Purpose: Controversies regarding preoperative versus postoperative chemotherapy for patients having hepatic metastases of colorectal primary made us elucidate the safety of chemotherapy. By examining the histopathologic changes in the liver following preoperative chemotherapy and analyzing the relation between surgical outcomes and preoperative chemotherapy, we were able to answer whether preoperative chemotherapy is safe. Methods: We analyzed 38 patients who underwent chemotherapy before resection of hepatic metastasis from colorectal primary, retrospectively. Types of chemotherapy regimen were FL (5-FU+leucovorin), FOLFOX4 (oxaliplatin+5-FU+leucovorin), and FOLFIRI (irinotecan+5-FU+leucovorin). Results of liver function tests were compared before and after preoperative chemotherapy. One pathologist reviewed the degree of hepatic injury from resected specimens. Associations between the histological findings of hepatic injury and surgical outcomes and chemotherapeutic agents were examined. Results: Histopathologic analysis revealed severe liver injury was present in 12 patients (31.6%). In further detail, moderate to severe sinusoidal dilatation was found in 3 patients (25%), steatosis of more than 30% was identified in 9 patients (75%), and steatohepatitis Kleiner score of ≥4 in 5 patients (41.7%). Preoperative chemotherapy did not affect the biochemical profiles of liver function. The overall perioperative complication rate was 5.3% (n=2). There was no difference in postoperative morbidity or mortality from reported results following hepatectomy. Conclusion: We found preoperative chemotherapy definitely induced histopathologic changes of hepatotoxicities. Even so, preoperative chemotherapy did not increase morbidity or mortality after hepatic metastasectomy. Preoperative chemotherapy seems to be safe in performing curative hepatic resection for the metastases.


The causes of Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are still unknown. Aging, environmental factors and genetic factors may be involved in the development of these illnesses, especially the sporadic phenotypes. The details of PD pathology have made remarkable advances in the last 5 years, after the discovery of mutation of the alpha-synuclein gene in families with PD: all of the Lewy bodies (Lewy filaments) in familial and sporadic PD contain the gene product alpha-synuclein. Further studies are necessary to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the development of PD, and to determine the therapeutic targets through which it may be possible to prevent the disease. With regard to the pathology of ALS, it is of great importance that in this disease, characteristic neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (i.e., Bunina bodies and ubiquitinated inclusions) have been described in the lower motor neurons. At present, however, compared with the Lewy bodies in PD, much less is known about the profiles of the inclusions associated with ALS. Early identifications of the proteins that constitute these inclusions would be desirable if we are to elucidate the molecular pathology, and thus the mechanisms underlying ALS.


Introduction and background to the study Raising the quality of teaching and learning in Zimbabwe has emerged as one of the challenges and priority of the government and as a key factor in the improvement of education across the country. What has also been perceived is the role of language in achieving the desired qualitative development in the education sector. The realisation of the role of language in the Zimbabwean education system has been slow and a complex process fraught with a lot of politicking. The present language situation skewed towards the use of English language as the medium of instruction in the Zimbabwean schools, has left the majority of the children marginalised and teachers confused as to the appropriate classroom language to use. Frustrated attempts to reform and change the classroom language to that which best serves the interest of the Zimbabwean primary school child have prompted teachers in their individual capacities and in the school circumstances to use a language responsive to the communication and development needs of children. The dilemma that develops stems from the definition of "interest." While teachers and learners' interests can be in the use of local languages as a medium of instruction, the world of work and examinations demand that they have interest in the use of English. The situation has deskilled a lot of the pupils who find themselves without the "gift of the language" [i.e. English] when it comes to classroom practice .Pupils' participation levels are thus greatly reduced. The need to have all pupils in the teaching and learning process as contributors in mastering knowledge and constructing understanding cannot be overemphasised. To have independent and critical learners hinges on the language the learner can use freely and comfortably. The use of such a language creates opportunities for the learners and encourages reflection, dialogue, critical thinking and knowledge ownership [Duke, 1999]. Ndamba's [1999] research found out that children like to speak and use their mother tongue more than in English during lessons. It is also evident that when English language has failed the teacher to maintain the necessary rapport with pupils, often he/she resorts to mother tongue in whatever subject. The use of mother tongue has managed to clear the problems and bring to fruition meaningful communication in the classroom. The worrying development is that when the Education Act was revised in 2006 there was hope for a changed situation but the other demand areas did not change, that is, examinations and the world of work continued to demand English. The use of English as a medium of instruction has created problems for learners. Chief among them is that the language is a barrier to effective communication and participation during other lessons besides Shona [Nyawaranda, 2000]. According to Thornton [1974], the language of the school and home are different. The situation obtaining in the primary schools thus, is contrary to Derrick's thinking that: No child should be expected to cast off the language and culture of the home as he crosses the school threshold nor live and act as though school and home represent two totally separate and different cultures which have to be kept firmly apart [Derrick 1977: 12]. Ngugi [1994] laments the present use of English in most African schools when he says that the language of an African child's formal education is foreign. The language of the books he reads is foreign .The language of his conceptualisation is foreign. According to him what should dictate the language of the classroom should be its relevance to the children's situation. Mazrui [2000] rightly points out that no country has ever ascended to first rank technological and economic power by excessive dependence on foreign languages. As Ngugi [1994] puts it, a foreign language reflects real languages of life elsewhere, and it can never as spoken or written properly reflect or imitate the real life of that community. …


Abstract: To describe the main characteristics and outcome of autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP) in patients with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID), we analyzed data from 21 patients and reviewed additional cases from the literature. To be included in this study, patients had to have CVID and a previous history of AITP with a platelet count ≤50 × 109/L at onset. A complete response to treatment was defined by a platelet count ≥150 × 109/L, and a partial response by a platelet count >50 × 109/L with an increase of at least twofold the initial level. The median platelet count at AITP diagnosis was 20 × 109/L (range, 2-50 × 109/L). The median age at AITP diagnosis was 23 years (range, 1-51 yr), whereas the median age at CVID diagnosis was 27 years (range, 10-74 yr). CVID was diagnosed before the onset of AITP in only 4 patients (19%), 3 of whom were being treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) replacement therapy. CVID was diagnosed more than 6 months after AITP in 13 cases (62%), and the 2 conditions were diagnosed concomitantly in 4 cases. Eleven patients (52%) had at least 1 autoimmune manifestation other than AITP, among which autoimmune hemolytic anemia (7 cases) and autoimmune neutropenia (5 cases) were preeminent. Seventeen of the 21 patients (80%) received at least 1 treatment for AITP; 13 patients received corticosteroids alone and 7 (54%) achieved at least a partial response; 8 patients received IVIg at 1-2 g/kg alone or in combination with steroids, leading to a short-term response rate of 50%. Four patients underwent a splenectomy (2 complete responses, 2 failures); 2 additional splenectomies were performed for associated autoimmune hemolytic anemia. With a mean follow-up of 5.6 years after the surgical procedure, none of the 6 splenectomized patients had a life-threatening infection. With a median follow-up after AITP onset of 12 years, 13/21 patients (62%) were in treatment-free remission (7 complete responses, 6 partial responses), 7 patients (23%) were in remission while on prednisone ≤20 mg/day with or without azathioprine, and only 1 patient still had a platelet count <50 × 109/L. Five patients had died at the time of the analysis; none of the deaths was related to a hemorrhage. Severe infections including 3 fatal bacterial infections and 2 opportunistic infections occurred in 6 patients during or after treatment of AITP. In conclusion, AITP, alone or in combination with autoimmune hemolytic anemia (Evans syndrome) and/or autoimmune neutropenia, is frequent in patients with CVID, and is not prevented by IVIg substitutive therapy. Since AITP frequently precedes the diagnosis of CVID, testing for immunoglobulin levels should be performed in every patient diagnosed with AITP. Steroids and splenectomy seem to have the same efficacy as in idiopathic AITP, but the increased risk of severe infections must be taken into consideration. Abbreviations: AITP = autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura, CVID = common variable immunodeficiency, IVIg = intravenous immunoglobulin.


The microbiological quality of raw and pasteurized milk marketed in Nairobi and its environs was determined. Milk samples were collected randomly at milk selling points from three market areas: rural (Kiambu/Ngong), urban (East/West of Tom Mboya street) and slum (Kibera/Mathare). Samples were analysed for titratable acidity, total viable count (TVC), Staphylococcus aureus, coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae. Titratable acidity was determined using titration method, while TVC, S. aureus and Enterobacteriaceae were determined by the spread plate methods and coliforms were determined by most probable number. Data collected were subjected to analysis of variance using Genstat statistical package. The mean acidity was 0.20% lactic acid (LA), while mean counts for TVC, S. aureus , coliforms and Enterobacteriaceae were 6.05, 3.46, 2.30, and 3.93 log10cfu/ml, respectively. The  ercentage of milk samples with acidity values greater than 0.18% LA, the upper limit set by Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), was 52.8 %. Total viable count (TVC) greater than 106 cfu/ml, was detected in 95.2% and 21.4% of raw and pasteurized milk, respectively. Coliform counts greater than 4.70 and 1.0 log10cfu/ml for raw and pasteurized milk were detected in 77.8% and 4.8%, respectively of raw and pasteurized milk samples collected. Enterobacteriaceae and S. aureus were detected with mean counts ranging from 6.08-6.86 and 5.82-6.32 log10/ml, respectively. Highest mean acidity and counts were recorded from slum areas of Nairobi and there were significant differences between raw and pasteurized milk (P<0.05). The poor bacterial quality coupled with high acidity of raw milk, indicates poor hygienic practices and lack of temperature control during marketing. The incidence of high acidity and bacterial counts in pasteurized milk could indicate post process contamination and/or inappropriate storage of the milk. Most vendors of pasteurized milk were observed selling directly from the distributor crates without refrigerated storage. The rapid deterioration of raw and pasteurized milk marketed in Nairobi, at the time of this study, may be largely due to poor hygienic standards and non-adherence to temperature controls during handling, distribution and marketing. This requires urgent attention by the appropriate authorities, because the poor microbiological quality of raw milk and pasteurized milk may expose consumers to health risks associated with the consumption of contaminated milk. Key words : Marketed milk, quality, acidity, total viable count, coliforms, enterobacteriaceae, Staphylococcus aureus


Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 46, 2005

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MONCPT belongs to a novel family of camptothecin analogs, the nitro-camptothecins, developed on the concept of toposiomerase I (Topo I) inhibition. Preclinical data reported here showed that MONCPT inhibited Topo I-mediated DNA relaxation in vitro. In cell growth assays, MONCPT was a very potent antiproliferative agent as shown by IC50 values of 11 various cancer cell lines ranged from 1.7×10-6 M to 2.2×10-10 M. MONCPT exhibited high efficiency in vivo in tumor xenograft studies using human androgen-independent prostate tumors PC3 and human non-small-cell lung cancer A549, and the tumor inhibition rates were 30 - 95% with a dose-dependent pattern (5 - 20 mg/kg). Flow cytometric analysis showed that MONCPT failed to trigger apoptosis, but induced a G2/M phase arrest in PC3 cells. Western blot assay demonstrated that MONCPT could decrease protein expression of CDK7, and the ED50 for the inhibition of angiogenesis for MONCPT was1.0 mg in the chorioallantoic membrane model, indicating that the cell cycle modulation and anti-angiogensis property of MONCPT might contribute to its high anti-cancer activity. Altogether, these data strongly supported the promising clinical development of MONCPT.


The kinetics and thermodynamics of the formation of the transcriptional open complex (RPo) by Escherichia coli RNA polymerase at the synthetic Pa promoter bearing consensus -10 and -35 recognition hexamers were studied in vitro. Previously, this promoter was used as a control one in studies on the effect of DNA bending by An x Tn sequences on transcription initiation and shown to be fully functional in E. coli (Loziński et al., 1991, Nucleic Acids Res. 19, 2947; Loziński & Wierzchowski, 1996, Acta Biochim. Polon. 43, 265). The data now obtained demonstrate that the mechanism of Pa-RPo formation and dissociation conforms to the three-step reaction model: bind-nucleate-melt, commonly accepted for natural promoters. Measurements of the dissociation rate constant of Pa-RPo as a function of MgCl2 concentration allowed us to determine the number of Mg2+ ions, nMg approximately/= 4, being bound to the RPo in the course of renaturation of the melted DNA region. This number was found constant in the temperature range of 25-37 degrees C, which indicates that under these conditions the complex remaines fully open. This observation, taken together with the recent evidence from KMnO4 footprinting studies that the length of the melted region in Pa-RPo at 37 degrees C is independent of the presence of Mg2+ ions (Lozinski & Wierzchowski, 2001, Acta Biochim. Polon. 48, 495), testifies that binding of Mg2+ to RPo does not induce its further isomerization, which has been postulated for the lambdaP(R)-RPo complex (Suh et al., 1992, Biochemistry 31, 7815; 1993, Science 259, 358).


In modern literary studies intertextuality is at the centre of interest. Although the relationship between texts has always been an important aspect of Old Testament studies, especially in literary criticism, the scale of comparison has broadened, including for example the interrelationships between the First, Second and Third Isaiah, or the whole Book of the Twelve. These relatively new approaches raise a number of methodical questions which were addressed at the Tenth Joint Meeting of the British Society for Old Testament Study and the Dutch 'Oudtestamentisch Werkgezelschap', held at Oxford, 22nd to 25th July 1997. Did the ancient authors have a well-defined concept of a book? How did they relate to the literary work of their predecessors and contemporaries? Can we trace the theological motifs behind their use of other literary compositions? What does an ancient version reveal about the way it interpreted its source text? One of the problems confronting biblical scholars in this kind of research is the lack of controllable models. Therefore it is useful to study the work of the Ugaritic chief priest Ilimilku whose three major literary compositions provide us with a unique possibility to monitor intertextual relationships in the work of one and the same ancient author. Ugaritic and other ancient Near Eastern parallels help us to understand how the Priestly writer re-interpreted the Yahwistic account of the creation of mankind. Apparently intertextuality in Israel is a phenomenon which cannot properly be understood without taking other literature from the ancient world into account.


The enforcement of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) requires the monitoring of acoustic disturbances in the world's oceans in order to guard against the possibility of a nuclear test being hidden either in the water column itself or on a remote island. The traditional means of acoustic monitoring in the water column builds on the experience of the SOSUS project ( e.g. , Mikhalevsky, 1999), and consists of deploying hydrophones within the SOFAR channel, the layer of low acoustic velocity extending between depths of approximately 600 to 1800 m in the world's oceans, and functioning as a waveguide for acoustic waves with frequencies greater than 2.5 Hz.

While such stations offer superb recording capabilities, notably at high frequencies, they must be tethered to a nearby island or continental shore for the purpose of providing power and retrieving data, which makes for technologically complex, and hence expensive, installation and maintenance procedures ( e.g., Schrodt, 1999).

On the other hand, the acoustic energy in T waves is readily converted into seismic energy upon hitting the shore of an island or continent (I will show that T waves were indeed first identified on seismic records); in addition, under exceptionally favorable circumstances, T phases have actually been felt by island populations at distances of several thousand kilometers from both natural sources (Talandier and Okal, 1979) and man-made ones (the underwater nuclear test WIGWAM on 14 May 1955 was felt as far as the Bonin Islands [Wadati, 1960]). The concept of a so-called " T -phase station" is simply that of recording seismically the elastic energy resulting from the conversion of the acoustic wave at the continental or island shore; issues such as powering, data storage, and retrieval then become relatively straightforward, resulting in considerable savings during installation, operation, and maintenance.

Thus, the …


The Applied Inverse Problems Conference is held every two years and is always a highlight of the inverse problems calendar. This year the conference was held at Texas A&M University where Inverse Problems was proud to be asked to sponsor the Best Paper Prize. The award was to be presented to a participant, still in the early part of their career, who was presenting in the minisymposia or special sections. The selection of the winner was made by a group composed of the scientific committee and the plenary speakers, all of which were asked to make a note of well-presented talks on interesting topics containing novel approaches or surprising results. The prize was awarded to Dr Hamid Hezari of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his work on spectral inverse problems. Some 60 years ago, Marc Kac posed his famous 'Can you hear the shape of a drum' problem. This remained open for 40 years when it was shown to be false. However, the counterexamples are all for non-convex regions with non-smooth boundaries. It remains possible that one can hear the shape of a convex drum with an analytic or smooth boundary. A class of domains with this property is said to be spectrally rigid. This spectral geometry problem shares links with billiards on a domain and integrable systems and is a rich area of mathematical physics research. Birkhoff conjectured that ellipses are unique domains with integrable billiards. The main result of Dr Hezari's talk (which was a joint work with Dr Steve Zelditch) was spectral rigidity of the ellipse among domains with two symmetries.


This paper investigates how consumers respond to local income shocks as a result of booms and busts in oil and gas development. Oil and gas development generates potentially large streams of income via wages and salaries to workers and royalty income to mineral rights owners. Changes in development may lead consumers to increase their spending depending on their exposure to income shocks. Using quarterly information on consumer debt and oil and gas activity, I ?nd that consumer debt increased at a peak of $840 per capita in counties with shale endowment and increased drilling. Each well drilled was associated with $6,750 in consumer debt for an implied total of $2.7 billion or 0.5 percent of consumer debt in areas where drilling occurred from 2007 to 2015. {{p}} Consumers in previously developed areas tend to view new increases in activity as transitory relative to areas with little previous development that experience a shock.


Large source-receiver offset acquisition offers the benefits of high data redundancy and improved illumination. However, large-offset recordings are generally expensive to acquire and the vast majority of academic research deals with a low channel count and target depths that significantly exceed the available offset range. Diffractions provide superior illumination compared to reflections, but typically have low amplitudes. We present a scheme that specifically targets the weak but highly illuminating diffracted background through automated adaptive subtraction of the dominant reflected contributions, while making only use of the available near-offset channel. Based on local stacking and coherence evaluation, the recorded diffracted events are treated as passive source wavefields, which are characterized in terms of local properties of wavefronts emerging at the registration surface. In an industrial field data example offshore Israel, where large offsets were available, we show that the diffraction-based wavefront inversion of only the near-offset channel leads to results, which are in reasonable agreement with available geological interpretations. By application to an academic low-fold dataset recorded near Santorini in the Aegean Sea, we demonstrate that the suggested inversion scheme offers the opportunity to construct laterally resolved depth-velocity models even in the actual absence of large-offset recordings.


Tidal volume of respiration was recorded in 19 cats. Electrodes and hypodermic tubing were implanted in the hypothalamus and in the medullary inspiratory area. Inspiratory responses were evoked with either threshold strength electric current or 20 µl of 1.3% NaHCO3 before and after depression of the hypothalamus with 10 µl of 4% thiopental or high frequency coagulation. Depression of the hypothalamus resulted in a decrease in the electrically evoked inspiratory apnea and a decrease in the bicarbonate-evoked response. Injection of similar amounts of thiopental into the thalamus and dorsal hypothalamus or intravenously did not alter evoked responses. The decrease in evoked respiratory responses was not associated with consistent changes in blood pressure or electromyogram activity. The data support the view that tonic discharges from the hypothalamus increase the excitability of respiratory reflex pathways and responsiveness to bicarbonate.


Bio-material polylactic acid and poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) were blended to achieve increased ductility of the blend. Cloisite was added to improve the stiffness of the blend. The blends were made into filament suitable for extrusion-based additive manufacturing. Melt flow index of the filament and mechanical properties of the printed bars were tested. Preliminary results showed that the melt flow index increases significantly with cloisite and the modulus of polylactic acid/poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) improved slightly. The notched impact strength of the blend increased with increasing content of cloisite, and it increased significantly after annealing, especially for blends without cloisite.


Malacoplakia involving the adrenal gland and colon was found in a 6-week-old infant. To our knowledge, this is the first reported instance of adrenal involvement and it occurred in the youngest patient described to have malacoplakia. The adrenal gland was the site of a previous hemorrhage. Ultrastructurally, the cytoplasm of the malacoplakia cells contained numerous granular inclusions within which were tetrad-shaped particles resembling ferritin. A thorough search failed to show the presence of any bacteria. Several recent papers have suggested that malacoplakia represents a morphologic manifestation of altered host macrophage response and that Gram-negative enteric bacilli are the usual specific etiologic agents. The pathologic findings in the present case raise the possibility that the lesion in this instance represents an altered macrophage response to extravasated erythrocytes alone or to erythrocytes and bacteria.


Accurate electrode signal measurement using EEG head caps can only be achieved through sufficient contact or force. A flexible force sensor is required to obtain accurate force measurement underneath EEG head caps. In this study, we evaluate the performance of a capacitive based sensor including its accuracy, repeatability, hysteresis, and stability. The result shows that accuracy error and repeatability error were 3.03±2.8 % and 3.84±2.92 %, respectively. The stability errors were 2.37±0.15 % (10 gram), 2.54±0.00 % (50 gram), 2.37±0.15 % (100 gram), 5.07±1.16 % (150 gram), 7.27±0.39 % (200 gram). The hysteresis error of the sensor was 4.48±0.47 %. Based on the results, the capacitive based force sensor provides sufficiently low errors in accuracy, repeatability, stability, and hysteresis and is thus suitable for measuring adduction force in EEG cap applications.


Cloud Computing is an era when various trends showed up. It is the type of development, based solely on the Internet. The computer technology has brought in several changes along the years. SaaS is an architecture that comes under computing technology, involving the use of powerful processors, that helps in transforming data centers, scaling services involving computing technology across all fields. Various trends are opening in the field of Cloud Computing, developed mainly on Internet basis and use of computing technology. The computing architecture of SaaS along with powerful processors, are transforming data centers into a huge scale of pools of computing services.  Balancing load efficiently is one of the key areas involved in cloud computing. Services that are of very high quality can be subscribed for lower cost, along with completely reliable network connections with their bandwidth being increased , providing a flexible service residing in remote data centers. Load Balancing is the concept involved in the storage of computing resources. It is the partition of work which requires processing between two or more number of computers and/or CPUs, storage devices which ultimately leads to providing higher efficiency with much faster service. The improved WRR algorithm which is improved has been proposed in order to distribute the workload efficiently, thereby enhancing various other features that are associated with it.


The Complete Calibration of the Colour–Redshift Relation survey (C3R2) is a spectroscopic effort involving ESO and Keck facilities designed specifically to empirically calibrate the galaxy colour–redshift relation – P(z|C) to the Euclid depth (iAB = 24.5) and is intimately linked to the success of upcoming Stage IV dark energy missions based on weak lensing cosmology. The aim is to build a spectroscopic calibration sample that is as representative as possible of the galaxies of the Euclid weak lensing sample. In order to minimise the number of spectroscopic observations necessary to fill the gaps in current knowledge of the P(z|C), self-organising map (SOM) representations of the galaxy colour space have been constructed. Here we present the first results of an ESO@VLT Large Programme approved in the context of C3R2, which makes use of the two VLT optical and near-infrared multi-object spectrographs, FORS2 and KMOS. This data release paper focuses on high-quality spectroscopic redshifts of high-redshift galaxies observed with the KMOS spectrograph in the near-infrared H- and K-bands. A total of 424 highly-reliable redshifts are measured in the 1.3 ≤ z ≤ 2.5 range, with total success rates of 60.7% in the H-band and 32.8% in the K-band. The newly determined redshifts fill 55% of high (mainly regions with no spectroscopic measurements) and 35% of lower (regions with low-resolution/low-quality spectroscopic measurements) priority empty SOM grid cells. We measured Hα fluxes in a 1.″2 radius aperture from the spectra of the spectroscopically confirmed galaxies and converted them into star formation rates. In addition, we performed an SED fitting analysis on the same sample in order to derive stellar masses, E(B − V), total magnitudes, and SFRs. We combine the results obtained from the spectra with those derived via SED fitting, and we show that the spectroscopic failures come from either weakly star-forming galaxies (at z <  1.7, i.e. in the H-band) or low S/N spectra (in the K-band) of z >  2 galaxies.


In this paper, we discuss an improved demodulation scheme using the Fractional Fourier Transform (FrFT) for a modulation scheme employing chirp rate shift keying (CrSK). CrSK in conjunction with the FrFT enable very high order, e.g. more than 32-ary modulation schemes to be achievable with good bit error rate (BER) performance, even in the absence of coding, thereby overcoming limitations of traditional schemes including phase shift keying (PSK) or QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation). By using an FrFT-based demodulator, we expand our demodulation degrees of freedom from a single (e.g. frequency) axis to an entire time-frequency domain, called the Wigner Distribution (WD). We show how the proposed demodulation scheme using the FrFT improves over past approaches by more than 7 dB, enabling us to achieve close to 4-ary performance with a 32-ary modulation scheme. This enables future systems to operate at 5 bits/s/Hz bandwidth efficiency, enhancing bandwidth utilization for future generation, high data rate, applications, such as internet.


Retroviral transduction of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) offers an attractive strategy for treating malignancies that home to the marrow. This approach should therefore be of interest for evaluating the therapeutic activity of anti-angiogenic agents on hematopoietic malignancies whose growth has been associated with enhanced angiogenesis. A variety of studies have indicated endostatin to be a potent anti-angiogenic agent both in vitro and in vivo, and a human malignancy that might be sensitive to endostatin is human B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL). The demonstrated ability of human B-ALL cells to engraft the marrow of immunodeficient mice suggested the potential of this system for testing an endostatin delivery strategy using co-transplanted non-obese diabetic-scid/scid (NOD/SCID) HSCs engineered to express endostatin. Here we show that, in spite of their mutant scid gene, NOD/SCID HSCs can be transduced with an endostatin-encoding retrovirus at efficiencies that result in a several-fold increase in endostatin serum levels in transplanted recipients. However, this did not alter the regrowth of co-transplanted human B-ALL blasts. These findings validate this gene transfer approach for investigating effects of novel therapeutics on primary human malignant cells that engraft NOD/SCID mice and question the utility of native endostatin for controlling human B-ALL in vivo.


The present invention relates to aqueous solutions of resins which have capped isocyanate groups and have polyimide structure and optionally also polyamide structure, which can be processed easily to give high-value, very flexible coatings with excellent thermal properties and chemical stabilities typical of polyamide imides, to a process for their preparation and to their use. ® KIPO & WIPO 2009


In debates over life and death it is often said that one should err on the side of caution—that is, on the side of life. In the light of the recent case of Terri Schiavo, it is explained how the "err-on-the-side-of-life" argument proceeds, and an objection to it is offered.


Route planning is an important problem for a car navigation system. Given a set of origin-destination pair, there could be many possible routes for a driver. Search for shortest route from one point to another on a weighted graph is a well known problem and has several solutions like Dijkstra algorithm, Bellman-Ford algorithm etc. But in case of car navigation systems the shortest path may not be the best one from the point of view of driver's satisfaction. So, for a practical car navigation system in dynamical environment, we need to specify multiple and separate good (near optimal) choices according to multiple criteria which make the search space too large to find out the solution in real time by deterministic algorithms. Genetic algorithms (GA) are now widely used to solve search problems with applications in practical routing and optimization problems. GA includes a variety of quasi optimal solutions, which can be obtained in a given time. In this work we propose a GA based algorithm to find out simultaneously several alternate routes depending on different criterion according to driver's choice such as shortest path by distance, path which contains minimum number of turns, path passing through mountains or by the side of a river etc. The proposed algorithm has been evaluated by simulation experiment using real road map compared to other existing GA based algorithms. It has been found that the proposed algorithm is quite efficient in finding alternate non overlapping routes with different characteristics.


Background Previous studies have been conducted to evaluate the effect of different adjuvants on brachial plexus block. Objectives This study investigated the effect of adding magnesium sulfate to lidocaine on postoperative pain in upper limb surgeries by supraclavicular brachial plexus block under ultrasound guidance. Methods This study was carried out on patients who were candidate for upper limb surgeries. This was a controlled double-blind study conducted on a number of 52 patients aged 18 - 75 years with ASA class I or II. The first group (M) received lidocaine 1% (4 mg/kg) plus fentanyl 50 micg and magnesium sulfate 20% (5 mL) while the second group (N) received lidocaine 1% (4 mg/kg) plus fentanyl 50 micg and normal saline (5 mL) to supraclavicular brachial plexus block under ultrasound guidance. Postoperative pain was evaluated by visual analog scale (VAS) until 24 hours. Sensory and motor blocks onset and duration, rescue analgesics, hemodynamic variables, and side effects were recorded for all the patients. Results Postoperative VAS values at 24 hours were significantly lower in group M than group N (P < 0.0001). Sensory and Motor blocks onset and duration were statistically longer in group M than group N (P < 0.0001). Conclusions The addition of magnesium sulfate to lidocaine decreased the postoperative pain and increased the onset and duration of sensory and motor blocks in supraclavicular brachial plexus block under ultrasound guidance in upper limb surgeries.


Abstract The objective of the present study is to examine the fine structure of vegetative cells of Laminaria digitata using both chemical fixation and cryofixation. Laminaria digitata was chosen due to its importance as a model organism in a wide range of biological studies, as a keystone species on rocky shores of the North Atlantic, its use of iodide as a unique inorganic antioxidant, and its significance as a raw material for the production of alginate. Details of the fine structural features of vegetative cells are described, with particular emphasis on the differences between the two methods used, i.e. conventional chemical fixation and freeze-fixation. The general structure of the cells was similar to that already described, with minor differences between the different cell types. An intense activity of the Golgi system was found associated with the thick external cell wall, with large dictyosomes from which numerous vesicles and cisternae are released. An interesting type of cisternae was found in the cryofixed material, which was not visible with the chemical fixation. These are elongated structures, in sections appearing tubule-like, close to the external cell wall or to young internal walls. An increased number of these structures was observed near the plasmodesmata of the pit fields. They are similar to the "flat cisternae" found associated with the forming cytokinetic diaphragm of brown algae. Their possible role is discussed. The new findings of this work underline the importance of such combined studies which reveal new data not known until now using the old conventional methods. The main conclusion of the present study is that cryofixation is the method of choice for studying Laminaria cytology by transmission electron microscopy.


Background: Largely due to late diagnosis when curative resection is no longer possible, Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a devastating disease marked by a mortality rate nearly equivalent to its incidence rate. While serum CA19-9 is associated with PDAC, it lacks the sensitivity and specificity needed for early and accurate diagnosis. Thus, early diagnosis of PDAC is critical to improving survival for PDAC patients and for accurate PDAC risk stratification. Methods: We have identified key PDAC biomarkers through an optimized meta-analysis strategy of raw data (training sets). From this analysis, the top ranking genes that distinguish PDAC from normal pancreas were selected through statistical significance comparison of the consistency in differential PDAC gene expression across studies. The biomarker panel with the highest sensitivity and specificity in the training sets was chosen for assessment of predictive power in nine independent validation datasets. For a subset of genes in the panel, immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis was performed in human PDAC and pancreatitis to validate our panel. Results and Conclusions: We have identified a 5-gene classifier panel with specificity of 88.9% and sensitivity of 100% with an overall accuracy of 93.3% and AUC of 0.94 for discriminating PDAC from non-malignant (normal or pancreatitis) tissue. IHC analysis of two of the proteins confirmed enhanced expression in PDAC cells. Cell-based experiments demonstrated that both proteins enhance migration and invasion of PDAC cells as well as soft agar growth indicating that they may be causative in PDAC. The 5-gene predictor discriminated PDAC from healthy controls, as well as pancreatitis, with highest accuracy in nine independent validation sets. Our identified PDAC panel may facilitate early diagnosis and improve risk-stratification. Citation Format: Manoj Bhasin, Andrea Bullock, Xuesong Gu, Octavian Bucur, Robert Najarian, Jon Cody Haines, Karl Ruping, Rebecca Miksad, Towia Libermann, Roya Khosravi-Far. Early detection of pancreatic cancer using a new 5-gene classifier. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-173. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-173


Pregnancy results in attenuated baroreflex mediated sympathoexcitatory responses which may be due to potentiation of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibition in the rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM). The major metabolite of progesterone, 3alpha-hydroxy-dihydroprogesterone (3alpha-OH-DHP), which is elevated in pregnancy, is a potent neurosteroid positive modulator of GABA(A) receptors, and sensitivity of GABA(A) receptors to 3alpha-OH-DHP is dependent on the receptor subunit composition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the GABA(A) alpha(1) and alpha(2) receptor subunit mRNA and protein expression in the RVLM of nonpregnant and late term pregnant rats. Micropunches of RVLM were collected from nonpregnant and late term pregnant rats and the expression levels of GABA(A) alpha(1) and alpha(2) receptor subunits were analyzed using quantitative competitive reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunoblot techniques. The competitive RT-PCR analysis allows comparison of expression levels between different mRNA, and the mRNA expression level of GABA(A) alpha(1) was several hundred fold greater than GABA(A) alpha(2) in both groups. However, this relative distribution of GABA(A) alpha(1) and alpha(2) receptor subunits protein or mRNA expression was not altered in late term pregnant compared to nonpregnant rats. These data demonstrate, that within the RVLM of both nonpregnant and late term pregnant rats, the relative expression levels of GABA(A) alpha(1,2) receptor subunits favor GABA(A) receptors susceptible to positive modulation by progesterone metabolites.


ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the interaction of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) parasitism and the toxicity of neem seed cake (NSC) on survival of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly). Groups of 1600 – 1700 third instar C. capitata larvae were each wrapped in organdy cloth ("unit of parasitism") and exposed to approximately 500 couples of sexually mature D. longicaudata parasitoids (5-d old) for one hour. C. capitata larvae exposed or not to parasitism were transferred to plastic cups containing vermiculite with different proportions of neem seed cake (NSC): 0% NSC (control), 5% NSC, 10% NSC, 15% NSC, 20% NSC, 25% NSC, 30% NSC. Both NSC and the parasitism caused larval/pupal mortality and reduced the emergence of C. capitata flies. NSC affected parasitoid emergence negatively. The effect of parasitism coupled to NSC did not provide greater reduction in the medfly emergence than when parasitism was used alone. However, each of these 2 methods affect a different life stage of medfly, larvae and pupae, respectively, and their joint use may increase the probability of controlling medfly populations in field.


A core problem in systems and circuits neuroscience is deciphering the origin of shared dynamics in neuronal activity: do they emerge through local network interactions, or are they inherited from external sources? We explore this question with large-scale networks of spatially ordered spiking neuron models where a downstream network receives input from an upstream sender network. We show that linear measures of the communication between the sender and receiver networks can discriminate between emergent or inherited population dynamics. Faithful communication requires a match in the dimensionality of the sender and receiver population activities, along with an alignment of their shared fluctuations. However, a nonlinear mapping between the sender – receiver activity or downstream emergent population-wide fluctuations can impair linear communication. Our work exposes the benefits and limitations of linear measures when analyzing between-area communication in circuits with rich population-wide neuronal dynamics.


Haruki Murakami introduces a wide array of issues and topics in his fiction; his variegated characters typically enact a wide range of human attitudes and behaviours when encountering the problems of modern life. One recurrent theme in Murakami's novels is memory. The novelist has a unique ability to present his characters "from the inside", as it were, describing thus the interior mechanisms that make them who they are. His novels present an opportunity to understand the workings of memory and how people are led by its dictates. His characters often find themselves recollecting their past in order to sustain a present existence that is marred by some type of crisis. As they progress in time, protagonists experience a profound sense of disequilibrium that prompts them to return to the past in order to rebalance their self's sense of value. In this regard, the paper investigates the dynamics of memory as well as its role in the formation of identity in Haruki Murakami's novel Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (2014). For this purpose, the paper draws on different theories of memory and identity in its analysis.


In Australia, exercise practitioners (i.e., clinical professionals specializing in exercise assessment and delivery) are increasingly recognized as core mental health team members. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, exercise practitioners, like other mental health professions, have had to adapt methods of clinical service delivery to ensure social distancing and reduce risk of community transmission. As such, telehealth interventions have rapidly replaced most face-to-face services. To date, evidence surrounding the application of telehealth exercise interventions for people living with mental illness is scarce, and currently there is no consensus or recommendations on how exercise practitioners can provide telehealth services for this population. As such, the aim of this article is to draw on existing research and expert opinion to provide practical and service-based guidance for exercise practitioners delivering telehealth services to people with mental illnesses. Specifically, we explore the potential benefits of telehealth exercise interventions, the various challenges and considerations of telehealth exercise among those with mental illness, and some practical solutions to guide exercise practitioners in delivering telehealth services.


A genetic study of in vitro lymphocyte blastogenesis by the B-cell mitogen lipopolysaccharide endotoxin has been performed, using both low-responder C3H/HeJ mice and high-responder CBA/J mice. The crossbreeding of these strains produced F1 progeny that were intermediate in responsiveness. Responder types from the backcross of the F1 to the C3H/HeJ strain segregated into intermediate- and low-responder phenotypes, whereas intermediate- and high-responder phenotypes were produced from the backcross of the F1 to the CBA/J strain. The F2 generation consisted of all three responder phenotypes in frequencies that fit the classical Mendelian ratio of 1:2:1, indicating that the mitogenic response to lipopolysaccharide endotoxin in mice is most likely governed by a pair of autosomal co-dominant genes.


OBJECTIVE
To study the interobserver variation and its sources in classifying chest radiographs of pneumoconiosis for improving diagnostic quality.

METHODS
A set of 240 high-voltage chest radiographs including different stages of pneumoconiosis was developed and 5 sets of copies were made in the same condition. It was read by 7 experienced readers independently in eligible situation. Results of reading were recorded in unified reading sheets. The profusion of small opacities and the stage of pneumoconiosis were recorded as corresponding numerical value for analysis.

RESULTS
The coefficients of variation of 7 readers in total profusion of small opacities, average profusion of small opacities and stage of pneumoconiosis were 15.17%, 15.91%, 12.06%, respectively. The judgement of the presence or absence of small opacities, large opacities and coalescence of small opacities were closer, and the rates of consistency were 91.09%, 91.93% and 76.41% respectively. Technical quality of the radiographs in this study could not make a considerable impact on the reading results. If the shape of small opacities were recorded consistently by most readers as small rounded opacities or small irregular opacities, the judgement of total profusion of small opacities and stage of pneumoconiosis were more consistent; if the shape of small opacities were recorded inconsistently, the difference of judgement was higher.

CONCLUSION
Interobserver variation exists actually among different readers and the main sources of the variation come from uncertain judgement of the shape of small opacities.


Bronchocentric granulomatosis is a chronic pulmonary disease treated with short-term therapy with corticosteroids, and the disease has an excellent prognosis. We describe a patient, and review an additional case from the literature, in whom bronchocentric granulomatosis was accompanied by glomerulonephritis. A misdiagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis was made, and therapy with cyclophosphamide was either considered or given in each of these cases. We emphasize the need for careful histopathologic evaluation of open lung biopsies in patients suspected of having Wegener's granulomatosis in order to rule out the possibility of bronchocentric granulomatosis with concurrent renal disease, and thus avoid the unnecessary use of cytotoxic agents.


Many managers of long-horizon quantitative stock selection portfolios do not use short-horizon alpha signals because of the fast decay of these signals. The author demonstrates a simple tactical trade timing strategy that allows a long-horizon manager to take advantage of short-horizon alphas without incurring additional transaction costs. He shows that the strategy's value added is consistent across time and capitalization groups and does not affect the portfolio's risk exposures.


Objectives : To investigate the knowledge and recognition level of fluorine by teaching career among class teachers, who are primarily responsible for oral health education, despite lack of expertise in oral health, by playing a model role for students through continuous contacts with them, and provide basic elementary data about accurate knowledge and how to correctly use fluorine remarkably effective in preventing dental caries. Methods : A self-administered survey was conducted with 539 teachers at 21 elementary schools in Jinhae City from September 1 to October 15, 2010, drawing the following conclusions. Results : 1. As for the channel for acquiring knowledge of oral health, the highest frequency was found in health programs for respondents with less than 9 years of career, in dental clinics for those with 20 to 29 years of career, and in PR booklets for those with 10 to 19 years and 30 years and longer of career. 2. Use of fluorinecontaining toothpaste and fluorine spread is very effective and effective in preventing dental caries got 64.9%, 72.2%, 72.3%, 77.7% and 54.0%, 63.1%, 62.2%, 69.7%, respectively, among elementary school teachers with less than 9 years, 10 to 19 years, 20 to 29 years, and 30 years and longer of career. 3. Intake of fluoride and toothbrushing with fluoric solution is very effective and effective in preventing dental caries got 33.3%, 40.1%, 39.5%, 55.3% and 50.0%, 54.9%, 48.8%, 69.7%, respectively, among elementary school teachers with less than 9 years, 10 to 19 years, 20 to 29 years, and 30 years and longer of career. 4. Use of fluoric tablets is very effective and effective in preventing dental caries got 32.9%, 36.0%, 36.1%, 47.3%, respectively, among elementary school teachers with less than 9 years, 10 to 19 years, 20 to 29 years, and 30 years and longer of career. 5. Most of the elementary school teachers knew the fact that fluorine increases dental resistance to cavity and prevents bacterial growth but gave incorrect responses to properties of becoming basic nutrients or inducing recalcification. Conclusions : Various types of application of fluorine during the elementary-level childhood experiencing the most frequent dental caries will be very useful in improving oral health in the future. It is necessary to enable class teachers to get correct recognition of fluorine through supplementary and job training based on technical knowledge and various educational materials so that they, who are directly responsible for health management through continuous contacts with students, can understand how to correctly use fluorine and get accurate knowledge.


The purpose of the article is to determine the process of transformation of the medieval iconostasis with wall-to-wall horizontal beams as main structural/supporting elements to the new type – iconostasis as an architectural frame – which it becomes on the border of the 16–17th century. The research methodology is based on the iconological and comparative methods, which allow identifying the rules of construction, combinations, and relationships between the structural elements of the architectural frame of the XVII century Ukrainian iconostasis, to determine the ideological sources of the formation of such model of the iconostasis and disclose its meanings. The scientific novelty of the work is connected with the expansion of knowledge about the development of the Ukrainian iconostasis. Among the main sources that influenced the formation of the new image of the Ukrainian iconostasis were the Greek tradition of organizing sanctuary barriers and the Latin tradition of framing a religious image. Creating a new concept of the Ukrainian iconostasis at the junction of two traditions was a reaction to the social and political context of the period, which appeared in the Western European art of the Renaissance. Conclusions. Creating a new concept of the Ukrainian iconostasis at the junction of two traditions was a reaction to the social and political context of the period. The introduction to the Ukrainian iconostasis of the frames and its transformation at the beginning of the 17th century in an architectural frame gives the basis to consider this transformation as an ideological project. The new design of the Ukrainian iconostasis, due to the introduction of the blind arcade in the upper tier and the abundant decoration of all surfaces, referred to a similar device of the iconoscopes of the Balkans, and especially the iconostases of Athos. Under the conditions of the establishment of the Greek Catholic Church, such iconostasis construction was a visual marker of the confessional identity of an Orthodox Ukrainian church. At the same time, one of the goals of simultaneously increasing the spatial depth of the iconostasis could be the desire to strengthen the emotional impression of its new architectural image. The use of monumental volumetric structures to influence the consciousness of believers is a technique widely used by the Catholic the art of the time.


We consider plane waves propagating in quadratic nonlinear slab waveguides with nonlinear quasi-phase-matching gratings. We predict analytically and verify numerically the complete gain spectrum for transverse modulational instability, including hitherto undescribed higher order gain bands.


ABSTRACT It is hard to deny the notion that the Internet has been very efficient in distributing health information to millions of individuals and has become one of the best marketing tools in healthcare. We have been witnessing so many very creative and interactive practices in this field that we can safely assume that it is now the time for e-commerce in healthcare industry. While this is true for many participants, there are also some who are concerned about using some of these new online options in the field of healthcare. Most of these concerns are derived from the questionable accuracy of the "health" information on the net. Considering the fact that the subject matter of the field is "health," we can realize that these concerns are serious and deserve an in-depth look. This paper reviews some of the most current practices in the field and provides some examples of these online options. It is hoped that the review of these examples will result in similar inquiries in the future and as those questionable options are exposed more and more, they will eventually be eliminated and replaced with the better ones.


Three different powdered hybrid inorganic–organic composites for pharmaceutical use have been successfully obtained using CO2 as an antisolvent in a batch mode process. Naproxen was chosen as the hydrophobic Class II model drug, for which its dissolution rate in water must be enhanced. As excipients, two kind of commercial lipids (G44/14 and G50/13) and a mixture of Eudragit RS100 and Eudragit RL100 polymers were used. Silica microparticles have also been incorporated into the formulation to restrict the naproxen crystals growth and to obtain a powdered material with appropriate micromeritic properties. The morpho-chemical characteristics of these microcomposites and their different release profiles are reported. Importantly, the components have not suffered structural or chemical modifications during the processing and no specific chemical bonds were detected between them. High drug loading has been achieved in the three cases. Water dissolution of the drug formulations is controlled mainly by the wetting properties and nature of the excipients and by the size of the crystals. Among the materials prepared, samples made with Gelucires (hydrophilic species) result in the fastest release of naproxen. We thus conclude that lipid-based ternary formulations display a synergetically accelerated release compared to binary mixtures.


Although much progress has been achieved in aging research using lower animals, especially yeast and C. elegans, aging in humans remains puzzling. Here I offer my hypothesis of host defense against age-promoting stimuli, which holds that the cell itself has a defense system and multi-organism, an even more sophisticated one against age-promoting stimuli. Here I review recent achievements in aging research and try to explain their findings in the light of my hypothesis. Age-promoting stimuli, including reactive oxygen species, telomere shortening or external stimuli such as UV or radiation induce stress responses in cells. The cellular defense system operates to overcome stimuli or repair damaged cellular components. Stress-induced damaged cells or infectious stimuli activate systemic defense systems, especially the innate immune system. Macrophages in the innate immune system are especially active not only in clearing damaged cells and repairing damaged tissue, but unfortunately, also in inducing age-related diseases.


Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are a high-priority group for COVID-19 vaccination for several reasons. Health behavior theory-based studies on the intention or acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination among Indonesian HCWs is lacking. Using an integrated behavioral model, this research sought to identify Indonesian health care workers' intentions to obtain COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A countrywide cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The questionnaire was constructed on the basis of IBM (integrated behavioral model) constructs and scored on a seven-point bipolar scale. A hierarchical multivariable regression was used to evaluate the fit of the predictor model as well as the correlations between variables in the study. Results: 3304 people responded to the survey. A model combining demographic and IBM characteristics predicted 42.5 percent (adjusted R2 = 0.42) of the COVID-19 vaccination intention. Vaccination intention was associated with favorable vaccine attitudes, perceived norms, and self-efficacy. Among the determining constructs, behavior belief predicted vaccination intention the best. Being female, being married, having a history of COVID-19 infection, living outside Java Island, and having a low income were all linked to lower vaccination intentions. Conclusions: This study confirms the IBM model's robustness in predicting health care workers' intention to vaccinate against COVID-19.


Clinicopathologic effects of rapid intravenous infusion of 3 L of 5% dextrose in water containing 150 g of sodium bicarbonate were evaluated in 8 clinically normal horses. A highly significant metabolic alkalosis was produced in all the horses. This response was maximal at the end of the 20-minute infusion but persisted for as long as 8 hours. Packed cell volume, total plasma proteins, plasma potassium, and plasma chloride concentration decreased significantly after infusion, while plasma sodium concentration increased significantly. The clinical and clinicopathological responses of the horses were comparable to those in man and other animal species.


Due to the excessive demand to desalinate seawater to satisfy the domestic need in Qatar, it was needed to develop safe and cost effective desalination processes with the consideration of stringent regulation for water quality production and wastewater/brine discharge quality. The direct disposal of brines to the environment raised potential negative impact to the aquatic system and therefore the best practice is to minimize the volume of brine production and reuse it for beneficiary application. Several brine-dewatering techniques include both evaporative and non-evaporative approaches, which are capable to dewater high salinity brines with 50-350 g/L of total dissolved solids (TDS). The commonly adopted technology for dewatering brine is mechanical vapor compression that is known for its significant energy consumption up to 25 kWh/m3 of produced water for 50% of water recovery1. Non-evaporative membrane base technologies are a promising approach to dewater brines with minimum energy usage. Osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) is an advance membrane based technology for energy efficient and high recovery desalination of saline brine. OARO differ from reverse osmosis (RO) by adding saline sweep on permeate side to reduce osmotic pressure difference across the membrane to generate more water flux. The ongoing research work are based on mathematical/numerical approach that focuses on finding the optimum OARO configuration, inlet hydraulic pressure to avoid membrane burst and cost analysis. However, most of these studies are conducted by considering ideal conditions. In this study, an algorithm for simulating OARO process based on MATLAB and Aspen Plus to model membrane calculation and to design process configuration is considered to the effect of concentration polarization (CP) and reverse solute flux (RSF). The objective is to study the effect of inlet feed concentration and flowrate, sweep concentration and flowrate, inlet hydraulic pressure, number of stages, membrane size and characteristics and module configuration flow. In addition, technical economic analysis to evaluate the economic feasibility of OARO process. The stopping criteria of this model is the quality of water permeating at the feasible operating conditions and the cost. This model demonstrated high potential simulating OARO process to be used as a palate form for the user to predict the behavior of the process by varying operating conditions to desired outcomes.


A modulated duoPIGatron plasma source, operating with a co-axial cathode, has been developed for the diagnostic neutral beam injector of the Tokamak de Varennes. The source plasma modulation is obtained by an arc-current-modulating circuit equipped with a fast feedback control loop. The modulation frequency is limited only by the plasma impedance, which results in an arc current rise-time of about . The source has been operated with H, He and Ar gases. The source parameters have been optimized for minimum density fluctuation and a flat density profile over the extraction area. A diamagnetic loop has been used as an external monitor of the electron density fluctuation level. In the preliminary experiments using a three-grid extraction system and seven extraction holes of 0.5 cm diameter, up to 600 mA of H beam current at 35 kV was extracted.


Introduction: Globally approximately one million children die every year from severe acute malnutrition. It is reported that severe acute malnutrition(SAM) is the commonest reason for paediatric hospital admission in many poor countries; 25 to 30% of children with severe malnutrition die during hospital admissions.
Objective: To assess the success rate of OTP in treatment of children with SAM and identify its determinants at Kamba district, South West Ethiopia.
Method: Institution based retrospective longitudinal study was carried out on children who were treated on the OTP. A total sample of 711 was selected from 4 health centers and 12 satellite health posts. A structured and pretested data abstraction form were prepared and used for data collection. The data were cleaned, coded and entered into Epi-INFO, analyzed by SPSS. The results were estimated using Kaplan-Meier survival curves, log-rank test and Cox-regression.
Result: The recovery rate was 67.7% and the median recovery time was 7.14 weeks (IQR 5.28-8.14). Children treated at a health centers have 1.36 times higher recovery rate than children treated at health post (AHR = 1.495, 95% CI = 1.188, 1.881). Controlling for other factors; the probability of a child to recover from SAM under OTP is 1.25 times higher among children aged greater than two years old than those children aged less than or equal to two years old (AHR = 1.255, 95% CI = 1.012, 1.556).
Conclusion and Recommendation: The recovery rate was lower than the international standard. Type of health facility providing the OTP services and age of the child had significant association (at 0.05 P-value) with survival time among children who recovered from SAM under OTP. Special focus should be given to young children and decentralization of OTP service from health centers to health posts should be carried out with great caution.


Introduction. In the context of internationalization of higher education, attracting students from abroad is considered a tool for strengthening the country's positions in the world's educational space. The paper addresses the issue of linguistic and academic adaptation of international students in Russia. International students tend to experience difficulties when adapting to a new/different socio-cultural environment. The relevance of the article is determined by strengthening of integration processes, international relations, competing trends between higher education systems in the world.Materials and Methods. The quantitative research into barriers to the linguistic and academic adaptation of international students in Novosibirsk universities, conducted by the authors in April 2018, is presented. The survey of international students (N = 310) in Novosibirsk universities identified the main barriers to linguistic and academic adaptation. The survey had been created online through an Internet-based survey application Google Forms. The authors employed general scientific methods and the sociological method while conducting research.Results. We studied two groups of students. Group 1 included students from post-Soviet countries (N1 = 256) and group 2 included students from other countries (beyond post-Soviet countries) (N2 = 54). International students are experiencing difficulties. There are common problems for all international students in academic adaptation: low general educational level; weak training in core disciplines and special subjects; the difference between forms and methods of teaching in a Russian university from the forms and methods of instruction in domestic the higher education institution. The main barrier to the successful adaptation of international students is the language barrier which affects the academic barrier. Most international students who do not speak Russian are not able to fully comprehend lectures and understand other educational materials. International students need to quickly master the language, adapt to a learning system and fit into another culture in order to successfully learn. Local and regional programs should be developed to support international students to effectively involve them in a new environment. The research results demonstrate a positive impact of socialization on adaptation.Discussion and Conclusion. Analysis of Russian and international studies of linguistic and academic  adaptation shows that the most effective ways to overcome the adaptation difficulties include orientation programs as domestic supplementary educational programs, refresher courses for teaching staff involved in training international students, and a set of socializing services for international students. The goals are to study psychological, intercultural, social problems of adaptation of international students in Russia. The results of the research presented in the article will aid in the organization of training of international students at the university. The article can be useful for teaching staff and managers of Russian universities and international researchers. The obtained results contribute to the development of theoretical and methodological base for studying the problems of international students adaptation.


The present paper intent to support the usefulness of some theoretical-methodological qualitative perspectives for the study of women's health studies. This is a contribution to women's function recognition in health systems as traditional health providers, communitary organizers and an invaluable help in familiar health care. Paper emphasized the importance of recognizing their needs in regard of planning and addressing health attention programs. Studies about menopause and midwifes are mentioned in this paper. They are proposals for knowing women's meanings about those processes from their experience and knowledge. The aim is to discuss and to reflect about theoretical-methodological perspectives used in women and public health research. We try to go beyond to qualitative versus quantitative research dialectic. We emphasized the necessity of finding research strategies that improve that opposition. Two research experiences are described showing qualitative research used in women studies. One of them is about social representation of menospause and the other example is about traditional midwifes training program. Both show advantages of this methodology in social problems study. For studying social problems it is necessary a multidisciplinary perspective based in different methodological approaches. This is necessary to know, evaluate and solve those problems. This paper refers mainly to qualitative research, but also talk about methodological joint action advantages in regard of multicausal health process of women.


Does neuromuscular blockade and muscle relaxation make mask ventilation easier [1]? In over 98% of cases, mask ventilation is easy, and so the question of muscle relaxation never arises [2, 3]. Soltesz et al. found that neuromuscular blockers increased tidal volumes rapidly and significantly in patients with risk factors for mask ventilation difficulties [4]. They correctly did not include patients in whom ventilation did not produce a capnograph. Several authors have supported the active use of capnography to assess mask ventilation because it is immediate, objective and corrects automatically for exhaled gas composition and patient weight [5–8]. I would like to ask the authors some questions about their paper. Firstly, the paper's title implies that all subjects were difficult to mask ventilate. All had risk factors, but only 24% were actually difficult. Could the authors please clarify this point? Secondly, measuring difficulty with mask ventilation is complex. Soltesz et al. defined 'difficult' as a score ≥ 4 on the Warters scale, which rates four variables in the operator method and one patient outcome (tidal volume) [9]. Applied to this study, every patient should have scored at least 3 due to the standardised ventilation technique used (two hands and an oral airway). Were some patients inappropriately classified as a result? The authors measured oxygenation and tidal volume to assess objective outcome, both of which have limitations. Oxygen desaturation may occur late even with no ventilation, and be affected by patient positioning and pre-oxygenation. Measurement of tidal volume is immediate, but affected by stomach gas, target volume and weight correction (Warters used 5 ml.kg 1 total body weight, and Soltesz, 4 ml.kg 1 ideal body weight). Could the authors comment on the potential influence of these confounding variables on their results? J. R. Nielsen Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Sydney, Australia Email: email@example.com


When one scans a document page from a thick bound volume, the curvature of the page to be scanned results in two kinds of distortion in the scanned document images: i) shade along the 'spine' of the book; and ii) warping in the shade area. In this paper, we propose an efficient restoration method based on the discovery of the 3D shape of a book surface from the shading information in a scanned document image. We first build practical models namely a 3D geometric model and a 3D optical model for the practical scanning conditions to reconstruct the 3D shape of book surface. We next restore the scanned document image using this shape based on de-shading and de-warping models. Finally, we evaluate the restoration results by comparing the OCR (optical character recognition) performance on the original and restored document images. The experiments show that the geometric and photometric distortions are mostly removed and the OCR results are improved markedly.


Digital media technologies allow new communication channels through which one can quickly find necessary information on the one hand, and on the other hand upload information of relevance. Both download and upload are quickly and easily available to everyone worldwide. It is interesting to compare the Internet with an 'information buffet' from which the user takes as much information as necessary and whenever necessary. Such information may be used for the purpose of informing, educating, entertaining or business when there is no other efficient and quicker way. People and markets are linked. From the time in which the information and news were in the possession of a small number of people, we have arrived at the stage when the information is in the hands of most. We are now in the era of social media which helped create a most diverse content and exchange between a large number of Internet users, replacing the one-to-many process with a many-to-many process. Two-thirds of our waking state is lived with the media or the media in combination with another activity, whereby the media people gradually influence our perception of the meaning of life. Researchers warn of the impact of media depending on the degree of media growth and the need to create an institutional basis for introduction of media education into regular education programs.


What are the effects of firm- and sector-level trade unions on unemployment and aggregate output if individuals have rent-sharing motives? To answer this question, we extend a Melitz-type model to unionized labor markets. Because individual rent-sharing motives are only taken into account and asserted by firm-level unions which capture a higher fraction of firms' rents via firm-specific wages, average profits are higher under sector-level trade unions. As a consequence, firm-selection increases (relative to firm-level unions), which causes average marginal costs to decline. At the general equilibrium, labor demand then, ceteris paribus, increases and unemployment falls. This new mechanism interacts with the negative employment effect due to higher wage markups of sector-level trade unions, as shown e.g. by Calmfors et al. (1988). Simulating our model indicates that the unemployment damping effect of rent-sharing motives mitigates but does not compensate for the unemployment increase caused by higher wage markups, while aggregate output is higher under sector-level agreements.


This work presents design guidelines and performance investigation of plasmonic wavelength demultiplexers for optical communication systems. First the performance of multichannel demultiplexers designed using planar metal-insulator-metal plasmonic structure is investigated. Each demultiplexer unit consists of a bus waveguide supported by two, feedback and drop, nanocavities. Detail parametric study is used to design a high-drop efficiency demultiplexer. The results are then coupled with particle swarm optimization technique to redesign the demultiplexer with high drop efficiency. Simulation is performance using Computer Simulation Technology (CST) package for (1550, 1300, 850 nm) demultiplexer implemented using silver-air- silver plasmonic structure. The design methodology is also used to realize two optical bandpass filters centered around 1650 nm and 1450 nm wavelengths. Then a detail analytic framework to analyze the spectral performance of multichannel demultiplexers designed by cascading single-channel demultiplexing units is presented. The analysis uses coupled-mode theory to deal with incident and reflected waves associated with each demultiplexing unit.


Lavandula stoechas subsp. luisieri is a Spanish subspecies from the Lamiaceae family. Its essential oil has been traditionally used for several medical applications though little is known about other extracts. Similar to many other studies aiming to obtain traditional plant extracts to be used in different applications, this work evaluated the antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of Lavandula luisieri extracts and the correlation with their composition. Traditional hydrodistillation and ethanolic maceration were used to obtain the essential oil and the maceration extract, respectively. A green and sustainable methodology was applied to the maceration extract that was under a Supercritical Antisolvent Fractionation process to obtain a fine solid enriched in rosmarinic acid and the terpenes oleanolic and ursolic acids. Antimicrobial activities of all extracts and pure identified compounds (rosmarinic and ursolic acids) were evaluated against five bacterial strains; Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli and were compared with the pure compounds identified, rosmarinic and ursolic acids. All strains were sensitive against L. luisieri essential oil. The solid product obtained from the supercritical process was concentrated in the identified actives compared to the maceration extract, which resulted in higher antimicrobial and DPPH scavenging activities. The supercritical sustainable process provided L. luisieri compounds, with retention of their antimicrobial and antioxidant activities, in a powder exemptof organic solvents with potential application in the clinical, food or cosmetic fields.


Mobility is important for welfare. Therefore, the community must be able to provide its citizens and the commercial sector with a safe, efficient and reliable transport system. This system must be accessible to everyone under the same conditions, and must contribute towards countryward employment and growth. The transportation sector, led by the automobile, has been cited constantly as a major contributor through human intervention to climate change. In future, greenhouse gas emission and global warming will be key issues for society. Short of banning car use, the challenge remains one of understanding better what mix of actions might contribute in non-marginal ways to reducing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions and the absolute amount of carbon dioxid produced by automobiles. This paper evaluates instruments aimed at a number of policy objectives linked to efficiency, sustainability and equity, focusing on social surplus gains in addition to cost effectiveness; but in particular the ability to reduce car
bon dioxid. Since one of the biggest challenges the community faces is to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this presupposes a transport-efficient society.


stakeholder projects over the last year, the Reos Partners team has had the opportunity to delve into the substance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Through this work, we have realized that the SDGs are not just another set of international policy goals. Rather, they represent a shared vision for humanity and a new mental model for development. We have also understood that the SDGs are more than a set of colorful boxes, each with a theme heading. Each goal has a set of associated targets and indicators to deepen the meaning of the goal and to guide transformative action. It is when we look at this deeper level, at the mindset behind the SDGs and at the actual implementation of the agenda, that the urgency of transformative approaches (such as those applied by Reos Partners and others around the world) becomes clear.


Increased use of natural gas has been promoted as a means of decarbonizing the US power sector, because of superior generator efficiency and lower CO2 emissions per unit of electricity than coal. We model the effect of different gas supplies on the US power sector and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Across a range of climate policies, we find that abundant natural gas decreases use of both coal and renewable energy technologies in the future. Without a climate policy, overall electricity use also increases as the gas supply increases. With reduced deployment of lower-carbon renewable energies and increased electricity consumption, the effect of higher gas supplies on GHG emissions is small: cumulative emissions 2013–55 in our high gas supply scenario are 2% less than in our low gas supply scenario, when there are no new climate policies and a methane leakage rate of 1.5% is assumed. Assuming leakage rates of 0 or 3% does not substantially alter this finding. In our results, only climate policies bring about a significant reduction in future CO2 emissions within the US electricity sector. Our results suggest that without strong limits on GHG emissions or policies that explicitly encourage renewable electricity, abundant natural gas may actually slow the process of decarbonization, primarily by delaying deployment of renewable energy technologies.


This paper has been shaped and developed on the proposition that a relationship exists between memory and architecture. The mechanics of memory have been studied for many years by various disciplines and its connection with architecture, either individual or collective, forms the spatial memory in architecture. In the formation of this spatial memory, the interaction with one's environment and the memory of this interaction stored in one's brain makes the ability to remember and recall the important. Consciously, what significance do people attribute to remembered spaces? How do they value them, in their own words? How do the remembered spaces interact with them? Can spatial memory emerge and bring new values to architecture? This study aims to investigate the importance of the formation of spatial memory in an individual's dynamic relationship with any particular space. A "Childhood House" has been selected as the space for the study. There are many scholarly books that address the space of the house where it has been a particular focus from a memory point such that it collects an individual's past relationship with the space. The recollection of the childhood house by an individual relates the spatial relationship one has with memories of the past. Spatial memory, which has been formed on concepts of memory, perception and this house, is analysed in a proposed model aimed at explaining what spatial elements might be the inputs in forming spatial memory. Individual features, the social environment of the era and physical characteristics of the space are selected as the main features to form the spatial memory of a childhood house. The model also puts forward several sub-features which enhance the recall moment of an individual when interacting with a space. Main and sub-feature inputs of the model form multi-layered spatial memory outputs which show the brain's ability to code, store and recall. Twenty individuals were chosen to contribute to the study, using their recall of childhood house memories to respond to pre-set memory/space related questions. Each individual's spatial recall verified that the proposed memory/space relationship model showed clear evidence that the spatial memory is formed under the influence of these three important characteristics: Individual, social/cultural and physical interaction act in concert to constitute a spatial memory.


ABSTRACT Various studies carried out on different photo anthropometry, but each one had some deficiencies which during the years they have been resolved. The objective of this paper is to test the efficiency of two-dimensional image processing software in photo anthropometry of hand. In this applied research, 204 office workers and industrial workers were selected. Their hands were measured by manual with photo anthropometric methods. In this study, designing the "Hand Photo Anthropometry Set," we tried to fix the angle and distance of the camera in all of the photos. Thus, some of the common mistakes in photo anthropometric method got controlled. The taken photos were analyzed by Digimizer software, version 22.214.171.124 and Digital Caliper (Model: Mitutoyo Corp., Tokyo, Japan) was used via manual method. t -test statistical test on data revealed that there is no significant difference between the manual and photo anthropometric results ( P > 0.05) and the correlation coefficients for hand dimensions are similar in both methods illustrated in the range of 0.71-0.95. The statistical analyses showed that photo anthropometry can be replaced with manual methods. Furthermore, it can provide a great help to develop an anthropometric database for work gloves manufacturers. Since the hand anthropometry is a necessary input for tool design, this survey can be used to determine the percentiles of workers' hands.


In this paper, we shed further light on cross-sectional predictors of stock return performance. Specifically, we explore whether the cross-section of expected stock returns is robust within stock groups sorted by past monthly return. We find that the book/market and momentum effects are remarkably robust to sorting on past returns. However, share turnover is negatively related to future returns for stocks with abnormally low stock price performance in the recent past, but postively related to returns for well-performing stocks. This casts doubt on the use of turnover as a liquidity proxy, but is consistent with turnover being a proxy for momentum trading which pushes prices in the direction of past price movements. Our results are robust to both NYSE/AMEX and Nasdaq stocks, and also robust to stratifying the sample by time period.


Skin tumors experimentally induced by dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA) are associated with dense subepithelial accumulations of mast cells. To investigate the sequential changes of the mast cell population during carcinogenesis, and to provide a model with which to examine mast cell proliferation, the back skin of 48 Swiss Webster mice was painted with 0.5% DMBA in benzene twice weekly for 12 weeks. Control and DMBA-treated tissues were processed for histological examination. The observed pattern of tissue changes fell into four phases: a) inflammation and necrosis followed by epithelial regeneration and hyperplasia, b) development of localized regions of acanthosis, c) loss of normal organization with downgrowth of epithelial cells and formation of keratin pearls, d) appearance of well-defined nodules resembling verrucous carcinoma. Subepithelial mast cells varied greatly in number during the above sequence of changes. Dense foci of cells were seen, particularly beneath the regions of hyperplastic epithelium. Mast cells may play a role in abnormal epithelial proliferation and, further, DMBA treatment may provide a suitable model with which to examine the origin and kinetics of mast cells.


We use the energy-balance code MAGPHYS to determine stellar and dust masses, and dust corrected star-formation rates for over 200,000 GAMA galaxies, 170,000 G10-COSMOS galaxies and 200,000 3D-HST galaxies. Our values agree well with previously reported measurements and constitute a representative and homogeneous dataset spanning a broad range in stellar mass (10^8---10^12 Msol), dust mass (10^6---10^9 Msol), and star-formation rates (0.01---100 Msol per yr), and over a broad redshift range (0.0 < z < 5.0). We combine these data to measure the cosmic star-formation history (CSFH), the stellar-mass density (SMD), and the dust-mass density (DMD) over a 12 Gyr timeline. The data mostly agree with previous estimates, where they exist, and provide a quasi-homogeneous dataset using consistent mass and star-formation estimators with consistent underlying assumptions over the full time range. As a consequence our formal errors are significantly reduced when compared to the historic literature. Integrating our cosmic star-formation history we precisely reproduce the stellar-mass density with an ISM replenishment factor of 0.50 +/- 0.07, consistent with our choice of Chabrier IMF plus some modest amount of stripped stellar mass. Exploring the cosmic dust density evolution, we find a gradual increase in dust density with lookback time. We build a simple phenomenological model from the CSFH to account for the dust mass evolution, and infer two key conclusions: (1) For every unit of stellar mass which is formed 0.0065---0.004 units of dust mass is also formed; (2) Over the history of the Universe approximately 90 to 95 per cent of all dust formed has been destroyed and/or ejected.


Machine learning techniques have been widely adopted to assist in data analysis in a variety of Internet of Things (IoT) systems. To enable flexible use of trained learning models, one viable solution is to leverage all categories of data from different applications to train a general model, which can be further tuned for applications through the tuning process. This process incurs additional overhead at the start, but makes later revision and iteration faster and more flexible. Nonetheless, due to limited computing capabilities, IoT devices cannot handle the training process of large data sets. To address this issue, in this article, we propose a general framework to adopt transfer learning in Industrial IoT (IIoT) systems. In our study, we categorize the application space of applying transfer learning to IIoT systems into four generic scenarios: 1) centralized transfer learning with large data sets; 2) distributed transfer learning with large data sets; 3) centralized transfer learning with small data sets; and 4) distributed transfer learning with small data sets. According to the characteristics of each scenario, we design workflows to apply the transfer learning technique. To demonstrate the efficacy of the approach, we apply our transfer learning technique to the task of IIoT component recognition. We use the known VGG-16 model and leverage T-Less industrial data sets to evaluate the performance of our approach in different scenarios. Via performance evaluation, our experimental results confirm the efficacy of our approach, which can not only reduce training time but also achieve higher accuracy, compared with the classical convolutional neural network (CNN) approach.


The aim of the study was to examine the time course of changes in pressure pain threshold (PPT), visual analogue scale (VAS) pain and tenderness scores, McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) descriptors, pain areas, skin temperature and mean arterial pressure (MAP) following intensive eccentric exercise. In 11 healthy male subjects, eccentric exercise of the first dorsal interosseous muscle (FDI) of the right hand with 114% maximum voluntary contraction weight (MVC) was used to induce post‐exercise muscle soreness (PEMS) in the right hand, while the left hand served as a control. At 24 h to 48 h all the pain profiles indicated the presence of PEMS in the right hand when compared to before exercise (P<0.05). MPQ and pain area assessments also indicated PEMS immediately after the exercise, while the pain assessment by PPT and tenderness VAS showed insignificant pain immediately after the exercise. Skin temperature measured in the first web space of the hand did not change at any time. MAP was significantly reduced at 48 h. It is concluded that eccentric exercise of a small hand muscle is followed by PEMS and a reduced MAP after 48 h that may suggest a role of central mechanisms in the PEMS, thereby giving further insight into clinical aspects of muscle pain.


In Reply .—Dr Murray is correct in pointing out that the volume of distribution (Vd) and clearance (Cl) will be underestimated using a one-compartment model in which the apparent Vd is calculated from the linear extrapolation of phase to end of infusion. 1 We calculated the Vd based on the measured peak level of serum vancomycin corrected for the fraction eliminated during the one-hour infusion. The difference in the two calculations was minor (Figure). After an accurately timed one-hour infusion, the mean actual peak was less than 2 μg/L greater than the mean β-extrapolated peak in seven patients less than 41 weeks after conception. The Vd calculated from the measured peak was 0.43 L/kg, and the Cl was 64.07 mL/kg/h. The Vd calculated from the β-extrapolated peak was 0.45 L/kg, and the Cl was 67.05 mL/kg/h. There was far more variability observed in the β-extrapolated peak, indicating a greater potential


Magnetic actuation is an efficient way for wireless manipulation of micro-robots. One key factor for the actuation is determining of the magnetic field components and the field gradients of electromagnetic coils. Usually, magnetic dipole model or interpolation method is used to calculate the magnetic field. These methods are not well suitable for estimation of the magnetic field. In this paper, we present a mathematic magnetic field model of rectangular electromagnetic coils for magnetic actuation. The proposed model is based on the Biot-Savart Law and superposition principle. Finite element software is used to verify the proposed model. The final analytical expressions are given and simulation results show the feasibility of the method.


The treatment options and management of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke are expanding. Neuroradiologic interventions are being used in acute care settings to change the course of these devastating processes. These interventions include the injection of intra-arterial urokinase for ischemic stroke, use of coils to secure aneurysms, and balloon angioplasty for increasing the lumen of spastic cerebral arteries in patients with cerebral vasospasm. Using a case study approach, these three options for managing stroke patients will be integrated, and nursing strategies for delivering care to the stroke patient will be profiled.


A comprehensive model for explaining the polarization properties of thermal emission is presented for the case of objects with certain sizes. Using Stokes theory and the superposition principle of a light wave, we analyze the dependence of degree of linear polarization on the spatial geometrical relations including the sizes of objects, the detection distance, and the locations of objects for both metallic and nonmetallic objects, each taken separately.


An inexact-based fuzzy multi-objective programming (IFMOP) model is developed based on analysis of fuzzy information and multi-objective characteristics of an ecological city. In the IFMOP model, parameters originally based on certain targets and accurate objectives are now obtained as interval numbers. Through the interactive process between decision makers and the interpretation of the model, some reasonable solutions can be achieved by using MATLAB programming. This study took a new development zone in a city of North China as a case study, a reasonable water resource allocation scheme in 2020 is obtained, illustrating the practicability of this model.


Myosin Va is an actin-associated motor protein involved in organelle transport such as melanosomes and neuron synaptic vesicles and has always been proposed as the candidate gene for the autosomal recessive Griscelli-Pruniéras syndrome, one of the silvery hair syndromes, which is a lethal disease combining immunodeficiency and neurologic and pigmentary abnormalities. Thus far, two mutations in the myosin Va gene have been described to be associated with this syndrome. One of these mutations was a homozygous mis-sense mutation causing an arginine to cysteine alteration at codon 1246. Because we also found this particular substitution after mutation analysis of a Griscelli patient, we checked its relevance in a control group of 124 unrelated healthy individuals and found it to be present, even in homozygous state, in normal unaffected individuals. It is clear that this arg1246cys substitution is a polymorphism occurring in the human population and not occurring in association with Griscelli syndrome. Distinguishing a polymorphism from a bona fide mutation is of utmost importance and has major ethical implications with regard to prenatal genetic counseling in affected families.