The learning strategy is one of the important components in Islamic education learning. In embedding religious values, a competitive learning strategy is needed so that the objectives of Islamic Education can be realized. SMP Alam Banyuwangi Islamic School is one of the education institutions that apply a special system in learning with a boarding school approach. Through a philosophical approach, this research focuses on uncovering the types of learning strategies at SMP Alam Banyuwangi Islamic School and their implementation in learning in the context of cultivating religious values. The researcher chooses the type of qualitative research in presenting the data according to the research focus with historical, philosophical and theological approaches descriptively. Based on the data and analysis in this research, it can be concluded that Islamic education learning strategy in SMP Alam Banyuwangi Islamic School uses a Contextual Teaching Learning (CTL) approach based on multiple intelligence with the category of student-centered learning strategies (Student Center Strategies). In addition, in the process, the implementation of Islamic education learning strategy at SMP Alam Banyuwangi Islamic School is actualized in three stages of learning. They are: pre instructional in the form of a learning design formatted in the RPP PAI material, vision, and mission of SMP Alam Bnyuwangi Islamic School; learning activities use the actualized R.U.P.E system with several activity formats; and the evaluation also uses the R.U.P.E system, whose assessment accumulates all learning activities that have been designed at SMP Alam Banyuwangi Islamic School.


The awareness of the environmental impact of buildings concerning their CO2 emissions, their energy and resource consumption has raised the challenges on building design, construction and operation. Building service systems are among the main contributors to building related emissions. Their consideration already in design is therefore of growing importance. Distributed service systems represent a new paradigm towards the supply of a building with energy and matter. Being small, efficient and networked, they can be distributed within the building fabric to allow an efficiently supply of the building space. Their employment, however, affects the spatial layout, construction and resulting building performance. In order to capture the resulting complex dependencies, a strategy to integrate such systems into the architectural design process is necessary. In this work a design process is proposed, that integrates distributed service systems into building design, dissolving the classical divide between architectural design and service systems layout. Digital modelling and computational methods are employed to create and analyse design solutions, visualize performance criteria and provide the relevant data for the intended digital fabrication process. The process is exemplified using a joint university-industry case study project focusing on parametric façade modules, developed in a seamless digital process from concept to fabrication.


Framing of the Muslims and Islam has been a debatable/is a contentious area of interest for researchers. This study is designed to analyze the approach of the Australian press towards the Muslims and Islam when it covers the terrorist incidents in Australia and in other part of the world, especially in the western countries. The news related to terrorist incidents and activities published during a six-month timeframe, that is, from October 2016 to March 2017, in two popular newspapers namely The Daily Telegraph (leaning towards the Liberal Party) and The Courier Mail (right-centered newspaper in its nature) was thoroughly analyzed. The major objective was to know how these newspapers frame the Muslims and Islam in their news contents when the issue of terrorism is under discussion. Despite the different political leanings of the selected newspapers, their approach towards the Muslims and Islam was found to be similar as both the dailies framed the terrorism related stories in a way to associate the Muslims and Islam with terrorism.


Peracetic acid (PAA) disinfectants are effective against a wide range of pathogenic microorganisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Several studies have shown the efficacy of PAA against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2); however, its efficacy in SARS-CoV-2 variants and the molecular mechanism of action of PAA against SARS-CoV-2 have not been investigated. SARS-CoV-2 infection depends on the recognition and binding of the cell receptor angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) via the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. Here, we demonstrated that PAA effectively suppressed pseudotyped virus infection in the Wuhan type and variants, including Delta and Omicron. Similarly, PAA reduced the authentic viral load of SARS-CoV-2. Computational analysis suggested that the hydroxyl radicals produced by PAA cleave the disulfide bridges in the RBD. Additionally, the PAA treatment decreased the abundance of the Wuhan- and variant-type spike proteins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay showed direct inhibition of RBD-ACE2 interactions by PAA. In conclusion, the PAA treatment suppressed SARS-CoV-2 infection, which was dependent on the inhibition of the interaction between the spike RBD and ACE2 by inducing spike protein destabilization. Our findings provide evidence of a potent disinfection strategy against SARS-CoV-2.


A total of 440 day-old male Arbor Acre broiler chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments with 11 replicates per treatment at 10 birds per replicate pen. The composition of dietary treatments were as follows: 1) Treatment 1 - 100% corn; 2) Treatment 2 - 100% sorghum; c) Treatment 3 - 50% sorghum and 50% corn; and d) Treatment 4 -100% sorghum plus pigment. Two growth periods were observed,- starter period (1-21 days) and grower period (22-42 days), and the following parameters were determined: body weight gain, feed conversion, mortality and livability rate, carcass evaluation (carcass yield and weight) and economic analysis. The results showed no significant differences in terms of liveweight, weight gain , feed consumption , carcass yield and weight , mortality and livability rate in sorghum- and corn-based diets. In feed conversion, however, a slight mean difference of 0.084 % was observed (P<0.05) in broilers fed with sorghum-based diet. All parameters indicated positive results although only the difference in FCR proved to be significant (P<0.05). This means that sorghum has a similar nutritive value to corn. It can replace corn as the principal source of energy totally or partially and it can be well utilized by broilers. Sorghum is the cheapest source of energy at the prevailing price in terms of feed cost. And the price of sorghum and other feed grains relative to the resulting meat produce influence the total amount of grain fed. Addition of pigment to the diet, however, increased feed cost.


Purpose of review The majority of men treated for localized prostate cancer are cured of their disease. As a result, it is important to discuss long-term quality of life (QoL) expectations when counseling patients regarding treatment options. The varying QoL outcomes for radical prostatectomy, external beam radiotherapy, brachytherapy, and cryotherapy will be reviewed. Recent findings Robotic and radical prostatectomy has similar outcomes with significant initial worsening of urinary continence and sexual function. External beam radiation has less impact on continence and sexual function but noteworthy bowel toxicity. Brachytherapy results in the most irritative urinary symptoms, with decreased sexual and bowel QoL as well. Cryotherapy greatly reduces sexual function. Summary Every patient has unique pretreatment variables, priorities, and preferences. It is crucial to fully explain the range of oncologic and QoL implications when counseling patients regarding treatment for localized prostate cancer.


Biofunctionalization strategies have been developed to improve small-diameter vascular grafts. However, a fully successful coating featuring antithrombogenic properties while allowing for endothelialization has not been achieved yet. In this report, we explored the combination of low-fouling polyethylene glycol (PEG) and adhesion peptides, namely, RGD, YIGSR, and REDV, grafted on top of polyvinylamine (PVAm)-coated polyester. The peptides were grafted over a wide range of density (ca. 20-2000 pmol/cm(2)) on top of a dense PEG underlayer. The coating performances were assessed through HUVEC adhesion, platelet attachment, and protein adsorption, which were all drastically diminished on PEG-coated samples. RGD exhibited the expected high adhesive properties, toward both HUVEC and platelets. REDV had no effect neither on platelet attachment, as expected, nor on HUVEC adhesion, in contrast with previous reports. YIGSR was the most promising sequence even though its combination with other agents should be explored to further decrease thrombogenicity for vascular graft applications.


By field trials, the canopy hyperspectral reflectance and chlorophyll content (SPAD) for winter wheat during 2010 and 2011 growth periods were measured by the ASD portable spectrometer and portable chlorophyll meter SPAD-502, respectively. The canopy spectral characteristics of different SPAD values were analyzed in different growth periods. The winter wheat SPAD estimation models based on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), ratio vegetation index (RVI) and wavelet energy coefficients were established in different growth periods. The results showed that green peak and red valley characteristics became more and more obvious with the increase of the SPAD. The SPAD estimation models based on NDVI performed better at the regreening stage, elongation stage, heading stage and filling stage with determination coefficients (R2) being 0.7957, 0.8096, 0.7557 and 0.5033, respectively. The winter wheat SPAD estimation models based on wavelet energy coefficients could greatly improve the SPAD estimation accuracy, with regression determination coefficients (R2) of the PVC estimation models based on high frequency energy coefficient and low frequency energy coefficient being 0.9168, 0.9154, 0.8802 and 0.9087 at the regreening stage, elongation stage, heading stage and filling stage, respectively.


This thesis explores the experiences and meanings that are attributed to kinship care by caregivers, young people of African descent, and social workers. It examined the meanings each group attached to kinship care and the risk and resilience they saw within it. The research was framed within the culturally distinctive theoretical framework of the Afrocentric paradigm which encapsulates cultural values. A qualitative approach was adopted for data collection, using interviews, and aspects of Grounded Theory for data analysis. The findings show that kinship care is a survival strategy that has historical significance for people of African descent, because it is linked to a tradition of help and a broad base of support. The study found that while local authorities were formally placing children with their relatives, there was a distinct lack of policy development to support kinship care as a welfare service. The absence of clearly identified support structures, tools for assessment, training and monitoring increased the risk factors for children who were placed in kinship care. Resilience was transferred through the Afrocentric cultural values, a key factor that led to family preservation and placement stability. The study concluded that there is an urgent need to reframe policy and practice.


This paper presents three parallel procedures implemented in a shared-memory multiprocessor to generate the patterns that allow the testing of digital circuits. The implementation of these procedures in a multiprocessor uses the system memory better than in a distributed-memory multicomputer, since it is not necessary to store the circuit structure in the local memory of each processor, besides other common structures. The parallel test generation procedures are based on a new sequential algorithm which mixes both the Boolean difference and digital spectral techniques. It is thus different from other methods proposed that deal with the parallelization of test generation algorithms that carry out an implicit enumeration of the input pattern space. The first procedure distributes the set of faults using a backtracking procedure starting from a primary output and allocating a similar number of lines to each processor. The second procedure distributes the set of faults among the processors taking into account the distance from each line to its nearest primary output; it then applies the algorithm to generate the test pattern with some modifications. The third procedure uses a circuit partitioning procedure which allows similar sized parts of the circuit to be assigned to each processor while communications between processors are minimized. The experimental results obtained when the procedures are applied to the usual benchmark circuits (the ISCAS set) show figures for speedup better than in a multicomputer, although fewer processors are used. Copyright  2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Peptide drugs face several barriers to oral delivery, including enzymatic degradation in the gastrointestinal tract and low membrane permeability. Importantly, the direct interaction between various biorelevant colloids (i.e., bile salt micelles and bile salt-phospholipid mixed micelles) present in the aqueous gastrointestinal environment and peptide drug molecules has not been studied. In this work, we systematically characterized interactions between a water-soluble model peptide drug, octreotide, and a range of physiologically relevant bile salts in solution. Octreotide membrane flux in pure bile salt solutions and commercially available biorelevant media, i.e., fasted state simulated intestinal fluid (FaSSIF) and fed state simulated intestinal fluid (FeSSIF), was evaluated using a side-by-side diffusion cell equipped with a cellulose dialysis membrane. All seven micellar bile salt solutions as well as FaSSIF and FeSSIF decreased octreotide membrane flux, and dihydroxy bile salts were found to have a much larger effect than trihydroxy bile salts. An inverse relationship between octreotide membrane flux and pancreatic enzymatic stability was also observed; bile salt micelles and bile salt-phospholipid mixed micelles provided a protective effect toward enzymatic degradation and prolonged octreotide half-life in vitro. Diffusion ordered nuclear magnetic resonance (DOSY NMR) spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used as complementary experimental techniques to confirm peptide-micelle interactions in solution. Experiments were also performed using desmopressin as a second model peptide drug; desmopressin interacted with bile salts in solution, albeit to a lower extent relative to octreotide. The findings described herein demonstrate that amphiphilic, water-soluble peptide drugs do interact with bile salts and phospholipids in solution, with an effect on peptide membrane flux and enzymatic stability. Correspondingly, oral peptide drug absorption and bioavailability may be impacted.


Abstract: Software development is a knowledge-intensive activity and its success depends heavily on the developers' knowledge and experience. Knowledge is considered as the main competitive asset of the organization. One of the objectives of knowledge management (KM) is to improve productivity by effective knowledge sharing and transfer. Agile software development has put a new focus on the question of how to share knowledge among members of software development teams. In contrast to heavy-weight, document-centric approaches, agile approaches rely on face-to-face communication for knowledge transfer. Pair programming is one such practice with the idea to share the work specific knowledge across the development teams through pair rotation. This paper introduces work on developing a framework for capturing the tacit knowledge shared among the practitioners of agile software development methodologies. This approach facilitates the organizational learning process by capturing and maintaining the necessary knowledge.


These Ecole polytechnique federale de Lausanne EPFL, n° 1508 (1996)Laboratoire d'electronique industrielle Reference doi:10.5075/epfl-thesis-1508Print copy in library catalog Record created on 2005-03-16, modified on 2017-05-10


An old quarry, 2,5 ha in size near Livingstone in southern Zambia was kill- and live-trapped between September 1974 and December 1976 to determine ecological relations among rodent species inhabiting it. Seven species were found to comprise the old quarry rodent community. Praomys natalensis was by far the most common although Saccostomus campestris and Lemniscomys griselda were also abundant. Four species (Tatera leucogaster, Steatomys pratensis, Mus minutoides and Aethomys chrysophilus were rare. Food and micro-habitat preferences of S. campestris and P. natalensis appeared similar. Seasonal fluctuations characterized the P. natalensis population while L Griselda was absent from the site during the latter part of the rainy season and early in the dry season. Pre-weaning survival of P. natalensis was very low, particularly early in the breeding season. The survival of the trappable population was good but declined following a burn at the study site. P. natalensis recruited into the population from May-July, lost between 20 and 35% of their body mass during the August-October period. Body mass increased as rodents attained sexual maturity early in the rainy season.


Aim: Painful diabetic polyneuropathy is one of the most common disabling problems worldwide. We aimed to determine if a perineural injection of hypertonic saline compared with foot acupoints decreased the neuropathic pain score in patients with diabetes. Patients & methods/materials: Patients were assigned to receive either perineural or acupoints injection of hypertonic saline 5% in their feet for three weekly sessions. Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire for neuropathic pain was assessed. Results: Both groups observed a significant reduction of the DN4 score throughout 8 weeks of follow-up. Conclusion: Both perineural and acupoints hypertonic saline injections of the foot could improve neuropathic pain in patients with diabetes.


Pancreatic stone protein/reg protein (PSP/reg) is a secretory pancreatic protein of hitherto unknown function. It is precursor to a spontaneously precipitating peptide called pancreatic thread protein, which is found in protein plugs within the pancreatic ductal system. Increasing PSP/reg concentrations in pancreatic juice might augment the risk of intraductal plug formation and therefore be a condition predisposing to chronic pancreatitis. Malnutrition is associated with a high incidence of chronic pancreatitis in tropical countries. In a diet study with rats, we tested the hypothesis that protein malnutrition leads to increased PSP/reg concentrations in pancreatic juice. A highly sensitive and reliable enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for rat PSP/reg was newly established. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were allocated to three nearly isocaloric experimental diets, which contained 0, 45, or 82% casein, respectively, or to a control diet (22% casein). We evaluated PSP/reg expression under these four dietary conditions on the RNA and on the protein level, performing a time-course study over a period of 28 days. Our results demonstrate that PSP/reg expression is not increased because of a protein-deficient diet if investigated under steady-state conditions. After a temporary increase in PSP/reg levels due to a carbohydrate-deficient high-protein diet, we could not find signs of a diet-dependent regulation of this protein. The regulation of PSP/reg thus differs from that of most other pancreatic secretory proteins. Our findings contradict earlier reports that had drawn conclusions based solely on messenger RNA levels.


Purpose The objective of this study was to compare epidemiology, causative pathogens, outcome, and levels of laboratory markers of inflammation of community-onset (i.e. community-acquired and healthcare-associated) and hospital-acquired bloodstream infection (BSI) in South-East Austria. Methods In this prospective cohort study, 672 patients fulfilling criteria of systemic inflammatory response syndrome with positive peripheral blood cultures (277 community-onset [192 community-acquired, 85 healthcare-associated BSI], 395 hospital-acquired) were enrolled at the Medical University of Graz, Austria from 2011 throughout 2012. Clinical, microbiological, demographic as well as outcome and laboratory data was collected. Results Escherichia coli followed by Staphylococcus aureus were the most frequently isolated pathogens. While Streptococcus spp. and Escherichia coli were isolated more frequently in patients with community-onset BSI, Enterococcus spp., Candida spp., Pseudomonas spp., Enterobacter spp., and coagulase-negative staphylococci were isolated more frequently among those with hospital-acquired BSI. With regard to the outcome, 30-day (82/395 vs. 31/277; p = 0.001) and 90-day mortality (106/395 vs. 35/277; p<0.001) was significantly higher among patients with hospital-acquired BSI even though these patients were significantly younger. Also, hospital-acquired BSI remained a significant predictor of mortality in multivariable analysis. At the time the blood cultures were drawn, patients with community-onset BSI had significantly higher leukocyte counts, neutrophil-leucocyte ratios as well as C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, interleukin-6 and serum creatinine levels when compared to those with hospital-acquired BSI. Patients with healthcare-associated BSI presented with significantly higher PCT and creatinine levels than those with community-acquired BSI. Conclusions Hospital-acquired BSI was associated with significantly higher 30- and 90-day mortality rates. Hospital-acquired BSI therefore poses an important target for the most aggressive strategies for prevention and infection control.


We develop and measure a 8:1 multiplexer in a CMOS 0.18/spl mu/m process. We design the hybrid multiplexer based on a prior detailed performance evaluation both of CMOS static and current mode logic circuits, and build a hybrid structure. The fabricated chip operates at up to 6.4 Gbps with power consumption of 84mW.


Characteristics of the Franz-Keldysh effect were theoretically analyzed by taking into account electronic intraband relaxation. Theoretical analysis of optical absorption was performed basing on the density matrix formalism with the help of a stochastic model to include the intraband relaxation. The absorption tails observed in experiments were well explained by this theoretical analysis, together with the Franz-Keldysh effect itself.


UNLABELLED
AIM of the study was to examine the association between family socio-economic status, local area problems and prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity in Polish 15-year-olds.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
data from HBSC (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children) surveys, carried out in Poland in 2006 in representative sample of adolescents mean aged 15.7 (N = 2287) was used. An international standard questionnaire has been chosen as an instrument for data collection. Three indicators of socio-economic status (SES) were developed by researchers in HBSC study: FAS (Family Affluence Scale), PFW (Perceived Family Wealth) and LAP (Local Area Problems). Prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity was estimated on the base of BMI national standards and WHO criteria. Comparative analyses were done by chi2 test and multivariate logistic regression models were used.

RESULTS
the prevalence of overweight and obesity was higher in boys (12.9%) than in girls (8.7%, p < 0.001) and almost in the same frequency in urban and rural areas. Underweight was indicated in 4.4% 15-year-olds, more frequently in girls and in urban adolescents. Most of boys with overweight and obesity were from poor families by using FAS, especially in rural area (15%), and girls from poor families by using PFW (15.5%, p = 0.05). Gender and LAP were the strongest predictors of overweight and obesity. Underweight occurred more frequently in adolescents from rich families than from poor ones (for girls p = 0.023), in urban inhabitants and in the areas, where more local problems were observed.

CONCLUSIONS
Site of domicile is the differentiation's factor for underweight only, masculine gender is the independent predictor for overweight and obesity and status of local area is the only factor which has an effect on both underweight and overweight and obesity occurrence


Due to the concern on the availability of recoverable fossil fuel reserves and the environmental problems caused by the use those fossil fuels, considerable attention has been given to biodiesel production as an alternative to petrodiesel. Biodiesel is an ecofriendly, alternative diesel fuel prepared from domestic renewable resources i.e. produced from vegetable oils and animal fats. It is a renewable source of energy seems to be an ideal solution for global energy demands including India as well. The general way to produce biodiesel fuel is by transesterification of vegetable oil with methanol in the presence of either alkaline or strong acid catalysts. Transesterification reaction is quite sensitive to various parameters. An ideal transesterification reaction differs on the basis of variables such as fatty acid composition and the free fatty acid content of the oil. Other variables include reaction temperature, ratio of alcohol to vegetable oil, catalyst, mixing intensity, purity of reactants. This review paper describes the chemical composition of vegetable oils, fuel properties vegetable oils and biodiesel, transesterification process, the most important variables that influence the transesterification reaction, environmental consideration and economic feasibility of biodiesel.


The effect of disorderness for the propagation of stable combustion waves in a two-dimensional discrete adiabatic system are studied by considering two systems, namely, (i) periodic and (ii) disorder. The discrete periodic system is modeled by regular arrangement of burnt and unburnt point heat sources. In contrast, the discrete disordered system is modeled by the concatenation of regular burnt and randomly distributed unburnt heat sources. Four different kinds of discrete disordered systems (S1, S2, S3, and S4) are modeled by varying the joint frequency count of unburnt heat sources without changing the domain size of the system. Results show that the disordered structure of the discrete system plays a crucial role in the combustion dynamics, shape of the combustion wave, and it affects the propagation of stable combustion waves with the manifestation of sparse and chaotic finger patterns. Quantitative analysis performed for the width and roughness of combustion front show that the disordered structure and ignition temperature (ε) of the discrete system plays a crucial role. The burn rates of discrete system are sensitive to change in structure of the system and ε. It is observed that the burn rates obtained for the discrete disordered system is always less than that of burn rates of the discrete periodic system. The burn rates calculated for the present model are compared with the available experimental data on combustion of thermite systems.


In mutualisms, each interacting species obtains resources from its partner that it would obtain less efficiently if alone, and so derives a net fitness benefit. In exchange for shelter (domatia) and food, mutualistic plant-ants protect their host myrmecophytes from herbivores, encroaching vines and fungal pathogens. Although selective filters enable myrmecophytes to host those ant species most favorable to their fitness, some insects can by-pass these filters, exploiting the rewards supplied whilst providing nothing in return. This is the case in French Guiana for Cecropia obtusa (Cecropiaceae) as Pseudocabima guianalis caterpillars (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) can colonize saplings before the installation of their mutualistic Azteca ants. The caterpillars shelter in the domatia and feed on food bodies (FBs) whose production increases as a result. They delay colonization by ants by weaving a silk shield above the youngest trichilium, where the FBs are produced, blocking access to them. This probable temporal priority effect also allows female moths to lay new eggs on trees that already shelter caterpillars, and so to occupy the niche longer and exploit Cecropia resources before colonization by ants. However, once incipient ant colonies are able to develop, they prevent further colonization by the caterpillars. Although no higher herbivory rates were noted, these caterpillars are ineffective in protecting their host trees from a pathogenic fungus, Fusarium moniliforme (Deuteromycetes), that develops on the trichilium in the absence of mutualistic ants. Therefore, the Cecropia treelets can be parasitized by two often overlooked species: the caterpillars that shelter in the domatia and feed on FBs, delaying colonization by mutualistic ants, and the fungal pathogen that develops on old trichilia. The cost of greater FB production plus the presence of the pathogenic fungus likely affect tree growth.


Relying on the distribution of noncentral multivariate F variates, we investigate the outage probability and spectrum efficiency performance of cellular systems with smart antennas. We consider interference-limited systems in which the number of interferers exceeds or is equal to the number of antenna elements, and we present closed-form expressions when the desired signal is subject to Rician-type fading and interfering signals exhibit Rayleigh-, or, more general Nakagami-type fading. When applicable, these new expressions are compared to those previously reported in the literature dealing with the performance of cellular systems without smart antenna capabilities and the performance of cellular systems with optimum combining when both the desired and interfering signals are subject to Rayleigh-type fading. Corresponding numerical results and plots are also provided and discussed.


Objectives: To describe the nature and extent of prehospital doctor activity in an area of the West Midlands by review of group email. To explore the use of email as a means of data collection among a group of prehospital doctors. Methods: A retrospective review of data collected by a prehospital organisation's email based internet group. Results: Nearly half of prehospital doctor calls were to road traffic accidents and nearly half of these were "serious". Road traffic accidents involving pedestrians, trees, and motorcycles often resulted in fatalities. Doctors frequently performed medical interventions at scene. Midazolam and ketamine were administered commonly; the indications for their use varied. At two cases on scene anaesthesia was maintained for over an hour with ketamine. Conclusions: There remains a role for prehospital doctors. Email provides a very useful medium to share information and facilitate audit among a group of doctors who do not meet on a regular basis or work in the same institution. A computerised proforma to be filled by doctors after each prehospital call is proposed in an attempt to standardise and gather information for future audit and discussion.


Integrated on-chip coplanar waveguides (CPWs) can be used as integrated dielectric sensors for chemical and physical material analyses. The experimentally estimated dielectric properties can vary depending on the measurement technique; physical characteristics, such as the dimensions of the transmission line; and the length of the test material. A critical component in the design of these systems involves the careful design of chip CPW dimensions in order to achieve acceptable accuracy. Minimizing CPW dimensions is important for medical applications where the size of the chip is a critical parameter. This paper presents the following: 1) the methods to estimate dielectric properties from CPW measurements; 2) the effect of the dimensions of the CPW sensor and the properties of test materials on the estimation of the complex permittivity; and 3) the measured dielectric properties in the 1-30-GHz range to verify the performance of the proposed system. The presented results highlight the importance of the careful consideration of the length of the CPW, the thickness of the metal layer, and the materials' thicknesses and lengths when designing a CPW for integrated on-chip sensors for the measurement of dielectric properties.


We numerically analyzed the nonlinear shoaling, a plunging breaker and its accompanying energetic suspension of sediment at a bed, and a redistribution of suspended sediments by a down rush of preceding waves and the following plunger using SPH with a Gaussian kernel function, Lagrangian Dynamic Smagorinsky model (LDS), Van Rijn's pick up function. In that process, we came to the conclusion that the conventional model for the tractive force at a bottom like a quadratic law can not accurately describe the rapidly accelerating flow over a swash zone, and propose new methodology to accurately estimate the bottom tractive force. Using newly proposed wave model in this study, we can successfully duplicate severely deformed water surface profile, free falling water particles, a queuing splash after the landing of water particles on the free surface and a wave finger due to the structured vortex on a rear side of wave crest (Narayanaswamy and Dalrymple, 2002), a circulation of suspended sediments over a swash zone, net transfer of sediments clouds suspended over a swash zone toward the offshore, which so far have been regarded very difficult features to mimic in the computational fluid mechanics.


The activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) test is widely used to monitor heparin anticoagulation. The relationship of the APTT to the activity of administered unfractionated heparin was defined in 23 patients on programmed hemodialysis, by using six APTT reagents. A calibration curve was plotted for each reagent. The heparinized and nonheparinized plasma values of APTT depended on the reagent being used. During clinical heparin therapy, an APTT-heparin concentration relationship was also defined by the used reagent. The reagents showed varying heparin sensitivity both in vitro and in vivo studies. APTT was estimated for the therapeutic application of heparin for all the reagents in the examinees. The authors consider it necessary to define an APTT-heparin concentration relationship for each reagent being used.


INTRODUCTION: Dentistry is a most stressful profession in the medical field. During the practicum period, most of the dental students feel stressed from internal and external environmental stressors. Therefore, this study was designed to assess the stress among dental students, this will provide applicable insights for further improvement. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was used with an online Structure questionnaire to assess stress among the students of dental colleges of Nepal by using dental environmental stress (DES) questionnaire, which was developed by  Garbee et al. Probability Proportionate to the size sampling technique was used to collect the sample. The organized data will be entered by using IBM Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20.0. The data will be further analyzed by using descriptive statistics (frequency, percentage, mean, median and standard deviation) and inferential statistics. RESULTS: Out of 756 students, 58.7% of the respondents were equal to or greater than 22 years of age. The median age was 22 years. Among them, 78.7% were female. Stress-related to domain, Professional and carrier-related stressor had higher, followed by academic performance and Clinic patient-related stress is mean percentage was 70.43, 69.17 and 61.09, respectively. About 50.3% had moderate levels and 15.3% of respondents had a severe level of stress. There was statically association between stress level with age (p=0.01), first choice of study (p=0.026), academic year (p=<0.001) and current residence (p=<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Professional and carrier-related stressor, academic-related and patient-related stressors are higher in dental students. Severe Levels of stress increased over the academic year and peaked in 5th year. Stress affects student academic as well as professional carrier in the future so minimize the stressor by the institutional level.


The results of studies on the relationship of the parameters of the hammer swing technique with the biomechanical indicators of the previous hammer rotation techniques are presented. Purpose: investigate the relationship of the hammer swing technique with the previous hammer rotation technique. Material & Methods: analysis and synthesis of scientific and methodical literature, analysis of video materials, methods of mathematical statistics. 7 qualified hammer throwers, finalists of the World Cup and European Cups during the 2016–2018 seasons were investigated. Results: the closest relationship was recorded between the angle of flexion in the right elbow joint and the angular velocity of the hammer (r=0,868), such studied indicators of the hammer assassination technique, such as: angular speed of the hammer, linear speed of the hammer, the center of the hammer force did not have a significant impact on the biomechanical indicators previous hammer rotation. Conclusion: previous hammer rotation techniques are more dependent on the angle of flexion in the left knee, right elbow joints, the height of the hammer layer rising from the support, the size of the left foot turning outwards and the height of the heel of the left foot rising from the support during the hammer wagging.


By conducting three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations we find that jets that a main-sequence companion launches as it orbits inside the wind acceleration zone of an asymptotic giant branch star can efficiently remove mass from that zone. We assume that during the intensive wind phase a large fraction of the gas in the acceleration zone does not reach the escape velocity. Therefore, in the numerical simulations we blow the wind with a velocity just below the escape velocity. We assume that a main-sequence companion accretes mass from the slow wind via an accretion disk, and launches two opposite jets perpendicular to the equatorial plane. This novel flow interaction shows that, by launching jets, a companion outside a giant star, but close enough to be in the acceleration zone of a slow intensive wind, can enhance the mass-loss rate from the giant star by ejecting some gas that would otherwise fall back onto the giant star. The jets are bent inside the wind acceleration zone and eject mass in a belt on the two sides of the equatorial plane. The jet–wind interaction contains instabilities that mix the shocked jets' gas with the wind, leading to energy transfer from the jets to the wind. Our new simulations add to the rich variety of jet-induced outflow morphologies from evolved stars.


In this paper we address the distributed cross-chain swap problem in the blockchain context where multiple agents exchange assets across multiple blockchain systems (e.g. trading Bitcoins for Litecoins or Ethers). We present a mathematical framework allowing to characterize blockchain swap protocols as the combination of a publishing and a commitment phase, where contracts are respectively published and then committed.
We characterize the equilibria of existing cross-chain swap protocols (i.e., blockchain swap protocols exchanging assets among different blockchains). More precisely, we prove that following a swap protocol characterized by concurrent publishing of exchange contracts and snap (immediate) assets transfers is a Nash equilibrium. Furthermore, we prove that for protocols with a sequential publishing and commitment of the assets transfers, following the prescribed protocol is a sub-game perfect equilibrium.


The human 5-HT7 serotonin receptor, a G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), activates adenylyl cyclase constitutively and upon agonist activation. Biased ligands differentially activate 5-HT7 serotonin receptor desensitization, internalization and degradation in addition to G protein activation. We have previously found that the atypical antipsychotics clozapine and olanzapine inhibited G protein activation and, surprisingly, induced both internalization and lysosomal degradation of 5-HT7 receptors. Here, we aimed to determine the mechanism of clozapine- and olanzapine-mediated degradation of 5-HT7 receptors. In the C-terminus of the 5-HT7 receptor, we identified two YXXΦ motifs, LR residues, and a palmitoylated cysteine anchor as potential sites involved in receptor trafficking to lysosomes followed by receptor degradation. Mutating either of these sites inhibited clozapine- and olanzapine-mediated degradation of 5-HT7 receptors and also interfered with G protein activation. In addition, we tested whether receptor degradation was mediated by the GPCR-associated sorting protein-1 (GASP-1). We show that GASP-1 binds the 5-HT7 receptor and regulates the clozapine-mediated degradation. Mutations of the identified motifs and residues, located in or close to Helix-VIII of the 5-HT7 receptor, modified antipsychotic-stimulated binding of proteins (such as GASP-1), possibly by altering the flexibility of Helix-VIII, and also interfered with G protein activation. Taken together, our data demonstrate that binding of clozapine or olanzapine to the 5-HT7 receptor leads to antagonist-mediated lysosomal degradation by exposing key residues in the C-terminal tail that interact with GASP-1.


Tea and coffee are rich in polyphenols with a variety of biological activities. Polyphenols found in tea are predominantly flavonoids, of which up to 15% are present as free or esterified gallic acid. Coffee polyphenols are almost wholly comprised of chlorogenic acids. Many of the demonstrated activities of polyphenols are consistent with favourable effects on the risk of chronic diseases. In investigating the relationships between intake and exposure to such compounds and chronic disease-related endpoints, it is important to be able to identify biomarkers that are specific to the compounds of interest. 4-O-methyl gallic acid (4OMGA) and isoferulic acid have been identified as potential biomarkers of intake and exposure to polyphenols derived from tea and coffee, respectively. 4OMGA is derived from gallic acid in tea, and isoferulic acid from chlorogenic acid in coffee. The major objectives of the research which is the subject of this thesis were (1) to establish a dose-response relationship of 24h urinary excretions of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid following ingestions of black tea and coffee of different strengths, and (2) to explore relationships of tea and coffee intake with 24h urinary excretion of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid in human populations. It was found that there was rapid excretion of both 4OMGA and isoferulic acid in the first 6h after tea and coffee ingestion, respectively. Approximately 60 – 80% of the ingested dose was excreted during the first 6h after ingestion. Urinary excretion of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid was directly related to the dose of tea and coffee, respectively. That is, higher intake resulted in increased urinary excretion of the metabolites. The relationships of 24h urinary excretion of 4OMGA and isoferulic acid with long-term usual (111 participants) and contemporary recorded current (344 participants) tea and coffee intake were assessed. 4OMGA was strongly related to usual (r = 0.50, P < 0.001) and current (r = 0.57, P < 0.001) tea intake. Isoferulic acid was less strongly, but significantly associated with usual (r = 0.26, P = 0.008) and current (r = 0.18, P < 0.001) coffee intake.


Most α-thalassemia cases are caused by deletions of the structural α-globin genes. The degree of microcytosis and hypochromia has been correlated with the number of affected α-globin genes, suggesting a promising role of hematologic parameters as predictive diagnostic tools. However, cut-off points for these parameters to discriminate between the different subtypes of α-thalassemia are yet to be clearly defined. Six hematologic parameters (RBC, Hb, MCV, MCH, MCHC and RDW) were evaluated in 129 cases of deletional α-thalassemia (56 heterozygous α+ thalassemia, 36 homozygous α+ thalassemia, 29 heterozygous α0 thalassemia and 8 cases of Hb H disease). A good correlation between the number of deleted alpha genes and MCV (r = −0.672, p < 0.001), MCH (r = −0.788, p < 0.001) and RDW (r = 0.633, p < 0.001) was observed. The presence of an α0 allele should be discarded in individuals with microcytosis without iron deficiency and normal values of Hb A2 and Hb F with MCH < 23.40 pg. Furthermore, MCH < 21.90 pg and/or MCV < 70.80 fL are strongly suggestive of the presence of one α0 allele. Finally, an accurate presumptive diagnosis of Hb H disease can be made if both RDW ≥ 20% and MCH < 19 pg are seen.


Propagation constant errors (PCEs) of guided modes in regions of multimode interference in optical networks were analyzed. Results show that a graded-index waveguide can effectively decrease the PCEs. An example based on an exponential function is presented. Numerical results show that addition of a graded-index waveguide greatly improves device performance in this structure.


Current problems in professional training of forensic scientists are examined. Improvements to the didactic process are proposed in several areas, including the unification of the conceptual framework of integrated forensic investigation, and prevention of expert errors.


In an on-demand video server environment, clients make requests for movies to a centralized video server. Due to the stringent response time requirements, continuous delivery of a video stream to the client has to be guaranteed by reserving sufficient resources required to deliver a stream. Hence there is a hard limit on the number of streams that can be simultaneously delivered by a server. The server can satisfy multiple requests for the same movie using a single disk I/O stream by sending the same data pages to multiple clients (using the multicast facility if present in the system). This can be achieved by batching requests for the same movie that arrive within a short duration of time. In this paper, we consider various policies for selecting the movie to be multicast. The choice of a policy depends very much on the customer waiting time tolerance before reneging. We show that an FCFS policy that schedules the movie with the longest outstanding request can perform better than the MQL policy that chooses the movie with the maximum number of outstanding requests. Additionally, if the user behavior can be influenced by guaranteeing maximum waiting time then it may be beneficial to pre-allocate a fixed number of streams for popular movies. Finally, we demonstrate using empirical distribution for movie requests, that a substantial reduction (of the order of 60%) in required server capacity can be achieved by batching.


In many heat exchange systems, there is a demand to improve the thermal conductivity of the working fluids to make those fluids more efficient, and this can be done by dispersing solid nanomaterials into conventional liquids. In the present work, the thermal conductivity of alumina, ceria, and their hybrid with ratio (50:50) by volume-based deionized water nanofluids was experimentally measured. The nanofluids were prepared by two-step method with a range of dilute volume concentration (0.01-0.5 % Vol.), and measured at various temperatures (35, 40, 45, and 50 ºC). The experimental data for basefluid and nanofluids were verified with theoretical and experimental models, and the results have shown good agreement within the accuracy of the thermal conductivity tester. The results demonstrated that the higher thermal conductivity enhancement percentages for Al2O3, CeO2, and their hybrid nanofluids were (5.3 %, 3.3 %, and 8.8 %) at volume concentration (0.5 % Vol.) and temperature (50 ºC) compared to deionized water, respectively. Moreover, a correlation was proposed for the thermal conductivity enhancement ratio of the hybrid nanofluid and showed good accuracy with measured experimental data.


DESCRIPTION Ureterocele is a rare cause of urinary obstruction which is commonly associated with significant renal-tract anomalies. 1 Surgical decompression soon after diagnosis and further investigations to evaluate the renal tracts are important to prevent renal complications. We present a newborn female infant with incidental large mass protruding from her vagina figure 1. The mass was firm and irreducible with no associated tenderness, vaginal discharge or bleeding. There was no antenatal or family history of concerns, and the baby was passing adequate amount of urine. The paediatrics urology and gynaecology teams evaluated the baby. Clinical assessment, abdominal ultrasound scan and examination under anaesthesia confirmed the diagnosis of prolapsed intravesical ureterocele. This was decompressed by endoscopy, and, subsequently, the baby was commenced on prophylactic antibiotics, pending exclusion of vesicoureteric reflux. Ureterocele is a cystic dilatation of the ureter, which can involve the intravesical or extravesical part of the ureter. 1 It is associated with duplex renal system in 95% of female cases and with the presence of vesicoureteric reflux, especially with the extravesical form. 12 Ureterocele has an incidence of 1/5000 to 1/12000; however, prolapsing ectopic ureterocele account for less than 5% of the total. 2 It can be asymptomatic and incidentally diagnosed during workup for urinary tract infection 1 or rarely present as urinary retention. Other differential diagnosis includes epidermal inclusion cyst, Skene's duct cyst, and hidradenoma papilliferum and mucocolpos. Clinical evaluation should include measurements of blood pressure, urine microscopy and culture. Diagnostic workup entails evaluation for associated renal duplex system and presence of vesicoureteric reflux. 3


Metal-free graphene-like boron nitride (BN) samples were prepared and applied as adsorbents for removing dibenzothiophene (DBT) in model oil. The results showed that the graphene-like BN exhibited a remarkable adsorption performance. The adsorption capacity could reach 28.17 mg S g−1 adsorbent. Experiments have been carried out to investigate the effects of the number of BN layers, DBT initial concentration, and temperature on DBT adsorption. Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models were used to study the adsorption of DBT on BN. The kinetic results showed that the adsorption process was best described by the pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to prove that the Lewis acid–base interaction plays an important role in removing DBT over graphene-like BN.


We report the discovery of a velocity coherent, kiloparsec-scale molecular structure toward the Galactic center region with an angular extent of 30° and an aspect ratio of 60:1. The kinematic distance of the CO structure ranges between 4.4 and 6.5 kpc. Analysis of the velocity data and comparison with the existing spiral arm models support that a major portion of this structure is either a subbranch of the Norma arm or an interarm giant molecular filament, likely to be a kiloparsec-scale feather (or spur) of the Milky Way, similar to those observed in nearby spiral galaxies. The filamentary cloud is at least 2.0 kpc in extent, considering the uncertainties in the kinematic distances, and it could be as long as 4 kpc. The vertical distribution of this highly elongated structure reveals a pattern similar to that of a sinusoidal wave. The exact mechanisms responsible for the origin of such a kiloparsec-scale filament and its wavy morphology remains unclear. The distinct wave-like shape and its peculiar orientation makes this cloud, named as the Gangotri wave, one of the largest and most intriguing structures identified in the Milky Way.


The object of this paper is to develop a framework in which the consequences of ignoring intra-household inequality in the measurement and decomposition of inequality and poverty can be assessed, and to apply this framework to a dataset from the Philippines. The conclusions are that while the measured levels of inequality and poverty could be subject to serious error (of the order of 30% or more), the patterns of inequality and poverty across key socio-economic groups are not affected dramatically. The decision on whether or not to undertake costly intra-household oriented surveys thus depends on whether the policy maker is more concerned with errors in the levels than with errors in the patterns of inequality and poverty.


MET splice site mutations that result in the deletion of exon 14 (METex14del) are implicated as oncogenic drivers in a subset of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MET exon 14 contains the Y1003 CBL ubiquitin ligase regulatory binding site that normally mediates CBL-dependent MET degradation and signal attenuation. Deletion of this exon results in sustained activation of MET and its downstream signaling pathways. The diverse splice site mutations leading to exon 14 skipping comprise a unique and unprecedented class of RTK activating mutations and the molecular mechanism by which these genetic alterations transform cancer cells is not fully understood. One major challenge in understanding the utility of MET inhibition of the METex14del class has been the lack of available pre-clinical models. In the present study, we generated and characterized multiple METex14del-driven cancer models to study the mechanism of MET-dependent cellular transformation as well as the response to MGCD265, a small molecule inhibitor of MET and AXL. METex14del models were identified via mining patient-derived xenograft (PDX) databases or were engineered using genome editing techniques to generate isogenic pairs of METex14del and WT cell lines. The METex14del cell lines formed increased size and number of colonies in anchorage independent growth assays compared to their WT counterparts. The transformation of METex14del cells was associated with an increase in durable HGF-dependent activation of MET and downstream signaling pathways potentially due to dysregulated MET processing and signaling attenuation. MGCD265 was shown to effectively inhibit this growth and MET-dependent signal transduction in a concentration-dependent manner. When evaluated in the amplified METex14del-driven gastric xenograft model Hs746T, significant tumor regression was observed following MGCD265 treatment. In addition, MGCD265 demonstrated substantial regression of large established tumors, in two novel NSCLC METex14del-positive PDX models. Together, these data confirm METex14del mutations are bona fide oncogenic drivers and sensitive to targeted therapeutics. Moreover, the models described in this study represent a relevant pre-clinical platform to further study receptor hyper-activation and drug action that is clinically actionable. Identification, development, and understanding of METex14del models will likely help further guide precision medicine strategies to treat NSCLC patients harboring these mutations. Citation Format: Lars D. Engstrom, Ruth W. Tang, David M. Briere, Harrah Chiang, Peter Olson, James G. Christensen. Evaluation of the mechanism of MET-dependent cellular transformation and potent cytoreductive activity of MGCD265 in novel MET exon 14 mutation positive cancer models. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 2642.


The problems of the large volume change during Li insertion and extraction and poor high-power performance of SnO2-based electrodes should be solved for their practical application. Herein, a novel SnO2/C hybrid triple-type nanosphere, in which a layer of amorphous carbon was sandwiched between the layers of the SnO2 and carbon composite, has been designed and fabricated by a top-down approach. Due to its special structure, this kind of SnO2-based electrode exhibited a considerable capacitive performance, offering a greatly enhanced cycling stability and rate capability. Its capacity remained as high as 653 mA h g−1 after the 350th cycle. The irreversible capacity decay was unprecedentedly extended to the 80th cycle. What is more, this electrode even exhibited a capacity of 260 mA h g−1 at 20 C, with a fading of less than 16% after 600 cycles and less than 22% even after 1000 cycles.


A sapphire-etched vertical-electrode nitride semiconductor (SEVENS) light-emitting diode (LED) is fabricated by means of a selective chemical wet-etching technique. The SEVENS-LED formed on sapphire substrate exhibits excellent device performance compared to a conventional NiAu lateral-electrode (LE) GaN-based LED formed on the same sapphire substrate. The integral light-output power of SEVENS-LED is /spl sim/7 mW, which is 1.75 times stronger than that of the conventional NiAu LE-LED (/spl sim/4 mW). The external quantum efficiency of SEVENS-LED is estimated to be approximately 13%.


A project to improve income for centers of orphans and vulnerable children through poultry production at KIBOWA orphanage center in Arusha District was established and this report is presenting the implementation process. The implementation of this project passed through several stages which included community needs assessment (CNA) as seen in chapter one which was conducted to find out the needs of the OVC community. The research design used was the descriptive research design and the sampling technique was non-probability sampling. Data collection was for both qualitative and quantitative data done with the use of questionnaires, interview and document review. Descriptive statistics and content analysis are the analysis methods used with the assistance of SPSS. Chapter two includes the problem identification which explains of the research problem, project description and host organization. The third chapter represents the literature review which includes the theoretical literature review, empirical literature review and the policy review. Chapter four represents the project implementation and lastly chapter five elaborating on the monitoring, evaluation and sustainability of the project.


Together with the Neolithic human expansions, cattle spread from domestication centres and colonized the world. During their tangled expansion dynamics, European cattle occasionally intermingled with local aurochs leading to an exclusive pattern of genetic diversity. Among the most ancient European cattle, are breeds belonging to the so-called Podolian trunk which their history is still not well established. Here we used genome-wide SNP data of 806 individuals belonging to 36 breeds to reconstruct the origin and diversification of the Podolian cattle and to provide a reliable scenario of the European colonization, through an Approximate Bayesian Computation approach. Our results indicate that European Podolian cattle displays higher values of all genetic diversity indices when compared to both African taurine and Asian indicine. All our clustering analyses show close genomic relationships among Podolian breeds suggesting their possible common genetic ancestry. When we simulated and tested scenarios of colonization, we found that Podolian cattle followed different colonization routes, in line with two principal human migrations: via the Danube during the early stages of the Neolithic farmer expansions and through sea routes likely during the pre-Etruscan period. Furthermore, the best fitting model indicates that these two genomic pools admixed in Italy suggesting the Peninsula as an important hub for the Podolian cattle.


Optimum multi-layered feed-forward neural network (NN) models using a resilient back-propagation algorithm and early stopping technique are built to predict the shear capacity of reinforced concrete deep and slender beams. The input layer neurons represent geometrical and material properties of reinforced concrete beams and the output layer produces the beam shear capacity. Training, validation and testing of the developed neural network have been achieved using 50%, 25%, and 25%, respectively, of a comprehensive database compiled from 631 deep and 549 slender beam specimens. The predictions obtained from the developed neural network models are in much better agreement with test results than those determined from shear provisions of different codes, such as KBCS, ACI 318-05, and EC2. The mean and standard deviation of the ratio between predicted using the neural network models and measured shear capacities are 1.02 and 0.18, respectively, for deep beams, and 1.04 and 0.17, respectively, for slender beams. In addition, the influence of different parameters on the shear capacity of reinforced concrete beams predicted by the developed neural network shows consistent agreement with those experimentally observed.


We report a case of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (AR) with massive infiltration of bone marrow at presentation, and initial diagnosis in bone marrow aspirate. A 35 year old man presented with a submandibular mass, and hematomas after mild traumatisms. Peripheral blood showed thrombocytopenia and a normocytic anaemia. Bone marrow film showed diffuse involvement by undifferentiated blasts with rhabdomyoblastic features. Subsequent biopsy of submandibular lymph node confirmed the diagnosis with positivity for specific muscle actin and desmin, and negativity for lymphoid markers. Initial presentation of AR with extensive bone marrow involvement is extremely rare, and it could lead to wrong diagnosis and treatment of acute leukaemia, with the serious consequences that this would have. Immunohistochemical study and morphologic differential features can be of great diagnostic help.


The effects of the human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) on cultured human endothelial cells were evaluated. Coculture of endothelial monolayers with either irradiated HTLV-producing lymphocytes or cell-free virus resulted in the production of multinucleated syncytia. The development of syncytia was inhibited by sera from patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). HTLV antigens were present on endothelial syncytia passaged in culture for greater than 3 months as detected by an anti-p19 monoclonal antibody, which detects a core protein of HTLV-I, and by ATLL sera. Moreover, these HTLV-infected endothelial cells were then able to infect and transform normal cord blood T lymphocytes with HTLV. These studies demonstrate that human endothelial cells are susceptible to productive HTLV-I infection in vitro and may have relevance for the spectrum of human disease associated with this family of retroviruses.


Food Freshness is the main factor in determine the quality and safety of the food consumer to prevent them from having trouble such as food poisoning, stomach ache and etc. Nowadays, there are technologies that able to determine the level freshness of foods that depends on the changes of the colours which indicate the freshness level whether it is still edible to eat or not and also it is very subjective to people eyes. The goal of this paper is to design and develop chromatic algorithm based on RGB colour reading and correlation with pH values for real time determination of freshness level of fish. The results show that by developing the chromatic algorithm, will able to measure and analyse the level freshness of food and straight appear on the mobile application that has been developed. The mobile application itself is built by using Android studio platform and the level freshness of fish has been tested out to determine whether the fish is "FRESH, GOOD or SPOILED"


The clinical characteristics of a consecutive series of 36 male anorectics were compared with those of a similar series of 100 female cases. Social class background and mean age of onset were found to be similar as were the majority of clinical features at presentation. Anorexia nervosa was associated with diminished differences between the sexes in terms of physical, experiential and behavioural characteristics directly related to the condition, and in terms of general psychoneurotic characteristics. The condition is one within which the individual is sadly reduced to an existence rooted in the experience, behaviour and impulses of starvation including the impulse to ingest and the consequent defences against this latter propensity and its implication of weight gain. Only the 'choice' of defence relates to premorbid 'personality' characteristics and thereby continues to characterize the individual. Overall the same background and presentation factors in both sexes predict similar outcomes, though a vomiting defence at presentation predicts good outcome for males and poor outcome for females. The condition is very rare in the male and such presentations may help to shed light on its overall nature.


We propose an all-digital telescope for 21 cm tomography, which combines key advantages of both single dishes and interferometers. The electric field is digitized by antennas on a rectangular grid, after which a series of fast Fourier transforms recovers simultaneous multifrequency images of up to half the sky. Thanks to Moore's law, the bandwidth up to which this is feasible has now reached about 1 GHz, and will likely continue doubling every couple of years. The main advantages over a single dish telescope are cost and orders of magnitude larger field-of-view, translating into dramatically better sensitivity for largearea surveys. The key advantages over traditional interferometers are cost (the correlator computational cost for an N-element array scales as Nlog2N rather than N 2 ) and a compact synthesized beam. We argue that 21 cm tomography could be an ideal first application of a very large fast Fourier transform telescope, which would provide both massive sensitivity improvements per dollar and mitigate the off-beam point source foreground problem with its clean beam. Another potentially interesting application is cosmic microwave background polarization.


This is a transcription of my talk on the work of Doug Ravenel. While it was intended as a one-time performance, the organizers felt it would be a good idea to have some represen-tation appear as part of the conference proceedings. Don Davis went to the great trouble of transcribing the lecture from a video, and he sent it to me. After reading it I agreed to have it included in these proceedings. Even though the text is ungram-matical, repetitious and meandering (apparently that's how I talk), it feels to me as if it conveys something about how the world of algebraic topology has felt all these years with Doug in it. So with heartfelt thanks to Don Davis, here it is.


Objectives: Racial-ethnic minority youth face multiple types of victimization associated with negative developmental outcomes. The present study examined the interplay of youth experiences of online and offline bullying/harassment and racial-ethnic discrimination across three waves. Methods: Racial-ethnic minority adolescents aged 10-19 (N = 735) at Midwest schools were surveyed yearly on Internet usage and experiences, mental well-being, and related risk and protective factors. We analyzed offline and online bullying/harassment, offline and online racial-ethnic discrimination, and time online in an autoregressive cross-lagged panel model. Results: Youth who reported more of one type of victimization also reported more of other victimization types and more time online concurrently. Our results show some (but not consistent) influences over time. Youth who experienced more offline bullying/harassment at wave 1 were more likely to report more wave 2 victimization in another context (online bullying/harassment) and in other content (offline racial-ethnic discrimination), although these associations did not appear in the second wave. Youth who reported more online bullying/harassment at wave 2 also experienced increased risk for offline bullying/harassment at wave 3. Youth who reported more time online were not more likely to experience later victimization, though youth who experienced more wave 1 offline bullying/harassment were more likely to report more next-wave time online. Conclusions: Racial-ethnic minority youth simultaneously and persistently face multiple types of victimization. Offline bullying/harassment interventions may have the added benefit of reducing other forms of victimization down the road, while reducing time online alone is unlikely to protect youth. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).


In this paper, we extend the Petviashvili method (PM) to the fractional nonlinear Schrödinger equation (fNLSE) for the construction and analysis of its soliton solutions. We also investigate the temporal dynamics and stabilities of the soliton solutions of the fNLSE by implementing a spectral method, in which the fractional-order spectral derivatives are computed using FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) routines, and the time integration is performed by a 4th order Runge–Kutta time-stepping algorithm. We discuss the effects of the order of the fractional derivative, α, on the properties, shapes, and temporal dynamics of the soliton solutions of the fNLSE. We also examine the interaction of those soliton solutions with zero, photorefractive and q-deformed Rosen–Morse potentials. We show that for all of these potentials, the soliton solutions of the fNLSE exhibit a splitting and spreading behavior, yet their dynamics can be altered by the different forms of the potentials and noise considered.


For the newborn with low birth weights the Dairy Research Institute and Dairy Industry prepared an adapted dried milk--Feminar where most of the casein was replaced by whey proteins, prepared by thermal denaturation F-BTD. The results of the nitrogen and lipid balance made in low birth weight neonates fed this milk were compared with the results of balances in infants fed commonly prepared Feminar and Feminar where whey proteins were prepared by ultrafiltration F-BU. The balances were made in a total of 23 low birth weight neonates (always four balance days). The nitrogen and lipid retention after F-BTD was higher, and concurrent investigation of metabolites revealed lower blood urea concentration.


Experiments of high energy physics planned at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (CH) require digital data acquisition systems with high throughput. Such systems need also be fault tolerant to the permanent and transient faults induced by radiation, since they must be installed close to the experiment area. A model for the evaluation of the fault tolerance performances of the most significant VLSI devices designed for the construction of the FERMI system, a data acquisition system for the LHC, is presented. The model allows one to quantify the probability of the FERMI system to survive fatal failures, to increase mission time and to provide valid data for different implementations of fault tolerance.


Extraversion as both a personality trait and state has robust links with well-being; extraverted state, or behaviour, is sufficient to increase positive affect (PA) regardless of disposition. However, examining extraversion more closely at the aspect and facet level has, to date, yielded mixed results for this relationship. This study sought to clarify extraversion's impact on psychological well-being (PWB) and positive affect by investigating state and trait assertiveness as one aspect of extraversion (next to enthusiasm; DeYoung et al., 2007). It was hypothesized that this aspect specifically contributes to several PWB outcomes at the trait level, but not at the state level if well-being outcomes increase in high trait-assertive individuals only. Participants ( N = 28) engaged in an embedded discussion task to induce PWB and PA state outcomes by means of instructions to behave assertively or authentically (control). To then quantitatively measure and report participants' levels of traits and well-being states, several questionnaires were administered directly before and after the discussion task. Results showed that overall, Assertiveness (trait and state) was unrelated to most PWB outcomes and PA; however, assertive behaviour led to surprisingly lower environmental mastery compared to the control group ( p = .031), which is likely explained by an interaction with low trait assertiveness characterising most of the assertive condition. Trait interactions with assertive behaviour were also visible, though not uniform, for within-groups increases in environmental mastery, self-acceptance, and PA. Limitations and implications for state-trait isomorphism, the Whole Trait Theory, and the general extraversion-wellbeing relationship are discussed.


To develop large capacity high quality mobile satellite communication systems in the future, a multi-beam that can cope with extremely high levels of frequency reuse must be used. We describe a novel resource allocation scheme that enables systems to contend with ever-changing user distribution and inter-beam interference conditions. The proposed scheme simultaneously controls various kinds of radio resources, such as transmission power, frequency bandwidth, and modulation parameters. It adapts them to each user depending on the radio propagation environment. Our performance evaluations demonstrate that the scheme can satisfactorily allocate multi-beam satellite resources to greatly increase communication capacity and still improve the communication quality, thus ensuring QoS under various user distribution and traffic conditions.


A rapidly approaching object provides information about the object's approach and how imminent a collision is. Prospective control when responding to a looming object approaching on a direct collision course was studied longitudinally in infants 3/4 and 11/12 months of age. Different characteristics of peak VEP activity from infants' brain electrical recordings (EEG) were compared between the infants at these two different ages. The aim of this study was to find evidence for infant brain electrical responses coherent with a looming stimulus approaching the infant under three different accelerations. The results showed that there were differences in peak VEP activation with age. At the age of 3/4 months, infants showed peak VEP activation significantly later after the end of the looming sequence and VEP peaks with longer duration compared to when they were 11/12 months old.One of the underlying causes of the developmental trend found in our study could be due to an increase in locomotor experience as infants grow older and become more mobile. More follow-up research is needed to investigate the relation between behavioral development and changes in brain activity associated with infants' perception of looming motion.


OBJECTIVE
Cancer is the second most common non-communicable disease group in the world and its frequency is increasing. In parallel, side effects of drugs used in cancer treatment are frequently encountered. Doxorubicin (DOX) is one of the most effective multi-purpose anticancer drugs. However, its use is significantly limited due to the risk of cardiotoxicity. Sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors are a group of antidiabetic drugs that have been shown to reduce cardiovascular events. Our aim is to examine the preventive effect of dapagliflozin on DOX-induced cardiac damage.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
We used 30 albino rats. 20 of 30 rats were administered doxorubicin for cardiomyopathy model. The rats in the DOX arm were divided into two groups: those given penicillin and placebo. After the rats were terminated, tissues were prepared for histopathological and immunohistochemical examination. TNF-α, pro-BNP, troponin T and plasma FGF-21 levels were also measured in plasma.

RESULTS
The mean concentrations of cTnT and pro-BNP in the plasma of the DOX treated rats demonstrated a significantly higher value compared to the control group. Treatment with dapagliflozin caused a significant reduction in plasma cTnT, pro-BNP and TNF-α levels concentrations compared to the DOX control group (p < 0.001). The group of rats treated with dapagliflozin was effective in significantly decreasing the FGF-21 concentration and the percentage of fibronectin immunoexpression compared to the DOX control group (p  < 0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS
This study revealed, for the first time, that dapagliflozin can improve DOX-induced cardiac dysfunction and pathological changes in non-diabetic rats. This result has shown that dapaglifozin, may be promising in terms of preventing cardiac damage that may develop in cancer treatment.


The authors discuss the direct capture theory pertaining to primary electric dipole (E1) transitions following slow neutron capture. For light nuclides that they have studied (including 9Be, 12C, 13C, 24Mg, 25Mg, 26Mg, 32S, 33S, 34S, 40Ca, and 44Ca), estimates of direct capture cross sections using optical model potentials with physically realistic parameters are in reasonable agreement with the data. Minor disagreements that exist are consistent with extrapolations to light nuclides of generally accepted formulations of compound nucleus capture. They also discuss the channel capture approximation which is, in general, a good representation of these cross sections in heavier nuclei, particularly if the scattering lengths are not different from the corresponding potential radii. They also draw attention to cases where the use of this formula leads to inaccurate predictions.


Acetic acid aerosol particles, formic acid aerosol particles and mixed acid/ice particles were generated in a collisional cooling cell at a temperature of 78 K and investigated using in situ rapid scan Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The infrared spectra reveal that the internal structure of the particles critically depends on the particle formation conditions and, especially for the mixed particles, on the composition. The acetic acid particles are likely to have only a partially crystalline structure whereas the formic acid particles are likely to have an overall crystalline structure. The existence of acid in the mixed acid/ice particles prevents the ice from crystallization even at low acid concentrations (less than 10%). Mid-infrared refractive index data were derived from the different particle spectra, which can be helpful for remote sensing of such systems.


Abstract According to the Urban Mobility National Policy (UMNP), Brazilian cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants are obligated to elaborate Urban Mobility Plans (UMPs). The literature shows a lack of national research on urban freight planning and a need for better understanding issues on cargo transportation for authorities, especially regarding decision-making on policies and on urban freight transportation planning. City Logistics solutions can be considered on UMPs to reduce the problematic urban freight transport. Therefore, a survey was applied to investigate the resources available within cities to draw UMPs, the solutions for cargo movement in Brazilian cities, and the perceptions of public managers about freight transportation. The results show that "restrictions" are the solutions most adopted by Brazilian authorities, including the representative sample for cities within the São Paulo State with more than 250,000 inhabitants. The conclusions point out that Brazilian cities are not prepared to develop an efficient urban freight plan, as public managers seem to be unconscious about urban logistics demands within their cities or have neglected aspects regarding urban freight within the UMNP.


Wage expectations are important determinants for individual schooling decisions. However, research on individual expectations of students is scarce. The paper presents the Swiss results of a survey that was conducted in 10 European countries. Its main findings are that point estimates of wages after graduation are close to actual wages, whereas the expectations of the wage gain in the first ten years of professional experience exceed the actual wage gains significantly. While most of the deviation of individual expectations from actual wages can not be explained, we find that rates of return to education that are calculated on the base of individual wage and cost expectations as well as individual time preferences can be explained partially by the seniority of students, the self-perception of their academic performance and their subjective job perspectives. The high degree of unexplained heterogeneity in individual expectations and the differences between groups of students show the necessity to analyse the question further with bigger and more representative samples.


Phosphorus (P) removal from aqueous solutions was investigated using TiO2, Al2O3, and Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs). Adsorption study was performed to determine the optimum operation conditions such as adsorption time, temperature, pH, and adsorbent dosage. Sorption isotherms were well described by linear, Freundlich and Langmuir models. The maximum adsorption capacity of P was 28.3, 24.4, and 21.5 mg g−1 for TiO2, Fe3O4 and Al2O3, respectively. Desorption analysis showed that the desorption capacities were in an order of Al2O3 > Fe3O4 > TiO2. Kinetic data were best fitted with pseudo‐second‐order and intra‐particle diffusion kinetic models. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X‐ray (XRD), and NPs solution saturation indices (SI) before and after P sorption showed that the main mechanism of P sorption by TiO2 was adsorption, whereas P sorption by Al2O3 and Fe3O4 were due to adsorption and precipitation. Results showed that double layer model (DLM) could be modeled P adsorption onto adsorbents over a wide range of pH. Thermodynamic parameters confirmed the endothermic and not spontaneity nature of the P adsorption. These NPs have potential for use as efficient sorbents for the removal of P from aqueous solutions and TiO2 NPs were identified as the most promising sorbent due to their high metal uptake. © 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 33: 1209–1219, 2014


Abstract AIMS: To obtain information and compare the prevalence of Chlamydiaceae in riverine buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and cows (Bos taurus) in Egypt with and without clinical signs of reproductive disease. METHODS: Vaginal swabs and blood samples were collected from animals attending Governmental Veterinary Clinics without (buffalo n=39, cows n=20) and with (buffalo n=63, cows n=53) signs of reproductive disease. Serum samples were tested for antibodies to Chlamydiaceae using complement fixation testing (CFT). Vaginal swabs were tested for Chlamydiaceae following inoculation into Vero cells and 6-day-old embryonated chicken eggs, using modified Giménez and immunoperoxidase staining, PCR analyses targeting the omp2 gene, and Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism PCR (RFLP-PCR) for species identification. RESULTS: Antibodies to Chlamydiaceae were detected in 30/39 (77%) and 50/63 (79%) buffalo without and with signs of reproductive disease, respectively, and 10/20 (50%) and 39/53 (74%) of cows with and without signs of reproductive disease, respectively. Positive samples from PCR analysis were identified in 31/39 (79%) and 37/63 (59%) buffalo without and with signs of reproductive disease, respectively, and 12/20 (60%) and 46/53 (89%) of cows without and with signs of reproductive disease, respectively. Using RFLP-PCR, 57/68 (84%) of samples from buffalo, and 47/58 (81%) from cows, were identified as Chlamydophila psittaci and the reminder as Cp. abortus. From the CFT and PCR results there was no significant difference in the prevalence of positive samples between species, or between animals without or with signs of reproductive disease. CONCLUSION: The presence of anti-Chlamydiaceae antibodies in 77% of the animals with signs of reproductive disease and the detection of Chlamydiaceae in 72% of vaginal swabs of the animals suggest a pathogenic role by Chlamydiaceae in riverine buffalo and cows. The main Chlamydiaceae found in the genital tract of cattle in Egypt were Cp. psittaci and Cp. abortus. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Chlamydophila spp. should be included in diagnostic algorithms for reproductive disorders, in order to assess the real burden of Chlamydophila associated disease in buffalo and cattle and to evaluate the potential value of vaccines.


Abstract : Several organizations independently tested the same lot of 5.56mm ammunition temperature conditioned to -55, 125, and 160 deg F and reported discrepancies in chamber pressures and muzzle velocities. These discrepancies precipitated this investigation into the time required to temperature condition 5.56mm ammunition and the effect of using an unconditioned weapon to fire conditioned ammunition. The unconditioned weapon dramatically affected the temperature of the conditioned ammunition. Substantial changes in the cartridge temperature occurred when the cartridge remained in the chamber, even for a short time. Cartridges loaded into a 30 round magazine took about 3 times as long to change temperature as did single rounds.


An electronic warfare (EW) receiver based on fast Fourier transforms (FFTs) with different frame sizes is presented. With a given sampling frequency, an FFT-based EW receiver can improve its frequency estimation by increasing the FFT frame size; however, such an increase has detrimental effects on its time-of-arrival and pulse width estimations. By applying multiple FFTs with different frame sizes, the proposed EW receiver can achieve high time and frequency resolutions simultaneously.


The disc fragmentation is a possible process leading to the formation of Population III stellar binary systems. However, numerical simulations show diverse fates of the fragments; some evolve into stable binaries and others merge away with a central star. To clarify the physics behind such diversity, we perform a series of 3D hydrodynamics simulations in a controlled manner. We insert a point particle mimicking a fragment in a self-gravitating disc, where the initial mass and position are free parameters, and follow the orbital evolution for several tens of orbits. The results show great diversity even with such simple experiments. Some particles shortly merge away after migrating inward, but others survive as the migration stalls with the gap opening in the disc. We find that our results are well interpreted postulating that the orbital angular momentum is extracted by (i) the gravitational torque from the disc spiral structure, and (ii) tidal disruption of a gravitationally bound envelope around the particle. Our analytic evaluations show the processes (i) and (ii) are effective in an outer and inner part of the disc, respectively. There is a window of the gap opening in the middle, if the envelope mass is sufficiently large. These all agree with our numerical results. We further show that the binaries, which appear for the 'survival' cases, gradually expand while accreting the disc gas. Our theoretical framework is freely scalable to be applied for the present-day star and planet formation.


Introduction: Metabolic syndrome is associated with low-grade, chronic inflammation. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of tocotrienols supplementation on cytokines and lipid profile in adults with metabolic syndrome. Methods: In a 16-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 70 adults with metabolic syndrome aged 20-60 years were randomly assigned to a mixed tocotrienols group (n=35) that received 400mg/day of mixed tocotrienols or a placebo group (n=35) that received capsules containing soy bean oil. At baseline, week 8 and week 16, anthropometric, body composition and blood pressure measurements were conducted. At baseline and week 16 only, serum levels of total cholesterol (TC) and high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, plasma levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumouxr necrosis factor- a (TNF-a), leptin, adiponectin and high sensitivity C-reactive protein were also determined. Changes in dietary intake and physical activity level between baseline, week 8 and week 16 were also assessed. Results: In the tocotrienols group, significant reductions from baseline were found in diastolic blood pressure (p=0.001), TC (p=0.008), LDL-cholesterol (p=0.022), HDL-cholesterol (p<0.001), IL-6 (p=0.024) and TNF-a (p=0.013) at week sixteen. However, the changes in the tocotrienols group were not significantly different from those of the placebo group. Conclusion: The 16-week mixed tocotrienols supplementation exerted potential beneficial effects on cytokines and lipid profile in adults with metabolic syndrome. The results might have been confounded by the physiological effects produced by the soy bean oil in the placebo capsule.


Fundamental and superior characteristics of heteropoly
compounds (heteropolyoxometalates) in the solid state that make them
suitable for catalyst design at the atomic/molecular levels are described,
together with important principles required for the understanding and
design of solid heteropoly catalysts. First, the molecular nature of
heteropolyanions (metal oxide clusters), which can be preserved in the
solid state, enables control of the acid and redox properties over a wide
range. Second, the presence of hierarchical structures (primary, secondary
and tertiary structures) can lead to three catalysis
modes—surface-type, pseudoliquid (or bulk-type I) and bulk-type II.
Precise control of pore size is possible through the understanding of the
microstructure, which results in unique shape selectivity observed for
various reactions. Heteropoly compounds are green catalysts functioning in
a variety of reaction fields and efficient bifunctional catalysts when
combined with other components. The elucidation of catalytic processes is
also possible at the atomic/molecular level due to their molecular nature.
The positions and dynamic nature of protons as well as organic reaction
intermediates in the pseudo-liquid phase can be clarified by spectroscopic
techniques. Various reactions promoted by solid heteropoly catalysts are
collected from recent publications to illustrate the usefulness of the
above ideas and of heteropoly catalysts themselves.


Path planning is an important problem to solve in robotics and there has been many related studies so far. In the previous research, we proposed the Heterogeneous-Ants-Based Path Planner (HAB-PP) for the global path planning of mobile robots. The conventional path planners using grid map had discrete state transitions that constrain the only movement of an agent to multiples of 45 degrees. The HAB-PP provided the smoother path using the heterogeneous ants unlike the conventional path planners based on Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) algorithm. The planner, however, has the problem that the optimization of the path once found is fast but it takes a lot of time to find the first path to the goal point. Also, the HAB-PP often falls into a local optimum solution. To solve these problems, this paper proposes an improved ant-inspired path planner using the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree-star (RRT*). The key ideas are to use RRT* as the characteristic of another heterogeneous ant and to share the information for the found path through the pheromone field. The comparative simulations with several scenarios verify the performance of the improved HAB-PP.


For-Profit Medical Education To the Editor The Viewpoint by Dr Adashi and colleagues discussed the rise of for-profit medical schools in the United States.1 Although the authors alluded to the standards of the Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) and the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME), they neglected to note that these standards are identical for both forprofit and not-for-profit colleges. The standards address educational quality, institutional accountability, and student outcomes, including board pass rate, residency placement rate, and success in meeting a stated mission. The COCA does not comment on the business model of medical schools and the LCME has completely eliminated element IS-2, which had stated that a school should not be for profit.2 The rationale is clear; if a college meets all accreditation standards, then the business model is irrelevant. As the authors noted, the forprofit model allows the creation and operation of medical colleges to meet an important public health need when other models may not be feasible. In the case of the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, that is the creation of a medical school with state-of-theart educational resources in the poorest part of one of the poorest states in the United States. Burrell started with the mission to improve the health and lives of the people of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its business model was the result of a consideration of all possible financing structures and a decision to use the proprietary model, which not only maximized resources but also facilitated the creation of the college in the most efficient manner. A public model was completely unfeasible given the state's finances; a not-forprofit model would have required more than a decade to raise the necessary funds, and a branch campus model would not necessarily have met the specific needs of the area. The first students matriculated at Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine in just over 3 years following initial discussion of the concept. In New Mexico, where 31 of 33 counties are physician shortage areas, the first graduating class in 2020 represents a greater than 160% increase in the number of new physicians graduating in the state.3 Mission, location, resources, and economic conditions drive the business model of medical schools in the new millennium. The challenge to accreditors is to ensure that schools maintain a consistently high quality of education and produce well-trained physicians to meet the clinical and academic demands of the future.


Electoral manifestos represent tools of political communication which do not only inform the electorate upon the fundamental values of a party, but which also legitimize future actions that the party might undertake once in power. The electoral manifesto of the European People's Party, drafted before the 2009 European elections brings together the main elements which define the action plan of the party. Religious values lie at the core of the Christian-democratic ideology. But given the dynamic of politics and the sometimes sudden shifts in the preferences of the electorate, manifestos can rapidly become out of touch with the needs of the voters. The current paper will analyze how much of what the EPP Manifesto contains on issues related to religiosity is truly in line with the general opinion of the Christian-democratic electorate in four European countries:Austria,Bulgaria, The Netherlands andPortugal. Moreover, using data collected through the Vote Advice Application data, the paper will also tap into the differences which still persist (or which are fading away) in the attitude of the right-wing versus the left-wing electorate on the issues related to religion. Communicating with the electorate is the main key in attracting those who share the ideas and values of a party. But what if the core ideas of a party are slowly becoming unappealing for its own electorate?


Speech enhancement was, is, and will be the key technology for digital speech transmission. When developing speech enhancement algorithms, the intelligibility or the quality of the processed speech needs to be evaluated. Intelligibility is more fundamental than quality. The evaluation of speech intelligibility can be carried out through subjective listening tests and objective metrics. Carrying out subjective listening tests is time-consuming and costly. Using the objective metrics is more efficient. Thus, there has been an increasing research in speech intelligibility prediction.
 Speech intelligibility can be measured in terms of the information received by a listener. This thesis aims at developing a mutual information-based speech intelligibility predictor (SIP) and using the mutual information-based predictor to assist the fitting process in hearing instruments. To achieve this goal, this thesis carried out three studies.
First, it studied the modeling of the transmitted message. For mutual information-based SIPs, the most important thing is to determine the transmitted message. This thesis studied two approaches of modeling of the message: one is the continuous-valued sound, and the other is the discrete-valued linguistic message. Two corresponding SIPs were developed. By comparing their predicted intelligibility results with the psychometric curves, which are the subjective intelligibility scores, it shows that the modeling of discrete-valued message gives a better match to the psychometric curves.
 Second, based on the modeling of the discrete-valued message, this thesis proposed a mutual information-based SIP. Since the discrete-valued message cannot be obtained from a speech signal, the proposed SIP calculates the mutual information between the clean speech and the received speech, instead of calculating the mutual information between the message and the received speech. The proposed SIP considers frequency correlation for both the clean speech and the received speech. The evaluation results show that the proposed SIP performs better than the existing state-of-the-art mutual information-based SIPs.
Third, this thesis proposed an automatic fitting tool for the nonlinear frequency compression (NFC) operator, which is a frequency lowering operator used in hearing instruments. The automatic fitting tool adjusts the parameter in the NFC by maximizing the mutual information between the message and the frequency-lowered speech. To evaluate the automatic fitting tool, the parameter was also searched by listening tests. The results show that the parameter determined by the automatic fitting tool is consistent to the parameter determined by the listening tests.