geographically comparable to American suburbs has been thoroughly analyzed by G. Berkovits, a Hungarian sociologist, in his book Vildgvaros hatdrdban (In the Periph ery of a Metropolis) , in which he points out the absence of infrastructure, poor housing conditions, and the misery of commuters in the "suburbs" of Budapest. Although nine papers are incorporated into the book edited by Benet and Gyenis, the introduction by Academician I. Friss, outlining the goals of current agricultural policy is the most important contribution. He maintains that state farms and coopera tives have already reached the optimal size desired for efficient operation, which seems to indicate that Hungarian planners reject the trend toward the gigantic that char acterizes agriculture in the Soviet Union and Bulgaria. The elimination of discrepancies between town and country as well as between agricultural and industrial labor is a prominent goal of national policy; the convergence of two forms of socialist property is another target. Friss's introduction is the first instance of a prominent member of the Communist Party emphasizing the need for a long-term agreement with developed capitalist countries. The first part of the book consists of an evaluation of the basic factors of production—land, labor, and capital—and includes projections until 198S. The second part contains two analyses of cooperatives and examines their structure and contribution to the national food economy. The social aspects and the economic significance of private farms is the subject of Toth's paper, while Gyenis deals with the various types of specialized cooperatives and their position in the cooperative move ment.


We medical software is becoming important means to secure competitive power of medical service by explosive increase of medical device based on software, and the quality of medical service is affected to quality of medical software as well as medical devices. But domestic related study and development is not sufficient for quality of medical software, and a falling-off in medical software quality can induce a falling-off in quality of medical service. Therefore, it is necessary to raise qualitative level of medical service by progress and quality improvement of medical devices. Therefore, in this paper, we developed test module and qualify inspection table which can test medical software and produce result based on ISO/1EC 12119.


In last month's issue (p. 5), Publications Board co-chairs Ronald Boisvert and Jack Davidson highlighted some of the recent changes to ACM's Copyright Policy and at the same time introduced a new service launched several weeks ago. This new service, aptly named the ACM Author-Izer, is a unique link-based selfarchiving tool that enables ACM authors to generate and post links on either their home page or institutional repository (IR) that will lead any visitors clicking on these links to a free and definitive version of the author's article archived inside the ACM Digital Library. The main goals of the service are to offer the computing community the greatest possible access to the definitive versions of published works and to empower ACM's authors to showcase the definitive versions of their work on their home pages or IRs in a way that is consistent with ACM's existing subscription model. In addition to being among the first publishers to offer such a service, ACM is effectively jumping into the Open Access debate with a bold move that crosses the line many other publishers have been hesitant to cross in recent years regarding self-archiving. While we feel very strongly that the existing paid-subscription model coupled with fair and affordable pricing is in the best interest of both the computing community and ACM alike, we also believe strongly that it is in the best interest of the community to provide easy access to only one version of an author's work, and that this should be the definitive version. Increasingly, access to published work starts with a Google or Google-like search and the user is often given a long list of links to a particular work. In many cases, these links lead to earlier versions of an author's work or even accepted but not yet published versions. Such versions may be hosted on different sites and it becomes increasingly difficult for users to distinguish between immature pre-published works, accepted but not yet published works, and the definitive works. In addition to the potential confusion caused, the user is oftentimes not using the most "functional" version of the article containing important metadata, reference links, and figures or images that have been added by the publisher during the final stages of the publication process, nor is the author given valuable feedback in the form of usage statistics for how often their articles are being downloaded and read. By creating a free and persistent link for the author to post on their own home page or IR and enabling real-time usage statistics to flow through to those pages from the DL archive itself, ACM is encouraging authors to do away with the multiple versions that tend to build up over time on multiple sites and point to the one definitive article that exists. ACM authors continue to enjoy all of the existing rights and benefits of authorship with ACM, but there is now an added benefit that we believe will be embraced by the community. To "Author-Ize" your own published articles in the ACM Digital Library, simply go to your own ACM Author Profile Page inside the DL, sign in, and follow the comprehensive instructions on how to generate these persistent links. Once you've done this, please let us know what you think at firstname.lastname@example.com. Thank you. DOI:10.1145/2018396.2018401 Scott E. Delman ACM Member News


A rattan chair production by a joint business group engaging Mohimondalo and Iloheluma has been conventionally operated this far.  This rattan production run by craftsman is taken through direct orders by clients.   The production has not been supported by a mechanical technology so that it impacts on a lengthier production time consuming.  This community partnership program aims to introduce the mechanical technology equipment in the rattan chair production process, and to develop the product models of rattan chair and its marketing strategy. The program implementation methods are (1) the introduction to production management in which the continuous process production model allows understanding towards the production planning pattern covering the planning and the monitoring of the production process in relation to raw material stock, types of product, and the number of products produced in the on-going period and in the future, (2) the mechanical technology dissemination through workshop and assistance of mechanical equipment use which enables workers to have understandings about the equipment use for a better skill in the application, (3) the workshop of the latest rattan chair model development, and (4) the assistance program of the marketing strategy.  The outputs of the program indicate that in case of production management aspect, there has been a raw material stock which ensures a sustainable production in a scheduled period so that the production process should no longer rely on clients' orders, the workload distribution of the workers is  proportionally based on skills.  In the production technology aspect, the workers have benefitted the use of seal knife, compressor engine, air stapler, and drilling machine, and been able to applied binding techniques of rattan connections.  The use of mechanical technology equipment has impacted on faster production by 1-2 days consuming.  In the other production aspect, there has been a development of the latest rattan chair model labeled as voltron model for more ergonomically modern living room furniture.  In case of marketing strategy, there has been cooperation with furniture stores through vertical marketing system.


The Purpose of this study has been to create and implement a Web page for teaching purposes and pharmaceutical service taking advantage of use of Internet's potentialities. The created Web page is called "Virtual Pharmacy" and includes several interesting issues: customer's attention, search (in Internet) and teaching topis from the subject Private Pharmacy. This page has become part of regular teaching and has been favourably accepted by undergraduate students, health professionals, and user in general.


This paper presents a study of the power flow control capability of the interline power flow controller (IPFC) and its effect on small‐signal stability enhancement. A detailed dynamic model of IPFC suitable for power system electromechanical stability analysis is developed in this paper. The power flow control capability of the proportional‐integral (PI) controllers and their effect on power oscillation damping are evaluated first, and modal analysis of the power system is carried out to demonstrate their effectiveness in small‐signal stability enhancement. Then the eigenvalue sensitivity based parameter optimization technique is adopted to optimize the control parameters of PI controllers in order to stabilize the oscillatory modes having insufficient damping ratios. Numerical simulation results demonstrate that the IPFC with the proposed control is an effective tool for power flow control and small‐signal stability enhancement, and the optimized PI controllers also have a positive effect on improving the performance of IPFC in power flow control. Copyright © 2009 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.


We propose the use of a game with a purpose (GWAP) to facilitate crowd-sourcing of phraseequivalents, as an alternative to expert or paid crowd-sourcing. Doodling is an online multiplayer game, in which one player (drawer), draws pictures on a shared board to get the other players (guessers) to guess the meaning behind an assigned phrase. In this paper we describe the system and results from several experiments intended to improve the quality of information generated by the play. In addition, we describe the mechanism by which we take candidate phrases generated during the games and filter out true phrase equivalents. We expect that, at scale, this game will be more cost-efficient than paid mechanisms for a similar task, and demonstrate this by comparing the productivity of an hour of game play to an equivalent crowd-sourced Amazon Mechanical Turk task to produce phrase-equivalents over one week.


The electrophoretic deposition (infiltration) method represents a convenient alternative technique to fabricate ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) with improved high matrix density. The focal point of the present work is to describe the basic principle of the EPD technique applied to fabricate CMCs with oxide matrix and oxide fibres. Optimisation of the suspension stability is emphasised as well as the operational determination of the parameters for EPD and the designed of a new EPD cell to warrant the improved infiltration of the particles into fibre mats used as reinforcement. The electrophoretic deposition (infiltration) technique was applied to fabricate composites with alumina matrix (α-Al2O3) reinforced with NextelTM 720 fibres. The fabricated composites demonstrate that EPD permits to achieve a high matrix density with an excellent high intra-tow infiltration of the matrix particles. Moreover a mechanism of the EPD infiltration of oxide fibres is proposed and consequently progress in understanding the fundamentals of the technique applied to oxide-oxide systems has been made.


We propose a data-driven network-based approach to understand the interactions among technologies, products, and customers. Specifically, the approach enables both a qualitative understanding and a quantitative assessment of the impact of technological changes on customers' co-consideration behaviors (decision of cross-shopping) and as a consequence the product competitions. The uniqueness of the proposed approach is its capability of predicting complex co-consideration relations of products as a network where both descriptive analyses (e.g., network statistics and joint correspondence analysis) and predictive models (e.g., multiple regressions quadratic assignment procedure) are employed. The integrated network analysis approach features three advantages: (1) It provides an effective visual representation of the underlying market structures; (2) It facilitates the evaluation of the correlation between customers' consideration preferences and product attributes as well as customer demographics; (3) It enables the prediction of market competitions in response to potential technological changes. This paper demonstrates the proposed network-based approach in a vehicle design context. We investigate the impacts of the fuel economy-boosting technologies and the turbocharged engine technology on individual automakers as well as the entire auto industry. The case study provides vehicle engineers with insights into the change of market competitions brought by technological developments and thereby supports attribute decision-making in vehicle design.


As the commercialisation of the Internet continues, unsolicited bulk email has reached epidemic proportions as more and more marketers' turn to bulk email as a viable advertising medium. Concern about the proliferation of unsolicited bulk email, or spam, has continued to grow, with the Internet community increasingly turning to both regulatory and technical solutions to alleviate the problem. While marketers seek to reach a larger and larger audience as an attempt to increase their returns, consumers are seeking effective means to avoid being targeted. There is already a broad range of counter measures to deal with the problem of spam, some of which have been successfully deployed in commercial environments. This paper will attempt to evaluate some of the existing technical solutions to control the ever-increasing volume of unsolicited bulk email.


BACKGROUND
The prolonged and heavy consumption of ethanol has been associated with thiamine deficiency and a wide range of cognitive and memory impairments. The present study was undertaken to test the hypothesis that ethanol and thiamine deficiency act synergistically, producing more severe clinical neurological disturbances and cognitive and memory impairments than either thiamine deficiency or chronic ethanol alone.

METHODS
The acute neurological and long-term behavioral consequences of combined chronic (32 weeks) ethanol consumption (20% v/v in drinking water) and three separate 4-week long episodes of dietary thiamine deficiency (ET/TD) versus ethanol (ET) or thiamine deficiency (TD) treatments alone were examined in male Sprague Dawley rats aged 12 weeks at the start of treatment.

RESULTS
The ET/TD group lost less weight than the TD group during each episode of thiamine deficiency. Contrary to expectations, the progression and severity of ataxia, impaired righting reflexes, and opisthotonic posturing were similar in the ET/TD and TD groups. None of the ET animals displayed any neurological or behavioral symptoms during treatment. After withdrawal from ethanol and a 7-week recovery period, none of the groups differed in spontaneous activity. On subsequent testing, the ET group displayed a significant increase in perseverative responding in a spontaneous alternation task. A small but significant proportion of ET/TD (23%), ET (17%), and TD (8%) animals were unable to reach criterion on an initial nonmatching-to-position task (NMTP) or in two subsequent reversals of the matching and NMTP tasks, which indicated persistent learning impairments. A large proportion of animals in each of the three groups demonstrated significantly reduced accuracy compared with controls at longer delays of matching-to-position tasks (MTP), but only the ET group was consistently impaired at the shorter delays. There were no significant correlations between blood ethanol concentration and any of the learning and memory measures.

CONCLUSIONS
These results indicate that the interaction of chronic ethanol consumption and bouts of TD is both domain specific and not always synergistic. Learning and reference memory appear to be sensitive to a synergistic interaction of ET and TD, whereas short-term working memory disturbances are most affected by ET and neurological symptoms are most associated with TD. Furthermore, neither the presence of neurological symptoms nor blood ethanol concentrations appear to be good predictors of learning and memory deficits.


Bi-capacities arise as a natural generalization of capacities (or fuzzy measures) in a context of decision making where underlying scales are bipolar. They are able to capture a wide variety of decision behaviours, encompassing models such as Cumulative Prospect Theory (CPT). The aim of this paper in two parts is to present the machinery behind bicapacities, and thus remains on a rather theoretical level, although some parts are firmly rooted in decision theory, notably cooperative game theory. The present second part focuses on the definition of Choquet integral. We give several expressions of it, including an expression w.r.t. the Möbius transform. This permits to express the Choquet integral for 2-additive bi-capacities w.r.t. the interaction index.


to give thematic classification of the borrowings. The tasks of the investigation are to outline the main scientific approaches to the problem, to analyse different types of English borrowings in the Russian language in lexicographical sources and to form the thematic classification of English borrowings. The article introduces the main scientific works on the aforementioned problem. The novelty of the investigation is the thematic approach to the classification of English borrowings around the turn of the 21 th century. The paper is illustrated by multiple examples from the online sources and paper dictionaries. The material of the analysis includes about 300 words, which are divided to the twenty-five thematic groups. In accordance with the results of the investigation it is noted that there is a limited number of "anglicisms" linked with specific human activities both in England and in Russia. It is also considered that the appearance of the dictionaries of "anglicisms" is the best proof of the function of English as a donor-language. The authors conclude that the basic approach to the problem of the paper can be an initial stage for further, more sophisticated and scientifically more elaborate studies of language contacts in general.


Background and objective: Based on the limited literature, a formalized peer tutoring program was developed at the study institution's School of Nursing to promote the success of academically at-risk students.  The evaluation process was designed to guide program improvement as well as to contribute to the available literature related to peer tutoring in programs of nursing. The purpose of this study was to formally evaluate a newly developed formalized peer tutoring program for undergraduate nursing students, to inform other undergraduate nursing programs considering implementing a peer tutoring program.Methods: The peer tutoring program was evaluated using parallel post-experience surveys for tutors and tutees. Participants also completed a Learning and Studying Strategies Questionnaire, to determine if strategy use differed between the two groups.Results: There were no statistically significant differences in learning/studying strategies used by tutors and tutees, with both being predominantly superficial strategies. Tutors and tutees evaluated the tutoring program overwhelmingly positively. A few students did make suggestions for improvements in the payment system and suggested making tutoring more widely available.Conclusions: The formalized peer tutoring program is a valuable asset in promoting the academic success of undergraduate nursing students.  Minor changes to the program have been made according to student suggestions.


Information from the national drug abuse monitoring system was analysed to determine the trends in extent and pattern of drug dependence in Malaysia over the period 1970 to 1986. The annual incidence and prevalence rates of reported drug dependents increased by many folds when compared to the early seventies. Generally, the profile of drug dependents identified has remained relatively stable throughout the years. A stable pattern of drug abuse was also noted over this period. Factors influencing the trend patterns are discussed, as well as the implications of these findings for policy purposes.


Invasive aspergillosis represents a clinical picture frequently associated with host's immunosuppression which usually involves a high morbidity and mortality. In general, the most frequent fungal entry is the lungs with secondary hematogenous dissemination, but there are other hypotheses like a gastrointestinal portal of entry. There are some rare publications of cases with invasive aspergillosis in immunocompetent patients. We present the case of an immunocompetent patient without any risk factors except for age, ICU stay, and surgical intervention, who developed a septic shock by invasive gastrointestinal aspergillosis as primary infection. Due to the unusualness of the case, despite all the measures taken, the results were obtained postmortem. We want to emphasize the need not to underestimate the possibility for an invasive aspergillosis in an immunocompetent patient. Not only pulmonary but also gastrointestinal aspergillosis should be taken into account in the differential diagnosis to avoid a delay of treatment.


Proceedings: AACR 102nd Annual Meeting 2011‐‐ Apr 2‐6, 2011; Orlando, FL

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in Canadian men. Most chemotherapeutic drugs do not preferentially target the tumour and therefore subject the patient's healthy cells to significant toxicity. There is therefore an urgent need for a novel strategy to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs specifically to the tumour. P14 is a fusion associated small transmembrane (FAST) protein which mediates efficient cell-cell interaction. When we incorporate this p14 FAST protein into liposomes we increase the fusion of the liposome to cell membranes. I hypothesize that targeted ablation of prostate cancer may be achieved by delivering chemotherapeutics encapsulated inside fusogenic liposomes targeted to the gastrin releasing peptide receptors. The objectives of the study are to i) validate the fusogenic properties of p14-containg liposomes ii) express and purify p14-bomesin fusion protein, iii) assemble targeted fusogenic lipsoomes iv) and assess the targeted ablation of human prostate cancer in a xenograft model. To validate the fusogenic properties of p14-containing liposomes in our cell lines, we encapsulated fluorescent dextran inside liposomes containing either no p14, mutant p14 (fusogenic incompetent) or an active p14. We incubated the liposomes on human fibrosarcoma cells (HT1080) and measured the uptake of fluorescent dextran using fluorescent microscopy. To construct a fusion protein, we used PCR amplification to fuse bombesin to the C-terminus of the p14 protein. Our analysis demonstrates that the incorporation of the p14 protein significantly increased the fluorescent dextran uptake in the cytoplasm of the HT1080 cells compared to the liposomes that contained no p14 and the mutant p14. Protein purification of the p14-bombesin fusion protein is still in progress. I propose to use these targeted fusogenic liposomes for future studies to evaluate the ability of bombesin-coated fusogenic liposomes to target prostate cells in vitro and deliver a toxic therapeutic payload to prostate tumours in vivo and assess tumour reduction.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3224. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-3224


Diagnostic features in mammograms vary widely in size and shape. Classical image enhancement techniques cannot adapt to the varying characteristics of such features. An adaptive method for enhancing the contrast of mammographic features of varying size and shape is presented. The method uses each pixel in the image as a seed to grow a region. The extent and shape of the region adapt to local image gray-level variations, corresponding to an image feature. The contrast of each region is calculated with respect to its individual background. Contrast is then enhanced by applying an empirical transformation based on each region's seed pixel value, its contrast, and its background. A quantitative measure of image contrast improvement is also defined based on a histogram of region contrast and used for comparison of results. Using mammogram images digitized at high resolution (less than 0.1 mm pixel size), it is shown that the validity of microcalcification clusters and anatomic details is considerably improved in the processed images.


: At present, there are several types of propellers in the field of the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with unknown parameters, where it is necessary to provide information about their thrust, current consumption and maximal rotational speed (RPM). Commonly used methods for measurement of a propeller's thrust are mostly based on the usage of a single purpose system, on short measurements without data storage or on inaccurate sensors. The goal of this article is to develop a universal experimental measuring system for more accurate measurement of propeller's parameters (thrust, current consumption, maximal RPM). For more accurate measurement, the battery voltage, temperature and humidity of the environment were also measured. To acquire, measure and store the data safely on a micro SD card, a processing circuit based on an ATmega2560 microcontroller was developed. This innovative approach allowed to analyse the behaviour of the propeller and to measure the dependencies of the RPM on pulse width, of the current on RPM and of the thrust on RPM at different input conditions. The measurements have shown that the dependencies can be approximated by cubic functions. The mathematical description allows predicting the behaviour of the propeller in unmeasurable conditions.


The exo-hydroxyl group (exo-OH) on isosorbide (ISB) has long been asserted as a highly reactive moiety compared with the endo-hydroxyl group (endo-OH). In this study, calculations based on density functional theory and experiments without adding catalysts reveal that endo-OH has strong nucleophilic ability, and in the case of transesterification with diphenyl carbonate, the nucleophilic attack surmounts steric hindrance in rendering endo-OH more reactive than exo-OH. The kinetics of transesterification with different catalysts is investigated to determine the catalytic reactivity and molecular structure evolution. The results show that preferential activation of exo-OH moieties can be achieved either by reducing the coordination ability of catalytic cations (lg β1) or by enhancing the alkalinity of catalytic anions. Despite the low reactivity of exo-OH on ISB monomers, terminal exo-OH on carbonate oligomers exhibits higher reactivity than terminal endo-OH, justifying the experimental fact that ISB-based polycarbonates (ISB-PCs) are mostly terminated by endo-OH. Balancing the reactivity between endo-OH and exo-OH can be promoted by increasing the reaction temperature, thus accelerating transesterification to a high equilibrium constant. These findings help to clarify the mechanism of ISB transesterification and provide new strategies for the synthesis of high-molecular-weight ISB-PCs.


In public health insurance programs, federal and state regulators use network adequacy standards to ensure that health plans provide enrollees with adequate access to care. These standards are based on provider availability, anticipated enrollment, and patterns of care delivery. We anticipate that the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic will have 3 main effects on provider networks and their regulation: enrollment changes, changes to the provider landscape, and changes to care delivery. Regulators will need to ensure that plans adjust their network size should there be increased enrollment or increased utilization caused by forgone care. Regulators will also require updated monitoring data and plan network data that reflect postpandemic provider availability. Telehealth will have a larger role in care delivery than in the prepandemic period, and regulators will need to adapt network standards to accommodate in-person and virtual care delivery.


Sodium and potassium signatures in transiting exoplanets can be challenging to isolate from the stellar absorption lines. Here, these challenges are discussed in the framework of Solar System observations, and transits of Mercury in particular. Radiation pressure is important for alkali gas dynamics in close-orbiting exoplanets since the D lines are efficient at resonant scattering. When the star-planet velocity is ≳10 km/s, eccentric exoplanets experience more than an order of magnitude higher radiation pressures, aiding atmospheric escape and producing a larger effective cross-section for absorbing starlight at the phase of transit. The Doppler shift also aids in isolating the planetary signature from the stellar photosphere's absorption. Only one transiting exoplanet, HD 80606b, is presently thought to have both this requisite Doppler shift and alkali absorption. Radiation pressure on a planetary exosphere naturally produces blue-shifted absorption, but at levels insufficient to account for the extreme Doppler shifts that have been inferred from potassium transit measurements of this system. In the absence of clear mechanisms to generate such a strong wind, it is described how this characteristic could arise from an exomoon-magnetosphere interaction, analogous to Io-Jupiter. At low contrasts presented here, follow-up transit spectra of HD 80606b cannot rule out a potassium jet or atmospheric species with a broad absorption structure. However, it is evident that line absorption within the imaging passbands fails to explain the narrow-band photometry that has been reported in-transit. New observations of energetic alkalis produced by the Io-Jupiter interaction are also presented, which illustrate that energetic sodium Doppler structure offers a more valuable marker for the presence of an exomoon than potassium.


BACKGROUND
Short-gut syndrome is likely to impair enteric fat utilization. This study was undertaken to develop a clinical test of lipid absorption without fecal collection.

METHODS
The absorption of enterally fed radioactive long-chain fatty acid, beta-methyl-p-(123I)-iodophenylpentadecanoic acid was investigated with continuous chyle collection in rats. The changes in excretion and time-dependent biodistribution of radioactivity of the enterally fed agent were assessed in normal control animals. Similarly, sequential urinary excretion and biodistribution were studied along with scintigraphy using sham-operated and short-gut animals.

RESULTS
Approximately 64% of the enterally fed radioactivity was recovered in the collected chyle (24 hours). A comparison of normal control, sham-operated, and short-gut animals showed significantly less urinary and greater fecal excretions of radioactivity in short-gut animals. With the use of sequential scintigraphy, the small intestine, whole-body soft tissues, and urinary bladder were well visualized in sham-operated animals, whereas the large intestine and feces were demonstrated earlier in short-gut animals.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest that enteral feeding of the agent might be feasible for determining lipid absorption from the the dynamic changes of radioactivity in visualized abdominal organs and in urine.


Background: In recent years many researches has centered on the influence of thyroid disease on pregnancy and the consequence of offspring.Aim: The present study was conducted to evaluate the relationship of multiple risk factors and thyroid functions among Bangladeshi young women during 1st half of the pregnancy.Material and methods: This cross-sectional study was done in in the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology of Dhaka Medical College Hospital, Dhaka on 200 pregnant women in their 1st half of pregnancy attending antenatal clinic, DMCH from December 2018 to December 2019. Where inclusion criteria were healthy singleton pregnant women up to 20 weeks of gestation.Results:According to this study, 10.5% subclinical hypothyroidism group and 36.8% from overt hypothyroidism patients had family history of thyroid dysfunction. 6.5% had stage-1 hypertension and 11% patients had stage-2 hypertension. Also, abnormal blood pressure level is highly correlated with thyroid dysfunction status. The rate of iron disfunction strongly correlated with thyroid dysfunction. 6% patients had mid-level of iron deficiency and 13.5% had iron deficiency anemia. Also, 62.5% had mild hemoglobin level and 37.5% had moderate- severe mild hemoglobin level.Conclusion:The results indicate that, iron deficiency, hypertension can be seen in hypothyroidism during the 1st half of pregnancy. Hence, routine thyroid monitoring, checkup and appropriate management is necessary for hyperthyroidism in the 1st half of pregnancy to avoid more adverse outcome.


Federated learning promises an elegant solution for learning global models across distributed and privacy-protected datasets. However, challenges related to skewed data distribution, limited computational and communication resources, data poisoning, and free riding clients affect the performance of federated learning. Selection of the best clients for each round of learning is critical in alleviating these problems. We propose a novel sampling method named the irrelevance sampling technique. Our method is founded on defining a novel irrelevance score that incorporates the client characteristics in a single floating value, which can elegantly classify the client into three numerical sign defined pools for easy sampling. It is a computationally inexpensive, intuitive and privacy preserving sampling technique that selects a subset of clients based on quality and quantity of data on edge devices. It achieves 50–80% faster convergence even in highly skewed data distribution in the presence of free riders based on lack of data and severe class imbalance under both Independent and Identically Distributed (IID) and Non-IID conditions. It shows good performance on practical application datasets.


We link the intensity of campaign competition in different electoral systems with the number of candidates running for public office and their ideological differentiation. We show that proportional elections have more candidates, competing less aggressively in campaign spending, than those in majoritarian elections. Candidates' ideological positions, however, can in general be more differentiated in majoritarian or proportional elections. We also study the equilibrium effects of plurality premiums and the consequences of heterogeneity among candidates in nonideological characteristics.


The paper is dedicated to the analysis of hydrating conditions in the process of the transportation of the natural gas by subsea pipeline, to the mechanism of formation of hydrate plugs, to the localization and elimination by means of an immediate definition of hydrates as well. As a result of the analysis, it was marked that one of the complicated issues in the transportation of the natural gas, particularly via the sea, is the hydrating. Gas hydrates are crystal compounds formed from the water and gas in the specific temperature and pressure parameters. The necessity of the implementation of such a complicated and labor-intensive process as the weighting and separation of hydrates from the subsea gas pipelines as a result of hydrating is noted. According to the results of the observation of subsea gas pipelines, it was specified that the hydrates and partial or full choking of gas pipeline occur due to two various scenarios. The first case arises from the deposition of the hydrate in the inner surface of gas pipeline, and the second one – from the accumulation of a great deal of water and condensate within the pipeline, as well as from the decrease of pipeline flow in the section of fluid collection, from the increase of gas charge and its temperature. Unlike the onshore gas pipelines, the number of technological parameters for an accurate estimation of the moment of hydrating in the offshore gas pipelines is quite limited. The paper presents an analytical method for the specification of the hydrating moment within a subsea gas main in the limited parameters. The reports on an actual gas pipeline justified the efficiency and information value of the method. Suggested method is characterized with the simplicity, perspective of an immediate employment and comfort of usage by the staff.


A simple model is built up to capture the key drivers of investment and pricing incentives in electricity markets. The focus is put on the interaction between market power and investment incentives, and the trade-o_ it introduces when designing the optimal regulatory instruments. In contrast to the energy-only market paradigm that assumes perfect competition, our model demonstrates that in the presence of market power scarcity prices do not promote efficient investments, even among risk-neutral investors. Combining price caps and capacity payments allows to disentangle the two-fold objective of inducing the right investment incentives while mitigating market power. Bundling capacity payments with financial obligations further mitigates market power as long as strike prices are set sufficiently close to marginal costs.


Fatty acid composition of lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and cytoplasmic membranes (CPM) of Yersinia pestis [correction of the plaque microbe] has been studied. Concentration of certain acids in the LPS content proved sharply different and thus the strains were separated into groups. High content of 3-oxymiristinic acid was a distinction of vaccine strains. Virulent strains of one of the groups regularly differed from the rest of virulent strains by high content of laurinic acid. Laurinic and two nonidentified acids, which were not found in the virulent cultures, were present in CMP lipids of vaccine strains.


Sharing data and storage space in a distributed system remains a difficult task for ordinary users, who are constrained to the fixed abstractions and resources provided by administrators. To remedy this situation, we introduce the concept of a tactical storage system (TSS) that separates storage abstractions from storage resources, leaving users free to create, reconfigure, and destroy abstractions as their needs change. In this paper, we describe how a TSS can provide a variety of filesystem and database abstractions for unmodified applications without requiring special privileges or kernel changes. A TSS provides performance competitive with NFS for single clients and also scales well for multiple servers and multiple clients. A prototype TSS of 120 disks and 6 TB of storage has been deployed at the University of Notre Dame and used for applications in high energy physics and bioinformatics.


Customer loyalty is a thing that brand really needed to be still remain in bussiness world, including Go-Jek brand which lead the online transportation market-share in Indonesia right now. But, the practical loyalty (customer loyaty to the brand) cannot be found at the customer because of many factors. Based on jak-pat survey, almost 40,89 persen Go-jek user also Grab user. This behavior known as swinger, which the customer switch a brand consumption immediately. This is can be compounded by the no cost status in the process of replacing the use of the brand. Appearance of various assumption about why this swinger behavior happen, is the reason why author want to research about what actually is the forming loyalty factor of Go-jek customers in Semarang. This is an important thing for Gojek because customer loyalty to the brand can be a potential problem that is very detrimental if it is not immediately addressed properly. This research aims to determine what factors form the loyalty of Go-jek customers in Semarang, with population of 139 people who live in Semarang and have used Go-jek and installed the application. Primary data collected by using purposive sampling technique with data collection tools and techniques in questionnaires form and interviews to enrich the obtained information. Based on the data processing results, using the SPSS 20.0 with factor analysis techniques shows that the KMO value (Kaiser-Mayer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequancy) and the Barlett's Test method is 0.612 which means more than 0.5 and this research data is possible to test, the Barlett's Test of Sphericity value also has a sig value of 0,000 and from 25 factors (indicators) forming customer loyalty that has been collected through 7 characters through various books and journals research has been reduced to be 7 factors with 62.05 persen of total variance value. The 7 factors consist of Brand quality, Customer experience, Brand image, Selective consume, Personal value, Trusting to brand and Repeat purchase. The conclusion of this research is price factor is the most rapidly changing the customer behavior. Suggestions from the previous author for further research is retesting cases of customer loyalty with variable promotion.


Natural treatment systems for wastewater can be divided into three broad categories: soil-based systems, which include subsurface infiltration, rapid infiltration/soil aquifer treatment, overland flow, and slow rate systems; wetland systems, which include free water surface and submerged flow systems; and aquatic systems, which include pond and floating aquatic plant systems. Many, but not all, on-site wastewater treatment systems are natural systems using septic tanks as a pretreatment.


Monitoring of distribution of monogenean ectoparasite Gyrodactylus salaris, dangerous for wild populations of the Atlantic salmon in northwest Europe, is carried out by Veterinary Services and the profile scientific organizations in different European countries. In Murmansk area, Gyrodactylus lavareti was first found in a trout farm in Tuloma River in 1996. From now on, representatives of genus Gyrodactylus are annually identified in farmed fish in Tuloma River, according to ichthyopatholocic observations of salmonid farms in Murmansk area. Species G. salaris was indicated in 2016 in farmed trout in Tuloma River and in wild salmon smolts in Pak River of the Nizhnetulomsky water basin. Throughout a number of years, the experts of Regional Veterinary Service and the scientific organizations of Murmansk area discuss necessity of working out of measures to prevent Gyrodactylus salaris introduction in the rivers of the Kola Peninsula with wild populations of the Atlantic salmon. Any transport of smolt and live fish from the freshwater objects of Baltic Sea basin to the water objects of the Barents Sea basin sea would become the most significant threat by parasite Gyrodactylus salaris distribution and might cause a damage of natural populations of the Atlantic salmon of Kola Peninsula.


We propose a deep learning system for attention-guided dual-layer image compression (AGDL). In the AGDL compression system, an image is encoded into two layers, a base layer and an attention-guided refinement layer. Unlike the existing ROI image compression methods that spend an extra bit budget equally on all pixels in ROI, AGDL employs a CNN module to predict those pixels on and near a saliency sketch within ROI that are critical to perceptual quality. Only the critical pixels are further sampled by compressive sensing (CS) to form a very compact refinement layer. Another novel CNN method is developed to jointly decode the two compression layers for a much refined reconstruction, while strictly satisfying the transmitted CS constraints on perceptually critical pixels. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed AGDL system advances the state of the art in perception-aware image compression.


This report beings with a historical overview on the origin and early beginnings of Radiant Energy Power Source for Jet Aircraft. The report reviews the work done in Phase I (Grant DE-FG01-82CE-15144) and then gives a discussion of Phase II (Grant DE-FG01-86CE-15301). Included is a reasonably detailed discussion of photovoltaic cells and the research and development needed in this area. The report closes with a historical perspective and summary related to situations historically encountered on projects of this nature. 15 refs.


The astrophysical p process is considered the main nucleosynthesis mechanism for the creation of the p nuclei. The accurate description of this process still suffers from large uncertainties both in the astrophysical environment and the nuclear physics input. In the latter case, nuclear reaction sensitivity studies have identified a group of reactions that have a significant contribution to the final p-nuclei abundance distribution. The cross sections of such "important" reactions need to be measured experimentally and for this reason there is a major experimental effort to provide experimental data for the relevant astrophysical energies. In the present work, we introduce a new experimental setup - the SuN detector - that was developed at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory for measurements of capture reactions of astrophysical interest.


Background: Delirium is a fluctuating disturbance in consciousness that is highly prevalent in the intensive care unit. The adult ICU of the Hospital Universitario de Neiva shows an incidence of 28% of delirium patients, this increases morbidity and mortality rates among critical ones; nonetheless, this can be prevented if intervention occurs. Objective: Determine the effectiveness of To determine the effectiveness of care applied, according to guide nursing care nursing care to prevent delirium in patients, who were hospitalized in the adult intensive care unit, the patients were exposed to environmental stressors. Methodology: A quantitative, prospective and pre-experimental study was carried out to 49 patients who received assessment with the help of a nursing care guide. Besides the guide, a pretest and a posttest were carried out to evaluate the patients' perception on environmental stressors. Results: Three out of the 49 patients experienced delirium; this represents a cumulative incidence of 6.12 delirium cases x 100 patients (CI 95%: 1.67-16.1), evident with the Kaplan-Merier curve. Based on the proportion hypothesis testing (Z ₀.₀₅ = -1.65) and in contrast to previous results where the incidence of delirium was of 28%, the statistical evidence suffices to demonstrate that the presence of the syndrome is much less frequent in patients to whom the nursing care guide. Conclusions: The guide prevented the occurrence of delirium in 94% of the patients, regardless of their deliriogenic history, by controlling the continuous noise and artificial light. This is why, minimizing environmental stressors, which results in a more pleasant environment, is a fundamental part of nursing care for the prevention of such a syndrome.


The purpose of this study was to examine the biofilm removing and antimicrobial effects of microbubbled tap water and other functional water. The biofilm removal test showed that the activity of microbubbled tap water against the biofilm of Candida albicans and Streptococcus mutans was significantly higher than that of ordinary tap water (p<0.01). When the antimicrobial activities of two types of functional water were compared, the activity of electrolyzed hypochlorite water was significantly stronger than that of the ozonated water (p<0.01). The antimicrobial effect of the electrolyzed hypochlorite water was increased in the microbubbled form, and was stronger than microbubbled tap water. The same results were obtained not only for biofilms, but also for planktonic microbes. Our results demonstrated that the microbubbled water showed strong biofilm removing effects. Moreover, the application of functional water, such as electrolyzed hypochlorite microbubbled water was effective for both removing and sterilizing biofilms.


The pathophysiological role of the central dopaminergic mechanism in human essential hypertension (EHT) is still unknown, so we investigated a possible relationship between the central dopaminergic activity and salt sensitivity to blood pressure in patients with EHT. We divided 22 inpatients with EHT into salt-sensitive (SS, n = 11) and non-salt-sensitive (NSS, n = 11) groups according to an 8% increase of mean blood pressure (MBP) when dietary salt intake was increased from 2 g/day to 20 g/day for two periods of 7 days each. The change of central dopaminergic activity by salt load was evaluated as the percentage change of plasma prolactin (PRL) response to a small dose (25 micrograms) of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) administered intravenously. The mean percentage change of PRL response by salt load in the SS group was -9.4 +/- 8.5% (mean +/- SEM), which was remarkably lower than the 26.8 +/- 5.5% in the NSS group (P less than .01). There was a significant negative correlation between the percentage change of PRL response and that of MBP by salt load (r = -0.456, P less than .05). These results suggest that a lack of activation of the central dopaminergic system by salt load may contribute in part to a rise in blood pressure in SS patients with EHT.


Mesoporous silica SBA-15 is shown to be a very efficient alternative to phase transfer catalyst salts for two-phase nucleophilic substitutions. The two-phase reaction can efficiently take place in the absence of PTCs. The high catalytic activity and reaction rates can be attributed to the amphiphilic and negatively charged surface of SBA-15 as well as the rapid ingress of the reactants and egress of the products.


Thromboembolic complications in recent years become an important health problem because they are a major cause of death of trauma patients. Diagnosis of thromboembolic complications based on an analysis of clinical presentation, monitoring parameters of the hemostatic system and the data of instrumental diagnostics. Only a system of prevention, covering the major risk factors, stages of treatment of a patient comprising administering anticoagulants and mechanical methods of prevention is the key to the succes s and effectiveness.


Endothelin-1 is a potent vasoactive peptide that exerts its action via endothelin-A (ETA) and endothelin-B (ETB) receptors. Both types of receptor belong to the rhodopsin-like (class A) G protein-coupled receptors. Since there is an increasing body of evidence that G protein-coupled receptors function as homo- and heterodimers, we sought to prove whether endothelin receptor subtypes also exist as homodimers. To this end we generated plasmids encoding fusion proteins of the endothelin-A and endothelin-B receptor with cyan (ETA.CFP, ETB.CFP) or yellow fluorescent protein (ETA.YFP, ETB.YFP), suitable for fluorescence resonance energy transfer experiments. HEK293 cells transiently co-expressing either ETA.CFP and ETA.YFP or ETB.CFP and ETB.YFP showed significant fluorescence resonance energy transfer. The calculated efficiencies of fluorescence resonance energy transfer were between 12 and 18% for both endothelin-A and endothelin-B receptor homodimers. When cells co-expressing ETA.CFP and ETA.YFP or ETB.CFP and ETB.YFP were treated with endothelin-1 for 30 minutes at 37C, no change in fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiencies was found. Similarly, the endothelin-A receptor-selective antagonist, BQ123, and the endothelin-B receptor-selective antagonist, BQ788, did not change the fluorescence resonance energy transfer efficiencies of ETA.CFP/ ETA.YFP and ETB.CFP/ETB.YFP homodimers, respectively. The data demonstrate that endothelin-A and endothelin-B receptors exist as constitutive homodimers, which are not altered in the presence of agonists or antagonists.


ABSTRACT Based on data from interviews conducted with 14 academic managers at two Swedish universities, this article investigates the consequences of the increasing prevalence of performance measurement in the higher education sector. The study contributes to the discussion of how performance measurement impacts academic work, focusing specifically on its influence on how meaning is created and recreated by academic managers. By applying the sensemaking perspective, as proposed by Weick ([1995. Sensemaking in Organizations. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications]), the article explores seven properties of the sensemaking process. The study results demonstrate the influence of metrics on the process by which managers give meaning to academic work. Performance measures are interpreted by academic managers as important in acquiring resources, supporting decision-making, and enhancing organisational legitimacy. They also reinforce social scripts of competition and success, although they are often understood as being unable to indicate scientific quality. The consequence for sensemaking in teaching and research activities is that measurable performance is understood to be increasingly important. However, a notable finding from the study is that the managers are aware of how metrics promote specific forms of academic work and often attempt to balance these incentives by acknowledging the values and priorities that these metrics are unable to assess. This finding highlights the important role of academic managers as they counteract some of the pressure caused by various performance measures.


Fusion of vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) with cells and liposomes before and after treatment with neuraminidase was studied using the R18 dequenching assay. Desialylation of VSV significantly enhanced the extent of fusion with Vero cells but affected neither the pH dependence nor the binding of VSV to Vero cells. The enhanced fusion of asialo-VSV was observed both at the plasma membrane as well as via the endocytic pathway. Both VSV and asialo-VSV fused with liposomes made of neutral phospholipid, but only asialo-VSV fused with liposomes containing a 1:1 mixture of neutral and negatively charged phospholipid. To examine factors which contribute to the extent of fusion, we analyzed the various activation and inactivation reactions that take place as a result of low-pH triggering of VSV prebound to the target membrane. Lag times for the onset of fusion were similar for VSV and asialo-VSV, indicating that desialylation did not affect the activation reactions. However, exposure of VSV bound to target membranes at pH 6.5 for 400 s led to considerable inactivation, whereas little inactivation was seen after desialylation of VSV. These results are analyzed in terms of a model which allows us to determine which components of the overall fusion process are dominated by viral envelope sialic acid.


The introduction of functional molecules to the surface of magnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (NPs) is of critical importance. Most previously reported methods were focused on surface ligand attachment either by physisorption or covalent conjugation, resulting in limited ligand loading capacity. In this work, we report the seeded growth of a nucleotide coordinated polymer shell, which can be considered as a special form of adsorption by forming a complete shell. Among all of the tested metal ions, Fe(3+) is the most efficient for this seeded growth. A diverse range of guest molecules, including small organic dyes, proteins, DNA, and gold NPs, can be encapsulated in the shell. All of these molecules were loaded at a much higher capacity compared to that on the naked iron oxide NP core, confirming the advantage of the coordination polymer (CP) shell. In addition, the CP shell provides better guest protein stability compared to that of simple physisorption while retaining guest activity as confirmed by the entrapped glucose oxidase assay. Use of this system as a peroxidase nanozyme and glucose biosensor was demonstrated, detecting glucose as low as 1.4 μM with excellent stability. This work describes a new way to functionalize inorganic materials with a biocompatible shell.


Various methods have been used clinically to assess prostatic function. We evaluated a number of ways of using zinc in post-prostatic massage urine (VB3) and found that the ratio of VB3 zinc concentration to initial urinary zinc concentration was a good indicator of prostatic secretory activity. This ratio can differentiate hormonally treated patients with carcinoma of the prostate from those untreated and from those with benign prostatic hypertrophy. The specificity is increased for individuals by repeat samples. Comparison of samples before and after resection showed no loss of function and no difference was found between groups treated with orchiectomy or LHRH agonist (Zoladex). The VB3/VB1 zinc concentration could be used in a prospective study of hormonal treatments directed against the prostate, where it could give objective evidence of a fall in secretory function of the gland.


Rumination has been consistently implicated in the onset and maintenance of depression. Less work has examined rumination in the context of bipolar disorder, especially rumination about positive emotion. The present study examined rumination about negative and positive emotion in interepisode bipolar disorder (BD; n = 39) and healthy controls (CTL; n = 34). Trait rumination about positive and negative emotion, as well as experiential and physiological responses to a rumination induction, was measured. Illness course was also assessed for the BD group. Results indicated that the BD group reported greater trait rumination about positive and negative emotion compared with the CTL group, though no group differences emerged during the rumination induction. For the BD group, trait rumination about positive and negative emotion, as well as increased cardiovascular arousal (i.e., heart rate), was associated with greater lifetime depression frequency; trait rumination about positive emotion was associated with greater lifetime mania frequency. These findings suggest that interepisode BD is associated with greater rumination about positive and negative emotion, which in turn is associated with illness course.


This study was conducted on crude enzyme from the novel strain Acanthophysium sp. KMF001 using a mediator (surfactant). The surfactant was applied to the steam-exploded pretreated domestic wood biomass, and response surface methodology (RSM) was conducted to determine the optimum conditions for saccharification using the optimum substrate concentration, enzyme concentration, and surfactant concentration. Steam-explosion of Korean oak (25 kgf/cm2) for 7 min showed a maximum-predicted saccharification of approximately 99.9% at 7.0% substrate concentration, 37.5 FPU (filter paper units) enzyme concentration, and 475.8 mg/g-glucan surfactant (polysorbate 80) concentration. Steam-explosion of red pine (25 kgf/cm2) for 7 min revealed a maximum prediction saccharification rate of approximately 58.7% at 6.5% substrate concentration, 36.3 FPU enzyme concentration, and 330.3 mg/g-glucan surfactant (polysorbate 80) concentration. The extents of saccharification of Korean oak (99.9%) and pine (58.7%) demonstrated the high applicability of the crude enzyme from Acanthophysium sp. KMF001.


ABSTRACT Du, Z.; Zhu, X., and Shan W., 2020. External diseconomy theory and environmental management: Optimal taxation model in china marine management. In: Wan, Z. (ed.), Coordinated Sustainable Development in Coastal Areas: Environment and Economy. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 109, pp. 174–180. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The pollution of coastal production activities and marine related industries is very serious, which is an economic externality. Externality theory is the theoretical basis of environmental economics. On the one hand, the externality theory reveals the root causes of some inefficient resource allocation in market economic activities; on the other hand, it provides alternative ideas for how to solve the problem of external environmental diseconomy. Marine environmental pollution is a typical external diseconomic phenomenon, which is manifested as the decline of living quality of surrounding residents, the increase of disease incidence, the decline of seafood production and quality, the impact of aquatic life death on fishery income, the increase of sewage treatment costs, the acceleration of equipment depreciation, and the decrease of tourism income. Based on the theory of externality, this paper applies the theory of externality in marine environmental management in China and discusses the improvement measures of the integrated management of marine environment in China.


Polymeric membranes were leading in the industry of separation due to their advantages in term of performance and economic aspect. However, there were limitations of the polymeric membrane for gas separation processes such as the trade-off between the membrane permeability and selectivity of polymeric membrane. Hence, this project investigated the preparation and characterization of cellulose acetate (CA) polymer membrane. The membranes were fabricated by dry/wet phase inversion method. During this phase, there were three major parameters of coagulation bath to be studied which were the coagulation bath temperature (CBT) in the range of 30-50 °C, pH of coagulation bath in the range of 5-9 and composition of ethanol (0-20%) in coagulation bath. The effects of these varying parameters on the CA membrane properties were studied in this research. The crystallinity, surface morphology, thickness, particle size and thermal stability of CA membrane were investigated through membrane characterization techniques like Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), Thermo-gravimetric Analysis (TGA), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Particle Size Analyser. TGA studied the degradation of all of the CA membranes prepared with different parameters of coagulation bath which was occurred in three steps: (i) evaporation of water content (ii) main thermal decomposition of CA (iii) carbonization of degraded residues with different decomposition temperatures of CA membranes ranging from 269.51 °C to 302.66 °C. Besides, DSC studied the thermal stability of all the membranes prepared including the glass transition temperature (190 °C), melting temperature (220 °C) and the fusion enthalpies. From PSA, the surface weighted mean diameter of CA was 112.626 μm, volume-weighted mean diameter of CA was 289.233 μm and the mean particle size diameter of CA was 259.928 μm. In addition, the FTIR spectra of all of the CA membranes showed similar patterns. Finally, SEM studied the different surface morphologies of CA prepared in different parameters of coagulation bath.


Shape analysis is a well-established tool for processing surfaces. It is often a first step in performing tasks such as segmentation, symmetry detection, and finding correspondences between shapes. Shape analysis is traditionally employed on well-sampled surfaces where the geometry and topology is precisely known. When the form of the surface is that of a point cloud containing nonuniform sampling, noise, and incomplete measurements, traditional shape analysis methods perform poorly. Although one may first perform reconstruction on such a point cloud prior to performing shape analysis, if the geometry and topology is far from the true surface, then this can have an adverse impact on the subsequent analysis. Furthermore, for triangulated surfaces containing noise, thin sheets, and poorly shaped triangles, existing shape analysis methods can be highly unstable. This thesis explores methods of shape analysis applied directly to such defect-laden shapes.
We first study the problem of surface reconstruction, in order to obtain a better understanding of the types of point clouds for which reconstruction methods contain difficulties. To this end, we have devised a benchmark for surface reconstruction, establishing a standard for measuring error in reconstruction. We then develop a new method for consistently orienting normals of such challenging point clouds by using a collection of harmonic functions, intrinsically defined on the point cloud. Next, we develop a new shape analysis tool which is tolerant to imperfections, by constructing distances directly on the point cloud defined as the likelihood of two points belonging to a mutually common medial ball, and apply this for segmentation and reconstruction. We extend this distance measure to define a diffusion process on the point cloud, tolerant to missing data, which is used for the purposes of matching incomplete shapes undergoing a nonrigid deformation. Lastly, we have developed an intrinsic method for multiresolution remeshing of a poor-quality triangulated surface via spectral bisection.


Training Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) is resource-intensive and time-consuming. While prior research has explored many different ways of reducing DNN training time, the impact of
 input data pipeline
 , i.e., fetching raw data items from storage and performing data pre-processing in memory, has been relatively unexplored. This paper makes the following contributions: (1) We present the first comprehensive analysis of how the input data pipeline affects the training time of widely-used computer vision and audio Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), that typically involve complex data pre-processing. We analyze nine different models across three tasks and four datasets while varying factors such as the amount of memory, number of CPU threads, storage device, GPU generation etc on servers that are a part of a large production cluster at Microsoft. We find that in many cases, DNN training time is dominated by
 data stall time
 : time spent waiting for data to be fetched and pre-processed. (2) We build a tool, DS-Analyzer to precisely measure data stalls using a differential technique, and perform predictive what-if analysis on data stalls. (3) Finally, based on the insights from our analysis, we design and implement three simple but effective techniques in a data-loading library, CoorDL, to mitigate data stalls. Our experiments on a range of DNN tasks, models, datasets, and hardware configs show that when PyTorch uses CoorDL instead of the state-of-the-art DALI data loading library, DNN training time is reduced significantly (by as much as 5X on a single server).


We studied the electric response of fractures with laboratory experiments and numerical simulations for a full-bore formation microimaging tool. The laboratory setup was designed and built to perform controlled experiments with accurate measurements of all principal properties involved for electric borehole imaging. These properties are formation resistivity, mud resistivity, fracture aperture, pad position, and button current. The experiments were conducted on two types of limestone for fracture apertures ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 mm and mud/formation resistivity contrasts varying from 1/100 to 1/10,000. A numerical model was used to reproduce the laboratory configuration and to validate the results. The model proved to be an effective tool to optimize the experimental setup, and it was also used to study the effect of standoff (up to 5 mm) on the measured integrated additional current. Linear relationships between the fracture aperture and measured integrated current were found to be valid for the laboratory experiment and the corresponding numerical simulation. The measured integrated current could therefore be used to determine the fracture aperture if the other parameters are known. Two coefficients in the relationship were found to differ from those previously found using numerical simulations for the actual borehole situation. These differences are attributed to tool- and scale-dependent factors.


This study was carried out to determine the quality characteristics of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with various gelling agent such as agar, k-carrageenan and gellan gum for the aged. The concentration of agar was 0.4-0.6% and that of k-carrageenan and gellan gum was 0.2-0.4%. The color value, gelling temperature, melting temperature, break down rate, textural properties and sensory acceptance test of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with various gelling agent were measured. Average age of the subjects for acceptance test was 78.23. Redness and yellowness of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with agar was lower than that with k-carrageenan. The gelling and melting temperature of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with agar was lowest among the jellies. Break down rate of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with agar was highest among the jellies. Above results showed that the stability of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with agar was inferior than that with k-carrageenan and gellan gum. Hardness, adhesiveness and springiness of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with agar was lowest among the jellies and sensory acceptance of Jeju mandarin orange jelly with gellan gum was highest among them. Thus, gellan gum was appropriate gelling agent for the Jeju mandarin orange jelly with regard to the acceptability and the depression of sour taste in Jeju mandarin orange jelly could improve the acceptability for the aged.


OBJECTIVE
To review two phase III clinical trials with recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) in patients with treated thyroid cancer, which led to its approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

METHODS
The trial designs, the results of radioiodine scanning, and the findings with use of both scanning and thyroglobulin (Tg) response are described. In the overall study design, the findings on whole-body radioiodine scanning were compared after use of two techniques--administration of rhTSH and withdrawal of thyroid hormone therapy.

RESULTS
In the first phase III trial, two independent reviewers assessed 127 scan pairs and found 21 scan pairs to be discordant. In 18 of these cases, the scan after thyroid hormone withdrawal was judged as better than the scan after rhTSH administration. Subsequent analysis, however, revealed some problems with the protocol, and adjustments and standardizations were implemented for the second phase III trial, for which multiple blood samples were also obtained for serum Tg determinations. In this second study, 195 of 220 scan pairs were concordant, and only 25 pairs were discordant--17 were better after thyroid hormone withdrawal and 8 were better after rhTSH administration (P<0.1). The Tg response to rhTSH was not sufficiently reliable independently but was useful in combination with whole-body scanning (detection rate of 85 to 90%).

CONCLUSION
The data indicate that rhTSH will be useful for investigation and long-term follow-up of patients with treated thyroid cancer.


The toxic effects and mechanism of soy isoflavones such as genistein and diadzein on the early embryonic development and differentiation are still unknown. We aimed to elucidate the developmental and differentiation alterations occurred after either single exposure or co-exposure of soy isoflavones (Genistein and Di- adzein) on the mEScs in order to un- derstand the effects and possible pathways of phytoestrogen treatments on the early embryonic development. In the present study, mouse embryonic stem cells (mEBs) differentiate when exposed to differ- ent concentrations of genistein and/or diadzein for 5 days and their proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation capacities were evaluated using RT-qPCR analysis. Our results confirmed that soy phytoestrogens had differential effects on regulation of proliferation and apoptosis and the differentiation ability of the mouse stem cells at different levels varies from increase in the differentiation markers of the three germ layers or only ectoderm markers together with up regulation of Oct4 and Rex1 transcription factors and in some cases with down regulation of Nanog in comparison with the control condition and these variations depend on the concentration and whether single or co-treatment of these soy phytoestrogens were used. All of these effects appeared to be related to down regulation effect of Esrrb. Our entire result concluded that soy isoflavones might disturb differentiation of mEBs and these phytochemicals may function via the estrogen relatedreceptor β (ESRRβ)-mediated pathway.


Although the relationship between finance and growth is gaining significant attention, little is known about how financial development indicators affect energy intensity in emerging nations. Given the complexity of the growth effects of financial development and energy intensity dynamics, the present paper investigates the effect of financial development and economic growth on energy intensity in India using Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bounds testing approach. The result indicates that financial development indicators and economic growth had a long-run relationship with energy intensity. Besides, the empirical results reveal that financial development and economic growth had a negative and significant impact on energy intensity in the short and long-run, inferring that financial development and economic growth lower energy intensity in the country. The findings are helpful for India's policymakers in order to maintain the complementarity between financial development and energy intensity.


To examine the effect of endothelium-derived extracellular vesicles (eEVs) on the mediator of flow-induced dilation (FID), composition, formation, and functional effects on the mediator of FID were examined from two different eEV subtypes, one produced from ceramide, while the other was produced from plasminogen-activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1). Using video microscopy, we measured internal-diameter changes in response to increases in flow in human adipose resistance arteries acutely exposed (30 min) to eEVs derived from cultured endothelial cells exposed to ceramide or PAI-1. FID was significantly impaired following exposure to 500K/ml (K = 1,000) of ceramide-induced eEVs (Cer-eEVs) but unaffected by 250K/ml. FID was reduced in the presence of PEG-catalase following administration of 250K/ml of Cer-eEVs and PAI-1 eEVs, whereas Nω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME) had no effect. Pathway analysis following protein composition examination using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) demonstrated that both subtypes were strongly linked to similar biological functions, primarily, mitochondrial dysfunction. Flow cytometry was used to quantify eEVs in the presence or absence of l-phenylalanine-4'-boronic acid (PBA) and mitochondria-targeted [93-boronophenyl)methyl]triphenyl-phosphonium (mito-PBA), cytosolic and mitochondrial-targeted antioxidants, respectively. eEV formation was significantly and dramatically reduced with mito-PBA treatment. In conclusion, eEVs have a biphasic effect, with higher doses impairing and lower doses shifting the mediator of FID from nitric oxide (NO) to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Despite differences in protein content, eEVs may alter vascular function in similar directions, regardless of the stimulus used for their formation. Furthermore, mitochondrial ROS production is required for the generation of these vesicles.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The vascular effect of endothelium-derived extracellular vesicles (eEVs) is biphasic, with higher doses decreasing the magnitude of flow-induced dilation (FID) compared with lower doses that shift the mediator of FID from nitric oxide to H2O2 eEVs may cause vascular dysfunction via similar pathways despite being formed from different stimuli, although both require mitochondrial reactive oxygen species for their formation.


The dispersive properties of 87Rb atomic medium in electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) have been studied experimentally as well as theoretically. To measure the dispersion signal, a balanced homodyne detection technique was used by forming a Mach–Zehnder interferometer. We studied the system in a Λ-type configuration. From the slope of the dispersive EIT signal, the group index (ng) of the atomic medium, the group velocity () and the time delay () of the light wave through the atomic medium were calculated. We measured the group index of the atomic medium from the dispersion signal and observed that it non-linearly depends on the pump power. This non-linearity signifies that to achieve the maximum reduced group velocity, optimization of the pump power is needed. We got the maximum reduction in the group velocity of the probe beam as m s−1. The corresponding time delay was ns. To support our experimental observation, we have performed a theoretical simulation by taking the semi-classical approach of density matrix formalism of a Λ-type three level system. To get the probe response we solved the optical Bloch equation analytically assuming the Lorentzian velocity distribution of the atom. We have observed that our analytical solution matched exactly with the numerical solution. Our experimental observation of non-linear variation of the group index with the pump Rabi frequency matched quite well with both of our numerical and analytical simulations.


Abstract Reproductive synchrony is a widespread phenomenon that is predicted to be adaptive for prey with specialist predators but not for those with generalist ones. I tested this prediction in three polar seabird species characterized by different levels of predator specialization. In the Antarctic petrel, for which the only predator was highly specialized, hatching dates were highly synchronous and chicks that hatched close to the mean hatching date had a higher survival. In black‐legged kittiwakes and Brünnich's guillemots, whose predators were generalists, breeding was less synchronous and there was no fitness advantage in hatching close to the mean. This study emphasizes the potential importance of the relative timing of reproduction for individual fitness and supports the hypothesis that the adaptive value of breeding synchrony depends on the predator functional response.


A study is reported that seeks to examine 5-, 7-, and 10-year-old children's internalization of in-groups within the self-concept. Methodologically, the study draws upon the self-reference effect, extending it to the group-level identity. In particular, it was found that participants' encoding of information with reference to in-groups (family, age, gender) facilitated recall to the same degree as when information had been encoded with reference to the personal self. Both self- and group-reference encoding were associated with higher levels of recall than were control conditions. These findings suggest that group memberships are integral parts of children's self-concepts.


The invasion of tsetse flies into the Adamawa plateau occurred in the 1950s and resulted in high mortality in cattle due to trypanosomosis and massive emigration of livestock owners from the infested regions. Three species of tsetse flies have been recorded: Glossina morsitans submorsitans , G. fuscipes fuscipes and G. tachinoides . Between 1960 and 1975 the Cameroonian Government organized large-scale trypanocidal treatment campaigns of cattle. Later on, tsetse control activities were initiated. Between 1976 and 1994, several aerial spraying campaigns were carried out which resulted in the clearance of 3,200,000 hectares of pastures. Unfortunately, reinvasion of tsetse flies in several cleared areas could not be avoided. To prevent reinvasion of tsetse flies from Koutine Plain (north of the Adamawa plateau), a barrier consisting of screens and traps was set in place. However, bush fires destroyed most of the screens and traps soon after deployment in 1994. Thereafter, the barrier was replaced by a program of insecticide treatments of cattle. Cross-sectional and longitudinal parasitological and entomological surveys in 2004-05 showed that the barrier of insecticide-treated cattle had succeeded in keeping the plateau relatively tsetse free. The incidence of trypanosomosis in cattle on the plateau was reported to vary between 0 and 2.1%. Recently, however, an alarmingly high prevalence of trypanocidal drug resistance was observed in the Faro and Deo division. Within the Pan-African Tsetse and Trypanosomosis Eradication Campaign (PATTEC), Cameroon is currently preparing a joint project with Chad, the Central African Republic and Nigeria to eradicate tsetse flies and trypanosomosis.


Forest composed of many trees has an important role in maintaining environmental conditions suitable for life on the earth. There are many research which incorporate tree survey data into geographical information system, but those are not represented individual tree objects. A purpose of this study is to build the three dimensional forest map of individual tree level, by fusion of field measured data, satellite image, and omni-directional fish-eye photos. First, to obtain the field measured data, we have collected several kind of tree data in the test site. This area is 140 meter from west to east and 60 meter from north to south. In this site, the grid of 10 meter mesh is constructed using piles labeled alphabet and numeric characters. In this study, about 100 trees with height of 16 to 18 meter were selected in order to measure. The measured data are the tree stand locations, the eight distances between the tree trunk and outermost branches in eight directions, and the diameter at breast height. Second, we create the three dimensional forest space using OpenGL graphics library. By using the field measured data, each octagonal crown object which has the location and outermost shape of individual tree is created. The method of image-to-map rectification to identify tree crown from satellite image is performed for registration of high corresponding. The each registered region in IKONOS satellite image is rendering on the corresponding crown object. Next, using omni-directional fish-eye photos taken at the four viewpoints on the corners of the each grid, the rectangle trunk objects of four different directions are created. Finally, it became possible to visualize the three dimensional forest map of individual tree objects with attribute data. By using omni-directional fish-eye photos taken at different seasons, it is possible to show seasonal change of individual tree in forest. This system is useful for forest management and monitoring.


We present two examples of describing low permeability Neogene clastic lithofacies to outline unconventional hydrocarbon lithofacies. Both examples were selected from the Drava Depression, the largest macrostructure of the Pannonian Basin System located in Croatia. The first example is the Beniˇ canci Field, the largest Croatian hydrocarbon reservoir discovered in Badenian coarse-grained clastics that consists mostly of breccia. The defini- tion of low permeability lithofacies is related to the margins of the existing reservoir, where the reservoir lithology changed into a transitional one, which is mainly depicted by the marlitic sandstones. However, calculation of the POS (probability of success of new hydrocarbons) shows critical geological categories where probabilities are lower than those in the viable reservoir with proven reserves. Potential new hydrocarbon volumes are located in the structural margins, along the oil-water contact, with a POS of 9.375%. These potential reserves in those areas can be classified as probable. A second example was the Cremuoina Structure, where a hydrocarbon reservoir was not proven, but where the entire structure has been transferred onto regional migration pathways. The Lower Pontian lithology is described from well logs as fine-grained sandstones with large sections of silty or marly clas- tics. As a result, the average porosity is low for conventional reservoir classification (10.57%). However, it is still an interesting case for consideration as a potentially unconventional reservoir, such as the "tight" sandstones.


Refugee children and youth encounter challenges in the process of resettlement and as they transition to schools. Their needs and specific situations have to be considered both structurally and at individual levels, and their narratives of transition should not be oversimplified, with resettlement as the end point of challenges. Backgrounding these considerations, teachers can be prepared to understand the vast scope of refugee students' adaptive experience and its impact on educational practice. Teacher education that is attuned to these needs can be informed by several anchoring principles: recognizing the complex educational and sociocultural challenges refugee students face in schools; actively engaging with both conceptualizing and enacting effective practices within and against public school structures; and participating in ongoing reflection and reconceptualization of the tensions that arise in academic and identity work with refugee youth.


Background: Peptide immunotherapy (PIT) aims to modulate immune responses to specific antigens in order to restore immune tolerance. Recently, we reported outcomes of a phase 1b study of PIT at type 1 diabetes onset, showing safety, tolerability and changes in immune regulation pathways, following up to 12 doses of 10μg of a single proinsulin peptide that is naturally processed and presented by HLA-DR4 (DRB1*0401). Preclinical PIT studies show that multiple peptides in combination enhance tolerance induction. Aims: To evaluate the safety and clinical effects of PIT using a mix of multiple islet autoantigen peptides in adults with recent-onset type 1 diabetes. Methods: The MultiPepT1De study was a single centre, double-blind placebo-controlled, ascending dose, randomized trial recruiting adults aged 18-45 years within 4 years of diagnosis with HLA-DRB1*0401 genotype, positive islet autoantibodies and stimulated C-peptide >0.2pmol/mL. Study drug comprised of 6 naturally processed and presented, islet-derived peptides (MultiPepT1De). Participants were enrolled into 3 cohorts for monthly intradermal injections for 6 months. In each cohort, subjects were randomized to receive placebo (n=2) or MultiPepT1De (n=6) at 10µg (Cohort 1), 100µg (Cohort 2) or 500µg (Cohort 3) doses. Results: Twenty-seven participants were randomized; 3 participants withdrew for non-clinical reasons and were replaced. There were no episodes of systemic hypersensitivity, anaphylaxis or serious adverse reactions linked to MultiPepT1De administration. Analysis of changes in stimulated C-peptide, HbA1c and insulin dose per kg showed no evidence of disease acceleration following dosing compared with placebo. Mild transient injection site erythema was observed in all cohorts, with no increase on repeated dosing. Conclusions: Intradermal administration of multiple islet-derived peptides up to a cumulative dose of 3000µg, is well tolerated with no safety concerns. Disclosure Y. Liu: Other Relationship; Self; Novo Nordisk Limited. Research Support; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. J.K. Powrie: None. S. Arif: None. N. Fountoulakis: None. M. Joshi: None. E.L. Smith: Employee; Self; UCB, Inc. F. Strimenopoulou: Employee; Self; UCB, Inc. M. Thomson: Employee; Self; UCB, Inc. M. Peakman: Research Support; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Advisory Panel; Self; Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. Consultant; Self; UCB, Inc.. Research Support; Self; UCB, Inc.. Advisory Panel; Self; T1D Exchange.


A digital optical pipeline adder based on symbolic substitution is presented. We have developed an optoelectronic device as the nonlinear array. Experimental results are demonstrated. 1. OPTICAL ARCHITECTURE We demonstrate a ripple carry adder in a pipeline architecture. A pair of 8 bit numbers is accepted by the system input for every clock cycle. All numbers are dual rail coded. The sum of these numbers reaches the output 8 clock cycles later. The system is designed for active devices i. e. light emitting devices. We use a self-developed optoelectronic inverter array (OEI) as the nonlinearity. The operation is realized by applying four symbolic substitution (Symsub) rules in parallel to a 16 by 16 data plane. This plane contains the pair of input numbers an area with intermediate data and the sum output. The plane is split into four copies one for each rule. These copies enter the recognition stages. The recognition output of the Symsub stages is imaged onto a mask to perform space variant operation. The mask''s output is fed to the substitution parts of the system. The result reaches the OEI where it is amplified and normalized to binary values. The OEI''s output is fed back as the new data plane. 2. THE OPTOELECTRONIC INVERTER ARRAY The OEI is a hybrid optoelectronic system that can process 16x16 pixels at a video frame rate on an area of 13x13 m.


We use a vocal-cord/vocal-tract model devised earlier to study acoustic effects of the air volume displaced by the vibrating vocal cords. We consider both lateral and longitudinal motion of the cords. We make computer simulations to establish quantitatively the contribution of the displacement current to the total glottal volume velocity (and hence to the total sound excitation for voiced sounds). The displacement current from both lateral and longitudinal motion is found to be second-order by comparison to the total glottal flow. The displacement contribution can, however, be identified in the time waveforms and spectra of the glottal and mouth volume velocities. We use the computer formulation to synthesize speech sounds with and without the displacement current. Auditory observations and spectral calculations on the synthetic output show the displacement current to be discriminable only in close differential comparisons.


The ADB procurement guidelines 2015 and the PPR-2008 gives the proper guidance to the procurement of goods, works and services as per legal framework within restrictive boundary for the parties involved in procurement. This study mainly compares with an aim to find out the strengths and weaknesses of ADB guidelines and PPR-2008 regarding public procurement in context of Bangladesh. This comparison is done by reviewing the guidelines of ADB Guidelines 2015 and PPR-2008. In ADB procurement guidelines, there are provisions of procurement planning, principles of procurement, procurement processing, joint venture, methods of procurement, applicable law for settlement of disputes, bid opening, evaluation and approval process, bid validity and bid security, domestic preferences, community participation misconduct relating procurement and so on. The ADB procurement guidelines are based ADB procurement policy framework which shall be ensures Core Procurement Principles such as economy, efficiency, fairness, transparency, quality, value for money, integrity, accountability, and addresses conflict of interest, noncompliance, and complaints. The PPR 2008 delineates provisions of procurement plan, preparation of tender or proposal, committee, principles of public procurement, tender validity and security, specifications, standard, brand names, approval process, notification of award, contract administration and management, records and audit, joint venture, conflict of interest, complaint and appeal procedure, methods of procurement for goods and related services, works, physical services and their use, processing of procurement, professional misconduct, e-Government procurement. The main spirit of PPR 2008 are transparency, accountability, equity, fairness and open competition for ensuring value for money by using of public fund. There are some strengths and weaknesses in some specific cases of guidelines as well. Strengths in ADB procurement guidelines include performance based procurement, bonus for performance, community based procurement, encouraging joint venture, procurement plan, pre-qualification, misprocurement, misconduct, settlement of dispute and so on. Using the strengths of ADB procurement guidelines, the borrower can achieve the speedy procurement, fairness competition, accountability and value for money. The main weaknesses are absence of sustainable procurement, supply chain issues, whole life cycle costing, and sustainability, strategic partnership with supplier and contractors, disposal policy and so on. The guidance in the ADB guidelines and PPR-2008 conform to some aspects and differ in others. Because of weaknesses in both guidelines and rules, sustainability and social aspects are compromised in public procurement which hampers long-term value for money. This study emphasizes improvement of regulatory framework by fostering strengths of both guidelines and rules in context of Bangladesh.


Purpose Despite increasing standardization of developmental screening and referral processes, significant early intervention service disparities exist. The aims of this article are to: (a) describe methods used to develop a decision support tool for caregivers of children with developmental concerns, (b) summarize key aspects of the tool, and (c) share preliminary results regarding the tool's acceptability and usability among key stakeholders. Method Content and design of the decision support tool was guided by a systematic process outlined by the International Patient Decision Aid Standards (IPDAS) Collaborative. Three focus group interviews were conducted with caregivers (n = 7), early childhood professionals (n = 28), and a mix of caregivers and professionals (N = 20) to assess caregiver decisional needs. In accordance with the IPDAS, a prototype of the decision support tool was iteratively cocreated by a subset of caregivers (n = 7) and early child health professionals (n = 5). Results The decision support tool leverages images and plain language text to guide caregivers and professionals along key steps of the early identification to service use pathway. Participants identified four themes central to shared decision making: trust, cultural humility and respect, strength-based conversations, and information-sharing. End-users found the tool to be acceptable and useful. Conclusions The decision support tool described offers an individualized approach for exploring beliefs about child development and developmental delay, considering service options within the context of the family's values, priorities, and preferences, and outlining next steps. Additional research regarding the tool's effectiveness in optimizing shared decision-making and reducing service use disparities is warranted.


Program Suggestions and Program Committee Meeting The ILDS has already asked all the member societies to send in program suggestions by the end of December, 2008. We are looking forward to active participation from all the member societies. All the suggestions will be forwarded to the Program Committee. The Program Committee Meeting for the 22nd WCD will be held in February 12–14, 2009, in Berlin. The following members of the ILDS Program Committee will meet to draft up a basic plan outlining the organization of the key sessions of the scientifi c program of the congress.


This thesis describes the effects of phosphoric acid on the positive lead
dioxide electrode of a lead-acid cell. The aim of this research was to
evolve a mechanism for the action of phosphoric acid on the charge (PbSO4→PbO2)
and discharge (PbO2→PbSO4) processes. Industrially, phosphoric acid is
added to the battery electrolyte because it has certain beneficial effects
of preventing formation of 'hard' sulphate and reduction in shedding of
active material resulting in improved cycle life. The main disadvantage
of phosphoric acid-containing electrolyte is a reduction in capacity of
the cell. [Continues.]


Bioinformatics methods typically use textual representations of genetic information, represented computationally as strings or sub-strings of the characters A, T, G and C. Image processing methods offer a rich source of alternative descriptors as they are designed to work in the presence of noisy data without the need for exact matching. We introduce a method, multi-resolution local binary patterns (MLBP) from image processing to extract local 'texture' changes from nucleotide sequence data. We apply this feature space to the alignment-free binning of metagenomic data. The effectiveness of MLBP is demonstrated using both simulated and real human gut microbial communities. The intuition behind our method is the MLBP feature vectors permit sequence comparisons without the need for explicit pairwise matching. Sequence reads or contigs can then be represented as vectors and their 'texture' compared efficiently using state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms to perform dimensionality reduction to capture eigengenome information and perform clustering (here using RSVD and BH-tSNE). We demonstrate this approach outperforms existing methods based on k -mer frequency. The image processing method, MLBP, thus offers a viable alternative feature space to textual representations of sequence data. The source code for our Multi-resolution Genomic Binary Patterns method can be found at https://github.com/skouchaki/MrGBP .


Traditional approaches to the medical management of alcohol-related disorders have met with limited success in altering the prevalence of alcohol abuse. Evidence suggests that identifying early those who drink to excess and intervening with low-cost educational and motivational programs could significantly reduce the prevalence of alcohol-related disabilities. However, physicians must take systematic steps to detect alcohol abuse. Part 1 of this two-part series discusses the need for early identification of individuals who drink to excess and the factors that may either facilitate or hinder the development of effective programs for detecting alcohol abuse. A profile is given of important psychosocial indicators of alcohol abuse, including the classic signs of alcohol abuse, the early manifestations of heavy drinking, the predisposing or high-risk factors for alcohol abuse, and the precipitating events and correlated habits of excessive drinking.