This paper reports the findings of a census of introductory programming courses. Eighty five courses from Australian and New Zealand universities are included. The census aims to discover languages and paradigms taught, tools used, texts employed, method of delivery to on-campus students, instructor experience and how problem solving strategies are taught. Of note in the 2003 census is the reduction in student enrolments in introductory programming courses since 2001, the differences in teaching between Australian and New Zealand courses, and trends relating to language, tools and paradigms.


Summary. Euthanasia is considered the act of finishing the life of a patient, previously requested by this one to end the suffering or the pain of any terminal sickness with no perspective of cure. Objective. Evaluate the knowledge and perceptions about euthanasia in medical students and physicians, demonstrating the knowledge and classifying the perception about euthanasia in medical students and physicians. Methodology. This is a clinical-epidemiologic, mixed cross-sectional observational study with non-probabilistic sampling by convenience in medical students and physicians from a hospital in Venezuela. Results. The sample studied had a distribution according to the level of instruction of: 64.85% students, 19.33% medical residents and 15.82% physicians. They showed a middle level of knowledge distributed in: 84.4% physicians, 77.3% medical residentsand 80.5% students (p 0.051). According to the level of knowledge and support to euthanasia, 76.18% have a middle level of knowledge (p 0.0002). Conclusion. Results showed that a middle level of knowledge about euthanasia exists, particularly in the students' population. Euthanasia was not perceived in a negative way, showing a high significance in attention to the ethical implications that surround this concept.


Increasing awareness of the benefits of stimulating entrepreneurial behaviour in small and medium
enterprises has fostered strong interest in innovation programs. Recently many western countries have
invested in design innovation for better firm performance. This research presents some early findings
from a study of companies which participated in an holistic approach to design innovation, where the
outcomes include better business performance and better market positioning in global markets.
Preliminary findings from in-depth semi-structured interviews indicate the importance of firm
openness to new ways of working and developing new processes of strategic entrepreneurship.
Implications for theory and practice are discussed.


Herbs have been a great source of natural substances used to prevent many cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Blood lipid levels and coagulation parameters are probably the major determinant for producing CVDs. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the hypo-lipidemic and anti-thrombotic activities of aqueous extract of Myrtus communis L. fruit (AEM) in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Hyper-lipidemia was induced following administration of cholesterol for 45 days. Animals of treated group were administered AEM daily for 30 and 45 days at dose of 50 mg/kg. Biochemical tests were performed at the end of dosing that is, on 31st day and again on 46th day. The administration of AEM (50 mg/kg/day) revealed reduction in serum triglycerides and low density lipoprotein; there was also an increase in thrombin and fibrinogen time. Results of present study indicate that the extract exhibited hypolipidemic effects and has also an effect on blood coagulation parameters which may be of value in CVDs. However, further studies are necessary to explore the precise mechanism of action of these effects.

 Key words: Herbs, lipid profile, blood coagulation, rabbits.


We describe our technique to perform laparoscopic jejunostomies with an 18-mm trocar. This procedure facilitates the exteriorization of the proximal bowel and construction of the jejunostomy. We describe our laparoscopic technique in nine patients with severe neurologic conditions (two in the postoperative period of a cerebral aneurysm in a coma, three patients with severe head injury, and four patients with cerebrovascular strokes). The operative time ranged from 20 to 75 min (average, 44.38 min). Nutrition was initiated 24 h after the placement of the jejunostomy. Tolerance of the enteral nutrition was excellent in all cases. One major complication occurred, minor leakage around the feeding tube 3 weeks after the jejunostomy was constructed. The jejunostomy was removed without further consequences. Laparoscopy is an effective technique for the creation of feeding jejunostomies. We believe that this minimally invasive approach is an alternative for patients requiring long-term postpyloric enteral feeding.


Maps of environmental sensitivity to oil (ESI maps) are used as primary source of information in response to oil spills, showing the sensitivity of environments and priority areas for protection. The sensitive areas are determined by shoreline classification (environmental sensitivity index) that follows a 1 to 10 scale which classifies coastal environments using their physical characteristics (slope, wave exposure, grain size). Although the biological resources are the most important information contained in ESI maps, these resources are not used to define the sensitivity index and are represented through specific icons. In this work, information of biological resources obtained from the literature review were used to determine more sensitive areas in environments classified with the same index of sensibility (mangroves - ESI 10). The study area is the Santos - Sao Vicente Estuarine System, located on the central coast of Sao Paulo State. Brazil. This region is composed of wide mangrove areas; some of them impacted by the Port of Santos and threatened by oil spills. Information of biological resources obtained from the literature was inserted in GIS program, showing the distribution of the different species along the study area, which allowed visualizing richer and more diverse areas within the study area. Thus, the analysis of the generated maps allowed the identification of priority areas for protection within an environment with the same sensitivity index. The maps presented in this work showed the importance of properly diagnosing the biological resources to define priority areas that should be protected from oil spills, since even in maximum sensibility levels, as mangroves, we could find more sensitive areas according to the presence of biological resources.


In this paper, a novel black box adversarial computer vision attack is proposed. The introduced attack is based on removing from images some components described by their Tchebichef discrete orthogonal moments, rather than to perturb them. The contribution of this work is focused on the addition of one more clue, supporting the critical hypothesis that computer vision systems fail because they support their decisions not only in robust features but also in others non-robust ones. In this, context non-robust image features described in terms of Tchebichef moments are excluded from the original images and the approximated reconstructed versions of them are used as adversarial examples in order to attack some popular deep learning models. The experiments justify the effectiveness of the proposed adversarial attack in terms of imperceptibility and recognition error rate of the deep learning classifiers. It is worth noting that the top-1 accuracy of the attacked models was degraded by a factor between 9.48%-70.89% for adversarial images of 65dB to 57dB PSNR values. The corresponding degradation of the top-5 models' accuracy was between 6.9% and 55.14% for the same quality images. Moreover, the proposed attack seems to have more strength than the Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM) attacking method traditionally applying in most cases. These results reveal that the proposed attack is able to exploit the vulnerability of the deep learning models' towards degrading their generalization abilities. In this paper, a novel black box adversarial computer vision attack is proposed. The introduced attack is based on removing from images some components described by their Tchebichef discrete orthogonal moments, rather than to perturb them. The contribution of this work is focused on the addition of one more clue, supporting the critical hypothesis that computer vision systems fail because they support their decisions not only in robust features but also in others non-robust ones. In this, context non-robust image features described in terms of Tchebichef moments are excluded from the original images and the approximated reconstructed versions of them are used as adversarial examples in order to attack some popular deep learning models. The experiments justify the effectiveness of the proposed adversarial attack in terms of imperceptibility and recognition error rate of the deep learning classifiers. It is worth noting that the top-1 accuracy of the attacked models was degraded by a factor between 9.48%-70.89% for adversarial images of 65dB to 57dB PSNR values. The corresponding degradation of the top-5 models' accuracy was between 6.9% and 55.14% for the same quality images. Moreover, the proposed attack seems to have more strength than the Fast Gradient Sign Method (FGSM) attacking method traditionally applying in most cases. These results reveal that the proposed attack is able to exploit the vulnerability of the deep learning models' towards degrading their generalization abilities.


We consider a new formulation for finite volume element methods, which is satisfied by known finite volume methods and it can be used to introduce new ones. This framework results by approximating the test function in the formulation of finite element method. We analyze piecewise linear conforming or nonconforming approximations on nonuniform triangulations and prove optimal order H 1- norm and L 2- norm error estimates.


Species response to environmental change may vary from adaptation to the new conditions, to dispersal towards territories with better ecological settings (known as habitat tracking), and to extinction. A phylogenetically explicit analysis of habitat tracking in Caenozoic large mammals shows that species moving over longer distances during their existence survived longer. By partitioning the fossil record into equal time intervals, we showed that the longest distance was preferentially covered just before extinction. This supports the idea that habitat tracking is a key reaction to environmental change, and confirms that tracking causally prolongs species survival. Species covering longer distances also have morphologically less variable cheek teeth. Given the tight relationship between cheek teeth form and habitat selection in large mammals, this supports the well-known, yet little tested, idea that habitat tracking bolsters morphological stasis.


Bread wheat (Ttriticum aestivum L.) is the most important crop in East Gojam Zone and in Ethiopia as well. However, its productivity is very low as compared to the productivity of world bread wheat which is attributed to poor agronomic practices like inappropriate seeding rate, improper adjustment of row spacing, and other factors. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted at Yebo Farmers Training Center (FTC) in Gozamin District, in East Gojam zone, during 2015 main cropping season.  Four levels of seeding rates (100, 125, 150, and 175 kg ha -1 ) and three row spacings (20, 25, and 30 cm) were tested in factorial arrangement in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Phenological, growth, yield and yield related data were collected and their ANOVA was analyzed using SAS 9.1software. Mean separation for significant parameters was done by using least significant difference method. The results showed that almost all the agronomic parameters like days to heading, days to physiological maturity, plant height, effective tiller numbers, spike numbers, biomass yield, grain yield, thousand kernels weight and harvest index were significantly (p<0.05) affected by the main effect of seeding rate and row spacing. Whereas all yield and yield components of bread wheat were not affected by the interaction effect of seeding rate and row spacing. The results of this study indicated the importance of using appropriate seeding rate and row spacing to increase yield of bread wheat in the study area. Hence, Seeding rate of 150 kg ha -1 gave higher grain yield (4462.10 kg ha -1 ) followed by 175 kg ha -1 . Among row spacings 20 cm performed better (4377.8kg ha -1 ) as compared to other spacings (3552.3 -3690.1kg ha -1 ). Based on the agronomic performance and yield result of this study, 150 kg ha -1 seeding rate and 20 cm row spacing are preferable. However, further study has to be done under different seasons and locations to exploit the recommendation of the present study. Keywords: Bread wheat; grain yield; row spacing; seeding rates


Introduction Wheelchair basketball (WB) is a Paralympic sport ideated for people with motor disabilities, and the research on this topic still requires attention. It is fundamental to evaluate physical fitness characteristics with appropriate tests and standardized routines to plan and monitor the training. Considering that a standard operating procedure is a document that makes the test battery replicable, the objective of the present study was to review the literature on physical fitness assessment in WB players and to create a standard operating procedure. Methods Studies were collected from different databases, and after a screening process, data were discussed narratively. Results Only 18 articles met the eligibility criteria. The test batteries presented similarities in different studies. Conclusion The suggested standard operating procedure consists of 10-min warm-up followed by handgrip evaluation (only if the instrument is available), 20-m sprint test, maximal pass, modified push-up, back scratch test, and the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test adapted test Version 1.


The present study examined the effects of three heavy metals on the acetylcholine (ACh) contracture and Ca++ kinetics of the anterior byssus retractor muscle of Mytilus edulis. An isolated tissue bioassay using anterior byssus retractor muscle was prepared according to standard procedures and the isometric tension produced in response to ACh was measured. Ten millimolar Ni++, Co++ or Cd++ reduced the maximum contracture response to ACh in zero-Ca medium in a time-dependent manner. The inhibition was reversed upon restoration of medium containing 10 mM Ca++. The loss (and re-establishment) of contracture response to ACh corresponded to the influx (and efflux) of the heavy metal ions opposite to the direction of Ca++ flow. These results are consistent with the concept that the loss of the ACh contracture response is attributable to the displacement of tissue Ca++ from release sites by heavy metals.


Composite films consisting of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and graphene oxide (GO) were electrochemically polymerized by electrooxidation of EDOT in ionic liquid (BMIMBF4) onto flexible electrode substrates. Two polymerization approaches were compared, and the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method was found to be superior to potentiostatic polymerization for the growth of PEDOT/GO films. After deposition, incorporated GO was reduced to rGO by a rapid electrochemical method of repetitive cathodic potential cycling, without using any reducing reagents. The films were characterized in 3-electrode configuration in BMIMBF4. Symmetric supercapacitors with aqueous electrolyte were assembled from the composite films and characterized through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic discharge tests. It was shown that PEDOT/rGO composites have better capacitive properties than pure PEDOT or the unreduced composite film. The cycling stability of the supercapacitors was also tested, and the results indicate that the specific capacitance still retains well over 90% of the initial value after 2000 consecutive charging/discharging cycles. The supercapacitors were demonstrated as energy storages in a room light energy harvester with a printed organic solar cell and printed electrochromic display. The results are promising for the development of energy-autonomous, low-power, and disposable electronics.


This paper aims to examine the quality best practices in King Faisal University (KFU). The quality best practices issue has taken a huge consideration among different Saudi Arabian sectors. These sectors include education, manufacturing, government, private, healthcare, IT, service and non-profit organizations. This research concentrates and discusses the quality management in Saudi Arabian higher education system.The study is a specific reference to one of the well-known public university in Saudi Arabia i.e. KFU.
The importance of conducting this research is to examine the quality best practices in KFU in terms of many aspects. These aspects include university in general, colleges, curriculum, employees, faculty members and students. Although some colleges attain academic accreditations, there is a lack of knowledge in terms of main quality best practices.
The substantial expectation of this research is to eliminate the quality drawbacks in KFU. Another emphasis is to provide a number of recommendations to enhance the quality best practices in KFU.

https://ijaems.com/upload_images/issue_files/9 IJAEMS-NOV-2017-3-A Study on Best Quality Practices.pdf


As the miniaturization of silicon based circuits reaches its physical limits, the exigency of substitute technologies emerges. Special characteristics of CNT such as high mobility of electrons, ballistic transport and high Ion-Ioff ratio, has introduced it as an appropriate successor to silicon MOSFET. Whereas the threshold voltage cannot be decreased deliberately due to the scaling limitations of MOSFETs, in CNTFETs different threshold voltages can be obtained simply by defining different nanotube diameters because the threshold voltage is in reverse proportion with the nanotube diameter [1]. This feature of carbon nanotubes has been exploited in implementation of multiple valued logic (MVL) circuits. One of the principal ways in MVL circuit implementation is by using basic operators such as tsum, literal, min and max. In [2] we introduced a new approach for ternary Galois field design that employed different paths to obtain different logic levels and showed that this approach is more efficient than using basic MVL operators. In [3] we presented another design for Galois field which employed sharing paths method to obtain output logical levels. In this paper we propose a CNTFET design for multiplication and addition circuits that not only take advantages of these two but also further reduces the number of transistors by the idea of bridging a resistor between CNTFETs.


The application of intelligent algorithms in the treatment of intractable pain of patients with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) knee osteoarthritis by magnetic resonance was investigated. The automatic diagnosis of magnetic resonance knee osteoarthritis was established with multiple intelligent algorithms, including gray projection algorithm, adaptive binarization algorithm, and active shape model (ASM). The difference between automatic magnetic resonance detection indexes of the patients with knee osteoarthritis and artificial measurement results was analyzed. The included patients received PRP treatment. Knee osteoarthritis MRI osteoarthritis knee scores (KOA MOAKS) and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities arthritis index (WOMAC) before and after treatment were compared. The results showed that the results of knee osteoarthritis scores, inferior angle of femur, superior angle of tibia, and tibiofemoral angle (TFA) by automatic magnetic resonance diagnostic model were entirely consistent with artificial detection results. After the treatment, the total scores of knee lateral area, interior area, central area, and patellar area were all remarkably lower than those before the treatment (P < 0.05). After the treatment, knee KOA MOAKS scores and WOMAC scores were both lower than those before the treatment (P < 0.05). Visual analogue scale (VAS) scores 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks after the treatment were decreased compared with those before the treatment (P < 0.05). Relevant studies indicated that intelligent algorithm-based automatic magnetic resonance diagnostic knee osteoarthritis model showed good utilization values, which could provide the reference and basis for the treatment of the patients with knee osteoarthritis.


This paper does not deal directly with the relations between Japan and Africa; instead it looks at Malaysia and Cote d'Ivoire with the objective of portraying Japanese contribution to Malaysian economic development and identifying some lessons that can be learnt by Africa from it. Both countries had a comparable macroeconomic outlook until 1980, with economies based on similar primary goods such as cocoa, coffee, palm oil, timber etc., which are typical of tropical climates. However, following the sharp decline in international prices since 1980, Malaysia registered a high economic growth and became successfully industrialized, Cote d'Ivoire suffered an economic crisis and a balance of payment deficit. Moreover, the latter is not a special case among African countries. The paper also seeks to advance some hypotheses in order to explain the phenomena.


From early on, infants produce a variety of rhythmic behaviors—an ability that likely supports later social communication. However, it is unclear, how this rhythmic motor production changes with age. Here, we investigated the coupling between infants' arm movements across the first year of life in a social context of a rattle-shaking play with their mothers. Through longitudinal measurements at 4, 6, 9, and 12 months of age using wearable motion trackers placed on infants' arms, we show that infants (N = 40) are similarly motivated to attempt rattle-shaking across the first year of life. However, with age, they make more rattling movements with an increased frequency. Their left and right arm movements become more coupled during rattle-shaking, as shown by an increase in wavelet coherence. Infants produced more rattling movements when they were rattling alone than when their mothers were rattling or singing simultaneously. There were no differences between infants' individual and social rattling in between-arms coherence. Our results may help to understand rhythmic arm movements as precursors of motor social coordination.


Multiferroic materials exhibit coupling between spin, lattice, and electronic degrees of freedom, and the ability to enhance these interactions to drive multiferroic properties may be the key to future high-speed, low-power technologies. We apply two-dimensional (2D) terahertz (THz) spectroscopy to examine these couplings in multiferroic BiFeO3. With extreme excitation using high-field THz light, 2D THz spectroscopy can reveal how anharmonic phonon-magnon coupling results in coherent energy transfer between modes and can potentially lead to experimental extraction of phonon-magnon coupling constants.


Introduction: Diarrhoea significantly leads to morbidity and mortality in under-five children, particularly in developing countries. Reduced serum zinc levels in acute non infectious diarrhoea has an impact on the frequency, severity and duration. However, evidence is still evolving on the status of zinc level in bacterial diarrhoea. Aim: To assess serum zinc level in bacterial diarrhoea and compare the serum zinc level in children with the different bacterial pathogens. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Department of Paediatrics at Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, from August 2015 to February 2016, including 201 children aged 6 to 59 months with diarrhoea. Stool specimens were isolated for bacteria, using conventional culture techniques, while serum zinc levels were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry. Serum zinc level <65 µg/dL was regarded as zinc deficiency. The data collected was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 19.0. Results: Out of 201, 58 (28.9%) of the children with diarrhoea had bacteria in the stool. The most common organism isolated was Escherichia coli (33,16.4%) followed by Salmonella (13, 6.5%). All of the children with positive stool culture, irrespective of the type of microbial agent, had zinc deficiency with significant association between infective diarrhoea and zinc deficiency (χ2 =15.437; p-value=0.004). Children with shigella diarrhoea had the lowest mean serum zinc level, compared to other bacterial agents (33.6±4.4 µg/dL, p-value <0.001). Conclusion: Bacterial pathogens contribute significantly to the cause of diarrhoea in under-five Nigerian children, and are significantly associated with zinc deficiency. Thus, reinforcing the need for zinc supplementation and food fortification programs within the population, and maybe for longer in children with identified bacterial diarrhoea.


Objectives This study aims to examine the effect of upper extremity performance using the Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test (CKCUEST) on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) quality criteria according to the European Resuscitation Council (ERC) Guidelines for Resuscitation 2015, including chest compression rate, depth, and recoil. Patients and methods This simulation-based study included 105 paramedic students (43 males, 62 females; median age: 19 years; range, 18 to 20 years) attending a two-year paramedic program between February 2018 and April 2018. The CKCUEST was used to determine upper extremity performance scores, including the touch number, normalized, and power score of the paramedic students. A TrueCPR® feedback device was used to measure CPR quality criteria throughout the study. The characteristics of the providers, such as height, weight, body mass index (BMI), and fat-free mass were also analyzed. Results Adequate compression depth had a positive correlation with body fat-free mass (r=0.397, p<0.001), power score (r=0.326, p=0.001), height (r=0.326, p=0.001), weight (r=0.314, p=0.001), and BMI (r=0.204, p=0.037). Full chest recoil had a negative correlation with the power score (r=-0.249, p=0.010) and height (r=-0.219, p=0.025). None of the variables were significantly different between the groups with and without the correct compression rate. In the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis for power score and correct compression depth as 100%, the area under the curve was 0.845 (p<0.001). Conclusion The power score combination of upper extremity functionality and the rescuer's weight is the main factor affecting chest compression depth. However, this score is negatively correlated with full chest recoil.


Objective: To determine the serum magnesium levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy.Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study.Place and Duration of Study: Department of Medicine, Combined Military Hospital Lahore, Six months from Nov 2014 to May 2015.Patients and Methods: A total of 50 cases of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus were included in the study. Serum magnesium levels, fasting blood sugar and HbA1c were recorded in all patients. Retinopathy was confirmed by direct Ophthalmoscopy.Results: In our study, out of 50 cases, 30% (n=15) were between 20-40 years of age while 70% (n=35) were between 41-65 years of age. Mean ± SD was calculated as 46.12 ± 7.76 years. Forty-six percent (n=23) were males and 54% (n=27) were females. Mean fasting blood sugar was calculated as 8.06 ± 0.49 mmol/L. Mean HbA1C was calculated as 7.11± 0.30 while mean serum magnesium levels were calculated as 1.15 ± 0.15 mg/dl.Conclusion: Mean magnesium levels in patients with diabetic retinopathy were significantly lower than the magnesium levels that were taken as the reference suggesting a possible role of hypomagnesaemia in increasing the risk of retinopathy amongst patients with diabetes.


This study aims to show basic data to build suitable marketing strategies for consumers by determining the motivation and selection attributes of HMR according to their lifestyles. A survey was conducted from March 1st to March 30th, 2013, and total 362 out of 450 copies of questionnaire were used for analysis. The results are as follows. First, it showed that the pursuit of health in lifestyle had a significant effect on usefulness and economical efficiency. Next, the pursuit of health was analyzed not to have a significant effect on HMR quality and convenience. Third, usefulness and economical efficiency in the category of motives for purchasing HMR didn't have any significant effect on repurchase intention. Finally, HMR quality and convenience in the selection attributes of HMR had a significant effect on repurchase intention.


Lahr's illustrated biography follows Williams's career from the hilarious New York premiere of The Glass Menagerie to post-mortem squabbles about his will. By modelling each chapter on the New Yorker "profile" style, he can freely mingle biography, theatrical interpretation, and considerations of show-business, sex, social context, and even politics.


Abstract This study was carried out with the following objectives: (1) to determine the correlation and compensatory effects among seed and grain traits under grain mould incidence (GMI) and (2) to determine the direct and indirect effect of these kernel traits on seed germination and seedling vigour through the use of path-coefficient analysis. This analysis was applied to data from the cross between RT × 430 and Sureño, grain mould susceptible and resistant lines respectively. Seeds from six generations (P1, P2, F1, F2, BC1P1 and BC1P2) were planted at four Texan locations. Results indicate that an increase of GMI led directly to a decrease of grain size, grain density, seed germination, seedling vigour and test weight. Grain density had the highest negative and floury endosperm the highest positive correlation with GMI. Breeding and management practices that maximize grain density should enhance grain mould resistance and improve seed germination and seedling vigour.


The conventional dosage form of Ethyol® (amifostine), a sterile lyophilized powder, involves reconstituting it with 9.7 mL of sterile 0.9% sodium chloride in accordance with the United States Pharmacopeia specifications for intravenous infusion. The purpose of this study was to develop inhalable microparticles of amifostine (AMF) and compare the physicochemical properties and inhalation efficiency of AMF microparticles prepared by different methods (jet milling and wet ball milling) and different solvents (methanol, ethanol, chloroform, and toluene). Inhalable microparticles of AMF dry powder were prepared using a wet ball-milling process with polar and non-polar solvents to improve their efficacy when delivered through the pulmonary route. The wet ball-milling process was performed as follows: AMF (10 g), zirconia balls (50 g), and solvent (20 mL) were mixed and placed in a cylindrical stainless-steel jar. Wet ball milling was performed at 400 rpm for 15 min. The physicochemical properties and aerodynamic characteristics of the prepared samples were evaluated. The physicochemical properties of wet-ball-milled microparticles (WBM-M and WBM-E) using polar solvents were confirmed. Aerodynamic characterization was not used to measure the % fine particle fraction (% FPF) value in the raw AMF. The % FPF value of JM was 26.9 ± 5.8%. The % FPF values of the wet-ball-milled microparticles WBM-M and WBM-E prepared using polar solvents were 34.5 ± 0.2% and 27.9 ± 0.7%, respectively; while the % FPF values of the wet-ball-milled microparticles WBM-C and WBM-T prepared using non-polar solvents were 45.5 ± 0.6% and 44.7 ± 0.3%, respectively. Using a non-polar solvent in the wet ball-milling process resulted in a more homogeneous and stable crystal form of the fine AMF powder than using a polar solvent.


To assess surficial geologic conditions of importance to exploration and development of the continental slope off New Jersey, the U.S. Geological Survey has mapped the area between Lindenkohl and South Toms Canyons (including blocks to be leased in Sale No. 59). A dense network of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and more than 65 piston cores shows a complex bathymetric surface underlain by Pleistocene sediments on the upper slope and midslope. Tertiary sediment crops out on the lower slope. The seismic profiles, piston cores, and observations from several submersible dives on the uppermost slope suggest that the slope, now generally blanketed by a thin layer of fine-grained Holocene sediment, is relatively quiescent, but was geomorphically more active during t e late Pleistocene or early Holocene. In contrast, more recently acquired images from a deep-towed midrange sidescan-sonar system (5 km swath) show geomorphic details of gullied canyon walls, differential erosion of truncated strata, several small slope failures, and apparent amphitheatric headward erosion of lower slope valleys. An area of the upper continental rise is covered by blocky debris which may have been transported down South Toms Canyon. The "crispness," shapes, and locations of such features detailed by the sidescan-sonar images suggest that some of these features may be recent. Additional observations to investigate the nature and age of these features on the midslope and lower slope were conducted from the deep-diving submersible Alvin during July 1981. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1670------------


It is well known that the stator-flux-oriented induction motor drives are not dependent on parameter detuning in constant torque region except low speed range. This paper presents parameter detuning effects of stator-flux-oriented induction motor drives in constant torque region. The detuning effects of stator resistance, rotor resistance and rotor leakage inductance are analyzed.


Attitudes towards nonhuman animals remain an interesting area of study, especially in non-English-speaking countries in which little research has been conducted. The present paper examines the attitudes of Spanish university students (n = 481) towards 21 nonhuman animal uses and practices as well as attitudes towards human-animal similarities. To determine which variables might underlie those attitudes, this paper analyzes individual correlations and differences based on 11 psychosocial-demographic factors. Highlights from the results are as follows. First, not all animal uses and not all human-animal attributes are perceived equally. Second, there are minor but significant associations between attitudes towards animals and psychosocial- demographic factors. Lastly, the study identifies three clusters of tendencies of animal attitudes: "reckless-speciesist" (28.6%), "caress-speciesist" (45.8%), and "non-speciesist" (25.6%). The findings suggest a need to segment the target audience, to differentiate between goals, and to adapt messages accordingly when designing more effective strategies intended to foster a pro-animal ecosystem.


In Reply. —The combined results of the US and British physicians studies were reported by collaborators from those two studies. They stated, "It may be appropriate to consider their results together despite several substantial differences in design." 1 Mr Nugent's observation that the US study used Bufferin, whereas the British study used "pure" aspirin, is correct. Bufferin (325 mg) contains approximately 57 mg of magnesium, whereas pure aspirin does not contain magnesium (written communication, Robert J. Lipsy, PharmD, Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center, Tucson, Ariz, December 1992). It should be noted that the Recommended Daily Allowance for magnesium is 400 mg. Nugent's suggestion that the beneficial effect of aspirin in the US study was due to the small amount of magnesium contained in Bufferin seems unlikely. The vast majority of studies reporting a beneficial effect of aspirin in patients with coronary artery disease used pure aspirin without magnesium.


Investigations of early changes of renal microcirculation in generalized Sanarelli-Schwartzmann's reaction revealed markedly manifest alterations in endotheliocytes, podocytes, basal membrane of the glomeruli accompanied by disorders in the permeability of their capillaries and disseminated microthrombosis.


Fabio Mauri's performance Intellettuale, set in the context of the opening of Leone Pancaldi's new building for the Museum of Modern Art in Bologna, summed up a life-long collaboration and controversy between Pier Paolo Pasolini and Mauri about the fate of Western art after WWII. In the context of Pancaldi's building, Intellettuale throws into relief the cultural and ideological project of Pasolini's filmmaking and its relation to the body art of the 1960s–'70s.


In this article, a new interactive information transmission model of learning based on Visual Simulation System for digital campus is created and researched. Fundamental conception and technological features of digital campus as well as the general framework of its visualization subsystem are introduced. A practical case of visual campus simulation system of Guangxi University of Technology is described. The main issues of simulation application based on Creator and Vega are discussed in detail and some applications of the visual campus system are also given Education resource authoring in virtual studio is also introduced. Our main objective is to determine specific circumstances enabling objects to be defined for this special modeling. We begin by introducing application of features in models for virtual teaching, and then discuss issues in local and global education, focusing on the advantages of virtual education.


For decades, educators in the clinical sciences have been at the forefront of innovations in educational practices related to science and medicine. Ultimately, such innovations are often translated and implemented as best practices across the breadth of biomedical disciplines. Far from novel, competency-based approaches to higher education have been around since the 1960s. These have their origins in student outcomes-based models that focus on the assessment of demonstrated competencies through students' applications of theory, learned in the classroom, to perform a task and/or resolve a defined issue or problem. Despite its long history of contributing to human medical education and, more recently, veterinary medical education, competency-based instruction is still rare in undergraduate biomedical education. Herein, we discuss the value of clinical education in leading the way toward competency-based, undergraduate biomedical programs.


Intra-abdominal infections are a serious problem for surgeons. Treatment consists of a combination of operation, antimicrobial treatment, and supportive measures. beta-Lactam antibiotics have a major role in the treatment of peritonitis, and in combination with beta-lactamase inhibitors, the penicillins have an even larger part to play than previously. A multicentre prospective trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of piperacillin/tazobactam in the treatment of serious intra-abdominal infections was conducted in Europe. One hundred and six evaluable patients with documented intra-abdominal infections were treated with piperacillin 4 g/tazobactam 500 mg every eight hours. The most common diagnoses were peritonitis, intra-abdominal abscess, and complicated diverticulitis. A 90% favourable clinical response rate (cured/improved) was found during the first two weeks of treatment. Piperacillin/tazobactam was extremely active against the Gram-negative aerobic, Gram-positive aerobic, and anaerobic bacteria isolated in this trial. Overall, the drug was well tolerated and the side effects were minimal.


The prevalence of different serotypes of non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. among patients suffering from acute diarrhoea admitted to the Infectious Diseases Hospital, Calcutta was investigated. The predominant serogroup was C and Salmonella infantis was the major serotype isolated followed by S. worthington, S. enteritidis, S. typhimurium, S. weltevereden and S. newport. All the Salmonella strains were isolated from adults. Multidrug resistance to various antimicrobial agents was observed in 37.5 per cent of the strains. All the strains were sensitive to ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and gentamycin.


ABSTRACT Nine thermophilic cellulolytic clostridial isolates and four other noncellulolytic bacterial isolates were isolated from self-heated biocompost via preliminary enrichment culture on microcrystalline cellulose. All cellulolytic isolates grew vigorously on cellulose, with the formation of either ethanol and acetate or acetate and formate as principal fermentation products as well as lactate and glycerol as minor products. In addition, two out of nine cellulolytic strains were able to utilize xylan and pretreated wood with roughly the same efficiency as for cellulose. The major products of xylan fermentation were acetate and formate, with minor contributions of lactate and ethanol. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA and glycosyl hydrolase family 48 (GH48) gene sequences revealed that two xylan-utilizing isolates were related to a Clostridium clariflavum strain and represent a distinct novel branch within the GH48 family. Both isolates possessed high cellulase and xylanase activity induced independently by either cellulose or xylan. Enzymatic activity decayed after growth cessation, with more-rapid disappearance of cellulase activity than of xylanase activity. A mixture of xylan and cellulose was utilized simultaneously, with a significant synergistic effect observed as a reduction of lag phase in cellulose degradation.


This paper proposes a high-definition video watermarking method robust against compound geometrical attacks by camcorder capture as well as common video processing such as frame-rate conver- sion and transcoding. Unlike traditional watermarking systems using the original reference pattern, the proposed method exploits the reference pattern estimated from the watermarked video. Since the reference pat- tern and watermark pattern are embedded in the same spatial position of each frame, the two patterns estimated from the embedded video are always in spatial sync. Thus, the watermark information can be simply detected without an additional synchronizing step, even if geometrical distortions happen to the marked video. Also, the problem of misestima- tion of the reference pattern caused by temporal video clipping is solved using the proposed two-pass detector. Extensive experiments prove that the proposed method is robust against various temporal and spatial distortions. © 2010 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.


Abstract The area of entrepreneurship education is developing rapidly, potentially conveying positive effects to business education, innovation and economies. Our paper seeks to analyse the entrepreneurial intention of a group of higher education students, and the data includes 29 interviews, administered to students of Portuguese higher education institutions. The results obtained allowed to confirm some of the aspects described in the literature, although a few divergences were also found. It was also possible to clarify some of the theories associated with barriers to entrepreneurship. The main limitations are related with the sample size, opening space for future research with larger samples. The most important implications relate to the identified need for very specific topics in entrepreneurship education. However, the key contribution of the paper also lies in its qualitative research approach.


An important benefit of time-domain full wave analysis of 3D electromagnetic structures is the possibility to obtain broadband information about the electromagnetic properties within a single simulation run. In the case of low-loss resonant structures like high quality filters the time-domain computation of impulse responses can become very time consuming due to the typically long duration response. System identification methods can be used to reduce the necessary computation time considerably through estimation of the transfer function's pole positions from a much shorter observation window than it would be required for classical discrete Fourier transform.


Objective: This study aimed to evaluate hearing loss among very low birth weight babies in two hospitals in Malaysia. Material and Methods: A total of 380 babies from Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM), Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) were recruited in this retrospective study. All babies with birthweight less than 1500grams nursed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) between January 2014 till December 2019 was included in the study. Data was analysed on demography, interval taken for hearing intervention and defaulter rate. The data of patient parameters between both hospitals were analysed and association between various factors were evaluated. Results: A total 187 Very Low Birth Weight (VLBW) Kuala Lumpur babies and 193 VLBW Sarawak babies met the inclusion and exclusion criteria, among which 10.1% and 10.9% had SNHL in Kuala Lumpur and Sarawak respectively. CHL was reported among 8.6% Kuala Lumpur and 14% of Sarawak babies. When studied on the different types and degrees of hearing loss, 2.6% of Kuala Lumpur babies born less than 28 Weeks Gestation Age (WGA) had moderate SNHL and 2.0% of Sarawak babies had profound SNHL. In this study only gestational age (week) (p=0.003) and dysmorphism (p<0.001) were statistically significant to be associated with hearing loss. Conclusion: The prevalence of hearing loss among VLBW babies in Kuala Lumpur was 20.3% and 24.8% in Sarawak. Gestational age (p=0.044) and presence of dysmorphism (p<0.001) were found to have statistically significant association with prevalence of hearing loss. The defaulter rate at Kuala Lumpur was 52.6% and 42.3% in Sarawak.


In environments contaminated with Cr, the interlayers of expandable layer silicates may serve as sinks for this potentially toxic element. As a means of determining the potential for smectites to serve as sinks for Cr, the precipitation products of Al and Cr in the interlayers of a montmorillonite were examined. Five montmorillonite (SWy-1) clay suspensions were treated with preweighed amounts of A1C13 and CrCl3 to give five A1/(A1 + Cr) molar ratios (1.0, 0.67, 0.5, 0.33, 0) with a total trivalent cation (M3 ) concentration of 600 cmol(+)/kg clay. The clay-cation suspensions were titrated with 0.1 N NaOH to give a NaOH/M3+ molar ratio of 2.5. Analysis of the solid-phase reaction products showed that the cation exchange capacity and specific surface of all clays were reduced. Chromium reduced the exchangeability of the interlayers while Al increased the thermal stability. X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that all Al-containing interlayer materials formed similar gibbsitelike polymers. Data from infrared spectroscopy indicated that both Al and Cr were present within the same polymer. Differential thermal analysis and thermogravimetric tracings showed that the rapid collapse of the interlayer in the Cr end-member upon heating was due to a low-temperature loss of hydroxyls. It was not possible to identify all interlayer structures in the Cr end-member. Data from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed all Cr to be Cr(III). Displacement of the interlayer material became more difficult as Cr content increased. The least exchangeable interlayers, therefore, may be found in environments containing the most Cr.


The world is awash with proposals about restructuring international financial architecture. But few are concerned about one of the most damaging trends: capital flight from poor to rich countries. This political scientist examines the issues and the consequences.


Dynamic contrast enhanced MRI is a valuable method to get functional information of the microvessel system. This article will describe the improvement in perfusion and tracer kinetic imaging by using parallel imaging techniques. The basic principles of kinetic analysis, the contrast mechanisms used and the scan techniques applied are addressed to give a better understanding of the influence of parallel imaging on dynamic contrast enhanced MRI. The effect of different parallel imaging techniques on scan efficiency and scan planning is part of the discussion. From the clinical applications shown, it can be concluded that parallel imaging is a very important contribution for improved dynamic contrast enhanced imaging.


In this thesis, experimental evidence of sustained phonon oscillations, from an electrically pumped vertical-cavity SASER device, working in the THz frequency domain is presented. Experimental investigation of injection seeding of phonons at a particular frequency, by optical excitation, is also presented.
The experimental evidence of phonon oscillation through SASER action consists of a non-linear increase in the initial rising edge of the ballistically propagating LA phonons signal and an increased directionality of emission, once threshold gain is exceeded. The build-up of phonon oscillation fitted well with the theoretical model, also discussed in this thesis, enabling other attributes of the SASER device such as the gain coefficient, maximum acoustic power and device efficiency to be obtained.
The cavity was investigated by means of pump-probe reflectivity measurements. Good quantitative agreement is obtained for the cavity mode frequencies, compared to the calculated reflectance of the cavity modes. Good quantitative agreement of the phonon scattering losses, within the cavity, was also obtained, when compared with theoretical predictions.
Also provided is experimental evidence of injection seeding in the SASER devices under different conditions. The SASER device yields analogous characteristics to a seeded laser in that it acts as a phonon amplifier, due to SASER action, for the injected modes.
The results contribute not only towards understanding the fundamental principles of achieving SASER oscillations but also towards the possibility of achieving a practical SASER device in the future.


Intrinsic fluorescence quenching of humic substances (HS) and the sensitization of Ln3+ luminescence (Ln3+ = Tb3+, Eu3+) in HS complexes were investigated. Both measurements yielded complementary information on the complexation of metals by HS. Large differences between fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA) were found. From time-resolved luminescence measurements it is concluded that a combination of energy transfer and energy back transfer between HS and Ln3+ is responsible for the observed luminescence decay characteristics. In the case of Eu3+, an additional participation of charge-transfer states is suggested. A new concept for the evaluation of the sensitized luminescence decays of Ln3+ was adapted.


BACKGROUND
Continuous renal replacement therapies have become the preferable methods for treating critically ill patients with acute renal failure. We studied the use of continuous venovenous hemodialysis (CVVHD) for the management of multiple organ failure patients with acute renal failure.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Forty patients in intensive care units were studied. Their mean age was 50.5 (range 21 to 82) years. The mean of number of organ system failures per patient was 4.9 (range 4 to 6). All patients required mechanical ventilation. CVVHD was performed from the femoral vein via a double-lumen catheter. Blood flow was maintained via blood pump at rate of 120 to 150 ml/min. Bicarbonate solution was delivered to the dialysate ports of the filter at rate of 700 to 900 ml/hour. Any complications during therapy were recorded.

RESULTS
The mean urea clearance was 14.7 ml/min and the mean creatinine clearance was 15.4 ml/min. Electrolytes were all within the normal ranges. There were two episodes of extracorporeal circuit blood clotting and one patient experienced hypothermia. Seven of the 40 patients (17.5%) survived.

CONCLUSION
CVVHD is a safe, effective, easily established therapy for managing the multiple organ failure patients with acute renal failure, offering good metabolic, electrolyte, and fluid control.


On the basis of a review of some 80 sets of official, professional and academic Englishlanguage guidelines, this paper evaluates eight rationales, goals and associated planning approaches for planning for leisure, sport, tourism and the arts: 1. Meeting standards; 2. Providing opportunity; 3. Managing (natural/heritage) resources; 4. Meeting demand; 5. Satisfying stakeholder groups; 6. Meeting needs; 7. Meeting participation targets; and 8. Providing (net) benefits. A number of the approaches are found to suffer from limitations which are generally overlooked by the guidelines reviewed. While guidelines are often strong in providing advice on data collection, they are invariably weak in regard to data analysis and the relationships between goal setting, data analysis and policy formation. A single solution to the difficulties identified is not offered, but it is concluded that a yet to be developed demand/ participation/benefits-based approach to planning would offer a way forward.


Hateful memes are an emerging method of spreading hate on the internet, relying on both images and text to convey a hateful message. We take an interpretable approach to hateful meme detection, using machine learning and simple heuristics to identify the features most important to classifying a meme as hateful. In the process, we build a gradient-boosted decision tree and an LSTM-based model that achieve comparable performance (73.8 validation and 72.7 test auROC) to the gold standard of humans and state-of-the-art transformer models on this challenging task.


The project examines the concept of "format" for the period of the 19th to 21th centuries. In art history, "format" is an essential methodological approach for analyzing art pieces. So far, scholarly perspectives on format are threefold: 1) Format as a dimension of space. 2) Format as a dimension of techniques and technology. 3) Format as a narratological dimension. What has hardly been discussed so far is the handling and scaling of objects as additional dimensions of format. This project probes the art historical position on these commonly neglected yet central dimensions of format. To examine the mutual interdependency of format, handling, and scaling as a meaning making principle, the analyses methodologically combine material, tactile, and receptive approaches with production-relevant aspects. The aim of the project is to both build upon and further enrich the research on format by proposing an innovative methodological approach to select groups of works. The mutual interdependency of format, handling and scaling will be examined on selected art formats from the 19th-21st centuries such as, 'Artists' Books', 'Multiples', 'Folded Objects', 'Historiscopes' and 'Miniatures'. These objects all achieve their meaning and significance by scaling and haptic handling. Their genre or normative expectations of spatial proportions have less impact. However, art historians have not yet explored when and how these meaning making practices of handling and scaling in different media appeared in general. In particular, we do not yet know when and how such practices deal with conventions of formats, how they confirm, question, vary or undermine such conventions and expectations and to what degree they constitute intrinsic meaning. This study seeks to provide answers to these questions.


The United Nations (UN) has designated the 2020s as the "decade of action" to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper responds to the call for universities to join this effort by reviewing how the University of Bath could support the SDGs more fully. A first step is monitor alignment of teaching and research with the 17 SDG goals. Having reviewed how to do this, we then review their role in relation to university management and stakeholder engagement, considering in turn how this can be linked with action on climate change, local collaboration and civic partnerships, engagement with the business sector, international networking, and the role of the SDGs in University league tables and rankings. We conclude with eight recommendations. These cover steps to strengthen a sense of shared purpose among staff and students, increase public awareness of what the University does, and facilitate cross-disciplinary research collaboration and innovative teaching. Universities can choose how far to align themselves with the SDGs over the next decade, but not how far the SDGs will be used by others to evaluate them.


Large-scale, data-intensive computing requires a sophisticated technology to be integrated with distributed file systems to provide clients with reliable and scalable high-performance accesses to the stored data. The clients physically share storage devices connected via a network like GigaEthernet or Fibre Channel and, on those clients, distributed file systems take responsibility for providing coordinated accesses and consistent views of shared data. In such a distributed computing environment, one of the major issues in achieving substantial I/O performance and scalability is to build an efficient locking protocol. In this paper, we present a distributed locking protocol that enables multiple nodes to simultaneously write their data to distinct data portions of a file, while providing the consistent view of client cached data. We conclude with an evaluation of the performance of our locking protocol.


Abstract. The nature of the seasonal dependence of relativistic electron fluxes in the Earth's outer zone is investigated using 11 years of data from sensors onboard the SAMPEX spacecraft. It is found that, the relativistic electron fluxes show a strong semiannual modulation. However, the highest electron fluxes occur at times well away from the nominal equinoxes, lagging them by about 30 days. The time lag also shows a solar cycle phase dependence for the peak fluxes. The electron peak fluxes lag the vernal equinox by almost 60 days during the ascending phase of the solar cycle while the time lag near the autumnal equinox remains unchanged. The observed times of the peak electron fluxes during the descending phase of the solar cycle agrees most closely with the Russel-Mcpherron effect and less so with the equinoctial effect even after including propagation effects for finite solar wind speed. The observed times of the electron peaks are in disagreement with the axial effect. The asymmetrical response of the relativistic electrons during the ascending part of the solar cycle remains a puzzle.


A low-resistance nonspiking Ohmic contact to n-GaAs is formed via solid-state reactions utilizing the Si/Pd/GaAs system. Samples with Si to Pd atomic ratios greater than 0.65 result in specific contact resistivity of the order of 10^−6 Ω cm^2, whereas samples with atomic ratios less than 0.65 yield higher specific contact resistivities or rectifying contacts. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy, and electron diffraction patterns show that a Pd, Si layer is in contact with GaAs with excess Si on the surface after the Ohmic formation annealing. This observation contrasts with that on a previously studied Ge/Pd/GaAs contact where Ohmic behavior is detected after transport of Ge through PdGe to the interface with GaAs. Comparing the Ge/Pd/GaAs system with the present Si/Pd/GaAs system suggests that a low barrier heterojunction between Ge and GaAs is not the primary reason for Ohmic contact behavior. Low-temperature measurements suggest that Ohmic behavior results from tunneling current transport mechanisms. A regrowth mechanism involving the formation of an n^+ GaAs surface layer is proposed to explain the Ohmic contact formation.


Utilizing a reliable and valid instrument to measure a student's application of energy and effort towards a goal (diligence) or the ability to reach goals (achievement) would enable dental educators to anticipate academic performance. This knowledge could be used to better distribute faculty and educational resources, as additional tutors could be provided for students who score low on diligence and achievement instruments. In this study, fourth-year dental students completed the Diligence Inventory and the NachNaff Scale (which measures desire to achieve) immediately prior to graduation. The scores from both inventories were correlated with nine measures of academic performance. For males, the NachNaff Scale positively correlated (p<.05) only with the quantity of exceptional performance reports (EPR) and for females negatively correlated only with science DAT scores. The modest positive correlations, which differ for gender, suggest that the NachNaff may be of limited use to predict dental student performance. For males, the Total Diligence mean positively correlated with EPR and National Board Parts I and II scores. For females, the Total Diligence mean positively correlated with EPR and a predental biology-chemistry-physics grade composite. Given the simplicity of the Diligence Inventory and its significant correlations with academic performance demonstrated in this study, it appears to be a useful tool to gain insight into students' diligence in striving to obtain goals.


Background 'Crowned dens syndrome' (CDS) is a special form of calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate deposition disease which is characterized radiologically by a halo-like or crown-like distribution in the periodontoid region and clinically by cervical pain. Herein, we will describe our experience of posterolateral epidural supra-C2-root approach (PESCA) for biopsy of retro-odontoid lesions in one surgical session after occipitocervical fixation and decompression in a patient with CDS and massive brainstem compression. Case Presentation A 70-year-old woman presented to our department with a 4-week history of progressive walking impairment, neck pain, neck rigidity, fever, dizziness, slight palsy of the left hand, and multiple fall episodes. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ) and cervical spine revealed a lesion of the odontoid process and the retro-odontoid region with mainly solid components, as well as small cystic components, and brainstem compression and displacement. In first step, fusion surgery of the CVJ C0–C4 was performed with occiptocervical decompression. After fusion and decompression the lower lateral part of the C1 arc and the lateral superior part of the left side of the C2 arc were removed. The entry point was located directly above the superior part of the C2 root. A biopsy of the lateral portions of the lesions was obtained by bioptic forceps under microscope guidance. Pathologic examination of the mass revealed deposition of birefringent crystals compatible with calcium pyrophosphate. In addition to the clinical symptoms (especially neck pain), the diagnosis of CDS was made. Non-steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and colchicine (and later magnesium) were started. At follow-up examination 6 months after surgery, an MRI scan of the cervical spine revealed regression of the pannus and the cyst with replacement of the brainstem, clinical improvement of walking, and increased strength of the left hand. Conclusions This study demonstrates that PESCA can be used to obtain tissue for pathological analysis in one surgical sitting after fusion and decompression and that fusion, decompression, and PESCA (in the same session) together with subsequent conservative management could be a good alternative for the treatment of CDS.


The EU regional policy has been formed with the intention to reduce regional disparities, foster balanced development and promote equal opportunities for all. The aim of this paper is to present the evolution of regional policy and its assumptions since the 1950s. The article comprises synthesis and evaluation of the role and significance of regional policy regarding the functioning of Europe's regions struggling with social, economic and environmental issues. The study was based on materials examining the subject of regional policy in Europe, with special attention to Poland's case, revealing its strengths and weaknesses.


Background Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Neisseria gonorrhoeae is a global concern, and gonorrhoea may become untreatable. However, AMR data from Eastern Europe are scarce beyond Russia, and in Belarus no AMR data or other characteristics of gonococci have been published in over 20 years. The aim was to describe the AMR and molecular epidemiological characteristics of gonococci circulating in 2009 and 2010 in Belarus. Methods N gonorrhoeae isolates cultured in 2009 (n=80) and 2010 (n=78) in the two different cities Minsk (n=45) and Mogilev (n=113) were examined using Etest for nine antimicrobials and nitrocefin solution for β-lactamase production. Where available, breakpoints for susceptibility and resistance according to The European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST; http://www.eucast.org) were used. Moreover, screening for penA mosaic alleles, full-length porB gene sequencing, and N gonorrhoeae multiantigen sequence typing (NG-MAST) were performed. Results The levels of resistance in 2009–2010 to antimicrobials evidently used in the gonorrhoea treatment in Belarus were—ceftriaxone 0%, spectinomycin 0%, azithromycin 14.4%, tetracycline 30.9%, ciprofloxacin 34.6%, and erythromycin 59.2% (only tested in 2009). The levels of resistance to other antimicrobials of international interest but not used in Belarus were—cefixime 0%, gentamicin 1.3%, and penicillin G 9.9% (only tested in 2009). Extraordinarily, no β-lactamase producing isolates were detected. The circulating N gonorrhoeae population identified was very heterogeneous and contained many divergent NG-MAST STs, of which more than half have not been previously described worldwide. Conclusions Due to the high levels of resistance to all antimicrobials previously recommended as first-line treatment, only ceftriaxone and spectinomycin can be recommended for empirical gonorrhoea treatment in Belarus. Continuous and quality assured gonococcal AMR surveillance in Eastern Europe is crucial, in Belarus this surveillance is now initiated using WHO protocols.


This study deals with a conversation on an online asynchronous discussion forum. By means of conversation analysis, 42 postings comprising 2,833 words produced by five preintermediate English as a foreign language university students were analyzed. The analysis revealed some mechanisms unerlying their interaction on the forum, including public messages and private exchanges, dealing with redundant and late messages, expressing directives and emotions, and orientation towards the learning task. The findings not only comply with the existing body of research, but also provide a detailed insight into the specific functioning of an online learner group.


To overcome many of the complications after ACL reconstruction (prolonged knee stiffness, limitation of complete extension, delay in strength recovery, anterior knee pain), yet still maintain knee stability, we devel oped a rehabilitation protocol that emphasizes full knee extension on the first postoperative day and immediate weightbearing according to the patient's tolerance. Of 800 patients who underwent intraarticular ACL patellar tendon-bone graft reconstruction, performed by the same surgeon, the last 450 patients have followed the accelerated rehabilitation schedule as outlined in the protocol. A longer than 2 year followup is recorded for 73 of the patients in the accelerated rehabilitation group. On the 1 st postoperative day, we encouraged these patients to walk with full weightbearing and full knee extension. By the 2nd postoperative week, the patients with a 100° range of motion participated in a guided exercise and strengthening program. By the 4th week, patients were permitted unlimited activities of daily living and were allowed to return to light sports activities as early as the 8th week if the Cybex strength scores of the involved extremity exceeded 70% of the scores of the noninvolved extremity and the patient had completed a sport-specific functional/agility pro gram. The patient database was compiled from fre quent clinical examinations, periodic knee question naires, and objective information, such as range of motion measurements, KT-1000 values, and Cybex strength scores. A series of graft biopsies obtained at various times have revealed no adverse histologic re action. The evidence indicates that in this population, the accelerated rehabilitation program has been more effective than our initial program in reducing limitations of motion (particularly knee extension) and loss of strength while maintaining stability and preventing an terior knee pain.


Introduction Psychological features have been bidirectionally associated with osteoporosis, but it is still unclear whether patient's anxiety fluctuations during the anti-osteoporotic treatment can have an impact on bone mineral density (BMD) variation. The aim of this study was to investigate the interrelations between psychological distress features, such as anxiety, depression, health-related QoL (HRQoL) and bone health in women receiving anti-osteoporotic treatment. Methods 192 post-menopausal osteoporotic women were treated with alendronate or risedronate according to the standard procedure. The levels of anxiety, depression, and perceived HRQoL, along with BMD, were assessed at baseline and at a 2-year follow-up. Results At the end of the study, the patients showed a statistically significant increase of both psychic and somatic anxiety (p<0.0001) and exhibited a worsening of depressive symptoms (p<0.0001), whereas HRQoL showed no change. BMD improved and no incident fractures occurred. BMD variation (ΔBMD) at lumbar spine was significantly associated with anxiety levels (r=0.23, p=0.021). Multiple regression analysis showed that both patients' worsening anxiety levels (β = -0.1283, SE=0.06142, p=0.04) and their treatment adherence (β=0.09, SE=0.02, p=0.0006) were independently associated with ΔBMD. Discussion The findings of the current follow-up study suggest that BMD in post-menopausal women undergoing anti-osteoporotic treatment was predicted by treatment adherence and anxiety change over time.


Colorectal peritoneal metastases (CPM) are associated with abbreviated survival and significantly impaired quality of life. In patients with CPM, radical multimodality treatment consisting of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) has demonstrated oncological superiority over systemic chemotherapy alone. In highly selected patients undergoing CRS + HIPEC, overall survival of over 60% has been reported in some series. These are patients in whom the disease burden is limited and where the diagnosis is made at an early stage in the disease course. Early diagnosis and a deeper understanding of the biological mechanisms that regulate CPM are critical to refining patient selection for radical treatment, personalising therapeutic approaches, enhancing prognostication, and ultimately improving long-term survivorship. In the present study, we outline three broad themes which represent critical future research targets in CPM: (1) enhanced radiological strategies for early detection and staging; (2) identification and validation of translational biomarkers for diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic deployment; and (3) development of optimized approaches for surgical cytoreduction as well as more precise strategies for intraperitoneal drug selection and delivery. Herein, we provide a contemporary narrative review of the state of the art in these three areas. A systematic review in accordance with PRISMA guidelines was undertaken on all English language studies published between 2007 and 2017. In vitro and animal model studies were deemed eligible for inclusion in the sections pertaining to biomarkers and therapeutic optimisation, as these areas of research currently remain in the early stages of development. Acquired data were then divided into hierarchical thematic categories (imaging modalities, translational biomarkers (diagnostic/prognostic/therapeutic), and delivery techniques) and subcategories. An interactive sunburst figure is provided for intuitive interrogation of the CPM research landscape.


Engineers and planners have realized that equipment grounding is a necessary part of installation process in Electrical power substations. Over years, grounding or earthing has been carried out primarily through preparation of Earth Mat which is interconnected with several Earth-rods buried around the equipment under consideration. This approach takes several efforts to have an acceptable and reliable result. However, this paper presents a more flexible, economical and results oriented approach. A flow chart which describes the procedures of carrying out the proposed method of earthing is developed. This was applied to two case studies: a proposed Power transformer substation and distribution Transformer substation located within the same geographical domain. On the two cases, the measured earth resistances are presented and discussed. The results from the case study indicates that the earth resistance values obtained from this new approach are reliable and in compliance with IEEE Standards 80,142, 81 and 1100. Keywords : Equipment, Grounding, Earthing, Earth-rod, Flowchart, Earth Mat, Flow Process, Injection Substation, Distribution Substation, Earth Resistance, IEEE Standard.


Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is normally grown as a spring-sown rainfed crop in the Mediterranean region in areas receiving more than 400 mm of rainfall annually. Because of large fluctuations in the total amount and distribution of the rainfall, the crop occasionally suffers from extreme terminal drought. Breeders face a dilemma in selecting materials for both normal moisture regimes and drought conditions because it is often difficult to conduct two parallel breeding programmes. This study examines the transferability of the selection indices (developed as a multiple regression of yield on most influential traits) from one environment to another with the objective of selecting an appropriate environment for the development of cultivars adapted to both environments. Experiments were conducted for 3 years (1989-1991) during the spring at two locations with normal moisture regime (hereafter referred to as drought-free) in Syria and Lebanon and one drought-prone location in Syria. Each year, 192-240 newly bred lines were evaluated in replicated trials for seed yield, days to flowering and maturity, plant height and 100-seed weight. Correlation analyses showed that increased seed size, early maturity and reduced plant height at the drought-prone location and early maturity at the drought-free location were of prime importance in increasing seed yield. Regression equations developed to predict seed yield showed that days to flower and maturity accounted from 67-80 % variation in seed yield at the dry location, whereas at the drought-free locations the contribution of days to maturity was smaller except in 1991 in Lebanon. The percent success in the transferability of the selection indices from the drought-free environments to the drought-prone environment was higher than that from the drought-prone environment to the drought-free environment. These results indicate that chickpea breeding material developed under drought-free environments could be useful under drought-prone conditions. Early-maturing lines selected under normal environments would also perform well under drier conditions.


Septins are a conserved family of GTP-binding proteins that form heterooctameric complexes that assemble into higher-order structures. In yeast, septin superstructure at the bud neck serves as a barrier to separate a daughter cell from its mother and as a scaffold to recruit the proteins that execute cytokinesis. However, how septins recruit specific factors has not been well characterized. In the accompanying article in this issue, (Finnigan et al. 2015), we demonstrated that the C-terminal extensions (CTEs) of the alternative terminal subunits of septin heterooctamers, Cdc11 and Shs1, share a role required for optimal septin function in vivo. Here we describe our use of unbiased genetic approaches (both selection of dosage suppressors and analysis of synthetic interactions) that pinpointed Bni5 as a protein that interacts with the CTEs of Cdc11 and Shs1. Furthermore, we used three independent methods—construction of chimeric proteins, noncovalent tethering mediated by a GFP-targeted nanobody, and imaging by fluorescence microscopy—to confirm that a physiologically important function of the CTEs of Cdc11 and Shs1 is optimizing recruitment of Bni5 and thereby ensuring efficient localization at the bud neck of Myo1, the type II myosin of the actomyosin contractile ring. Related article in GENETICS: Finnigan, G. C. et al., 2015 Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Paralogous Terminal Septin Subunits Shs1 and Cdc11 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetics 200: 821–841.


Temperature-sensitive mutants from three different complementation groups, ts5, ts19, and 6s58, have been shown to accumulate assembly intermediates at the restrictive temperature. The polypeptide composition of these intermediates is similar to that of the wild type, including the precursor polypeptides pVI, pVII, and pVIII. ts5 and ts19 also contained cleaved precursors, indicating assembly into defective virions. The increase of infectious virus after temperature shift-down of ts19 and ts58 was rapid when compared with that of ts24, which does not accumulate intermediates, suggesting that intermediates formed at nonpermissive temperature may be processed to mature virus. However, shift-down experiments reveal that only a fraction of the intermediates are utilized for virus assembly and that degradation of intermediates occurs at the restrictive temperature.


In JET, during some vertical displacement events (VDEs), the plasma current and position are toroidally asymmetric. These events are referred to as asymmetric VDEs (AVDEs). Analysis of the interactions among the current carrying systems reveals that the repelling force between the plasma and the vessel is of little significance in asymmetric events, even if it is the main symmetric repelling force. The sideways force acting on the vessel is shown to be due mainly to the interaction with the toroidal field of the asymmetric circulation of currents in the wall. The asymmetric current path in the vessel is then calculated analytically for a simplified geometry and used together with experimental data to estimate the sideways force on the vessel.


The autocatalytic polymerization kinetics of the cytoskeletal actin network provides the basic mechanism for a persistent random walk of a crawling cell. It is shown that network remodeling by branching processes near the cell membrane is essential for the bimodal spatial stability of the network which induces a spontaneous breaking of isotropic cell motion. Details of the phenomena are analyzed using a simple polymerization model studied by analytical and simulation methods.


In the aftermath of the passage of Title IX, Michael Messner laid the theoretical groundwork for what was at stake as a result of this landmark legislation. He argued that women?s entrance into sport marked a quest for equality and thus represented a challenge to male domination. He further argued that media representations of athletic females were a powerful vehicle for subverting any counterhegemonic potential posed by sportswomen. Scholars should therefore examine ?frameworks of meaning? linked to female athletes because they have become ?contested terrain.? Our investigation addressed Messner?s concerns by examining the cultural narratives of intercollegiate media guides. We did so by analyzing longitudinal data from the early 1990s through the 2003?04 season. Findings revealed an unmistakable shift toward representations of women as serious athletes and a sharp decline in gender differences. Results are discussed against a backdrop of sport scholars in particular?and institutions of higher education in general?serving as agents of social change.


It is our great pleasure to introduce this special section of the Journal, presenting advanced solutions for some of the key research challenges in wireless networks. The special section collects extended papers from the 13th IEEE International Symposium on a World of Wireless, Mobile and Multimedia Networks, WoWMoM 2012. Future wireless networks will be highly heterogeneous, and will aim to provide users with pervasive communications facilities, requiring for this purpose that many different types of networking paradigms co-exist in harmony. Papers in this special section cover many of the most significant paradigms in this context, including vehicular networks, wireless infrastructure networks, mesh networks and self-organizing networks (supported by opportunistic networking technologies). In particular, the papers presented in this section address a selection of extremely important open issues, including the dissemination of safety messages in vehicular networks, the understanding and modeling of human mobility, the mitigation of collisions in WLAN, the issue of privacy in Wi-Fi as well as routing in multihop wireless networks.


JAK2 kinase mutation V617F is prevalent in myeloproliferative diseases (MPD), including polycythemia vera (PV, 81-99%), essential thrombocytosis (ET, 41-72%) and primary myelofibrosis (PMF, 39-57%). This point mutation constitutively activates the JAK kinase and leads to oncogenic potential of host cells, and thus making JAK2 a promising molecular target for MPD therapy. HM-018 is a small molecule inhibitor against JAK kinase and the compound9s preclinical anti-MPD effects from signal transduction to biological consequences were investigated. HM-018 was found to inhibit JAK kinase 1, 2, 3 and TYK with IC50 of 0.010, 0.006, 0.040 and 0.047 μM, respectively. The compound demonstrated >100 folds selectivity against a panel of 63 kinases. In accordance with enzymatic activity, HM-018 suppressed ligand dependent or constitutive JAK activation in multiple cell lines as evidenced by the decrease of STAT3/5 phosphorylation. As a result, JAK dependent cell proliferation was significantly inhibited by HM-018. EPO-mediated mouse PV model was utilized to evaluate the in vivo efficacy of the compound. HM-018 could shrink enlarged mouse spleen, a typical symptom of PV, in a dose dependent manner accompanied with decreased STAT5 phosphorylation both in animal spleen and in bone marrow after oral dosing for 7 days. To better mimic MPD development in a more clinically-relevant manner, JAK2-V617F-tranfected 32D cells were injected into mice intravenously, and it was observed that oral treatment of HM-018 not only prolonged the animal9s life span, but also reduced MPD-related symptoms, such as spleen weight increase and organ invasion by malignant cells. Meanwhile, HM-018 exhibited a favorable pharmacokinetic profile and acceptable safety window in rats. Based on the preclinical data, HM-018 demonstrated anti-MPD potency both in vitro and in vivo, and the studies have provided rationale to further develop this compound as possible MPD therapeutics. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1797. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-1797


One in 604 flights will have a medical emergency. With 87,000 flights per day in the United States alone, that is ∼144 medical emergencies per day. When a passenger has a medical emergency in-flight, do staff respond with equity to persons who offer assistance? Unfortunately, several news stories have highlighted race and gender bias against woman physicians of color who come to the aid of a person in distress while in-flight. Three separate stories have ignited a national conversation about what it means to "look like a doctor." In this article, we profile three vignettes of women physicians of non-white race that challenges the notion that all doctors are treated equally when trying to assist passengers who are experiencing a medical in-flight emergency. We share stories of how bias has affected other health care providers in similar situations. Some physicians have not been asked anything but their name, whereas others are questioned for their credentials before they can assist. In other vignettes, even with valid credentials, these offers of assistance from physicians are rebuked. We will challenge the aviation industry to put passengers first by training flight crews to see and address implicit and explicit biases, standardize protocols to remove barriers for assistance, challenging the notion of paperwork superseding care, and changing a very broken process that is inconsistent at best.


Two thyratron considerations are (1) spurious noise output, and (2) speed and ease with which the anode current can be tuned on and off. The spurious noise output of conventional thyratrons often is such that they cannot be operated close to sensitive communications equipment. In addition, while the anode current can be established in a fraction of a microsecond, current interruption often requires times of the order of 100 microseconds. During this time one is confronted with the additional disadvantage of having to remove the anode voltage. The tacitron, a new thyratron whose construction and operation are herein described and analyzed, is so quiet in operation that it can be operated in close proximity to sensitive communications equipment without noticeable interference. Furthermore, its anode current can be switched on or off in about one microsecond without the necessity of anode voltage removal. With respect to arc drop, over-all efficiency, tube construction, and other salient characteristics the tube is similar to conventional ones. The tacitron owes its unusual capabilities mainly to a grid design that insures tube operation in a unique discharge mode where in ion generation takes place solely in the grid-anode region. Besides being useful in applications in which conventional thyratrons are now used, this new tube offers the possibility of use in many new applications presently denied conventional thyratrons, either because of noise or recovery time considerations. This includes computers and all sorts of pulse circuits.


Background: Previous research has demonstrated that oppositional defiant disorder is a strong predictor of mental illness that causes significant distress for adolescents, who manifest this disorder and pose remarkable costs for the society.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to design and test a model of some antecedents (secure attachment and insecure attachment, early trauma, behavioral activation system, behavioral inhibition system, schema, emotion regulation, and callous-unemotional) and consequences (aggression, conduct disorder, educational performance, and vandalism) of oppositional defiant disorder.
Methods: The sample consisted of 320 high school students of Dezfoul, who were selected by multistage random sampling. The instruments included the oppositional defiant behavioral inventory, revised adult scale (RAAS), Early Trauma Inventory, Carver and White Behavioral Activation System/Behavioral Inhibition system, Young's Schema Questionnaire - Short Form, difficulties in emotion regulation scale (DERS), Callous-Unemotional trait inventory, Boss and Perry aggression questionnaire, child behavior checklist (CBCL), and questionnaire of vandalism. Structural equation modeling through AMOS 22 and SPSS 22 were used for data analysis.
Results: Results showed that the model with some modification had good fit with the data and model indicators (χ 2/df = 3.24, GFI= 0.90, RMSEA= 0.07) improved. Six out of 20 direct paths were not significant, and were omitted from the model. Two out of nine indirect paths were omitted and the rest of the paths were confirmed.
Conclusions: The results showed that the model fitted the data with some amendments.


PURPOSE
To determine the prognostic value of bone marrow findings at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients with stage I multiple myeloma.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
In 24 patients with stage I multiple myeloma, findings from MR imaging of the vertebral, pelvic, and femoral bone marrow were analyzed and correlated to spontaneous outcome. Progressive multiple myeloma was observed in 12 patients and stable stage I multiple myeloma was observed in 12 after a follow-up period of 4-67 months (median, 27 months).

RESULTS
In 17 patients, MR imaging findings were normal, and in seven patients, bone marrow abnormalities were depicted on MR images. Of the 12 patients with progressive multiple myeloma, six had bone marrow abnormalities that were depicted at MR imaging. In the group of patients with progressive multiple myeloma, the six patients with abnormal MR imaging findings showed earlier disease progression (median, 10 months) than the six patients in whom MR imaging findings were normal (median, 32 months) (P < .0001). Multivariate analysis of clinical and MR imaging findings showed that MR imaging (P = .006) were two independent factors in the prediction of disease progression.

CONCLUSION
MR imaging of the bone marrow in patients with stage I multiple myeloma is an independent factor in the prediction of disease progression.


OBJECTIVES/SPECIFIC AIMS: Computed tomography (CT) enables 3-dimensional (3D) visualization of cortical bone structures with high spatial resolution, and thus has been the gold-standard method for evaluation and diagnosis of craniofacial skeletal pathologies. However, ionizing radiation and, in particular, repeated scanning for presurgery and postsurgery assessments, is of concern when applied to infants and young children. Recent advances in solid-state MRI allow the capture of the short-T2 signals in cortical bone while suppressing the signal from soft-tissue protons having T2 relaxation time 1–2 orders of magnitude longer (50–100 ms). One approach, a dual-radiofrequency (RF) pulse and ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging based method, exploits different sensitivities of bone and soft tissue to different RF pulse widths and TEs. This study aims to demonstrate the feasibility of producing 3D renderings of the human skull and visualization of cranial sutures using the bone-selective MRI technique in comparison to CT. METHODS/STUDY POPULATION: Imaging technique: Two RF pulses differing in duration and amplitude are alternately applied in successive repetition time (TR) along the pulse train. Within each TR, 2 echoes are acquired. Acquisition of the first echo starts at the ramp-up of the encoding gradient (TE1), allowing for capture of signals with very short lifetimes (bone), while that of the second starts after a longer delay (TE2). In total, 4 echoes are obtained: ECHO11 (RF1TE1), ECHO12 (RF1TE2), ECHO21 (RF2TE1), and ECHO22 (RF2TE2). During reconstruction, ECHO11 is combined with ECHO21 and ECHO12 is combined with ECHO22, resulting in 2 images. The subtraction of these 2 images yields an enhanced bone contrast. Data acquisition/processing: The pulse sequence described above was applied for MR imaging of a human cadaveric skull and 2 adult human subjects in vivo, at 3T field strength (Siemens Prisma, Erlangen, Germany). Imaging parameters: TR/TE1/TE2=7/0.06/2.46 ms, RF1/RF2 durations=40/520 μs, flip angle=12°, matrix size=2563, field of view=2803 mm3, voxel size=1.1 mm isotropic, number of radial spokes=25,000, and scan time=6 minutes. Segmentation of bone voxels was performed using ITK-SNAP in a semi-automatic fashion, leading to 3D renderings of the skull. For comparison, a CT scan was also performed in the human cadaveric skull with 1 mm isotropic resolution. Validation: The biometric accuracy was assessed by measuring eight anatomic distances: (1) Maximum craniocaudal aperture of the right orbit. (2) Maximum craniocaudal aperture of the left orbit. (3) Maximum height of the mandible from chin point in the midline. (4) Maximum cranial length (5) Maximum cranial width. (6) Maximum height of piriform aperture. (7) Distance between lateral most aspect of mandibular condyles. (8) Distance between lateral most aspect of posterior hard palate in both CT- and MRI-based 3D renderings of the human cadaveric skull using Mimics software (Materialise®, Ghent, Belgium). These distances were compared with those directly measured on the cadaveric skull. RESULTS/ANTICIPATED RESULTS: Compares CT with the proposed MRI method on cadaveric human skull images, along with corresponding 3D renderings. Compared with CT, the 3D rendered images maintain most features over the entire head (e.g., zygomatic arch), except for appearance of some artifacts in the mandibular region. In vivo head images in 2 adult subjects: axial magnitude images and 3D rendering. In the axial images, bone voxels as well as the inner table of the cranium are clearly visualized, and cranial and spinal bone structures are well depicted in the 3D renderings. Some voxels were erroneously included or excluded in the renderings. The mean difference in measurements of the 8 anatomic distances was 6, 4, and 2 mm when comparing MRI Versus CT, MRI Versus in situ, and CT Versus in situ, respectively. DISCUSSION/SIGNIFICANCE OF IMPACT: Bone proton magnetization exhibits a substantial level of signal decay during the relatively long duration of RF2 due to its very short T2 relaxation time. In contrast, soft-tissue retains nearly the same level of signal intensities over all echoes. Thus, subtraction of ECHO22 from ECHO11, when compared with the difference between ECHO11 and ECHO12, enhances bone contrast from soft tissue. The proposed, dual-RF dual-echo 3D UTE imaging technique produces isotropic high-resolution bone-specified images in the whole head within a clinically feasible imaging time (6 min), leading to clear visualization of craniofacial skeletal structures. These are key components necessary for translation to the clinical setting. Optimization of postprocessing for more realistic 3D renderings and thus accurate anatomic measurements is currently being implemented. The proposed method's potential as a nonradiative alternative to CT will then be thoroughly evaluated in pediatric patients.


For the practical implementation of computer simulation or analysis of human motion in ergonomics, orthopaedics, sports, and other areas, the respective models must be individualized by assigning them subject-specific parameter values such as those for segment parameters. Several methods and their efficiency are discussed for determining this parameter set for a given subject. It is shown that the anthropometrico-computational method is presently the most accurate and reliable technique with potential for further improvement.