the possible belonging of a number of ethnonyms to one people.


. We consider the notion of dimension in four categories: the category of (unbounded) separable metric spaces and (metrically proper) Lipschitz maps, and the category of (unbounded) separable metric spaces and (metrically proper) uniform maps. A unified treatment is given to the large scale dimension and the small scale dimension. We show that in all categories a space has dimension zero if and only if it is equivalent to an ultrametric space. Also, 0-dimensional spaces are characterized by means of retractions to subspaces. There is a universal zero-dimensional space in all categories. In the Lipschitz Category spaces of dimension zero are characterized by means of extensions of maps to the unit 0-sphere. Any countable group of asymptotic dimension zero is coarsely equivalent to a direct sum of cyclic groups. We construct uncountably many examples of coarsely inequivalent ultrametric spaces.


We introduce an evolutionary programming based method for designing robust and computationally efficient adaptive bandpass filters. These predictive filters are optimized for generating current references in active power filters (APFs). The accuracy (phase/amplitude) of the reference current is crucial in current injection type systems, because it directly affects the harmonics reduction ability of the APF. Our digital filtering approach has the following advantages: selective bandpass response, efficient attenuation of specific harmonic components, capability to handle typical frequency alteration, small number of multiplications, and structural simplicity. In an illustrative example, the total harmonic distortion of an artificial current waveform was reduced from 36.7% to less than 3.7% within the line frequency range 49-51 Hz. The proposed scheme is a combination of the hard computing (HC) type multiplicative general parameter method and evolutionary programming that is a constituent of soft computing (SC). Such fusion thinking is emerging among researchers and engineers, and it can potentially lead to efficient combinations of HC and SC methodologies - both on the algorithm level and on the system level.


BORIS (Brother of the Regulator of Imprinted Sites), also known as CTCFL, is a paralogous gene of that encoding the versatile chromatin factor CTCF. While BORIS was initially described as a testis-specific gene, recent reports showed that it is also expressed in various tumors and cancer cell lines at the transcriptional and protein levels indicating that BORIS encodes a cancer testis antigen (CTA). Interestingly, several studies have shown that BORIS regulates the expression of other CTAs including MAGE-A1 and NY-ESO-1. Gene expression profiling of testes derived from BORIS knockout and wild type mice suggested that BORIS regulates the expression of another gene encoding a CTA, testes-specific protease 50 (TSP50), also known as PRSS50. To examine this suggestion, we first performed electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) and found that the mouse TSP50 promoter region contains two BORIS binding sites. Occupancy of these sites by BORIS was confirmed by ChIP analyses of testicular chromatin. Computer analyses of the human TSP50 promoter revealed extensive homology with the mouse TSP50 promoter within BORIS binding sites. We confirmed BORIS binding to those sites by EMSA. Moreover, ChIP analyses of human cancer cell lines expressing TSP50 also showed that BORIS was bound to the promoter. Luciferase reporter assays demonstrated the importance of BORIS for the regulation of TSP50 promoter. Finally, we found that BORIS-induced expression of TSP50 is epigenetically regulated. These findings represent the first demonstration that the CTA, BORIS, itself regulates the expression of other CTAs in vivo. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2043. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-2043


Abstract Doebler's small oil portrait of Kant from the year 1791 ist the most important contemporary image that we have of him. The original was preserved by the Order of the Skull and Phoenix in Köngsberg. Various copies of it hung in the Kant-Museum and were held privately in Köngisberg: Stobbe (around 1840), Petzenburg or Pützenburger (2nd half of the 19nd century) and Jacobson (1872), as well as two live-size copies, one that has been called "contemporary" and one from an unknown painter commissioned by the Immanuel Order (1865/80), although the latter two may stem from the same artist. The Kant-Museum also exhibited a Kant portrait by Heydeck (1872) based on Doebler's original, on loan from the art collection of Königsberger Castle. All of these works were destroyed in World War II or have gone missing since 1945. This essay discusses the two Kant portraits sold in auction in 1963 and 2000 and held by the Museum of the City of Königsberg in Duisburg, neither of which copies had been made. The author argues that the former painting is not so much a second work made by Doebler around 1791 as it is a contemporary copy made of it by another artist for the Kant pupil Kiesewetter in Berlin. The second is shown to be an original by Heydeck in 1872, made by observation of Doebler's work. Additionally, the author provides further details of the biographies of Doebler and Heydeck.


In this paper we analyse local regularity of time-optimal controls and trajectories for an n-dimensional affine control system with a control parameter, taking values in a k-dimensional closed ball. In the case of k equal to n-1, we give sufficient conditions in terms of Lie bracket relations for all optimal controls to be smooth or to have only isolated jump discontinuities.


A small, rural community takes the effort to make the transition from a skilled nursing facility to an assisted living model of care delivery. These changes are needed because of the cost and access of services available in this setting. The system of care delivery being considered is based on the model called Aging in Place (AIP).


In certain cultures, relationships are the reason for negotiation. In this article, we offer a rationale regarding why relationships have more or less salience across cultures. We present psychological, economic and sociological factors that explain the reasons for negotiating relationally. Propositions are made as to how cultural construal about relationships influences offers, targets and limits, negotiation strategy and, ultimately, economic and relational outcomes. Our major explanatory construct is new: cultural consensus about relationships. This construct is grounded in well developed theory of self construal and new empirical research showing the utility of measures of consensus in explaining cultural differences in behavior. With this theoretical contribution, we join the group of scholars who are advocating that more attention should be paid to negotiators' subjective evaluations of the social and emotional consequences of negotiation.


Abstract. Accurate localization of blood vessels with image navigation is a key element in vascular-related medical research and vascular surgery. However, current vascular navigation techniques cannot provide naked-eye visualization of deep vascular information noninvasively and with high resolution, resulting in inaccurate vascular anatomy and diminished surgical success rates. Here, we introduce a photoacoustic-enabled automatic vascular navigation method combining photoacoustic computed tomography with augmented and mixed reality, for the first time, to our knowledge, enabling accurate and noninvasive visualization of the deep microvascular network within the tissues in real time on a real surgical surface. This approach achieves precise vascular localization accuracy (<0.89  mm) and tiny vascular relocation latency (<1  s) through a zero-mean normalization idea-based visual tracking algorithm and a curved surface-fitting algorithm. Further, the subcutaneous vessels of minimum diameter (∼0.15  mm) in rabbit thigh and the maximum depth (∼7  mm) in human arm can be vividly projected on the skin surface with a computer vision-based projection tracking system to simulate preoperative and intraoperative vascular localization. Thereby, this strategy provides a way to visualize deep vessels without damage on the surgical surface and with precise image navigation, opening an avenue for the application of photoacoustic imaging in surgical operations.


Abstract Objective: The Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) is an emergency medical dispatch system widely used to prioritize 9-1-1 calls and optimize resource allocation. This study evaluates whether the assigned priority predicts a Delphi process-derived level of prehospital intervention in each emergency medical dispatch category. Methods: All patients given a MPDS priority in a suburban California county from 2004–2006 were included. A Delphi process of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals in another system developed the following categories of prehospital treatment representing increasing acuity, which were adapted for this study: advanced life support (ALS) intervention, ALS–Stat, and ALS–Critical. The sensitivities and specificities of MPDS priority for level of prehospital intervention were determined for each MPDS category. Results: A total of 65,268 patients met inclusion criteria, representing 61% of EMS calls during the study period. The overall sensitivities of high-priority dispatch codes for ALS, ALS-Stat, and ALS-Critical interventions were 83% (95% confidence interval 83–84%), 83% (82–84%), and 94% (92–96%). Overall specificities were: ALS, 32% (31–32%); ALS-Stat, 31% (30–31%); and ALS-Critical 28% (28–29%). Compared to calls assigned to a low priority, calls with high-priority dispatch codes were more likely to receive ALS interventions by 22%, ALS-Stat by 20%, and ALS-Critical by 32%. A low priority dispatch code decreased the likelihood of ALS interventions by 48%, ALS-Stat by 45%, and ALS-Critical by 80%. Among high-priority dispatch codes, the rates of interventions were: ALS 26%, ALS-Stat 22%, and ALS-Critical 1.5%, all of which were significantly greater than low-priority calls (p <0.05) [ALS 13%, ALS-Stat 11%, and ALS-Critical 0.2%]. Major MPDS were categories with high sensitivities (>95%) for ALS interventions included breathing problems, cardiac or respiratory arrest/death, chest pain, stroke, and unconscious/fainting; these categories had an average specificity of 3%. Medical Priority Dispatch System categories such as back pain, unknown problem, and traumatic injury had sensitivities for ALS interventions <15%. Conclusions: The MPDS is moderately sensitive for the Delphi process derived ALS, ALS-Stat, and ALS-Critical intervention levels, but non-specific. A low MPDS priority is predictive of no prehospital intervention. A high priority, however, is of little predictive value for ALS, ALS-Stat, or ALSCritical interventions.


Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is overexpressed by several solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer, and has become an important target for novel anticancer pharmacotherapy. Erlotinib (Tarceva, OSI-774) is an orally available small-molecule inhibitor of the EGFR tyrosine kinase. The addition of erlotinib to gemcitabine has been shown to prolong survival of patients treated for advanced pancreatic cancer in the National Cancer Institute of Canada PA.3 trial. This survival advantage is small yet noteworthy, in that numerous gemcitabine-containing combinations have failed to show a statistically significant survival advantage over gemcitabine alone. The most frequent toxicities associated with the addition of erlotinib are diarrhea and rash. Erlotinib-induced rash appears to be predictive of outcome. Further clinical studies of erlotinib in the treatment of pancreatic cancer are ongoing.


Complex systems science is a rather new discipline that has recently gained particular attention in several domains such as economy, biology, computer science, physics, and chemistry. To quote Stephen Hawking, "Complexity is the science of the 21st century" [5]. The idea of complex systems is captured precisely by Aristotle's Metaphysics, in which he remarkably describes "the whole [as] more than the sum of its parts" [11]. In fact, the collective behavior of a complex system cannot be inferred by merely looking at the behavior of the simple parts. What is interesting is looking at the interactions and relationships between the parts that give rise to the collective behavior. The concept of complexity is connected to the notion of edge of chaos [6], a region in the state space of a system between complete order (i.e., periodic or no change) and total randomness or chaos (i.e., aperiodic change) where the complexity is maximal. Besides the more philosophical aspects, complex systems can be analyzed and simulated with the help of unconventional models (e.g., cellular automata, networks, agent-based models). Such models are, in general, fairly simple, but their mathematical/computational analysis and implementation may represent a challenge for students and for researchers outside mathematical and computational studies. Instructors may also be challenged by teaching complex systems modeling and analysis to a broad audience of students from different backgrounds, not necessarily familiar with the terminology and simulation techniques. With that in mind, Sayama has been actively involved in a multitude of summer and winter schools, seminars, conference tutorials, and academic courses within complex systems. One of the main challenges that Sayama and colleagues (myself included) face when teaching complex systems science to students from diverse disciplines is the lack of simple, easily accessible basic teaching material that could be used for this purpose. On the other hand, several somewhat advanced research-oriented books exist [2, 14, 3] that tackle complexity from a more rigorous theoretical and mathematical perspective. The novelty of the book reviewed here, Introduction to the Modeling and Analysis of Complex Systems, lies in its ability to introduce the broad discipline of complex systems to beginners in the field, both students and instructors. This is done in a simple and clear way without ignoring technical aspects and with easily reproducible examples even for those not necessarily familiar with computer programming and scripting/coding abilities. Sayama's book is suitable for advanced high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in the natural sciences, the social sciences, technology and engineering, management, and economics, among others. The book is available under the OpenSUNY initiative [10] and is downloadable for free in PDF format. The book provides Python source code for all the given examples, together with solutions to the presented exercises. It uses a freely available Python-based simulation framework for complex systems modeling, called PyCX [12]. Sayama was also involved in the development of the PyCX example library. The book is divided into three main parts: an introduction that covers brief historical notes, the key concepts of emergence and self-organization (recurring themes underlying all the subsequent chapters), and the basics of creating models; a second part that introduces key concepts such as


In this study, a multinomial logit model was used to explain the selection of a port for each shipment exported from Europe to Nigeria between 2006 and 2008. The model was used to estimate all shipments and their commodities types (bulk, food, fabrics, manufactured). Results were sampled across commodities to deduce the significance of the distance in both directions, the frequency of sailing and the average size of vessels sailing along the route. Results of the estimation did not conform to expectation. Reasons for variation were suggested and along with various methods by which the modeling could be improved. Improvement strategies included structuring of the model to represent competitive scenarios of each port, constraining the choice set for each shipment from characteristics of carrier and the commodity. Keywords: Sea ports, shipment, export, vessels, Nigeria International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences , 6(4): 432 - 437, 2010


Understanding how fungal communities are affected by precipitation is an essential aspect of predicting soil functional responses to future climate change and the consequences of those responses for the soil carbon cycle. We tracked fungal abundance, fungal community composition, and soil carbon across 4 years in long‐term field manipulations of rainfall in northern California. Fungi responded directly to rainfall levels, with more abundant, diverse, and consistent communities predominating under drought conditions, and less abundant, less diverse, and more variable communities emerging during wetter periods and in rain‐addition treatments. Soil carbon storage itself did not vary with rainfall amendments, but increased decomposition rates foreshadow longer‐term losses of soil carbon under conditions of extended seasonal rainfall. The repeated recovery of fungal diversity and abundance during periodic drought events suggests that species with a wide range of environmental tolerances coexist in this community, consistent with a storage effect in soil fungi. Increased diversity during dry periods further suggests that drought stress moderates competition among fungal taxa. Based on the responses observed here, we suggest that there may be a relationship between the timescale at which soil microbial communities experience natural environmental fluctuations and their ability to respond to future environmental change.


For service mobile robots to be most effective, it must be possible for non-experts and even end-users to program them to do new tasks. Regardless of the programming method (e.g., by demonstration or traditional programming), robot task programs are challenging to write, because they rely on multiple actions to succeed, including human-robot interactions. Unfortunately, interactions are prone to fail, because a human may perform the wrong action (e.g., if the robot's request is not clear). Moreover, when the robot cannot directly observe the human action, it may not detect the failure until several steps after it occurs. Therefore, writing fault-tolerant robot tasks is beyond the ability of non-experts.
This paper presents a principled approach to detect and recover from a broad class of failures that occur in end-user programs on service mobile robots. We present a two-tiered Robot Task Programming Language (RTPL): 1) an expert roboticist uses a specification language to write a probabilistic model of the robot's actions and interactions, and 2) a non-expert then writes an ordinary sequential program for a particular task. The RTPL runtime system executes the task program sequentially, while using the probabilistic model to build a Bayesian network that tracks possible, unobserved failures. If an error is observed, RTPL uses Bayesian inference to find the likely root cause of the error, and then attempts to re-execute a portion of the program for recovery.
Our empirical results show that RTPL 1) allows complex tasks to be written concisely, 2) correctly identifies the root cause of failure, and 3) allows multiple tasks to recover from a variety of errors, without task-specific error-recovery code.


Atrasentan (A-147627) is an endothelin antagonist receptor being developed at Abbott Laboratories for the treatment of prostate cancer. A quick and sensitive method for the determination of atrasentan in human plasma has been developed and validated using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. A dual-column, single mass spectrometer system is used to provide a reliable and routine means to increase sample throughput. The analytical method involves liquid-liquid extraction and internal standard (A-166790). The plasma samples and internal standard are acidified with 0.3 M hydrochloric acid prior to being extracted into 1:1 (v/v) hexanes--methyl t-butyl ether. The organic extract was evaporated to dryness using heated nitrogen stream and reconstituted with mobile phase. Atrasentan and internal standard were separated with no interference in a Zorbax SB-C(18) analytical column with 2.1 x 50 mm, 5 microm, and a Zorbax C(8) guard column using a mobile phase consisting of 50:50 (v:v) acetonitrile--0.05 M ammonium acetate, pH 4.5, at a flow rate of 0.30 mL/min to provide 4 min chromatograms. For a 250 microL plasma sample volume, the limit of quantitation was approximately 0.3 ng/mL. The calibration was linear from 0.30 to 98.0 ng/mL (r(2) > 0.995). A significant advantage of the method is the ability to employ parallel HPLC separations with detection by a single MS/MS system to provide sensitivity and selectivity sufficient to achieve robust analytical results with a lower limit of quantitation of 0.30 ng/mL and high throughput.


The paper analyses the techniques and methods of creating propaganda narratives about Lutherans in thechronicle of Dominican monk Simon Grunau (the early 16th c.). It examines how, during the Reformation,in the debates of the propaganda character between its supporters and opponents, narratives or theircomplexes were used with the intention to belittle the image and the arguments of the opponents. It alsoexplains how the Dominicans' common European experience of the fight against the spreading Reformationwas used in the stories of Grunau's chronicle about the Reformation gaining a foothold in Prussia. KEY WORDS: Prussia, the Protestant Reformation, the Dominicans, historiography, religious propaganda. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/ 10.15181/ ahuk.v27i0.897


Viral double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) responsible for virulence attenuation (hypovirulence) of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, profoundly influence a range of host functions in addition to virulence. The 5'-proximal open reading frame, A, of the prototypical hypovirulence-associated viral dsRNA, L-dsRNA, present in hypovirulent strain EP713, was recently shown by DNA-mediated transformation analysis to suppress fungal sporulation, pigmentation, and accumulation of the enzyme laccase (G. H. Choi and D. L. Nuss, EMBO J. 11:473-477, 1992). We mapped this suppressive activity to the autocatalytic papain-like protease, p29, present within the amino-terminal portion of open reading frame A-encoded polyprotein p69. Mutational analysis revealed that the ability of p29 to alter fungal phenotype is dependent upon release from the polyprotein precursor but is independent of intrinsic proteolytic activity. Deletion of the p29-coding domain within the context of an infectious L-dsRNA cDNA clone resulted in a replication-competent viral dsRNA that exhibited intermediate suppressive activity while retaining the ability to confer hypovirulence. Thus, p29 is necessary but not sufficient for the level of virus-mediated suppression of fungal pigmentation, sporulation, and laccase accumulation observed for wild-type hypovirulent strain EP713 and is nonessential for viral RNA replication and virulence attenuation. These results also illustrate the feasibility of engineering infectious viral cDNA for construction of hypovirulent fungal strains with specific phenotypic traits.


AP and lateral projection from digital substracted angiography are rarely sufficient to assess the precise shape of complex AVMs. 3D X-ray angiography provides additional informations thanks to its capability to display the AVM in all directions. However, 3D angiography cannot be directly used to delineate teh target because the fiducials are not currently reconstructed. 3D angiography is nevertheless helfull for (1) finding an oblique view which van be reproduced as a DSA projection and used to improve the initial target delineation obtained on biplane AP and lateral views. (2) merging 3D angiography and 3D MRI to visualize the relationshops between the target and eloquent ares using a prototype software for semi-automatic multimodality fusion.


The shape of the HF-pump modified electron energy distribution has long been a central question in the field of ionospheric high-frequency radio wave modification experiments. Here we present estimates of the enhanced differential electron flux, from 1.9 to 100 eV based on optical multiwavelength (6300, 5577, 8446, and 4278 A) data and 930 MHz incoherent scatter radar measurements of ion temperature, electron temperature and concentration. According to our estimate, the electron energy distribution is depleted in the energy range of 2 to approximately 4 eV, probably caused by electron excitation of vibrational states in N2. At the higher energies the electron energy distribution has a nonthermal tail. Further we show that the altitude variations of the four optical emissions should differ both in altitude coverage and center altitude.


Coal tar contamination was encountered at a former coal gasification site in soils below the groundwater table, and in the sediments of the adjacent river. Ex situ remediation techniques at this site would be costly because of the need to dewater the impacted media. In situ solidification/stabilization was tested to evaluate its effectiveness. Treatability testing was performed to evaluate a Portland cement/fly ash binder system with added stabilizing agents. Results were sufficiently promising to warrant pilot testing. Grout containing Portland cement, fly ash, organically modified clay, and granular activated carbon was pilot tested at the site. Test specimens were collected and tested to evaluate durability, compressive strength, and permeability. The samples were extracted by several methods and analyzed to measure the leachable concentrations of organic compounds and metals. Results indicated acceptable physical characteristics. Leachable concentrations of most polynuclear aromatic compounds were decreased.


This article is a theoretical proposal about the expressive dimension of inner speech, a phenomenon that emphasizes the Karl Buhler's proposal in relation to the expressiveness of the language; the Heinz Werner ́s studies about a physiognomicorganismic dimension of human language and the theoretical and empirical approach of Lev Vygotsky about the phenomenon of inner speech in human experience. It is concluded that some passages of Vygotsky's work are the keys to the comprehension of the expressive inner speech, specifically the influence of affective-volitional sphere in the development of thought and language. Finally, is proposed an integration of Vygotsky's monological conception of the inner speech, the Wernerian notion of physio-organismic language and the Bühlerian proposal of the expressive dimension of human language, for an integrative comprehension of the expressiveness of the inner speech.


by GUOGUO ZHENG (Under the Direction of Paula Schwanenflugel) ABSTRACT This study aimed to develop and validate a measure of emergent reading motivation designed for pre-kindergarten children, called the Emergent Reading Motivation Scale (ERMS). The development of the ERMS was to overcome the limitation that existing reading motivation measures are not developmentally appropriate for young children. 56 native-English speaking children who were enrolled in a pre-kindergarten program participated in the study. The ERMS had 17 items, and for each item, two puppets made contrasting statements regarding emergent reading motivation which were drawn from three motivational constructs: reading self-concept, learning goal and performance goal for reading. The children selected the puppet that was most like them. The children were also administered two subtests from the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening for preschool (PALS-PreK). Results suggested that the ERMS is an ageappropriate reading motivation measure for pre-kindergarten children and has a three-factor structure even though its internal consistency is moderate and is of limited predictive power of emergent literacy skills.


Leaf size in plant geography.-RAUNKIAER,4 whose name is associated with the system of biological types or life forms, has recently submitted another means of quantitative estimation, so far as the unit chosen is a recorder of the biological value of a climate. He regards the size of the leaf as the outstanding character, and using the simple leaf as a standard, has proposed a system of leaf classes (Bladstorrelsesklasser). In the plan submitted there are 6 different classes or divisions: (i) leptophyll, 25 sq. mm.; (2) nanophyll, 9X25=225 sq. mm.; (3) microphyll, 92X25=2025 sq. mm.; (4) mesophyll, 93X 25 = i8225 sq. mm.; (5) macrophyll, 94X 25 = i64025 sq. mm.; (6) megaphyll, which is limited by the upper limit of macrophylls. Originally he planned to use the number io with 25, but from a large number of trials, both by himself and several of his colleagues, 9 was found to give a better differentiation. In using 9, it is easy to make subdivisions, large, medium, and small, if desired. RAUNKIAER is of the opinion that it is an easy matter to place the various leaves in their right classes, but in order to facilitate matters, a graphical representation of the various limits of surface area is pictured, and by the use of this scheme the leaves may be correctly grouped. Thus, if a leaf has an area which is less than 25 sq. mm., it is a leptophyll; if larger than 25 sq. mm. but smaller than 225 sq. mm., it is a nanophyll, and so on. In using such a method, RAUNKIAER contends that it is possible to obtain the biological factor for climate as far as it influences leaf size. By the use of such a scheme, comparisons may be made readily between two climates which have varying effects. One may compare formations which vary at different points, and also determine the relation between a series of associations which are somewhat similar. To prove his point he has selected and analyzed several European evergreen shrub formations. He suggests that the leaf " size classes " are not the only quantitative units to be employed, but shows that these units lend themselves rather readily to the statistical method. A system which would in some way estimate such structural features as stomatal protection, stomatal opening, or hairiness, would also give significant results. The difficulties would naturally be many, but they should not hinder the attempt. Ecologists and physiologists no doubt will be in hearty sympathy with RAUNKIAER'S move in placing ecology upon a basis that is at least somewhat quantitative. We all are in accord with his concluding sentence (translated somewhat literally): "by such means only will it be possible to pass beyond the tourist plant geographer's uperficial and vague determinations."-A. L.


In this paper, we examine in an abstract framework, how a tradeoff between efficiency and risk arises in different dynamic oligopolistic market architectures. We consider a market in which there is a monopolistic resource provider and agents that enter and exit the market following a random process. Self-interested and fully rational agents dynamically update their resource consumption decisions over a finite time horizon, under the constraint that the total resource consumption requirements are met before each individual's deadline. We then compare the statistics of the stationary aggregate demand processes induced by the non-cooperative and cooperative load scheduling schemes. We show that although the non-cooperative load scheduling scheme leads to an efficiency loss - widely known as the "price of anarchy" - the stationary distribution of the corresponding aggregate demand process has a smaller tail. This tail, which corresponds to rare and undesirable demand spikes, is important in many applications of interest. On the other hand, when the agents can cooperate with each other in optimizing their total cost, a higher market efficiency is achieved at the cost of a higher probability of demand spikes. We thus posit that the origins of endogenous risk in such systems may lie in the market architecture, which is an inherent characteristic of the system.


In this article, Dominic Griffiths reflects upon the current cultural gapbetween those who locate themselves as working 'on the inside' of the worldof 'special educational needs' and the 'inclusion movement' and those whomight be describe as 'mainstream classroom teachers'. Griffiths warns of thedangers of the dangers of 'enculturation' of the 'insiders' which can lead tocommunal visions of mainstream teachers as 'barriers to inclusion'. Equally,from 'outsider' perspectives, the world of special and inclusive education maybe perceived as 'mysterious', hidden in a fog of arcane acronyms and popu-lated by specialist 'experts'. The author calls for a conscious demystificationof this world and an active reaching out to and nurturing of mainstream col-leagues without whom, he argues, the inclusion project cannot succeed.


One of the challenges in the design of the LOFAR radio telescope is the calibration of the ionosphere which, at low frequencies, is not uniform and can change within minutes. The number of unknown parameters quickly approaches the number of measurements and hence, structural assumptions on the ionosphere must be made, in time, frequency, and space. Using general models for the second-order statistics, we propose to use maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimators combined with Karhunen-Loeve basis functions. The resulting estimation algorithm is shown in simulated LOFAR data to be superior to currently considered techniques. A significant advantage is that it is robust to overestimation of the number of free parameters.


INTRODUCTION
Postprandial hyperglucagonemia is frequently found in patients with diabetes. Recently, a loss of the inverse relationship between pulsatile insulin and glucagon secretion has been reported in patients with type 2 diabetes. The crosstalk between pulsatile islet hormone secretion in prediabetic individuals has not yet been examined.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Eleven individuals with impaired glucose tolerance and/or impaired fasting glucose and 13 nondiabetic controls were examined after mixed meal ingestion. Glucose, insulin, and glucagon levels were determined frequently and analyzed by deconvolution and cross-correlation methods.

RESULTS
Postprandial glucose levels were higher in prediabetic individuals (P = 0.017). Insulin concentrations were not different between the groups (P = 0.29). Postprandial glucagon levels were higher in the impaired glucose tolerance/impaired fasting glucose individuals (P = 0.039). Pulsatile insulin and glucagon secretion was apparent in both groups, but there were no differences in the frequency or mass of insulin and glucagon pulses between the groups. An inverse relationship between the insulin and glucagon concentration time curves was found in the control subjects (P < 0.05). This association was not detectable in the prediabetic individuals.

CONCLUSIONS
Increased postprandial glucagon concentrations in prediabetic individuals are accompanied by a loss of the pulsatile insulin-glucagon crosstalk. This suggests that disturbances in islet hormone pulsatility precede the actual manifestation of hyperglycemia.


Remote secondary injury in the thalamus has been observed following cortical infarct, however the mechanisms are not well understood. We used the distal MCAO stroke model (pdMCAO) to explore the cellular and temporal gliosis response in secondary thalamic injury in mice. At 3 days post-stroke (PSD3), primary infarct was limited to the cortex, with no infarct in the thalamus. However, at 2 weeks after stroke (PSD14), the ipsilateral thalamus demonstrated degenerating and severely damaged neurons. Staining for GFAP (astrogliosis) or IBA-1 (microgliosis) was first apparent in the ipsilateral thalamus by PSD3, and showed a progressive increase through PSD14. The number of activated microglia was increased within the thalamus at PSD14, reflecting proliferation of resident microglia as well as infiltration of peripheral monocytes. Interestingly, astrogliosis within the thalamus was enduring, as it was still evident at two years post-stroke. Furthermore, the astrogliosis at two years (but not at 6 weeks) demonstrated glial scar-like characteristics. Lastly, we demonstrated that post-stroke treatment with an NMDA receptor antagonist (memantine) reduces gliosis in the thalamus at PSD14. These findings highlight the development of lasting secondary injury in the thalamus following cortical stroke and support the value of memantine treatment in the mitigation of this injury.


This paper studies a three-sector growth model with households differentiated in their factor endowments, resulting in asset and income inequality among the households. Production occurs in agricultural, formal, and informal sectors. In particular, household preferences display Engel effects in two of the goods: agricultural and informally produced goods. Income elasticity of demand for formally produced goods, on the other hand, is equal to one. The model is calibrated to Turkish National data for 1997, and the simulation results indicate that as the economy transitions into the long-run equilibrium with the process of capital accumulation, the importance of agricultural and informal sectors diminish, and that of the formal sector increases, given any degree of inequality. However, with higher degrees of asset inequality, the results show that in the long-run, the economy ends up with a larger informal sector output and a smaller formal sector output. Furthermore, it is shown that lowering the labor taxes in the formal sector yields favorable results in terms of capital stock, income, and formal sector output in both transition and the long-run.


A wide range of algorithms have been proposed to detect objects in still images. However, most of the current approaches are purely based on local appearance and ignore the context in which these objects are embedded. This paper proposes a general approach to extract, learn and use contextual information from images to increase the performance of classical object detection methods. The important properties of the proposed approach are that it can be combined with any existing object detection method and it provides a general framework not limited to one specific object category.


Background and Objectives: Enterococci are important nosocomial agents and strains resistant to penicillin and other antibiotics occur frequently. Enterococci are intrinsically resistant to cephalosporins and offer low level resistance to aminoglycosides. In penicillin sensitive strains, synergism occurs with combination treatment with penicillin and aminoglycoside. Serious infections caused by them are treated with penicillin and aminoglycoside combination. But the synergistic effect is lost, when the strain develops high level aminoglycoside resistance. The choice of drug for infections due to such strains is vancomycin. The present study was carried out to isolate and speciateEnterococci from various clinical samples, to know the susceptibility pattern of the i solates, to determine the High Level Aminoglycoside Resistance (HLAR) among Enterococcal isolates.Methods: A total of One hundred Enterococcal species isolated from vari ous clinical samples were identified by various biochemical reactions.Antimicrobial susceptibility testing and HLAR were determined by Kirby- Bauer disc diffusion method.Results: Out of 100 Enterococcal isolates, 59 were E.faecalis, 38 were E. faecium,3 were other Enterococcal species. Among these 53 isolates showed High Level Aminoglycoside Resistance. Conclusion: Present study shows the presence of drug resistance to most of commonly used antibiotics and HLAR is also more in E.faecium compared to E.fecalis.


The conventional method of quantization of stroboscopic maps of periodically driven Hamiltonian systems is generalized for Poincare maps of autonomous Hamiltonian systems containing a classical degree of freedom. As an application we rederive the quantum Kepler map for a 1-dimensional model of a Rydberg atom in a microwave field.


The article addresses social significance of the issues of a Head's of a forensic expert organization professional ethics, its fundamentals. The importance of law and morality synergy in regulation of social relations is emphasized. An approach to the systematization of professional and ethical norms for the Heads of forensic expert organizations is suggested as well as additional principles for the legislation on forensic expert activities regarding the Head's ethical competence. Drawing on the research of foreign experience some basic provisions aimed at unification of moral and ethical norms were reviewed including the necessity of personnel's ethics development, its fostering in the early stages of young experts' training under the direct supervision of the Head of the organization.


Our aim was to investigate the effect of a selective smoking cessation counseling class on the skills and knowledge of medical students. Sixty medical students from Ondokuz Mayis University attended a selective smoking cessation counseling and prevention class (total 96 hours) at 2011-2012 academic year. After attending an initial 8 weeks of lectures, problem-based sessions, case presentations, patient videos and workshops, the students then assisted with the counseling of real smokers in the remaining 4 weeks, under supervision. Students' knowledge of tobacco dependence, treatment and counseling strategies was scored before (pretest) and after (post-test) the course using a 50-item questionnaire. The students' skills were evaluated in an Objective Structured Clinical Exam (OSCE). A significant difference was determined between the pretest (12.7±7.6) and post-test (35.8±7.8) results (p<0.001). The mean OSCE score was 89.2±2.7. The smoking cessation counseling and prevention selective class is highly effective in improving students' cessation counseling skills.


Energy plays an indispensable role in modern society. India with 17% of the world population and just 0.8% of the world's known oil and natural resources is going to face serious challenges in the coming decades. Hence energy conservation has a prime importance. Besides energy independence the devasting impact of climate change has become an issue of critical consideration. Energy production using fossil fuel is the major contributor to green house gas emissions. Hence, transition towards a low carbon energy economy is the real solution for the mitigating the impact of climate change. The project at MPKV, Rahuri undertakes to highlight the constructive development of the solar energy resources and is an attempt to resource this unused energy source to drive our daily activities of the office efficiently. It was estimated that about 2332 kwh/day electricity generation is possible by using parabolic dish installation scheme at roof top of site.


Gastric cancer is a world health problem and depicts the fourth leading mortality cause from malignancy in Mexico. Causation of gastric cancer is not only due to the combined effects of environmental factors and genetic variants. Recent molecular studies have transgressed a number of genes involved in gastric carcinogenesis. The aim of this review is to understand the recent basics of gene expression in the development of the process of gastric carcinogenesis. Genetic variants, polymorphisms, desoxyribonucleic acid methylation, and genes involved in mediating inflammation have been associated with the development of gastric carcinogenesis. Recently, these genes (interleukin 10, Il-17, mucin 1, β-catenin, CDX1, SMAD4, SERPINE1, hypoxia-inducible factor 1 subunit alpha, GSK3β, CDH17, matrix metalloproteinase 7, RUNX3, RASSF1A, TFF1, HAI-2, and COX-2) have been studied in association with oncogenic activation or inactivation of tumor suppressor genes. All these mechanisms have been investigated to elucidate the process of gastric carcinogenesis, as well as their potential use as biomarkers and/or molecular targets to treatment of disease.


The aquatic humic substances (AHS) investigated in this study were conventionally isolated from Rio Negro waters - Amazonas State/Brazil by means of the collector XAD 8. A special five-stage tangential-flow ultrafiltration device was used for analytical fractionation of AHS. The fractionation patterns (6 fractions each) showed that metal traces remaining in AHS after their XAD 8 isolation have different size distributions. For instance, the major percentage of traces of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb (determined using ICP-AES) was preferably complexed by molecules with relatively high molecular size (30-100 kDa) and the following complexation order was characterized: F2 >> F1 = F4 = F5 > F3 > F6. Moreover, the species formed between AHS and metals prepared by spiking, showed distribution patterns changing as a function of the complexation time (ageing process), indicating a slow transformation process and an inner rearrangements in the binding sites within the AHS molecules.


New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) became an official language (NZSL Act 2006) when its vitality was already under pressure. Even though its institutional status has improved recently, the traditional community domains of NZSL use and transmission are apparently shrinking inasmuch as most of the deaf children who have cochlear implants are acquiring a primary spoken language, with or without exposure to NZSL. Census figures show a decline in the number of NZSL users. Whereas the health of Te Reo Māori, the other official language of New Zealand, is regularly surveyed to inform revitalization priorities, no sociolinguistic assessment has informed an accelerating level of language planning around NZSL. In light of this, I undertook a mixed-methods assessment of the vitality of NZSL, which was informed by UNESCO's (2003) Language Vitality and Endangerment (LVE) framework and the Expanded Graded Inter-generational Disruption Scale (EGIDS) (Bickford, Lewis, and Simons 2015), both of which have been adapted for signed languages. Findings of the study reveal objective evidence of a "threatened" status (level 6b of EGIDS), juxtaposed with a mix of optimistic and pessimistic subjective perceptions of vitality within the NZSL community.


This paper presents a Theory of Computation study based on recursive functions computability and innovates by performing parallels to relevant themes of Cryptography. Hence, it is presented the Hennie's notion of "abstract family of algorithms" (AFA, for short) according to the authors' understanding, and also more judicious theorems demonstrations, many times completely different from those ones available in literature. The main issue is the Isomorphism Theorem which supports the Church-Turing Thesis and provides a connection between Cryptology and Linguistics.


We define a generic join point model for checking the Law of Demeter (LoD). Join points are trees, pointcuts are predicates over join points, and advice is checked statically similar to how declare warning is checked in AspectJ. We illustrate how the joint point form is mapped to the object and class forms of LoD, and provide an implementation in AspectJ that approximates LoD's class form by dynamically checking a particular execution using only the join points' static part. The paper proposes two ways to extend AspectJ to provide access to lexical join points directly. The first proposes statically executable advice and pointcut designators over lexical join points. The second proposes statically executable meta-advice over the exposed abstract syntax tree of the program and using Demeter style traversals to mirror AspectJ pointcuts.


Although the traffic and transit assignment processes are intertwined, the interactions between them are usually ignored in practice, especially for large-scale networks. In this paper, we build a simulation-based traffic and transit assignment model that preserves the interactions between the two assignment processes for the large-scale network of the Greater Toronto Area during the morning peak. This traffic assignment model is dynamic, user-equilibrium seeking, and includes surface transit routes. It utilizes the congested travel times, determined by the dynamic traffic assignment, rather than using predefined timetables. Unlike the static transit assignment models, the proposed transit model distinguishes between different intervals within the morning peak by using the accurate demand, transit schedule, and time-based road level-of-service. The traffic and transit assignment models are calibrated against actual field observations. The resulting dynamic model is suitable for testing different demand management strategies that impose dynamic changes on multiple modes simultaneously.


Biochemical studies have shown that low doses of Cytochalasin D (CD) inhibit protein discharge evoked by isoproterenol, a beta‐adrenergic inducer, in isolated lobules of Rat parotid gland. Ultrastructural and radioautographic studies reported here indicate that, when lobules are treated by CD before isoproterenol stimulation, the connection of secretory granules with the acinar lumen is indeed prevented, but fusion of membrane granules evoked by isoproterenol still occurs. This fusion takes place with vacuoles induced by CD and possibly with other granules.


The lateral microstructure was studied of a Langmuir film of palmitic acid and bis[8-(1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoryl)-3,6-dioxaoctyl] disulfide (I), I and w-mercaptoundecanoic acid (II), and I, II, and a Cu complex with II on Au. The self-organization effects of I are described. [on SciFinder (R)]


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The liver is one of the most significant organs in the body, executing a fundamental role in the regulation of diverse processes, among which the metabolism, secretion, storage, and detoxification of endogenous and exogenous substances are noticeable. Due to these functions, hepatic diseases have become threat to public health, and they remain as major worldwide issue. Despite enormous advances in modern medicine, there are no completely effective drugs that stimulate hepatic function, that offer complete protection of the organ, or that help to regenerate hepatic cells. Thus, it is necessary to identify pharmaceutical alternatives for the treatment of liver diseases, with the aim of these alternatives being more effective and less toxic. The use of many herbs or their extracts for treatment of various ailments has been documented in Ayurvedic medical system. The immense potential of medicinal plants used in traditional systems has been well recognized and documented in recent years. Numerous plants and polyherbal formulations are used for the treatment of liver diseases. Phytotherapeutic approach to modern drug development can provide many invaluable drugs from traditional medicinal plants. Search for pure phytochemicals as drugs is time consuming and expensive. This review article is going to enumerate some plants with hepatoprotective properties and it is going to provide a robust insight into the phytochemistry, medicinal uses and pharmacology of a few hepatoprotective plants and their compounds. Nonetheless, further study on the phytochemistry and mechanism of action of the pure compounds are necessary to fully understand the phytochemical profile and the complex pharmacological effects of this plant.


For any pair of quantum states (the hypotheses), the task of binary quantum hypotheses testing is to derive the tradeoff relation between the probability p01 of rejecting the null hypothesis and p10 of accepting the alternative hypothesis. The case when both hypotheses are explicitly given was solved in the pioneering work by Helstrom. Here, instead, for any given null hypothesis as a pure state, we consider the worst-case alternative hypothesis that maximizes p10 under a constraint on the distinguishability of such hypotheses. Additionally, we restrict the optimization to separable measurements, in order to describe tests that are performed locally. The case p01=0 has been recently studied under the name of ``quantum state verification''. We show that the problem can be cast as a semi-definite program (SDP). Then we study in detail the two-qubit case. A comprehensive study in parameter space is done by solving the SDP numerically. We also obtain analytical solutions in the case of commuting hypotheses, and in the case where the two hypotheses can be orthogonal (in the latter case, we prove that the restriction to separable measurements generically prevents perfect distinguishability). In regards to quantum state verification, our work shows the existence of more efficient strategies for noisy measurement scenarios.


ABSTRACT Increasing numbers of women living with HIV are reaching their midlife. We explore the association of HIV status with sexual function (SF) in women aged 45–60 using two national cross-sectional surveys: the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles ("Natsal-3") and "PRIME", a survey of women living with HIV attending HIV clinics across England. Both studies asked the same questions about SF that take account not only sexual difficulties but also the relationship context and overall level of satisfaction, which collectively allowed an overall SF score to be derived. We undertook analyses of sexually-active women aged 45–60 from Natsal-3 (N = 1228, presumed HIV-negative given the low estimated prevalence of HIV in Britain) and PRIME (N = 386 women living with HIV). Women living with HIV were compared to Natsal-3 participants using multivariable logistic regression (adjusting for key confounders identified a priori: ethnicity, ongoing relationship status, depression and number of chronic conditions) and propensity scoring. Relative to Natsal-3 participants, women living with HIV were more likely to: have low overall SF (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 3.75 [2.15–6.56]), report ≥1 sexual problem(s) lasting ≥3 months (AOR 2.44 [1.49–4.00]), and report almost all 8 sexual problems asked about (AORs all ≥2.30). The association between HIV status and low SF remained statistically significant when using propensity scoring (AOR 2.43 [1.68–3.51]). Among women living with HIV (only), low SF was more common in those who were postmenopausal vs. Premenopausal (55.6% vs. 40.4%). This study suggests a negative association between HIV status and sexual function in women aged 45–60. We recommend routine assessment of SF in women living with HIV.


Numerous articles have described the methodologies used and outcomes achieved with the intrathecal (IT) administration of morphine for pain. However, only one case report has been published that describes converting a patient's IT morphine to an oral regimen. This case report describes the experience of converting a patient's IT morphine to oral morphine and discusses the scarcity of published data to validate suggested equianalgesic intraspinal morphine recommendations. The calculated equianalgesic oral to IT ratio in this case was 12:1. This is substantially lower than the 300:1 ratio published by Krames and the 90:1 ratio employed by a commercially available software program for calculating equianalgesic opioid doses. We recommend caution when applying existing guidelines for conversion of morphine from an IT to an oral regimen.


Vehicle classification is an important research area of Intelligent Traffic System. We first collect large set of static and clear vehicle images from internet and split the images into train and validation sets. Then we train the dataset with convolutional neural network (CNN). Experimental results show that CNN achieve high accuracy on the validation dataset. However, the trained model achieves poor performance on motion blurred images captured from videos. This paper proposes a new method for dealing with motion blurred images. Random blurred images are generated during training in order to optimize the network parameters. The final experimental results show that our proposed method achieves better performance than training directly with CNN.


Most governance is indirect, carried out through intermediaries. Principal–agent theory views indirect governance primarily as a problem of information: the agent has an informational advantage over the principal, which it can exploit to evade principal control. But indirect governance creates a more fundamental problem of power. Competent intermediaries with needed expertise, credibility, legitimacy, and/or operational capacity are inherently difficult to control because the policy benefits they can create (or the trouble they can cause) give them leverage. Conversely, tight governor control constrains intermediaries. The governor thus faces a dilemma: emphasizing control limits intermediary competence and risks policy failure; emphasizing intermediary competence risks control failure. This "governor's dilemma" helps to explain puzzling features of indirect governance: why it is not limited to principal–agent delegation but takes multiple forms; why governors choose forms that appear counterproductive in an informational perspective; and why arrangements are frequently unstable.


Aim: To study clinical profile of amblyopic patients in relation to refractive status, socio economic status,
use of glasses and social impact on society.
Results: Myopes improving with spectacles are 45% and mixed astigmatism 69%. Most common age group
for detection of amblyopia in young adults is 21-30 years(47.1%) with predominance of female(55.7%)
belonging from middle class families (81.4%) having studied mostly from Government Marathi medium
school(45.7%) with previously not using given glasses(57.1%) and with taken amblyopia of only (7.1%) and
with spectacles maximum correction with mixed astigmatism (54.2%) between 6/36-6/9 in right eye (43%)
and in left eye (30%) . Hypermetropies' improving to 6/12 is only 13%. So there's very few cases improving
with the spectacles in hypermetropes in amblyopia.
Interpretation: Lack of school screening programs and awareness for health check-up delays the diagnosis
of amblyopia leading to non-improvement of vision and due to lack of knowledge and social stigma girls
especially avoid wearing glasses even after prescribing leading to amblyopia.
Conclusion: School health camps, proper health education, timely examination, and proper use of spectacles
is must.


Place. Area. Neighborhood. Latitude. Longitude. Distance. These geographic terms are increasingly finding their way into the epidemiologic literature, as advances in geographic information system (GIS) technology make it ever easier to connect spatially referenced physical and social phenomena to population patterns of health, disease, and well-being.1-3 Indeed, links between location and health have long captured the imagination of perceptive observers. Consider the Hippocratic treatise, "Airs, Waters, and Places," written about 2,400 years ago, which roundly (and rather deterministically) declared: "You will find, as a general rule, that the constitutions and habits of a people follows the nature of the land where they live."4, p. 168 Early 19th century research decisive to epidemiology's development as a discipline5 likewise looked to geography to discern etiologic clues.


Using a research design that traces siblings' preferences for postmaterialistic values in Germany over two decades, this paper provides new evidence on the origins of value preferences. Focusing on Inglehart's thesis of value change, we test the combined socialization and scarcity hypothesis against the social learning hypothesis, a prominent rival account of preadult value preference formation. Sibling estimates show that the shared preadult environment does indeed exert lasting effects on the permanent component of preferences for post-materialistic policies. In addition to weak effect of the shared experience of socioeconomic scarcity, we find that the intergenerational transmission of postmaterialism –which is disregarded by Inglehart's original thesis– plays a significant role in value preference acquisition. We discuss the implications of our individual-level findings for forecasts of aggregate-level trends in value change. ∗DIW Berlin, Mohrenstr. 58, D–10117 Berlin, email@example.com


Laparoscopy has a major role in the treatment of anorectal malformations (ARM) since Georgeson et al. introduced the laparoscopic assisted anorectoplasty in 2000. The majority of ARM can be repaired through a posterior sagittal incision without the need to enter the abdomen. Some ARM types require an abdominal approach to detach the rectum from the urinary tract in males or the vagina in females. Those malformations benefit from laparoscopy. In this article, we aimed to highlight the technical aspects relevant to the current laparoscopic repair of ARM.


Aneurysm in the aortic area is occurred in dependence on arteriosclerosis and for the most part it is under the level of renal arteries. This is often found during routine investigations of the digestive tract. Some aneurysms grow very slowly for years. Effective postoperative solution shows relatively low mortality. 2-5%, unlike ruptured aneurysms whose mortality is between 50 to 70%. Also small aneurysms may rupture and become the cause of embolization into the periphery and in some cases to give rise to creation of aorto-caval fistulae. The algorithm of our procedure, if there exists a suspicion of AAA rupture, is as follows: if the patient has stable blood pressure over 90 mm Hg, the diagnosis may be corfirmed by computer tomography. Echo examination is unique for making of aneurysm diagnosis, however CT is better from the viewpoint of diagnostics of aneurysm rupture height. Because the ruptur is not palpable, CT is a big contribution but it would not block the patient in his/her prompt way to the operating theatre because this acute patient belongs there. The patients survival during these difficult surgical operations, affecting immunity, homeostasis, coagulation, hemodynamics depends on properly made and razant operation, and also on preoperative, operative, and particularly postoperative intensive therapy. Immediately after patients admission it is necessary to start the team cooperation without any delay to invasive intervention. The presentation evaluates the operational solution of aneurysms in the aorto-iliac area performed from 1989 through 2006 at the 2nd Department of Surgery in University Hospital in Brno. The elective solution is preferred. Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) remains to be represent a common and highly lethal problem. We reviewed the records of 199 patients (160 men and 39 women) operated on for rutured infrarenal AAA within the past 18 years (January 1989 to December 2006) in the 2nd Department of Surgery in Brno, Czech Republic. The mean age was 71 years (range 57 to 92 years). Only 20 patients were known to have an AAA before the rupture. Preoperative systolic blood pressure below 90 mmHg. was prezent in 142 patients (71,36%) and 31 patients (15,58%) experienced cardiac arrest before surgery. The in-hospital mortality rate was 42,21 % (84 patients). Among the total of 199 patients, retroperitoneum was discovered only in 75 patients (37,69%) with the mortality rate of 29,33% (22 patients). In 124 patients (62,31%) also hemoperitoneum was prezent, the mortality rate was 50,00% (62 patients) in these patiens. Multiorgan failure due to an irreversible hemorragic shock was the main cause of death in 56 patients (52,83%). Further causes were: heart failure- 21 patients (19,81%), pulmonary complications- 12 patients (11,32%), renal failure- 11 patients ( 10,38%), bleeding- 5 patients (4,72%), and sepsis- 1 patient (0,94%). The patients prognosis depends on early diagnostics and on the duality of peroperative and postoperative care.


Underground mine projects are often associated with diverse sources of uncertainties. Having the ability to plan for these uncertainties plays a key role in the process of project evaluation and is increasingly recognized as critical to mining project success. To make the best decision, based on the information available, it is necessary to develop an adequate model incorporating the uncertainty of the input parameters. The model is developed on the basis of full discounted cash flow analysis of an underground zinc mine project. The relationships between input variables and economic outcomes are complex and often nonlinear. Fuzzy-interval grey system theory is used to forecast zinc metal prices while geometric Brownian motion is used to forecast operating costs over the time frame of the project. To quantify the uncertainty in the parameters within a project, such as capital investment, ore grade, mill recovery, metal content of concentrate, and discount rate, we have applied the concept of interval numbers. The final decision related to project acceptance is based on the net present value of the cash flows generated by the simulation over the time project horizon.


The time limit of inflow occlusion for the purpose of direct-vision cardiac surgery has been studied in both euthermic 1-3 and hypothermic 4-8 dogs. Although some investigators have felt that anoxia of the heart is the most important factor in limiting the available time, it is now widely believed that the brain is more susceptible than the myocardium to anoxia. During inflow occlusion, the brain is subjected not only to anoxia but also to a high venous pressure. In an attempt to determine whether the elevated venous pressure was responsible for augmenting the damaging effects of anoxia, the following studies were performed. The first compared the effect of simple decompression of the cerebral venous system during inflow occlusion with a control series without decompression. The second group of experiments studied the effect of pumping the cerebral venous blood into the arterial system during the period of inflow occlusion. A. Simple


Michael Huemer, Ernest Sosa, and Jonathan Vogel have offered a critique of the sensitivity condition on knowledge. According to them, the condition implies that you cannot know of any particular proposition that you do not falsely believe it. Their arguments rest on the claim that you cannot sensitively believe of any particular proposition that you do not falsely believe it. However, as we shall see, these philosophers are mistaken. You can do so. That said, these philosophers were close to the mark. There are some related propositions that you cannot believe sensitively. These propositions are interesting in another respect: they can be used to construct a new skeptical argument that is superior in some respects to a more traditional skeptical argument. This new skeptical argument also reveals insights about the relationship between internalism, externalism, and skepticism.


Abstract : Real time and multimedia applications like multi-party collaboration, internet telephony and distributed command control systems require the exchange of information over distributed and heterogeneous nodes. Multiple data types including voice, video, sensor data, real time intelligence data and text are being transported widely across today's information, control and surveillance networks. All such applications can benefit enormously from middleware, operating system and networking services that can support QoS guarantees, high availability, dynamic reconfigurability and scalability. In this paper, we propose a middleware layer called the Real Time Push Pull Communications Service to easily and quickly disseminate information across heterogeneous nodes with flexible communication patterns. Real time push pull communications is an extension of the real time publisher/subscriber model, and represents both push (data transfer initiated by a sender) and pull (data transfer initiated by a receiver) communications. Nodes with widely differing processing power and networking bandwidth can coordinate and co-exist by the provision of appropriate and automatic support for transformation on data. In particular, unlike the real time publisher/subscriber model, different information sources and sinks can operate at different frequencies and also can choose another (intermediate) node to act as their proxy and deliver data at the desired frequency. In addition to the synchronous communications of the publisher subscriber model, information sinks can also choose to obtain data asynchronously. This service has been implemented on RT-Mach, a resource centric kernel using resource kernel primitives. This paper presents an overview of the design, implementation and a performance evaluation of the model.