We use several measures to compare the performance of a large set of Dow Jones Islamic indexes to selected benchmarks. We test the performance over the whole period and then focus on extreme events. We identify extreme events as the 100 lowest and the 100 highest conventional World Indexes daily returns. We find that Islamic indexes exhibit different features from their conventional benchmarks and that the Islamic screening leads to significant differences in risk and excess return. We observe differences in relative performance of the Islamic indexes according to geographical areas and activity sectors. Unlike results of previous studies on performance in bear and bull markets, lowest and highest prices do not intensify the differences between Islamic and conventional indexes.


Abstract. We consider the problem of estimating the density of a random variable X that can be sampled exactly by Monte Carlo (MC). We investigate the effectiveness of replacing MC by randomized quasi Monte Carlo (RQMC) or by stratified sampling over the unit cube, to reduce the integrated variance (IV) and the mean integrated square error (MISE) for kernel density estimators. We show theoretically and empirically that the RQMC and stratified estimators can achieve substantial reductions of the IV and the MISE, and even faster convergence rates than MC in some situations, while leaving the bias unchanged. We also show that the variance bounds obtained via a traditional Koksma-Hlawka-type inequality for RQMC are much too loose to be useful when the dimension of the problem exceeds a few units. We describe an alternative way to estimate the IV, a good bandwidth, and the MISE, under RQMC or stratification, and we show empirically that in some situations, the MISE can be reduced significantly even in high-dimensional settings.


This paper deals with the difficulties that arise in the realization of micro-mechanisms by MEMS fabrication technique e.g.: fabrication of joints and actuators, joints clearance, lifting the structure from the 2D silicon wafer plane. It then introduces a new structure of a six degrees-of-freedom parallel robot that is suitable for MEMS fabrication. The robot consists of linear actuators located at the base and only revolute joints, both of which are easier to manufacture in MEMS technology. The hybrid kinematic structure contains three single loop sub-mechanisms connected in parallel to the moving platform, and the solution of its inverse kinematics which yields 4,096 solutions is presented.


Berberine has been shown to possess anti-tumor activity against a wide spectrum of cancer cells. It inhibits cancer cell proliferation by inducing cell cycle arrest, at G1 and/or G2/M, and apoptosis. While it has been documented that berberine induces G1 arrest by activating the p53-p21 cascade, it remains unclear what mechanism underlies the berberine-induced G2/M arrest, which is p53-independent. In this study, we tested the anti-proliferative effect of berberine on murine prostate cancer cell line RM-1 and characterized the underlying mechanisms. Berberine dose-dependently induced DNA double-strand breaks and apoptosis. At low concentrations, berberine was observed to induce G1 arrest, concomitant with the activation of p53-p21 cascade. Upon exposure to berberine at a higher concentration (50 M) for 24 h, cells exhibited G2/M arrest. Pharmacological inhibition of ATM by KU55933, or Chk1 by UCN-01, could effihk1 53 ciently abrogate the G2/M arrest in berberine-treated cells. Downregulation of Chk1 by RNA interference also abolished the G2/M arrest caused by berberine, confirming the role of Chk1 in the pathway leading to G2/M arrest. Abrogation of G2/M arrest by ATM inhibition forced more cells to undergo apoptosis in response to berberine treatment. Chk1 inhibition by UCN-01, on the other hand, rendered cells more sensitive to berberine only when p53 was inhibited. Our results suggest that combined administration of berberine and caffeine, or other ATM inhibitor, may accelerate the killing of cancer cells.


Objective: To review the current knowledge on uterus bioengineering and discuss potential future directives. Uterus bioengineering may solve two major hurdles in organ transplantation of a uterus, organ shortage and control of rejection by immunosuppression. Mechanism: Literature search using PubMed. Findings in brief: Sixty-seven references were summarized that describe the scientific progress made on uterus bioengineering, including other studies related to the topic. Most articles describe work on rat models, including proofof-concept that uterus bioengineering can be used to restore fertility after a partial uterine injury. These promising results are currently being translated to larger and more clinically relevant animal models. In particular, uterus-specific scaffolds produced by a process called "decellularization" that were developed for the mouse, rat, rabbit, pig, goat, and sheep. These scaffolds stimulated angiogenesis and regeneration in vitro and in vivo, and successfully harbored various types of cells for an extended time in vitro. Additionally, applications for endometrial extracellular matrix-specific hydrogels derived from decellularized uterus tissue is discussed. Current challenges for uterus bioengineering are also addressed, e.g., the cellular reconstruction phase, and how they might be improved. Conclusions: Significant progress was made during the last decade with convincing evidence from multiple independent groups in experiments with small animal models. Initial steps towards large animal uterus bioengineering were made. The future continuation of such studies will provide important data required to translate these ideas to an experimental phase in the human. Partial uterus reconstruction through a bioengineered tissue transplantation is closer to a clinical reality compared to whole uterus bioengineering principles aimed to replace a donor in a UTx setting.


Introduction,Breast cancer is type of cancer with highest amount of sufferer cancer in Surabaya, including in Puskesmas Kenjeran. From interview result with women of childbearing age in puskesmas Kenjeran, From interviews with women of childbearing age in the clinic Kenjeran , there are still many women who do not take steps to prevent. Women's prevention against breast cancer is still low, it can effect in about 80% of total cancer sufferer treatment when has reached in advanced stage, so that it can reduce the success of treatment. The study aims to determine the effect of interpersonal relationships and situational and the prevention of breast cancer in women of childbearing age. Method, This study used a descriptive correlational research design with cross sectional approach. Population in this research is 5.340 women of childbearing age at Kelurahan Bulak and Kelurahan Kenjeran Surabaya. The sampling technique used the cluster sampling and obtained 100 samples. Independent variable in this research are interpersonal influence and situasional influence. Dependent variable in this research is primary and secondary prevention of breast cancer. Data analysis using Spearman rho's statistical tests to determine which variables are associated with the prevention of breast cancer. Result,This research show that there is no correlation between interpersonal influence and prevention of breast cancer with p value= 0,150 (α ≤ 0,05). At the same time for correlation between situational influence variable and prevention of breast cancer variable result p value = 0,043 (α ≤ 0,05).Conclusion and Discussion, It showed that there is no correlation between interpersonal influence with prevention of breast cancer and there is a correlation between situational influence with prevention of breast cancer in women of childbearing age. Interpersonal influence can't increase the breast cancer prevention in women of childbearing age at Puskesmas Kenjeran , whereas situational influences may increase breast cancer preventive efforts in Puskesmas Kenjeran Surabaya.


In this paper we propose an improved method for reducing background noise added to speech in noisy environments like helicopter cockpit or car engine. This implementation uses over-subtraction method for spectral subtraction. Masking properties of the human ear are exploited to reduce the residual noise after spectral subtraction. A psychoacoustically motivated weighting filter was included to mask the residual musical noise. Simulations showed a better quality with no distortion for the enhanced speech and the musical noise was effectively masked.


Supplemental digital content is available in the text. ABSTRACT Purpose This study (i) investigates the effect of recovery power (Prec) and duration (trec) on the recovery of the curvature constant (W′) of the power–duration relationship, (ii) compares the experimentally measured W′ balance to that predicted (W′bal) by two models (SK2 and BAR), and (iii) presents a case of real-time performance optimization using the critical power (CP) concept. Methods Seven competitive amateur cyclists performed a ramp test to determine their V˙O2peak and gas exchange threshold, two to four 3-min all-out tests to determine CP and W′, and nine intermittent cycling tests to investigate W′ recovery. The intermittent cycling tests involved a 2-min constant work-rate interval above CP, followed by a constant work-rate recovery interval below CP (Prec and trec were varied), followed by a 3-min all-out interval. Results There was a significant two-way interaction between Prec and trec on W′ recovery, P = 0.004 (η2 = 0.52). Simple main effects were present only with respect to Prec at each trec. The actual W′ balance at the end of the recovery interval was less than the W′bal predicted by both SK2 (P = 0.035) and BAR (P = 0.015) models. The optimal strategy derived from the subject-specific recovery model reduced the race time by 55 s as compared with the self-strategy. Conclusions This study has shown that in a recovery interval, Prec has a greater influence than trec on W′ recovery. The overprediction of W′bal from SK2 and BAR suggests the need for individualized recovery parameters or models for sub-CP exercise. Finally, the optimal strategy results provide encouraging signs for real-time, model-based performance optimization.


In this paper we investigate the relationship between institutional improvement and economic performance in transition population of countries (TCs). Our general findings confirmed the results of other researchers that "institutions matter" in explaining economic performances in TCs. However, our models reported that institutional change in transition did not have a constant effect since the time-horizon over which institutions affect economic performance also matters. More precisely, neither the current contemporaneous effect of institutions nor the significant "long-run" response of economic output to changes in institutions was well identified. However, an improvement in institutions over a previous five-year period had a significant effect on the current GDP per capita, suggesting some kind of "peak" effect of institutions within a five-year period.


For all the criticism that has been leveled against cultural representations of the American West, ideas of the westward expansion and its significance have remained powerful impulses for the negotiation of history and identity. Such notions of the past, and the cultural symbology with which they can be expressed, are more or less available to writers and other cultural agents for employment in political, cultural, or literary discourse. Understood in this way, the imagined West, to use Richard White's term, has continued to supply material that affirms or contests political and ideological change. The rejection of the conventionally imagined past in the 1970s provided writers with an opportunity to re-formulate historical representation and to make sense of history anew. Thus the imagined West reinforced its paradoxical status in American culture as a symbolic resource that signifies both historical inertia and constant change. This study investigates representations of the West as they appear in the literary discourse of the 1970s. In readings of four non-genre texts, Don DeLillo's Americana (1971), Robert Coover's The Public Burning (1977), Joan Didion's The White Album (1979), and Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff (1979), this study situates the cultural symbology of the West in a historico-political, cultural, and literary context. The study shows how these four writers utilize preconceptions about the meaning of the past, at the same time as they reshape that past to fit their own literary and ideological strategies. They do so by incorporating into the texts elements of historical representation and their ideological constituents, or ideologemes. Taken together, these texts are seen to illustrate the trajectory of the imagined West during a time of critical negotiation of American history.


In this work I offer an argument which shows that Davidson's argument ot the claim that mental token events are physical events (physical monism) is incompatible with his claim that there are no strict psychophysical or psychological laws (anomalisme of the mental) and therefore that his well-known position, anomalous monism, is untenable. In the final part of the paper, I draw some important lessons from the inconsistence highlighted which I think help to clarify substantially the options available in the metaphysics of mind.


A bond graph model for a singularly perturbed system is presented. This system is characterized by fast and slow dynamics. In addition, the bond graph can have storage elements with derivative and integral causality assignments for both dynamics. When the singular perturbation method is applied, the fast dynamic differential equation degenerates to an algebraic equation; the real roots of this equation can be determined by using another bond graph called singularly perturbed bond graph (SPBG). This SPBG has the characteristic that storage elements of the fast state and slow state have a derivative and integral causality assignment, respectively. Thus, a quasi-steady state model by using SPBG is obtained. A Lemma to get the junction structure from SPBG is proposed. Finally, the proposed methodology is applied to two examples.


We have recently introduced an approach for studying perturbatively classical and quantum canonical general relativity. The perturbative technique appears to preserve many of the attractive features of the non-perturbative quantization approach based on Ashtekar's new variables and spin networks. With this approach one can find perturbatively classical observables (quantities that have vanishing Poisson brackets with the constraints) and quantum states (states that are annihilated by the quantum constraints). The relative ease with which the technique appears to deal with these traditionally hard problems opens up several questions concerning how relevant the results produced can possibly be. Among the questions is the issue of how useful are results for large values of the cosmological constant and how the approach can deal with several pathologies that are expected to be present in the canonical approach to quantum gravity. With the aim of clarifying these points, and to make our construction as explicit as possible, we study its application in several simple models. We consider Bianchi cosmologies, the asymmetric top, coupled harmonic oscillators with constant energy density and a simple quantum mechanical system with two Hamiltonian constraints. We find that the technique satisfactorily deals with the pathologies of these models and offers promise for finding (at least some) results even for small values of the cosmological constant. Finally, we briefly sketch how the method would operate in the full four-dimensional quantum general relativity case.


A data analysis that incorporates time dependencies is demonstrated for the dose response of leukemia mortality in the atomic bomb survivors. The time dependencies are initially left unspecified and the data on leukemia mortality--up to the end of 1978--are used to infer them. Several findings based on T65 revised doses (T65DR) are obtained. First, it is shown that the fits to the data of time-dependent L (linear in gamma dose)-Q (quadratic in gamma dose)-L (linear in neutron dose), L-L, and Q-L dose-response models are significantly improved (P less than 0.001) by using the corresponding time-dependent dose-response models. Second, it is shown that the increased risk of leukemia mortality due to gamma irradiation decreases in time while the increased risk due to neutron exposure decreases more slowly, if at all, in time. Consequently, relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of neutrons is shown to increase in time (P = 0.002) and the current definition of RBE as a time-independent quantity is therefore challenged. It is demonstrated with time-dependent models that the L-L model has a poor fit (P = 0.01) to the data for the first 7 years of study, but has an adequate fit for the remaining 21 years. In contrast the Q-L model has an adequate fit for the entire follow-up period (P greater than 0.30).


The Al-Mg alloy sheets containing 6.8 wt.% Mg were tested under different stretching conditions (uniaxial, plain-strain and balanced biaxial) in order to make some surface roughness created by type "A" or type "B" surface markings appearance. The presented results indicate that the stretcher-strain surface appearance was influenced in a great deal by changing the stress state, i.e. the stretching strain path. The harmful stretcher-strain lines appearance is mostly related to dynamic strain aging (DSA) and it can be suppressed in equibiaxial stretching conditions.


s of Oral Presentations (Monday, 16 August) S1: The laser the first 50 years Presenter : Sune SVANBERG Prof.. SVANBERG, Sune (Lund University, Sweden) S2: Femtosecond electron diffraction phenomena Presenter : Dwaine MILLER Prof.. MILLER, Dwaine (University of Toronto, Canada) C 1: 3D nanoand mivrostructures in transparent materials by in-volume selective laser etching. Presenter : Jens GOTTMANN Dr. GOTTMANN, Jens (RWTH Aachen University) HERMANS, Martin (RWTH Aachen University), HöRSTMANNJUNGEMANN, Maren (RWTH Aachen University), BECKMANN, Dennsi (RWTH Aachen University) Self-organised In-volume Selective Laser-induced Etching (ISLE) is a manufacturing process for micro machining of transparent materials such as sapphire and glasses, e.g. fused silica and boro silicate glasses. By focusing the laser radiation in the volume the material is locally modified. By high speed scanning the laser focus with pulse overlap inside the material, connected volumes of modified material are created. The modified volumes are subsequently removed by chemical etching using aqueous solution of e.g. HF or KOH. Mirco channels, shaped holes and micro parts like gears are fabricated. Periodical nano structures (ripples, nanoplanes) are observed in sapphire in glasses with properties, which still cannot be predicted. The nanostructures are investigated using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Amorphized nanoplanes and compositional changes are observed e.g. in sapphire. Pump-probe reflections spectroscopy, transmission spectroscopy and interference microscopy are used to investigate the transient refractive index of the materials during laser processing. Up to now, the results are in contradiction to several models describing the formation of nanoplanes or coherent sub-wavelength ripples. Furthermore, the pump probe investigations are useful to investigate the processing limits of ISLE, which are extended to scanning velocities > 1 m/s exploiting high power (~100 W) high repetition rate (1-100 MHz) fs laser radiation. C 2: Fine-ripple formation at high fluence conditions during femtosecond laser ablation of ceramics Presenter : Sungho JEONG Prof. JEONG, Sungho (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)) ; Mr. KIM, Sung Hoon (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)), Dr. SOHN, Ik-bu (Advanced Photonics Research Institute) Presenter : Prof. JEONG, Sungho (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)) Ripple formation during femtosecond laser ablation of solids have received significant attention in recent years due to its potential for direct fabrication of periodic nanostructures. The commonly observed laser-induced ripples are aligned in the direction perpendicular to the direction of laser polarization with a spacing comparable to the wavelength of incident laser light. Also, these ripples were typically known to be produced at laser fluencies near ablation threshold, often with multi-pulse ablation. However, newer types of ripple such as fine ripples whose spacing is much smaller than the laser wavelength, or parallel ripples whose direction is independent of laser polarization have also been reported in recent studies. The characteristics of these new ripples and the mechanisms of their formation are of great interest. In this work, we report the formation of fine ripples with a spacing of about 200 nm during femtosecond laser (λ = 785 nm, τ = 184 fs) ablation of ceramics. Especially, we observed the formation of fine ripples near the center of a crater at laser fluencies much higher than the ablation threshold. At this high irradiance condition, the chemistry of fine ripples near the crater center showed substantial difference from those of unablated region or crater edge region. Experimental observations indicated that the mechanisms of ripple formation at high fluence conditions differ from those of low fluence ripples, and should be explained in connection with l. C 3: Direct observation of acoustic oscillations in InAs nanowires Presenter : Simon MARIAGER Mr. MARIAGER, Simon (Centre for Molecular Movies; Niels Bohr Institute) , Prof. NIELSEN, Martin M. (Centre for Molecular Movies; Niels Bohr Institute) ; Prof. FEIDENHANS'L, Robert (Niels Bohr Institute) ; Mr. KHAKHULIN, Dmitry (Centre for Molecular Movies; Niels Bohr Insitute) We have used time-resolved x-ray diffraction and optical reflectivity to directly measure three different acoustic oscillations of InAs nanowires. The oscillations are excited by a fs laser pulse and evolve at three different timescales. We measure the absolute scale of the initial radial expansion of the fundamental breathing eigenmode and determine the frequency by transient optical reflectivity. For the extensional eigenmode we measure the oscillations of the average radial and axial lattice constants and determine the amplitude of oscillations and the average extension. Finally we observe a bending motion of the nanowires. The frequencies of the eigen modes are in good agreements with predictions made by continuum elasticity theory and we find no difference in the speed of sound between the wurtzite nanowires and cubic bulk crystals, but the measured strain is influenced by the interaction between different modes, and differ slightly from the theoretical description. C 4: Computer Simulations of Plume Evolution in Aluminum Presenter : Johannes ROTH Dr. ROTH, Johannes (University Stuttgart) Co-authors : Mr. SONNTAG, Steffen (University Stuttgart) ; Mrs. TRICHET PAREDES, Carolina (University Stuttgart) ; Prof. TREBIN, Hans-rainer (University Stuttgart) We study femtosecond laser ablation and plume evolution of aluminum for various inhomogeneous laser pulses. For the simulations of the lattice we utilize molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using our own code. The gas-phase is then scanned by a cluster algorithm (DBSCAN), from which we gain a cluster distribution of the plume. Only a small portion of the whole sample evaporates into the gas phase, therefore we have to deal with huge (6 x 10^7 atoms) samples. The ablation threshold is determined by \emph{measuring} the diameter of the drilled hole and comparing it to the total pulse energy similar to a method used also in experiment. Atomic scale images for both the plume evolution and the crater formation are shown. I 1: Pulsed Laser Deposition: Nucleation and Growth on the Atomic Scale (Invited) Presenter : Peter VARGA Prof. VARGA, Peter (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) Co-authors : Prof. SCHMID, Michael (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Ms.LENAUER, Claudia (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Mr. WIMMER, Florian (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Prof. BETZ, Gerhard (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Prof. REDINGER, Josef (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Mr. BUCHSBAUM, Andreas (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Mr. GARHOFER, Andreas (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) ; Mr. SCHEIBER, Philipp (Institute of Applied Physics, Vienna University of Technology) Pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is a versatile deposition method that combines many features of technologically relevant processes such as sputter deposition with ultrahigh-vacuum compatibility and easy accessibility by surface science methods. PLD is characterized by high energies of the impinging particles (ions) and known to lead to higher island densities and better layer-by-layer growth than conventional thermal deposition. We have studied homoepitaxy of Pt on Pt(111) as well as heteroepitaxy of Co on Pt(111) by PLD with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). For heteroepitaxy of Co on Pt(111), atomically resolved STM with chemical contrast shows implantation of impinging species in the surface. By directly watching diffusion processes, we demonstrate that the resulting heterogeneous surface impedes surface diffusion, leading to exceptionally high island densities. For homoepitaxy with moderate ion energies (< 100 eV), comparison with nucleation theory shows that the high island densities are merely caused by the high instantaneous flux of arriving particles, while the kinetic energy of the impinging particles plays no significant role. At higher ion energies (> 200 eV), however, additional nuclei are formed by ``failed sputtering'', i.e., formation of ad-atoms by the impinging energetic ions. Layer-by layer growth observed in PLD experiments down to very low temperatures can be explained by the small island size and implantation of energetic particles. C 5: Oxygen diffusion in SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 thin films prepared by pulsed laser deposition Presenter : Thomas Lippert Dr. LIPPERT, Lippert Thomas (Paul Scherrer Institut), Mr. ESPOSITO, Martin (Paul Scherrer Institut) ; Dr. MAROZAU, Ivan (Paul Scherrer Institut) ; Dr. DOEBELI, Max (ETH Zurich) ; Dr. MALLEPELL, Marc (ETH Zurich) ; Dr. SCHEIDER, Christof (Paul Scherrer Institut) ; Prof. WOKAUN, Alexander (Paul Scherrer Institut) Oxygen defects in thin oxide films and substrate can have dramatic effects on their transport properties. A well-known system is the dielectric SrTiO3 where a small amount of defects are already sufficient to create electrical conductivity. To understand the oxygen evolution during the growth process of oxides thin film prepared by pulse laser deposition (PLD), it is important to know the role oxygen has in the as-grown film and substrate. To investigate the oxygen diffusion and characterize the interface between film and substrate, Elastic Recoil Detection Analysis (ERDA) and Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) were employed on theSrTiO3/LaAlO3 system. To investigate the oxygen diffusion in the SrTiO3/LaAlO3 system18O exchanged SrTiO3 and LaAlO3 substrates were prepared prior to the deposition ofLaAlO3. ERDA and SIMS depth p


Most of the Ryukyu islands are surrounded by coral reefs. Transformations of the waves approaching the island's reef coasts have been studied by many researchers through field observations and model experiments. An estimating formula for wave height on reef seas was suggested by Takayama et al. (1977), and is now used in practical applications. However, it seems that the tests of this formula by past field observations are not sufficient. This is because the conditions of the experiment from which the formula was derived, were different from field conditions, especially in the case of coral reef seas, when the incident wave height is so great as to be accompanied by surf beats. Long period components of incident waves cannot be accurately reproduced in models for effects of multi-reflecting waves in wave channels. Furthermore, previous field observation data used in the testing, could not adequately cover the whole range of periods of waves consisting of incidents wave groups, because not enough wave meters were used. (Nakaza et a1.(1988)). In our study, nine wave meters were used in field observations simultaneously, to observe the incident waves and transmitted waves on reef flats. We succeeded in obtaining field data corresponding to very large incident waves, having significant wave heights of over 10m. Based on our field observations, we have tried to clarify the characteristics of wave transformations and test the coefficients contained in the estimating formula for wave height as mentioned above.


A cationic azobenzene-containing surfactant, which can be converted reversibly from a cis to a trans conformation, was synthesized. A single liquid thin film containing this surfactant was studied under different light conditions to provide new insights into the foaming behavior of the surfactant. The stability of the thin film was quantified in terms of lifetime and tensile strength. It was found that the lifetime of the thin liquid film was dramatically increased, from a few minutes to a few hours, by UV irradiation regardless of the initial trans/cis fraction. In contrast, the film tension changed insignificantly for all conditions. The obtained results indicated that foaming control by photo-responsive surfactant is driven by the molecular arrangement with the thin aqueous film, rather than the tensile strength. The results provide an important basis for industrial application of the photo-responsive surfactants.


Current research on technological progress does not focus on whether there is a biased selection of technological progress based on the resulting pollutant emissions and the emission reduction effect. This paper measures green total factor productivity for 30 provinces in China from 2004–2018 and tests whether technological progress is selectively biased towards the pollutants emitted. The results find a selective bias of technological progress on pollutant emissions, and there is also heterogeneity in the selective bias across regions. The current level of technological progress is on the right side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for SO2 and PM2.5 and the left side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for CO2. The improvement of technological progress can reduce the emissions of SO2 and PM2.5. Still, the results indicate that the reduction effect of these two pollutants originates from the treatment process rather than reducing the source of the production side. The inability of technological advancement to reduce CO2 emissions suggests some carbon lock-in in China's technological advancement. The Chinese government should increase the proportion of new energy applications and reduce the production methods of polluting industries to reduce pollutants effectively.


The Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) server overload management has attracted interest since SIP is being widely deployed in the Next Generation Networks (NGN) as a core signaling protocol. Yet all existing SIP overload control work is focused on SIP-over-UDP, despite the fact that TCP is increasingly seen as the more viable choice of SIP transport. This paper answers the following questions: is the existing TCP flow control capable of handling the SIP overload problem? If not, why and how can we make it work? We provide a comprehensive explanation of the default SIP-over-TCP overload behavior through server instrumentation. We also propose and implement novel but simple overload control algorithms without any kernel or protocol level modification. Experimental evaluation shows that with our mechanism the overload performance improves from its original zero throughput to nearly full capacity. Our work leads to the important general insight that the traditional notion of TCP flow control alone is incapable of managing overload for time-critical session-based applications, which would be applicable not only to SIP, but also to a wide range of other common applications such as database servers.


The purpose of this work is to analyze methods and means to reduce labor intensity of machining wear-resistant cast irons. The investigation of the stability of variable carbide inserts considering different factors of cutting process at machining of expensive parts when tool failure can lead to irreparable defect is the actual problem.


The article focuses on the novel Atoms of God by Gejza Vámoš. The study looks at the work through the motif of infection, which has three dimensions in the novel: organic life as an infection, egocentrism as infection and infection as a health disorder. As a result, the first two levels represent the phenomenon of infection in the figurative sense of the word, and only the last level of the motif captures it in its primary meaning. However, all three levels of the infection overlap, correspond and complement each other. Their background (starting point) is the philosophical worldview, which the writer in the Atoms of God (identically to his academic dissertation on the philosophy of the Principle of Cruelty) himself declares. Vámoš, inspired by biological determinism, defines life as an infection by an egocentric struggle of an individual about himself and for himself. Moreover, in the end, it is egocentrism that weakens the individual even in the fight against the disease.


: The Danish Quality Database of Mammography Screening (DKMS) was established in 2007, when screening was implemented on a nationwide basis and offered biennially to all Danish women aged 50–69 years. The primary aims of the database are to monitor and evaluate the quality of the screening program and – after years of follow-up – to evaluate the effect of nationwide screening on breast cancer-specific mortality. Here, we describe the database and present results for quality assurance from the first round of national screening. The steering committee for the DKMS defined eleven organizational and clinical quality indicators and standards to monitor the Danish breast cancer screening program. We calculated the relevant proportions and ratios with 95% confidence intervals for each quality indicator. All indicators were assessed on a national and regional level. Of 670,039 women invited for mammography, 518,823 (77.4%) participated. Seventy-one percent of the women received the result of their mammography examination within 10 days of screening, and 3% of the participants were recalled for further investigation. Among all detected cancers, 86% were invasive cancers, and the proportion of women with node negative cancer was 67%. There were 36% women with small cancers, and the ratio of surgery for benign lesions to malignant lesions was 1:6.3. A total of 80% of women with invasive cancers were treated with breast conserving therapy. Screening interval and interval cancers were not relevant in the first round, and data regarding radiation dose were not available at the time of evaluation. Overall, the quality indicators showed satisfactory quality in the first round of national breast cancer screening in Denmark. The DKMS is a potentially valuable tool for improving quality and conducting research in the field of breast cancer screening. access programs. Specific include: diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, screening, prevention, risk factor modification, systematic reviews, risk & safety of medical interventions, epidemiology & bio- statical methods, evaluation of guidelines, translational medicine, health policies & economic evaluations. The manuscript management system is completely online and includes a very quick and fair peer-review system, which is all easy to use.


The University of North Florida (UNF) transitioned to Canvas as its Learning Management System (LMS) in summer 2017. This implementation brought on opportunities that allowed for a more userfriendly learning environment for students. Working with students in courses which were in-person, hybrid, or online, brought about the need for the library to have a place in the Canvas LMS. Students needed to remember how to access and locate library resources and services outside of Canvas. During this time, the Thomas G. Carpenter Library's online presence was enhanced, yet still not visible in Canvas. It became apparent that the library needed to be integrated into Canvas courses. This would enable students to easily transition between their coursework and finding resources and services to support their studies. In addition, librarians who worked with students, looked for ways for students to easily find library resources and services online. After much discussion, it became clear to the Online Learning Librarian (OLL) and the Director of Technical Services and Library Systems (Library Director) that the library needed to explore ways to integrate more with Canvas.


Background Latino men in the United States report low physical activity (PA) levels and related health conditions (eg, diabetes and obesity). Engaging in regular PA can reduce the risk of chronic diseases and yield many health benefits; however, there is a paucity of interventions developed exclusively for Latino men. Objective To address the need for culturally relevant PA interventions, this study aims to develop and evaluate Hombres Saludables, a 6-month theory-based, tailored web- and text message-based PA intervention in Spanish for Latino men. This protocol paper describes the study design, intervention, and evaluation methods for Hombres Saludables. Methods Latino men aged 18-65 years were randomized to either the individually tailored PA internet intervention arm or the nutrition and wellness internet control arm. The PA intervention included 2 check-in phone calls; automated SMS text messages; a pedometer; a 6-month gym membership; access to a private Facebook group; and an interactive website with PA tracking, goal setting, and individually tailored PA content. The primary outcomes were feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy (minutes per week of total moderate-to-vigorous PA assessed via the ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometer worn at the waist and 7-day physical activity recall at baseline and 6 months). Secondary outcomes examined potential moderators (eg, demographics, acculturation, and environmental variables) and mediators (eg, self-efficacy and cognitive and behavioral processes of change) of treatment effects at 6 months post randomization. Results This study was funded in September 2016. Initial institutional review board approval was received in February 2017, and focus groups and intervention development were conducted from April 2017 to January 2018. Recruitment for the clinical trial was carried out from February 2018 to July 2019. Baseline data collection was carried out from February 2018 to October 2019, with a total of 43 participants randomized. Follow-up data were collected through April 2020. Data cleaning and analysis are ongoing. Conclusions We developed and tested protocols for a highly accessible, culturally and linguistically relevant, theory-driven PA intervention for Latino men. Hombres Saludables used an innovative, interactive, web- and text message–based intervention for improving PA among Latino men, an underserved population at risk of low PA and related chronic disease. If the intervention demonstrates feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy, we will refine and evaluate it in a larger randomized control trial. Trial Registration Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT03196570; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03196570 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/23690


Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers worldwide, and is the leading cause of death from cancer in the United States (1). With the recent advances in screening, diagnosis, and treatment of this disease, guidelines are constantly being reviewed to provide the best in detection and therapy. Currently, the new TNM classification for lung cancer is being proposed by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the 8th edition of TNM staging system is expected to be released in 2016. The changes that are expected to occur to the T descriptors in lung cancer staging were presented in the July issue of the Journal of Thoracic Oncology by Ramon Rami-Porta et al. (2) in "The IASLC lung cancer staging project: proposals for the revisions of the T descriptors in the forthcoming eighth edition of the TNM classification for lung cancer". The proposed revisions of the N and M descriptors have also been accepted to publish this year in the Journal of Thoracic Oncology (3,4).


An analysis of 26,700 unselected autopsies performed consecutively over a 15-year period was made to establish the incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and its relationship to cirrhosis of the liver in the Trieste area. In our series, considering the period 1968-1980, the average value of the annual age and sex incidence rates of HCC standardized to the European population proved to be 10.58/100,000 in cirrhotic males and 1.3/100,000 in cirrhotic females, whereas in non-cirrhotics it was 1.14/100,000 and 0.34/100,000, respectively. In cirrhotic males autopsied during the period 1977-1980 the above incidence increases, its average value being 16.53/100,000.


Laboratory toxicity studies and a caged bivalve field study complemented by computer modeling were conducted to investigate the significance of effects on aquatic organisms due to dietary exposure to metals. The lab studies were performed with saltwater and freshwater organisms.

The saltwater studies provided partial support for previous research that showed dietary effects could occur when the food source, a mono-algal culture, was loaded with Ag, Cu, Ni or Zn at dissolved metal concentrations below than the current ambient water quality criteria (WQC). However, in contrast to the earlier studies, continuous 7-day exposures to Ag rather than a 4-hour pulse exposure were required to elicit a response by Acartia tonsa. The effects concentrations were also much higher than in the earlier studies and slightly higher than the proposed chronic water quality criteria (WQC) for Ag. The three other metals were only tested under a continuous-exposure regime and yielded similar test results to Ag, though the dissolved concentrations in which the algae were cultured were below the current chronic saltwater WQC. In the freshwater studies performed with Ceriodaphnia dubia exposed to dietary Cu and Ag, reproductive impairment was not consistent among repeat tests. Variations in reproductive vitality of the C. dubia might have contributed to the variability in adverse responses by the organisms. Questions remain regarding the applicability of the saltwater and freshwater results to field conditions, where mitigating factors such as a more nutritional mixed-algal diet or increased metal complexation capacity could decrease the amount of the bioavailable form of the metals, thereby decreasing exposure and effects.

This title belongs to WERF Research Report Series

ISBN: 9781843397656 (eBook)


Original dendrochronological research has developed rapidly over the last few decades to cover a wide range of environmental reconstruction, not only mean climate conditions but also climate extremes (e.g. floods, droughts) and other environmental hazards (e.g. landslides, debris flows, sea-level rise, volcanic eruptions). Similarly, the focus has expanded its geographical coverage from the temperate and high latitudes to lower latitudes (e.g.  the Himalaya, Tibet Plateau). Analysis of the two main dedicated dendrochronology journals (Dendrochronologia (2002-) and Tree Ring Research (2015-)) shows that the focus of the majority of published papers has been temperate and high latitudes and many fewer have considered lower latitudes such as the Himalaya. This may be due to the long-lasting controversy and doubt of the existence of tree-rings in lower latitude trees and the lower scientific acceptance of seasonal tree growth in such regions. However, such regions have some of the most preferred tree species (e.g. Larix griffithii, Abies spectabilis, Betula utilis, Juniperus polycarpos etc) for dendrochronological analysis making them suitable for tree-ring research and for answering questions regarding century-scale and longer environmental changes in regions with a relatively short history of instrumented recording of environmental parameters.

Perhaps the most interesting development in tree ring research is the realization that tree cellulose can be used to acquire information not only of climatic significance but also hydrological significance, by using environmental isotopes. To date, despite of being one of the most climate and geopolitically sensitive regions, the Himalaya has got very less or no attention for combined research of isotopes and anatomical analysis of tree rings. Based on its huge significance, it is critical to combine these two methods to allow us to make linkages between historical climate fluctuations and associated hydrological response. In this poster, we present the conception of a project to do this in a large catchment (4264 km2) in the Sikkim Himalaya with the purpose to understand how climate change is simultaneously impacting both water-related risks and water-related resources and crucially how far downstream which is highly significant as millions of people living downstream get freshwater from the seasonal snow and glacier-melt in this part of the Himalayas.


In the present situation, the expectation about the quality of signals in wireless communication is as high as possible. This quality issue is dependent upon the different communication parameters. One of the most important issues is to reduce the bit error rate (BER) to enhance the performance of the system. This paper provides a comparative analysis on the basis of this bit error rate. I have compared the BER for different number of subcarriers in OFDM system for BPSK modulation scheme. I have taken 6 varieties of data subcarriers to analyze this comparison. Here my target is to reach at the lowest level of BER for BPSK modulation. That is achieved at 2048 number of subcarriers.


Seven successive elections have been held in Ghana since 1992, most recently in 2016 when the country made a fourth attempt to embrace constitutional rule. A burgeoning literature provides explanations for the outcome of the 2016 election, which saw the defeat of the erstwhile incumbent National Democratic Congress and a landslide victory for the New Patriotic Party. Yet, little attention has been given to the various undercurrents, events, and significant background dynamics prior to the elections on 7 December. This research therefore provides a partially analytical but largely descriptive presentation of selected relevant issues that contributed to the build-up to the 2016 elections. The study situates the discourse within the broader context of Ghana's democratisation, revealing how underlying phenomena possibly pose a threat to, and challenge the prospects of democratic consolidation. However, the conclusion indicates that the outcome of elections, which were deemed free and fair, should not be the only area of interest as the processes that lead to the elections are of great concern for a democracy. The work identifies several areas of concern, in particular Ghana's electoral management, intra-party conflicts, unconventional aggression, vituperative outbursts and personal attacks, internal party elections, campaigns, how some chiefs violated a constitutional provision and outwardly portrayed partisanship, and brief issues concerning vote buying.


The phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway is a central mediator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-driven angiogenesis. The discovery of small molecule inhibitors that selectively target PI3K or PI3K and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) provides an opportunity to pharmacologically determine the contribution of these key signaling nodes in VEGF-A-driven tumor angiogenesis in vivo. This study used an array of micro-vascular imaging techniques to monitor the antivascular effects of selective class I PI3K, mTOR, or dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors in colorectal and prostate cancer xenograft models. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) angiography, dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI), vessel size index (VSI) MRI, and DCE ultrasound (DCE-U/S) were employed to quantitatively evaluate the vascular (structural and physiological) response to these inhibitors. GDC-0980, a dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitor, was found to reduce micro-CT angiography vascular density, while VSI MRI demonstrated a significant reduction in vessel density and an increase in mean vessel size, consistent with a loss of small functional vessels and a substantial antivascular response. DCE-MRI showed that GDC-0980 produces a strong functional response by decreasing the vascular permeability/perfusion-related parameter, K (trans). Interestingly, comparable antivascular effects were observed for both GDC-980 and GNE-490 (a selective class I PI3K inhibitor). In addition, mTOR-selective inhibitors did not affect vascular density, suggesting that PI3K inhibition is sufficient to generate structural changes, characteristic of a robust antivascular response. This study supports the use of noninvasive microvascular imaging techniques (DCE-MRI, VSI MRI, DCE-U/S) as pharmacodynamic assays to quantitatively measure the activity of PI3K and dual PI3K/mTOR inhibitors in vivo.


In a keynote address to the Teacher Training Agency Annual Conference, Professor David Hargreaves suggested that teaching could become an evidence-based profession if educational researchers were made more accountable to teachers. This systematic literature review set out to explore: how teachers use research; which features of research encourage teachers to use research findings in their own practice; whether medical practitioners make greater use of research findings than teachers; and approaches to dissemination. Two key ideas emerge from this review. First, there appear to be common barriers to research use in both medicine and in education. Findings suggest that there is a need to create a culture in the public sector which supports and values research. There are, however, a number of factors, which appear to be more specific to the education field. Key differences in the way that research knowledge is constructed in the social sciences has led to researchers being challenged about their findings, particularly in relation to the context, generalisability and validity of the research. For these reasons the development of communication networks, links between researchers and practitioners, and greater involvement of practitioners in the research process, have emerged as strategies for improving research impact.


The results of microvascular transfers of growing ulnas in puppy forelegs have been studied. These transfers were carried out both heterotopically and orthotopically. The growth in the revascularized bone grafts has been compared to that in heterotopic, nonvascularized ulna transfers and to normal ulnar growth. The growth in the vascularized bone grafts was significantly greater than in the nonvascularized grafts, but significantly less than in normal ulnar growth. A metaphyseal contribution to the blood supply of the growing portion of long bones is suggested.


Background/Aims Fibrinolytic therapy with tenecteplase has been proposed for patients with pulmonary embolism but the optimal dose is unknown. Higher-than-necessary dosing is likely to cause excess bleeding. We designed an adaptive clinical trial to identify the minimum and assumed safest dose of tenecteplase that maintains efficacy. Methods We propose a Bayesian adaptive, placebo-controlled, group-sequential dose-finding trial using response-adaptive randomization to preferentially allocate subjects to the most promising doses, dual analyses strategies (continuous and dichotomized) using a gatekeeping approach to maximize clinical impact, and interim stopping rules to efficiently address competing trial objectives. The operating characteristics of the proposed design were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation across multiple hypothetical efficacy scenarios. Results Simulation demonstrated response-adaptive randomization can preferentially allocate subjects to doses which appear to be performing well based on interim data. Interim decision-making, including the interim evaluation of both analysis strategies with gatekeeping, allows the trial to continue enrollment when success with the dichotomized analysis strategy appears sufficiently likely and to stop enrollment and declare superiority based on the continuous analysis strategy when there is little chance of ultimately declaring superiority with the dichotomized analysis. Conclusion The proposed design allows evaluation of a greater number of dose levels than would be possible with a non-adaptive design and avoids the need to choose either the continuous or the dichotomized analysis strategy for the primary endpoint.


The article is devoted to the study of three conceptual categories of accounting: stocks, costs and expenses, in their interrelation defined by the sequence in which they are presented in financial reporting in accordance with three stages of the capital cycle: procurement – production - sales. The problem caused by mixing up the information about the categories under study while presenting them in the financial reporting has been formulated. In particular, the complex item «inventory» includes both raw materials, materials, goods related to the procurement stage, and work-in-progress with finished products formed at the production stage. In order to overcome this problem, an assessment of the existing methodology for reflecting information about the concepts under study in financial statements has been given, and the need and directions for its improvement have been justified.


Abstract Phylogenetic relationships among Andean-Ecuadorian and other Neotropical populations of Anastrepha fraterculus and related species have been studied using two regions of mtDNA : 405 base pairs within Cytochrome Oxidase I ( COI) and 224 base pairs within Cytochrome Oxidase II (COII). Phylogenetic relationships were inferred using Maximun Parsimony (MP) method and haplotype networks. Andean-Ecuadorian populations of A. fraterculus are monomorphic at the COI locus and fall within a clade of South-American lowland populations of A. fraterculus. They appear to be unrelated with populations of northern Andes of Colombia and Venezuela also assigned to A. fraterculus, meaning that this species, as currently circumscribed, is not monophyletic and is composed of different biological entities that are little differentiated morphologically. At the COII locus, Andean-Ecuadorian populations of A. fraterculus show a major haplotype with a few variants, and form a clade with the lowland populations of southern Brazil an Argentina, but are clearly differentiated from them. Andean-Ecuadorian populations of Anastrepha fraterculus appear to be homogeneous with respect to their mitochondrial genome and thus their identity as members of a single gene pool is confirmed by these results.


Abstract : Since the end of Cold War in 1989, international crisis and conflict management have gained considerable importance. Worldwide soldiers have served together with civilian agencies in order to guarantee security, to develop economy, and to facilitate good governance. In Afghanistan, the experience of Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) raises the question of whether they might be a model for a new concept to deal with future security challenges in a "whole-of-government" approach. Using Afghanistan as a model, this monograph provides general information on the PRT model, its history and development and then compares the US, UK, and German execution of their PRTs in theater. The author compares several nation-building operations since 1945, the number of troops involved and operational duration, against the experience in Afghanistan. Further on, the author focuses on the following aspects: NATO has chosen to address the PRT concept as an innovative approach to building peace and security. It views itself as the organization to design a new strategy in nation building and as the forum to bring together governmental and nongovernmental players in an early stage of the crisis and conflict management. This view raises the question of whether this approach could lead the way towards a "Joint Transatlantic Nation-Building Task-Force".


The purpose of this descriptive correlational study was to compare graduates (N=188) of a specific rural associate degree nursing program who were successful on the initial attempt at National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) to graduates who were not, using admission and program criteria. Admission variables included age at admission to the nursing program, gender, ethnicity, parental education, high school rank, pre-admission GPA, Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores, ACT ® composite scores, and pre-admission science GPA. The program variables were the number of "C" grades in nursing courses and nursing course GPA. Students who passed the NCLEX-RN possessed statistically higher pre-admission GPAs (p=.011), nursing course GPAs (p=.000), and SAT verbal scores (p=.009), and had significantly fewer Cs in nursing courses (p=.000) than those who failed. Logistic regression model revealed that SAT verbal and nursing GPA significantly predicted NCLEX-RN success.


The antioxidant response element (ARE) is an essential component of upstream regulatory sequences present on genes for most phase II detoxification enzymes, including the glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit (GCLC). NF‐E2‐related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a principal transcription factor that binds to the ARE and plays a key role in cellular responses to stress via the Keap1‐Nrf2‐ARE pathway. However, the ARE that mediates human GCLC gene expression has not been found in the rat. Thus, how the ARE‐mediated Keap1‐Nrf2‐ARE pathway regulates glutathione homeostasis in the rat remains a puzzle. We have identified a putative ARE sequence ∼4 kb upstream in the rat GCLC. We further defined the rat GCLC‐ARE in the category with the most ARE characters, that is, this rat GCLC‐ARE is a sequence‐specific site that significantly enhances promoter activity in reporter genes. The rat GCLC‐ARE is an Nrf2‐mediated element to which binding has been demonstrated in nuclear extracts and induced by tert‐butylhydroquinone. Given the central role that rat models play in toxicology and pathology, this first discovery of the rat GCLC‐ARE enhancer similar to that found in the human gene has broad implications for the study of antioxidant defenses and their regulation in a number of different fields. J. Cell. Biochem. 107: 944–954, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Background Infliximab (IFX) potently suppresses ocular attacks in Behcet's disease (BD) with uveitis, resulting in favorable long-term visual prognosis. However, about one third of the patients had ocular attacks one or two weeks before the next IFX infusion, suggesting that the efficacy of IFX depends on the concentration. This study investigates IFX trough levels and antibody toward IFX (ATI) in BD patients receiving IFX and analyzes the relationship of the pharmacokinetics with clinical efficacy. Objectives To investigate effects of infliximab (IFX) trough levels and antibody toward IFX (ATI) on efficacy and adverse events in Behçet's disease (BD) patients receiving IFX. Methods A total of 161 BD patients who were or had been receiving IFX were enrolled (male 116, age 43.2±12.1 y.o.) from 10 institutes in Japan. The primary target was eye in 136 patients including 8 patients who previously discontinued IFX, intestine in 18, and CNS in 7. After initial boosting, IFX was given every 8 weeks but the interval was shortened when clinical efficacy was insufficient. The trough level was measured in sera from 123 patients with uveitis when 5mg/kg of IFX was administered with 5 to 8 week interval, whereas ATI was determined by ELISA in all patients. The patient conditions at sampling were divided into the symptomatic phase when the patients had any of symptoms due to BD except oral aphthae, and the asymptomatic phase when the patients were asymptomatic. Patients were classified into 5 groups according to physicians' global assessment of IFX efficacy for uveitis; Group A: very effective, B: effective, C: insufficient, D; ineffective, and E: discontinued the IFX. Results Mean serum IFX trough level was 5.1±6.1 mg/ml in 431 samples from 123 patients. The level was significantly lower in symptomatic phase (n=74, 2.5±5.3 μg/ml) than in the asymptomatic phase (n=357, 5.1±4.9μg/ml). ROC analysis determined the cut-off level was 0.93μg/ml. Patient-based analysis revealed that the trough level was lower in Group C+D than Group A and B, whereas administration interval was significantly shorter in Group B and C+D than Group A (Table). ATI(+) was found in 18 (11.2%) of all patients. The frequency was significantly higher in Group C+D and E than Group A and B (Table). Thus, unfavorable clinical responses were associated with low trough level and positive ATI. Muitivariate analysis using logistic regression model revealed association of therapeutic failure (Group C+D and E) with female, positive ATI, and infusion reaction (IR). Moreover, ATI was strongly associated with IR. We found that shortening administration intervals restored IFX level with clinical efficacy in 2 ATI positive patients, whereas switching to adalimumab was successful in 2 patients having serious IR. Group A B C+D E Other* Patients number 75 38 10 8 30 IFX trough (mg/ml) 4.2±4.4 5.4±5.7 1.3±3.3** IFX interval (week) 8.2±0.9 7.2±1.1** 6.8±1.5** ATI(+) 4 5 5 4 0 5% 13% 50%** 50%** 0%* Trough level was not determined.** Significant difference from Group A. Conclusions ATI is associated with reduced efficacy due to decreased IFX trough level, and IR. When IFX efficacy is reduced, shortening IFX administration intervals restores clinical efficacy in most of patients but other therapeutic option such as adalimumab is necessary in a part of the patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Energy infrastructure systems – including energy generation, transmission, and distribution systems – provide consumers with access to energy. Energy systems have been relatively static for several decades but due to recent technological changes such as development of new renewable energy sources, improved sensing and control, and increasingly effective storage technologies, energy systems and the corresponding socio-technical interactions are quickly changing and transitioning into new configurations. In addition, some of these technologies result in changes in consumer behaviour, causing a second-order effect, in turn, on energy systems themselves. The role of policymakers is to guide energy system transitions so as to achieve a certain desired goal. However, implementing an effective energy policy requires a detailed understanding of energy systems as complex socio-technical systems involving human behaviour and human-system interactions. A common approach to evaluate a policy is the use of a pilot study where a group of people in a certain representative geography are selected and the policy is tested in real-world circumstances. The downside of pilot studies is that they can be expensive, with costs up to millions of dollars, and it is impossible to evaluate more than a small handful of policy alternatives. The goal of this thesis is to provide energy system stakeholders with a tool to estimate and evaluate the potential impacts of new policies and technologies, guiding the transition of energy systems. To do so, we design and propose an alternative approach for evaluating energy policies: a data-driven agent-based modeling framework. While other system modeling techniques are known in the literature, Agent-Based Models (ABMs) have long been used to study socio-technical systems and they capture the emergent system properties resulting from the actions of adaptive and autonomous agents. In addition, we propose the concept of an energy agent suited for modeling energy systems with ABMs. Using this framework, we have studied the impact of different policies on the adoption of solar panels and batteries in Ontario, Canada, as well as the adoption of electric cars in San Francisco and Los Angeles, California. We also study the response of Ontario residents to Time-of-Use (ToU) electricity pricing, comparing different pricing policies. For each study, we make policy recommendations based on our results.


The main source of power dissipation for dynamic CMOS circuits is due to charging and discharging of intrinsic capacitances, commonly referred to as switching power. As switching power dissipation is proportional to the square of supply voltage, lowering the supply voltage is the most effective way to reduce switching power dissipation. However, the reduction of switching power by lowering the supply voltage takes place at the cost of performance. In order to maintain the performance, it is necessary to scale down the threshold voltage. But, as the threshold voltage is scaled down, the subthreshold leakage current increases dramatically, leading to a large increase in leakage power dissipation. Recent research has revealed that with the gradual shrinking of device sizes, the leakage power dissipation is becoming more and more dominant, and it is likely to become comparable to switching power dissipation in future generation VLSI circuits. This has motivated us to develop suitable techniques for the reduction of leakage power dissipation in dynamic CMOS circuits, a problem which has not been addressed by any researcher. This paper proposes a technique for containing the leakage power using two threshold voltages (dual-V/sub T/) in the realization of circuits. Necessary care has been taken such that the dual-V/sub T/ dynamic circuits can be kept in standby mode and dissipate small leakage power. Substantial reduction in leakage power has been demonstrated without compromise in performance for both domino and nora style of realizations.


In this paper, the long-term performance of highway embankment using tire shred-sandy soil mixture as a lightweight fill material was evaluated through the field monitoring and field test programs. A tire shred-sandy soil embankment was constructed to support a four-lane highway in Indiana, which was built with a 50 : 50 volumetric ratio of tire shreds (maximum particle dimension of 76 ㎜) and sandy soil (SP, USCS). After opening of the road for traffic, no noticeable differential settlement and lateral deformation were observed, and no adverse environmental impact on temperature was detected as a result of the construction of the tire shred-sandy soil embankment. Moreover, FWD test results showed that tire shred-sandy soil mixture provides bearing capacity comparable to that of conventional fill and meets the criterion for a design life of 20 years.


The Impact of English in Rimbaud's Poems Studies of Rimbaud's use of English terms tend to concentrate on their meaning, rather than on the immediate linguistic and thematic contexts in which they appear. Such a study reveals analogies configured around the notion of voyance, the diabolism of the arts, the expression of conflict, and the problem of the relation between singularity or unity and plurality.


Selective elimination of the Enterobacteriaceae species from the microflora of pregnant rabbits was achieved by the use of nalidixic acid and cotrimoxazole. Animals born under Enterobacteriaceae-free conditions remained so as long as adequate isolation conditions were maintained.


Background/Aims: It is possible that carnosinase (CNDP1) and cellular nonspecific dipeptidase (CNDP2) have important roles in protecting cells and tissues against the damage of oxidative stress. Oxidative stress and subsequent inflammation are key factors in the development of common chronic metabolic diseases, such as obesity. We aimed to investigate the combined effects of genetic variations in CNDP1 and CNDP2 and dietary carbohydrate and carotene intake on obesity risk. Methods: A total of 1,059 Japanese men were randomly selected from participants who visited a medical center for routine medical checkups. We analyzed the relationships between the genotypes of 4 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs12605520, rs7244647, rs4891558, and rs17089368) in the CNDP1/CNDP2 locus and body mass index or prevalence of obesity/overweight taking into account dietary carbohydrate and carotene intake. Results: We found that 2 SNPs (rs7244647 in CNDP1 and rs4891558 in CNDP2) were associated with obesity risk. In addition, these associations were observed only in the group with high carbohydrate and low carotene intake but not in the group with low carbohydrate and high carotene intake. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the combination of genetic variations in CNDP1 and CNDP2 and dietary carbohydrate/carotene intake modulate obesity risk.


Allegations of emotional maltreatment pose a challenge for child welfare systems, partially because state statutes tend to use vague definitions. In this study, the relationship between statutory definitions and reported rates of emotional maltreatment was examined. Using data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS), comparisons were made of the rates of emotional maltreatment in broad versus narrow state statutes. Results indicated that states with broad statutes had higher rates of both alleged and substantiated emotional maltreatment, although only in cases where emotional maltreatment was the sole type of reported abuse. The results buttress the argument that definitions of emotional maltreatment suffer from a lack of clarity and consistency across the United States.


Background: Thyroid autoimmunity is the most prevalent autoimmune disorder among women of reproductive age and has been suggested as a risk factor in recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) - a condition in which couples suffer several consecutive pregnancy losses, but where a cause can be identified in less than half of the cases. Most studies have focused on thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAbs), not considering the presence of thyroglobulin antibodies (TgAbs). The aim of this study was to systematically assess the prevalence of TgAb-positivity in women with RPL, and whether TgAb-positivity was associated with the outcome of the next pregnancy. Methods: A systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase (from inception to April 29th, 2023) was performed for studies reporting on TgAbs in women with RPL. The primary outcome was TgAb-positivity in RPL women compared to women without RPL, with a secondary outcome of association between TgAb-positivity and the outcome of the next pregnancy. Pooled effect estimates were expressed as odd ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) using a random-effects model. The study was registered with PROSPERO (no. CRD42022310232) and adhered to PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of 770 studies were screened, 28 of which could be included reporting data from a total of 6868 women. The prevalence of TgAb-positivity in women with RPL ranged from 3.6% to 28% compared to 2.4 to 29% in women without RPL. The OR for TgAb-positivity was 1.93 (95% CI: 1.27 to 2.92; I2 = 63%) compared to women without RPL, and for TgAbs and/or TPOAbs 2.66 (95% CI: 1.75 to 4.0; I2 = 69%). Four studies reported on the outcome of the next pregnancy after antibody-measurement with highly heterogenous results (OR for pregnancy loss ranging from 0.99 in one to 10.0 in the other study, and two studies reported no data eligible for meta-analysis). Consequently, a meta-analysis could not be performed. Conclusions: Women with RPL were significantly more often TgAb-positive than women without RPL. Although there was a lack of studies reporting prospective outcomes, the findings of this study support the significance of awareness about the strong association between RPL and thyroid autoimmunity.


Dogs were immunized by tetanic anatoxin. Eight series of antitetanic immunoglobulin with the antitoxin activity from 100.10(3) IU/l to 700.10(3) IU/l were produced from blood plasma. That immunoglobulin was used to study passive and active-passive immunization for tetanus prophylaxis and treatment in the strictly allogenic system.


Abstract An individual's fitness is assumed to be maximised through early dispersal and independent breeding. However, offspring across a diversity of taxonomic groups delay dispersal and remain with at least one of their parents after reaching sexual maturity. Delayed dispersal and resulting family living are expected to arise when constraints exist on independent reproduction and where offspring benefit by remaining philopatric. A first step to elucidating the nature of such constraints and benefits for a given species is to have an understanding of the social organisation and habitat preferences of a species. The present study examined the social organisation, foraging preferences and characteristics of preferred foraging areas during a breeding season in the cooperatively breeding Chestnut-crowned Babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps). During the study, groups of Babblers bred plurally in breeding units of two to 13 adults that occupied non-exclusive home-ranges averaging 38 ha, with larger groups occupying larger ranges. Babblers spent most of the day foraging, mostly on the ground, and preferred to forage within drainage zones. The preference for such zones probably arose because they offered both greater vegetative cover from aerial predators and biomasses of potential prey. These findings lead to the prediction that the availability of drainage zones within a group's range will influence offspring dispersal decisions in Chestnut-crowned Babblers at the site studied.


Recognizing one's own playfulness is important for early childhood education (ECE) teachers, who are responsible for organizing and implementing child-initiated pedagogy in ECE centers. Playfulness research has focused on children's play and playfulness in workplaces, but playfulness as a part of ECE teachers' pedagogical and adaptive expertise is rarely studied. Using multiple playfulness and innovativeness instruments, first- and third-year pre-service ECE teachers' (n = 208) self-reported playfulness and inquisitiveness was examined. Correlation coefficients and Student t-tests were performed to examine the connections between playfulness, the facets of playfulness, and inquisitiveness, also between the first- and third-year pre-service ECE teachers. The results of the study show that playfulness, the facets of playfulness and inquisitiveness are connected. The results also show that although there were no statistically significant differences among the first- and third-year pre-service ECE teachers' playfulness and inquisitiveness, they had different orientations towards playfulness. Additional research is needed to explore how in-service teachers and pre-service teachers can learn playfulness and inquisitiveness as a part of their pedagogical expertise. The results are implementable for designing, developing and evaluating ECE teacher education.


The purpose of this research was to examine how non-mandatory municipal environmental work is carried out. What drives certain municipalities to be more active than others, and what works as barriers? It was also of interest to understand if the mandatory work could influence, trigger or hinder other environmental goals and ideas. Further, the research looked to identify some characteristics that differentiate an active municipality from a passive one in order to understand what stops all municipalities from being equally active.

These general questions were condensed into two research questions:

What are the triggering factors for the enabling of active municipality environmental work? What are the barriers when it comes to active municipality environmental work?

The questions were researched for interconnectivity as well as for individual answers.

The research identified a number of triggering factors that can enable active environmental work within municipalities. The foremost factors are prime movers, influential persons whether they are politicians, civil servants or any other stakeholders, and the organizations in which they operate. Other strong triggers include interest groups and their influence and the threat of bad will.

A number of barriers were also identified, such as economy, organizational structure and negative stakeholder pressure.

It also turned out that the triggers and barriers were indeed interconnected and somewhat dependent on one another. One such instance was LIP money which has bridged the gap between the need for municipalities to be environmentally active and the lack of economy or organizational will to free funds for the needed work. The LIP money made it hard for decision makers to refuse projects in the beginning since they actually brought funds into the system and the municipality could bring working hours into the deal.


The collection or generation of spatial data is often the result of a significant investment of time, money and labour. As a result, compilations of spatial data have been routinely treated as a form of property. The propertization of data allows an owner to construct fences around the data so as to exclude unauthorized uses. There have been significant debates over access to and use of spatial data resources, particularly those that are in the hands of governments. Many (though not all) governments assert intellectual property rights over their data, and do so as a means of control. The open data movement has pushed for a relinquishment of this control, and this has resulted in the release of government datasets under licenses that contain few if any restrictions. The rapidly evolving data landscape and the ways in which the data revolution is changing both the delivery of government services and the kind and quantity of data generated by these services are poised to transform how ownership of and access to data is negotiated between data owners and data users. In the context of public services, ownership and control issues will be complicated by the presence of private sector companies who partner in the collection and generation of data. This chapter considers the interrelationship between claims to property rights in data and rights to access and use that data in a rapidly changing data environment.


PURPOSE
To evaluate the functional and anatomical outcomes of 23-gauge or 25-gauge pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and air tamponade for the treatment of myopic foveoschisis.

METHODS
Retrospective, noncomparative, interventional case series. The records of 29 patients (32 eyes), with myopic foveoschisis who were treated by 23-gauge or 25-gauge 3-port pars plana vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and air tamponade, were reviewed. At each visit, a complete ophthalmic examination, intraocular pressure, best-corrected visual acuity, and central foveal thickness measured using optical coherence tomography were assessed.

RESULTS
Twenty-five eyes of 23 patients (M:F = 4:19) matched the inclusion criteria, whereas 7 eyes of 6 patients were excluded. The mean logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution best-corrected visual acuity (Snellen equivalent) was 0.62 (20/80) (SE: 0.061), and the mean preoperative central foveal thickness was 619.5 µm (SE: 16.38) at baseline. Visual acuity significantly improved of 5 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters (45 letters) at the 1-month follow-up (P < 0.001), 2 lines (50 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters) at the 6-month follow-up (P < 0.001), and it reached 55 Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study letters at the 1-year follow-up visit (P < 0.001). Central foveal thickness decreased to 292.4 µm (SE: 15.93), to 227.3 µm (SE: 14.05), and to 208.8 µm (SE: 12.86), respectively, at the 1-, 6-, and 12-month follow-ups (for each P < 0.001). There were no differences in best-corrected visual acuity or central foveal thickness changes between the foveal detachment group and the nonfoveal detachment group (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION
Small-gauge vitrectomy with internal limiting membrane peeling and air tamponade results in favorable anatomical and functional outcomes for patients affected by myopic macular foveoschisis.


Summary A simple but reliable type of drainage lysimeter was used to measure evaporation rates from lucerne and wheat and these were compared with calculated estimates of evaporation. Plant height was found to have an important effect on the amount of water lost from a plant cover, which also varied between two different species of crop of similar heights. Using two different soil types, maintained at a high moisture status, the rate of water loss was not influenced by the type of soil in which the plants were grown.


The brain responds to macronutrients via intricate mechanisms. We review how the brain's neural systems implicated in homeostatic control of feeding and hedonic responses are influenced by the ingestion of specific types of food. We discuss how these neural systems are dysregulated in preclinical models of obesity. Findings from these studies can increase our understanding of overeating and, perhaps in some cases, the development of obesity. In addition, a greater understanding of the neural circuits affected by the consumption of specific macronutrients, and by obesity, might lead to new treatments and strategies for preventing unhealthy weight gain.


This paper reports the results of an empirical investigation of hysteresis in the unemployment rate using Australian data for 1966(3)-88(4). It is found that there is not hysteresis in the strict sense of the irrelevance of the natural unemployment rate although there is strong evidence of insider power in the wage-fixing process. There is no evidence that the Accord changed the extent of the influence of insider power on wage setting. Copyright 1992 by The Economic Society of Australia.


Solid pseudo-papillary epithelial neoplasm (SPEN), also known Hamoudi tumors or Franz tumors, are rare pancreatic neoplasm which are almost always seen in young women predominately of non-Caucasian descent with only a small minority of cases diagnosed in men [1]. The first published description of an SPN was by Frantz in 1959[2]. . It is a rare tumor comprising of less than 3 percent of all pancreatic tumor. It is seen most often in the region of tail of pancreas. This tumor is mostly asymptomatic and usually detected when it reaches large size. These are tumors with low malignant potential and rarely vascular invasion and metastatic disease can be seen in aggressive cases. Here we report two cases, one each of benign SPEN and malignant SPEN with contrasting imaging findings and polar outcomes.


Increasingly, prison drug treatment is introduced in European prisons. This increase may begin to change the prison as officers and drug counsellors are given new occupational responsibilities. Based on six month of observational studies and qualitative interviews with 104 prison employees in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway in 12 prisons, this article investigates the practices and values of drug counsellors and officers. This shows that increasingly, counsellors integrate the control and disciplinary sanctions of the prison environment into their treatment approach. Simultaneously, officers working in drug treatment wings highlight the importance of the treatment ethos in their control work, adjusting the social representations of their professional identities accordingly. We discuss whether the concepts of treatment and control should be rethought.


. In the paper, design flow of the application specific logic controllers with increased safety by means of Petri nets is proposed. The controller architecture is based on duplicated control unit and comparison results from both units. One specification of control algorithm is used by means of Petri net for both units. The hardware duplication is obtained during dual synthesis process. This process uses two different logic synthesis methods to obtain two different hardware configurations for both control units. Additionally, the dual verification is applied to increase reliability of the control algorithm. Such design flow simplifies the process of realization of control systems with increased safety.


Background: Disease prevalence has been documented in many professions across the world with varying prevalence rates. Studies have been done on disease prevalence among nurses, market women and traders, however, little is found on disease prevalence among the civil servants working at the Ministries in Ghana.
Objectives:

To determine the disease prevalence among Ghanaian civil servants who patronize the civil service polyclinic, Accra.
To determine the age distribution of disease prevalence among civil servants at the Ministries.
To determine the gender distribution of disease prevalence among civil servants at the Ministries.

Study design: Aretrospective study design was used for this study.
Methods: Records of civil servants were reviewed from the data storage system of the civil service polyclinic from January 2014 to December 2017. A sample size of 135 records was found eligible and included in the study as appropriate.
Results: Out of a total of 135 sampled for the study, 56.3% were females, and 43.7% were males. The ages of the sampled population ranged from 27 to 70 years with a mean age of 52 years. Hypertension was more prevalent among the civil servants' with a record of36.4%, followed by diabetes mellitus accounting for 19.1%. Prevalence of hypertension and diabetes were higher in females (59.3%) than in males (40.7%) and also increased with increasing age.
Conclusion: Hypertension and diabetes are more prevalent among Ghanaian civil servants at the Ministries who patronize the civil service polyclinic. Preventive measures aimed at curbing high incidence rate of above conditions are advised


The authors investigated the association between doping agents (mostly anabolic-androgenic steroids) and involvement in violence and experience of violent victimization in Oslo, Norway. The sample consisted of 10,828 adolescents aged 14 to 17 years. Of the adolescents, 11.5% had been offered doping agents and 1.8% had used doping agents. When confounding variables were controlled for, there was an association between exposure to doping agents and own violence for both genders, but use of doping agents had no additional effect. The same pattern was found with regard to victimization. However, when only the most serious victimization episodes were considered, increased risk for users of doping among boys but not girls was found. Doping agents may serve as a marker of a violent subculture more than being a causal factor in the etiology of violence. However, use of doping agents may also result in a big appearance in male users, which may make them a target for youth violence.


According to S. Kott, there are two ways to understand working groups in Honecker's GDR: as a way of regimenting the citizens, or as a way for them to access a protected space in order to assert their social demands. Both visions however are biased, in the sense that they presuppose the existence if an autonomous social body crushed by an independent political power. Thus, Kott asks the question of the means by which political power may take roots in the "social nexus" through the work groups. First of all, she brings out how the work group movement was built up gradually in response to political objectives, and then highlights the limits of their capacity to mobilize. She finally stresses the importance of their role in the control and discipline of citizens.


Anisotropy dispersion of rare earth constituents, and canting between rare earth and transition metal subnetworks were used to explain the recording characteristics of (Dy,Tb)FeCo magneto-optical recording films. Through the quantitative measurements and mean field calculations of the exchange coupling coefficient λ, we have found that the higher λ is, the higher required bias field will be during recording. Therefore, the recording characteristics of ferrimagnetic and sperimagnetic films can be determined and further improved through careful characterization of λ of magneto-optical media.


Fertilizer subsidies are again part of the policy agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa since the 1990s. Governments spend large shares of their agricultural budgets and their means to fight poverty on such programmes, but economists formulated doubts whether these investments will pay off. This paper reviews the existing literature on effects of fertilizer subsidies in Zambia, presents an analytical framework on input subsidies and compares the empirical evidence to the goals of the fertilizer subsidy. Major findings are that the subsidy programme has failed to substantially reduce poverty and to improve food security via decreased maize prices. Farm incomes have increased moderately, but the overall costs exceed the benefits by far. Reasons for this are identified as poor targeting, diversion and leakage. The paper concludes with a review of policy recommendations, mainly focused on improved targeting and diversification away from pure fertilizer subsidies.


On Logical Foundations of Probability Theory.- Asymptotic deficiencies of estimators for pooled samples from the same distribution.- On the use of alternating kernels in nonparametric statistical estimation.- Differential geometry of statistical inference.- On the asymptotic behaviour of the tails of infinitely divisible distribution laws.- Rate of convergence in invariance principle in linear spaces. Application to empirical measures.- On the rate of convergence in invariance principle.- Spectral properties of GNS-hamiltonian in quasi-free state.- Martingale ideology in the theory of controlled stochastic processes.- Invariant measures for homeomorphisms with almost weak specification.- A criterion of the uniqueness of gibbsian fields in the non-compact case.- Stationary and Markov policies in countable state dynamic programming.- Capacitary maximal inequalities and an ergodic theorem.- On the estimate of the rate of convergence in the law of iterated logarithm.- On the pathwise uniqueness Of solutions of stochastic integral equations driven by martingales.- Spectral theory of nonself-adjoint random matrices.- Transmission of "television type" signals through a feedback channel.- On limit theorems for a random number of random variables.- On contiguity and weak convergence of probability measures.- On asymptotic efficiency in the presence of an infinitedimensional nuisance parameter.- Applications of a stochastic inequality to two-dimensional ising and widom-rowlinson models.- Central limit theorem for a simple interacting diffusion model and s'-valued processes.- Bounds for generalized uncertainty of the shift parameter.- Conjugate sets of self-similar Gaussian random fields.- Regularization of linear random functionals.- The analysis of continuity of queueing systems.- Convergence rates in Erdos-Kac type invariance principle for some stationary sequences.- Markov processes associated with pseudo-differential operators.- On embeddings of subshifts of finite type.- Approximations of deviation fields of some nonparametic statistical estimates by gaussian fields, invariance principles.- Classical limit theorems for dependent random sequences having moment conditions.- Analytical methods of pasting together of diffusion processes.- Limit theorems for Markov random evolutions in the scheme of asymptotic state lumping.- Limit theorems of hypoelliptic diffusion processes.- On necessary and sufficient conditions for the convergence of semimartingales.- Limit behaviour of solutions of stochastic diffusion equations when the convergence of the coefficients is non-regular.- The phase separations in nearest neighbour interacting system composed of four types of particles.- The Malliavin calculus and the hypoellipticity of second order degenerate elliptic differential operators.- Second order availability and positive solutions of the Schrodinger equation.- On the problem of "predictable" criteria of contiguity.- Lower bounds for an average number of sequentially designed experiments.- The asymptotical distribution of quadratic deviation of an estimate of the regression surface.- Almost sure uniform convergence of continuous stochastic processes with values in the dual of a nuclear space.- Common approach to studying the probability of large and small deviations for random walks.- On accuracy of normal approximation for distribution of sum of independent Hilbert space valued random variables.- On a classification of pl-homeomorphisms of a circle.- On a 2-dimensional [?, ?, ?]-langevin equation.- Levy's Brownian motion and total positivity.- Asymptotic properties of symmetric Levy process expectations and spectral distributions of integro-differential operators with random potentials.- Homogenization of diffusion processes with random stationary coefficients.- Conditional expectation and repeated measurements of continuous quantum observables.- "Two and many-armed bandit" problems with infinite horizon.- Stationary processes of ornstein-uhlenbeck type.- Extension of outer measures and measures.- On the rate of convergence of moments in the central limit theorem in Hilbert space.- On the convergence of densities of sums of independent ramdom vectors.- Maximum likelihood estimation under a wrong model.- Fundamental solutions of stochastic partial differential equations arising in nonlinear filtering theory.- Some stability theorems for characterizations of probability distributions.- Monotonicity of positive partial sums of independent random variables.- Invariance principle for the processes with semi-markov switch-overs with an arbitrary state space.- Statistical inference with a minimal d-risk.- The classes of distribution families with the lower bound of fisher information and its meaning in the statistical estimation.- Strong ratio limit theorems.- Final probabilities of ergodic Markov processes.- On infinitely divisible OS-positive random fields.- Observable chaos and variational principle formalism for one dimensional maps.- On orbit-equivalence of non-singular flows.- A note on the weak convergence of solutions of certain stochastic ordinary differential equations.- Stochastic flows of diffeomorphisms.- Absolute continuity of operator selfdecomposable distributions on R2.- Generalized ergodic inequalities and ergodic theorems.- Lag window estimates of the spectral density.


All 54 kidneys obtained from heart-beating cadavers functioned when preserved by a brief washout using a hypothermic, hyperosmolar, hyperkalemic perfusate, followed by cold storage. The duration of preservation ranged from two hours and 57 minutes to 39 hours and 47 minutes. Two other kidneys retrieved from a nonheart-beating cadaver and preserved by the same technique failed to function because of irreversible acute tubular necrosis. Fifty-six consecutive transplant patients were divided into four groups according to the period of preservation. There was no correlation between graft rejection, frequency of post-transplant dialysis, long term graft function and survival time, when the duration of preservation was less than 24 hours. The advantages of this technique included technical simplicity, low cost, minimal risk of graft infection and easy transportation. The two primary disadvantages were an apparent 24 to 30 hour limit of organ preservation with prompt function and the inability to determine intrarenal perfusion pressure during preservation, thereby missing an important parameter of graft viability.


The report deals with the control of the positions and velocities of high-speed vehicles in a single guideway. It is assumed that each and every train measures its position and velocity every T seconds. The appropriate accelerations or decelerations to be applied to each vehicle are constrained to be constant during the sampling interval. Through the use of a control costs functional, which penalizes the system for any deviations from the desired headway and velocity, the required control accelerations and decelerations are obtained by deriving the system equations in discrete-time and, through the use of available results in the theory of discrete optimal control, the optimal linear time-invariant sampled-data feedback control system is determined. The general results, as well as the general purpose digital computer programs, are presented and are used to study the effect of changing the sampling time T upon the control-system performance. Since, in general, the cost of the communication system (in terms of required channel capacity, bandwidth, etc.) decreases with increasing values of the sampling time, the system designer has the capability of conducting trade-off studies involving the deterioration of the control system performance vs. the decrease in the cost of communication as the sampling time is increased. (Author)


Data Mining is justify technique used to extract, which means full information from mountain information and clustering is a crucial task in data mininging process which can be used for the aim to make groups or clusters of the particular given information set that's predicated on the similarity between them. K-Means cluster may well be a cluster procedure throughout that the given info set is split into K i.e. type of clusters. The impact issue of kmeans is its simplicity, high efficiency and quality. However, is additionally contains of type of limitations: random selection of initial centroids, type of cluster K got to be initialized and influence by outliers. visible of these deficiencies, our planned approach of an Improved innovative Center using K-means cluster rule and proposed algorithm enhancements to traditional k-means to handle such limitations which we are able to compare K-means clump rule with varied clump rule. Increase accuracy of the perform cluster new technique are going to be planned to with efficiency cluster the functions consistent with their importance. Keyword — Data mining, clustering algorithm, EFCA