The purpose of this study is to investigate how well model observer can correlate with human observer in the lesion detection and localization task when the location of lesion is uncertain in CT imaging. A 35 × 26 cm oblong-shaped water phantom was scanned with and without two cylindrical rods (3 mm and 5 mm diameters) to simulate lesions with - 15HU contrast. Scans were repeated 100 times with the rods and 100 times without for each of 4 dose levels. Signal and background images were generated by selecting ROIs with 128x128 pixels, with the location of signal in each ROI randomly distributed. Human observer studies were conducted as three medical physicists identified the presence or absence of lesion, indicated the lesion location in each image and scored confidence level with a 6-point scale. ROC curves were fitted and area under curve (AUC) was calculated. The same data set was also analyzed using a Channelized Hottelling model observer with Gabor channels. Internal noise was added to the test variables for model observer study. AUC of ROC and LROC curves were calculated using non-parametric approach. The performance of human observer and model observer was compared. The Peason's product-moment correlation coefficients were 0.994 and 0.998 for 3mm and 5mm diameter lesions in ROC analysis and 0.987 and 0.999 in LROC analysis, indicating that model observer performance was highly correlated with the human observer performance for different size of lesions and different dose levels when signal location is uncertain. These results provide the potential of using model observer that correlates with human observer to assess CT image quality, optimize scanning protocol and reduce radiation dose.


Abstract We study the dynamics of a singular holomorphic vector field at $(\mathbb{C}^{2},0)$. Using the associated flow and its pullback to the blow-up manifold, we provide invariants relating the vector field, a non-invariant analytic branch of curve, and the deformation of this branch by the flow. This leads us to study the conjugacy classes of singular branches under the action of holomorphic flows. In particular, we show that there exists an analytic class that is not complete, meaning that there are two elements of the class that are not analytically conjugated by a local biholomorphism embedded in a one-parameter flow. Our techniques are new and offer an approach dual to the one used classically to study singularities of holomorphic vector fields.


In the field of spin caloritronics, knowledge of the magnon temperature is crucial. We investigate the temperature sensing capabilities of Brillouin light scattering (BLS), a technique which is commonly used in studying magnons. The magnon BLS spectra are characterized by three parameters: peak frequency, linewidth, and integrated intensity, each of which can be used for temperature sensing. The BLS spectra of magnons in both an insulator (yttrium iron garnet or YIG) and a metal (permalloy $\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{i}}_{80}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{20}$ or Py) are measured at different temperatures as the sample is uniformly heated. Unexpectedly, we find the temperature dependence of the BLS integrated intensity is opposite between YIG and Py. The mechanisms contributing to the temperature dependence of the three BLS spectra parameters are discussed and the temperature precision of each parameter is determined.


[1] We propose an algorithm to invert self-potential signals measured at the ground surface of the Earth to localize hydromechanical disturbances or to the pattern of groundwater flow in geothermal systems. The self-potential signals result from the divergence of the streaming current density. Groundwater flow can be either driven by topography of the water table, free convection, or deformation of the medium. The algorithm includes the electrical resistivity distribution of the medium obtained independently by DC resistance tomography or electromagnetic methods or by coding the assumed geology in terms of distribution of the electrical resistivity accounting for the effect of the temperature and salinity distributions and possibly constraints from borehole measurements. Inversion of the distribution of the source current density from ground surface and borehole self-potential measurements is achieved by solving the inverse problem using Tikhonov regularization solutions that are compatible with the physics of the primary flow problem. By introducing assumptions regarding the smoothness or the compactness of the source and the three-dimensional distribution of the electrical resistivity of the system, the inverse problem can be solved in obtaining the three-dimensional distribution of the current source density in the ground. However, an annihilator can be added to the inverted source geometry without affecting the measured self-potential field. Annihilators can be obtained from boundary conditions. Synthetic models and a sandbox experiment are discussed to demonstrate the validity of the algorithm. An application is presented to the geothermal field of Cerro Prieto, Baja California, Mexico, using literature data. Inversion of the self-potential and resistivity data allows observing a plume of hot groundwater rising to the ground surface in the central part of the investigated area and discharging to the ground surface in the southwest part. The temperature anomaly associated with the existence of this plume is independently observed by interpolating borehole temperature measurements. We found a good agreement between the distribution of the temperature and the inverted source current density. The proposed method appears therefore as a noninvasive method for remote detection and three-dimensional mapping of subsurface groundwater flow.


Restrictive distribution arrangements result from agreements between suppliers and reseller-buyers of merchandise in which one of the parties or both of them accept limitations on the scope of managerial discretion with respect to certain marketing practices, such as the selection of sales territories, customers, products, or prices. Restrictive arrangements differ greatly in form and substance and in the particular marketing contexts in which they are applied. The purpose of this paper is to develop through economic analysis a framework for assessing the impact of such arrangements, particularly those having to do with customers and territories, on market competition. Within this framework, we then develop and illustrate a standard for identifying those restrictive arrangements that are compatible with a pro-competitive public policy.' Restrictive distribution arrangements are intermediate forms of vertical market control, between the extremes of no control (independent dealings) and complete control (vertical integration). Neither the economic impact nor the public policy status of such arrangements has been fully articulated, and at the present time vertical marketing relationships of all sorts are undergoing economic, legal, and legislative scrutiny.' Vertical price agreements are, of course, currently regarded as illegal


The dynamics of ancient Judah's economy are among the most important but also neglected and least understood, aspects of ancient Israel's history. The essays in this volume address this gap from a multidisciplinary perspective, involving archeology, biblical studies, economics, epigraphy, ancient history, Jewish studies, and theology. The essays focus on particular issues in the economy of ancient Judah and its neighbors during the late monarchy and the Neo-Babylonian, Persian, and Hellenistic periods. Some evaluate the theoretical models used to understand the inner workings of ancient agrarian economies, while others explore rural economies, the forces of regeneration and degeneration in particular regions, the settlement histories of different areas, and the exploitation of depopulated land in Judah and Idumea. Essays in the volume also address population growth, urbanization, the role of diverse temple towns (such as Babylon and Jerusalem) in regional market economies, the literary portrayal of patron–client relationships, symmetrical and asymmetrical relations in international trade, and the views of urban elites toward agrarian economic developments. Others discuss family economics—policies of reproduction, gender roles, family size, and household hierarchies—in Judah and ancient Persia. Many of the essays appearing in this volume were originally delivered as papers in special sessions devoted to these topics at annual meetings of the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies and the European Association of Biblical Studies. The scholars participating in this international project conduct their research at institutions in Canada, Germany, Israel, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United States.


The importance of early detection and intervention for psychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, is beginning to attract attention based on the results of imaging and psychosocial studies. Unfortunately, Japan still lags markedly behind Western countries and Australia in respect of early detection and intervention. We conducted a collaborative questionnaire survey of mental health among junior and senior high school students, and found that education on psychiatric disorders is not provided in schools and that the detection of these disorders is delayed due to the lack of awareness and accurate information. Early detection and treatment of psychiatric disorders takes more time than regular outpatient care, and an early psychosis outpatient clinic was established at our institution as a special outpatient clinic. The early psychosis outpatient clinic managed by me cannot be involved in visiting schools to carry out educational activities due to manpower problems and other reasons. However, through individual cases, I am aware that cooperation with schools is as important as cooperation with patients' families, not only to treat psychiatric symptoms, but also to check whether students are viewed with discomfort by classmates due to adverse effects of treatment, such as extrapyramidal symptoms. My aim is to improve the mental health of as many children as possible through future activities.


RppA is a type III polyketide synthase (PKS) that catalyzes condensation of five molecules of malonyl-CoA to form 1,3,6,8-tetrahydroxynaphthalene (THN). In Streptomyces antibioticus IFO13271 and several other Streptomyces species, an open reading frame, named momA, is present as a neighbor of rppA. MomA belonged to the "cupin" superfamily because it contained a set of two motifs that is responsible for binding one equivalent of metal ions. MomA catalyzed monooxygenation of the THN produced from malonyl-CoA by the action of RppA to form flaviolin. In addition, it used several polyketides as substrates and formed the corresponding quinones. MomA required redox-active transition metal ions (Ni2+, Cu2+, Fe3+, Fe2+, Mn2+, and Co2+) for its activity, whereas it was inhibited by a redox-inert transition metal ion (Zn2+). MomA neither possessed any flavin prosthetic group nor required nicotinamide cofactors for monooxygenation, which shows that MomA as a member of the cupin superfamily is a novel monooxygenase. Consistent with the catalytic property of MomA, WhiE-ORFII showing similarity in amino acid sequence to MomA and containing a cupin domain also catalyzed monooxygenation of THN. whiE-ORFII is located immediately upstream of the "minimal PKS" gene within the whiE type II PKS gene cluster for biosynthesis of a gray spore pigment in Streptomyces coelicolor A3(2), and a number of whiE-ORFII homologues are present in the biosynthetic gene cluster for polyketides of type II in various Streptomyces species. These findings show that a novel class of quinone-forming monooxygenases is involved in modification of aromatic polyketides synthesized by PKSs of types II and III.


Incomplete contingency tables have cells with no observations. When empty cells are predicted on the basis of theory or characteristics of the population, the cells have structural zeros. When empty cells occur from deficiencies in sampling, the cells have sampling zeros. While the analytic consequences of structural zeros are usually benign, the consequences arising from sampling zeros are often not so. The primary problem is deterioration in the accuracy of the G2 and χ2 approximations for testing the fit of loglinear models. Under these conditions, various strategies can be used to improve model testing.

Keywords:

loglinear models;
generalized likelihood ratio statistic;
chi-squared distribution;
exact methods;
contingency tables


Road traffic congestion constitutes a parameter that significantly affects quality of life in modern cities, while it has a direct impact on the environmental pollution. Optimizing the traffic flows would bring considerable and multi-aspect gains. In this light, this paper proposes an intelligent traffic management system for the provision of a dynamic, in real-time fleet navigation service at large scale. The framework collects all available contextual information generated "on the road" and uses a multi-layer, distributed, hierarchical middleware, for optimizing traffic flows in a cellular fashion. The framework enables also the provision of other value-added services, while it puts special care on the issue of protecting personal privacy.


The main objective of the research was to examine the associations between problematic alcohol use, tobacco use and cannabis use among Czech and Slovak university students during the early COVID-19 pandemic. The research sample consisted of 1422 participants from the Czech Republic (CZ) and 1677 from the Slovak Republic (SK). The analyses included university students who drank alcohol in the past year (CZ: 1323 (93%); SK: 1526 (91%)). Regarding the analysed measures, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and its subscales, the Glover-Nilsson Smoking Behavioral Questionnaire (GN-SBQ) and the Cannabis Abuse Screening Test (CAST) were selected to identify substance-related behaviour. Age, gender and residence were included in the analyses as socio-demographic variables. Correlation and regression analyses were used to achieve the main objective of the research. The main results revealed that the use of tobacco and cannabis were positively associated with alcohol use disorders among Czech and Slovak university students. Additionally, males were more likely to report alcohol use disorders. In the Czech Republic, it was found that students living in dormitories were characterized by a lower AUDIT score. The opposite situation was found in the Slovak Republic. Czech and Slovak policy-makers are encouraged to develop alcohol use prevention programs for university students in line with these findings.


We investigate the energy distribution and quantum thermodynamics in periodically-driven polaritonic systems in the stationary state at room temperature. Specifically, we consider an exciton strongly coupled to a harmonic oscillator and quantify the energy reorganization between these two systems and their interaction as a function of coupling strength, driving force, and detuning. After deriving the quantum master equation for the polariton density matrix with weak environment interactions, we obtain the dissipative time propagator and the long-time evolution of an equilibrium initial state. This approach provides direct access to the stationary state and overcomes the difficulties found in the numerical evolution of weakly damped quantum systems near resonance, also providing maps on the polariton lineshape. Then, we compute the thermodynamic performance during harmonic modulation and demonstrate that maximum efficiency occurs at resonance. We also provide an expression for the irreversible heat rate and numerically demonstrate that this agrees with the thermodynamic laws.


As never before, women are rightfully in positions of political power, and into the maelstrom of mass media challenges to their fashions and their right to govern. Fraught narratives surround the clothing of women in leadership in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and Indonesia. There is an enduring relationship between women and dress which needs to be examined in regard to how clothing choices inform and articulate the ways in which women remain represented as either suitable or not for public office, how they may be lauded or damned when they are in power.
In Women and Power: The Politics of Dress it is argued by several authors that political dress for women in the Asia-Pacific expresses a complex set of political and cultural legacies as it impacts their style of government and appearance. Cultural legacies are, in some cases, determined by choice or rejection of ethnic clothing of the past. When Myanmar leader Aung San Sui-Kyi chose to wear versions of her native costume, she offered the physical appearance of her commitment to government by the people, rather than the military (124). She was deposed from office and imprisoned after a military coup in 2021, and Myanmar currently remains under military rule. Interesting examples of 'native costume' in politics include: the former 'first lady' of the Philippines, Imelda Marcos, and her use of the classic Filipina 'butterfly dress' (122), and former Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam's adoption of the ancient Chinese 'qipao' or 'cheong sam' (129). Other legacies include the very strict set of attire worn by brides entering the Japanese royal family, and further honorifics as exemplified by the wedding clothes of Princess-by-marriage Masako and her subsequent rise to Empress of Japan (63-72).
Contrary to country- and cultural-specific clothing for much of Asia, political dress for women includes the overwhelming impact of western culture on garments through mass media, such as television and films, and more recently, the socials. (130).
Theories regarding political attire of non-Western women in leadership risk the notion of 'stereotyping' through the Western view of the 'exoticism' of women through 'Oriental costuming' (121). As noted above, there is a legitimate option for Asian women to select their garments to express both cultural traditions alongside their employment of Westernised or popular fashion, or even haute couture. For instance, more Avant Garde designer clothing was important to former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and others (128).
Further, clothing worn by women in politics offers the opportunity to express not only the political aspirations of their country and its role in global negotiations. Women politicians' use of distinctive country-based designers in India, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, and China (PRC) when on the global stage has been defined as 'sartorial diplomacy' (13). Promoting the fashion of one's native country has also been defined as 'soft power' (13). Likewise, the use of 'native' or country-centric costume has offered women in leadership to mix a national form of identify politics as befits their nation's goals (13). Finally, meeting nationalistic goals within the bounds of a culturally-based sense of women's proper roles in society, i.e. placing family and children first can be challenging, if not impossible, with their own wishes to display their own identity through the adoption of contemporary fashion.
Finally, how women leaders dress is subject to critical commentary through mass media and the socials, where appearance takes on a disproportionate level of importance (16). Women who rise to political prominence will need to continue to 'call out' inappropriate commentary on their attire that undermines their authority to govern their countries as men have done without question.

Excerpted from the following:
Denise N. Rall (ed.). Fashion, Women and Power: The Politics of Dress. Bristol: Intellect / Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2022.
Author Biography
Denise N. Rall, Adjunct Fellow – Research [pending], in Humanities & Social Sciences, Southern Cross University, Lismore NSW, was awarded her PhD in 2007. Since 2008, Denise relocated her academic and artistic interests to fashion and textiles through a critical lens to view the sociology of clothing and its role in society. Latest book: Fashion, Women & Power: The Politics of Dress published in 2022.


Response rates for patients with primary and metastatic colorectal cancer treated with modern chemotherapy regimens such as 5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) have routinely exceeded 50% and are frequently as high as 60-70%. However, as in most chemotherapy regimens, toxicity to normal cells is often a significant limitation. Tumors of the gastrointestinal (GI) track are also sensitive to radiation but the inability to combine radiation therapy (RT) with full-dose chemotherapy can be detrimental to patients, particularly those that may have disseminated micrometastatic disease. Therefore, new treatment strategies that incorporate chemotherapy that could increase tumor response without increasing toxicity are highly desirable. Laboratory and clinical data suggest that using low-dose fractionated radiation therapy (LDFRT) as a chemopotentiator may allow for full-dose chemotherapy with improved efficacy without adding to the toxicity of the systemic treatment. Here we show that twice daily radiation doses as low as 0.15 Gy for three consecutive days can significantly increase FOLFOX killing efficiency in human colon cancer RKO cells. In addition, our data indicate that the chemopotentiation by LDFRT may be mediated by the stress inducible hnRNP A18 protein. Down regulation of hnRNP A18 sensitizes RKO cells to LDFRT and FOLFOX independently and increases further the chemopotentiation by LDFRT. Moreover, overexpression of hnRNP A18 increases radio-resistance and chemo-resistance to FOLFOX. hnRNP A18 is a new regulator of protein translation in cancer cells that specifically targets transcripts devoted to confer growth advantages. This data suggest that hnRNP A18 could be targeted to increase further the systemic effect of chemopotentation by LDFRT. The identification of hnNRP A18 as a new cellular pathway responsive to low dose radiation and its contribution to chemopotentiation provide a novel opportunity for better measurement of the therapeutic response and could contribute to the rationale designs of new mechanism based clinical trials. Citation Format: Teresa Smith, Palak R. Parekh, Elizabeth T. Chang, Michael Chuong, France Carrier. Chemopotentiation by low dose fractionated radiation therapy in colon cancer cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 106th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2015 Apr 18-22; Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(15 Suppl):Abstract nr 3307. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2015-3307


Over two hundred years ago Conrad Brunner1showed by experiments on dogs that a large portion of the pancreas could be removed without affecting the health of the animals. Progress in the physiology of the pancreas was slow and as late as 1888 the conclusions reached by Martinotti2in his experimental studies published that year were those generally accepted. Martinotti asserted that after the complete extirpation of the pancreas no disturbance resulted either in the general condition or in the digestive functions. The dogs in fact gained in weight. Claude Bernard3had asserted that shutting off the pancreatic juice by injecting oil into the ducts under considerable pressure, caused a serious disturbance in the absorption of fat, but subsequent investigators were unable to confirm his observations. The idea that there was some relation between diabetes and disease of the pancreas was entertained by a number of clinicians,


ABSTRACT The survival of many animals depends in part on their ability to sense the flow of the surrounding fluid medium. To date, however, little is known about how terrestrial mammals sense airflow direction or speed. The present work analyzes the mechanical response of isolated rat macrovibrissae (whiskers) to airflow to assess their viability as flow sensors. Results show that the whisker bends primarily in the direction of airflow and vibrates around a new average position at frequencies related to its resonant modes. The bending direction is not affected by airflow speed or by geometric properties of the whisker. In contrast, the bending magnitude increases strongly with airflow speed and with the ratio of the whisker's arc length to base diameter. To a much smaller degree, the bending magnitude also varies with the orientation of the whisker's intrinsic curvature relative to the direction of airflow. These results are used to predict the mechanical responses of vibrissae to airflow across the entire array, and to show that the rat could actively adjust the airflow data that the vibrissae acquire by changing the orientation of its whiskers. We suggest that, like the whiskers of pinnipeds, the macrovibrissae of terrestrial mammals are multimodal sensors – able to sense both airflow and touch – and that they may play a particularly important role in anemotaxis. Summary: The mechanical response of rat vibrissae to airflow contains information about both airflow direction and magnitude, suggesting that the vibrissae may play a role in anemotaxis.


This paper explores the underlying food science and technology research advances and technological innovations that led to the development of unfermented high-quality cassava flour (HQCF) technology by IITA. It traces the policy imperatives that nurture the broad application of the techniques for transforming cassava into bread. From 1995 to 2000, IITA spearheaded the development and pilot-testing of HQCF technology at small-scale in Africa. Further research and collective action by a variety of stakeholders led to a technology progression from sun-drying to pneumatic-drying of cassava. Thereby, reducing the commercial risks for the processors and generating better income opportunities for smallholder farmers. The investment and policy initiatives adopted by Nigeria and other countries, aimed at commercialising the HQCF technology, have enhanced the use of cassava both as an urban food item and as an industrial raw material. National and international research partners collaborated to develop proven agricultural technologies that addressed some of the cassava production constraints. The capacity of value chain actors was built, and technical support was provided to support the agricultural development agendas of some African governments. In evaluating the role of postharvest activities on nutrient availability and food access, the consultative group on international agricultural research (CGIAR) in 2000 commended the exemplary outcome of IITA's research on HQCF processing. In particular, the CGIAR observed that fostering private sector involvement in processing of cassava into HQCF would increase the possibility of creating an agro-industry that could absorb cassava produced by the smallholder farmers through processing into HQCF. Consequently, IITA and other partners increased the thrust towards private sector participation, leading to the commercialisation of a broad range of post-harvest technologies for processing cassava into value-added products. Private sector investment in HQCF processing plants has created demand for at least 50,000–65,000 MT of cassava roots per annum, which is expected to increase to at least 2.0 million tons by 2010. Therefore, the HQCF example demonstrates how a focus on research for development, partnership with other actors, training and technology dissemination efforts can influence public policy and stimulate public and private sector participation to achieve rural agro-industrial development.


Abstract. The present paper addresses the detection of turbulence based on the Thorpe (1977) method applied to an atmosphere where saturation of water vapor occurs. The detection method proposed by Thorpe relies on the sorting in ascending order of a measured profile of a variable conserved through adiabatic processes, (e.g. potential temperature). For saturated air, the reordering should be applied to a moist-conservative potential temperature, θm, which is analogous to potential temperature for a dry (subsaturated) atmosphere. Here, θm is estimated from the Brunt–Vaisala frequency derived by Lalas and Einaudi (1974) in a saturated atmosphere. The application to balloon data shows that the effective turbulent fraction of the troposphere can dramatically increase when saturation is taken into account. Preliminary results of comparisons with data simultaneously collected from the VHF Middle and Upper atmosphere radar (MUR, Japan) seem to give credence to the proposed approach.


Two spin models in two dimensions are constructed for which the exact ground states can be written down in a certain parameter regime of the Hamiltonian. The ground state of the first model is a local resonating valence bond (RVB) state in which not all the spins participate in resonance. The ground state is highly degenerate and there is a gap in the excitation spectrum. The second model is shown to have a ground state which is a quantum spin liquid with all the spins taking part in resonance. The ground state obtained is non-degenerate and there is no gap in the excitation spectrum.


Abstract:We studied the impact of an individual's family and community background on their voting propensity in the 2015 Finnish parliamentary elections by employing a sibling design on an individual-level register-based dataset. The results showed that a quarter of the total variance in voter turnout was shared between siblings. Considering the dichotomous nature of the turnout variable, this implies that background has a strong effect which is almost comparable to sibling similarity in education. Parental socioeconomic position and voting, in turn, are equally important factors by explaining one-third of this shared part of the likelihood of voting. Mothers and fathers make roughly equal contributions. The results suggest that future studies of inter-generational effects in political participation, whenever possible, should use information from both maternal and paternal characteristics and multiple indicators of parental socioeconomic position simultaneously. We conclude by underlining that as people cannot choose their background, voting propensity is strongly influenced by factors beyond an individual's own control, which is problematic for the functioning of inclusive democracy and equality of opportunity.


Pronounce the name of Stanislavsky and you invoke mythic images: a grandfatherly teacher in a pince-nez who reveals the secrets of great acting to insecure young students; a strict disciplinarian who demands total commitment to art; a great realistic director who harnesses the truths embedded in plays and in actors' souls. The force of these myths in the United States is discharged not only in theatrical circles but also in popular culture. Audiences do not need to study theatre to get the central joke in Outrageous Fortune, a film in which Shelley Long and Bette Midler vie for places in an acting class taught by a man with a mysterious East European accent and a name suspiciously like Stanislavsky's (Dixon 1987). This is our image of the ur acting teacher. Nor are the references to the Method in Tootsie lost on the wider public. In this film Dustin Hoffman, himself a member of the Actors Studio, plays an actor who has been fired for conscientiously but inappropriately applying the Method in his work (Gelbard and Schisgal 1982).' While nurtured by a dissimilar cultural context, remarkably similar images of the great realistic director and acting teacher developed in the Soviet Union. By the 1930s, Soviet newspaper headlines heralded Stanislavsky with mythic praise. He was "Our Pride" (Yura 1938:412), "The Genius of Theatre" (Derman 1938), "The Creator of Realistic Theatre" (Khailov 1938), on the front lines of "The Battle for Realism" (Gus 1938) as a "Tribune of Scenic Truth" (Grigor'ev 1938). The commercial, political, and social circumstances which so successfully nurtured these myths have also made it difficult to find the man behind the image. Theoretically, one might expect Stanislavsky's books to serve as corrective to mythic distortions. Couldn't we simply test our common knowledge of him against his written word? While this approach might be normal and scholarly in most cases, in Stanislavsky's case his books raise a new set of questions. To date, his writings have been published in modified versions that present at best partial and at worst distorted views of his ideas. The same circumstances that proved fertile ground for mythmaking stifled access to written information.


On March 13-14, 2003, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade convened an informal meeting of leading observers of international trade and investment to discuss prospects for the Doha Development Agenda. This paper represents a thematic summary of those discussions, which were held under Chatham House rules. In view of the troubled macroeconomic and geopolitical situation in the global economy, some participants indicated that the first priority might well be to simply to preserve the system. However, others were more optimistic, especially as trade is an essential element to restore economic growth and international confidence following a period of geopolitical tension. There was also discussion on how to address instabilities in the system of trade rules which "reach into�? domestic policy spheres, and how to make course corrections lest the WTO sail into waters that some observers fear are rougher than it can handle. As developing countries increasingly participate in the multilateral trading system, new problems are developing, but so are opportunities. The basic counsel from the discussions was that the international community need not rush the Round; the intellectual foundation for a "big result" is not there and there is still time to think things through.


Diversification of the energy mix is one of the main challenges in the energy agenda of governments worldwide. Technology advances together with environmental concerns have paved the way for the increasing integration of Distributed Generation (DG) seen over recent years. Combined heat and power and renewable technologies are being encouraged and their penetration in distribution networks is increasing. This scenario presents Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) with several technical challenges in order to properly accommodate DG developments. However, depending on various factors, such as location, size, technology and robustness of the network, DG might also be beneficial to DNOs. In this thesis, the impact of DG on network planning is analysed and the implications for DNOs in incorporating DG within the network planning process are identified. In the first part, various impacts of DG to the network, such as network thermal capacity release, security of supply and on voltage, are quantified through network planning by using a modified successive elimination method and voltage sensitivity analysis. The results would potentially assist DNOs in assessing the possibilities and effort required to utilise privately-owned DG to improve network efficiency and save investment. The quantified values would also act as a fundamental element in deriving effective distribution network charging schemes. In the second part, a novel balanced genetic algorithm is introduced as an efficient means of tackling the problem of optimum network planning considering future uncertainties. The approach is used to analyse the possibilities, potential benefits and challenges to strategic network planning by considering the presence of DG in the future when the characteristics of DG are uncertain.


While youth ministers may argue over which ministry model is best or works best, one thing that all are agreed on is that the teenage years are tremendously important in terms of building a sense of personal identity. There are different ways in which young people can go about constructing a sense of who I am and where I fit, but not all of them are sturdy enough and sufficient enough to see them through the sometimes turbulent years of adolescence and to offer a secure platform from which to engage generously with the world. Written to provoke those who teach youth ministry to think about the models we assume within our teaching. This essay draws on the social sciences to look at two different ways in which we might think about ourselves and then turns to Paul's letter to the Philippians to consider a robust and satisfying alternative.


Oximetry. Anaesthesia 2009; 64: 1045–8. 2 Funk L, Weiser T, Berry W, et al. Global operating room distribution and pulse oximetry supply: an estimation of essential infrastructural components for surgical care. Lancet 2010; In press. 3 Haynes AB, Weiser TG, Berry WR, et al. A surgical safety checklist to reduce morbidity and mortality in a global population. New England Journal of Medicine 2009; 360: 491–9. 4 Walker IA, Wilson IH. Anaesthesia in developing countries – a risk for patients. Lancet 2008; 371: 968–9. 5 Weiser TG, Regenbogen SE, Thompson KD, et al. An estimation of the global volume of surgery: a modelling strategy based on available data. Lancet 2008; 372: 139–44. 6 Ouro-Bang'na Maman AF, Tomta K, Ahouangbevi S, Chobli M. Deaths associated with anaesthesia in Togo, West Africa. Tropical Doctor 2005; 35: 220–2. 7 Heywood AJ, Wilson IH, Sinclair JR. Perioperative mortality in Zambia. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England 1989; 71: 354–8. 8 Fenton PM, Whitty CJ, Reynolds F. Caesarean section in Malawi: prospective study of early maternal and perinatal mortality. British Medical Journal 2003; 327: 587.


This paper, written from the perspective of a psychologist working in a tertiary care chronic pain program, presents an overview of chronic pain with suggestions as to what may be important directions for research and treatment in the future. It is suggested that the monumental problem of chronic pain needs to be better appreciated, that both biological and psychosocial factors contributing to presentation need to be better understood, and that the most fruitful avenue of research may be an exploration of the interface between psychosocial and biological components, i.e., the neurobiological substrate mediating psychological effects or the nature of brain-behavior relationships involved in chronic pain. A method to assist in the differentiation of central from peripheral and organic from psychosocial components, and the outline of a novel neuropsychobiological model are described.


A simulation of UWB impulse signals propagation within an indoor non-line-of-sight (NLOS) environment is addressed in this paper. The transmitter and the receiver are placed in two rooms respectively with a concrete wall blocking the line-of-sight (LOS) propagation path. The radiation pattern and the polarization pattern of transmitting/receiving antenna are modelled. The corresponding transient electromagnetic field transmitting through as well as reflected from the wall, the floor, the ceiling, the objects, etc. are calculated in time domain. The simulation results provide the space-time distribution of received pulsed field, which give more intrinsically interpretations for the mechanics of UWB impulse signals propagation in indoor NLOS environment.


Many researchers now have available multiple high-dimensional molecular and clinical datasets when studying a disease. As we enter this multi-omic era of data analysis, new approaches that combine different levels of data (e.g. at the genomic and epigenomic levels) are required to fully capitalize on this opportunity. In this work, we outline a new approach to multi-omic data integration, which combines molecular and clinical predictors as part of a single analysis to create a prognostic risk score for clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The approach integrates data in multiple ways and yet creates models that are relatively straightforward to interpret and with a high level of performance. Furthermore, the proposed process of data integration captures relationships in the data that represent highly disease-relevant functions.


This study aims to track and find the point of equality and point of difference between the two Islamic political figures in Egypt. Sayyid Quthb is known as the Islamic Revivalism and Gamal Abdul Nasser as a national Arabic figure. The exploration is done through the library. The equation of these two figures is their movement appear as resistance (reaction) to Western Imperialism. The difference, through Islamic revivalism, Quthb wants the application of Islam as the basis or principles of politics life. While through Arab nationalism, Nasser more wishes the implementation of the principal of nationalism, and religion as an instrument to achieve the goal.


The results of a three-dimensional SNSPH simulation of the core collapse of a 23 M☉ star are presented. This simulation did not launch an explosion until over 600 ms after collapse, allowing an ideal opportunity to study the evolution and structure of the convection below the accretion shock to late times. This late-time convection allows us to study several of the recent claims in the literature about the role of convection: is it dominated by an l = 1 mode driven by vortical-acoustic (or other) instability, does it produce strong neutron star kicks, and, finally, is it the key to a new explosion mechanism? The convective region buffets the neutron star, imparting a 150-200 km s-1 kick. Because the l = 1 mode does not dominate the convection, the neutron star does not achieve large (>450 km s-1) velocities. Finally, the neutron star in this simulation moves but does not develop strong oscillations, the energy source for a recently proposed supernova engine. We discuss the implications these results have for supernovae, hypernovae (and gamma-ray bursts), and stellar-mass black holes.


The aim of this study was to investigate the application of scientifc methods of animal protection in the legal legislation of the Republic of Serbia, through assaults on the environment. Apart from the introductory defnition of the subject matter, normative developments of all legal norms protecting the animal rights have been described as well. From the results of the research which were obtained through the application of legal and dogmatic scientifc methods, content analysis, quantitative and qualitative description and correlation, it can be concluded on the grounds of several fndings as follows: contemporary legal theory and legislation of the Republic of Serbia do not deny the protection of animal rights; within the framework of codifcation of the Serbian substantive criminal law which was performed in 2005, the criminal and legal norms providing legal animal protection have not gain their importance yet, primarily since they are classifed under the environmental offences and not under an independent chapter of the criminal law which will be justifed. The fndings indicate that the loss of crime in the offences against life, physical integrity and welfare of animals make more than a half in the total number of criminal charges against the suspect charged with committing offences against animals.


A number of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are now thought to use endocytosis to promote cellular cAMP signaling that drives downstream transcription of cAMP-dependent genes. We tested if this is true for the Glucagon Receptor (GCGR), which mediates physiological regulation of hepatic glucose metabolism via cAMP signaling. We show that epitope-tagged GCGRs undergo clathrin and dynamin-dependent endocytosis in HEK293 cells after activation by glucagon, and transit via EEA1-marked endosomes shown previously to be sites of GPCR/Gs-stimulated production of cAMP. We further show that endocytosis potentiates cytoplasmic cAMP elevation produced by GCGR activation and promotes transcription of PCK1, the gene which encodes the enzyme catalyzing the rate-limiting step in gluconeogenesis. We verify endocytosis-dependent induction of PCK1 expression by endogenous GCGRs in primary hepatocytes, and show similar control of two other gluconeogenic genes (PGC1α and G6PC). Together, these results implicate the endosomal signaling paradigm in metabolic regulation by glucagon.


In the modern VLSI especially for high speed devices, where the conventional MOSFET technology is reaching its limitations due to various short channel effects and velocity saturation effects etc, hetero-junction FETs have shown great promise for high speed devices. Novel HEMT device using heterojunctions made of and on a substrate is designed and modeled using TCAD software. Highly doped deep source-drain implants are proposed for the design. The device simulations have demonstrated its utility towards high frequency applications in GHz range.


Recent work has suggested that the net gravitational force acting on a massive and luminous perturber travelling through a gaseous and opaque medium can have same direction as the perturber's motion (an effect sometimes called negative dynamical friction). Analytic results were obtained using a linear analysis and were later confirmed by means of non-linear numerical simulations which did not resolve the flow within the Bondi sphere of the perturber, hence effectively restricted to weakly perturbed regions of the flow. Here we present high-resolution simulations, using either 3D Cartesian or 2D cylindrical meshes that resolve the flow within the Bondi sphere. We perform a systematic study of the force as a function of the perturber's mass and luminosity, in the subsonic regime. We find that perturbers with mass M smaller than a few Mc ∼ χcs/G are subjected to a thermal force with a magnitude in good agreement with linear theory (χ being the thermal diffusivity of the medium, cs the adiabatic sound speed, and G the gravitational constant), while for larger masses, the thermal forces are only a fraction of the linear estimate that decays as M−1. Our analysis confirms the possibility of negative friction (hence a propulsion) on sufficiently luminous, low-mass embryos embedded in protoplanetary discs. Finally, we give an approximate expression of the total force at low Mach number, valid both for subcritical (M l Mc) and supercritical (M g Mc) perturbers.


DNA repair must take place in the context of chromatin, and chromatin modifications and DNA repair are intimately linked. The study of double-strand break repair has revealed numerous histone modifications that occur after induction of a DSB, and modification of the repair factors themselves can also occur. In some cases the function of the modification is at least partially understood, but in many cases it is not yet clear. Although DSB repair is a crucial activity for cell survival, DSBs account for only a small percentage of the DNA lesions that occur over the lifetime of a cell. Repair of single-strand gaps, nicks, stalled forks, alternative DNA structures, and base lesions must also occur in a chromatin context. There is increasing evidence that these repair pathways are also regulated by histone modifications and chromatin remodeling. In this review, we will summarize the current state of knowledge of chromatin modifications that occur during non-DSB repair, highlighting similarities and differences to DSB repair as well as remaining questions.


Based on the belief that many people have under-saved and that the reason for under-saving is procrastination, paternalistic nudging to foster saving is often advocated by policy researchers. However, there is little empirical evidence that on hindsight individuals would wish to have saved more than they did, which is an implication of under-saving due to procrastination. To fill this empirical gap, we fielded surveys in the RAND American Life Panel and in the Singapore Life Panel. We asked persons ages 60 to 74 whether, if they were given the chance to do it over again, they would have saved differently earlier in their lives. If they wished to have saved more, we say they have "saving regret." We also fielded a psychometric battery designed to classify people according to their tendency to procrastinate. We found both in the United States and in the Singapore data that about half the population expressed saving regret with the proportion being higher in the U.S. The likelihood of expressing regret was uncorrelated with our measures of procrastination: That is, individuals who affirm statements that plainly indicate a tendency to put off difficult tasks are no more likely to express saving regret than individuals who do not have that tendency. We also asked respondents whether, over their lifetimes, they had experienced unexpected events or shocks that harmed their economic situation, such as unemployment. Substantially higher fractions of the U.S. sample experienced such shocks. That experience explained the greater frequency of saving regret in the U.S.<br>


The quantum capacity of thermal noise channel (which is addressed as Gaussian quantum channel before) is studied, it turns out to be the maximum of the coherent information of a single use of the channel. The quantum capacity is achieved when the input state is a thermal noise state with infinitive energy. The capacity is achievable with quantum error-correction code. The quantum capacities of thermal noise channels with damping or amplification are also given. One of the most important issues of classical information theory is the Shannon formula, which is the capacity of an additive white Gaussian noise channel. It is achieved when the input is a Gaussian noise source with power constrain [1] [2]. C = log2(1 + S N ), (1) where S is the power of the source andN is the power of the noise, the bandwidthW should be multiplied when it is considered. The formula guide the design of the practical communication system for decades. Correspondingly, in quantum information theory, although a lot of works have been done [3], such a formula is remained to be discovered. The Shannon formula comes from the Shannon noisy coding theorem, the later gives the capacity of any noisy channel: C = sup X I(X ;Y ), (2) where the supremum is taken over all inputs X , I(X ;Y ) is the Shannon mutual information and Y is the output. The counterpart of mutual information in quantum information theory is the coherent information (CI) Ic(ρ, E) = S(E(ρ))− S(ρ ′ ) [4] [5]. Here S(̺) = −Tr̺ log2 ̺ is the von Neumann entropy, ρ is the input state, the application of the channel E resulting the output state E(ρ); ρRQ′ = (E ⊗ I)(|ψ〉 〈ψ|), |ψ〉 is the purification of the input state ρ. The quantum channel capacity is Q = lim n→∞ sup ρn Ic(ρn, E). (3) The righthand side of above formula was firstly proved to be the upper bound of quantum channel capacity [6]. The equality was proved at the postulation of hashing inequality [3]; the hashing inequality was lately established [7]. The quantum capacity of a noisy quantum channel is the maximum rate at which coherent information can be transmitted through the channel and recovered with arbitrarily good fidelity. For quantum information channel can be supplemented by oneor two-way classical channel, thus quantum capacities should be defined with these supplementary resources. We here deal with the quantum capacity without any supplementary classical channel[3]. Quantum capacity exhibits a kind of nonadditivity [8] that makes it extremely hard to deal with. Until now, quantum capacity has not been carried out except for quantum erasure channel[9]. As we will elucidate below, for thermal noise quantum channel (which is addressed as Gaussian quantum channel before [10]), quantum capacity can be carried out. The general description of the channel is to map the state ρ to another state E(ρ), where E is a trace preserving completely positive map. The map E has a Krauss operator sum representation. That is E(ρ) = iAiρA † i with ∑ iA † iAi = I. For additive quantum Gaussian channel, it is quite simple to choose Aα proportional to displacement operator [11] D (α) = exp[αa † − αa]. The output state will be E(ρ) = 1 πN ∫ dα exp(− |α| /N)D (α) ρD(α). (4)


Baker and collaborators describe a family with melanomas, nerve sheath tumours, gliomas and haematological malignancies caused by a large, 25-gene deletion resulting from an unbalanced translocation in 9p21.3.1 The 9p21.3 region contains at least three tumour suppressor genes: CDKN2A , CDKN2B and MTAP . Somatic deletions involving this region have been identified in tumours such as breast, prostate, melanoma, leukaemia, among many. Germline mutations and deletions involving the genes in this region are causative of inherited cancer predisposition. We report the case of a family with a germline 9p21.3 deletion encompassing nine genes. The family presented with melanomas, astrocytomas, neurofibromas and breast cancer.

The CDKN2A gene encodes two proteins: p16 and p14, by means of alternative splicing. Protein p16 inhibits cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) which controls the progression through the G1 phase of the cell cycle by phosphorylating Rb.2 In turn, p14 is a stabiliser of p53—a key protein in inducing cell apoptosis.3  CDKN2B encodes p15, which similarly inhibits CDK4 and CDK6.4  MTAP encodes methylthioadenosine phosphorylase—an enzyme that appears to also exhibit features of a tumour suppressor gene.

Mutations affecting the p16 transcript of CDKN2A can cause familial atypical multiple mole melanoma syndrome5 also known as pancreatic cancer–melanoma syndrome.6 Melanoma–astrocytoma syndrome (MAS) presents with melanomas, astrocytoma, neurofibromas, …


A new class of low insertion-loss miniaturized filters using slot-line resonators is proposed. Miniaturization is achieved by terminating the slot line with a double-spiral inductive termina- tion at both ends. Using this miniaturized resonator, both positive and negative couplings may be realized, and therefore, both stan- dard coupled-line and cross-coupled quasi-elliptic filters are realiz- able. The unloaded of these slot-line filters is considerably higher than that of miniaturized microstrip filters of comparable dimen- sions due to the inherent higher of the slot line. To demonstrate the validity of the design procedures and the performance charac- teristics, two different types of filters were fabricated and tested. One is a four-pole Chebyshev filter and the other is a quasi-elliptic filter where, in each case, the full-wave simulations show very good agreement with measurements.


CD36, a major adhesion molecule expressed by monocytes/macrophages, plays a key role in the binding and internalization of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL). This adhesion molecule, a member of an important scavenger receptor family, contains a very short C-terminal cytoplasmic tail that is known to induce intracellular signalling events. However, the domains on the cytoplasmic tail involved in such signal transduction are unknown. In this study, we have investigated the functional components of the cytoplasmic tail by site-directed mutagenesis coupled with functional OxLDL and monoclonal antibody (mAb) binding studies. Seven truncated or punctual CD36 constructs, localized in the cytoplasmic tail, were produced by site-directed mutagenesis. Each construct was stably expressed in HEK293 cells. We used a quantitative and a qualitative method, labelling OxLDL with either iodine or rhodamine, to determine the functional importance of the cytoplasmic domains in OxLDL internalization. Results indicate that: (1) a deletion of the last amino-acid (construct K472STOP) significantly reduces, compared with wild-type, the binding, internalization and degradation of OxLDL; (2) truncation of the last six amino-acids (construct R467STOP) significantly reduces OxLDL binding; (3) the above two constructs (K472STOP and R467STOP) showed a reduced rate of OxLDL internalization compared with wild-type; (4) the binding and rate of internalization of an anti-CD36 monoclonal antibody (10/5) was not affected by the above mentioned mutants (K472STOP and R467STOP), compared with wild-type. This study shows, for the first time, a specific site on the CD36 cytoplasmic tail that is critical for the binding, endocytosis and targeting of OxLDL.


This thesis presents an investigation of how a direct-driven wind turbine generator should be designed and how small and efficient such a generator will be. Advantages and disadvantages of various types of direct-driven wind turbine generators are discussed, and a radial-flux permanent-magnet generator connected to a forced-commutated rectifier is chosen for a detailed theoretical investigation. Further, a design method is developed for the electromagnetic part of the chosen generator type. The generator is optimized with a simplified cost function which, besides including the cost of the active generator parts and the cost of the structure, also includes the cost of the average losses. Therefore, a method to calculate the average losses is derived. The design method is used to investigate the optimization of a 500 kW generator, and the size, efficiency and active weight of optimized generators from 30 kW to 3 MW are presented. A result of the investigation is that the outer diameters of the direct-driven generators are only slightly larger than the width of conventional wind energy converter nacelles. A comparison of average efficiency shows that direct-driven generators, including the losses in the frequency converters, are more efficient than conventional wind energy converter drive trains. Compared with other direct-driven generators, the proposed generator type is small, mainly because of the forced-commutated rectifier and because the generator is not required to produce a pull-out torque higher than the rated torque.


The article is dedicated to the perspectives of the Chinese initiative of the Silk Road economic belt from the prospective of the Central Asian states' national interests. The author claims that the common understanding of Central Asia as a united region is limited: there are many conflicts and problems between states which haven't yet been resolved. The problems of borders and ethnical enclaves remain to be potentially dangerous as well as recurrent problems of regionalism and tribalism. The essential water resources are distributed in a highly disproportionate way. During a long period of time Central Asia has been taking the position of an intercontinental corridor, linking Asia and Europe, and that is why external actors showed no interest in building a Central Asian integration project. Besides, political elites of Central Asia also were not interested in appearance of supranational institutes which will inevitably create a highly competitive political order. Nonetheless, the very idea of the Silk Road economic belt, in political terms, was approved by all the Central Asian states. This paradox can be partly explained referring to the absence of political limitations, imposed on states by the project. However, it doesn't mean that China experiences altruism. The author stresses that the Silk Road economic belt has never been a pure integration project. The core element of the concept is not the improvement of national industrial potential of the countries the Road crosses but the idea of the intensive development of western regions of China.


Background Autoimmune thyroid disease is the most prevalent autoimmune disorder,affecting about 10% of the population,and is a recognized cause of fibromyalgia (FM) and chronic widespread pain. Objectives The aims of this study are to evaluate fibromyalgia (FM) in patients with euthyroid Hashimoto's throiditis (HT) and whether TPOAb positivity is associated with the FM. Methods We have studied 167 patients with HT and 83 healthy controls followed in our hospital.Single researcher took the history and did physical examination including manuel tender point examination according to Manuel Tender Point Survey instructions.For the diagnosis FM, 2010 American College of Rheumatology Classification Criteria for the FM was used. Thyroid assessment was done by free T4,free T3,TSH,antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) and TPOAb.Patients were excluded from the study if they had any other serious disease,and if there was any history of drug use that interferes with the symptoms of FM. Results FM was found in 40% (67 out of 167 patients) of in HT patients, in 7% (6 out of 83 healthy controls, p<0,001) of controls.The average age was significant higher in patients with FM than controls (43,78±10,48 yrs vs 40,43±10,52 yrs, p=0.02).TSH (2,97±2,03 vs 2,20±1,33, p=0,001),TPOAb (240,92±268,6 vs 197,05±288,14, p=0,006) and TgAb levels (300,68±528,79 vs 153,76±411,51, p=0,003) where notable higher in patients with FM,according to patients without FM.Widespread pain index (WPI),symptom severity scale (SSS) and tender point examination (TPE) showed no significant difference between the patient and control group.On the other hand WPI,SSS and TPE showed a positive correlation with TSH (r:0,184, p=0,004; r:0,204, p=0,001; r:0,167, p=0,009 respectively).Also TgAb showed positive correlation with SSS (r:0,168, p=0,02).Increasing age in patients with HT showed positive relationship with WPI and tenTPE (r=0,193, p=0,012 and r=0,170, p=0,02 respectively) Conclusions In our study, euthyroid HT patients showed significantly higher prevalence of FM, as compared to healthy control. This finding support thyroid autoimmunity may influence the development of FM, but the evidence which support that FM is related to autoimmune etiology is not clear, and FM severity may not be affected by the presence of thyroid autoantibody. References Ahmad J1, Tagoe CE. Fibromyalgia and chronic widespread pain in autoimmune thyroid disease. Clin Rheumatol. 2014 Jul;33(7):885-91. doi: 10.1007/s10067-014-2490-9. Suk JH1, Lee JH, Kim JM. Association between thyroid autoimmunity and fibromyalgia. Exp Clin Endocrinol Diabetes. 2012 Jul;120(7):401-4. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1309008. Bazzichi L1, Rossi A, Zirafa C, Monzani F, Tognini S, Dardano A, Santini F, Tonacchera M, De Servi M, Giacomelli C, De Feo F, Doveri M, Massimetti G, Bombardieri S. Thyroid autoimmunity may represent a predisposition for the development of fibromyalgia? Rheumatol Int. 2012 Feb;32(2):335-41. doi: 10.1007/s00296-010-1620-1. Bazzichi L1, Rossi A, Giuliano T, De Feo F, Giacomelli C, Consensi A, Ciapparelli A, Consoli G, Dell'osso L, Bombardieri S. Association between thyroid autoimmunity and fibromyalgic disease severity. Clin Rheumatol. 2007 Dec;26(12):2115-20. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR) imaging system is independent of solar illumination and weather conditions; however, SAR image is difficult to interpret as compared with optical images. It has been increased interest in multi-sensor fusion technique which can improve the interpretability of SAR°°images by fusing the spectral information from multispectral( MS) image. In this paper, a multi-sensor fusion method based on high-frequency extraction process using Fast Fourier Transform(FFT) and outlier elimination process is proposed, which maintain the spectral content of the original MS image while retaining the spatial detail of the high-resolution SAR image. We used TerraSAR-X which is constructed on the same X-band SAR system as KOMPSAT-5 and KOMPSAT-2 MS image as the test data set to evaluate the proposed method. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method, the fusion result was compared visually and quantitatively with the result obtained using existing fusion algorithms. The evaluation results showed that the proposed image fusion method achieved successful results in the fusion of SAR and MS image compared with the existing fusion algorithms.


Background There is uncertainty about the benefit of chemotherapy for some patients with ER-positive HER2-negative early breast cancer. Multi-parameter assays of gene expression may enhance the value of chemotherapy through personalised treatment decisions. An economic evaluation was undertaken in the context of the feasibility phase of an RCT (OPTIMA prelim) designed to validate prospectively the use of such an assay as a treatment decision tool in the UK National Health Service (NHS). The aim of the economic evaluation was to confirm value in an ongoing RCT and optimise its design for economic endpoints. Comparators included (i) All patients treated with chemotherapy, (ii) Oncotype DX, (iii) MammaPrint/BluePrint and (iv) Prosigna. Methods A model-based cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted to the standards of the UK National Institute for Care Excellence (NICE) reference case. A Markov model was constructed to simulate the care pathway of a cohort of patients with characteristics identified in the OPTIMA prelim study or, where unavailable, from the published literature. The costs (GBP) and benefits (QALYs) were estimated over a time horizon of the patient life-time. Alternative scenarios of recurrence rates and chemotherapy effect were explored in patients identified high or low risk by the tests and treated with and without chemotherapy. Scenarios included estimates based on the SWOG-8814 trial, the EBCTCG and outcomes forecasted using Adjuvant! Online. Uncertainty introduced by discrepancy in patient selection between tests was modelled using a Bayesian decision analytic framework. Probabilistic sensitivity analysis and value of information analysis was conducted using Monte Carlo simulation. Results There were 285 randomised patients. Multi-parameter analyses were performed on tumour samples and baseline factors were included in the model. The cost-effectiveness of all tests was uncertain. Uncertainty was predominantly driven by assumptions about long term recurrence rates in test-selected groups and the ability of tests to predict benefit from chemotherapy. The relationship between recurrence-free survival and life expectancy in test-selected groups and in patients who did or did not receive adjuvant chemotherapy was also important. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for Oncotype DX compared with chemotherapy for all was cost-effective in many scenarios, ranging from GBP26,000 per QALY to resulting in increased QALYs with cost savings (dominate), depending on assumptions. The value of information analysis placed high societal value in further research into recurrence-free survival for test-directed chemotherapy, irrespective of the test evaluated. Conclusion There is substantial value in prospective comparative research into all tests evaluated, including long term outcomes, to resolve uncertainties in the clinical and economic optimal choice of test. Acknowledgements This project was funded by the National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment (NIHR HTA) Programme (project number 10/34/01). The views and opinions expressed therein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the HTA programme, NIHR, NHS or the Department of Health. Citation Format: Peter S Hall, Alison F Smith, Armando Vargas-Palacios, Robert C Stein, John Bartlett, Jane Bayani, Andrea Marshall, Janet A Dunn, Amy F Campbell, Carrie Cunningham, Leila Rooshenas, Monika Sobol, Adrienne Morgan, Christopher Poole, Sarah E Pinder, David A Cameron, Nigel Stallard, Jenny Donovan, Luke Hugh-Davies, Helena Earl, Andreas Makris, Claire Hulme, Christopher McCabe. UK OPTIMA-prelim study demonstrates economic value in more clinical evaluation of multi-parameter prognostic tests in early breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Thirty-Seventh Annual CTRC-AACR San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium: 2014 Dec 9-13; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2015;75(9 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-08-11.


Background Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis and endothelial dysfunction. Methods The present study investigates the possible mechanism of Echinops spinosissimus Turra subsp. spinosus ( E. s. spinosus ) flower on the high cholesterol diet. Results Our in vitro results demonstrated the richness of E.s. spinosus flower in antioxidant compounds, and its antioxidant activities. The co-administration of E.s. spinosus (100 or 200 mg/kg/day) with high-fat diet attenuated hepatotoxicity as monitored by the improvement of oxidative stress biomarkers and plasma lipid and liver parameters, when compared to the hypercholesterolemic mice. Atherogenic index and body weight were also reduced markedly, compared to control mice. These results were confirmed by the improvement of histological changes and DNA damage. Conclusion These data indicate that E.s. spinosus flower reduces the hypercholesterolemia risk and atherogenic properties of dietary cholesterol. Its hypocholesterolemic effect may be due to its antioxidant activities and its richness in bioactive molecule.


The article analyzes the friendship narratives contained in Books Two, Three and Four of Augustine's Confessions, treating them not as biographical accounts, but as illustrations of Augustine's philosophical ideas, namely, the fall of the soul and the role played in it by love. All those narratives seem to describe a homoerotic dimension of friendship. It is argued that making such homoerotic friendship, and not heterosexual love between man and woman, an allegory of the fall of the soul enables Augustine to show better the mechanism of the fall, namely, its excessive intensity and the fact that it perverts a naturally good relationship of the soul with the whole of creation.


XML data consists of a very flexible tree-structure which makes it difficult to support the storing and retrieving of XML data. The node numbering scheme is one of the most popular approaches to store XML in relational databases. Together with the node numbering storage scheme, structural joins can be used to efficiently process the hierarchical relationships in XML. However, in order to process a tree-structured XPath query containing several hierarchical relationships and conditional sentences on XML data, many structural joins need to be carried out, which results in a high query execution cost. This paper introduces mechanisms to reduce the XPath queries including branch nodes into a much more efficient form with less numbers of structural joins. A two step approach is proposed. The first step merges duplicate nodes in the tree-structured query and the second step divides the query into sub-queries, shortens the paths and then merges the sub-queries back together. The proposed approach can highly contribute to the efficient execution of XML queries. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme can reduce the query execution cost by up to an order of magnitude of the original execution cost. Keywords—XML, Xpath, tree-structured query, query reduction.


I analyze annual returns of the S&P 500 from 1993 - 1998. Future returns of the market are predicted using current dividend yield levels, past risk free returns and a standard deviation variable over the preceding five years. Evidence from the article suggests that future returns can be predicted when combing dividend yields with recent volatility in the market. This article suggests that recent market levels and investment momentum may pose a threat to a major correction in the future.


Over the last decades, visual representations of data has been a commonly used medium to bolster human cognition in performance evaluation of professional athletes. However, the current approaches to these visualizations still build upon the paper based principles of initial designs with solid backgrounds. Due to this situation, same visualizations usually fail to provide explicit information about the physical characteristics of the scenario that the data was captured, such as the form of athletes. In this work, we present a data visualization method which combines visual representations of cyclist's pedaling with correlated frames of indoor training videos. We designed a prototype system which allows us to superimpose various pedaling visualizations onto simultaneously captured training videos of cyclists (Figure 1). The results of user studies we conducted with twelve professional cyclists confirmed their interest in new possibilities emerging from intuitive data visualizations. We also received valuable feedback about the feasible benefits of our approach over traditional approaches, such as reduced cognitive overload in understanding visualizations. We conclude by discussing the future implementations and application areas of our approach and further need of adjusting it to distinct training scenarios.


Since the 1990s, nature and water management policies have attempted to re-create natural rivers systems by mimicking curvy meandering planforms, based on the assumption that meandering is the natural channel-forming process. However, in low-energy river systems, the extent to which meandering plays a natural role is often minimal. This study aims to quantify contemporary lateral migration in the low-energy irregular sinuous lowland river system of the Drentsche Aa, The Netherlands, and to determine the factors influencing lateral channel migration in a heterogeneous valley fill. Although the river is classified as laterally immobile based on an empirical stability diagram, field observations prove that erosion and deposition are currently occurring. By analyzing historical and present-day maps, it was shown that lateral migration was highly spatially variable for the period 1924–2005. Sinuosity and valley gradient are not correlated to lateral migration rates, suggesting they are not a measure of lateral migration in the case study area, which is in line with the literature. Based on geomorphological and soil map analyses, it was shown that lateral migration rates are significantly higher in valley fills of aeolian sands than in clastic alluvial deposits, which on their turn are significantly higher than in peaty environments. Therefore, local conditions appear to be dominant over other factors such as stream power and bed grain size. These findings are important for river rehabilitation of low-energy rivers, because it shows that local valley fill conditions can greatly influence active lateral migration in the river.


Ahmed Von Denffer was born on May 10, 1949, in Moon Chengla Dabach, Germany. He converted to Islam in 1971. From 1972 to 1978, he studied Islamic and Social Sciences at the University of Mainz, Germany. He learned a lot about the Qur'ān and human life from Khurram Murad of Jamaat-e-Islami in Islamic Foundation Leicester, England. Serve in key positions at the various charity Foundations. Most of the translations of the Holy Qur'ān that were available in German language in 1970s were written by Non-Muslims, and they were inappropriate. He decided to translate and interpret the Qur'ān in German Language. For this he had the support of three institutions, Islamic Center Munich, Germany, Islamic Foundation Leicester, England and Dawah Academy, International Islamic University Islamabad, Pakistan. It was completed on March 27, 1996. It was published by the Islamic Center Munich in 2001 and Dawah Academy Islamabad in 2006 under the title "Der Koran Die Heilige Schrift Des Islam in Deutscher Ubertragung". It is a common sense, authentic and literal translation, with great care. The necessary explanations in the Tafsīr are given in the footnotes, the Israelis are avoided and the authentic Tafsīr-e-Qur'ān is used. Tafsīr Bil Masoor is preferred and personal opinions are seldom mentioned. Instead of modernity, the classical Tafsīr of the Holy Qur'ān has been done.


s | 47 Experiment 2. FSL and FRL animals received single injections of CBD (10 or 30 mg/Kg, ip), ketamine (10 mg/Kg, ip) or vehicle and were submitted to the forced swimming test (FST) 1h later. Results: Experiment 1. Acute treatment with CBD (30 mg/Kg) immediately after the pretest, but not with imipramine, significantly reduced the number of escape failures during the test, an antidepressant-like effect similar to chronic treatment with imipramine (ANOVA, p<0.05). Experiment 2. Single injection of CBD (30 mg/Kg, ip) reduced the immobility in FSL and FRL animals, similarly to ketamine (10 mg/Kg, ip) (ANOVA, p<0.05). Conclusion: Acute treatment with CBD is able to induce antidepressant-like effect in the learned helplessness and FSL/FRL models. These results reinforce the proposal that CBD could induce acute antidepressant effects in humans. Financial support: FAPESP, Capes, CNPq, Danish Research Council PS138 Early life stress increases stress vulnerability through BDNF gene epigenetic changes in the rat hippocampus Mi Kyoung Seo 1, Nguyen Ngoc Ly 2, Chan Hong Lee 1, Hye Yeon Cho 1, Cheol Min Choi 2, Le Hoa Nhu 2, Jung Goo Lee 1,2,3, Bong Ju Lee 3, Gyung-Mee Kim 3, Baik Seok Kee 4, Sung Woo Park 1,2*, and Young Hoon Kim 1,2,3* 1 Paik Institute for Clinical Research, 2 Department of health science and technology, Graduate School of Inje University, 3 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan, Republic of Korea and 4 Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Chungang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea. Abstract Objective: Early life stress (ELS) exerts long-lasting epigenetic influences on the brain and makes an individual susceptible to later depression. It is poorly understood whether ELS and subsequent adult chronic stress modulate epigenetic mechanisms. We examined the epigenetic mechanisms of the BDNF gene in the hippocampus, which may underlie stress vulnerability to postnatal maternal separation (MS) and adult restraint stress (RS). Methods: Rat pups were separated from their dams (3 h/day from P1-P21). When the pups reached adulthood (8 weeks old), we introduced RS (2 h/day for 3 weeks) followed by escitalopram treatment. Results: We showed that both the MS and RS groups expressed reduced levels of total and exon IV BDNF mRNA. Furthermore, RS potentiated MS-induced decreases in these expression levels. Similarly, both the MS and RS groups showed decreased levels of acetylated histone H3 and H4 at BDNF promoter IV, and RS exacerbated MS-induced decreases of H3 and H4 acetylation. Both the MS and RS groups had increased MeCP2 levels at BDNF promoter IV, as well as increased HDAC5 mRNA, and the combination of MS and RS exerted a greater effect on these parameters than did RS alone. In the forced swimming test, the immobility time of the MS+RS group was significantly higher than that of the RS group. Additionally, chronic escitalopram treatment recovered these alterations. Conclusion: Our results suggest that postnatal MS and subsequent adult RS modulate epigenetic changes in the BDNF gene, and that these changes may be related to behavioral phenotype. These epigenetic mechanisms are involved in escitalopram action.


Although poorly fossiliferous, the middle Keuper so-called Beaumont dolomite formation (Triassic) of Lorraine, France, contains some fossils, some of which are here described--pelecypods and the alga Cancellophycus keuperinus n.sp. Concentric structures on the surface of dolomitic limestone slabs from the formation, previously considered impressions of algae, are shown to be of syngenetic, inorganic origin.


While operational fire severity products inform fire management decisions in Grand Canyon National Park (GRCA), managers have expressed the need for better quantification of the consequences of severity, specifically forest structure. In this study we computed metrics related to the forest structure from airborne laser scanning (ALS) data and investigated the influence that fires that burned in the decade previous had on forest structure on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. We found that fire severity best explains the occurrence of structure classes that include canopy cover, vertical fuel distribution, and surface roughness. In general we found that high fire severity resulted in structure types that exhibit lower canopy cover and higher surface roughness. Areas that burned more frequently with lower fire severity in general had a more closed canopy and a lower surface roughness, with less brush and less conifer regeneration. In a random forests modeling exercise to examine the relationship between severity and structure we found mean canopy height to be a powerful explanatory variable, but still proved less informative than the three-component structure classification. We show that fire severity not only impacts forest structure but also brings heterogeneity to vegetation types along the elevation gradient on the Kaibab plateau. This work provides managers with a unique dataset, usable in conjunction with vegetation, fuels and fire history data, to support management decisions at GRCA.


Let / be a distribution defined in an open set X in R. L. Hormander [4] introduced the notion of the analytic wave front set WFA(f) of / as a subset of the cotangent space T*(X)\0 whose projection to X coincides with the analytic singular support of /. His definition relies on the use of the Fourier transform of /. In this paper we present an alternative definition of WFA(f) in terms of boundary values of holomorphic functions which we now shortly describe. Let Q be an open subset in C. Then we shall denote by 0 (Q} the space of holomorphic functions in Q.


Introduction Congenital heart defects are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in new-borns; the most severe of which are abnormalities in the development of the outflow tract (OFT), such as transposition of the great arteries (TGA) and double outlet right ventricle (DORV). It has been previously suggested that TGA is caused by failed rotation of the OFT and/or abnormal spiralling of the two cushions that septate the OFT. Our aim was to investigate these possibilities using a murine model of TGA - the Pitx2c null (Pitx2c −/− ) mutant. Pitx2 is a transcription factor with a key role in left-right patterning and cardiac development. Homozygous knock-out of the c-isoform in mice causes predominantly TGA, but also DORV, and is lethal at birth. Heterozygotes are viable, fertile and have no gross structural abnormalities. Method The Pitx2c mutant allele was generated as previously described by Liu et al. (2002). Pitx2c +/− and Pitx2c −/− embryos were collected at embryological ages E10.5, 11.5 and 12.5 days. The cardiothoracic region of each embryo was dissected and imaged using high resolution episcopic microscopy (HREM), an imaging technique allowing precise imaging of serial 2D surfaces throughout tissues which can then be compiled and reconstructed to provide accurate 3D visualisation of the sample. A computerised tracking pad was used to manually select regions of interest (ROIs) within serial images - the OFT cushions and outflow channels. Using the 'Amira' software these ROIs were assembled as 3D reconstructions of three replicate hearts of each genotype at each age; the morphologies of which were compared. Results Hearts in the Pitx2c +/− were normal, with OFT channels that spiralled around one another in a left to right orientation, viewed distally. As previously described, Pitx2c −/− channels were straight, parallel and positioned dorso-ventrally distally; and the right ventricle, cushions and channels were each somewhat smaller. Unexpectedly, the Pitx2c −/− hearts also displayed novel endocardial cushion morphology. Not only were the cushions displaced in comparison to their Pitx2c +/− counter-parts, but two additional cushions were also found at 10.5 days. These cushions remodelled such that three remained at 11.5 days. At 12.5 days all Pitx2c −/− mice showed the typical morphology of the precursors of TGA or DORV. Figure 1 Pitx2c reconstructions (red=vessels, cushions: yellow=parietal, purple=septal, blue/green=additional cushions) Figure 2 Cross-sections of Pitx2c OFTs Conclusions We report for the first time the finding of supernumery OFT cushions in a model of TGA. These additional cushions were transient and appeared to resolve into two abnormally placed cushions which create non-spiralled outflow channels. There are other apparent abnormalities in the outflows of the Pitx2c −/− model including rotation and size reductions, so the exact role of the additional cushions in the development of TGA requires further study.


A national convention on World Homoeopathy Day was held to commemorate the 262nd birth anniversary of Dr. Samuel Hahnemann on 9th–10th April, 2017 at National Agricultural Science Complex, Pusa, New Delhi, India. The theme of the convention was 'Enhancing Quality of Research in Homoeopathy' inspired by the World Health Organization Traditional Medicine Strategy 2014–2023 for achieving Universal Health Coverage. Organised by the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy, an autonomous research organisation of the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, the convention witnessed 11 oral presentations and focused group discussions held in parallel in the main and side hall, respectively. On this occasion, Awards of Excellence such as Lifetime Achievement Award, Best Teacher and Researcher Award, Young Scientist Award and Best Research Paper Award were also given.


Clinical decision support systems are computer based automated systems developed with the aid of AI for supporting and improving the accuracy of clinical decision making processes. These systems are used by clinicians in making diagnostic decisions and treatment plans. It is able to simulate expertise and express logical reasoning for making assertions. Many inexperienced clinicians are not well confident in certain autistic cases because their observed diagnosis and the calculated grade may not be always similar. Availability of diagnostic experts to provide clinical expertise is also a problem in the diagnosis of autism children. Hence, there is a need of a computer assist system comprised of experience and skill of a clinician, which can advance the power of existing diagnostic method. The computer assisted system will help to confirm the assessment decisions of clinicians. Research works about the application of machine learning techniques for the development of autism assessment and grading in this area is very much required. This work proposes an approach which uses machine learning techniques for autism grading.


Novi Han Repository is the only existing repository in Bulgaria for the disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear applications in industry, medicine and research. The disposal vault for spent sealed sources is not designed for disposal of powerful 137 Cs and 60 Co sources. Long-lived waste from nuclear applications are also not allowed for disposal at Novi Han Repository. As an operator of Novi Han Repository the Institute for Nuclear Research and Nuclear Energy initiated a program, for assessment of the possible utilization of deep shaft Gabra for disposal of such waste. The results of the preliminary study are discussed.Copyright © 2003 by ASME


In the present study, exopolysaccharide (EPS), pyocyanin, rhamnolipid productions, total cell proteins and antimicrobial activities were investigated in two strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (B1 and B2). Exopolysaccharide, pyocyanin and rhamnolipid production of strains were determined in nutrient broth medium (NB) as control and different sugar beet molasses concentrations (1-5 % w/v) at different periods (24, 48 and 72 h) by a spectrophotometric method. The exopolysaccharide, pyocyanin and rhamnolipid productions of both strains increased after incubation when 5% (w/v) of molasses were used. Therefore the results disclose the correlations between the increasing molasses concentrations and EPS, pyocyanin and rhamnolipid productions of P. aeruginosa B1 and B2 strains (P≤ 0.01). Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 was more sensitive than Escherichia coli 11230 to the inhibitory effect of P. aeruginosa B1 and B2. Moreover, these strains exhibited the highest antimicrobial activity against both test bacteria in sugar beet molasses (5% w/v) at 72 h. Significant increases in total cell protein and antimicrobial activity of P. aeruginosa B1 and B2 were observed with increasing the molasses concentrations (P≤ 0.01). The results also indicated that strains having high total cell protein were higher antimicrobial activity, EPS, pyocyanin and rhamnolipid productions.


Ruminal fluid of slaughtered cows was used as a free phytase source. Magnetic nano-particles (MNPs) were grafted with allyl 2,3-epoxypropyl ether, subsequent by coupling with cibacron blue. Cibacron blue as the main monomer is a known ligand for enzyme sorption. Characteristics of the coated MNPs were proved using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy methods, transmission electron microscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. These results were then compared with those of non-modified MNPs. Phytase which derived from clarified rumen fluid was then adsorbed at different pH, shaking time, and various levels of temperature via ionic bound. The best adsorption efficiency was recorded under conditions of pH 7, temperature of 6 °C, and shaking time of 60 minutes. Desorption phase was performed in two different shaking times and four different concentrations of NaCl solution. The highest percentage of desorption was lower than 20%, which achieved at 1 M NaCl solution in 90 minutes of shaking (P < 0.05). * Corresponding Author: Ali Asghar Sadeghi  email@example.com International Journal of Biosciences | IJB | ISSN: 2220-6655 (Print) 2222-5234 (Online) http://www.innspub.net Vol. 5, No. 8, p. 250-257, 2014


Summary:  Viruses that establish long‐term infections in their hosts have evolved a number of methods to interfere with the activities of the innate and adaptive immune systems. Control of viral infections is achieved in part through the action of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) that recognize cytosolically derived antigenic peptides in the context of class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Viral replication within host cells produces abundant proteinaceous fodder for proteasomal digestion and display by class I MHC products. Tactics that disrupt antigen‐presentation pathways and prevent the display of peptides to CD8+ CTLs have been favored during the course of host‐virus co‐evolution. Viral immunoevasins exploit diverse cellular processes to interfere with host antiviral functions. The study of such viral factors has uncovered novel host proteins that assist these viral factors in their task and that themselves perform important cellular functions. Here, we focus on viral immunoevasins that, together with their cellular targets, interfere with antigen‐presentation pathways. In particular, we emphasize the intersection of the cellular quality‐control machinery in the endoplasmic reticulum with the herpesvirus proteins that have co‐opted it.


Although noninvasive techniques have been extensively evaluated in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis (DVT), few data exist about the role of computerized impedance plethysmography (CIP) in the diagnosis of delayed DVT after surgery, when patients are at home and the risk of DVT is still high. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reliability of CIP in the diagnosis of proximal and distal delayed DVT in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients who had undergone elective total hip replacement (THR). Bilateral CIP of lower limbs was performed in 61 patients on days 5, 9, 15 and 45 after THR; for comparison, ascending phlebography was performed on days 45 after THR in all patients on the operated limb or on the limb with positive results on CIP. The overall rate of DVT diagnosed by phlebography was 16.3% (10/61). The sensitivity and specificity of CIP for all DVT were 20% and 98%, respectively, while the accuracy was 85%. The results were not influenced by the presence of symptoms or signs of the lower limbs. Similar results were obtained when considering proximal DVT only. In conclusion, the low sensitivity of computerized impedance plethysmography means that it cannot be used in screening for delayed deep vein thrombosis after total hip replacement, in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. However, because of its high specificity, when the results of computerized impedance plethysmography are positive phlebography should be performed to confirm the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis.


The Pinios river delta is a Late Holocene arcuate type delta, located in the southern Thermaikos gulf (Central Greece). In order to determine the processes which contributed in the recent configuration of the delta, a detailed geomorphic map at the scale of 1:5000 has been prepared showing both the deltaic plain and the coastal zone features using GIS techniques. Comparative examinations of aerial photographs taken in different dates and reliable maps of the last two centuries along with field observations depict recent changes of the delta morphology. The most important factors for the development of the delta are fluvial sedimentation, wave activity and longshore currents in a tectonically active area. Land uses throughout the delta plain have been mapped in an attempt to identify socio-economic activities. The dominant feature in the deltaic plain is the numerous abandoned meandering channels. The delta shoreline is generally retreating due to marine processes especially where former river mouths occur. Finally, various future sea-level rise scenarios have been analyzed and an assessment of the impacts of the potential global future sea-level rise to the delta is estimated.


The association between surgical treatment for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and survival outcomes is not established, and this study aimed to evaluate this association. A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted from 2001 to 2015, including 32,220 eligible CKD patients with incident OSA. By 1:3 propensity score matching, 1078 CKD patients with incident OSA who received surgery (treated cohort) and 3234 untreated cohort who never received surgery were analyzed. The risk of ESRD in the competing mortality was significantly lower in the treated cohort than in the untreated cohort, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 0.38 (95% confidence interval (CI0, 0.15–0.97; p = 0.043). In addition, the adjusted HRs of overall, cardiovascular, and non-cardiovascular mortality in the treated and untreated cohorts were 2.54 (95% CI, 1.79–3.59; p < 0.0001), 1.46 (95% CI, 0.29–7.22; p = 0.64), and 2.62 (95% CI, 1.83–3.75; p < 0.0001), respectively. Furthermore, the risks of overall and non-cardiovascular mortality for the treated cohort primarily occurred during a 3-month follow-up. In conclusion, surgical treatment for incident OSA in CKD patients was associated with decreased ESRD risk, but with increased non-cardiovascular mortality risk, especially within 3 months after surgical treatment.


Inorganic nanowires are expected to play a central role in the re-engineering of products with applications in composites, thin films, nanodispersions, energy conversion devices, sensors, nanoelectronic devices and optics. The synthesis of materials at the nanoscale might also help in the discovery of new phases with interesting properties. However, the synthesis strategies for inorganic nanowires is quite limited and have not reached the level of maturity needed for either bulk manufacturing or for controlling nanowire characteristics such as sub 10 nm diameters and different growth directions. In this regard, we report several synthesis strategies that potentially offer in-situ control over the resulting nanowire characteristics such as size, growth direction and an ability to form two-dimensional networks. The techniques described here could be scaled up easily for bulk production of various nanostructures. Our preliminary results suggest that the nanowires form stable dispersions in both organic and aqueous solvents compared to nanoparticles of the same material.


The Nayars of Kerala have got a conspicuous tradition of matrilineal system which have been intermingled with their variegated facets of life and philosophy. The author has tried, in this paper, to pin-point the nature, trend and cause of development of this particular system in the background of the historical study of the Nayar community and the region of living. Nayar polyandry has also been analysed here and this particular phenomenon has been given significant importance in finding out the role and status of matrilineal system through the ages. The system of inheritance among the Nayars and their earliest patterns of marriage have been analysed in a parallel standpoint through the putting forward of age-old customs and tradition-bound ritualistic performances. Owing to the direct impact of certain enactment the traditional Nayar social system has faced certain changes which have made conspicuous reformation of family law, legalization of the partition of joint family properties, weakening of the Tarawad property and the like causing the crushing down of the traditional structure of the society.


DNA microarray technologies are used extensively to profile the expression levels of thousands of genes under various conditions, yielding extremely large data-matrices. Thus, analyzing this information and extracting biologically relevant knowledge becomes a considerable challenge. A classical approach for tackling this challenge is to use clustering (also known as one-way clustering) methods where genes (or respectively samples) are grouped together based on the similarity of their expression profiles across the set of all samples (or respectively genes). An alternative approach is to develop biclustering methods to identify local patterns in the data. These methods extract subgroups of genes that are co-expressed across only a subset of samples and may feature important biological or medical implications. In this study we evaluate 13 biclustering and 2 clustering (k-means and hierarchical) methods. We use several approaches to compare their performance on two real gene expression data sets. For this purpose we apply four evaluation measures in our analysis: (1) we examine how well the considered (bi)clustering methods differentiate various sample types; (2) we evaluate how well the groups of genes discovered by the (bi)clustering methods are annotated with similar Gene Ontology categories; (3) we evaluate the capability of the methods to differentiate genes that are known to be specific to the particular sample types we study and (4) we compare the running time of the algorithms. In the end, we conclude that as long as the samples are well defined and annotated, the contamination of the samples is limited, and the samples are well replicated, biclustering methods such as Plaid and SAMBA are useful for discovering relevant subsets of genes and samples.