The article is devoted to the topical issue of the strategic development of the enterprise in the digital economy. The advantages of enterprises that use the results of the digital economy in their activities have been established. The main characteristics of the digital economy are determined, approaches to the definition of terms are investigated. The state of profitability of Ukrainian enterprises by industry is analyzed on the basis of statistical data. Based on the results of the analysis of statistical data, it was determined that in the conditions of the pandemic and quarantine of the last two years, most sectors of the economy suffered losses. Only those industries that were vital and those that use modern information and digital technologies had a positive financial result of their activities. These calculations showed that it is fundamentally important to introduce digital technologies at enterprises in various sectors of the economy. The article lists the main seven stages of introducing digital technologies into the management activities of enterprises. The above stages of introducing digital technologies into the activities of enterprises are used both for general strategic transformations at enterprises, and for individual management functions. It also reflects the main benefits of introducing digital technologies into strategic planning and profit management in enterprises. The main obstacles that may arise during the implementation of digital technologies are highlighted, among which the main one is associated with the human factor. It is also indicated in the article that almost all enterprises in their activities can start with the introduction of technologies for working with big data, which allow to efficiently process large volumes of information, analyze it and make management decisions based on the results. An analysis of modern research in the field of digital technologies implementation showed that digital technologies are necessary not only in the current activities of an enterprise, but also in strategic and management functions, especially in planning and managing the company's profit.


Access to the Internet, which to date was mainly limited to desk-top computers, is now enabled through a wide range of portable devices. These devices include cellular phones, which are small, widespread, and afford a high level of intimacy. Information needed at a certain time, location or immediacy are typical kinds of information that are natural candidates for access via cellular phones [Seppala and Alamaki, 2002]. Four m-learning pilot projects are now in progress at the Open University of Israel (OUI) which include mobile accessibility to (1) discussion groups held on the Websites of academic courses; (2) video lessons (live & VOD); (3) audio books for students with learning disabilities (for cellular and MP3 players); and (4) administrative information (SMS messages). This paper reports on these four experiments, examining the types of use students may make with their cellular phones and other mobile devices to access support learning materials.


Because performance assessment, such as a composition test, introduces a range of factors that may influence the chances of success for a candidate on the test, those in charge of monitoring quality control for performance assessment programs need to gather information that will help them determine whether all aspects of the programs are working as intended. In the present study, Many-facet Rasch measurement (Linacre, 1989) was employed to examine the effects of various sources of variability on students' performance on an ESL placement test of writing and also to investigate the validity of the assigned scores for students' essays.


We analyze the effects of in- and out-of-plane Zeeman fields on the BCS--Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) evolution of a Fermi gas with equal Rashba-Dresselhaus (ERD) spin-orbit coupling (SOC). We show that the ground state of the system involves gapless superfluid phases that can be distinguished with respect to the topology of the momentum-space regions with zero excitation energy. For the BCS-like uniform superfluid phases with zero center-of-mass momentum, the zeros may correspond to one or two doubly degenerate spheres, two or four spheres, two or four concave spheroids, or one or two doubly degenerate circles, depending on the combination of Zeeman fields and SOC. Such changes in the topology signal a quantum phase transition between distinct superfluid phases and leave their signatures on some thermodynamic quantities. We also analyze the possibility of Fulde-Ferrell-Larkin-Ovchinnikov (FFLO)--like nonuniform superfluid phases with finite center-of-mass momentum and obtain an even richer phase diagram.


Delayering is an essential sample preparation step in physical failure analysis (PFA) of integrated circuits (IC). During delayering it is crucial to precisely control the endpoint and uniformity of the region of interest (ROI). Furthermore, to perform SEM based nanoprobing it is also required to end the delayering process without residues on the surface that will reduce conductivity of, or induce shorts between, isolated contacts. Delayering via mechanical polishing has been the main approach for PFA and nanoprobing. However, as the shrinkage of the interconnect layer thickness reduced below 100 nm, it has become very challenging to control the polish endpoint and to achieve robustly controlled process. Recently gas assisted Xe+ Plasma FIB (PFIB) has demonstrated uniform delayering of the metal and dielectric layers, achieving a planar surface of heterogeneous materials. The purpose of this study is to analyze the PFIB ion beam interaction with MOSFET devices, addressing ion beam damage related device degradation. We explored the final surface treatment required for nanoprobing and the impact on MOSFETs. For this purpose, we monitored device parameters after PFIB delayering final steps with different beam conditions and compare PFIB prepared samples to polished prepared samples. Consequently, we summarize the considerations of parameters for ion beam on final surface treatment.


SIR—The airway endoscopy mask is a special mask used in uncooperative patients during airway endoscopy and difficult intubation, particularly in patients needing deep sedation, high FiO2, positive endexpiratory pressure (PEEP), or positive pressure ventilation. We describe in this letter a technique to make a similar mask out of widely available airway devices. We use an airway mask (Air Cushion Mask with Valve; Hudson RCI, Temecula, CA, USA), a Swivel Y (Bodai suction safe TM Swivel Y; Sontek Medical, Inc., Hingham, MA, USA), and an airway intubator (Williams Airway Intubator; Sun-Med, Inc., Clearwater, FL, USA). The swivel consists of a removable rubber cover (with a 3–4-mm slit) fitting tightly on Y-shaped tubing. This slit allows the fiberscope (Olympus LF-GP; Olympus America Inc., Melville, NY) to pass through the swivel (see Figure 1). The cover is removed in advance and cut vertically on one side, then is replaced on the Y-tubing tightly. The swivel is connected to the mask on one side and to the breathing circuit on the other side. Sufficient ventilation can be used with acceptable airway resistance and no or minimal air leaking through the rubber cover. The tracheal tube (TT) (size no. 7 or smaller) adapter is removed (cutting the adult TT 3–4 cm at its distal part gives the scope more depth in the trachea). The TT is fed over the scope after lubrication. The scope port passes through the rubber cover, the mask and then via the airway intubator. The total length of this set-up ranges from 50 to 60 cm (the TT without the adapter + the mask and the swivel combination + the distance from the teeth to the midtrachea). The length of the working part of the scope is almost 61 cm, which means the tip of the scope will reach easily the midtrachea. When the scope is confirmed in the trachea, the rubber cover is removed by a surgical clamp. The TT and the scope slide together through this set-up towards the trachea for 2–3 cm (to make sure the depth of the scope is adequate in the trachea). Then the TT is pushed smoothly into the trachea. A size-7 tube passes this set-up with little difficulty; smaller tubes pass much more easily. This technique can be used in awake and anesthetized patients. It eliminates the need for a special mask (the endoscopy mask), which is not available in many institutions and more expensive than our set-up. Ahmad Elsharydah Randall C. Cork Department of Anesthesia, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71130, USA (email: email@example.com)


This paper presents experimental results of the in vitro and in vivo studies combined with immunofluorescence staining that demonstrate the detection of triple negative breast cancer using conjugated biosynthesized superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticle (BSPIONs). Insights on nanoparticles-cells interactions at a nanoscale that are guided by specificity and selectivity in the targeting of triple negative breast cancer cells (MDA MB 231 cells) are being explored using atomic force Microscope (AFM). This study also focuses on the use of ligand-conjugated BSPIONs as targeted contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at an in vitro and in vivo level. The ligands conjugated to BSPIONs are shown (revealed by confocal images via immunofluorescence staining) to have receptors that are overexpressed on the surfaces of triple negative breast cancer cells. The results suggest that conjugated BSPIONs can be used for rapid screening of potentials ligands for specific targeting of receptors that are over-expressed on the surfaces of breast cancer cells. The implication of this work are discussed for the design of robust ligand-conjugated BSPIONs with the appropriate nanoparticles-cells interaction as a contrast agent for enhancing MRI for the detection of triple negative breast cancer. Citation Format: John David Obayemi, Jingjie Hu, Vanessa O. Uzonwanne, Olushola S. Odusanya, Karen Malatesta, Nicolas Anuku, Winston O. Soboyejo. Ligand-conjugated Biosynthesized Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles for the Detection of Triple Negative Breast Cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Ninth AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2016 Sep 25-28; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2017;26(2 Suppl):Abstract nr C28.


BACKGROUND
It is unknown whether iron supplementation in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected children living in regions with high infection pressure is safe or beneficial. A 2-arm, double-blind, randomized, controlled trial was conducted to examine the effects of iron supplementation on hemoglobin, HIV disease progression, and morbidity.

METHODS
HIV-infected Malawian children aged 6-59 months with moderate anemia (hemoglobin level, 7.0-9.9 g/dL) were randomly assigned to receive 3 mg/kg/day of elemental iron and multivitamins (vitamins A, C, and D) or multivitamins alone for 3 months. Participants were followed for 6 months.

RESULTS
A total of 209 children were randomly assigned to treatment, and 196 (93.8%) completed 6 months of follow-up. Iron supplementation was associated with greater increases in hemoglobin concentrations (adjusted mean difference [aMD], 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI], .06-1.13; P = .03) and reduced the risk of anemia persisting for up to 6 months follow-up (adjusted prevalence ratio, 0.59; 95% CI, .38-.92; P = .02). Children who received iron had a better CD4 percentage response at 3 months (aMD, 6.00; 95% CI, 1.84-10.16; P = .005) but an increased incidence of malaria at 6 months (incidence rate, 120.2 vs 71.7; adjusted incidence rate ratio [aIRR], 1.81 [95% CI, 1.04-3.16]; P = .04), especially during the first 3 months (incidence rate, 78.1 vs 36.0; aIRR, 2.68 [95% CI, 1.08-6.63]; P = .03).

CONCLUSIONS
Iron supplementation in anemic HIV-infected children has beneficial effects on hemoglobin, anemia, and immunity but increases the risk of malaria. Thus, iron supplementation in HIV-infected children living in malaria-endemic areas should only be provided in combination with adequate protection from malaria.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION
ISRCTN-62947977.


OBJECTIVE
To obtain high?quality low?dose CT images using total generalized variation regularization based on the projection data for low?dose CT reconstruction.

METHODS
The projection data of the CT images were transformed from Poisson distribution to Gaussian distribution using the linear Anscombe transform. The transformed data were then restored by an efficient total generalized variation minimization algorithm. Reconstruction was finally achieved by inverse Anscombe transform and filtered back projection (FBP) method.

RESULTS
The image quality of low?dose CT was greatly improved by the proposed algorithm in both Clock and Shepp?Logan phantoms. The signal?to?noise ratios (SNRs) of the Clock and Shepp-Logan images reconstructed by FBP algorithm were 17.752 dB and 19.379 dB, which were increased by the proposed algorithm to 24.0352 and 23.4181 dB, respectively. The NMSE of the Clock and Shepp?Logan images reconstructed by FBP algorithm was 0.86% and 0.58%, which was reduced by the proposed algorithm to 0.2% and 0.23%, respectively.

CONCLUSION
The proposed method can effectively suppress noise and strip artifacts in low?dose CT images when piecewise constant assumption is not possible.


Methanol extracts of the dried leaves and seeds of Amaranthus viridis were collected and used for phytochemicals and antibacterial analysis. By detecting the MIC and zone inhibition, the antibacterial activity was determined against different bacterial and fungal strains. The extract yields from the leaves and seeds ranged 5.5-6.1 and 2.42%-3.72% w/w, respectively. Phytochemical investigation of this plant determines that tanins (6.07%-5.96%), saponins (53%-32%), alkaloids (13.14% - 11.42%), protiens (16.76%-24.51%) and glycosides (63.2%-32.3%) were rich in leaves. The extracts also contained appreciable levels of total phenolic contents (2.81-3.61 GAE, g/100 g), total flavanoid contents (18.4-5.42 QE, g/100 g) and DPPH free radical scavenging activity, showing IC50 (83.45-75.95 μg/mL) along with reducing power was calculated. The MIC of extracts ranged 178 - 645 μg/mL. The results of this study suggest the possibility of using the methanolic extracts in treating the diseases caused by the test organisms.


A European comparison of 1 mm hydrophone calibrations in the frequency range 0.5 MHz to 15 MHz is summarized. The project, organized by the Bureau Communautaire de Reference (BCR) of the Commission of the European Communities, involved five participants from different countries measuring the free-field sensitivity of three types of miniature ultrasonic hydrophone. Three different absolute calibration methods were used in the project, which was completed and published in 1991. The uncertainties quoted at the 95% confidence level ranged from 2.3% to 18%, depending on the frequency, method and laboratory. Agreement between laboratories was generally within a few parts in 102 in the range 0.5 MHz to 5 MHz but individual results differed by up to 15% from the grand mean at 10 MHz and 15 MHz.


Optimally operating an integrated electricity-gas system (IEGS) is significant for the energy sector. However, the IEGS operation model's nonconvexity makes it challenging to solve the optimal dispatch problem in the IEGS. This letter proposes an improved Benders decomposition (IBD) algorithm catering to a commonly used steady-state dispatch model of the IEGS. This IBD algorithm leverages a refined decomposition structure where the subproblems become linear and ready to be solved in parallel. We analytically compare our IBD algorithm with an existing Benders decomposition algorithm and a typical piecewise linearization method. Case studies have substantiated the higher computational efficiency of our IBD algorithm.


I study a mechanism design problem in which a designer allocates a single good to one of several agents, and the mechanism is followed by an
 aftermarket—a post‐mechanism game played between the agent who acquired the good and third‐party market participants. The designer has preferences over final outcomes, but she cannot design the aftermarket. However, she can influence its information structure by publicly disclosing information elicited from the agents by the mechanism.

 I introduce a class of allocation and disclosure rules, called
 cutoff rules, that disclose information about the buyer's type only by revealing information about the realization of a random threshold (cutoff) that she had to outbid to win the object. When there is a single agent in the mechanism, I show that the
 optimal cutoff mechanism offers full privacy to the agent. In contrast, when there are multiple agents, the optimal cutoff mechanism may disclose information about the winner's type; I provide sufficient conditions for optimality of simple designs. I also characterize aftermarkets for which restricting attention to cutoff mechanisms is without loss of generality in a subclass of all feasible mechanisms satisfying additional conditions.


WHEN an irreducible hernia is present in the groin, the chances are even that it is a femoral hernia. Femoral hernias, despite their rarity, commonly represent surgical emergencies, whereas strangulation occurs in only 1 per cent of inguinal hernias. It is not unusual for a femoral hernia to make its first appearance in the form of strangulation. In fact, this occurred in about 50 per cent of the cases presented. Because of this disposition to early incarceration and strangulation, the mortality of femoral hernia has been relatively high. In a study of the relative frequency of femoral and inguinal hernia the incidence was found to vary from 2 per cent of all hernias at the Henry Ford Hospital1to 5 per cent at St. Luke's Hospital, New York2; studies at both hospitals covered the same twenty year period. The combination of a low comparative incidence with a high


This paper is attempted to introduce the technological method and program design of the cyclone milling processing on the precise heavy threads,which are characterized by non-standard diameter,too hard materials and having more holes than usual.The practice shows that this is an efficient method which can strictly control the preciseness of the screw.


It is becoming quite obvious that there has been a serious erosion of moral values in this country which has affected the corporate, academic, and political worlds. Something has to be done or we will continue to face crisis after crisis, possibly even worse than the Great Recession of 2008. There is a growing belief that education – K-12 as well as higher education – has to focus on teaching students values, intellectual virtues, and character education. These values include integrity, conscientiousness, curiosity, determination, resilience, and self-confidence. The authors demonstrate how Psalms with its inspiring and rousing hymns can be used to teach important values to people. This paper examines several of the most powerful statements in Psalms and demonstrates how they provide guidance and inspiration for all, including and especially for those in positions of leadership.This paper is currently under review. For more information contact the authors.


This essay takes a look at Israel's security policy and the definition of threat as a major factor in building up the security policies. This essay brings up also the problems of having a realist way of acting towards a more constructivist problem, as it is in this case. To understand better the constructivist context an analysis of Israel's security policy and a research of its roots are made as well as how Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hamas and Hezbollah are seen as threats to the Israeli state security.The aim is to look at the problem and at the basis of the foundation of both the organizations and Israel. From there, the conclusion takes its essence. In fact. what come forward are the social structures that created the infrastructures and this phenomenon is the root of the problem and not just the balance of power, which tends to come from a more bipolar problem thinking. This means that this problem might be easier to please with a more constructivist way of thinking and of looking at the problem to be able to think of solving it.


BACKGROUND
To perform a minimally invasive repair for pectus excavatum safely, accurate knowledge of the anatomy of the retrosternal region is crucial. This study was carried out to provide more information on this region.

METHODS
1. Using 32 human cadavers, the vascular structure in the retrosternal region was studied. 2. The pleura, transverse thoracic ligament, pericardium, and diaphragm were taken from 10 fresh cadavers, and their thicknesses and breaking strengths were measured.

RESULTS
Thick vessels connecting the internal mammary vessels and anterosuperior phrenic vessels were present in a certain number of cadavers. This presence of a vascular communication was observed in 44 % of left thoracic cavities and 12.5 % of right thoracic cavities. The breaking strengths of the pericardium and diaphragm were found to be nearly ten times greater than that of the pleura.

CONCLUSIONS
Care should be taken not to injure vessels connecting the internal mammary vessels and anterosuperior phrenic vessels when performing retrosternal undermining of the xiphoid region. Since the pericardium is much thicker than the pleura, injury of the pericardium can be avoided by careful undermining.


Although there is a significant body of research devoted to the shallow water hydrodynamic aspects of ships, several unexamined topics remain. Among these is that of critical outer flow in a dredged channel and its influence on parameters of interest. While empirical methods can be used with ease to resolve this, they can provide results with reliability sufficient only for an early design stage. On the other hand, more sophisticated potential flow theories are either inapplicable or do not perform well at the critical limit. However, RANS (Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes) – based tools can accurately capture all underlying phenomena without relying on limiting assumptions. This paper presents an attempt at comparing some results obtained via a CFD-based RANS solver and the slender body theory for critical outer flow in a dredged channel.


Background: Oncoplastic surgery has dramatically improved patient outcomes following breast conservation, however, most patients require adjuvant radiation therapy following surgery. Adjuvant radiation is essential in order to decrease local recurrence rates, yet marking and identifying the exact location of the tumor bed that requires radiation remains challenging. This is particularly true when oncoplastic surgery is used to bring local tissue flaps into the area in order to reconstruct the defect created by surgical excision. Many surgeons currently place clips at various positions within the cavity in order to help define the target area. Alternatively, if no clips are placed, postoperative tissue changes visible on CT scan are used to determine the target location. Unfortunately, both of these current methods are imprecise and can be misleading for radiation treatment planning resulting in over or under estimation of the planned treatment volume. Given the shortcomings of current methods for targeting the lumpectomy cavity, we evaluated the utility of a new 3-dimensional bioabsorbable tissue marker as a more standardized approach. Methods and Materials: 40 patients with Stage I or II breast cancer were implanted with the BioZorb™ tissue marker (Portola Valley, CA) during partial mastectomy. All patients had pre-operative staging to insure they were appropriate candidates for breast conservation. Following excision of the tumor, a BioZorb tissue marker was sutured into the cavity. In some cases, oncoplastic techniques (including mobilization of glandular flaps) were used to reconstruct the defect from the partial mastectomy. The flaps were sutured through and around the BioZorb. In other cases, the walls of the lumpectomy cavity and the overlying tissue flaps were sutured to the BioZorb as a structural element. In all cases, the margins of the excision site were approximated to the edges or through the center of the tissue marker. Results: The surgical marker was easily inserted in all cases, and was clearly visualized with clinical imaging in all patients. Insertion did not interfere with surgical techniques, nor did it preclude concomitant surgical procedures such as wire localization, sentinel lymph node biopsy and/or breast reconstruction with oncoplastic techniques. Radiation treatment planning was easier and more precise based upon the visibility of the bioabsorbable and permanent components of the marker. The marker decreased boost volume significantly, and was particularly useful for radiation planning when there was no remaining seroma cavity at the surgical site. Conclusions: This novel 3-D bioabsorbable tissue marker reliably marked the area of surgical excision in a standardized fashion. Both the bioabsorbable and permanent clips within the marker are useful for radiation treatment planning and clinical follow-up of the surgical site. The marker was particularly useful in defining the surgical area when oncoplastic techniques were used to close the surgical cavity, and/or when no remaining seroma was present. This new method of marking the cavity allows for marked improvement in radiation treatment planning and may facilitate the use of advanced techniques in radiation delivery as well. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P5-15-09.


Orbital angular momentum (OAM) in optical vortices (OV) beams offers a new dimension of space mode because coaxially propagating OV beams with different azimuthal OAM states are mutually orthogonal. As a result, the beams can be efficiently multiplexed and de-multiplexed to potentially increase the capacity of the optical communication system. Therefore, up to now, the azimuthal indices of the transverse spatial mode has been investigated for many times. This paper focuses on another mode, which can be called as radial indices of Laguerre–Gaussian beam. A novel OAM encoding system with high-order radial indices is established by simulation for the optical communication system. At the transmitter, a series of holograms of the Laguerre–Gaussian mode with different radial indices are used to achieve coaxial transmission of multiplexing beams, where each beam represents one data bit. At the receiver, we use the superposition of a conjugate light field corresponding to the transmitted beams for de-multiplexing the multiplexed beams. Meanwhile, the combination of the phase-shift factor and centroid algorithm can realize the simultaneous detection of the radial indices in each channel and efficient decoding of information. We also analyze the measurement deviation on the performance of an encoding system and give the corresponding discussions.


Few studies about how heterotopic ossification (HO) affects functional outcome after metal-on-metal total hip resurfacing (MOMHR) have been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and clinical significance of HO after MOMHR. We retrospectively reviewed 122 consecutive patients, who underwent MOMHR from June 2006 to October 2008, with adequate follow-up information. All patients had four weeks of aspirin (325 mg twice a day) for DVT prophylaxis and two weeks of celecoxib (400 mg once a day) for pain control. All data were collected prospectively including radiographs and functional scores preoperatively, at three months and at one year postoperatively. An independent musculoskeletal radiologist, using the Brooker classification, reviewed radiographs. Unbalanced ANOVA analyses were performed to evaluate the effect of HO on outcome. The overall incidence of HO at three months was 62.1% (grade 1:39.8%, grade 2:20.4%, grade 3:1.9%) and 75% at one year (grade 1: 41.7%, grade 2: 27.8%, grade 3: 5.5%). There were no significant differences in the functional status scores among Brooker grade 0 to 3 groups at three months and one year follow-up. The incidence of HO after MOMHR was 62.1% at three months and 75% at one year despite a post-operative regimen of aspirin and celecoxib. We found no evidence that predominantly Brooker grade 1 or 2 HO affected the clinical outcome at three months or one year when compared across all Brooker classes of patients.


Age-related cardiac remodeling is characterized by changes in myocardial structure, which include fibrosis (ie, increased collagen concentration). The pathogenetic mechanisms of age-related cardiac changes and possible pharmacologic interventions are still a matter of investigation. A morphometric analysis of collagen accumulation was performed in Sirius Red-stained left ventricular sections of 3-month-old and 5-6-year-old animals after a 9-month period of propionyl-L-carnitine treatment (PLC; 120 mg Kg−1 day−1 per os); aged rabbits showed decreased interstitial collagen accumulation and no changes in cellularity and apoptotic rate compared to controls. Age-related expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)-positive microvessels was also reduced in PLC-treated rabbits. In vitro, the 16-hour, 10-μM PLC treatment reduced collagen type 1 and VCAM-1 transcripts, which were investigated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, more markedly in cardiac fibroblasts from aged donors. In the latter, the anti-VCAM-1 antibody treatment was found to be associated with a reduction in collagen type I transcripts. Our results demonstrated that long-term PLC treatment partially prevents age-related interstitial remodeling and suggests that a more complex interstitial cell-to-cell signaling regulates senescent myocardium properties.


The damage mechanisms of intraocular Nd:YAG laser surgery and their respective damage ranges were investigated in vitro using bovine cornea specimens as a model tissue. The main damage mechanisms are plasma formation and expansion, emission of acoustic transients, and cavitation with jet formation. When a sequence of laser pulses is applied, the interaction of the acoustic transients with gas bubbles remaining from preceding laser exposures is also important. To distinguish the effects caused by the different physical mechanisms, laser pulses were aimed directly onto the corneal endothelium, through the cornea, and parallel to the cornea at various distances. Simultaneously, the cavitation bubble size was determined. The damage range of the acoustic transients produced by a 4 mJ laser pulse is several millimeters, when they can interact with small gas bubbles attached to the corneal endothelium. >


ABSTRACT
Banana must was treated with pectinase and α-amylase to hydrolyze pectin and starch prior to its use to produce a wine product. The synergistic activities of the enzymes enhanced hydrolysis of the complex carbohydrates. A decrease of 55% in the viscosity and a 2.7-fold increase in the amount of extracted juice were obtained after incubating with 0.05% (w/w) of pectinase at 40C for 2 h, followed by treating with 0.05% (w/w) of α-amylase at 50C for 3 h. A 15 and 39% increase in total soluble sugars and reducing sugars in extracted juice were achieved, respectively. Enzyme-treated banana must was diluted with four volumes of water and then fermented by yeast to produce banana wine. The pretreatment of banana with enzymes before wine fermentation resulted in a higher level of reducing sugars than that of the control (nonenzyme-treated banana wine) during fermentation. The clarity of the enzyme-treated banana wine was also fourfold higher than that of the control at 25 days of fermentation. The concentrations of total soluble solids, total soluble sugars, and alcohol in the enzyme-treated banana wine and the control have no significant differences.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
Banana fruits contain high nutrition sources of carbohydrate, minerals and vitamins. Banana-based wine has a good flavor and can be considered ahealthy alcoholic beverage. However, polymeric carbohydrates like pectin and starch in banana cause the turbidity and viscosity of the wine and make the clarification process harder. Application of pectinase and α-amylase that affect the quality of wine is important for improving the process of banana wine production. This study highlights the effectiveness of pectinase and α-amylase treatments on banana wine production such as increasing the banana juice extraction yield, decreasing the viscosity of banana must, forming simple sugars and oligosaccharides to facilitate yeast growth during fermentation and improving the clarification process.


The consensus in the empirical literature on political participation is that education positively correlates with political participation. Theoretical explanations posit that education confers participation-enhancing benefits that in and of themselves cause political activity. As most of the variation in educational attainment arises between high school completion and decisions to enter postsecondary institutions, we focus our inquiry on estimating the effect of higher education on political participation. Our primary purpose is to test the conventional claim that higher education causes political participation. We utilize propensity-score matching to address the nonrandom assignment process that characterizes the acquisition of higher education. After the propensity-score matching process takes into account preadult experiences and influences in place during the senior year of high school, the effects of higher education per se on participation disappear. Our results thus call for a reconsideration of how scholars understand the positive empirical relationship between higher education and participation: that higher education is a proxy for preadult experiences and influences, not a cause of political participation.


This article describes the batch Markovian arrival process (BMAP), a point process that is characterized by Markov-modulated batch arrivals of random size. The BMAP is a generalization of many well-known processes including the Markovian arrival process (MAP), the Poisson process, and the Markov-modulated Poisson process. It provides a common framework for modeling arrival processes in a variety of applications. We formally define the continuous- and discrete-time BMAP, review a few basic results for each, and show how these processes generalize many common point processes. Additionally, we provide suggestions for further reading on the subject.

Keywords:

batch Markovian arrival process;
Markovian arrival process;
batch arrivals


This paper reports an investigation of the spectrum and term system of Li-like carbon, C IV. Between 200 and 7750 Å a total of 105 C IV lines have been identified by combining previously known data with new spectra recorded by the beam-foil technique and from observations at the JET tokamak. A comprehensive term system, with accurate energies for all levels up to n = 12, is constructed from the identified transitions. Semiempirical series formulae are also given, allowing reliable extrapolations to still higher n values. The ionization energy is determined to (520 175.3 ± 1.5) cm−1, which confirms recent theoretical predictions that include quantum electrodynamical (QED) corrections.


In recent years, analysis of hair matrix has gained increasing importance in the determination of substances of abuse in many forensic fields. Hair analysis for drugs abuse can be expand the toxicological examination of conventional materials and thus contribute with additional important information to the complex evaluation of a certain case. Hair is a unique material for the retrospective investigation of chronic drug consumption, intentional or unintentional chronic drug toxicity in criminal cases. When compared with other biological samples, hair provides a large window for drug detection. Drugs get deposited in hair through blood circulation by various mechanisms, after its administration. The drug in hair is much stable and can be detected after a longer period of time as compared with other biological samples, such as urine, blood, and others. The main advantage of analyzing hair is its capacity to provide information over a long period of time before the sample was obtained, and also the fact that it accumulates the main drug and its metabolites. The present study discusses the analysis of drugs abuse in hair sample for the postmortem case, although the technique is common in many countries but it considers as new technique in Kuwait, and the forensic toxicology laboratory is just added this kind of analysis in Lab protocol, since the hair samples give a great and clean results of drugs and narcotics. Also, in this study different extraction procedures used to perform forensic toxicological analysis in hair as well as a sample preparation. The hair results of the postmortem case were supported by additional analysis of biological samples of both urine and blood that gives information of drugs have been taken. Immunoassay and high-performance liquid chromatography is an effective means for identifying drugs in various samples analyzed to give full survey in the present study case. As a result, hair analysis become part of forensic laboratory procedures, mostly due to better extraction methods allowing current instrumental analysis to detect lower amounts of certain drugs in hair, especially in the absence of other samples suitable for analysis.


Objective Congenital heart diseases are observed in 5 to 8 of every 1000 live births. The presence of a valuable biomarker during the surgical periods may aid the clinician in a more accurate prognosis during treatment. Methods For this reason, surfactant protein B plasma levels may help to evaluate patients with cardiac problems diminishing the alveolocapillary membrane stability. In this study, plasma levels of this biomarker were measured in the preoperative and postoperative periods. This study was conducted to detect the differences between pulmonary hypertensive and normotensive patients. The differences before and after cardiopulmonary bypass were examined. Results The differences in cardiopulmonary bypass time, cross-clamp time , inotropic support dose, and duration of intensive care of patients with and without pulmonary hypertensive were found to be statistically significant (P<0.05). The results revealed that this pathophysiological state was related to other variables that were studied. We believe that the differences in preoperative and postoperative SPB levels could be attributed to alveolocapillary membrane damage and alveolar surfactant dysfunction. We found that this pathophysiological condition was significantly associated with postoperative parameters. Conclusion The findings of the current study showed that surfactant protein B was present in the blood of patients with a congenital heart disease during the preoperative period. Long by-pass times may exert damage to the alveolocapillary membrane in patients with pulmonary hypertension and preoperative heart failure, and it is recommended to keep the option of surfactant therapy in mind during the postoperative course at the intensive care unit before preparing the patients for extubation.


its instability, its short duration of action, and its requirement for carefully monitored infusion techniques. For the present, then, we must accept that prostacyclin is indeed powerful and useful in extracorporeal shunts. How ironic that, despite its early claims to be a natural balancing substance in the thrombotic equation, the usefulness of prostacyclin has been most clearly proved in entirely man made settings where blood meets an artificial surface. In the common spontaneous vascular diseases we must recognise that not only is prostacyclin not yet of proved value but that it is unlikely to be so. The real hope here lies in the exploitation of this novel compound to generate a stable, orally active prostacyclin analogue which will have selective affinity for the platelet receptors and will have minimal effects on the heart and blood vessels. Like the inventor who answered his critics by saying "But what is the use of a newborn baby?" we should be prepared to say of epoprostenol "Wait till it grows up and has children of its own-for what the world is waiting for is 'Son of Prostacyclin.' J R A MITCHELL Foundation Professor of Medicine, Nottingham University, University Hospital, Nottingham NG7 2UH


Direct adsorption of human γ-globulin to bentonite resulted in marked enhancement of phagocytosis of the particles by human leukocytes in vitro.
 The opsonic activity of γ-globulin was affected by several factors: physical alteration due to purification procedures, heterogeneity, degree of aggregation and capacity to fix complement.
 Attempts to minimize these factors did not prevent opsonization. Phagocytosis was still enhanced when the γ-globulin was separated from individual sera by electroconvection, promptly adsorbed to bentonite and suspended in the bloods of the autologous donors.


We examine the effects of FDI on domestic employment and labour costs, concentrating on high-tech industrial sectors. Using a detailed firm-level dataset covering 6 sectors in 29 countries over the period 2002-10, we find no evidence of crowding out of domestic employment by FDI in 'hot' labour markets, but strong evidence of significant wage effects. These effects are strongest in countries which are typically regarded as having relatively flexible labour markets. In the long run there is some evidence of crowding out in the domestic sector, but this is restricted to transition countries.


Model predictive control (MPC) has attracted considerable research efforts and has been widely applied in various industrial processes. This thesis aims at developing economic MPC (econ MPC) strategies to optimize and control the nonlinear mechanical pulping (MP) process with two high consistency (HC) refiners, which is one of the most energy intensive processes in the pulp and paper industry. It possesses substantial economic motives and environmental benefits to develop advanced control techniques to reduce the energy consumption of MP processes. We propose four econ MPC schemes for nonlinear MP processes. Firstly, assuming that all the state variables are directly measurable, two different econ MPC schemes are proposed by adding different penalties on the state and input to ensure the closed-loop stability and convergence. Secondly, to address the issue of state variable off-sets from the steady-state target induced by above schemes, we further propose a multi-objective economic MPC (m-econ MPC) strategy. An auxiliary MPC controller and a stabilizing constraint are incorporated into the econ MPC. The stability of econ MPC is then achieved by preserving the inherent stability of the auxiliary MPC controller. Thirdly, to remove the assumption that all state variables are measurable, a moving horizon estimator (MHE) is employed to estimate the unmeasurable states. We then propose a practical framework integrating the m-econ MPC and MHE. Finally, we develop a tractable approximation for stochastic MPC (SMPC) to handle uncertainties associated with state variables. It can largely reduce the conservativeness or numerical instability incurred in robust or chance constraints of the traditional SMPC. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is validated by simulation examples of a nonlinear MP process consisting of a primary and a secondary HC refiner. It is shown that the proposed m-econ MPC schemes can significantly reduce the energy consumption (approximately 10%-27%) and guarantee the closed-loop stability and convergence. Therefore, the proposed methodology presents a great promise on practically implementing m-econ MPC to save costs for MP processes.


Chiral amino alcohols are industrially valuable intermediates used in the synthesis of many pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals. Transamination (TAm) is not only one of the most interesting industrial enzymatic reactions on its own nowadays but also the second enzymatic step of the de novo pathway studied by our research group (Bioconversion-Chemistry and Engineering Interface Programme-BiCE) for the synthesis of chiral amino alcohols. In this thesis, firstly a study on the kinetic modelling of TAm reactions was presented. Kinetic behaviour of two ω-TAm reactions employing different amino acceptors but the same amino donor was investigated. Using a Genetic Algorithm, kinetic models could be determined with only 10-12 progress curves for both reaction schemes without having any experimental data for the reverse reaction. Also, a sensitivity analysis on the kinetic parameters of both reactions was carried out. Having gained enough insight into the kinetic modelling of TAm reactions, two different sequential enzyme reactions leading to the synthesis of 2-amino-1,3,4- butanetriol (ABT) were studied. The first one involved three different enzymes, namely TAm (pQR977), Transketolase (TK) and TAm (pQR801). 100% conversion was proven possible with both experimental and simulation results in a 28 hour-long fed-batch reaction. Although, the concentrations tested in the experiments were low, this three-step sequential enzyme reaction showed great promise for further being optimized for industrial applications. The second one was a recycling sequential enzyme reaction involving three different enzymatic reactions taking place simultaneously. Two of the reactions were catalyzed by TAm (pQR1021) and one of them was catalyzed by TK. With the help of second TAm reaction not only desired product was synthesized but also one of the intermediary precursors was recycled within the system. The long term goal of this project was the integration of de novo pathways leading to the synthesis of chiral amino alcohols into host cell metabolism. Thus, the recycling sequential enzyme reaction employing only two different enzymes and two different substrates was found promising for achieving this goal. With both experimental and simulation results the favorability of this reaction was demonstrated and low amounts of ABT (~6 mM) was synthesized in a 8-hour long reaction using purified enzymes. One of the precursors in both sequential enzyme reactions was serine. In the final results chapter, a metabolic modelling methodology was used for identifying optimal metabolic engineering strategies, namely enzyme knock-outs and enzyme expression level modulations, for the overproduction of serine by employing a partial mechanistic model of central carbon metabolism of Escherichia coli. Simulation results showed 89% increase in serine synthesis in the case of doubling the expression level of SerSynth, a hypothetical enzyme for the synthesis of serine from 3-phosphoglycerate.


Many sources of uncertainty exist when emissions are modeled for a gas turbine combustion system. They originate from uncertain inputs, boundary conditions, calibration, or lack of sufficient fidelity in a model. In this paper, a nonintrusive polynomial chaos expansion (NIPCE) method is coupled with a chemical reactor network (CRN) model using Python to quantify uncertainties of NOx emission in a premixed burner. The first objective of uncertainty quantification (UQ) in this study is development of a global sensitivity analysis method based on the NIPCE method to capture aleatory uncertainty on NOx emission due to variation of operating conditions. The second objective is uncertainty analysis (UA) of NOx emission due to uncertain Arrhenius parameters in a chemical kinetic mechanism to study epistemic uncertainty in emission modeling. A two-reactor CRN consisting of a perfectly stirred reactor (PSR) and a plug flow reactor (PFR) is constructed in this study using Cantera to model NOx emission in a benchmark premixed burner under gas turbine operating conditions. The results of uncertainty and sensitivity analysis (SA) using NIPCE based on point collocation method (PCM) are then compared with the results of advanced Monte Carlo simulation (MCS). A set of surrogate models is also developed based on the NIPCE approach and compared with the forward model in Cantera to predict NOx emissions. The results show the capability of NIPCE approach for UQ using a limited number of evaluations to develop a UQ-enabled emission prediction tool for gas turbine combustion systems.


Fetal rhythm abnormalities occur in 2% of pregnancies. They are usually identified by the obstetrician or midwifes after 20 weeks. There are four different methods used to assess fetal arrhythmias: scalp electrodes attached to electrocardiographic recordings, magnetocardiography (FMCG), fetal electrocardiographic recordings from the maternal abdomen, and fetal echocardiography (M-mode, pulsed-Doppler, Tissue-Doppler). In everyday practice the Doppler method was found to be the most useful method in the diagnosis and therapy of fetal arrhythmias. Doppler derived mechanical PR interval raised the possibility of refining the prenatal diagnosis of AV conduction abnormalities. A PR interval of >150 ms on Doppler, FMCG or postnatal ECG has been determined to be prolonged. Extrasystoles are most common cause of fetal arrhythmias, and are most often premature atrial contractions (PACs), what are usually identified in third trimester fetuses and their frequency may be highly variable. These are usually benign, resolving just before or shortly after birth. The follow-up is necessary, because some (1-3%) of affected fetuses have intermittent runs of supraventricular tachycardia. Ventricular tachycardia is rare during fetal life. With echocardiography in the setting of fetal tachycardia the findings of atrioventricular dissociation with a ventricular rate that is faster than the atrial rate suggests ventricular tachycardia. If there is 1:1 retrograde conduction it is impossible to distinguish between ventricular and supraventricular tachycardia. Atrial flutter accounted for 26.2% of all cases of fetal tachyarrhythmias and supraventricular tachycardia for 73.2%. Fouron and coworkers proposed to plan the management of the fetal tachyarrhythmia based on analysis of pulsed-Doppler recordings of fetal heart's blood flow. They determined short V-A tachycardia, when V-A (ventriculoatrial period) was shorter than AV (atrio-ventricular period) period. In the therapy of fetal supraventricular tachycardia there are different protocols, the most commonly used drugs are: digoxin, sotalol, amiodarone, flecainide. Persistent fetal sinus bradycardia is a rare condition and has been reported with central nervous system abnormalities, maternal treatment with beta blockers, excessive vagal tone, hydrops, long QT syndrome, intrauterine growth retardation and could be a sign of maternal anti-SSA/Ro antibodies. Prenatal sinus bradycardia or recognition of 2nd degree AV block may lead to early detection and treatment of long QT syndrome. Early detection of incomplete AV block, in cases of maternal anti SSA, SSB autoantibodies, successfully identifies a group at highest risk developing permanent AV block. The anti-inflammatory effects of dexamethasone might have interrupted on-going damage of the conduction system secondary to maternal autoantibodies. If the fetal arrhythmia resulted fetal hydrops, the mortality is high and the risk of late neurological morbidity must be taken into consideration. As a result of close follow-up, transplacentar treatment and well-organized perinatal management, the survival of sustained fetal arrhythmia significantly improved (50%


A set of consumer-level characteristic demand models were estimated to determine the level of brand equity for pork and beef meat cuts. Results indicate that brand premiums and discounts vary by private, national, and store brands; and brand equity varies across meat cuts carrying the same brand name. Other results are that product size discounts are linear, meat items on sale are significantly discounted to non-sale items, specialty stores typically do not garner higher prices than supermarket/grocery store, and warehouse/super center stores typically premium price to supermarket/ grocery store.


Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS) is a disorder in which the person experiences a strong urge to move their legs or other extremities during rest. This urge to move is associated with tingling, pulling or other unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings; it usually slowl increases in the affected limb and often affects sleep. The incidence in general population is 5-15%. Although the pathophysiology is not fully understood, it was thought to result from the iron and dopamine metabolism irregularities and also has a genetic component. There are publications that show the frequency of disease in patients with iron deficiency or renal failure reaches up to 80%. In this study, we investigated the incidence of restless leg syndrome in anemic patients without any other organic disease or drug use, which can cause restless legs syndrome. We also tried to find out if there is a relation between restless legs syndrome, ferritin levels, anxiety and depression. Our retrospective, cross sectional study was made in The Ministry of Health and family medicine, neurology and psychiatry outpatient clinics of Ordu University Education and Research Hospital. 47 patients who were admitted to above mentioned clinics whose ferritin levels were under 50 ng/ml without any other disease and were not on medication (including those indicated for iron deficiency anemia) was included in to the study. All patients were given the Beck depression inventory and Beck anxiety inventory. The patients were questioned in terms of the basic diagnostic criteria established by International Restless Legs Syndrome Study Group. Definitive diagnosis could be established by the patients that meet the four criterias for the diagnosis. International Restless Legs Scale applied to patients diagnosed with RLS. Of 47 patients, 39 were female and 8 were male. 28 (%59.6) of the patients met the criteria of RLS. 28 patients with a diagnosis of RLS; 4 of them mild, 11 of them moderate, 8 of them severe and 5 of them experienced very severe symptoms of RLS. The relationship between the RLS and ferritin levels were checked and there was no statistically significant difference between them. A significant difference was not found in Beck depression scores between patients with and without RLS, but when the groups were compared in terms of Beck anxiety score, there were a significant difference. There was no significant relationship between RLS severity and Beck depression or Beck anxiety scores. RLS can be seen in %5-15 of general population and it is much more likely to emerge in the presence of an organic problem such as iron deficiency anemia. The diagnosis of the disorder is set clinically and RLS had a different significance because it may cause sleep disturbances and psychiatric disorders. If not questioned, this problem, which is not easily noticeable, can lead to misdiagnosis and misinterpreted as an anxiety disorder or a primary sleep disorder. Therefore the symptoms that could be corrected only by iron deficiency treatment, could be insamed further by giving antidepressants and hypnotics.


Recently, the mobile industry has experienced an extreme increment in number of its users. The GSM network with the greatest worldwide number of users succumbs to several security vulnerabilities. Although some of its security problems are addressed in its upper generations, there are still many operators using 2G systems. This paper briefly presents the most important security flaws of the GSM network and its transport channels. It also provides some practical solutions to improve the security of currently available 2G systems.


Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) continue to be major contributors of death and disability globally. Control of CVD risk factors has been shown to be effective in reducing morbidity and mortality both in primary and secondary prevention settings. Given the cumulative benefits of concurrently controlling multiple CVD risk factors (high blood pressure, dyslipidemia and platelet activity) in individuals at high risk, administration of a polypill consisting of antihypertensive, antidyslipidemic and antiplatelet agents together could simultaneously lower multiple risk factors and applying such a population risk-reduction strategy has the potential to considerably reduce CVD burden. Furthermore, the availability of an inexpensive generic polypill might improve medication adherence and reduce the evidence–practice gap for individuals who already have an indication for long-term treatment with these agents. A few clinical trials have provided early evidence about the safety and efficacy of polypill in primary preve...


Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreaticography (ERCP) is the morphologic gold standard for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) enables the visualization of not only the pancreatic duct but also the surrounding parenchyma using T2- and T1-weighted sequences before and after the application of a contrast agent. Moreover, it allows the depiction of ductal segments distal to a stenosis or occlusion. However, conventional Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreaticography (MRCP) was not able to achieve accuracy similar to that of ERCP. Despite many technological innovations, such as fast breath-hold acquisitions or respiratory-gated 3D sequences, this drawback could not be overcome. In recent years, secretin-enhanced MRCP has been used for the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis. A recent study showed that secretin not only improves the visibility of the pancreatic duct and its side branches but it also enhances the diagnostic accuracy of MRCP. The sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were improved by the application of secretin. Moreover, the agreement between independent observers increased after the use of secretin. In addition, quantitative post-processing tools have been developed that enable the measurement of the exocrine pancreatic output non-invasively using secretin-enhanced MRCP. These tools facilitate applications, such as functional follow-up after pancreaticogastrostomy and pancreaticogastric anastomoses, evaluation of the functional status of the graft after pancreas transplantation and follow-up of pancreatic drainage procedures and duct disruption.


A Backlund transformation between two hyperbolic Monge-Ampere systems may be described as a certain type of exterior differential system on a 6-dimensional manifold B. The transformation is homogeneous if the group of symmetries of the system acts transitively on B. We give a complete classification of homogeneous Backlund transformations between hyperbolic Monge-Ampere systems.


This paper presents a general method and the mathematical equations for estimating in situ reaction rates from the tracer and reactive solute breakthrough curves obtained from single-well push-pull tests (PPTs). The in situ zeroth-order reaction rates can be obtained through the linear regression of the net mass transfer of reactive solutes versus time. The method was first tested for scenarios of various concentrations of reactive constituents and conservative tracer in background and injection solution using a numerical reactive transport model and was then applied to a set of field biostimulation data from PPTs performed at the U.S. Department of Energy9s Natural and Accelerated Bioremediation Research Program9s Field Research Center (Oak Ridge, TN). The results show that the method is general and can be applied to each of the scenarios as long as the concentrations in background water are known. While the method presents practitioners with a simplified and economic tool for a first approximation analysis of in situ reaction rates from PPT data, the derived reaction orders and rates are apparent and bulk properties by nature, masking the complexity of competing reactions regarding the reactive solute of interest.


In the postscript to his book, Adrian Athique reminds us that 'the very term "digital society" implies that binary computing is the central technology defining social organisation and personal interaction in the world today' (p. 261), before inserting a few cautionary disclaimers. He uses the term 'digital society' throughout the book, because other available terms to describe the role and impact of digital media in contemporary society do not capture the breadth of what Athique attempts to cover, which is impressive. It is a little odd, then, that the title is not 'digital society', but rather 'digital media and society', implying a separation between the two, whereas the former would be more reflective of the overall approach, suggesting that digital media are an integral part of contemporary society. However, this does not detract from the ground it covers, both in historical and theoretical terms. The book rather ambitiously attempts to explore how 'a whole way of life', in all its complexity, becomes infused with the presence of digital systems. Its over-arching aim is 'to situate the rise of the digital media within the context of dynamic social interaction and to encourage a critical engagement with our complex and rapidly changing world' (p. 1). As this book is targeted primarily at students, Athique follows that up with: 'I want you to read this book and make up your own mind about what is going on' (p. 1). This process is usefully aided by a number of 'student-friendly' devices. Each chapter has a series of greyedout boxes with either quotes by significant theorists or 'dot point summaries' of key points and concepts. Each chapter also concludes with a page that has three sections: 'Think and Discuss' (including key terms and critical questions), 'Further Reading' and 'Go Online' (suggested web links). This goes some way towards assisting students to come to terms with the challenging and at times theoretically dense prose in the main body of the chapters. In terms of structure, the book is clearly divided into four main parts of four chapters each, which feed into each other in ways that make logical sense: 'Digital Histories', 'Digital Individuals', 'Digital Economies' and 'Digital Authorities'. To Athique's credit, the book provides frequent links between these sections and refers back to earlier arguments in others. Furthermore, it is very skilful in placing various theories in their historical contexts. Overall, in a context characterised by a lot of published, but at times fragmented, 'noise' around digital media and society, Athique's book provides a clear, well-structured and comprehensive overview of the historical development of both digital media and the variety of approaches to theorise their impact. If we allow for the duly acknowledged 'Anglophone bias', the book convincingly explores a contemporary 'digital society'. – Henk Huijser, Research, Teaching and Learning Division, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education


The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of phase-contrast cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in endoscopic aqueductoplasty (EA) for patients with obstructive hydrocephalus. The clinical diagnosis of hydrocephalus caused by aqueduct obstruction in 23 patients was confirmed by phase-contrast cine MRI examination. The patients were treated with EA and MRI was repeated during the follow-up. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow velocity in the aqueduct was measured to determine whether the aqueduct was obstructed. The results of phase-contrast cine MRI examinations indicated that there was no CSF flow in the aqueduct for all patients prior to surgery. Aqueductoplasty was successfully performed in all patients. The results of phase-contrast cine MRI examinations performed a week after surgery demonstrated an average CSF flow velocity of 4.74±1.77 cm/sec. During the follow-up, intracranial hypertension recurred in two patients in whom CSF flow was not observed in the aqueduct by the phase-contrast cine MRI scan. Aqueduct re-occlusion was revealed by an endoscopic exploration. By measuring the CSF flow velocity, phase-contrast cine MRI accurately identifies aqueduct obstruction. Cine MRI is a nontraumatic, simple and reliable method for determining whether the aqueduct is successfully opened following aqueductoplasty.


Abstract. The detection of the contour of a binary object is a common problem; however, the area of a region, and its moments, can be a significant parameter. In several metrology applications, the area of planar objects must be measured. The area is obtained by counting the pixels inside the contour or using a discrete version of Green's formula. Unfortunately, we obtain the area enclosed by the polygonal line passing through the centers of the pixels along the contour. We present a modified version of Green's theorem in the discrete plane, which allows for the computation of the exact area of a two-dimensional region in the class of polyominoes. Penalties are introduced and associated with each successive pair of Freeman displacements along the contour in an eight-connectivity system. The proposed equation is shown to be true and properties of the equation related to the topology of the regions are presented. The proposed approach is adapted for faster computation than the combinatorial approach proposed in the literature.


Recent advances in reconstructive surgery for head and neck cancer have improved the cure rate of advanced carcinoma, and the function of the organ. However, it still remains difficult to repair the mandible and oral floor. We devised a combined flap of myocutaneous latissimus dorsi and iliac bone, and applied it to two patients with advanced carcinoma of the oral cavity that invaded to the mandible (T4N3M0). Each patient received preoperative irradiation, totalling 30 Gy and 40 Gy. Two weeks before the extensive resection, a sufficient bony mass for the presumed mandibular defect was taken from the iliac crest and transplanted beneath the latissimus dorsi muscle. Defects of the mandible and oral floor were reconstructed using this combined flap immediately after the resection. The patients began to eat 2 weeks after surgery.


The expression of involucrin was studied in a group of skin neoplasms, mostly of adnexal origin. As happens with other types of epithelial tumours, involucrin was detected in the most differentiated areas (presenting a squamoid or ductal differentiation). No reactivity was observed in non-epithelial skin tumours. These results suggest that involucrin is a specific marker for epithelial and adnexal differentiation of skin tumours and may thus be a useful aid in histopathologic diagnosis and classification of neoplasms.


Accurate and computationally efficient mathematical models are fundamental for designing, optimizing, and controlling wave energy converters. Wave energy devices are likely to exhibit significant nonlinear behaviour, over their full operational envelope, so that nonlinear models may become indispensable.
 Froude-Krylov nonlinearities are of great importance in point absorbers but, in general, their calculation requires an often unacceptable increase in model complexity and computational time. However, if the body is assumed to be axisymmetric, it is possible to describe the whole geometry analytically, thereby allowing faster calculation of nonlinear Froude-Krylov forces.
 In this paper, a convenient parametrization of axisymmetric body geometries is proposed, applicable to devices moving in surge, heave, and pitch. In general, the Froude-Krylov integrals must be solved numerically. Assuming small pitch angles, it is possible to further simplify the problem, and achieve an algebraic solution, which is considerably faster than numerical integration.


Objective: Esophageal cancer (EC) represents a life-threatening tumor with an ever-increasing incidence rate. Long intergenic non-protein coding RNAs (LINCs) have also become a topic of interest in EC. In a similar light, the current study aimed to investigate the role of LINC00261 in EC radioresistance. Methods: Firstly, radioresistant EC cell lines TE-1-R and TE-5-R were established using TE-1 and TE-5 cells. Subsequently, LINC00261, microRNA (miR)-552-3p, and DIRAS1 expression patterns in EC tissues and adjacent normal tissues and EC cells were evaluated. In addition, survival fraction (SF), colony formation, apoptosis, and γ-H2AX levels were analyzed, followed by the detection of the binding relation between LINC00261 and miR-552-3p and between miR-552-3p and DIRAS1. Lastly, xenograft transplantation was carried out to confirm the effects of LINC00261 on EC radioresistance in vivo. Results: LINC00261 and DIRAS1 were poorly-expressed in EC tissues and cells, but miR-552-3p was over-expressed. In EC cells with X-ray radiation, over-expression of LINC00261 reduced SF and cell viability, strengthened γ-H2AX levels, and promoted apoptosis, while all these trends were counteracted by miR-522-3p over-expression or DIRAS1 silencing. Mechanistic investigation further validated the binding relation between LINC00261 and miR-552-3p, and between miR-552-3p and DIRAS1. Moreover, LINC00261 over-expression suppressed tumor growth and reduced EC radioresistance in vivo. Conclusion: Altogether, our findings indicated that LINC00261 exerts a suppressive effect on EC radioresistance via the competing endogenous RNA network to sponge miR-552-3p and up-regulate DIRAS1 transcription.


Occasionally pesticides have been used excessively for the pest control in agriculture, and many of these compounds become toxic for living organisms, including man. Adjacent lands to Guacanayabo gulf, Cuba, show an important use in agriculture, mainly in rice due to the contribution of fluvial waters from several hydrographical basins. The coastal area from Manzanillo to Niquero, Granma province, is the habitat of commercial shrimps, oysters and fish. The objective of the study was to determine in that region the presence of chemical residues from pesticides in the waters, sediments and shells of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae, Guilding (1828), as indicators of contamination. Samplings were carried out in maximum rainfall months. Besides samples for pesticide determination by gas chromatography, hydrology was studied, and there were carried out surveys (85 farmers) to know about pesticide types, dose and application frequency per crop, for conceptual analysis of the study objective. Results indicate a non-affectation by chemical residues of pesticides in any of the evaluated matrixes; and satisfactory quality of the waters for fishing use according to the used hydrological indicators. Ignorance exists on the farmer part on the application and dose of these chemical products, and recommendations are offered on pesticide use to prevent future impacts on the ecosystems.


In this paper I provide a theoretical analysis of difficulties experienced by students in having to transfer concepts they have learnt in high school to university mathematics. This analysis is based on the assumption that mathematical knowl edge can be represented in the form of organised structures called schemas. The organisational quality of students' mathematical schemas is a function of spread of network and strength of links between pieces of information. Well-developed schemas are argued here to facilitate assimilation of university mathematical con cepts and the use of this new information in the solution of novel problems.


Introduction: Emotional intelligence is a new evolution in the field of thought - excitement relationship, which has a major effect on the success of managers. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the relationship between emotional intelligence and the success of educational managers at Golestan University of medical sciences. Methods: This study was conducted with all (n=96) educational managers (45 females and 51 males) at Golestan University of Medical Sciences who were selected through census method in 2009. Data collection tools included a demographic data questionnaire, Shring Emotional Intelligence Scale and a success questionnaire. Relationship between emotional intelligence of the educational managers and their success rate was analyzed by spearman correlation coefficient. Results: The findings showed that mean emotional intelligence of successful and unsuccessful managers were 98.74 and 76.74 respectively. The spearman correlation coefficient between emotional intelligence and success of managers was 0.71 which indicates a direct relationship between emotional intelligence and success (P<0.001). Conclusion: With regard to the direct relationship between emotional intelligence of managers and their success demonstrated in this study, organizing some workshops on emotional intelligence are suggested to improve the capabilities of organizational managers.


In the era of Information Technology, cyber-crime has always been a worrying issue for online users. Phishing, social engineering, and third party attacks have made people reluctant to share their personal information, even with trusted entities. Messages that are sent via Short Message Service (SMS) are easily copied and hacked by using special software. To enforce the security of sending messages through mobile phones, one solution is SMS steganography. SMS Steganography is a technique that hides a secret message in the SMS. We propose a new approach for SMS steganography that uses a mathematical equation as the stego media in order to transmit the data. With this approach, we can hide up to 35 characters (25%) of a secret message on a single SMS with maximum of 140 characters.


Articulatory representation learning is the fundamental research in modeling neural speech production system. Our previous work has established a deep paradigm to decompose the articulatory kinematics data into gestures, which explicitly model the phonological and linguistic structure encoded with human speech production mechanism, and corresponding gestural scores. We continue with this line of work by raising two concerns: (1) The articulators are entangled together in the original algorithm such that some of the articulators do not leverage effective moving patterns, which limits the interpretability of both gestures and gestural scores; (2) The EMA data is sparsely sampled from articulators, which limits the intelligibility of learned representations. In this work, we propose a novel articulatory representation decomposition algorithm that takes the advantage of guided factor analysis to derive the articulatory-specific factors and factor scores. A neural convolutive matrix factorization algorithm is then employed on the factor scores to derive the new gestures and gestural scores. We experiment with the rtMRI corpus that captures the fine-grained vocal tract contours. Both subjective and objective evaluation results suggest that the newly proposed system delivers the articulatory representations that are intelligible, generalizable, efficient and interpretable.


Ischemic stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Post‐ischemia, microglia respond immediately to the alternations in neuronal activity and mediate inflammation. Toll‐like receptor 4 (TLR4) plays a key role in this phenomenon. To explore the effect of loureirin C, an effective compound from Chinese Dragon's blood, on ischemic stroke, Sprague–Dawley rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion/reperfusion (MCAO/R) with/without intragastric administration of loureirin C (7, 14, and 28 mg/kg). Loureirin C alleviated MCAO/R‐induced brain impairment evaluated by neurological scores (p < 0.001), brain water content (p < 0.001), and cerebral infarct volume (p = 0.001). The neuroprotective (p < 0.001) and inhibitory effects on microglial activation (p < 0.001) of loureirin C were revealed by immunofluorescence. Rescue studies with TLR4 overexpression in BV‐2 microglia showed that the antiinflammatory effect of loureirin C was attributable to the inhibition of TLR4 protein expression. Moreover, co‐immunoprecipitation assays showed that the binding of Triad3A, an E3 ubiquitin ligase of TLR4, was increased by loureirin C (p = 0.003). Our study demonstrates that loureirin C could be a promising therapeutic agent for the management of ischemic stroke by inhibiting microglial activation, potentially by Triad3A‐mediated promotion of TLR4 ubiquitination and degradation.


Study Design: Retrospective radiographic study. Objective: The optimal radiographic modality for assessing cervical foraminal stenosis is unclear. Determination on conventional axial cuts is made difficult due in part to the complex, oblique orientation of the cervical neuroforamen. The utility of 3-dimensonal (3D) computed tomography (CT) reconstruction in improving neuroforaminal assessment is not well understood. The objective of this study is to determine inter-rater variability in grading cervical foraminal stenosis using 3 different CT imaging modalities: 3D CT surface reconstructions (3DSR), 2D sagittal oblique multiplanar reformations (2D-SOMPR), and conventional 2D axial CT imaging. Methods: Pretreatment CT scans of 25 patients undergoing surgery for cervical spondylotic radiculopathy were analyzed at 2 levels: C5-C6 and C6-C7. Simple interrater agreement and kappa-Fleiss coefficients were calculated for each imaging modality and stenosis grade. Image reviewers (attending spine surgeon, attending neuroradiologist, spine fellow) interpreted each CT scan in 3 different formats: axial, 2D-SOMPR, and 3DSR. Four cervical foramina at 2 spinal levels were graded as normal (no stenosis), mild (≤25% stenosis), moderate (25%-50% stenosis), or severe (>50% stenosis). Results: Across all imaging modalities, interrater reliability was fair when grading foraminal stenosis (κ < 0.4). Agreement was lowest for the axial images (κ = 0.119) and highest for the 3D CT reconstructions (κ = 0.334). 2D-SOMPR images also led to improved interrater reliability when compared with axial images (κ = 0.255). Conclusion: Grading cervical foraminal stenosis using conventional axial CT imaging is difficult with low interrater reliability. CT modalities that provide a circumferential view of the cervical foramen, such as 2D-SOMPR and 3D CT reconstruction, had higher rates of interobserver reliability in grading foraminal stenosis than conventional axial cuts, with 3D having the highest. As these 3D reconstructions can be obtained at no additional cost or radiation exposure over a conventional CT scan, and because they can provide useful information in determining levels being considered for surgical decompression, we recommend they be utilized when evaluating cervical foramina.


By bringing together scholarship on affective (non)citizenship and critical geographies of public space, in this article we examine how the exposure of refugees' intimate lives, private relationalities and personal histories mediate their conditional access to "the public". Drawing on long-term ethnographic engagement in the field of asylum in Italy, we show how asylum seekers are confronted with changing patterns of obligation and dependency in both their private and public lives. On the one hand, the elicitation of multiple private life details is the only currency for them to negotiate with state institutions for a potential access to the "right to stay". On the other hand, their conditional access to the "hosting community" is increasingly contingent on normative performances of public participation, which often involve domestic activities and intimate relations to be cultivated in public or semi-public spaces. These reconfigurations speak about broader redefinitions of the public sphere, oriented towards a rising importance of the intimate as a proper terrain of public legitimacy and inclusion. Yet, exposing the intimate self in the public does not guarantee recognition; rather, the normative incorporation of refugees in the public sphere most often naturalises their conditional belonging in the national space.


: In this article, the effects of microwave frequency (2450 MHz and 5800 MHz) and gas humidity (1%, 2%, 3%, 4%, 6% and 8%) on in vitro blood coagulation with cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) were investigated. The generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS, OH, O) was measured by optical emission spectra. The exposure temperature on blood droplets under treatment was below 55 ◦ C in all cases, to avoid the thermal effect of plasma on the blood clotting. Investigations showed that, with the increase of frequency, the doses of ROS increased, the blood sample presented a more serious collapse and its surface became drier. The humidity of ionized gas can also accelerate the generation of ROS and the process of blood clotting. Our results propose a method to accelerate in vitro blood coagulation in CAPP by adjusting microwave frequency and gas humidity, and suggest a clinical benefit for plasma treatment as a coagulation device in surgery.


NUCLEAR magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging is a technique by which the quantitative analysis of a biological structure or tissue sample may be determined. The various approaches to be discussed in this article all depend on the fact that certain atomic nuclei behave as small magnets. When these nuclei are placed in static magnetic fields, some will align themselves in the direction of the field. In this configuration they will rotate about the field direction (precess) at a frequency that is dependent on the strength of the applied magnetic field (Bo). If in this circumstance these aligned and precessing nuclei are exposed to an alternating magnetic field (radio frequency [RF]) of the same frequency, some of these nuclei will be forced from their equilibrium state to a higher energy level. When the interrogating RF is removed, the excited nuclei will emit the added energy and return to their former state. The


To determine the role lemmings play in structuring plant communities and their contribution to the 'greening of the Arctic', we measured plant cover and biomass in 50 + year old lemming exclosures and control plots in the coastal tundra near Barrow, Alaska. The response of plant functional types to herbivore exclusion varied among land cover types. In general, the abundance of lichens and bryophytes increased with the exclusion of lemmings, whereas graminoids decreased, although the magnitude of these responses varied among land cover types. These results suggest that sustained lemming activity promotes a higher biomass of vascular plant functional types than would be expected without their presence and highlights the importance of considering herbivory when interpreting patterns of greening in the Arctic. In light of the rapid environmental change ongoing in the Arctic and the potential regional to global implications of this change, further exploration regarding the long-term influence of arvicoline rodents on ecosystem function (e.g. carbon and energy balance) should be considered a research priority.


Introduction A single dose of preventive antibiotics is known to be sufficient to reduce the rate of infection-related complications in percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL). However, some studies reported that the extended dose showed lower complications for high-risk groups. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis comparing single- and extended-dose antibiotic prophylaxis for PCNL. Materials and methods Relevant studies that compared single- and extended-dose antibiotic prophylactic therapies were identified. Articles were selected from PubMed, EMBASE, KoreaMed, and Google Scholar up to September 2021. Fever and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) were compared by meta-analysis. A subgroup analysis was performed according to the degree of risk to the patient. Results A total of 10 articles were included in this study. There were no significant differences between single dose and extended dose in the rate of fever [p = 0.93, OR = 0.96, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44–2.13, I2 = 64%]. Extended dose showed lower rate of SIRS compared to single dose (p = 0.0005, OR = 1.81, 95% CI 1.30–2.53, I2 = 53%); in the subgroup analysis, extended dose also showed lower rates of SIRS compared to single dose in high-risk patients (p <0.0001, OR = 3.53, 95% CI 1.91–6.54, I2 = 36%). Conclusions The results of our meta-analysis showed that single-dose antibiotic prophylaxis can be effective for PCNL, but extended-dose antibiotics can be required in high-risk patients to reduce post-PCNL infection-related complications.


A dot immunobinding assay ( DIA) was used for a quantitative and qualita tive assay of rubella antibody. Purified antigen and conj LIgated anti-human immu noglobulin (RAHlg) were prepared. Nitrocellulose paper dotted with the antigen was added to serially diluted sera or blood samples. The reacting antibodies were visualized by a peroxidase system. Development of a colored insoluble substrate was taken as a positive result. The adapted DIA was applied to test 105 serum samples. The sensitivity and specificity and immune titer of DIA were compared with hemagglutination inhibition (HI) test. MJIRl, Vol. 15, No.3, 171-174, 2001.


OBJECTIVES
This study was designed to determine the use of dental services and factors associated with their use among the United Kingdoms' older population.

DESIGN
A national study involving 1,116 older people (aged 60 or older).

SETTING
Home Interviews were undertaken exploring the time and reason for last dental visit. In addition, socio-demographic characteristics and proxy oral health measures (self-reported number of teeth and edentulous status) of the respondents were collected.

RESULTS
Forty seven percent (528) claimed they visited the dentist within the past year, 10% (116) claimed that the reason for their last visit was because of a dental emergency, 43% (484) were classified as "regular attenders"--having attended the dentist within the past year for a non dental emergency. Bivariate analysis identified that regular dental attendance was associated with age (P < 0.01), social class (P < 0.01), income level (P < 0.01), educational attainment (P < 0.01), self-reported number of teeth possessed (P < 0.01) and edentulous status (P < 0.01). In regression analysis, self reported edentulous status and number of teeth possessed emerged as the most important factors in determining service utilisation. Possessing a full denture was associated with a 6-fold decrease, having accounted for other factors, in the likelihood of attending the dentist within the past year for a non dental-emergency (OR = 0.15, CI 0.10, 0.21).

CONCLUSION
Less than half of the sample population were "regular dental attenders", their attendance was associated with a number of socio-demographic and oral health factors. In particular, edentulous state was a major factor associated with their use of services.


The goal of this work was to demonstrate the use of Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy (TDLAS) as a noninvasive method to continuously measure the water vapor concentration and the vapor flow velocity in the spool connecting a freeze-dryer chamber and condenser. The instantaneous measurements were used to determine the water vapor mass flow rate (g/s). The mass flow determinations provided a continuous measurement of the total amount of water removed. Full load runs of pure water at different pressure and shelf temperature settings and a 5% (w/w) mannitol product run were performed in both laboratory and pilot scale freeze dryers. The ratio of "gravimetric/TDLAS" measurements of water removed was 1.02 +/- 0.06. A theoretical heat transfer model was used to predict the mass flow rate and the model results were compared to both the gravimetric and TDLAS data. Good agreement was also observed in the "gravimetric/TDLAS" ratio for the 5% mannitol runs dried in both freeze dryers. The endpoints of primary and secondary drying for the product runs were clearly identified. Comparison of the velocity and mass flux profiles between the laboratory and pilot dryers indicated a higher restriction to mass flow for the lab scale freeze dryer.


I study the joint dynamics of leverage, maturity and liquidity choices of a firm. Long-term debt is safer as it limits the firm's exposure to roll-over losses driven by credit-spread risk, but short-term debt gives firms more flexibility in reducing leverage. As a result, firms have positive cash and debt balances, firms closer to default prefer short-term debt, relation between leverage and maturity is positive, and maturity structure is non-evenly spread-out. Higher volatility of cash flows makes firms riskier and they opt for shorter-maturity debt, while higher idiosyncratic volatility of credit spreads makes firms chose longer-term borrowing and higher cash balances.


Consumption of street food is growing rapidly in developing countries. Consequently, health problems associated with consumption of street foods exist everywhere and Chad is not an exception, but up to this day, there is limited scientific data on the microbiological quality and safety of foods sold in the street in various regions of the country. The aim of this study is to determine the microbiological quality of some street foods in N'Djamena, Chad: case of sandwiches. A total of 42 samples of sandwiches were collected. These samples were analyzed according to the standard methods of food microbiology. The analysis identified the different germs with respective compliance rates of 14.29% for thermotolerant coliforms, 54.76% for Coagulase-positive staphylococci, 47.62% for Escherichia coli and 19.05% for total mesophilic aerobic flora. The Salmonella compliance rate is 100%. Also yeasts and molds were counted in some samples with an average of 0.80x10 6 CFU/g. There is a significant correlation between MAF and Coagulase-positive staphylococci (p<0.05). The presence of these germs in general and mainly pathogens in sandwiches consumed in N'Djamena, Chad, represent a real public health problem which competent authorities should not neglect. Keywords : sandwiches, quality, microorganisms, N'Djamena, Chad.


When we talk of optimization in industry we need to pay attention in searching for very powerful and flexible optimization techniques. One of such techniques which has attracted the interest of many researchers in the last few decades is called geometric programming that provides a powerful tool for solving nonlinear problems. As we know in the real world, many applications of geometric programming are engineering design problems. Generally, engineering design problems deal with multi-objective functions, in which their objectives are often in conflicts with each other. This paper considers a solution method when the cost, the constraint coefficients, and the right-hand sides in the multi-objective geometric programming problems are imprecise and represented as interval values. This problem is reduced with the method of weighted sum to a single objective function and further by applying interval-valued function, we solve the problem by geometric programming technique. The ability of calculating the bounds of the objective value developed in this paper might help lead to more realistic modeling efforts in engineering optimization areas. Finally a numerical example is given to illustrate the methodology of solution and efficiency of the present approach.


Every known type of tachyarrhythmia may be associated with acute myocardial infarction, and it is extremely important to recognize clinically significant tachyarrhythmias versus relatively benign tachyarrhythmias. The individual tachyarrhythmias have been discussed in detail with pertinent illustrative examples included.


Background. Few studies have reported long-term recurrence rates after asymmetric excision with primary closure in the treatment of sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease. Methods. A retrospective analysis of a prospectively maintained database of 550 surgical excisions performed for sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease between 1988 and 2005 was performed. Results. A total of 550 patients with a diagnosis of pilonidal sinus underwent surgical excision over a period of 17 years. Thirty-eight out of the 550 patients (3.5%) were lost at follow-up. At a mean follow up of 11.2 ± 5.3 years, median 11 years (range = 3-22), the recurrence rate was 8.9%. Actuarial 1-, 5-, 10-, and 20-year disease-free survival rates were 98%, 94%, 92%, and 83%, respectively, with a median overall disease-free survival of 10 years (95% confidence interval [CI] = 3-15). When patients were stratified according to several variables known to influence recurrence, an age of less or ≥22 years (odds ratio [OR] = 1.5, 95% CI = 0.3-7.5, P = .001), a family history of sinus (OR = 5.9, 95% CI = 2.7-12, P = .0001), and intraoperative methylene blue use (OR = 6.3, 95% CI = 1.2-31, P = .024) were indicated as independent predictors of disease-free survival rates. Conclusions. D-shape asymmetric excision and scar lateralization, with primary multilayer subcuticular closure, suction drain insertion, and skin closure in patients with sacrococcygeal pilonidal disease is a safe and adequate surgical treatment offering an effective healing rate as well as low recurrence. Several features are likely to predict a better or a worse long-term recurrence rate in patients undergoing surgery for sinus pilonidalis.


A telerobot can be used for inspection at a location far from where its user is, i.e. remote inspection. This paper presents the design and implementation of a lab for evaluation of remote inspection, consisting of a telerobot prototype and an environment for it to operate in. Remote inspection can be used in many industries, but we argue that it is especially suitable for offshore wind turbines, since these are large, unmanned and complicated machines at difficult to reach locations. Remote inspection of offshore wind turbines has the potential to reduce the maintenance cost, increase the knowledge of the turbines' condition and the predictability of maintenance. The typical user of remote inspection is expected to have expertise in maintenance, not robotics. Therefore we suggest evaluating remote inspection using usability tests, which consider how easy it is to learn, and use a system for its intended purpose.


Earthquake moment tensors and focal depths are crucial to assessing seismic hazards and studying active tectonic and volcanic processes. Although less powerful than strong earthquakes (M 7+), moderately strong earthquakes (M 5–6.5) occur more frequently and extensively, which can cause severe damages in populated areas. The inversion of moment tensors is usually affected by insufficient local waveform data (epicentral distance <5°) in sparse seismic networks. It would be necessary to combine local and teleseismic data (epicentral distance 30°–90°) for a joint inversion. In this study, we present the generalized cut-and-paste joint (gCAPjoint) algorithm to jointly invert full moment tensor and centroid depth with local and teleseismic broadband waveforms. To demonstrate the effectiveness and explore the limitations of this algorithm, we perform case studies on three earthquakes with different tectonic settings and source properties. Comparison of our results with global centroid moment tensor and other catalog solutions illustrates that both non-double-couple compositions of the focal mechanisms and centroid depths can be reliably recovered for very shallow (<10  km) earthquakes and intermediate-depth events with this software package.


The Cancer and Acute Leukemia Group B studied the effect of combination chemotherapy‐radiotherapy on Stage III Hodgkin's disease. Chemotherapy consisting of 4 weekly doses of vinblastine and one dose of mechlorethamine hydrochloride was followed by no therapy (CT), radiation to involved fields (CTIF) or total nodal radiation (CTTN). Two other treatment arms included total nodal radiation alone (TN) or total nodal radiation followed by chemotherapy (TNCT). Maximum follow‐up is ten years. Complete remission percentages were 36 (8/22) for CT, 71 (17/24) for CTIF, 100 (21/21) for CTTN, 86 (19/22) for TNCT and 89 (16/18) for TN. Disease‐free survival in patients receiving radiation ± chemotherapy is 23%(19/73) at 5 years, but even after 9 years relapses were observed in two patients. Forty‐one percent of all patients are alive and 32% have survived for five years. Ability to administer adequate therapy was the main determinant for response duration and survival. Factors influencing the outcome of the disease include histology, age, splenectomy, initial white blood cell count and performance status, whereas symptomatology, initial absolute lymphocyte count and sex played no role on survival.


an analog computer to be more competitive with digital for the routine problems, i.e., those problems which have been debugged, and which are put away in storage, for which several solutions are desired at some time in the future, and a minimum of set-up time and charge for computer use is desired on the part of the user. In conclusion I would like to state that I refuse to predict the demise of all-digital simulation. I feel further that there is even a case for digital simulation. However, I feel strongly that a certain amount of all-analog and hybrid computation will be with us as long as we have engineering problems to solve, and of course, that there is some


Abstract : The purpose of this thesis is the examination of Honduras today from a socio-economic and politico-military perspective to determine what internal conditions exist which make Honduras prone or vulnerable to insurgency. The research concentrates on the internal factors for insurgency in Honduras. It surveys the internal conditions of the neighboring countries of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Nicaragua and the Soviet-Cuban strategies in Latin America as a contributing factor in nurturing revolution outside their own borders. The research is based on historical records and comparative studies of revolutions. The analysis reveals that because of the present socio-economic and political conditions, Honduras does not present a target for insurgency from within. The author does not discount, however, the possibility that if the government abandons or reduces the intensity of its aggressive improvement programs, the insurgencies in neighboring countries may subsequently be the catalyst to allow or cause them to 'spill over' into Honduras.