Intervention Surgeons (n=2) were allocated to music (20 patients) or no music (20 patients). Patients in the music group were given stereo headphones, a cassette player, and a choice of 22 types of music (including soft hits, classical guitar, chamber music, and folk music); patients listened to their selected music during the preoperative, surgical, and postoperative periods. All patients received midazolam hydrochloride and alfentanil hydrochloride. Special care was taken to give equal amounts of attention to both groups.


This paper summarises the investigation of human interaction with external variability in a complex manual manufacturing process. Humans play a key role in complex manufacturing processes in industry and skilled operators carry out critical tasks in different industries such as aerospace, automotive and heavy-machinery. Most of these processes are difficult to automate due to the external variability presents in the processes. To understand how humans are coping with this variability and successfully delivering a product complying with the standards required is fundamental in order to automate the process.


The commutation angle, $\gamma$, of an interior permanent magnet synchronous motor's (IPMSM) vector diagram, plays an important role in compensating the back electromotive force; both under load phase current variations and/or when an extended speed range, being near the constant power range, is required by the application. This commutation angle is defined as the angle between the fundamental of the phase current and the fundamental of the back-emf. It can be utilized to provide a compensating effect in IPMSMs. This is due to the reluctance torque component being dependent on the phase current before the extended speed range. A real-time maximum torque per current and voltage strategy is employed to find the trajectory and optimum commutation angles, $\gamma$, where the level of accuracy depends on the application and available computational speed. A magnet volume reduction is proposed in this paper to minimize the permanent magnet mass to motor torque density, whilst maintaining the phase current below its maximum rated value. A mapping of $\gamma$ allows the determination of the optimum angles as shown in this paper. The 3rd generation Toyota Prius IPMSM is considered the reference motor, where only the rotor configuration is altered to allow for an individual assessment. The electric vehicle's performance during acceleration and deceleration using various IPMSM rotor configurations is evaluated for a given four-wheel-drive vehicle. The powertrain uses two single-gear onboard, under standard drive cycles.


Cooperative and intelligent path planning is important for UAVs to carry out coordinated intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) in adversarial environments. In this paper, we propose a game theoretic data fusion aided platform routing algorithm for cooperative ISR. Our approach consists of three closely coupled components: 1) closed-loop data fusion. The Level 1 (Object), Level 2 (Situation) and Level 3 (threat) data fusion form a closed-loop structure, in which Markov game theoretic intent inferences will execute from the results of Level 1 and Level 2 results. The estimated threat intents will be fed back to the Level 2 fusion to improve the performance of the entity aggregation. 2) Cooperative platform routing based on Pareto-optimization, social foraging, and cooperative jamming. Given the threat information including the threat intents from the data fusion module, a Pareto-optimal problem is formed and graph-cut based fast solution serves as a reference trajectory for a foraging algorithm, which further dynamically refines the reference path to avoid pop-up obstacles detected along the planned path. 3) display/monitor module, in which relevant threats and constraints information are indicated, the terrain data are shown, and current real route and planned route are highlighted, compared, and evaluated. The commander's suggestions can be inputted in this mode.


the promise of empowerment for poor people through access to affordable fi nancial services. These economic tools would allow them to invest in small businesses, save for their future and work their way out of poverty. Microfi nance has provided basic fi nancial services to millions across these regions, fi rst through credit and now increasingly through a full suite of fi nancial services including savings, insurance and pension funds. In Bangladesh, arguably the cradle of microfi nance, more than 35 percent of the poor are accessing microcredit, and South Asia as a whole has penetration rates of approximately 11 percent, followed by Latin America with seven percent. Despite this progress millions of people remain without the ability to fi nance small businesses or build an economic safety net, but the industry is maturing, stabilizing and continuing to innovate in order to accomodate this unmet demand.


The Pluto dwarf planet has been successfully observed in July 2015 by the New Horizons spacecraft (NASA) during a close-targeted flyby which reavealed surprising and fascinating landscapes. While data are still being downlinked on the ground, we propose to present a prediction of the observation of the Radio Science Experiment experiment (REX) that occured on July 14, 2015 and aimed at measuring the microwave brightness temperature of Pluto's night side.Present models admit a wide range of 2015 surface conditions at Pluto and Charon, where the atmospheric pressure may undergo dramatic seasonal variation and for which measurements have been performed by the New Horizons mission. One anticipated observation is the microwave brightness temperature, heretofore anticipated as indicating surface conditions relevant to surface-atmosphere equilibrium. However, drawing on recent experience with Cassini observations at Iapetus and Titan, we call attention to the large electrical skin depth of outer solar system materials such as methane, nitrogen or water ice, such that this observation may indicate temperatures averaged over depths of several or tens of meters beneath the surface.Using a seasonally-forced thermal model to determine microwave emission we predict that the southern hemisphere observations (in the polar night in July 2015) of New Horizons should display relatively warm effective temperatures of about 40 K. This would reflect the deep heat buried over the last century of summer, even if the atmospheric pressure suggests that the surface nitrogen frost point may be much lower. We will present our predictions and discuss their impact for the interpretation of the REX measurements.


D-xylose is a component of sugarcane bagasse that can be used as a renewable resource for the production of a variety of chemicals. By means of catalytic reactions in an aqueous medium, it was determined that D-xylose can efficiently be converted into furfural by the application of microwave as a green synthetic methodology. The highest yields of furfural were obtained at a HCl concentration of 4 mg/mL. When the reaction was performed at 200 °C, an optimum yield of 64% of furfural was observed after 10 min of reaction time, with 95% of the D-xylose being converted.


Previous investigations have shown that the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STATs) signaling pathway play an important role in the modulation of apoptosis after ischemia and reperfusion. The mechanism for this enhanced cardioprotection is unknown, but we believe that alterations STATs may play a role. To investigate this hypothesis, we examined the effects of angiotension II type 1 (AT1) and angiotension II type 2 (AT2) receptor antagonist added to cardioplegia on the downstream response of different STATs, connected with proinflammatory pathways (STAT2, STAT5) and prohypertrophic and antiapoptotic pathways (STAT3). Isolated, nonworking hearts (n = 3 per group) from neonatal rats were perfused aerobically (4°C) for 20 min in the Langendorff mode with the modified St. Thomas' Hospital no. 2 (MSTH2) cardioplegic solution (Group 1), the MSTH2 cardioplegic solution + AT1 receptor antagonist (Group 2), and MSTH2 cardioplegic solution + AT2 receptor antagonist (Group 3). Thus, myocytes were isolated by enzymatic digestion, and STAT2, STAT3, and STAT5 were investigated in Western blot studies. Times to arrest after cardioplegia were 8-12 s for all groups. Total cardioplegia delivery volume was about 300 mL for the 20 min. Perfusion with the MSTH2 cardioplegic solution supplemented with AT1 receptor antagonist (Group 2) induced a significant reduction in STAT2 and STAT5 tyrosine phosphorylation (-58 and -63%, respectively, vs. Group 1, P < 0.05). Conversely, STAT2 and STAT5 activation were unaffected by perfusion with the MSTH2 cardioplegic solution supplemented with AT2 receptor antagonist (Group 3). The decreased activation of STAT2 and STAT5 observed in Group 2 was accompanied by reduction of interleukin-1β (-57% in Group 2 vs. Group 1, P < 0.05). There were no significant differences in STAT3 phosphorylation among all groups. Only the addition of AT1 receptor antagonist to MSTH2 cardioplegia significantly decreases the inflammatory response of the neonatal rat cardiomyocytes without affecting antiapoptotic influence provided by tyrosine phosphorylation of STAT3. AT1 receptor antagonist added to cardioplegia represents an additional modality for enhancing myocardial protection during cardiac surgery and could contribute to optimize the ischemia tolerance of the pediatric heart.


An assessment and correlation analysis was performed between the main indicators when using the drug etoricoxib for the removal of third molars.


Residual stresses and angular distorsions are very important probrems in welding design and fabrication. In the previous reports it was shown that the materials with a martensitic transformation at low temperature were effective to the reduce residual stress and anguler distorsion in welding.In this report the effects of transformation on prevention against crack in welding were examined by use of restraint thermal cycle test and constraint crack test. The results are shown as follows;(1) The materials with transformation at low temperature were effective to reduce residual stresses in stress concetration area and to prevent cracks in welding.(2) As the result of the stress consentration test (mild steel was broken in the midst of cooling by this test method), it was possible to prevent a crack or a failure at the stress concentration area by use of the materials with the transformation at low temperature. In this case, the transformation superplasticity was more effecive than transformation expansion to release the stress concentration.(3) The Ms temperature of the materials with the transformation at low temperature (there was no crack by use of these materials in this test) was less than 200°C. But a dilution from a base metal raised the transformation temperature and the free thermal contraction curve changed. Therefore in welding practices, the change of transformation temperature by the dilution from base metal is also important.


There have been many recent trials in systemic sclerosis (SSc) that have explored treatment for skin or lung. Some have been encouraging, but there has also been disappointment reflecting potential limitations of treatment effect of study design. These trials are discussed and reviewed. Studies conducted in SSc are described and discussed with a focus on endpoint selection and trial design as well as potential mechanism of action and treatment effect. Studies have included very encouraging trials of interleukin 6 blockade, immunosuppression, and broad-spectrum tyrosine kinase inhibition. Other trials including recent studies of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor agonists and specific intracellular signaling inhibitors such as imatinib or anti-transforming growth factor beta blocking strategies have been more disappointing. Trial design is improving, and overall, there are now almost positive trials using agents with great promise, and studies are also providing important biological insight into SSc. It is hoped that ongoing studies will further progress the field and move it toward better treatments for SSc that still represent a major unmet medical need.


The aim of this study is to identify the association of thyroid stimulating hormone and thyroxin levels with body mass index (BMI) and waste circumference in men and women with overweight and obesity. Current study was performed within the HAPIEE. The sample of 280 subjects (125 men (44.6%) and 155 women (55.4%)) was analyzed. Thyroid stimulating hormone level was high in integrated subsample with II and III obesity degree (body mass index ≥35 kg/m2). Average levels of general thyroxin were significantly higher in abdominal obese women with body mass index ≥30 (according to NCEP-АТР III, 2001), than in subjects with normal weight and overweight. Significant decrease of general thyroxin was detected in men with gross obesity (body mass index ≥35 kg/m2). In comparison with men women have positive correlation between general thyroxin level and waist circumference.


A new and simple MAC protocol is proposed. Each node transmits a burst with length sampled from a geometric distribution with parameter q followed by a carrier sense slot. A node repeats the previous operations until it senses a busy slot. A node will access the channel and transmit its payload when it has sensed h idle slots. The parameter q can be adjusted for each node to achieve desired levels of relative priority with little impact on channel utilization and without a need for explicit knowledge about other traffic. Comparison to existing tree-splitting, carrier sensing and bursting protocols through analysis and simulations shows that our algorithm scales very well to the number of nodes. It has very high success probability, channel utilization and fairness. Extensions are provided for hidden terminal scenarios and are shown in simulations to provide adequate performance.


E-learning is a new teaching model nowadays. It gets further development and improvement with the impetus of the Virtual Reality (VR) technology, which can build a friendly human machine interface. VR is becoming increasingly important as a learning tool in the schools as well as in universities, due to its interactive and animated features. VR can be an effective method for teaching and reinforcing complex concepts by allowing students to interact with the visualization tools. The pattern which integrates the VR and e-learning technology not only riches teaching patterns but also improves learners' ability of analyzing and solving problems. The virtual learning environment provides a new study method for students to understand certain events which have proven inappropriate and difficult in traditional education. This paper highlights and discusses the issues and challenges associated with implementing a virtual reality based e-learning environment. It explores educational uses of an e-learning environment in combination with VR technology.


Background: Increased attention in the field of speech-language pathology is directed towards evidence-based treatment, particularly with regard to neurogenic communication disorders.Aims: The paper describes the development of an evidence-based aphasia clinic. Core principles of the clinic are the use of language treatment techniques that have support in efficacy data, and the objective measurement of treatment effectiveness.Main Contribution: Care paths for aphasia treatment are developed according to levels of evidence (Class I, II, III evidence); cognitive neuropsychological and life participation models; and the World Health Organisation International Classification of Health, Disability and Function (ICF). Multi-layered assessments are obtained at the ICF impairment and activity/participation levels throughout treatment (i.e., weekly treatment probes, monthly discourse probes, and biannual aphasia and neuropsychological assessments). Weekly multidisciplinary staffings address patient progress. The paper discusses limitations and challenges of addressing treatment effectiveness and efficacy within a typical outpatient clinical setting.Conclusions: The principles of evidence-based aphasia therapy and single-subject methodology can be applied in routine clinical rehabilitation settings.


A 46-year-old woman was seen with biliary obstruction secondary to a pancreatic tumor. After undergoing a percutaneous liver biopsy, she became septic and went into shock. Haemophilus influenzae type be bacteremia and biliary infection were verified. With treatment, the patient recovered from the infection. Biliary infection by H influenzae is rare, and fulminant infections in adults are even more uncommon. Hazards of invasive diagnostic procedures in patients with obstructive jaundice are discussed.


The relaxation dynamics of liquids is one of the fundamental problems in liquid physics, and it is also one of the key issues to understand the glass transition mechanism. It will undoubtedly provide enlightenment on understanding and calculating the relaxation dynamics if the molecular orientation flipping images and relevant microparameters of liquids are studied. In this paper, we first give five microparameters to describe the individual molecular string (MS) relaxation based on the dynamical Hamiltonian of the MS model, and then simulate the images of individual MS ensemble, and at the same time calculate the parameters of the equilibrium state. The results show that the main molecular orientation flipping image in liquids (including supercooled liquid) is similar to the random walk. In addition, two pairs of the parameters are equal, and one can be ignored compared with the other. This conclusion will effectively reduce the difficulties in calculating the individual MS relaxation based on the single-molecule orientation flipping rate of the general Glauber type, and the computer simulation time of interaction MS relaxation. Moreover, the conclusion is of reference significance for solving and simulating the multi-state MS model.


There has been considerable interest in the potential application of contact lenses for ocular drug delivery. Static barriers (different layers of cornea, sclera and retina including blood aqueous and blood retinal barriers), dynamic barriers (chroidal and conjunctival blood flow) pose a significant challenge for delivery of a drug to the eye. Current ophthalmic drug delivery systems are insufficient, especially eye drops, which allow approximately 95% of the drug contained in the drops to be lost due to absorption through the conjunctiva or through the tear drainage. The present article shows that the use of contact lenses has been a method to deliver drugs to the eye in an efficient manner. Contact lenses are emerging as an alternative ophthalmic drug delivery system to resolve the shortcomings of the conventional / topical application methods like eye drops and ointments. The advantages of using contact lenses are in dosing regimen, bioavailability and prolonging the residence time of drugs .This article shows that the contact lenses are ideal choice for ophthalmic drug delivery. This review highlights the drug delivery through contact lens based ophthalmic drug delivery systems with significant potential to use in ocular therapeutics.


The education system in Indonesia requires multicultural education model for Indonesian society which has cultural diversity. The Government has made efforts in disseminating the concept of multicultural education before applying it as a representative model relevant for every level of education, but it still needs condition of situational diversity in the reality of people's life in order to be the spearhead of success in education. The case study implemented qualitative approach and its participants were PAI teacher selected through purposive sampling. The result of in-depth interviews, classroom observation and documentation were analyzed using qualitative description. The findings show the application of elements of various cultures in the teaching of PAI which has been identified as a mechanism to develop relationship, to confirm the universality of Islam, dakwah method and the requirements of curriculum. It also reveals some existing obstacles in implementing these elements, namely the constraints of teachers, lack of reading and less training. Although this study showed that PAI teachers in this study attempted to implement various cultural elements in their teaching, the level of implementation of these elements is still at an acceptable level. Hence, the PAI teachers must enhance their understanding, knowledge, skills, and expertise to improve and develop their skills in applying the elements of multicultural education in the learning of PAI.


The present article proposes a model of how to develop a plan for evaluate professional skills of the employees. Also, this process can be applicable to people that want to certify their skills acquired in non-formal ways, and also in human resource departments, where the managers want to evaluate professional skills of their members. Evaluation of professional competencies can be a useful instrument in the human resources departments especially when the main purpose is that of achieving a more efficient use of human resources. We consider this model can be used during internal trainings, in during the annually staff evaluations, or when the manager considers is necessary. Basic features of competencies evaluator are: 1. Planning and organization the evaluation. 2. Recording and reporting the evaluation results. 3. Making the evaluation. 4. Develop evaluation instruments. 5. Analyzing the data and taking a decision on the competence. 6. Checking internal evaluation processes. 7. Checking external evaluation processes.


BACKGROUND
The level of Fluoride exposure needed to cause dental fluorosis is not known precisely. An awareness of total F intake from all sources, especially during the critical stages of dental development during infancy and early childhood, is important in preventing the development of dental fluorosis.

OBJECTIVES
The aim of the study was to measure F content of ready-to-feed (RTF) infant drinks and foods in the UK.

METHODS
In total, 122 infant foods were analysed for F concentrations, in triplicate, indirectly by an acid diffusion method and 25 infant drinks analysed directly using an F-ion-selective electrode after addition of TISABIII.

RESULTS
The median (range) F concentration was 0.110 (0.030-0.221) μg/g for breakfast cereals, 0.112 (0.040-1.200) μg/g for savoury meals, 0.056 (0.030-0.379) μg/g for desserts, 0.044 (0.020-0.191) μg/g for fruits, 0.196 (0.040-0.397) μg/g for baked goods, 0.069 (0.050-0.148) μg/ml for juices, 0.016 (0.009-0.030) μg/ml for milks and 0.041 (0.022-0.069) μg/ml for waters. The median (range) F concentration of all RTF infant foods and drinks by recommended age of consumption was 0.029 (0.010-0.245), 0.088 (0.020-0.500), 0.108 (0.100-0.510) and 0.108 (0.060-1.200) μg/g for infants from birth, 4+ month, 6+ month and 10+ month, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The results suggest that the F concentrations of UK-marketed RTF infant foods, drinks and formula milk are not sufficiently high to be a risk factor for dental fluorosis, if consumption is within the limits recommended for infants and young children.


The thermal gelation of cross-linked oval filefish myosin with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC) was studied by means of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, sedimentation equilibrium, jelly strength, and chymotryptic digestibility. The cross-linked myosin with EDC formed a polymerized complex. The molecular weights from sedimentation equilibrium of EDC-myosin (4mg/ml) increased rapidly up to 1mM EDC, and slowly above the concentration of 1mM. The thermal gelation of myosin by heating at 30-50°C were enhanced in the presence of up to 25mol EDC/105g protein and the EDC more than 25mol effectively depressed "himodori". The chymotryptic digestion of EDC-myosin suggested that there are two cross-linking sites with EDC above or below 1mM.


If the symmetry breaking responsible for axion dark matter production occurs during the radiation-dominated epoch in the early Universe, then this produces large amplitude perturbations that collapse into dense objects known as axion miniclusters. The characteristic minicluster mass, M0, is set by the mass inside the horizon when axion oscillations begin. For the QCD axion M0∼10-10  M⊙, however, for an axionlike particle, M0 can approach M⊙ or higher. Using the Press-Schechter formalism we compute the mass function of halos formed by hierarchical structure formation from these seeds. We compute the concentrations and collapse times of these halos and show that they can grow to be as massive as 106M0. Within the halos, miniclusters likely remain tightly bound, and we compute their gravitational microlensing signal taking the fraction of axion dark matter collapsed into miniclusters, fMC, as a free parameter. A large value of fMC severely weakens constraints on axion scenarios from direct detection experiments. We take into account the non-Gaussian distribution of sizes of miniclusters and determine how this affects the number of microlensing events. We develop the tools to consider microlensing by an extended mass function of nonpointlike objects, and we use microlensing data to place the first observational constraints on fMC. This opens a new window for the potential discovery of the axion.


In this study, we constitute an adaptive hedging method based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD) method to extract the adaptive hedging horizon and build a time series cross-validation method for robust hedging performance estimation. Basing on the variance reduction criterion and the value-at-risk (VaR) criterion, we find that the estimation of in-sample hedging performance is inconsistent with that of the out-sample hedging performance. The EMD hedging method family exhibits superior performance on the VaR criterion compared with the minimum variance hedging method. The matching degree of the spot and futures contracts at the specific time scale is the key determinant of the hedging performance in the corresponding hedging horizon.


The Oil and Gas Industry has been facing some challenges with respect to host community expectations and needs particularly in emerging economies. The Industry also seems to grapple with issues such as the exact nature of its role towards meeting community expectations/needs and the strategy which may be adopted towards managing those needs and expectations. In some countries, the absence of consensus ad idem between the oil and gas industry operators and host communities have generated tensions which have, in many cases increased the risk portfolio of investments in the oil and gas industry. Using Nigeria's oil and gas sector as case study, this book examines Host Community/Oil Company Agreements as a tool available to the Industry to structure or restructure the Industry's community engagement policy for purposes of cultivating or enhancing strategic relationships and partnerships, community development as well as risk management for the International Oil Companies.


In this paper, we build a nonlinear two-sector DSGE model with capital accumulation, in which the Zero Lower Bound (ZLB) of interest rate and the collateral constraint are occasionally binding. We show the interaction of ZLB and the deleveraging cycle triggered by a binding collateral constraint can be a powerful mechanism in exacerbating the financial crisis as well as generating the prolonged liquidity trap and stagnation after the crisis. In particular, a binding ZLB can be triggered by capital over-accumulation, and when ZLB is binding, output is decreasing in capital stock. We also find an equilibrium does not exist when the capital stock is too high, while the existence of equilibrium can be restored by adding the adjustment cost of capital into the model. In our numerical results, we find the amplification effect of the collateral constraint is modest when the ZLB is not binding, but is quantitatively large when the ZLB is binding. In addition, with collateral constraint and ZLB, the recovery of the economy is slow since it takes longer for the borrowers to restore their net worth, and due to insufficient demand, the duration of the liquidity trap is longer. Lastly, in a society with better access to the credit market, the borrowers use higher leverage ex ante, and the average duration of ZLB is longer once the economy is hit by adverse shocks.


This study investigated performance and preference differences for three different extensible Auditory Progress Bar (APB) designs. Four durations (30 s, 60 s, 120 s, 240 s) of the three APBs (Sine, Cello, and Electronic) were used in the study. There were 105 participants who listened to all durations of a single-stimulus type and were asked to determine the length of time they had listened to the stimulus and to rate the stimuli on aesthetic quality. Participants were significantly worse at time estimation with the Electronic APB. The Sine APB was preferred significantly less than either the Cello or Electronic APBs. Regardless of the stimulus, time estimation was more variable and more accurate as the duration of the APB increased. The results indicate that although they were originally envisioned as a supplement for the visual progress bar, APBs can be effective when used alone. Further, it was found that, even within the small design space presented here, APB design can influence the performance of listeners.


Objective To explore the role of Bcl-2 and Caspase-3 in modulating apoptosis of ER-negative breast cancer cells induced by tamoxifen. Methods ER-negative breast cancer cell lines MDA-MB-231 were treated with 10.0μM tamoxifen for 12, 24, 36,48, 60 hours. The rate of cell apoptosis with or without caspase-3 inhibitor Ac-DEVD-CHO, and protein expression of Bcl-2,Bax were determined by flow cytometry, and the activity of Caspase-3 was examined with fluorophotometry. Results The expression of Bcl-2 was down-regulated, the activity of Caspase-3 and the rate of cell apoptosis were increased by TAM time-dependently, and the rate of apoptosis reached its peak at 48 hours. The expression of Bcl-2 was (negatively) correlated with activity of caspase-3. Tamoxifen, however, did not affect Bax protein expression. Ac-DEVD-CHO, a caspase-3 inhibitor, blocked the activation of caspase-3 and inhibited cell apoptosis (induced) by tamoxifen. Conclusions TAM could induce apoptosis in ER-negative breast cancer cells via (mitochondria) pathway by down-regulating Bcl-2 expression, and the activation of Caspase-3 might play an (important) role in the process of tamoxifen-induced apoptosis of ER-negative breast cancer cells.


This paper considers the perceptions of Senior Executive Service officers of the Australian Public Service on the extent to which their move to contract employment under Australian Workplace Agreements impacted on their performance and performance management. It summarises a brief selection of literature dealing with performance management and assesses the efficacy of contract employment (under AWAs) as an HR tool for managing performance in the public sector. The majority of Senior Executive Service respondents surveyed reported no perceived improvement in performance management and provided some evidence of negative impacts following their move to individual contracts under Australian Workplace Agreements. Most had little credibility in the performance appraisal process as assessments were moderated to reduce significant differentials. The majority perceived that the sanctions for poor performance were limited and that there was little reward for superior performance. The paper finds the use of AWAs as drivers of performance resulted in a weak and/or flawed system of performance appraisal from the perspective of the employees participating in it. The move to contract employment under Australian Workplace Agreements was not therefore an effective way of advancing public sector performance management in Australia. It concludes with a brief discussion of the implications of these


The influence of mexidol on the acute toxicity and electrophysiological effects of nibentan, propranolol, and verapamil was experimentally studied. It was found that mexidol potentiates the ability of propranolol and verapamil to inhibit automatism of the sinus node and suppresses the ability of all the three drugs to increase the refractory period of myocardium. It is suggested that these effects are related to the action of mexidol upon ion channels.


This study was carried out to investigate the bony structures relevant to skull of roe deer, sheep and goat. The skull of five sheep weighing 45-50 kg, three goat weighing 50-60 kg and five roe deer weighing 20-25 kg were used in this study. Macerations of the cranium were performed by the boiling method. The skull of the roe deer was notably similar to that of sheep with the presence of external lacrimal fossa, and to the goat with due to the presence of two points (lateral and medial) on the septal process and a significant fissure formed between the nasal, lacrimal, frontal and maxillary bones. In addition to these similarities, the formations which were specific to the roe deer were structures such as the number and position of the lacrimal foramen and presence of an uncertain muscular tubercle in the basilar portion of the occipital bone. In addition, the craniometric parameters specific to the roe deer's skull were determined as the zygomatic, interor- bital, neurocranium and nasal lengths.


This work presents the processes and tools that were installed and developed to validate the ARTIS software and achieve compliance of an unmanned rotorcraft testbed with corresponding standards. A brief introduction to the autonomous guidance and navigation capabilities of our unmanned aircraft is given in order to illustrate the software complexity and practical integration challenges introduced by such functionalities. Our software development process is presented which is aimed at a practical balance between exhaustive testing and the rapid integration of new features. It features a greedy integration procedure that is aimed at the preservation of existing features and performances. Automated tests drive the development of our mission planning, mission management and sensor fusion systems. New research code can be integrated such that side effects on existing systems are minimized.


OBJECTIVE
Individual unsupervised home-based exercise programs can enhance muscle strength, physical function, gait, and balance in older adults. However, the effectiveness of such programs may be limited by the lack of supervision. This study aims to verify the effectiveness of individual unsupervised home-based programs, compare the effects of individual unsupervised home-based to supervised programs, and verify the influence of supervision over individual unsupervised home-based programs on the physical function of older adults.

METHODS
A systematic literature search was performed in four electronic databases, and the trials involved randomized controlled comparing the home-based programs to supervised, control groups, or home-based + supervised evaluating the muscle strength, physical function, gait, and balance in older adults.

RESULTS
Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. The meta-analysis revealed no differences between home-based program versus supervised program in gait, mobility, and balance, revealing a trend of significance to supervised program on strength (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.27, p = .05). The analysis revealed effects in mobility (SMD = 0.40, p = .003), balance (SMD = 0.58, p = .0002), and muscle strength (SMD = 0.36, p = .02) favoring home-based program versus control group. Significant effects between home-based program versus home-based + supervised program were observed in balance (SMD = 0.74, p = .002) and muscle strength (SMD = 0.58, p = .01) in favor of home-based + supervised program.

CONCLUSION
Home-based programs effectively improve older adults' physical function compared with control groups. However, supervised programs were more effective for muscle strength.


5G and edge computing promote the development of Internet of Things (IoT). In the near future, 5G will be used as infrastructure to connect all walks of life. At the same time, numerous resource-constrained IoT devices make attacks easier and more frequent, resulting in more and more serious harm. 5G needs to provide security for the IoT it carries. 5G IoT security faces three major challenges. First, due to the heterogeneity, diversity and personalization of IoT networks, it is impossible to use a single unified detection model. Second, data in various industries exists in the form of isolated islands so it is hard to share in the light of privacy protection. Third, data island makes some industries produce too little data to train a powerful intrusion detection model. Therefore, 5G needs a personalized, distributed and effective intrusion detection system that can integrate all IoT information under the premise of protecting the privacy of each IoT data.In this paper, we propose IoTDefender, an intrusion detection framework for 5G IoT based on federated transfer learning. 5G edge computing well supports the layered and distributed structure of IoTDefender. IoTDefender carries out data aggregation by federated learning and builds customized detection models by transfer learning. It enables all IoT networks to share information without leaking privacy. Consequently, IoTDefender owns excellent generalization ability, which can highly improve the detection of unknown attacks. The experimental results demonstrate that IoTDefender is more effective (91.93% detection accuracy on average) than traditional method. Furthermore, IoTDefender produces a lower false positive rate than that of a single unified model, which means it has advantages in personalization.


This paper aims to describe the idea of the professionalization of handling the poor in Indonesia, namely through the establishment of a social worker assistant the poor. Poor Social Worker Companion who is a professional social worker was appointed assistant the poor. Professionalization companion deemed urgent. The poor handling challenge because it is more difficult. The fact is: 1) the number of poor people in Indonesia is still high; 2) the pace of decline slowed down the number of poor people; 3) There are a large number of residents are not poor are vulnerable to fall back into poverty. On the other hand, the poor management program through its joint (Kube) has not been effective enough. Recent research shows that only 40 percent Kube established in 2013 is still active when checked 30 months later. This finding is in line with the results of evaluations conducted since decades ago. This condition is alarming and needs improving the poor handling system significantly. One of the components is seen as strategic human resources. Suggested remedies are by appointment professional social workers to become a partner. The social worker assigned duties and functions facilitate the handling of the poor in a certain area within a certain time. The function of the social worker suggested the poor companion is: a) guide the community to collect data on available data the poor by name by address in its territory; b) verification and validation of data the poor; c) selecting program participants the poor handling; d) perform reference handling the poor; e) advocate for the Poor that all rights are met; f) The poor family counseling; g) make public the guidance in the handling of the Poor; h) monitoring and evaluating the progress of the Poor; i) make the case record the poor family; and h) report on the implementation of tasks. The social worker is deemed appropriate to perform this task because they are trained to help people meet their mission needs, support, knowledge, values , and skills.


In this present paper, we proposed and formulated a quantitative approach to parametric identifiability of dual HIV-parasitoid-pathogen infectivity in a novel 5-dimensional algebraic identifiability HIV dynamic model, as against popular 3-dimensional HIV/AIDS models. In this study, ordinary differential equations were explored with analysis conducted via two improved developed techniques—the method of higher-order derivatives (MHOD) and method of multiple time point (MMTP), with the later proven to be more compatible and less intensive. Identifiability function was introduced to these techniques, which led to the derivation of the model identifiability equations. The derived model consists of twelve identifiable parameters from two observable state variables (viral load and parasitoid-pathogen), as against popular six identifiable parameters from single variable; also, the minimal number of measurements required for the determination of the complete identifiable parameters was established. Analysis of the model indicated that, of the twelve parameters, ten are independently identifiable, while only the products of two pairs of the remaining parameters ( and ) are identifiable. Validation and simulations of the model outcome were examined using well-known Runge-Kutter of order of precision 4, in Mathcad surface, with each parameter viewed as unknown and results discussed in stratified trend, which simplified the sequence of magnitude of the identifiable parameters. By the result, identifiable parameters were established which were core to a 5-D dual HIV dynamic model. Therefore, the study though centered on dual HIV-pathogen infectivity, its adoption for other nonlinear dynamic models was readily achievable.


Do we need principles of the unification of our agency, our mode of acting? Immanuel Kant and Christine Korsgaard argue that the reflective structure of our mind forces us to have some conception of ourselves, others and the world—including our agency—and that it is through will and reason, and in particular principles of our agency, that we take upon ourselves to unify and test the way(s) in which we make our lives consistent. I argue that the principles suggested—the hypothetical imperative and the categorical imperative—function to unify our understanding of ourselves and others as agents as efficacious and autonomous and that the extent to which those concerned render themselves efficacious and autonomous in cosmopolitan education or elsewhere is due to the extent to which they act in accordance with and are motivated by the suggested principles and in particular the categorical one. I first discuss how the principles function to unify our agency and how the categorical imperative functions as a test of maxims for our actions, how the will is the source of our morality, and how we are forced to have practical identities. I end with some remarks on what it means to acknowledge the mentioned principles in cosmopolitan education.


A multiple choice-based National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for admission to postgraduate courses (NEET-PG) for 201 7 was conducted by the National Board of Examinations of India. It was widely reported in the media and through gazette notifications that the government is going to use this NEET examination as a licentiate examination in the near future. Medical students will be certified to practise in India only if they qualify in this examination. We discuss the pros and cons of such an end-of-term examination, its utility and educational impact besides proposing a comprehensive framework for implementing formative assessment in medical colleges.


Objective The objective of this paper is to examine the association between marital status and the risk of HIV infection in the informal settlements of Nairobi. The findings from this study will inform HIV prevention programs, particularly among poor and marginalised groups in the informal settlements. Methods Data are derived from a cross-sectional population-based survey nested in an ongoing Demographic Surveillance System (DSS) in two urban informal settlements in Nairobi city, where a total of about 60 000 individuals living 23 000 households are under surveillance. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to describe the characteristics of the sample, as well as to assess the association between marital status and risk of HIV infection. Results The HIV prevalence of respondents who were divorced, separated or widowed was 27%, among those who were married was 12%, and among those who were never married was 5%. Married respondents (OR=1.78; p value Conclusion There is need for HIV prevention interventions to adopt a more targeted approach, particularly with regard to designing and implementing programs geared towards addressing the increased risk of HIV infection among married people and those who were formerly married.


Liposuction was described in the 1920s & popularised in 1977 by Illouz. He developed smaller diameter blunt cannulas. To add safety he also developed the wet technique to reduce blood loss. Tumescent anaesthesia described by Klein in 1987 made large volume liposuction safer allowing for more refined body contouring through significantly minimising blood loss. Liposuction journey started as mechanical debulking that evolved over the last 4 decades into a refined high definition body contouring and proportioning surgery, thus making sculpturing a shape of figurine possible. To achieve such high definition body sculpting technology including Laser, and Vaser not only added safety, however, they also achieved outcomes that cannot be matched with the older methods of liposuction, under local anaesthesia. In this chapter we aspire to discuss the journey of how liposuction evolved into body contouring surgery with large volume lipo-aspirates yet more safely.


This study explores the process of becoming a data-driven learning (DDL) teacher in EFL grammar classes. An in-service teacher wholly new to the DDL approach joined and received training in it over four months. He first studied what DDL was and how it was used in language settings, going on to teach grammar to two undergraduate classes, one with DDL and the other with Grammar Translation, for comparison purposes. His overall experience of learning and teaching with these two approaches was recorded in self-reflective journals and later in interviews with the present writer. The perceptions by the two classes of the treatment they received were also surveyed to reflect the teacher's performance. The results as a whole show that the course of becoming a DDL teacher is a complex, radical and continuous series of transformations, generating new evidence in support of DDL practice.


This paper presents the hardware platform, software, and control systems developed to field the Electric Series Compliant Humanoid for Emergency Response (ESCHER), Team VALOR's Track A entry to the DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC) Finals. The design and assembly of ESCHER commenced 10 months prior to the Finals, leveraging and improving upon bipedal humanoid technologies implemented in previous research efforts. ESCHER's unique features include custom linear series elastic actuators (SEAs), a dual-axis motor controller enabling high-bandwidth impedance control of parallelly actuated joints, and a whole-body control framework supporting compliant locomotion across variable and shifting terrain. Additionally, a high-level software system designed using Robot Operating System (ROS) interfaced with the existing whole-body motion controller and integrated various open-source packages. Empirical data collected before, during, and after the DRC Finals validate ESCHER's performance in fielded environments. The paper discusses a detailed analysis of challenges encountered during the competition, along with lessons learned critical for transitioning research contributions to a fielded robot. The compliant lower body proved crucial for reliable traversal across the 61 m loose dirt course at the Finals, as well as extending compliance to the rigid upper body for safe interaction with the environment.


A 77-year-old man who
received transarterial chemoembolization
for large hepatocellular carcinomas complained of acute pain in the
upper abdomen and suddenly developed severe jaundice, anemia, and massive hematuria. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated
gas gangrene at the tumor site. Clostridium
perfringens was identified from blood samples and drainage cultures from
the liver abscess. Despite intensive treatment, the patient died 55 hours
after chemoembolization due to multiple
organ failure. When treating patients with large tumors, such as in our
case, this rare but fatal complication that causes sepsis and hemolysis with
lightning-like rapidity should be considered.


Breast cancer is a leading cause of death in women and its metastatic spread to distant organs is responsible for over 90% of these deaths. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) implicated in the metastatic process occur when cancer cells undergo cytoskeletal and phenotypic transitions that enhance motility, then penetrate into the blood circulation. While CTC dissemination has typically been considered as the spread of single cells, recent evidence suggests that collective migration results in polyclonal circulating clusters that are the main drivers of metastasis. To study circulating clusters we have developed a dual microfiltration system employing two stages of antigen-independent mechanical cell isolation. As whole blood is passed through the system, circulating clusters are trapped by the first stage while single CTCs are retained by the second stage. Characterization experiments using cell lines demonstrated a capture efficiency of 87.1% for clusters and 85.7% for single cells on their respective microfilters. This system was used to investigate circulating cells in the metastatic MMTV-PyMT syngeneic mouse breast cancer model. Both clusters and single CTCs were detected in mice with histological evidence of lung metastases (14-16 weeks old), but not in mice that had not yet developed metastatic tumors ( 50% of circulating clusters. The presence of cancer stem cells was correlated to cluster size, with smaller clusters containing a greater percentage of CD90+/CD24+ cells. Isolated clusters will be further analyzed to quantify expression levels of cancer stem cell markers in each individual constituent cell. The analysis of circulating clusters may provide crucial insight into the mechanisms of metastatic disease and provide the means to discover novel targets for therapeutic intervention. Citation Format: Ramdane Harouaka, Gabrielle Hodges, Allison David, Rishika Polasani, Spencer Freeman, Katherine Sanchez, Kaitlin Harvey, Max S. Wicha. Circulating clusters in breast cancer express cancer stem cell phenotypes [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2017; 2017 Apr 1-5; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4776. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2017-4776


Practitioners in medicine, business, political science, and other fields are increasingly aware that decisions should be personalized to each patient, customer, or voter. A given treatment (e.g. a drug or advertisement) should be administered only to those who will respond most positively, and certainly not to those who will be harmed by it. Individual-level treatment effects can be estimated with tools adapted from machine learning, but different models can yield contradictory estimates. Unlike risk prediction models, however, treatment effect models cannot be easily evaluated against each other using a held-out test set because the true treatment effect itself is never directly observed. Besides outcome prediction accuracy, several metrics that can leverage held-out data to evaluate treatment effects models have been proposed, but they are not widely used. We provide a didactic framework that elucidates the relationships between the different approaches and compare them all using a variety of simulations of both randomized and observational data. Our results show that researchers estimating heterogenous treatment effects need not limit themselves to a single model-fitting algorithm. Instead of relying on a single method, multiple models fit by a diverse set of algorithms should be evaluated against each other using an objective function learned from the validation set. The model minimizing that objective should be used for estimating the individual treatment effect for future individuals.


Anxiety has much impact on human as well as animal behaviors. For evaluation of anxiolytic drug require both clinical and biological aspect of anxiety. We review the existing experimental models of anxiety like elevated plus maze apparatus, light dark model, open field apparatus, holeborad apparatus in order to promote further understanding of neurobiological aspects of anxiety.


The increasing number of scientific publications in acoustics, in general, presents difficulties in conducting traditional literature surveys. This work explores the use of a generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) model to automate a literature survey of 116 articles on data-driven speech enhancement methods. The main objective is to evaluate the capabilities and limitations of the model in providing accurate responses to specific queries about the papers selected from a reference human-based survey. While we see great potential to automate literature surveys in acoustics, improvements are needed to address technical questions more clearly and accurately.


Objectives To describe the efficacy of convalescent plasma transfusion for COVID-19 patients. Methods Through the review of the electronic medical records of Guizhou Jiangjunshan Hospital, clinical data of 6 patients were obtained. Three of the patients used convalescent plasma therapy for the first treatment, while the other three patients were used during in the recurrence. The efficacy of convalescent plasma depends on the relief of symptoms, changes in laboratory indicators and chest imaging abnormalities. Results The PaO2 / FiO2 and lymphocyte count of patients 1, 2 and 3 treated with convalescent plasma treatment for the first treatment period were changed from abnormal to normal. The levels of inflammation markers CRP and IL-6 of the patients decreased significantly. Chest imaging examination showed that the lung lesions gradually subsided. The relapsed patients (No. 4 and No. 6), after using convalescent plasma therapy, turned negative on two consecutive throat swab tests on Day 24 and Day 3, respectively. The basic condition of patient 4 with in the recurrence was too poor, and only one round of convalescent plasma transfusion was performed, so the laryngeal swab test paper has been consistently positive so far. Conclusions Six patients with COVID-19 were treated with antivirals and systemic corticosteroids combined with appropriate rounds of convalescent plasma therapy, and their clinical conditions were effectively improved.


ABSTRACT Candida auris is an emerging pathogenic fungal species found worldwide. Since April 2016, C. auris colonization/infection cases have been found in a general hospital in Shenyang, China. The genome-based phylogenetic studies of these isolates remain undefined. In the current study, the microbiological characteristics and antifungal susceptibility of these C. auris isolates, which were collected in Shenyang during the three-year period (2016–2018), were investigated. Whole-genome sequencing was applied to investigate the genetic variation and molecular epidemiological characteristics. A total of 93 C. auris isolates, including 92 clinical isolates and 1 environmental screening isolate were identified. Among the investigated wards, the C. auris cases were the most prevalent (97.4%, 37/38) in four intensive care units (ICUs). The Shenyang isolates carrying the VF125AL mutation in the key drug-resistance gene ERG11 were mainly fluconazole resistant and formed a distinct subclade under the South African clade according to the phylogenetic and population structural analyses. In addition, the Shenyang subclade was found to be closely related to the British subclade in the aspect of genetic distance. As a conclusion, this study provides an important clue for revealing the origin of C. auris found in Shenyang and could also contribute to improve the understanding of the epidemiological characteristics of C. auris worldwide.


Sequential administration of VM 26 and CCNU has been used in France for the treatment of glioblastoma since 1973. Results have shown that this association can cause a remission lasting, on average, from seven to eight months after starting chemotherapy. It seems that, adding Adriamycin to this sequential therapy does not increase its efficiency. On the other side, dosage and the interval between cycles of chemotherapy appear to be a determining factor in the activity, but the limits are very narrow. Therapy is either ineffective or has doubtful efficiency in about one third of patients, and even when prolonged clinical remission is obtained, cessation of therapy, usually due to a persistent thrombopenia is followed by progression of the tumour in the following months. The large amount of research being made in the field of cellular kinetics and pharcacology will, hopefully, lead to improvement in results.


Aim: Anxiety reduces performance at work. Anxiety is significantly prevalent among medical staff in general, and especially operating room staff. The present study was an attempt to investigate the effect of suction-induced white noise on anxiety and hemodynamic parameters of operating room staff during cesarean section. Materials and Methods: The present study was a crossover, single-blind clinical trial on 29 scrub staff during cesarean section. The subjects were assigned once to the control group and once to the intervention group with a 10-day washout period. In the intervention group, the suction machine was left on during surgery for 3 days in a row, but in the control group, the suction machine was switched off in idle times to make sure that noise exposure time would remain below 30 min. Hemodynamic parameters of subjects were measured on the last day immediately after surgery, and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was used to measure the level of anxiety. SPSS 22 software and linear mixed model were used to analyze the collected data. Results: The control and intervention groups were not significantly different in terms of hemodynamic parameters, anxiety as well as the carryover-crossover effects (P > 0.05). A significant negative correlation was observed between anxiety score and age of the subjects (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Suction-induced white noise has no effect on anxiety and hemodynamic parameters of operating room staff. Adaptation to workplace noises can reduce the adverse effects of noise.


The antitumor activity of novel prodrugs butyric acid was examined. The in vitro effect of the compounds on induction of cytodifferentiation and on inhibition of proliferation and clonogenicity showed that (pivaloyloxy)methyl butyrate (1a) (labeled AN-9) was the most active agent. SAR's suggested that its activity stemmed from hydrolytically released butyric acid. In vivo, 1a displayed antitumor activity in B16F0 melanoma primary cancer model, manifested by a significant increase in the life span of the treated animals. Murine lung tumor burden, induced by injection of the highly metastatic melanoma cells (B16F10.9), was decreased by 1a. It also displayed a significant therapeutic activity against spontaneous metastases which were induced by 3LL Lewis lung carcinoma cells. Moreover, 1a has the advantage of low toxicity, with an acute LD50 = 1.36 +/- 0.1 g/kg (n = 5). These results suggest that 1a is a potential antineoplastic agent.


Social network size is a key feature when we explore the constructions of human social networks. Despite the disparate understanding of individuals' social networks, researchers have reached a consensus that human's social networks are hierarchically organized with different layers, which represent emotional bonds and interaction frequency. Social brain hypothesis emphasizes the significance of complex and demanding social interaction environments and assumes that the cognitive constraints may have an impact on the social network size. This paper reviews neuroimaging studies on social networks that explored the connection between individuals' social network size and neural mechanisms and finds that Social Network Index (SNI) and Social Network Questionnaires (SNQs) are the mostly-adopted measurements of one's social network size. The two assessments have subtle difference in essence as they measure the different sublayers of one's social network. The former measures the relatively outer sub-layer of one's stable social relationship, similar to the sympathy group, while the latter assesses the innermost layer—the core of one's social network, often referred to as support clique. This subtle difference is also corroborated by neuroimaging studies, as SNI-measured social network size is largely correlated with the amygdala, while SNQ-assessed social network size is closely related to both the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. The two brain regions respond to disparate degrees of social closeness, respectively. Finally, it proposes a careful choice among the measurements for specific purposes and some new approaches to assess individuals' social network size.


In nearly every modern society, patriotism, as a form of love related to one's homeland, possesses
its own specific semantic colours. This is so due to historical and cultural differences between nations.
In recent debates about the condition of patriotism in Poland as well as political disputes, patriotism is
often mentioned as, alongside with others, a civilian virtue. According to various research on public
opinions, patriotism is recognised as one of the most distinctive characteristics of the Poles (beside
religiousness and resourcefulness). It is a virtue as well as an attitude which Poles manifest in various
ways (from the so-called "football" patriotism to simple daily work solidly done with honesty
and diligence for the good of one's homeland).
This paper presents a conception of patriotism from the Catholic Social Teaching viewpoint.
This teaching, taking into account both Divine Revelation and past experiences of mankind (the socalled
"hermeneutical arch" of Moral Theology, perceives the phenomenon of patriotism in a wider
context such as nation, homeland, country and international community). The Church insists on
upbringing and education of love towards one's homeland, while distances its teaching clearly
and decisively from racial prejudice and hypernationalism (cf. Ad Gentes, 15).


Background Ultrasound (US) can anticipate joint damage better than DAS28 [1], correlates well with MRI [2] and can be of value determining persistence of EIA [3]. US scoring systems aim to standardise risk assessment. US10 risk score showed clinical utility in predicting benefit from early biologic therapy [4]. The US7 score reflects arthritis therapeutic response [5]. No study has directly compared these US scores. Objectives Compare measurement performance of US7 and US10 scores in assessing EIA. Methods 32 EIA patients were examined by 2 trained musculoskeletal US Rheumatologists. 52 DAS28 scores and US7/US10 risk assessments were completed. Inter-observer variability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Criterion validity assessed by Pearson correlation with DAS28. Results Mean age 57 (SD=14), 24/32 (75%) female, 28/32 (87.5%) anti-CCP positive, 27/32 (84%) RF positive. Inter-observer variability (ICC) for US10 and US7 were 0.57 (P<0.0001) and 0.73 (P<0.0001) respectively. DAS28 correlation with US7 (r=0.335, P=0.018) and US10 (r=0.095, P=0.514). US7 and US10 correlated with swollen joint count (r=0.499, P=0.000) and (r=0.368, P=0.006). The addition of wrist US improved DAS28 correlation with US10 (r=0.255, p=0.077).Table 1. Correlation coefficient between US7/US10 and DAS28 Risk score P value Correlation coefficient with DAS28 US7 0.018 0.335 US10 0.514 0.095 US10 with wrist 0.077 0.255 Conclusions Inter-observer variability is moderate to good with US7 and US10. US7 and US10 correlates with SJC. US7 score in comparison with US10, correlates with the DAS28. Addition of wrist US score to US10 improved correlation with DAS28. This could be a more time effective method to stratify patients if feet assessment is not feasible. References Radunovic G, Prodanovic S, Vukovic V, Milic V, Simic Pasalic K, Jablanovic D, Seric S, Milutinovic S, Gavrilov N. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2012 Jan;51(1):120–8. doi:10.1093/rheumatology/ker255. Epub 2011 Nov 8. Construct validity and reliability of ultrasound disease activity score in assessing joint inflammation in RA: comparison with DAS-28. Szkudlarek, M., Court-Payen, M., Strandberg, C., Klarlund, M., Klausen, T. and Østergaard, M. (2001), Power doppler ultrasonography for assessment of synovitis in the metacarpophalangeal joints of patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A comparison with dynamic magnetic resonance imaging. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 44: 2018–2023. Freeston JE, Wakefield RJ, Conaghan PG, Hensor EM, Stewart SP, Emery P. A diagnostic algorithm for persistence of very early inflammatory arthritis: the utility of power Doppler ultrasound when added to conventional assessment tools. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010 Feb;69(2):417–9. D. Sreerangaiah, M. Grayer, B. A. Fisher, M. Ho, S. Abraham, P. C. Taylor. Quantitative power Doppler ultrasound measures of peripheral joint synovitis in poor prognosis early rheumatoid arthritis predict radiographic progression. Rheumatology 2016;55:89_93. Arthritis & Rheumatism (Arthritis Care & Research) Vol. 61, No. 9, September 15, 2009, pp 1194–1201 DOI 10.1002/art.24646 Evaluation of a Novel 7-Joint Ultrasound Score in Daily Rheumatologic Practice: A Pilot Project M. Backhous, S. Ohrndorf, H. Kellner, J. Strunk, T. M. Backhaus, W. Hartung, H. Sattler, K. Albrecht, J. Kaufmann, K. Becker, H. Sörensen, L. Meier, G. R. Burmester, and W. A. Schmidt. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Leadership is an expansive term with many definitions and applications. Over the years, adjectives have been applied in an effort to further define and narrow its scope and application, i.e., transactional, transformational, and servant. The term authentic leadership is no different. However, what sets it apart as a field of study and method of practice is both its definition and innuendo. Defining authenticity in terms of values, ethics, and self-will delineate its meaning in terms of its application and relevance amongst contemporary theories. Furthermore, identifying it as a brand of leadership will demonstrate its value — both intrinsic and external. Authentic leadership is a generic term that connotes genuineness. That is, it conveys to the follower the leader is the real thing as compared to others. This article explores the meaning of the term authentic in terms of values and ethics and identifies it as part of a personal branding process in regard to leadership.


AIM:To investigate the inhibition of berberine(BBR) on lipopolysaccharide(LPS)induced COX-2 expression via ERK signaling cascade pathways in human peripheral blood monocytes(HPMC).METHODS:HPMC were isolated and cultured from whole blood and divided into 5 groups treated with null,LPS,LPS+BBR 25 μmol/L,LPS+BBR 50 μmol/L,LPS+BBR 100 μmol/L respectively for 30 min,6,12 and 24 h.Then monocytes were extracted for RT-PCR and westernblot analysis to examine COX-2 mRNA and protein activated expression of ERK signaling pathway.Meanwhile,ERK and inhibitor was incubated together with LPS stimulation to examine COX-2 mRNA and protein expression.RESULTS:At the four time points after treatment,the COX-2 mRNA and protein expression decreased at a low ebb at 12 h after BBR treatment(P0.05).In the group of BBR treatment at various time points(at 6,12,24 h after treatment) and three levels of dosage,ERK protein expression was inhibited significantly.At the concentration of 25 and 50 μmol/L,JNK protein expression was not inhibited significantly by BBR compared with LPS stimulation group(P0.05).Whereas with the treatment of BBR at the concentration of 100 μmol/L,JNK protein expression could be inhibited obviously compared with LPS stimulation group(P0.01).Human monocytes COX-2 mRNA and protein expression was inhibited statistically significantly while incubated with ERK and JNK pathway inhibitor,PD98059(P0.01).CONCLUSION:We conclude that BBR inhibits COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in a dose-dependent manner and ERK expression could be suppressed by BBR.BBR may inhibit COX-2 expression via ERK signaling pathway in HPMC.High concentration of BBR may inhibit COX-2 expression via JNK signaling pathway in HPMC.


Following Alfred Donné in Paris, the Austrian Joseph Berres was the second person in history to convert unique daguerreotypes into intaglio printing plates by etching them in acid and then printing them in ink on paper. Berres's experiments culminated in the booklet Phototyp nach der Erfindung des Professors Berres in Wien (1840), which is considered the first photomechanically illustrated publication. Today, Phototyp is recognized as a key work in the pioneering combination of photography and traditional printmaking as a means of disseminating visual information in the mid-nineteenth century. In this study, the four prints in the Rijksmuseum's copy of Phototyp, one of only three known remaining copies worldwide, were compared to prints found in other collections. The survey revealed that far fewer prints exist today than were originally produced. The Rijksmuseum prints were also analysed by microscopy and both X-ray and Infrared Spectroscopy. These findings were helpful in the ensuing re-creation of Berres's process using newly made daguerreotypes. In practical terms, Berres's process turned out to be far more complex to carry out than his recipes implied. Nevertheless, this endeavour resulted in a better understanding of the materials and methods involved, knowledge that may help in identifying more Berres prints in other collections in the future.


The present study investigated the output, energy and pollution nexus hypothesis in the context of India. The study used the annual time series data for the period 1970-2010. The empirical findings of the study show that there is a high pairwise correlation exist between energy consumption and economic growth. The cointegration result suggests that there is a long-run equilibrium relationship exist between energy consumption, economic growth and CO2 emissions. The vector error correction result shows a positive and significant impact of energy consumption on CO2 emission. The result also reveals that economic growth has a positive and significant impact on energy consumption. Due to 1% increase in economic growth, it will increase the energy consumption 60% at the 5% level of significance. The Toda-Yamamoto Granger causality result indicates there is unidirectional causality running from energy consumption to carbon emission and economic growth to carbon emission.


Effector CD8 T cells (CD8 Teff) are key mediators of pathogen clearance, but must migrate to the site of infection to be most effective. We previously reported that IL15 could induce chemotaxis of CD8 Teff after influenza infection, although how IL-15 signaling mediated migration, and whether this feature was specific to influenza was unclear. We reveal that IL-15 induces CD8 Teff independently of the infection from which they were derived or their state of effector differentiation. Moreover, chemotaxis to IL-15 requires signaling through CD122, but not CD132 or IL-15Rα, and is dependent on Jak1 activation of PI3K and MAPK cascades. Additionally, we show that IL-15induced migration of CD8 Teff utilizes heterotrimeric G-protein signaling, suggesting involvement of G-protein signaling downstream of the IL-15 receptor. Together, these data postulate that IL-15-driven CD8 Teff motility requires specific signaling cascades distinct from the proliferative and survival functions of IL-15.


Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is increasingly used for HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping. NGS methods have the potential for a more sensitive detection of low-abundance variants (LAV) compared to standard Sanger sequencing (SS) methods. A standardized threshold for reporting LAV that generates data comparable to those derived from SS is needed to allow for the comparability of data from laboratories using NGS and SS. Ten HIV-1 specimens were tested in ten laboratories using Illumina MiSeq-based methods. The consensus sequences for each specimen using LAV thresholds of 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% were compared to each other and to the consensus of the SS sequences (protease 4–99; reverse transcriptase 38–247). The concordance among laboratories' sequences at different thresholds was evaluated by pairwise sequence comparisons. NGS sequences generated using the 20% threshold were the most similar to the SS consensus (average 99.6% identity, range 96.1–100%), compared to 15% (99.4%, 88.5–100%), 10% (99.2%, 87.4–100%), or 5% (98.5%, 86.4–100%). The average sequence identity between laboratories using thresholds of 20%, 15%, 10%, and 5% was 99.1%, 98.7%, 98.3%, and 97.3%, respectively. Using the 20% threshold, we observed an excellent agreement between NGS and SS, but significant differences at lower thresholds. Understanding how variation in NGS methods influences sequence quality is essential for NGS-based HIV-1 drug resistance genotyping.


Juvenile fish nurseries are an essential life stage requirement for the maintenance of many fish populations. With many inshore habitats globally in decline, optimising habitat management by increasing our understanding of the relationship between juvenile fish and nursery habitats may be a prudent approach. Previous research on post–settlement snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) has suggested that structure may provide a water flow refuge, allowing snapper to access high water flow sites that will also have a high flux of their pelagic prey. We investigated this hypothesis by describing how Artificial Seagrass Units (ASUs) modified water flow while also using a multi–camera set up to quantify snapper position in relation to this water flow environment. Horizontal water flow was reduced on the down–current side of ASUs, but only at the height of the seagrass canopy. While the highest abundance of snapper did occur down–current of the ASUs, many snapper also occupied other locations or were too high in the water column to receive any refuge from water flow. The proportion of snapper within the water column was potentially driven by strategy to access zooplankton prey, being higher on the up–current side of ASUs and on flood tides. It is possible that post–settlement snapper alternate position to provide opportunities for both feeding and flow refuging. An alternative explanation relates to an observed interaction between post–settlement snapper and a predator, which demonstrated that snapper can utilise habitat structure when threatened. The nature of this relationship, and its overall importance in determining the value of nursery habitats to post–settlement snapper remains an elusive next step.


Abstract : We present the summary of our work in the TREC 2014 Web Track. We participated both the ad hoc task and risk- sensitive task and explored two entity-based approaches to evaluate the performance of leveraging entities to improve retrieval effectiveness and robustness. Our proposed approaches are based on the integration of related entities of queries and the entity model from knowledge base to the retrieval model. The first approach is called as entity-centric query expansion, in which we integrate the related entities into the original query model to perform query expansion. Documents are then retrieved based on the expanded query model. In the second approach, we leverage the publicly available Freebase annotation on ClueWeb12 as well as Freebase API to estimate the entity model. It is called Latent Entity Space (LES), in which we model the relevance between query and document in a latent space. Each dimension of the latent space is represented by an entity and the query-document relevance is estimated based on their projections to each dimension. The evaluation results on ad hoc task show that entities can indeed bring further improvements on the performance of Web document retrieval when combined with axiomatic retrieval model with semantic expansion, one of the state-of- the-art methods. Furthermore, results on risk-sensitive task demonstrate that our proposed model also have advantage on minimizing the retrieval risk.


A man in his late 70s presented to the emergency department endorsing a week of malaise. He was recently hospitalised for 2 days for new back pain and was discharged with non-opioid pain medications but continued to seek care as he felt unwell. On presentation, he was afebrile with a leukocytosis. Physical examination revealed a painful left knee with no evidence of trauma. Arthrocentesis revealed purulent fluid with elevated white blood cell consistent with septic arthritis. He was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics and underwent irrigation and synovectomy of the left knee. Aspirate and blood cultures grew Streptococcus agalactiae. Transthoracic echocardiogram showed no vegetations; however, an MRI of lumbar spine showed L2–L3 and L4–L5 osteomyelitis. He was treated with intravenous ceftriaxone for 3 weeks and then oral levofloxacin for 3 weeks, for a total 6 week course of antibiotics.


This paper addresses the following question: what is the essential difference between stochastic local search (LS) and systematic backtracking (BT) that gives LS superior sealability? One possibility is LS's lack of firm commitment to any variable assignment. Three BT algorithms are modified to have this feature by introducing randomness into the choice of backtracking variable: a forward checker for n-queens, the DSATUR graph colouring algorithm, and a Davis-Logemann-Loveland procedure for satisfiability. In each case the modified algorithm scales like LS and sometimes gives better results. It is argued that randomised backtracking is a form of local search.


Highly substituted tetrahydroimidazopyrimidine derivatives with three chiral centers have been synthesized for the first time using an organocatalytic asymmetric domino aza-Michael-Mannich reaction of α,β-unsaturated aldehydes and N-arylidene-1H-imidazol-2-amines. This efficient approach furnishes the products in good yields (42-87%) with excellent stereoselectivities (>20:1 dr, up to >99% ee).


Since the 1970s, energy saving has contributed to various elements of societies around the world for economic reasons. Recently, energy saving technology has attracted increased interest in many countries as a means to suppress global warming and to reduce the use of fossil fuels. The combustion of fossil fuels for heating produces a large amount of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is the main contributor to global greenhouse gas effects (Eastop & Croft 1990, Kemp 2007). Thus, the reduction of energy consumption for heating is a very important issue. To date, to reduce energy consumption, heat recovery technology such as pinch technology, which exchanges heat between the hot and cold streams in a process, has been applied to thermal processes (Linnhoff et al. 1979, Cerda et al. 1983, Linnhoff et al. 1983, Linnhoff 1993, Linnhoff & Eastwood 1997, Ebrahim & Kawari 2000). A simple example of this technology is the application of a feed-effluent heat exchanger in thermal processes, wherein heat is exchanged between feed (cold) and effluent (hot) streams to recirculate the self-heat of the stream (Seider et al. 2004). To exchange the heat, an additional heat source may be required, depending on the available temperature difference between two streams for heat exchange. The additional heat may be provided by the combustion of fossil fuels, leading to exergy destruction during heat production (Som & Datta 2008). In addition, many energy saving technologies recently developed are only considered on the basis of the first law of thermodynamics, i.e. energy conservation. Hence, process design methods based on these technologies are distinguished by cascading heat utilization.


High anthropogenic emissions are a global problem with clear links existing between poor air quality and premature mortality, which is of great alarm to organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO). In Europe, high emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) are a concern with concentrations plateauing over the last 15 years. Emission assessment is a key part of the UK's air quality strategy; this is done so by using tools such as the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory (NAEI), to report annual emissions to the EU to meet strict air quality regulations. Due to the high importance placed on inventories such as the NAEI, their accuracy is vital.

This thesis details the development and implementation of an airborne eddy−covariance (AEC) strategy to measure anthropogenic fluxes over highly polluted areas, and compare these findings to UK emission inventories. The Ozone Precursor Fluxes in an Urban Environment (OPFUE) campaign was run over two consecutive years, aiming at evaluating emissions from London and Southern England. NOx emissions were evaluated over London showing high emissions coming from central areas. Comparison to the NAEI found NOx emissions were being underestimation by up to a factor of 2. Refinement using the NAEI + road transport estimates scaled via road side measurements showed good improvement, suggesting the need to refine road transport estimates used in the NAEI.

A variety of VOC emissions were also measured over London and Southern England. Measured VOCs over London showed good agreement to the NAEI, and highlighted the successful reduction of VOC emissions through air quality strategies. Measured biogenic emissions of isoprene were found to be higher than air quality model estimates, which could have implications towards regional air quality due to ground level ozone formation. Overall, the described methodology allows for real-time assessment of emission inventories which is key if the UK is to see improvements in its air quality.


HF-link converters have been studied for several years but they have not been exploited as widely as DC bus based topologies. HF-Link Cycloconverter based topology offers a way to reduce power processing stages redundancy present in conventional DC-bus isolated inverters. However, Cycloconverters have been limited to medium - high power applications because of the complexity associated with their control. Nevertheless, as it is shown in this paper, an appropriated modulation technique like Multiple-Carrier PWM addresses this drawback so that the performance obtained is very similar to a two-level DC-bus inverter. In addition, the mathematical model obtained in averaged state-space and in DQ reference frame shows the system simplicity to apply various control techniques, despite the structural complexity projected by the converter.


Online privacy policies are important mechanisms for informing web site users about the level of information privacy protection afforded when visiting web sites. To date, societal mechanisms and technologies have been the focus of attempts to improve the quality and effectiveness of online privacy policies. Little attention, however, has been given to the development and use of organisational measures for this purpose. In this paper we present findings from an empirical study of online privacy policies, resulting in a set of organisational guidelines for effective online privacy policies, which extend the research base in this area and, more immediately, will assist companies concerned about the impact of privacy concerns on consumer web usage.


Symbiotic gene diversity and other measures of genetic diversity were examined in Bradyrhizobium isolates that form an effective symbiosis with peanut (Arachis hypogaea). Initially, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis using a nitrogenase (nif) gene probe was performed on 33 isolates along with one Bradyrhizobium elkanii and two Bradyrhizobium japonicum strains. Considerable diversity was observed among the RFLP patterns of many of the isolates, especially those from South America. Some isolates, however, were found to have similar nif and subsequent nod (nodulation) gene RFLP patterns, indicating symbiotic gene relatedness. With some noted exceptions, symbiotic gene relatedness correlated with relatedness based on total DNA homology and ribotyping analyses. Symbiotic gene relatedness also correlated with symbiotic effectiveness. The RFLP and DNA homology analyses indicate that bradyrhizobia effective with peanut are genetically diverse and consist of at least three different species. This diversity, however, was not particularly evident with partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Sequences obtained from the isolates were very similar to each other as well as to sequences previously reported for other Bradyrhizobium strains.


The Nahuel Huapi National Park, located at the northwest of the Andean Patagonia in Argentina, has a Mountain Refuge System composed of natural and cultural heritage assets, of heritage and landscape value. Analyzed as regards the socio-territorial identity, to reflect on its value as a cultural asset, it sets out a series of actions for citizen participation in its value as a local heritage in common and as a tourism resource for the generation of an ethical commitment to promote a balanced management. In order to make recommendations for use as a resource for local development, it examines the economic profile of the city and the statements of Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Tourism Charter. Under the current framework, we analyze the endogenous factors and encourages the implementation of a Management Plan, -to be considered in a Territorial Local Development Plan- which embraces the appropriation of this heritage and to provide environmental transfer tools through education and architecture, pondering its dissemination to all users of information. This particular system and the Circuit of the Four Shelters, is promoted as a living model of transfer of good practices in sustainable tourism and local development factor, considering the mechanism to rationally manage natural capital and the local heritage, to so that the community can continue to benefit from the goods and services of this ecosystem in a rational and enduring way


This paper reviews and examines the language used in literature that describes the educational and therapeutic use of microcomputers with people who have special needs. In the language of special needs computing two perspectives are identified. One perspective focuses on the microcomputer technology while the other focuses on the microcomputer user. While the language of both perspectives acknowledges the value of microcomputers, each perspective moves towards an acknowledgement that microcomputer use needs to be placed in an environmental context. This move in both language sets reflects an increasing focus on the potential barriers to microcomputer use.


Local community detection aims to find a cluster of nodes by exploring a small region of the network. Local community detection methods are faster than traditional global community detection methods because their runtime does not depend on the size of the entire network. However, most existing methods do not take the higher-order connectivity patterns crucial to the network into consideration. In this paper, we develop a new Local Community Detection method based on network Motif (LCD-Motif) which incorporates the higher-order network information. LCD-Motif adopts the local expansion of a seed set to identify the local community with minimal motif conductance, representing a generalization of the conductance metric for network motifs. In contrast to PageRank-like diffusion methods, LCD-Motif finds the community by seeking a sparse vector in the span of the local spectra, such that the seeds are in its support vector. We evaluate our approach using real-world datasets across various domains and synthetic networks. The experimental results show that LCD-Motif can achieve a higher performance than state-of-the-art methods.


Cotton was treated with β-cyclodextrin via a crosslinker 1, 2, 3, 4, butane tetracarboxylic acid. β-cyclodextrin attached cotton and plain cotton was treated with the antimicrobial agent Chlorhexidine acetate. The difference in amount of Chlorhexidine acetate loaded onto the two types of fabrics for same application concentrations was noted. These two types of fabrics were then tested for antibacterial performance. The antibacterial activity was tested according to the JIS L 1902 standard using the ATCC 11229 E.coli bacteria. Antibacterial tests indicated slow release of Chlorhexidine acetate (CHXA) from β-cyclodextrins attached cotton in comparison with the rapid release of CHXA from plain cotton. This property of slow release in the former has applications wound dressings.


We discuss a string-theory-derived mechanism for localized gravity, which produces a deviation from Newton's law of gravitation at cosmological distances. This mechanism can be realized for general non-compact Calabi-Yau manifolds, orbifolds and orientifolds. After discussing the cross-over scale and the thickness in these models we show that the localized higher derivative terms can be safely neglected at observable distances. We conclude by some observations on the massless open string spectrum for the orientifold models.


A novel sulfonated polytriazine (SP) is synthesized by the condensation polymerization reaction of 2-(4,6-dichloro-1,3,5-triazin-2-ylamino)benzene-1,4-disulfonic acid (Compound I) and 1,4-diaminobenzene. The structure of SP is characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, 1H-NMR, and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The flocculation performances for the cationic dyes are evaluated. The experimental results show that SP can efficiently remove the color of wastewater containing cationic dyes. The rates of color removal from C.I. Basic red 18 and C.I. Basic blue 9 reach as high as 99.6% and 98.5%, respectively. The synthesized SP shows high adsorption capacities of 1719 and 1988 mg/g for C.I. Basic blue 9 and C.I. Basic red 18, respectively. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 39669.


Voice over IP services have undergone a large-scale deployment thanks to the development of high-speed broadband access and the standardization of dedicated signaling protocols. They offer new opportunities, in particular in the context of peer-to-peer networks. However they are exposed to multiple security attacks due to a lower confinement in comparison to traditional networks. Protection mechanisms are available, but may significantly impact the service performance. We propose in this paper a risk management strategy for dynamically adapting the exposure of P2PSIP networks. We describe the underlying mechanisms for mitigating risks based on a portfolio of countermeasures. We also detail the mathematical modeling which supports our solution based on the analysis of a case study. Finally we quantify the benefits and limits of this approach through an extensive set of experiments performed with the OMNET++ simulator.


Casual work, both intermittent and on-call, contributes to labour market flexibility and is therefore increasingly used across Europe. In some countries, practices go beyond the use of casual employment contracts to include other types of contracts and forms of self-employment. While it offers some advantages for both employers and workers, it is often discussed by policymakers at EU and national levels due to the observed negative consequences it has for some workers. Impacts include economic insecurity and unpredictability of working time, which in turn affect workers' health, well-being and social security. From a labour market perspective, casual work raises concerns about decent social inclusion of vulnerable groups, labour market segmentation and more general trends towards fragmentation of work and brain drain. Some policy responses have already been implemented to tackle these issues; further policy pointers are flagged in the report.


The International System of Units (SI) is supposed to be coherent. That is, when a combination of units is replaced by an equivalent unit, there is no additional numerical factor. Here we consider dimensionless units as defined in the SI, e.g. angular units like radians or steradians and counting units like radioactive decays or molecules. We show that an incoherence may arise when different units of this type are replaced by a single dimensionless unit, the unit 'one', and suggest how to properly include such units into the SI in order to remove the incoherence. In particular, we argue that the radian is the appropriate coherent unit for angles and that hertz is not a coherent unit in the SI. We also discuss how including angular and counting units affects the fundamental constants.


This paper reports the coverage, compliance and other operational issues of mass drug administration (MDA) of diethylcarbamazine and albendazole under a programme to eliminate lymphatic filariasis (LF) in Orissa state of India. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to collect data from 90 villages and nine urban areas of four districts of Orissa, India. In Orissa, 67% of people older than 2 years had received the drugs during MDA and 42% had consumed them. About 25% of people had not taken the tablets although they received them. Urban areas recorded lower rates than rural areas. The paper discusses some policy/health system‐, community‐ and drug‐related issues that influenced coverage and compliance of MDA. It is essential to improve compliance in future rounds of MDA to achieve targets of control and eventual elimination of LF in a reasonable time frame.


A wave‐optical simulation of the oblique HF radio field is carried out by means of the multiple phase screen (MPS) technique which is frequently used for study of atmospheric effects on the propagation of electromagnetic waves. Contrary to previous studies on ionospheric HF radio propagation, the simulation is carried out for a cone of HF radio waves transmitted with elevation angles 0‐35° from a point source at the ground. The ionospheric phase screens are approximately orthogonal to the Earth's surface, and the curvature of the Earth is considered. The HF radio field is determined from the surface to the topside ionosphere in two dimensions (x,z) by using ionospheric phase path screens with a z‐resolution of 10 m and a screen spacing of 0.5 km in x‐direction. Reflection of radio waves at the Earth's surface is implemented for the MPS simulation by means of an artificial decrease of the refractive index at heights below the surface (surface acts like an ionospheric layer in this rough approximation). The results are checked by means of ray tracing. The wave‐optical simulation is applied for description of focusing and defocusing of oblique HF radio waves around the main focus in the F1‐region and along the caustics where radio scintillations of high spatial frequencies are found due to interference and diffraction effects. One example is presented for the impact of a sporadic E layer on the HF radio field. Angular spectra of received radio signals are calculated at different locations of the HF radio field.


This article outlines the design of an open computer system which relies on distributed computing for the collection and storage of data from very large samples. The purpose of the system is to provide a base of reliable data for assessing the impact of technology on the delivery of educational materials. The system consists of four main components: (a) an open instrument (an instructor's form) which generates student forms, (b) an E-Mail filtering agent, (c) a client/server database, and (d) a Web interface. Data are input directly by end users or as a byproduct of end users' interaction with the system. The second and third components, taken together, constitute the data gathering section of the system. This data gathering agent relies upon several devices in order to guarantee data integrity and security: (a) an E-Mail receipt sent to the instructor, (b) an access code, (c) an expiration date, and (d) confirmation of information before submission.


In teleoperated Robot-Assisted Minimally-Invasive Surgery (RAMIS), a surgeon controls the movements of instruments inside the patient's body via a pair of robotic joysticks. RAMIS has transformed many surgical disciplines, but its full potential is still to be realized. In this chapter we propose a pathway towards overcoming several bottlenecks that are related to transparency and stability of the teleoperation channels that mediate RAMIS. We describe the traditional system centered and the more recent human-centred approaches to teleoperation, and the special considerations for RAMIS as an application of teleoperation. However, the human-centered approach is still one sided view focusing on the surgeon but neglecting the learning capabilities of robotic systems. Hence, we consider a more general idea of physical human-robot orchestration with coevolution of mutual internal representations – of the human and the robot, and discuss it in comparison to human-human collaboration over teleoperated channels.