The Alternating Current Optimal Transmission Switching (ACOTS) problem incorporates line switching decisions into the fundamental AC optimal power flow (ACOPF) problem. The advantages of the ACOTS problem are well-known in terms of reducing the operational cost and improving system reliability. ACOTS optimization models contain discrete variables and nonlinear, non-convex structures, which make it difficult to solve. We derive strengthened quadratic convex (QC) relaxations for ACOTS by combining several methodologies recently developed in the ACOPF literature. First, we relax the ACOTS model with the on/off QC relaxation, which has been empirically observed to be both tight and computationally efficient in approximating the ACOPF problem. Further, we tighten this relaxation by using strong linearization with extreme-point representation, and by adding several types of new valid inequalities. In particular, we derive a novel kind of"on/off cycle-based polynomial constraints", by taking advantage of the network structure. Those constraints are linearized using convex-hull representations and implemented in an efficient"branch-and-cut"framework. We also tighten the relaxation using the optimization-based bound tightening algorithm. Our extensive numerical experiments on medium-scale PGLib instances show that, compared with the state-of-the-art formulations, our strengthening techniques are able to improve the quality of ACOTS relaxations on many of the PGLib instances, with some being substantial improvements.


A distinctive feature of layered conductors is the presence of low-energy electronic collective modes of the conduction electrons. This affects the dynamic screening properties of the Coulomb interaction in a layered material. We study the consequences of the existence of these collective modes for superconductivity. General equations for the superconducting order parameter are derived within the strong-coupling phonon-plasmon scheme that account for the screened Coulomb interaction. Specifically, we calculate the superconducting critical temperature T c taking into account the full temperature, frequency and wave-vector dependence of the dielectric function. We show that low-energy plasmons may contribute constructively to superconductivity. Three classes of layered superconductors are discussed within our model: metal-intercalated halide nitrides, layered organic materials and high- T c oxides. In particular, we demonstrate that the plasmon contribution (electronic mechanism) is dominant in the first class of layered materials. The theory shows that the description of so-called "quasi-two-dimensional superconductors" cannot be reduced to a purely 2D model, as commonly assumed. While the transport properties are strongly anisotropic, it remains essential to take into account the screened inter layer Coulomb interaction to describe the superconducting state of layered materials.


The healing of hard and soft tissue is mediated by a wide range of intracellular and extracellular events that are regulated by signaling proteins. Platelets can play a crucial role in periodontal regeneration as they are the reservoirs of growth factors and cytokines which are the key factors for regeneration of bone and maturation of soft tissue. PRF is a natural fibrin-based biomaterial prepared from an anticoagulant-free blood harvest without any artificial biochemical modification that allows obtaining fibrin membranes enriched with platelets and growth factors. The main aim of this review article is to briefly describe the novel platelet concentrate PRF and its potential role in advanced surgical dentistry.


We present a rule-based sentence boundary disambiguation Python package that works out-of-the-box for 22 languages. We aim to provide a realistic segmenter which can provide logical sentences even when the format and domain of the input text is unknown. In our work, we adapt the Golden Rules Set (a language specific set of sentence boundary exemplars) originally implemented as a ruby gem pragmatic segmenter which we ported to Python with additional improvements and functionality. PySBD passes 97.92% of the Golden Rule Set examplars for English, an improvement of 25% over the next best open source Python tool.


The transverse momentum spectra of different types of particles, π±, K±, p and p¯, produced at mid-(pseudo)rapidity in different centrality lead–lead (Pb–Pb) collisions at 2.76 TeV; proton–lead (p–Pb) collisions at 5.02 TeV; xenon–xenon (Xe–Xe) collisions at 5.44 TeV; and proton–proton (p–p) collisions at 0.9, 2.76, 5.02, 7 and 13 TeV, were analyzed by the blast-wave model with fluctuations. With the experimental data measured by the ALICE and CMS Collaborations at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the kinetic freeze-out temperature, transverse flow velocity and proper time were extracted from fitting the transverse momentum spectra. In nucleus–nucleus (A–A) and proton–nucleus (p–A) collisions, the three parameters decrease with the decrease of event centrality from central to peripheral, indicating higher degrees of excitation, quicker expansion velocities and longer evolution times for central collisions. In p–p collisions, the kinetic freeze-out temperature is nearly invariant with the increase of energy, though the transverse flow velocity and proper time increase slightly, in the considered energy range.


Abstract The WNT signaling system plays an important but paradoxical role in the regulation of pluripotency. In the cow, IWR-1, which inhibits canonical WNT activation and has WNT-independent actions, promotes the derivation of primed pluripotent embryonic stem cells from the blastocyst. Here, we describe a series of experiments to determine whether derivation of embryonic stem cells could be generated by replacing IWR-1 with other inhibitors of WNT signaling. Results confirm the importance of inhibition of canonical WNT signaling for the establishment of pluripotent embryonic stem cells in cattle and indicate that the actions of IWR-1 can be mimicked by the WNT secretion inhibitor IWP2 but not by the tankyrase inhibitor XAV939 or WNT inhibitory protein dickkopf 1. The role of Janus kinase-mediated signaling pathways for the maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells was also evaluated. Maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells lines was blocked by a broad inhibitor of Janus kinase, even though the cells did not express phosphorylated signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (pSTAT3). Further studies with blastocysts indicated that IWR-1 blocks the activation of pSTAT3. A likely explanation is that IWR-1 blocks differentiation of embryonic stem cells into a pSTAT3+ lineage. In conclusion, results presented here indicate the importance of inhibition of WNT signaling for the derivation of pluripotent bovine embryonic stem cells, the role of Janus kinase signaling for maintenance of pluripotency, and the participation of IWR-1 in the inhibition of activation of STAT3. Summary sentence Derivation of pluripotent embryonic stem cells from bovine blastocysts depends upon blocking WNT signaling; maintenance of pluripotency depends upon JAK signaling in a STAT3-independent manner. Graphical Abstract


Clinical data and the prognosis are presented for an epidemiological group of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Symptoms and signs of MS, with the exception of optic nerve involvement, were less frequent in the group of 221 patients from the epidemiological area of Southern Lower Saxony than in the hospital series (n = 1837), although the mean duration of the disease was somewhat longer in the epidemiological group. Fifty-two percent of the latter were unrestricted or minimally restricted upon examination compared to 26% of the hospital group. Taking a progression index as a measure for prognosis (disability grade divided by the duration of the disease) 36% of the epidemiological group belonged to a benign category compared to 16% in the hospital group. The progress of these patients was not more than 1 grade of disability within a 5-year-period (progression index 0.2 or less). A malignant course was defined as a progression of at least 7 grades during a 5-year period (progression index 1.4 or more). Ten percent of the hospital series belonged to this category compared to 2% of the epidemiological group. Thus data from a representative group of patients show that the overall prognosis of MS is considerably better than generally suspected.


ABSTRACT In this paper, the ability of a commercial starter culture to perform a sausage fermentation is evaluated. Molecular analysis revealed the presence of several strains of the same species contained in the starter culture with different behavior during the fermentation, and the contribution of Lactobacillus curvatus, which was only marginally isolated during the transformation.


Introduction: With the increase of esophageal and gastric cancer, surgery will be more often performed. Anastomotic leakage (AL) is one of the most feared postoperative complications of gastroesophageal surgery. It can be managed by conservative, endoscopic (such as endoscopic vacuum therapy and stenting), or surgical methods, but optimal treatment remains controversial. The aim of our meta-analysis was to compare (a) endoscopic and surgical interventions and (b) different endoscopic treatments for AL following gastroesophageal cancer surgery. Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis, with search in three online databases for studies evaluating surgical and endoscopic treatments for AL following gastroesophageal cancer surgery. Results: A total of 32 studies comprising 1,080 patients were included. Compared with surgical intervention, endoscopic treatment presented similar clinical success, hospital length of stay, and intensive care unit length of stay, but lower in-hospital mortality (6.4% [95% CI: 3.8–9.6%] vs. 35.8% [95% CI: 23.9–48.5%]. Endoscopic vacuum therapy was associated with a lower rate of complications (OR 0.348 [95% CI: 0.127–0.954]), shorter ICU length of stay (mean difference −14.77 days [95% CI: −26.57 to −2.98]), and time until AL resolution (17.6 days [95% CI: 14.1–21.2] vs. 39.4 days [95% CI: 27.0–51.8]) when compared with stenting, but there were no significant differences in terms of clinical success, mortality, reinterventions, or hospital length of stay. Conclusions: Endoscopic treatment, in particular endoscopic vacuum therapy, seems safer and more effective when compared with surgery. However, more robust comparative studies are needed, especially for clarifying which is the best treatment in specific situations (according to patient and leak characteristics).


Marine fungi with their successful pharmacological effects were considered to be the treasure of ocean medicines concerning the striking ability of their secondary metabolites. Literature over literature has been published on fungi derived bioactive molecules to probe its therapeutic potential. Marine fungi have an implicit to cede future medicines against life-threatening diseases, such as cancer and several emerging inflammations. The biological actions of many marine fungi-derived secondary metabolites are still unlocked, for an assorted number of bioactive compounds by which they interact with human diseases are discussed here with comprehensive diagrams. This knowledge is one of the main track to be established specifically for the successful transformation of bioactive compounds to medicines. Marine fungi produce a diverse range of biochemical substances with precious carbon scaffolds, which are the main component interplaying with human diseases at distinctive spots. Specific diseases having a flair to fight at distinctive targets within the body can lead to a new trend of raising the chances of developing targeted drugs.


The precipitation behavior of nano–scale magnetic particles formed in a Cu–Fe–Ni alloy on isothermal annealing at 873K and 1073K have been investigated by means of transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Nano–scale magnetic particles were formed randomly in the Cu–rich matrix after receiving a short annealing due to phase decomposition in the alloy. With increasing the isothermal annealing time, however, the striking features that two or more nano–scale particles with a cubic shape and precipitates with a needle shape were aligned linearly along <100> directions were observed on isothermal annealing at 873K and 1073K, respectively. To investigate the relationship between microstructures and magnetic properties of precipitates in a Cu–Fe–Ni alloy were also carried out the superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer. The present study revealed that several significant influences to magnetic properties were induced during the precipitation process in this alloy.


Conflict talk is a common and complex linguistic phenomenon existing in life, mainly referring to verbal interaction events such as disputes, dissent, and refutation between the two parties in the conversation. This paper is based on Verschueren's adaptation theory, combined with the representative conflict cases in the movie Zootopia, and the multi-angle analysis of the expression of dialogue conflicts. And it tries to find the specific causes of conflict talks, in order to provide methods to solve or alleviate the discourse conflicts in life.


Abstract We have obtained high resolution, high S/N spectra of the RS CVn binary IM Peg using UVES spectrograph at Kueyen 8.2m telescope of ESO VLT. We use Doppler imaging techniques to obtain stellar surface temperature maps from the UVES data. The TempMap code allows us to use surface differential rotation as an input parameter and thus to try to construct the rotation pattern on the stellar surface as part of the inversion process. The UVES observations are combined with spectroscopic observations from another time period obtained at the STELLA observatory. We obtain stellar surface temperature maps also from these spectra. These Doppler images are used to study the magnetic activity and surface differential rotation on IM Peg.


OBJECTIVE
There is plenty of evidence that osteoprotegerin (OPG) is linked to subclinical vascular damage and predicts cardiovascular disease in high-risk populations. Our aim is to investigate the relationships of OPG/free soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (sRANKL) to insulin resistance, brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation (FMD), and the carotid artery intima-media thickness (CIMT) in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a disorder characterized by hyperandrogenism, impaired glucose control, and endothelial injury.

DESIGN
A cross-sectional, observational study.

METHODS
Hormonal and metabolic profiles, FMD, CIMT, serum OPG, and ampli-sRANKL were assessed in 64 young PCOS patients and 20 controls of similar age. Body composition was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry.

RESULTS
OPG was significantly lower in PCOS and related negatively to free testosterone and positively to estradiol (E(2)) levels. In multivariate analysis, OPG but not ampli-sRANKL correlated positively to fasting insulin, insulin sensitivity indices, and FMD. Neither OPG nor ampli-sRANKL was associated with CIMT. Significantly lower adjusted FMD values were demonstrated in women in the upper OPG quartile group (>2.65 pmol/l) compared with all other quartile groups together (P=0.012). In PCOS, multiple regression analysis retained E(2)/sex hormone-binding globulin ratio, fat mass, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance as independent predictors of OPG.

CONCLUSIONS
In PCOS, circulating OPG is related to both endothelial dysfunction and insulin resistance, independent of obesity and androgen excess, suggesting OPG as a useful biomarker of these effects. Further studies are needed to evaluate OPG in relation to cardiovascular events and cardiovascular mortality in PCOS.


Beef cattle breeds consist of three major genetic subdivisions. The taurine group is adapted to temperate environments, and the zebu and Sanga groups are both adapted to tropical environments. With the advent of genotyping and sequencing technologies in agriculture, genome-wide exploration of the genetic basis for the differences in tropical adaptation has only just become possible. In this study, approximately 9000 single nucleotide polymorphism markers were genotyped on 317 animals of a selection of taurine, zebu, and composite breeds to characterize any systematic differences between these groups. We identified 91 intra-breed-class markers; 78 were polymorphic only within the zebu animals, while 13 were polymorphic only in the taurine animals. There were no fixed differences (fixed for alternate alleles between the two breed types) between zebu and taurine animals. We found 14 regions with significantly different allele frequencies between zebu and taurine animals indicative of variable selection pressure or genetic drift. We also found 12 independent regions of differential extended haplotype homozygosity (EHH), indicative of recent selection or rapid fixation of the alternate allele within a short period of time in one of the two breed classes. A preliminary functional genomics analysis of these regions pointed towards signatures of tropical attributes including keratins, heat-shock proteins and heat resistance genes. We anticipate this investigation to be a stepping-stone for future studies to identify genomic regions specific to the two cattle groups, and to subsequently assist in the discrimination between temperate and tropically adapted cattle.


ABSTRACT Hovering hawkmoths expend significant energy while feeding, which should select for greater feeding efficiency. Although increased feeding efficiency has been implicitly assumed, it has never been assessed. We hypothesized that hawkmoths have proboscises specialized for gathering nectar passively. Using contact angle and capillary pressure to evaluate capillary action of the proboscis, we conducted a comparative analysis of wetting and absorption properties for 13 species of hawkmoths. We showed that all 13 species have a hydrophilic proboscis. In contradistinction, the proboscises of all other tested lepidopteran species have a wetting dichotomy with only the distal ∼10% hydrophilic. Longer proboscises are more wettable, suggesting that species of hawkmoths with long proboscises are more efficient at acquiring nectar by the proboscis surface than are species with shorter proboscises. All hawkmoth species also show strong capillary pressure, which, together with the feeding behaviors we observed, ensures that nectar will be delivered to the food canal efficiently. The patterns we found suggest that different subfamilies of hawkmoths use different feeding strategies. Our comparative approach reveals that hawkmoths are unique among Lepidoptera and highlights the importance of considering the physical characteristics of the proboscis to understand the evolution and diversification of hawkmoths.


The article consideres the essence of a concept «utopia» and its role in the process of society's development. The authors analyze the problem of relations between a social utopia and feminism. The article deals with possibility of and need for construction of gender equality model in the contemporary society that has been worked in the frames of gender theory.


Background: Wound infections are associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Etiologic agents of wound infections vary with geographical locations. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence of wound infections, the effect of age and gender on the prevalence as well as the etiologic agents and their susceptibility to antibacterial agents. Methods: Wound swabs collected from 2061 patients were processed to investigate etiologic agents using standard technique. Disc susceptibility of bacterial agents was determined. Results: The overall prevalence of wound infections was 64.8%. The prevalence of wound infections was not significantly affected by gender but was significantly affected by age ( P <0.001). The prevalence of wound infections was minimum among age group of <5 years old (20.0%) and maximum among the age group of 36-40 years old (77.5%). Staphylococcus aureus was the most prevalent etiologic agent (21.5%). β-lactams, fluoroquinolones and gentamicin were the most effective antibacterial agents. Conclusion: The prevalence of wound infections was high and was only affected by age. Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant etiologic agent and β-lactam antibiotics are recommended.


The recent earthquake in different countries of the world, such as those in Iran (2003), Algeria (2003), India (2001), Turkey (1999) and Vrancea (1997) have shown, particularly masonry walls were damaged. Thus, masonry walls are the most vulnerable elements of buildings when subjected to earthquake loading. Therefore, it is necessary to find practical solutions by study the behavior of these walls, first without and then with retrofitting under monotonic and/or cyclic seismic loading. Presently, many methods are successfully used as reinforcement in masonry retrofitting, such as steelmesh reinforced cement mortar layer, RC tie columns and beams, etc. These traditional methods generally need much time and construction cost, so engineers are trying to find some new methods and materials to solve these problems. By increasing the use of FRP composites in civil engineering, they seem highly essential to be studied. The purpose of the study is seismic behavior of URM wall and influence of geometric characteristics and arrangement of CFRP laminates on strengthening of masonry walls. The unreinforced and reinforced walls with externally bonded carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) sheets under cyclic loading have been modeled using the FE software ABAQUS and validated with the experimental data. The results for the different strengthening systems are compared. These comparisons demonstrated the major effectiveness of FRP layers in cross position to increasing the shear performance of URM walls in term of load capacity. four walls have been modeled.


This paper presents a general method to handle uncertainty to the right hand side parameters of a linear programming (LP) model by means of Interval type-2 fuzzy sets (IT2 FS) and trapezoidal membership functions. Fuzzy linear programming (FLP) is a recent approach used on many situations where its optimal solution is provided by classical techniques as Simplex and Karmarkar algorithms. In this proposal, a LP problem with uncertain Right Side parameters treated as interval type-2 fuzzy sets is solved by two optimization strategies. After the IT2 FS inference process, a real-valued solution should be found. In this way two methods are proposed to obtain optimal solutions when uncertain right hand side parameters exist, based on an alpha-cut optimality criterion.


t Becausee radiotherapy in the head and neck region is necessar y in the treatment of childhoodd cancer , possibilities to prevent damage to the thvroid gland must be investigated.. We developed a mode! in which radiation-induced effects can be investigatedd in a way that these effects can be quantified, using thyroid dysmorphology


We have recently identified apelin as a novel adipokine up-regulated by insulin and obesity. Since obesity and insulin resistance are associated with chronically elevated levels of both insulin and TNFalpha, the present study was performed to investigate a putative regulation of apelin expression in adipocytes by TNFalpha. Herein, we report a tight correlation between apelin and TNFalpha expression in adipose tissue of lean and obese humans. Apelin regulation by TNFalpha was further studied in cultured explants of human adipose tissue. The endogenous expression of TNFalpha in adipocytes isolated from the explants was accompanied by a 6-9 h subsequent increase of apelin expression in adipocytes. This increase was reversed by inhibiting TNFalpha expression with 100 microM isobutylmethylxanthine. In different mouse models of obesity, expression of both TNFalpha and apelin was also significantly increased in adipocytes of obese mice. Furthermore, short-term exposure to an i.p. injection of TNFalpha in C57Bl6/J mice induced an increase of apelin expression in adipose tissue as well as apelin plasma levels. Finally, a direct positive effect of TNFalpha has been shown in differentiated 3T3F442A adipocytes on apelin expression and secretion. The signaling pathways of TNFalpha for the induction of apelin were dependent of PI3-kinase, c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and MAPK but not PKC activation. All together, these findings suggest that apelin might be a candidate to better understand potential links between obesity and associated disorders such as inflammation and insulin resistance.


This study evaluates the efficiency of emergency programs used by three contemporary cell washers. Both time necessary to process a given amount of blood and quality of the processed blood are investigated. The Fresenius Kabi Smart, Haemonetics Elite and LivaNova Xtra were validated using bovine blood, with a starting hematocrit of 13% or 21%. For all devices, the pre-programmed emergency program was used. The total volume processed in the 13% hematocrit group was 358 ± 68 mL for Fresenius, 375 ± 308 mL for Haemonetics and 497 ± 87 mL for LivaNova. In the 21% hematocrit group, the volumes were 533 ± 60 mL, 713 ± 142 mL and 798 ± 96 mL, respectively, showing a statistical difference between the Fresenius and LivaNova (p = 0.02). In the 13% hematocrit group, the Fresenius processed 45 ± 15 mL blood/min, the Haemonetics 62 ± 8 mL blood/min and the LivaNova 66 ± 1.5 mL blood/min. The difference between the Fresenius and LivaNova was statistically significant (p = 0.04). In the 21% hematocrit group, the processing speed was 69 ± 4 mL blood/min, 62 ± 8 mL blood/min and 77 ± 5 mL blood/min for the Fresenius, LivaNova and Haemonetics, respectively (p = 0.25). No major differences in the elimination of potassium, albumin and total protein or in hemolytic index were observed. No major differences were observed between discontinuous and continuous systems with respect to processing speed and wash quality with a starting hematocrit of 21%. Minor differences in processing speed were observed with a starting hematocrit of 13%.


We quantify the dependence of the single-shot ablation threshold on the angle of incidence and polarization of a femtosecond laser beam, for three dissimilar solid-state materials: a metal, a dielectric and a semiconductor. Using the constant, linear value of the index of refraction, we calculate the laser fluence transmitted through the air-material interface at the point of ablation threshold. We show that, in spite of the highly nonlinear ionization dynamics involved in the ablation process, the so defined transmitted threshold fluence is universally independent of the angle of incidence and polarization of the laser beam for all three material types. We suggest that angular dependence of ablation threshold can be utilized for profiling fluence distributions in ultra-intense femtosecond laser beams.


Liquid metal technologies for liquid lead and lead-bismuth alloy are under wide investigation and development for advanced nuclear energy systems and waste transmutation systems. Material corrosion is one of the main issues studied a lot recently in the development of the liquid metal technology. This study reviews corrosion by liquid lead and lead bismuth, including the corrosion mechanisms, corrosion inhibitor and the formation of the protective oxide layer. The available experimental data are analyzed by using a corrosion model in which the oxidation and scale removal are coupled. Based on the model, long-term behaviors of steels in liquid lead and lead-bismuth are predictable. This report provides information for the selection of structural materials for typical nuclear reactor coolant systems when selecting liquid lead or lead bismuth as heat transfer media.


Abstract Direct and indirect injury caused by Dalbulus maidis (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) in corn is an ever-increasing concern in Brazil and other corn-producing countries of the Americas. This highly efficient vector transmits corn stunting pathogens and is of economic concern in the Neotropics, including temperate regions where epidemic outbreaks are now common. Despite the progress made so far, Brazilian corn growers continue to struggle with this pest and its associated pathosystem. In this review, we gathered relevant and updated information on the bioecology, population dynamics, and damaging potential of D. maidis. Our goal was to better understand its intimate association and complex interactions with the host crop and transmitted pathogens. Based on available scientific literature, we identified factors which explain the recent increase in D. maidis occurrence in South America, including the cultivation of corn during multiple growing seasons, overlapping of susceptible crops, and widespread use of genetically modified hybrids. The reasons for the overall inefficiency of current suppression strategies aimed at this pest are also summarized. Finally, a management program for D. maidis and corn stunt disease is proposed, combining strategies such as eradicating volunteer corn, reducing the planting period, using tolerant hybrids, and applying chemical and/or fungal insecticides. Prospects regarding the pest's status are also outlined. Overall, the information presented here will serve as a decision-making guide within Brazilian and South American corn production systems, as well as paving the way for devising novel strategies aimed at suppressing D. maidis populations and limiting the spread of corn stunt disease.


Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are increasingly being combined with machine learning (ML) to predict material properties. The molecular configurations obtained from MD are represented by multiple features, such as thermodynamic properties, and are used as the ML input. However, to accurately find the input--output patterns, ML requires a sufficiently sized dataset that depends on the complexity of the ML model. Generating such a large dataset from MD simulations is not ideal because of their high computation cost. In this study, we present a simple supervised ML method to predict the transport properties of materials. To simplify the model, an unsupervised ML method obtains an efficient representation of molecular movements. This method was applied to predict the viscosity of lubricant molecules in confinement with shear flow. Furthermore, simplicity facilitates the interpretation of the model to understand the molecular mechanics of viscosity. We revealed two types of molecular mechanisms that contribute to low viscosity.


This paper uses the night lights (satellite imagery from outer space) approach to estimate growth in and levels of subnational 2013 gross domestic product for 47 counties in Kenya and 30 districts in Rwanda. Estimating subnational gross domestic product is consequential for three reasons. First, there is strong policy interest in how growth can occur in different parts of countries, so that communities can share in national prosperity and not get left behind. Second, subnational entities want to understand how they stack up against their neighbors and competitors, and how much they contribute to national gross domestic product. Third, such information could help private investors to assess where to undertake investments. Using night lights has the advantage of seeing a new and more accurate estimation of informal activity, and being independent of official data. However, the approach may underestimate economic activity in sectors that are largely unlit notably agriculture. For Kenya, the results of the analysis affirm that Nairobi County is the largest contributor to national gross domestic product. However, at 13 percent, this contribution is lower than commonly thought. For Rwanda, the three districts of Kigali account for 40 percent of national gross domestic product, underscoring the lower scale of economic activity in the rest of the country. To get a composite picture of subnational economic activity, especially in the context of rapidly improving official statistics in Kenya and Rwanda, it is important to estimate subnational gross domestic product using standard approaches (production, expenditure, income).


This paper presents an experimental investigation into electrokinetically focused flow injection for bio-analytical applications. A novel microfluidic device for microfluidic sample handling is presented. The microfluidic chip is fabricated on glass substrates using conventional photolithographic and chemical etching processes and is bonded using a high-temperature fusion method. The proposed valve-less device is capable not only of directing a single sample flow to a specified output port, but also of driving multiple samples to separate outlet channels or even to a single outlet to facilitate sample mixing. The experimental results confirm that the sample flow can be electrokinetically pre-focused into a narrow stream and guided to the desired outlet port by means of a simple control voltage model. The microchip presented within this paper has considerable potential for use in a variety of applications, including high-throughput chemical analysis, cell fusion, fraction collection, sample mixing, and many other applications within the micro-total-analysis systems field. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.


Supplemental digital content is available in the text. GENERAL PURPOSE To explore the changes in the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance Clinical Practice Guideline for Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries (CPG) nutrition recommendations and strategies for implementation. TARGET AUDIENCE This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care. LEARNING OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES After participating in this educational activity, the participant will: 1. Synthesize the current evidence regarding nutrition approaches to medical conditions, including pressure injury prevention and treatment. 2. Summarize the changes and recommendations in the 2019 edition of the CPG. ABSTRACT Healthy diets provide essential nutrients needed to maintain healthy skin and prevent or manage pressure injuries. The 2019 Clinical Practice Guideline for Prevention and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers/Injuries published by the National Pressure Injury Advisory Panel, European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, and Pan Pacific Pressure Injury Alliance includes specific nutrition recommendations for patients with pressure injuries. The purpose of this CE/CME article is to explore the changes in the nutrition recommendations and strategies for implementation.


Costs associated with workplace injuries and illnesses continue to be a major concern for apparel manufacturers. A major cost is that of workers' compensation insurance, the social insurance programme that provides a means of paying for costs associated with work‐related injuries and illnesses. The purpose of this study was to examine the practice by US apparel companies of involving employees on safety teams or committees as a strategy for reducing workers' compensation costs. Data were generated from responses to a mailed questionnaire by 134 upper level managers in apparel companies located throughout the USA. Results indicated that 60 per cent of the respondents involved employees on a safety team or committee. Chi‐square analysis showed a significant difference in observed frequencies and expected frequencies for change in workers' compensation costs when employees were involved in safety teams or committees. Employee involvement was reported as a component of ergonomics and safety programmes by over two‐thirds of the companies that were developing and implementing such programmes. The findings from this study provide support for involving employees on safety teams or committees as a cost reduction strategy.


This paper studies the various resources (water, energy, paper) as well as other wastes consumption management at the National Library of Iran in Tehran. After setting the targets and specifying the correct management framework of resources consumption through the green management schedule, the resources analysis in consumption pattern in National Library of Iran was set up. Some attempt plans were performed to find out management solutions to the related issues. For the achievement of this aim, the first step was considered the study of general conditions of the Library through several visits, completing the checklists and questionnaires and then gathering the necessary information and analyzing them. The results of the fuel consumption in transportations related to the National Library showed that the major pollutants produced by the transportation were CO 2 , CO, NOx, and hydrocarbons. The rate of CO2 had a maximum level of 904 Kg and CO was 6 Kg, NOx was 2 Kg and hydrocarbons were 0.58 Kg. Among the equipments, which use energy in the Library, refrigerators produce the levels of CO2, SO2 and NOx .The total level of CO 2 , SO 2 and NOx produced by all the equipments were 1140.32 Kg, 3.9072 kg and 2.886 Kg respectively. The results of water investigations showed that the total water consumption was 45459 L/year and the greater part of it was related to irrigation of the garden in the courtyard which was equal to 32471 L/year. Regarding to the wastes, the results of 30 times sampling showed the highest level to be related to aluminum and paper and a computer analysis revealed these results in the rates of 19745 Kg/year of CO 2 , 77.54 Kg/year, SO 2 57.4 Kg/year NOx and particulate matter was 2.92 Kg/year. Following the investigations carried out in management, executive solutions were suggested which led to the conclusion that the Green Management System should be established at this organization which should result in optimum consumption of resources such as water, power and paper in the National Library of Iran with considerable cost reduction.


This paper formalizes a novel form of corporate insider trading based on non-insider information. In our model, insiders make trading decisions in anticipation of activist intervention. Because insiders have access to private information about firm fundamentals, they can better separate activism-motivated trades from those by speculators based on signals about firm fundamentals. We validate this prediction empirically by showing that when activists (privately) accumulate shares ahead of Schedule 13D filings, insiders are less likely to sell shares and are more likely to buy shares. Consistently with the proposed mechanism, insiders respond to activist trading more decisively precisely when there is an absence of positive news about the firm's fundamentals—so that insiders are able to attribute high buy order flow to activist interest instead of speculation on positive fundamentals.


In diffusive molecular communication (DMC), the transmitter has to be able to control the release of signaling molecules for modulation of the information bits. In natural cells, pumping ions is an important control mechanism for releasing molecules which is carried out by ion pumps embedded in the membrane. The activity of the ion pumps is controlled by a driving parameter. In particular, light driven pumps are controlled by light intensity and enable a high degree of spatial and temporal control for modulation functionality. In this paper, a modulator based on ion pumps is proposed for DMC which controls the release rate of the molecules from the transmitter by modulating a light intensity signal. The pumping process of the ion pump is modeled by a Markov model based on which the stochastic nature of the modulated signal, i.e., the release rate of the ions from the transmitter is analyzed. A simple on-off keying modulation scheme is realized based on the proposed modulator. Our numerical results show that a realistic transmitter based on ion pumps can not release ions instantaneously nor deterministically.


Placing surveillance receivers on passive radar systems is a complex task because of the dependence on third party vendors. This paper presents an efficient and robust algorithm for positioning passive radar surveillance receivers for the intended coverage based on the available transmitters of opportunity in the area. First, by using the topology maps of the area of interest, depending on the expected targets and available transmitters, visibility maps of the terrain is generated with a line of sight algorithm. Then, in terms of the position and the orientation of the targets, the bistatic radar cross sections are determined. Finally, based on the bistatic radar cross sections of the targets, antenna characteristics, visibility analysis and received power levels, the optimum location for the surveillance receiver and the best transmitter of opportunity to be employed is decided. A practical scenario by using frequency modulation radio transmitters is realized in the manuscript for the rapid deployment of a mobile passive radar system. It is shown that on a terrain with multiple transmitters, depending on the characteristics of the transmitters and intended coverage, an optimum location for the surveillance receiver can be found for rapid deployment.


Sandy nourishments can provide additional sediment to the coastal system to maintain its recreational or safety function under rising sea levels. These nourishments can be implemented at sandy beach systems, but can also be used to reinforce gray coastal infrastructure (e.g., dams, dikes, seawalls). The Hondsbossche Dunes project is a combined shoreface, beach, and dune nourishment of 35 million m3 sand. The nourishment was built to replace the flood protection function of an old sea-dike while creating additional space for nature and recreation. This paper presents the evolution of this newly created sandy beach system in the first 5 years after implementation based on bathymetric and topographic surveys, acquired every three to six months. A significant coastline curvature is created by the nourishment leading to erosion in the central 7 km bordered by zones with accretion. However, over the five-year period, net volume losses from the project area were less than 5% of the initial nourished sand volume. The man-made cross-shore beach profile rapidly mimics the characteristics of adjacent beaches. The slope of the surfzone is adjusted within two winters to a similar slope. The initially wide beaches (i.e., up to 225 m) are reduced to about 100 m-wide. Simultaneously, the dune volume has increased and the dune foot migrated seaward at the entire nourished site, regardless of whether the subaqueous profile gained or lost sediment. Our results show that the Hondsbossche Dunes nourishment, built with a natural slope and wide beach, created a positive sediment balance in the dune for a prolonged period after placement. As such, natural forces in the years after implementation provided a significant contribution to the growth in dune volume and related safety against flooding.


OBJECTIVE
the relationship between air pollution and mortality has been well established in national and international scientific literature. This study reports the results of the EpiAir Project relative to the effect of air pollution on mortality in 10 Italian cities during 2001-2005. The association between particulate matter (PM10) and gases (nitrogen dioxide, NO2, and ozone, O3), and all natural mortality, as well as cardiac, cerebrovascular and respiratory mortality, is presented. Specific issues have been investigated, such as the latency of the air pollution-mortality effects and the identification of individual demographic characteristics and clinical conditions that result in greater susceptibility to the effects of particulate matter.

METHODS
the study population consisted of 276,205 subjects aged 35+ years old, resident in one of the 10 Italian cities studied, which died in the city between 2001-2005. For each subject, information was collected on cause of death, location of death, demographical variables and hospital discharge diagnoses in the previous 2-year period. The statistical analysis was adjusted for the relevant temporal and meteorological factors using the case-crossover approach. The results for ozone are limited to the warm semester (April through September). An analysis of the association between air pollution and mortality was conducted for each city, and the city-specific estimates were meta-analyzed on a second level to obtain a pooled result, and reported inter-city heterogeneity.

RESULTS
a short-term effect of PM10 on mortality has been detected for all the groups of causes considered, with latencies ranging from lag 0 for cerebrovascular mortality to lag 0-3 for respiratory mortality. The association between NO2 and mortality displays strong and similar effects for all death causes, with prolonged effects (lag 0-5) for all groups of causes. The results for O3 are similar to those found for NO2, with prolonged latency (lag 0-5) for all causes of death with the exception of cerebrovascular mortality, for which a delayed effect (lag 3-5) was identified. Individual susceptibility factors of the PM10-natural mortality association include age, as elderly subjects are especially vulnerable to the effects of particles.

CONCLUSIONS
the main results of the study suggest that the air pollution originated by vehicular traffic is the most relevant environmental problem in Italian cities from a public health viewpoint.


The "four-color" theorem seems to be generalizable as follows. The four-letter alphabet is sufficient to encode unambiguously any set of well-orderings including a geographical map or the "map" of any logic and thus that of all logics or the DNA (RNA) plan(s) of any (all) alive being(s).Then the corresponding maximally generalizing conjecture would state: anything in the universe or mind can be encoded unambiguously by four letters.That admits to be formulated as a "four-letter theorem", and thus one can search for a properly mathematical proof of the statement.It would imply the "four colour theorem", the proof of which many philosophers and mathematicians believe not to be entirely satisfactory for it is not a "human proof", but intermediated by computers unavoidably since the necessary calculations exceed the human capabilities fundamentally. It is furthermore rather unsatisfactory because it consists in enumerating and proving all cases one by one.Sometimes, a more general theorem turns out to be much easier for proving including a general "human" method, and the particular and too difficult for proving theorem to be implied as a corollary in certain simple conditions.The same approach will be followed as to the four colour theorem, i.e. to be deduced more or less trivially from the "four-letter theorem" if the latter is proved. References are only classical and thus very well-known papers: their complete bibliographic description is omitted.


Lenders are frequently accused of mispricing the put option embedded in nonrecourse lending. Prior research shows one lender's incentives to underprice. Here, we identify the conditions for a marketwide underpricing equilibrium. We demonstrate that, in a market with many players, given sufficient time, a race to the bottom and marketwide mispricing are inevitable. Underpricing occurs because bank managers and shareholders exploit mispriced deposit insurance. We show that the probability of the underpricing equilibrium increases with time since the previous market crash and that the more volatile the underlying asset market, the more likely it is subject to underpricing.


Background: Intra-individual change trajectories of depression symptoms and their covariates including coping process variables in myocardial infarction (MI) survivors, were examined in 6-year follow-up period. Methods: Two hundred cardiac patients (age 53.73±7.26 years) were assessed four times: a few days after first MI, one month, six months, and six years later. Demographic and medical characteristics, cognitive appraisal, coping, emotions, depression symptoms, as well as resources and critical life events (both only in the 4th stage) were measured. Findings: Three latent trajectories based on growth mixture modeling (GMM) were identified for depression symptoms: chronic (N=49), rising (N=121), and low (N=30). Belonging to the chronic group were associated with higher emotion-focused coping, negative affect and critical life events number, also lower problem-focused coping, hope, resources number and worse somatic health. Discussion: The findings shed light on the intra-individual change trajectories of depression symptoms after MI and related coping process variables: protective function of resources and instrumental coping, opposite of negative states and palliative coping.


Generation of thick megabreccias along carbonate platforms apparently relies on the establishment of overpressured zones in the margin and upper slope deposits (particularly during relative sea-level lowstands), but the main triggering mechanism is thought to be seismic tremors. Here, we present a detailed sedimentological analysis of carbonate density-flow deposits south and north of the Mattinata Fault, a major strike-slip fault zone in the Gargano Promontory (Italy). The analysis shows that in the southern sector the deposits of Albian–Cenomanian age (Monte S. Angelo Formation) are made up predominantly of thick and amalgamated debrites (megabreccias), whereas some 25 km to the north they are composed predominantly of prograding high-density turbidites. Moreover, detailed analysis of Maastrichtian slope deposits (Monte Acuto Limestones) from the southern sector shows that they make up a N–S-prograding system of coalesced lobes composed of high-density turbidites and subordinate debrites. We infer that preconditional factors (e.g., platform progradation, tectonic oversteepening, and high pore pressures in the margin and upper-slope deposits) for triggering the density flows varied along strike of the platform, but the main controlling factors were the activity of the prominent strike-slip Mattinata Fault and the propagation of tremor energy to its near- and far-field regions: large earthquakes triggered thick (up to 40 m) and amalgamated Albian–Cenomanian debrites in proximity (south of) to the fault, whereas the subdued effect of the tremors triggered thinner debrites (5–10 m) and rock falls in the far-field region north of the fault. Moreover, predominantly high-density turbidite deposits were emplaced in the far-field region during lower-magnitude earthquakes. During the Maastrichtian the thick succession of high-density turbidites and scattered thick debrites south of and adjacent to the Mattinata Fault may record an overall quiescent period of the fault. The results are of relevance for understanding the spatiotemporal distribution of density-flow deposition along carbonate platforms in tectonically active regions—in particular with respect to the activity of large strike-slip faults.


A facile method is proposed for the synthesis of three-dimensional (3D) flower-like Co3-xFexO4 ferrite (CF) hollow spheres, using SiO2@FeOOH as precursor. The CF hollow spheres are efficient for the catalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB) in the presence of H2O2 at 80 °C. The obtained CF hollow spheres were characterized using transmission electron microscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, and N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm measurements. The formation of 3D hierarchical flower-like superstructure was influenced by the relative amount of urea used. As the mole ratio of CoCl2 and urea decreased, the structure of the products was tailored from yolk-like spheres to hollow spheres with different sized void interiors. Moreover, N2 adsorption-desorption isotherm analysis showed that the CF hollow spheres have a large specific surface area (163 m(2) g(-1)) which provided more activity sites. The CF hollow spheres can catalyze the oxidation of MB efficiently. These results indicate that the designed CF hollow spheres exhibit promising capability for the degradation of dyes.


Mandarin Chinese translation of: Neumann, Iver B. and Waever, Ole, eds. (1997) "The future of international relations: masters in the making?" Routledge, London, UK. ISBN 9780415144087


Cells whose proliferation is blocked by transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) express three distinct surface glycoproteins of 53, 73, and 300 kDa that bind TGF-beta with high affinity, but whose function is unknown. We have isolated two classes of chemically-induced Mv1Lu epithelial cell mutants resistant to growth inhibition by TGF-beta. Class R mutants have selectively lost expression of the 53-kDa (type I) TGF-beta-binding protein. They have also lost the ability to respond to TGF-beta with elevated fibronectin expression and cell flattening. Class S mutants bind normally but do not respond to TGF-beta. TGF-beta-resistant mutants retain a contact inhibited, nontransformed phenotype. The properties of S mutants suggest that they are defective in the TGF-beta signal transduction mechanism, while the results with R mutants identify the type I TGF-beta-binding protein as the receptor involved in mediating TGF-beta actions on cell adhesion and proliferation.


The article presents a case study of the cooperative marketing, used in Ukraine and in the world. The author also focuses on the small business development. The influence and negative impact of different economic factors on small business are determined. The current problems and impossibility of getting the necessary financial resources for the small companies is accented. The special attention is paid to the importance of agricultural cooperation. The essence of the concept of agricultural cooperation is specified. The main cooperative trends in Ukraine economy as well as in the world companies are reviewed and systematized. The attention is paid to the research of the sales, service, marketing, processing, supply and multipurpose cooperatives. The research also shows the necessity of marketing approaches to the modern domestic agricultural company's activity implementation. The organizational and economic aspects of cooperative marketing are grounded. The basic problems of market adaptation in the sphere of cooperative marketing are investigated. The special attention is paid to the advantages and prospects of cooperative marketing for agricultural organizations. The features and factors of the rural economy development based on the cooperative marketing are detailed. The cooperative marketing as an effective element of the agricultural producer's protection is under consideration.


Oxidative stress-induced neuronal cell damage is a crucial factor in the pathogenesis of mitochondria-associated neurological diseases. Therefore, elimination of overproduction of mtROS may be a potential strategy for used in prevention and treatment of neurological diseases. In the present study, the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of trilobatin (TLB), a major bioactive compond derived from Lithocarpus polystachyus, was investigated in vitro using hydrogen peroxide-induced oxidative stress model in a neuron-like highly differentiated rat pheochromocytoma line PC12. We found that pretreatment with TLB significantly concentration-dependently suppressed hydrogen peroxide-induced PC12 cells damage by enhancing cell viability, repressing collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential and decreasing mitochondrial ROS (mtROS) generation, thereby deferring cell apoptosis. Further study demonstrated that TLB not only increased the enzymatic activities of manganese superoxide dismutase (SOD2), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), but also activated Sirt3 within the mitochondria, then leading to improved complex I activity and ATP synthesis. Furthermore, TLB up-regulated the level of phosphorylated adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (p-AMPK). Intriguingly, TLB failed to suppress hydrogen peroxide-induced cytotoxicity in the presence of the AMPK inhibitor Compond C, indicating the effects of TLB on mtROS homeostasis regulation were dependent on AMPK/Sirt3 signaling pathway. In conclusion, our findings, at the first time, demonstrated that TLB protected against oxidative injury in neuronal PC12 cells through regulating mtROS homeostasis, which, at was mediated through the reciprocity of AMPK/Sirt3 signaling pathway.


Learning organizations need to meet objectives and achieve some specific goals for the benefit of members of the company and for herself, and one of the reasons for reaching these is the management of knowledge, through a research culture within the Military Cadet School "General Jose Maria Cordova" specifically the Faculty of Military Science "can achieve these goals through motivation and awareness of students and researchers of the Faculty. In the present investigation epistemological approaches are discussed in relation to the importance of Knowledge Management (KM), in terms of managing intellectual capital in the organization that aspires to achieve learning.


In a search for better understanding of fertility trends and rates over periods of time the "own children" method was applied to Brazilian census data. The main objective of the study was definition of the level and pattern of fertility in Brazil by utilizing the own children method on data from the 1970 demographic census of Brazil. The time period covered was the 15 years before the census; thus the fertility situation of the 1960s is shown in detail an era for which only sketchy superficial estimates existed. Additionally the conditions of urban and rural residence of the population are considered. This is a 1st attempt at obtaining fertility differentials by diverse socioeconomic criteria. The results obtained for both the entire country as well as for urban and rural areas coincide with estimates made by using other types of data. It is necessary to emphasize however that results from the years immediately before the census should be interpreted with caution because of the lower quality of the data. The method provides abundant information about fertility permitting clear identification of trends over time and the population sectors responsible for these trends. During 1957-1968 the total fertility rate swings between 6 and 5 children per woman and is characterized by a steady level during the early part of the period and a tendency to decline that began in 1965. The age groups repeat this behavior except for the age 20-24 group which demonstrated a slight tendency to increase up to 1965 when a strong decrease began. The age patterns maintain in general the same form throughout the period; the only change recorded was a slight aging of the age structure. The behavior of the urban and rural areas were relatively different. The urban area tended to begin the decline before 1960 and to maintain it up to the end of the period. The rural area by contrast registered a tendency to increase which ended in the mid-1960s afterwards beginning a decline. The fertility levels presented by the 2 regions are markedly different. When the period began total fertility rates were 5.10 and 7.43 for urban and rural areas respectively. At the end of the decade equivalent rates were 4.06 and 6.72 children per woman amplifying the difference between the 2 sectors. The author expresses intent to apply the own children method to other socioeconomic variables beyond the geographic; e.g. education income and occupation. The method will also be applied to 1980 Brazilian census data.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of our study was to determine if the presence of an ankle effusion on plain radiographs after acute ankle trauma is predictive of occult ankle fracture when no fracture is visible on the standard radiographic series.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
The ankle radiographs of 1153 patients with acute ankle trauma were examined for fracture and for the presence and extent of anterior and posterior capsular distension. Patients with ankle effusions but no detectable fracture subsequently underwent sagittal and coronal complex-motion tomography.

RESULTS
Eleven of 33 patients with ankle effusions and otherwise normal plain radiographs had occult fractures identified with tomography. The fracture sites were as follows: osteochondral fracture of talar dome (n = 4), neck of talus (n = 1), medial malleolus (n = 1), anterior tibial rim (n = 1), posterior tibial rim (n = 1), tibial plafond (n = 1), lateral malleolus (n = 1), and anterior process of calcaneus (n = 1). The radiographic size of an ankle effusion was predictive of occult fracture. An ankle effusion measuring 13 mm or more in anterior plus posterior capsular distension had an 82% sensitivity and 91% specificity for underlying fracture in our series. The positive predictive value of an ankle effusion 13 mm or greater was 82%.

CONCLUSION
The presence of an ankle effusion on plain radiographs following acute ankle trauma is suggestive of an underlying fracture. An ankle effusion of 13 mm or greater in total capsular distension has a positive predictive value of 82% for occult fracture and is a reasonable threshold to prompt additional imaging.


The aim of this research is to better understand the primary activity of a firm and the source of its
survival – value creation, how a firm creates value for the consumer. The approach adopted in this
research is to analyze value creation from a process level viewpoint.
There is big difference between specifying a value offering to the customer in a board room and
implementing it in practice. A common problem which managers face is translating the value creation
logic of a firm from strategy to implementation. Process and IT managers in a firm use different
modeling techniques to model and understand value creation in the firm.
The enterprise architecture (EA) of a firm is an enterprise wide model showing the Business and IT
architecture of the firm. EA's are a unique way of modeling the processes and infrastructure of a firm
because they lie at the interface of strategy and process level of abstraction. This research is an
attempt to show value creation using EA models. The EA modeling language which has been used for
this research is ArchiMate. ArchiMate language consists of different elements which model the
business and IT processes of a firm and also the supporting infrastructure.
The main research question of the thesis is how value creation can be shown in terms of ArchiMate.
This main question has been further divided into three research sub questions. An extensive literature
survey is done for building a sound background for answering the research questions. This literature
survey is used to formulate a value creation framework at the process level. Then, a mapping is
attempted between the framework developed and ArchiMate.
The output of this research is a 6 step methodology which will aid managers to model value creation
using ArchiMate elements. As a part of the methodology an algorithm is developed which relates a
value proposition offered by the firm (to its customers) to processes and infrastructure of the firm
which realize it. This algorithm when applied to a given ArchiMate model results in a smaller model
which is called the value model for the particular value proposition. This algorithm is implemented in
the EA modeling tool, BiZZdesign Architect ®. The deliverables of the methodology are a value creation
model and value table. The value creation model can be used for cost benefit, analysis, sensitivity
analysis and traceability analysis. These possible uses of the value creation model are discussed in
detail. Value tables formed as a part of the methodology, show how the resources and the services
acquired from the network can be incorporated in the value model.
To explain and demonstrate the methodology a case study is presented. Another example case is used
to demonstrate the uses of the value creation model. The merit and applicability of the methodology
is evaluated by combination of a survey and personal interview with experienced researchers and
practitioners in the field EA modeling.


The standardisation process of English spelling largely came to its conclusion during the Early Modern period. While the progress of standardisation has been studied in both printed and manuscript texts, few studies have looked at these processes side by side, especially focusing on the same genre of writing and by using corpora that are sufficiently large for quantitative comparison. Using two Early Modern medical corpora, one based on manuscripts and the other on printed sources, this paper compares the trajectories of spelling standardisation in the two textual domains and shows that while spelling standardisation progressed in an almost linear fashion in printed texts, the manuscripts reveal a much more varied and shallow cline toward standardisation.


The development and the validation of the Pavia Physical Performance Scale (PPPS) is here presented. PPPS is a new instrument evaluating the physical performance of pacemaker implanted patients. Data comes from a cross-over clinical trial on the efficacy of two functions of the pacemaker device. Primary end-point is the improvement of the physical performance together with the quality of life. We used data of 168 patients actually enrolled and interviewed with the Pavia Physical Performance Scale. We first selected 30 Likert-type items; then we applied a statistical methodology of Homogeneity Analysis (HOMALS). We verified the homogeneity of the scale and the internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.92). With the same methodology, we developed the final version of PPPS. The final version lists 20 items; based on the results of the psychometric analysis, we turned the Likert-type scoring into a binary scoring (1 = no limitation of physical activity, 0 = limitation or never tried). The external validity, trough an Analysis of Variance of PPPS mean scores within New York Heart Association classes (NYHA), has been performed. We found a negative linear trend of PPPS scores and NYHA classes. That means an association between high PPPS scores (good physical performance) and low NYHA classes (also good physical capacity). The Pavia Physical Performance Scale (PPPS) could be proposed as a valid and consistent scale aimed to evaluate physical performance in pacemaker implanted patients. We suggest to use it in the clinical practice in addition to more traditional techniques.


Welcome to a two part special series exploring reality television as film and history. This edition focuses on the widely popular PBS Historical Homes series, including the British and American productions, 1940s House (2000), Frontier House (2001), Manor House (2002) and Colonial House (2003), as well as two offerings from Australian public TV, The Colony (2005) and Outback House (2005). According to PBS's Executive Series Director, Beth Hoppe, "These projects are fantastic at doing two things. . .one is to really explode the myth, do away with the misconceptions about a time, and the other is to experience the nitty-gritty of daily life."1 While the following articles agree with Hoppe' s claim that the participants endure mental and physical challenges living in recreated simulacra, the series' explosion of myths remains in question. The first essay, by Dvorak and Taddeo, presents an overview of the British and American House programs and how the "time travelers" confront categories of race, class, and gender both in the re-created past and in their 21st century lives. As "TV with a purpose," these programs allow viewers and participants alike to "live history" but within safe limits. Obviously, there will be no reenactments of war with actual bombs or a long winter with any real threat of starvation, or violent encounters between settlers and Native Americans, so that nostalgia for the past, despite its challenges and deprivations, remains in tact. Leigh Edwards builds on these themes with an in-depth discussion of Frontier House and the tension between the producers' goal to "debunk myths" about the American Frontier and the lived experiences of the volunteers who cling to the image of the Wild West as the site of freedom and opportunity. Just as Taddeo notes how fictional representations of the Edwardian era shaped the Manor House participants' expectations, the producers and volunteers of Frontier House want to relive their childhood memories of movie westerns or TV episodes of Little House on the Prairie. Despite their noble attempts to revise the frontier experience-removing racial and gender inequality-their efforts at building community ultimately give way to individualism. The educational mission of Frontier House also recedes as the personal stories of the volunteers and how they use the past to understand their 21st century lives take center stage. Malgorzata Rymsza-Pawlowska continues the discussion of Frontier House by examining its place within the documentary and reality genres of television. While the documentary has long been used as a didactic device, thejuxtaposition of this with the reality program serves the additional purpose of allowing both participants and viewers to negotiate their own preconceived ideas and even misconceptions of history. Her argument follows that of Stephen Gapps, who believes that audiences watching "historical reenactments" somehow internalize them as being "real." As the nature of historical inquiry shifts from a "monumental history" of important personages and political acts, to a social and cultural history of the experience of the "common man" (and woman), the new hybrid genre becomes extremely effective in dealing with this development. Malgorzata traces the way in which the producers of this program use both the realities and the myths of the American Frontier to facilitate a new discourse which is somewhere in between. Myths about beauty, in British wartime and in our contemporary culture, take center stage in David Diffrient's analysis of 1940s House. As three generations of the Hymer family reside in a London home and endure the material deprivations of wartime, they develop a new appreciation for each other but also become too obsessed with the disheveled image they see of themselves in the home's many mirrored surfaces. Diffrient is especially interested in the female inhabitants of this house and how they cope with their own domestic shortcomings and struggle to live up to the wartime mantra of "Beauty is Your Duty" when even shampoo is in short supply. …


Background A lower systolic blood pressure (SBP) target reduces major
cardiovascular events and mortality from any cause in geriatric
hypertension. However, the effect of different SBP targets on left
ventricular (LV) function remains unclear. This study aimed to determine
changes in LV strain in older hypertensive patients after 1 year of
different SBP goals, and to evaluate its effects on LV function in this
population. Methods We studied 313 hypertensive adults aged 60 years or
older after 1 year of the Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial.
They were divided into the intensive group (target SBP: 110–130 mmHg)
and the standard group (target SBP: 130–150 mmHg). All participants
underwent echocardiography within 1 week after enrollment and 1 year
after participating in the study. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) of
the LV (endocardial, middle, and epicardial layer: GLS-end, GLS-mid, and
GLS-epi, respectively) and improvement of GLS at 1 year (ΔGLS-end,
ΔGLS-mid, and ΔGLS-epi) were measured. Results At 1 year, GLS-end in the
intensive group was decreased compared with that before the trial
(−23.78%±3.10% vs −22.58%±3.11%, P<0.05). The ΔGLS-end and
ΔGLS-mid in the intensive group were higher than those in the standard
group (both P<0.05). Moreover, SBP at 1 year and an
angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist were independent factors that
affected ΔGLS-end. Conclusions These trial results suggest that a lower
SBP target is beneficial for LV myocardial function of older
hypertensive patients at 1 year.


Advances in the characterization of pain signaling in recent years indicate that distinct neurophysiological and neurochemical mechanisms contribute to pain arising from injury to the nervous system (neuropathic pain). Tissue injury results in the release of pro-nociceptive mediators that sensitize peripheral nerve terminals (peripheral sensitization), leading to neurochemical and phenotypic alterations of sensory neurons and increased excitability of spinal cord dorsal horn neurons (central sensitization). In addition, the response of the nervous system to pain is not static, but is modulated by descending systems originating in the brain that can modulate pain thresholds. In this review, attention is given to the experimental modeling of neuropathic pain in preclinical studies. Recently, an increased understanding of the neurophysiological plasticity of the nervous system in response to chronic pain has led to the discovery and development of novel pharmacological interventions that may have clinical utility in treating neuropathic pain.


The turning of a statistical process simulator, such as FABRICS II, requires the collection of considerable numbers of I-V (current voltage) characteristics of devices representing a technology. A fully automatic I-V measurement program has been developed on the HP 9836 Pascal Workstation to drive the HP 4062 Semiconductor Parametric Test System and the Electroglas 2001X Automatic Wafer Probing System. This program ca be used to probe single devices or entire wafers. This paper describes the system setup and the operation of the program, in both single device mode and automatic mode. A simple example and some measurement results are attached.


ICAO GNSS is currently being implemented, so in couple of years civil aviation will have worldwide primary navigation source by radio signals from the space, i.e., SBAS or satellite-based augmentation system. While the current standard defines navigation performance of SBAS only in horizontal mean for oceanic airspace and enroute, essentially SBAS has capability of providing vertical guidance to numerous aircraft within its coverage. This means GNSS altimeter can easily be implemented once SBAS becomes operational. Traditional barometric altimeter is the simple instrument to measure altitude of aircraft. It, however, requires frequent adjustments by pilot, which would be the potential source of human error. Furthermore, it is always affected by meteorological condition and never indicates the accurate geometric height of the aircraft. In the paper we describe potential advantages of GNSS altimeter the barometric altimeter. Characteristics of both altimeters would be explained with emphasis on the potential error sources. The adjustment method for barometric altitude currently used in the lower altitude airspace will be described, and an additional temperature correction method follows. The evaluation of them based on the meteorological observation data collected in Japan will show the temperature correction works well. Finally, the results from our flight experiment measuring altitudes by both altimeters will augment the theoretical considerations.


Background: Cadmium is a widely dispersed metal element that may be released to the environment with accelerated anthropogenic activities. Rice with high cadmium content is a serious threat to food safety and human health. Results: A heavy metal-resistant white rot fungus Trametes pubescens MB 89 with remarkable ability to prevent rice from cadmium toxification has been investigated in this study. We have assessed the biosorption of this ectomycorrhizal fungus with high concentrations of Cd2+. Results indicate that the maximum removal rate of Cd2+ from aqueous solution (10 mg/L) by T. pubescens MB 89 was 53.13%. A biofilm was formed on the cell surface of mycelium with Cd (II) been reduced to Cd (0) in the form of nanoscale particles in aqueous solution. It was found that the functional groups of –OH, –NH, C-H, C=O, C-O, S=O on the surface of T. pubescens MB 89 participated in the Cd2+ detoxification process. The effect of rice plant colonization with T. pubescens MB 89 was investigated with the pot experiments showing that it could significantly promoted rice seedlings growth and reduced cadmium accumulation on rice tissues. Moreover, the fungal colonization could decrease the cadmium transport to the rice roots, ameliorate cadmium toxicity and ensure the normal absorption and transportation of nutrients by the roots. Conclusion: This study showed a promising potential for T. pubescens MB 89 to prevent cadmium toxification for the rice grains in paddy fields. To further investigate the mechanism of T. pubescens to protect and promote rice growth, our next research focus will be on the beneficial interactions of ectomycorrhizal fungi and the rice root system with the aid of the root-fungal interactome analysis.


Parallel investigations of needs theories and motivational theories - especially - as represented by Maslow's hierarchy of needs on the one hand, and of the behaviour of criminals, more precisely, of the typical motivations and needs which drive the perpetrators of crimes to carry out a criminal act on the other hand- may yield interesting conclusions both from the perspective of criminal psychology and from the perspective of sociology. A comprehensive and thorough understanding of the characteristics of criminals and of the criminal acts they commit, as well as of the extent to which the needs of the perpetrators as individuals are being satisfied during the specific phase in their lives when the crime under scrutiny is being committed, considered together with the stress and frustration generated and with the need-driven patterns of behaviour and forms of conduct may lead to the elaboration of preventive strategies and predictive methods, as well as to the delivery of explanations which are capable of focusing on society while at the same time revealing individual preferences and specific factors underlying frustrations and involving potential solutions to these frustrations. After an overview of the scientific literature on motivational theory, my intention in this research is to align the above-mentioned categories of needs with the behavioural patterns of criminals identified during my research and with the data gathered regarding their social background; in the light of all these, an analysis will be made of the acts of murder and attempted murder which were committed in Hungary in the period between 2010 and 2014 and which were the subject of a definitive judgement. The question to which an answer is sought in this study is: whether it is justified to examine such criminal cases against the backdrop of the various needs theories, in particular that of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, and whether a connection may be established between perpetrators' motivations and the specific categories of needs as described in the theories. In the case of an affirmative answer to these questions, it will also be examined to what extent each of the needs appears to mpact on the behaviour of perpetrators.


Mr. W, age 45, is a divorced Army veteran living on the street who has entered alcohol treatment for the sixth time. He has never stayed sober for longer than 1 month after each of his previous treatment episodes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] On a typical day, Mr. W drinks 40 oz of beer, a pint of vodka, and other alcoholic beverages when available. Although he has used drugs, he reports that he did so only to augment the effects of alcohol. Before entering rehab, Mr. W worked for a television network for 16 years and was promoted to associate vice president. He lost that job as a result of drinking. Mr. W comes from a large Irish Catholic family and has sustained an active religious faith, going to Mass 2 or 3 times a month. Throughout the interview, he appears introspective and describes frequent periods of "going inside" of himself to "rehash" things. He states that he has never been satisfied with his spiritual life and has been unable to "quiet the hunger inside." He describes his benders as "mini-retreats" and comments that focusing on the condensation droplets on a glass of beer is nearly a "sacramental experience" for him. He states: "My drinking is a spiritual thing for me. I believe that every time I drink I am on a spiritual search. I believe this with all my heart. I have this emptiness inside of me and alcohol would temporarily fill the enormous hole in my insides. Just for a short period of time, I would feel at peace and connected to others, and maybe even to God." Mr. W observes that "Every time I relapse it's because I'm going through a spiritual withdrawal. Booze filled the void inside of me and now the void is back again. Physically and psychologically I'm fine. I'm just empty inside and when I can't stand it any longer, I drink again." Few patients can so directly articulate the role they feel that spirituality plays in their substance use disorder. It is important for clinicians to be aware of the dynamics of spirituality and religion in the cause, maintenance, and treatment of substance misuse problems. In this article, we discuss how spirituality can be assessed and suggest ethical and clinical practice concerns that we believe may support treatment of substance use disorder. We do not advocate incorporating spiritual interventions into clinical practice for patients who are uncomfortable with doing so, nor do we feel that consideration of and respect for patients' spirituality precludes evidence-based pharmaceutical and behavioral treatment strategies. We believe, however, that addressing these issues can enhance treatment adherence in select patients. Defining spirituality Although religion and spirituality are related concepts, they differ. * Religion has been defined as "an organized system of beliefs, practices, rituals, and symbols through which ones' relationship to God or others is nurtured and exercised." (1) * Spirituality is more complex and multifaceted. Reflecting his extensive review of articles on spirituality and addiction, Cook (2) proposed the following definition: Spirituality is a distinctive, potentially creative, and universal dimension of human experience arising within inner subjective awareness of individuals and within communities, social groups, and traditions. It may be experienced as relationship with that which is intimately "inner," immanent, and personal, within the self and others, and/or as relationship with that which is wholly "other," transcendent and beyond the self. It is experienced as being of fundamental or ultimate importance and is therefore concerned with matters of meaning and purpose in life, truth, and values. In some religions, any use of alcohol or drugs is forbidden; in most religions, abuse of these substances violates norms. Those who misuse a substance also might be alienated from their religious and social support community. …


Abstract We documented 15 cases of Grus americana (Whooping Crane) mortality in 6 Florida counties during 1997–2010 that may have been associated with Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator; hereafter Alligator) predation or scavenging. In four cases, Whooping Crane remains were identified within Alligator mouths or stomachs. The latter is a first in the literature. Other cases were less conclusive but suggestive that Alligators were involved with predation or scavenging of Whooping Cranes. An Alligator was videotaped eating the eggs of G. canadensis pratensis (Florida Sandhill Crane), plus Alligators were implicated in the depredation of eggs from another Sandhill Crane nest and a Whooping Crane nest; the latter was the first record of Alligators depredating Whooping Crane eggs. All 4 populations of Whooping Cranes and 4 populations of Sandhill Cranes in the southeastern United States spend at least part of the year within the range of Alligators. To improve survival of cranes in areas where water management is practiced, water depths should be maintained at optimal levels (10–20 cm) for crane nesting and roosting to discourage intrusion by larger Alligators and to allow the cranes to detect approaching Alligators.


The analytic approach proposed in this paper is synchronization of chaotic systems in the presence of practical constraints. Constraints that this paper is considered on the study of synchronization are: actuator saturation, presence of external disturbances and model uncertainties. The synchronization happens between the two nonlinear master and slave systems. Control law is designed in such a way that the state variables of the slave system follow the state variables of the master system in the presence of uncertainty and external disturbances and by considering the actuator saturation constraint. Therefore, based on the error model, sliding surface, robust control law and adaptive laws are designed in a way that robust synchronization occurs. For this purpose, a theorem is proposed and according to the Lyapunov approach it is proved that the synchronization error despite the uncertainty terms reaches zero by actuator saturation constraint. In order to show the practical performance of proposed approach, the aforesaid method is based on practical system of gyros that chaotic behavior is implemented and the computer simulations show proper performance of the proposed law in robust synchronization of aforesaid practical system.


Introduction: Osteoporosis is a silent and invisible disease of bone, great presence and is considered to suffer from osteoporosis at least 200 million women worldwide. The goal of this paper is to show average ageof postmenopausal respondents, values of anthropometric parameters (weight, height, BMI), anamnestic data on clinical symptoms, fractures of women in menopause, analysis of heel ultrasound screening results,analysis of lumbar spine DXA results, analysis of left hip DXA results.Methods: In retrospective study 61 respondents were involved, 33 to 79 years old, treated in u Center for Physical Medicine and Acupuncture "AD" in Sarajevo during the period from 01.01.2008 till 31.12.2009. Alldate are shown numerically and percentage account with calculation of mean value, expressed in the form of tables and charts.Results: Finding of heel ultrosound screening compared to T values of postmenopausal respondents indicates on osteoporosis in case of 17 (27,87%), in case of 44 (72,13%) respondents osteopenia, while normalvalues were not found. T value with lumbar spine DXA method in postmenopausal female respondents correspond to 43 (70,5%) respondents, in 15 respondents (24,6%) finding corresponded to osteopenia, while 3 respondents (4,9%) had physiological finding. Left hip DXA finding shows 36 (59%) respondents corresponded osteoporosis, 19 (31,2%) respondents corresponded osteopenia, while physiological finding was found in 6 respondents (9,8%). T value of lumbar spine DXA finding was - 2,71 ± 1,16; DXA finding of left hip -2,35 ±1,36; heel ultrasound screening -2,19 ± 0,54.Conclusion: Research results indicate that DXA finding in relation to the heel ultrasound screening confirms gold standard in diagnosing osteoporosis.


Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a rare cardiomyopathy characterized by abnormal trabeculations in the left ventricle cavity. Although traditional computer vision approaches exist for LVNC diagnosis, deep learning-based tools could not be found in the literature. In this paper, a first approach using convolutional neural networks (CNNs) is presented. Four CNNs are trained to automatically segment the compacted and trabecular areas of the left ventricle for a population of patients diagnosed with Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Inference results confirm that deep learning-based approaches can achieve excellent results in the diagnosis and measurement of LVNC. The two best CNNs (U-Net and Efficient U-Net B1) perform image segmentation in less than 0.2 s on a CPU and in less than 0.01 s on a GPU. Additionally, a subjective evaluation of the output images with the identified zones is performed by expert cardiologists, with a perfect visual agreement for all the slices, outperforming already existing automatic tools.


Healthcare is a major candidate for improvement in any vision of the kinds of "information highways" and "information societies" that are now being visualised. The (interactive) communication between healthcare providers and their patients or other healthcare providers regardless of geographic distance, namely telemedicine, will become of central importance. The objective of any advanced infrastructure that can be imagined for future healthcare must be to provide a global uniform level of healthcare. To facilitate the possibilities for any international collaboration standardized approaches must be adopted. This book has been mainly written for specialists, practitioners, scientists and managers in the new growing area of health information technologies. It is particularly relevant for those people - a large increasing number - who bridge and integrate knowledges in medicine (basic and clinical) and advanced technologies such as IT.


A keyboard operated musical instrument is disclosed in which the musical tones are generated by reading out data values stored in a waveshape memory. The number of stored data points is reduced by storing the data values in segments corresponding to one-half of the number of data points for a period of a waveshape. By using synthesized data having a symmetry about the midpoint the second half of the waveshape is recovered by a forward and backward memory address read of each waveshape segment. After reading each segment a predetermined number of cycles, an abrupt jump is made to the next segment of waveshape data points.


With the undeveloped BAPV(Building Applied Photovoltaics) at Office Building and Public Facilities, Caused the high price of solar modules and the lack the economic study on the use of solar modules that housed in the Banda Aceh region. Furthermore, the price of solar modules is expensive, so people think it will cost so much funds to building a BAPV's system. These problems could be overcomed if the existing technical studies and economic studies of the application of the BAPV's system. This study aims to assess the application of the BAPV's system on institutions  building in terms of technical and economic value, in this case the building that is used as the study object is the Polytechnic Aceh's Building. The method that used in the technical studies are theoretical calculations and simulations using helioscope software, while the methods used for economic studies is using the methods of cost-benefit analysis ( cost benefit analysis). The method used to find the NPV (Net Present Value), PP (Payback Period), IRR (Internal Rate of Return), and BCR (Benefit Cost Ratio). If the average value of solar radiation reaching 4.79 kWh / m2 / day and the average daily energy requirement is 592 kWh, the energy generated from BAPV-PLN hybrid system on the roof of the object building will reach the amount of 237 MWh/year with the capacity charge controller used is 7490 A and the capacity of the battery used is 64.487 Ah. Panel tilt angle used is 25 o and the type of panel used is Monocrystalline manifold. From the economic value will obtained NPV value of Rp. 20.022.106.937, PP during 5,2 years, IRR of 36% and 3,49 of BCR. Based on the evaluation results of the feasibility study, the project of hybrid BAPV-PLN's system on the roof of the Polytechnic  Aceh's  building can be realized, because its already meet the criteria of the feasibility study to make the systems get established in real term.


The initiation, termination, and control of internal transport barriers associated with E × B flow shear near local minima of magnetic shear are examined for burning plasmas to determine if the positive feedback loops between profiles, instability, transport, and flow shear operate in regimes with fusion self-heating. A five-field transport model for the evolution of profiles of density, ion and electron temperature, ion and electron fluctuations, and radial electric field is utilized to examine the efficacy of controls associated with external inputs of heat and particles, including neutral beam injection, RF, pellets, and gas puffing. The response of the plasma to these inputs is studied in the presence of self-heating. The latter is affected by the external inputs and their modification of profiles and is, therefore, not an external control. Provided sufficient external power is applied, internal transport barriers can be created and controlled, both in ion and electron channels. Barrier control is sensitive to the locations of power deposition and pellet ablation, as well as temporal sequencing of external inputs.


This paper presents the executive summary of the recently-completed geothermal resource assessment report for the Kibiro hot springs geothermal prospect in western Uganda (Alexander et al., 2016). This report was prepared for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). As part of their initiative to promote geothermal resource development and utilization in East Africa, UNEP has implemented the GEF-funded African Rift Geothermal Development Facility Project (ARGeo). One of ARGeo's primary components is to provide technical and financial assistance for surface exploration studies for the ARGeo member countries (Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda).


Treatment adherence is key to the efficacy of exclusive enteral nutrition (100% EN) in active Crohn's disease (CD), but there are currently no biomarkers to objectively support this. We explored faecal parameters as putative biomarkers of compliance with 100% EN, and subsequently developed and validated the Glasgow Exclusive enteral Nutrition Index of compliancE (GENIE).

 Healthy adults replaced all (100% EN) or part (85% EN, 50% EN and 25% EN) of their habitual diet with a polymeric formula (Modulen IBD, Nestle©) for 7 days. Faecal pH, Bristol stool chart score, water content, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and branched chain fatty acids (BCFAs) were measured before (D0) and after (D7) each intervention. Faecal biomarkers and threshold values for group assignments were derived using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses and machine learning algorithm to develop the GENIE. The GENIE was validated in 30 children with CD, during 100% EN and 4 weeks after return to normal diet.

 Sixty-one (31 females) adults (mean age [SD]: 25.9 [4.3] years) were recruited. D7 faecal pH and the ratios of BCFAs to either acetate or butyrate performed the best to differentiate between patients on 100% EN from <100% EN. A ratio of isobutyrate (IC4) to C2> 0.039 and a ratio of IC4 to C2+C4> 0.035 both produced a sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of 92%, 83% and 79%, respectively to differentiate between 100% EN vs. all other groups. A faecal pH> 8.0 produced a sensitivity, specificity and PPV of 84%, 86% and 81%, respectively. Findings using machine learning were better than those using ROC curve analysis. Two models were generated; one which includes all faecal metabolites (Laboratory GENIE, L-GENIE), and which produced a sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of 88%, 94%, and 92%, respectively and a second one (Clinical GENIE, C-GENIE) which considers only faecal pH as the input data and which produced a sensitivity, specificity and PPV of 84%, 86% and 81% (Figure 1). Validation of GENIE models in children with CD found that C-GENIE outperformed L-GENIE, producing a sensitivity, specificity and PPV of 85%, 88% and 88%, respectively (Table 1).

 Figure 1: Glasgow Exclusive Enteral Nutrition Index of Compliance.

 Table 1: Results of validation of the GENIE model in children with Crohn's disease (CD) during treatment with 100% EN and after return to unrestricted diet and compared to the development cohort of healthy adults.

 GENIE can predict adherence to 100% EN in patients with CD in both the clinical and research settings. It may complement conventional dietary assessment and inform clinical decision, especially in patients who are not in remission.


Exposure to mercury ions, even at very low levels, is known to cause a wide variety of diseases in the brain, kidney, and central nervous system, which is an increasing serious problem for human beings and the environment. Accordingly, great efforts have been devoted to the development of colorimetric sensors, which can selectively and conveniently detect Hg2+. In this feature article, to present the readers a better understanding of the specific methods and their mechanisms, we will highlight colorimetric sensors according to their receptors into several categories, including organic dye-based sensors, complex based sensors, polymer based sensors, and nanoparticles based sensors, which are mentioned in the literature and our own work during the recent years.