Small robots are very simple computers that can move autonomously. Their use in primary schools allows pupils to have concrete yet full programming experiences at the age in which Piaget situates the concrete operational stage of cognitive development. Indeed, for their first robotic activities, pupils think of paths where the robot moves forward, decides which direction to go when getting to a crossroad or repeats part of its previous trip. In planning a path for their robot, children walk it themselves thus finding out its successive tangible parts and related features. Our pupils use NQCBaby and NXCJunior programming languages for the formal specification of their robot's behaviour. These are textual languages, mother-tongue-based and Logo-like, in order to be oriented to children rather than to robots. Thus, when programming small robots, children are introduced to a deep computer competence because they deal with the basic blocks of algorithmics (sequence, selection and iteration) and learn how to specify them.


Abstract. This study compares the accuracy of visually estimated ice concentrations by eight analysts at the Canadian Ice Service against three standards: i) ice concentrations calculated from automated image segmentation, ii) ice concentrations calculated from automated image segmentation that were validated by the analysts, and iii) the modal ice concentration estimate by the group. A total of 76 pre-defined areas in RADARSAT-1/RADARSAT-2 imagery are used in this study. Analysts over-estimate ice concentrations when compared to all three standards, most notably for low ice concentrations (1/10–3/10). The spread of ice concentration estimates is highest for middle concentrations (5/10, 6/10), and smallest for 9/10. The over-estimation in low concentrations and high variability in middle concentrations introduces uncertainty in the ice concentration distribution in ice charts. The uncertainty may have downstream implications for numerical modeling and sea ice climatology. Inter-analyst agreement is also measured to determine which classifier's ice concentration estimates (analyst or automated image segmentation) disagreed the most. It was found that one of the eight analysts disagreed the most, followed second by the automated segmentation algorithm. This suggests high agreement in ice concentration estimates between analysts at the Canadian Ice Service. The high agreement, but consistent overestimation, results in an overall accuracy of ice concentration estimates in polygons to be 39 %, 95 % CI [34 %, 43 %] for an exact match in ice concentration estimate with calculated ice concentration from segmentation, and 84 %, 95 % CI [80 %, 87 %] for +/- one ice concentration category. Only images with high contrast between ice and open water, and well-defined floes are used: true accuracy is expected to be lower than what is found in this study.


Inversion of satellite radiometer measurements to yield values of atmospheric parameters is expected to be an important source of data within the next few years. A review of inversion methods, based in part on a recent workshop, is presented to outline their present status. General considerations indicate that fine structure will not be resolved, and that the number of parameters determined may be less than the number of measurements. Using infrared data, temperature profiles appear to be inferable with an accuracy of about ±3K, and water vapor distributions may be obtained, over clear skies or broken cloud. Microwave measurements appear to allow temperature determinations with similar accuracy which are less affected by underlying cloud. Water vapor and cloud liquid water content can also be determined, although there are engineering problems. Inversion of visible and ultraviolet data is not as far advanced, but may yield ozone distributions, cloud top heights and information on aerosols. A few of the pr...


To bridge the data gap between Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and the delayed forthcoming ICESat-2, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched the Operation IceBridge (OI) campaign in 2009, which has provided variable data set to reveal snow and ice changes in the Arctic and Antarctic. In this letter, we employ the Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) data from OI to detect a five-year (between 2010 and 2015) elevation-change rate of Jakobshavn Isbrae (JI), the largest and fastest flowing outlet glacier in Greenland. Grid elevation of OI ATM is calculated and a method to calculate elevation-change rate using these grid data is implemented. The comparison of repeat grid elevation indicates that our method can generate unbiased elevation data. The uncertainty of grid elevation data using our method is approximately 1.0 m (standard deviation). The five-year average elevation rate of JI over regions with ice velocity ≥300 m/a between 2010 and 2015 was about −5.0 m/a (root mean square uncertainty: 0.7 m/a), with a maximum thinning rate of −18.2 m/a near the terminus of the main trunk. Compared with the previously reported elevation-change rates from earlier periods, JI has now reached a new high thinning record.


A new blood clot dissolving agent which is easier to administer than traditional treatment with streptokinase may save the lives of thousands of coronary patients.


The research on which this report is based was financed in part by the U.S.
Department of the Interior, as authorized by the Water Research and Development Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-467).


Thin films of graphene oxide, graphene and copper (II) phthalocyanine dye have been successfully fabricated by electrostatic layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly approach. We present the first variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry (VASE) investigation on these graphene-dye hybrid thin films. The thickness evaluation suggested that our LbL assembly process produces highly uniform and reproducible thin films. We demonstrate that the refractive indices of the graphene-dye thin films undergo dramatic variation in the range close to the absorption of the dyes. This investigation provides new insight to the optical properties of graphene containing thin films and shall help to establish an appropriate optical model for graphene-based hybrid materials.


A methodology is presented to include financial risk management in the framework of two-stage stochastic programming for planning under uncertainty. A known probabilistic definition of financial risk is adapted to be used in this framework and its relation to downside risk is analyzed. Using these definitions, new two-stage stochastic programming models that manage financial risk are presented. Computational issues related to these models are also discussed. © 2004 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 50: 963–989, 2004


Carotenoids were isolated from the cells of Rhodobium marinum, and their structures were determined by mass spectrometry and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy; the carotenoids include lycopene, rhodopin, anhydrorhodovibrin, rhodovibrin and spirilloxanthin. Time‐dependent changes in the carotenoid composition in the reaction center (RC) and the light‐harvesting complex 1 (LH1) were traced by high‐performance liquid chromatography analysis of the extracts. The carotenoid composition changed according to the spirilloxanthin biosynthetic pathway. However, spirilloxanthin having the longest conjugated chain was always preferentially bound to the RC, and anhydrorhodovibrin and other precursors to the LH1.


Background: There is a change in the use of surgical methods for the repair of inguinal hernias. In Denmark, the national guidelines recommend either the Lichtenstein or the laparoscopic repair. The laparoscopic repair has gained popularity over the last years. The aim of the current study was to report trends in techniques for the repair of elective inguinal hernias, with focus on the Lichtenstein repair, the laparoscopic repair, and reoperation rates. Methods: This cohort study was based on data from the Danish Inguinal Hernia Database from January 1, 1998, until December 31, 2019. The outcome in this study was trends in the use of surgical methods for the repair of groin hernias in Denmark. Results were divided on patients with unilateral and bilateral groin hernia repairs. Patients were also divided into six groups depending on which year they were operated. The first group consisted of patients operated from 1998 to 2002, the second group was operated from 2003 to 2006, the third group from 2007 to 2010, the fourth group from 2011 to 2014, and the last group was operated from 2015 to 2019. Results: In total 173,302 patients initially operated electively for a groin hernia were included. There were several different methods being used for unilateral hernia repairs; however, there seems to be fewer methods in use compared with earlier. The laparoscopic repairs accounted for 96% of the bilateral inguinal hernias and 51% of the unilateral hernias. There has been a decrease in the use of the Lichtenstein method through the years. After 2017, the majority of patients received a laparoscopic repair for a primary unilateral inguinal hernia. Conclusions: In conclusion, this study demonstrated that over the last 21 years there has been an increase in the use of laparoscopic repair for bilateral inguinal hernia that now covers almost 100%. For primary unilateral hernias, the laparoscopic approach is increasingly being used now covering more than half of the operations. Basic surgical training might need to include laparoscopic repair of inguinal hernias in the future.


A rapid, semiempirical method is presented for calculating the stability margins of superconductors cooled with subcooled He-II. Based on a model of Seyfert, the method takes into account both time-dependent Gorter-Mellink heat transport and the effects of interfacial Kapitza resistance. The method has been compared favorably with heat transfer data of Seyfert, stability data of Meuris, and stability data of Pfotenhauer and van Sciver. 4 refs., 7 figs., 1 tab.


This paper addresses the following general problem of tree regular model-checking: decide whether R*(L) ∩ Lp = θ where R* is the reflexive and transitive closure of a successor relation induced by a term rewriting system R, and L and Lp are both regular tree languages. We develop an automatic approximation-based technique to handle this - undecidable in general - problem in most practical cases, extending a recent work by Feuillade, Genet and Viet Triem Tong. We also make this approach fully automatic for practical validation of security protocols.


Square-loop magnetic devices have been used traditionally in digital circuitry. Methods by which a combination of the square-loop and time-limited switching properties of magnetic devices can be used to sample and record a transient signal are described. These circuit functions have been previously performed by rather complicated electronic means. Magnetic sampling and recording has several advantages over previously used methods: 1) circuitry is simple; 2) magnetic elements are less sensitive to some types of environmental conditions; 3) the recording and sampling is performed in a single device; 4) sampling duration can be made short enough to obtain high-frequency response; and 5) an extremely wide variety of recording problems can be solved with these devices.


The author began by calling attention to the fact that the geological framework of Scotland is essentially composed of rocks of Silurian age, which occupy almost the whole of the northern and southern divisions of the country, and form in the centre a comparatively small synclinal hollow or basin, which is filled up by deposits belonging to the later systems of the Old Red Sandstone and Carboniferous. It thus becomes one of the first problems in Scottish Geology to ascertain the order of succession among these Silurian strata, to endeavour to read the history of its life system, and in general to obtain means for a comparison of the formation with the Silurian of other countries. To this problem the crystalline and metamorphic rocks of the Highlands can never furnish the key, which must therefore be sought among the comparatively unaltered and more fossiliferous deposits of the Southern Uplands. Here, however, we are at once brought face to face with what seem at first to be insurmountable difficulties. There is an almost complete identity of mineral character throughout the whole series; there are great thicknesses of strata from which fossils appear to be wholly absent; and, to crown all, the beds have been thrown into such a multitude of wrinkles and plications, so disturbed and inverted, that it is impossible to say on physical evidence alone, in a traverse of any distance, whether we are ascending or descending in the order of the strata. With these obstacles in the way This 250-word extract was created in the absence of an abstract


Recently there has been remarkable progress made in the direct numerical simulation (DNS) of wall-bounded turbulence, particularly of turbulent channel flow, with numerical data now available above Reτ ≈ 2000 (Hoyas & Jiménez, Phys. Fluids, vol. 18, 2006, p. 011702; Iwamoto et al., Proceedings of the Sixth Symposium Smart Control of Turbulence, 2005). Much knowledge has been gained from these results, particularly in the areas of flow structure and dynamics. Yet, while the value of such simulations is undoubted, only very limited comparisons with experimental data have been documented. Although the physics of the flow are captured correctly in an ideal DNS, as with any real numerical or physical experiment, there are opportunities for misrepresentation of the characteristics of turbulence. As such, this article seeks to make a comparison between a well-documented high Reynolds number (Reτ = 934), large box size (8πh × 2h × 3πh) DNS from del Álamo et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 500, 2004, p. 135) and laboratory channel flow data measured by the authors. Results show that there is excellent agreement between the streamwise velocity statistics of the two data sets. The spectra are also very similar, however, throughout the logarithmic region the secondary peak in energy is clearly reduced in the DNS results. Although the source of the difference is not certain, the wavelengths concerned are close to the DNS box length, leading to the recommendation that longer box lengths should be investigated. Another large-scale spectral discrepancy near the wall results from the incorrect assumption of a constant convection velocity used to infer spatial information from the temporal. A near-wall convection velocity modification function is tentatively proposed. While the modification gives good agreement between the data sets, higher Reynolds number comparisons are required to better understand the intricate convection velocity issue.


Abstract:
 Wildfire is a major threat to natural resources and native species in Hawai'i, but the frequency and extent of wildfires across the archipelago has not been well quantified. Our objective was to summarize the available wildfire data for Hawai'i and synthesize the social and ecological dimensions of wildfire drivers, impacts, and management responses. We constructed a 110-yr span of wildfire records for the state of Hawai'i to examine historical trends (1904–2011) and summarized relationships between contemporary wildfire occurrence (2005–2011) and land use/land cover types and human population. Total area burned statewide increased more than fourfold from 1904 to 1959 to peaks in the 1960s–1970s and mid-1990s to present. From 2005 to 2011, on average, 1,007 wildfires were reported across the state per year (±77 SE), burning an average of 8,427 ha yr-1 (±2,394 SE). Most fires (95%) were <4 ha, while most area burned (93%) was attributed to fires ≥40 ha. Ignition frequency was positively correlated with human population across islands. Wildfires were most frequent in developed areas, but most areas burned occurred in dry nonnative grasslands and shrublands that currently compose 24% of Hawai'i's total land cover. These grass-dominated landscapes allow wildfires to propagate rapidly from areas of high ignition frequencies into the forested margins of the state's watersheds, placing native habitat, watershed integrity, and human safety at risk. There is an urgent need to better assess fire risk and impacts at landscape scales and increase the integration of prefire planning and prevention into existing land management goals.


Study design. A review of English literature about treatment of congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra. Objective. Make a review of the treatment of hemivertebra describing the types of surgical procedures available, as well as, the indications and contraindications of each procedure and results obtained. Summary of background data. Congenital scoliosis due to hemivertebra is most often progressive and requires surgical treatment. The recommended surgical options includes: "in situ" fusion; convex hemiepiphysiodesis and hemivertebra excision. Methods. Comprehensive review of articles published on "congenital scoliosis treatment". Medline, pubmed, b-on, science citation index yielded about 1000 titles each of which was surveyed for content related to treatment of hemivertebra. Results. "In situ" fusion does not address the anomaly directly, allows a moderate correction rate but is associated with long spinal fusion which has repercussion in spinal mobility and pulmonary function. Convex hemiepiphysiodesis is a good option for young patients, less than 5 years old, with single fully segmented hemivertebra and with Cobb angle < 60o. However, the degree of correction is unpredictable and dependent on the concave growth. Finally, hemivertebra resection addresses directly the spinal anomaly, produces the best correction results and it is a safe procedure that can be performed during all childhood and even in adults. The evolution of the posterior-only approach allowed it to be applied in very young children and adults with less perioperative neurological risk and with promising results. Conclusions. The treatment of congenital scoliosis focuses on early diagnosis and appropriate surgical management before the development of large curves. All the procedures described can be effective and safely performed if correctly selected and preformed by an experienced team of surgeons. The main goal of surgery is to achieve a straight spine and a physiological sagital profile while preserving as much as possible, normal spinal growth. [


Abstract The Dominican Republic faces multiple threats to biodiversity. A list of native species of amphibians and reptiles (excluding sea turtles) is presented. Some may have become extinct recently, substantial populations of others have been extirpated, some have greatly reduced numbers, and others appear to be rare or have restricted ranges. Most of the 13 taxa listed are relatively large, vulnerable to human exploitation or introduced predators, and/or have limited distributions and specific habitat requirements. To be listed, evidence must exist that: (1) populations are dwindling, (2) the range is shrinking, or (3) a species must be vulnerable to exploitation and historically rare. Two iguanas (Cyclura cornuta, C. ricordii), two turtles (Trachemys decorata, T. stejnegeri vicina), and one crocodilian (Crocodylus acutus) have been exploited extensively and have long been recognized as threatened or endangered. The ranges of Cyclura ricordii and T. decorata are very localized and the previously widespread ranges of the others have shrunk or become fragmented. A toad (Bufo fluviaticus), a large galliwasp (Celestus anelpistus), and a snake (Alsophis melanichnus) have not been collected recently. Only a few specimens of another galliwasp (C. carraui) and a dwarf gecko (Sphaerodactylus cochranae) have been taken recently. In addition, extensive portions of the habitats of these species have been severely altered. Three other snakes (Alsophis anomalus, laltris agyrtes, I. dorsalis) are rare and may never have been common. Their size and habits render them vulnerable to predation by the introduced mongoose and to decimation by humans who fear and dislike them.


R. B. Cunninghame Graham's Argentine sketches are characterised by the literary and political traits discernible throughout his oeuvre. These include a sceptical attitude to modernity and progress, an ability to render an evocative autobiographical encounter with changing traditions and cultures, and scrutiny of the evolution of national and imperial politics in Latin America. Graham's early experiences in Argentina occurred amidst the increasing reach of global networks of economic and cultural exchange in a period when 'globalization occurred parallel and simultaneously to state- building'. 1 Engaged in a process of modernisation that saw the promotion of the Argentine Republic on to expanding world markets, 'prevailing opinion', as David Rock has noted, 'held Argentina to be a land of boundless natural riches and frontier wildernesses, and the stirring Colossus of the South, destined infallibly to become one of the world's great nations'. 2 While earlier British writers and travellers, such as Woodbine Parish, Charles Darwin and Francis Bond Head had surveyed the lands known to them as 'the Argentine' in the troubled periods following its independence, Graham arrived in Argentina in 1870 at one of these moments of potential and promise. As such, he embodied the enterprising European who might fulfil the dreams of a metropolitan Argentine culture which looked to immigra- tion as a means to offset the indigenous traditions of the country supposedly holding back its progress.


Aim: In general, conflict has many adverse effects on individuals' lives. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological trait resilience and forgiveness among internally displaced persons (IDPs). Method: The sample consisted of 244 IDPs (111 males and 133 females) who have been exposed to various stressful situations. Age of participants ranged between 18 and 60 years (M = 32.63 years, SD = 8.18). Psychological Trait Resilience Scale and Enright Forgiveness Inventory were used through a cross-sectional study to collect data. Results: The results showed that IDPs reported low levels of resilience and forgiveness. The results also indicated that ecological resilience was positively related with emotional, behavioral, and cognitive forgiveness, while engineering resilience was positively related with emotional and cognitive forgiveness. Adaptive resilience was found to be positively related with emotional forgiveness. Regression analysis indicated that ecological resilience uniquely predicted emotional, behavioral, and cognitive forgiveness after controlling for demographic characteristics. Conclusion: These results suggest that higher levels of resilience are important for forgiveness among IDPs. Interventions aiming to enhance IDPs' forgiveness should account for psychological trait resilience.


A growing body of research suggests that bilingualism may afford benefits to certain aspects of cognitive functioning. Inconsistent findings may arise because of methodological differences within and across studies. One limitation is that studies often compare linguistically similar languages. The present study recorded brain activity (event-related potentials; ERPs) while English monolinguals, English–French bilinguals, and Arabic–English bilinguals completed an n-back task and a delayed matching-to-sample task. Group ERP differences were observed in the absence of behavioral differences. In the delayed matching-to-sample task, monolinguals exhibited smaller N2 amplitude compared to both bilingual groups, and smaller P3b amplitude compared to English–French bilinguals. In the n-back, English–French bilinguals displayed larger P3b amplitudes than monolinguals and Arabic–English bilinguals. P3b amplitude did not differ between Arabic–English bilinguals and monolinguals in either task. These results suggest that conflicting findings across studies may be due in part to the linguistic distance between the languages under study.


We report a self-referenced ratiometric nanothermometer based on short conjugated polyelectrolytes. An amphiphilic macromolecule destabilizes the polymer π-π stacking and makes it possible to shift the equilibrium between the less emissive aggregated state (520 nm) and the brighter individual chain (450 nm) within 20.0 °C and 70.0 °C.


We report the in-plane (rho (ab)) and out-of-plane (rho (c)) resistivities in the 4-800 K range on single crystals of Tl2Ba2CaCu2O8 high-T-c cuprate with T-c = 111 K (rho (c)/rho (ab) approximate to 1000). rho (ab)(T) exhibits "usual" linear behavior and rho (c)(T) follows generally metallic-like, positive slope in the 150-400 K temperature range. There is a clear crossover to semiconductor-like behavior close to T-c. However, for the first time in a chainless high-T-c cuprate we observe a crossover above 500 K due to hopping conduction. Under high pressures (< 15 kbar) the magnitude of (c) strongly decreases, yet the rho (c)(T) slope does riot change. This suggests that the out-of-plane charge transport is governed by the interplane tunneling rate.


Since the end of the 1990s, Brazil has succeeded in implementing and developing an economic model based on an inflation target model to keep domestic prices under control, a flexible exchange rate and a commitment to ensuring the solvency of the public sector. This model was initially adopted during Fernando Henrique Cardoso's second term as president, and subsequently maintained and refined during Luis Inacio Lula da Silva's two terms. Its development will certainly continue under the presidency of Dilma Rousseff. The consensus on this economic model and the relative dissociation of political and economic cycles have facilitated the stabilisation of the domestic environment and the acceleration of economic growth.


Purpose: The BRAFV600E mutation has shown significant activity in the several tumor types, including breast, melanoma, and colorectal cancer. The selective inhibitor of BRAFV600, PLX4032 (vemurafenib), has shown clinical response in patients with BRAFV600Emelanoma, especially but not in 20-40% of patients despite the presence of a BRAFV600E. Thus, it is important to understand the molecular mechanisms of resistance to improve outcomes in patient with BRAF mutation. We aimed to investigate the cause of the limited therapeutic effect of PLX4032 in cancers harboring the mutant BRAFV600E gene. Experiment Design: We investigated the correlation between RTK pathway activation and sensitivity to PLX4032 in several types of cancer cell lines harboring the BRAFV600E. Cell lines were exposed to PLX4032 and pharmacologic inhibitors and in combination with each other to inhibit RTK signaling. Cell survival and apoptosis were measured using MTT assay, Annexin V/PI staining, and colony forming assay. Real-time PCR, Western blots were performed to determine possible mechanisms of resistance and predictors of synergy.Results: In a comparison with BRAFV600E cancer cells, we show that PLX4032-resistant MDA-MB breast cancer cells have the enhanced level of p-EGFR in the presence of PLX4032. PLX4032 treatment causes a rapid feedback activation of EGFR and up-regulation of AKT in MDA-MB cells, which supports continued proliferation in the presence of BRAFV600E inhibition. We show that EGFR activation acquired resistance to BRAF inhibition using EGFR inhibitor. Gefitinib, EGFR inhibitor, shows strong synergy with a BRAFV600E inhibitor in short-time and long-time treatment. In addition, we investigated that rapid feedback activation of EGFR regulates the expression of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) regulators by Real-time PCR, which resulted in high migratory potentials in invasion assay and wound healing assay. These results provide rational therapeutic strategies for clinical studies in this poor prognosis subtype of BRAFV600E inhibitor. Conclusions: Our data suggest that BRAFV600E mutant breast cancers, for which there are currently no targeted treatment options available, might benefit from combination therapy consisting of BRAF and EGFR inhibitors. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):A90. Citation Format: Yj Yang, HJ Na, Ws Kim, JP Bong, SJ Beak, Jw Kim, Jk Park, Hj Hong, Dy Shin, Jh Kwon, Ej Lee, Yw Koh, Ec Choi. Feedback activation of EGFR drives resistance to BRAF(V600E) inhibition in breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr A90.


An optimal resource control mechanism for a multiprocessor, multi-radio node architecture is proposed. To achieve our objective, a constrained semi-Markov decision problem is formulated, which not only provides optimal resource control but also meets quality of service demands imposed by application. For each sensed event, the desired energy efficiency and performance tradeoff is achieved by the optimal stochastic policy, which selects an appropriate set of processors and radios. The proposed solution is assessed using the reported energy consumption measurements for the existing platforms. Performance evaluation results point towards the importance of proper pairing of processor and radio in achieving the energy efficiency and performance tradeoff. The proposed solution can also be employed for hand held devices equipped with multiple processors and radios.


Purpose Infectious complications associated with central venous catheters (CVCs) are a major source of morbidity and mortality among hemodialysis (HD) patients. This review aims to discuss prevention, diagnosis criteria and management of CVC-related infections in HD patients. Methods We searched Medline for articles published in the last 10 years, with the keywords "catheter," "hemodialysis," "infection," "treatment," "diagnosis," "prophylaxis" and "adults." Only English language articles were reviewed. We reviewed prophylaxis and surveillance protocols, diagnosis criteria, including new molecular tools, and the management of catheter-related infections, including antibiotic regimen, empiric and according to causal agents, lock therapy, catheter salvage or removal choice and treatment of complications. Results To prevent infectious complications, first of all we need to avoid using catheters. If we need CVC, adoption of prophylaxis and surveillance protocols, and antibiotic ointment at the exit site reduce infectious complications. The diagnosis of CVC-related infections should be made with drainage and/or blood cultures. Empiric systemic antibiotics should cover Gram-positive and -negative microorganisms, and final regimen should be based on culture results. In selected cases, salvage of site, by CVC exchange over wire, or salvage of catheter, using antibiotic lock, under the cover of systemic antibiotics, could be attempted. Conclusions The best approach to prevent CVC-related infection would be to avoid the use of CVC. However, in patients for whom it is impossible, the adoption of adequate prophylaxis protocols, early diagnosis and effective treatment of infectious complications are essential to improve outcomes.


An investigation of a series of platinum-containing organometallic complexes for the study of fluorescence phenomena in organometallic chromophores controlled by the intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) is presented in this work. We report steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopic experiments as well as quantum chemistry calculations to investigate the substituent effects on the ICT and fluorescence emission. We demonstrate that the fluorescence maximum and lifetimes greatly depend on different substituents and the presence of bimetallic platinum donor. This work paves the way for an understanding of the fluorescence phenomena controlled by molecular ICT characters of these kinds of platinum-containing organometallic complexes.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the level of consensus among the administrative and health care leaders at rural Iowa hospitals regarding service gaps and priorities for developing telemedicine services.

METHODS
In the summer of 1994, a survey was conducted of all rural hospital chief executive officers, chiefs of medical staffs, and directors of nursing in Iowa concerning their perceptions of telemedicine services.

RESULTS
With the exception of teleradiology, few clinical specialties received high ratings as areas of need or priorities for the development of telemedicine. There was a general lack of agreement among respondents from the same hospital on such priorities. In contrast, respondents expressed higher priorities for the development of telemedicine-based educational services.

CONCLUSIONS
The interest in teleradiology is consistent with the fact that teleradiology has been more thoroughly tested for medical efficacy than other telemedicine applications. Continuing medical education may represent another potential for widespread successful telemedicine application. Financial issues were reported as the greatest barriers to the development of telemedicine systems.


Commercialization of surface lighting using Light Emitting Diodes (LED) has embraced the advance to Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) technology. This is necessary to achieve light-efficiency-improvement and longer component life. The range of application of LED lighting for both interior and outdoor lights has been gradually expanding. Automobiles and home appliances are now included. In the case of LED surface lighting in a domestic refrigerator, achieving high efficiency requires optimization of the number of LEDs in a pack. Optimization is also required in the design stage of development with regard to the conversion of the light source type from point light sources to the surface light type. This paper addresses these design problems. It presents a study of brightness variations for design solutions that differ from the existing technology in both the number of LED packages and use of Light Gathering Power (LGP) information. The intention is to facilitate production of high brightness LED surface lighting for domestic refrigerators.


Before banks rose to dominate credit markets, ordinary people raised credit themselves or through alternative intermediaries. However, obtaining a comprehensive overview of the size and functioning of the non-bank segments within the credit market has been a great challenge for historians. Notarial deeds are widely available, but typically shed light on the borrowing of relatively well-to-do members of society. Probate inventories and insolvency records do provide insight into the modest loans of ordinary people, but only haphazardly and not for the overall stock of loans. This article exploits an exogenous shock, the Discipline Act introduced in the Netherlands in 1856, which forced lenders to record all unredeemed loans they had provided to a particular group of borrowers: seafarers. The c.14,000 loans that were recorded, in combination with several additional sources, provide a unique insight into the overall size, composition and functioning of a particular segment of the non-bank credit market.


Lethal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can be induced between MHC-matched murine strains expressing multiple minor histocompatibility antigen (miHA) differences. In the C57BL6 (B6)->BALB.B strain combination, both CD4 + and CD8 + donor T cells can mediate severe lethal GVHD, whereas in the B6->CXB-2 model, in which the CXB-2 strain expresses a subset of the BALB.B miHA, only the CD8 + T cells directly potentiate lethality. We have previously used TCR Vβ CDR3-size spectratype analysis to examine the alloreactive B6 CD4 + and CD8 + T cells, isolated from the lymphohematopoietic compartment after transplantation into both BALB.B and CXB-2 recipients. However, since tissue-specific expression of miHA can potentially elicit differential T cell responses, we have extended our T cell repertoire analysis to examine the responses involved in target tissue damage. Infiltrating host-presensitized B6 CD4 + and CD8 + T cells were isolated post-transplant from the intestines, livers and spleens of lethally irradiated (9 Gy; split-dose) BALB.B and CXB-2 recipients. The results indicated some overlapping Vβ CDR3-size skewing in both the CD4 + and CD8 + T cell repertoires between the BALB.B and CXB-2 recipients within the tissues of each recipient strain. Most notably, spectratype analysis demonstrated tissue specific responses unique to each of the BALB.B and CXB-2 infiltrates. In situ observations of the tissue infiltrating alloreactive T cells were performed by fluorescent microscopy of transplanted B6 T cells constitutively expressing eGFP into BALB.B and CXB-2 recipients, in conjunction with immunohistochemical staining of skewed Vβ families. TUNEL staining was also performed to confirm apoptosis of tissue epithelium. These analyses confirmed the increased infiltration of skewed CD4 + and CD8 + Vβ families within the target tissues.


In ambiguous decision domain, interval numbers are employed to evaluate the overall value of alternatives (e.g., the faculty candidates) due to the inherent problems related to the uncertainty of the multiple attribute decision making (MADM). However, it is uneasy to compare interval numbers of different alternatives with multiple attributes. In current approaches, to rank and select the faculty candidates, some superiority possibility information will lose in the process of transforming interval numbers to crisp values. In order to overcome the shortcomings of Bryson and Mobolurinpsila approach, a new approach is proposed, in which the weights of attributes are determined by maximizing the weighted distance among the alternatives, hereafter the maximum intervals for the overall values of every alternative are calculated, and the superiority possibility among them are also calculated for assessing the faculty candidates (alternatives).


We investigated whether the MTHFR 677C>T (rs1801133) variant and plasma homocysteine and folate are associated with multiple sclerosis (MS), disability, disability progression, and inflammatory biomarkers. We included 163 MS patients categorized using the Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) as mild (EDSS<3) and moderate/high (EDSS≥3) disability, and 226 healthy controls. Disability progression was evaluated using Multiple Sclerosis Severity Score (MSSS) and the MTHFR 677C>T was genotyped using real time polymerase chain reaction. The levels of some inflammatory biomarkers and inflammatory activity index (IAI) were determined. There was no association between the MTHFR 677 C>T genotypes and MS, EDSS, and MSSS (p>0.05). Plasma folate and homocysteine were higher and adiponectin was lower in MS patients than controls (p<0.001). Moreover, 21.8% of the EDSS variance was explained by age, IAI and C-reactive protein (CRP) (all positively associated); 10.9% of the MSSS variance was predicted by IAI and CRP (both positively) and vitamin D3 (negatively), whereas 54.4% of the MS-EDSS-MSSS score was explained by the regression on age, IAI, homocysteine, folate, and CRP (all positively) and adiponectin, body mass index, and vitamin D3 (all negatively), female sex and the MTHFR 677 TT genotype. In patients and controls, 16.6% of the variance in the homocysteine was explained by the MTHFR 677 TT genotype and age (both positively), folate (negatively) and male sex. In conclusion, the MTHFR 677C>T variant was not directly associated with MS, disability, and disability progression; however, the TT genotype showed indirect effects on MS susceptibility and disability mediated by homocysteine.


Multilevel logic simplification plays a very important role to achieve high quality digital circuits in the design flow of application specific integrated circuit or a field programmable gate array products. The fundamental concept of unateness, is extended to the concept of containment for Boolean functions. Accordingly, the unate recursive paradigm, which is successfully employed in the two-level logic minimisation, is adapted to containment recursive paradigm for multilevel logic simplification of incompletely specified multiple output Boolean functions. Consequently, the functional 'don't cares' of Boolean functions can be extracted and utilised based on the functionality, instead of the structural information like satisfiability don't cares and observability don't cares. The efficient application of functional don't cares is developed with respect to variable order and splitting equation strategies based on containment recursive paradigm. Furthermore, the algorithm is generalised to multiple output functions using an encoding method. Experimental results show that the containment recursive paradigm is fundamental and effective for multilevel logic simplification.


Safety-critical systems are widely used in many sectors to prevent fatal accidents and prevent loss of life, damage of property, or deterioration of the environment. Implementation of software safety standards as part of the development of safety-critical software is generally considered an essential element of any safety program. Therefore, it has become more critical to produce highly reliable software to meet the safety requirements established by functional safety standards, such as IEC 61508, ISO 26262, and EN 50128. IEC 61508 supports well-known safety mechanisms such as design diversity like N-version (multi-version) programming. N-version (multi-version) programming is a method where multiple functionally equivalent programs are independently developed from the same software specifications. N-version (multi-version) programming is particularly an effective approach to increase the quality of software in a safety-critical system. In this paper, one of the well-known and widely used algorithms in the field of N-version (multi-version) programming, the majority voting algorithm, has been modified with an online stability checker where the decisions of the voter are judged against the stability of the underlying system. The plant where all the theoretical results are implemented is a tilt-rotor system with the proposed N-version (multi-version) programming–based controller. The experimental results show that the modified majority voter-based N-version (multi-version) programming controller provides more reliable control of the plant.


Recently the concept of "diaspora" has become a popular subject and two polarized views dominate the study on diaspora behavior: the categorization of the diaspora as good or bad, conflict or peace promoter, spoiler or peace-maker. The majority of the research on diaspora politics places emphasis on its conflict-promoting character. Researchers argue that a diaspora may even act against its homeland's interests. This paper aims to further explore this behavior of diaspora groups and try to locate the reasons behind this phenomenon. The focus is the Armenian diaspora and its policies, particularly targeting the foreign policy of the host country. Some of the critical issues are the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh and Turkey-Armenia relations, which includes the issues of "genocide" recognition, normalization of diplomatic relations and opening of the borders. With the help of theoretical frameworks, the Armenian diaspora's positions will be analyzed in this paper.


An analogous relationship exists between the kinematic structures of proteins and robotic mechanisms. Hence, using this analogy, we attempt to understand the internal motions of proteins from the perspective of robot kinematics. In this study, we propose a method called group forced response (GFR) method for predicting the internal motion of proteins on the basis of their three-dimensional structural data (PDB data). In this method, we apply forces in static equilibrium to groups of atoms (e.g., secondary structures, domains, and subunits) and not to specific atoms. Furthermore, we predict the internal motion of proteins by analyzing the relative motion caused among groups by the applied forces. First, we show a method for approximately modeling protein structures as a robotic mechanism and the basic kinematic equations of the model. Next, the GFR method is formulated (e.g., Jacobian matrix for group motions, magnitude of forces applied to groups, and decomposition of motions into modes according to structural compliances). Finally, we present example applications of the proposed method in real protein structures. Despite the approximations in the model, low computational cost, and use of simple calculation parameters, the results almost agree with measured internal motions.Copyright © 2012 by ASME


Different texts shall by nature correspond to different number of keyphrases. This desideratum is largely missing from existing neural keyphrase generation models. In this study, we address this problem from both modeling and evaluation perspectives. We first propose a recurrent generative model that generates multiple keyphrases as delimiter-separated sequences. Generation diversity is further enhanced with two novel techniques by manipulating decoder hidden states. In contrast to previous approaches, our model is capable of generating diverse keyphrases and controlling number of outputs. We further propose two evaluation metrics tailored towards the variable-number generation. We also introduce a new dataset StackEx that expands beyond the only existing genre (i.e., academic writing) in keyphrase generation tasks. With both previous and new evaluation metrics, our model outperforms strong baselines on all datasets.


Blood viscosity factors and fetal erythrocyte aggregability were investigated with light transmission (Myrenne device) during a cross-sectional study of blood drawn in utero by cord venepunctures in 119 normal fetuses between 18 and 39 weeks gestation. There was a progressive increased blood viscosity at native hematocrit (p < 0.01) explained by a gradual increase in both hematocrit (from 33% to 40%, p < 0.05) and Dintenfass' 'Tk' RBC rigidity index (p < 0.05), while plasma viscosity remained constant at 1.18 +/- 0.01 mPa x s as well as the h/eta ratio (188.4 +/- 2.7 mPa(-1) x s(-1)). The RBC aggregation index 'M' remained almost equal to zero (mean value: 0.04 +/- 0.01) before 32 wk gestation and then increased (p < 0.05) until delivery. The upper physiological limit for this parameter before 32 wk (mean +/- 2 SD) is 0.18. The RBC aggregation index 'M1' remained constant during pregnancy at 2.98 +/- 0.26, i.e., the upper physiological limit for this parameter during the intrauterine life (mean +/- 2 SD) is 7.85. Both fibrinogen (r = 0.479, p < 0.05) and albumin (r = 0.494, p < 0.01) correlated with time so that the albumin/fibrinogen ratio remained stable. We then studied with the laser retrodiffusion technique the venous blood of 20 women (18-43 yr, 37-40 wk gestation) and the cord blood of their newborns at birth, comparing RBC aggregation of: mothers (M), maternal RBCs resuspended on newborn plasma (MF), newborn RBCs resuspended on maternal plasma (FM), and newborns (F). Aggregability is higher in M (RBC aggregation time M < MF < FM < F; p < 0.01); RBC aggregation index at 10 s M > MF > FM > F; p < 0.01), with in turn the symmetric inverse picture for the partial disaggregation threshold (M > MF = FM > F). Thus RBC disaggregability is higher in newborns, and suspensions on maternal and newborn plasma suggest that half of this difference in aggregability (and disaggregability) between fetal and adult blood results from plasma factors and another half from erythrocytes.


In this paper, adaptive power saving methods considering multi-user diversity and channel dependent scheduling characteristics are proposed for Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and beyond system. In LTE, Discontinuous Reception (DRX) is applied in User Equipment (UE) to conserve mobile terminal's battery power. According to our observation, system load and channel variation have great impact to the power saving efficiency. We firstly investigate effects of these two factors on the effectiveness of DRX. Based on the analysis, we proposed novel and efficient adaptive DRX schemes. In these schemes, DRX parameters are adaptively changed according to number and velocity of connected UE respectively. Simulation results show that power saving efficiency can be greatly improved without much loss of system capacity.


In this paper, the microstructure and resistance to chloride ion penetration of ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) prepared from lightweight aggregate (LWA) were studied through simulation and experiment. The effects of LWA with different particle sizes on the chloride ion transport properties of lightweight ultra-high-performance concrete (L-UHPC) were discussed through simulation test results. The random delivery model of LWA in L-UHPC was established by MATLAB, and the model was introduced into COMSOL. Through the comparative analysis of experimental data and simulation results, the repeatability of the proposed model and the simulation accuracy were verified. The results show that when the LWA particle size changes from 0.15–4.75 mm to 0.15–1.18 mm, the width of interfacial transition zone (ITZ) and the overall porosity of L-UHPC decrease. This is because the large particle size LWA has more open pores with larger pore diameters and related interconnections, which are potential channels for chloride ion transport. Therefore, the chloride ion transport properties in L-UHPC are inhibited, which is manifested by the "tortuosity effect" of the LWA.


Information on the vertical profile of rainfall is important to improve our knowledge about microphysical processes that govern the formation of the hydrometeors. In addition, the vertical profile helps improving the quantitative precipitation estimation from scanning weather radars and may be useful to improve the parameterization of cloud microphysical processes in numerical models. Usually, rainfall types (e.g, stratiform and convective) are defined by using some rainfall characteristics of its vertical profile such as intensity and velocity. Furthermore, certain thresholds for these variables need to be defined to separate the rainfall classes. However, studies about the vertical profile of rainfall showed that the vertical variability of rainfall highly depends on the local climate and the study area. In consequence, these thresholds are a constraining factor for the rainfall class definitions because they cannot be generalized. Besides, the identification of thresholds can become too subjective and, thus, influence the identification of rainfall types. In regions of complex topography such as the Tropical Andes, rainfall vertical profile studies are very scarce and they show that rainfall classification has similar drawbacks such as the identification of thresholds. Thus, this study aims to develop a new methodology for rainfall events classification by using a data-driven clustering approach based on the k-means algorithm that allows accounting for the similarities of rainfall characteristics (e.g., duration, intensity, drop size distribution) of each rainfall type. The study was carried out using data retrieved from a K-band Doppler Micro Rain Radar (MRR) that records rainfall characteristics such as rainfall intensity, drop velocity, reflectivity profile, drop size distribution (DSD), and liquid water content (LWC). The MRR was located in the tropical Andes, at 2600 m a.s.l., in the city of Cuenca, Ecuador.  Three years of data were available for the study with a temporal resolution of 1 minute.  First, the rainfall events were identified by using three criteria: minimum inter-event, minimum total accumulation, and minimum duration. Then, by using the k-means approach, several iterations with different number of clusters each were evaluated and consequently, three representative rainfall classes were found. These classes showed certain transitions (e.g., for rainfall intensity, velocity and drop size distribution) that separated the rainfall classes. The distributions of these rainfall event characteristics were compared with those found in the literature. This novel classification provided new insights about the variability of the rainfall in this tropical mountain setting and how its characteristics revealed distinctive patterns of the rainfall processes. Finally, since the rain types were identified by a data-driven method, it ensured an objective separation of the rainfall events. Thus, the application of this method in other sites will allow contrasting previous findings regarding the suitability of the tailor-used thresholds for rainfall classification.


Total and fecal coliforms are bio-indicators of the environmental impact caused by anthropic action and are considered indicators of the microbiological quality of the water. In the cultivation of rice by irrigation much water is used and care in water management is required in order to increase the volume and quality of production while reducing the environmental impact. The objective of this research is to evaluate the quality of the irrigation water used in five rice-growing regions of the State of Rio Grande do Sul during the vegetative and reproductive phases. The results demonstrate that the indices of total and fecal coliforms in the rice field plots of the fields in all the rice producing regions of Rio Grande do Sul evaluated in this study were lower in the reproductive than in the vegetative phases. The irrigation channel presented low indices of fecal coliforms but a higher incidence of total coliforms. The data demonstrated that irrigated rice cultivation can alter the microbiological quality of the water in the plots by its potential capacity of circulating the nutrients with the result that the drainage water presents a smaller quantity of contaminating microbial agents. Key words: water, irrigation, fecal coliforms, rice fields.


Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is performed for various diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate the difference of dose-area product (DAP) during the ERCP procedures according to location of the lesion. We performed a retrospective study of consecutive 217 therapeutic ERCP examinations performed between November 2014 and April 2015 at a tertiary care center. ERCP procedures divided into two groups according to location of the lesion identified on imaging: lesions in the common hepatic duct (CHD) or the common bile duct (CBD) and lesions in the hepatic hilum or the intrahepatic duct (IHD). The mean DAP of the hilum-IHD group (48.7 Gy cm2) was significantly higher than that of the CBD-CHD group (34.9 Gy cm2) (P = 0.003). Radiation exposure during ERCP was significantly different according to location of bile duct lesion.


Membranes made of carbon nanotubes and cellulose acetate with polyacrylic acid were designed in order to study their properties and their applicability for chromium removal. The membranes were prepared by phase inversion method using cellulose acetate and polyacrylic acid. Carbon nanotubes were added to the membrane during their process of synthesis in proportions of 1% by weight. The pores in the material are formed in layers, giving the effect of depth and forming a network. Both the carbon nanotubes and membranes were characterized by IR, Raman, and SEM spectroscopy. In addition, the concentration of acidic and basic sites and the surface charge in the materials were determined. The concentration of acid sites for oxidized nanotubes was 4.0 meq/g. The removal of Cr(VI) was studied as a function of contact time and of initial concentration of Cr(VI). The removal of Cr(VI) (~90%) mainly occurs in a contact time from 32 to 64 h when the initial concentration of Cr(VI) is 1 mg/L.


Bis(ferrocenyl)-functionalized boron dipyrromethene (BODIPY) compound 1 featuring direct Fc-B bonds was obtained via a "prefunctionalization strategy". UV-vis absorption, electrochemical, and transient absorption experiments were performed on compound 1 and its analogues to examine the impact of ferrocenyl substitution on the electronic properties. The ferrocene units were found to have little impact on the absorption spectrum of the BODIPY unit but significantly change the excited-state dynamics.


The Radiation Monitoring System (RMS) in a nuclear power plant is used for assessing radiological impact of plant operation. A classical RMS consists of several types of radiation detectors strategically placed about a nuclear plant to ensure the safety of operating personnel and the surrounding environment. It serves in conjunction with, and as a backup to, a comprehensive sampling program to quantitatively evaluate process systems and effluent activity levels. The development of the computerized and digitalized RMS is reviewed with emphasis upon its added capability and flexibility. The potential future requirements for the RMS, as a result of regulatory criteria development, is briefly discussed.


Rules guide and constrain participants' actions as they participate in any educational activity. This ethnographically driven case study examines how organizational rules—the implicit and explicit regulations that constrain actions and interactions—influence children to use science in the experiential educational activity of raising 4-H market animals. Observations, interviews, and artifacts gathered are interpreted using Dewey's (1938) theory of an experiential continuum, with a focus on how social control in the form of explicit organizational rules influenced the children to use science. This study provides examples of two explicit organizational rules, market animal weight restrictions and record book rules, and analyzes the influence of these rules on bringing science into the children's 4-H experience. This study provides evidence that children involved in 4-H are influenced by organizational rules to incorporate skills and processes of science into their actions.


It is generally accepted that co-management systems are more cost-effective than centralized management of natural resources. However, no attempts have been made to empirically verify the transaction costs involved in fisheries co-management. Some estimates of transaction costs of fisheries co-management in San Salvador Island, Philippines, are presented in this paper. These estimates are used to compare the various transaction costs in co-managed and in centrally managed fisheries in San Salvador Island.


Twenty four goats were allocated to three groups (n = 8) and fed either a control diet Without Oil Palm Fronds (CON), a diet incorporated with 25% Oil Palm Fronds (OPFM) or 50% Oil Palm Fronds (OPFH) for 100 days to evaluate their growth rates, carcass characteristics and subcutaneous fatty acid profiles. Animals in all three groups exhibited similar final body weights (p>0.05). The OPFH group showed a significant linear reduction (p<0.05) in dressing percentage, warm carcass weight and back fat thickness and total muscle when compared to the CON group. The total n-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acid (PUFA) concentrations in the subcutaneous fat of the OPFH animals were significantly higher (linear, p<0.05) than the CON group. The diet containing 25% of oil palm fronds did not produce any adverse effects on the growth performance and carcass characteristics. This demonstrates an environmental-friendly way of utilizing agricultural waste by products for the small ruminant industry in tropical countries growing oil palm tree.


The aim of this literature review is to investigate which existing test standards are being used for additively manufactured materials, and the applicability of these standards. For the purpose of this review only static tensile properties will be considered. The development of new standards will also be discussed.


The complexity and multifaceted nature of sustainable lifelong learning can be effectively addressed by a broad network of providers working co-operatively and collaboratively. Such a network involving the third, public and private sector bodies must realise the full potential of accredited flexible and blended formal learning, contextual opportunities offered by enablers of informal and non formal learning and the affordances derived from the various loose and open spaces that can make social learning effective. Such a conception informs the new Lifelong Learning Network Consortium on Sustainable Communities, Urban Regeneration and Environmental Technologies established and led by the Lifelong Learning Centre at Aston University. This paper offers a radical, reflective and political evaluation of its first year in development arguing that networked learning of this type could prefigure a new model for lifelong learning and sustainable education that renders the city itself a creative medium for transformative learning and sustainability.


Aims (1) To identify which ultrasound parameters can be most accurately measured and which best reflect ovine fetal weight during late pregnancy. (2) To formulate regression equations for fetal weight estimation and to evaluate their accuracy. Methods Singleton pregnancies of known gestational age were established using embryo transfer in 32 adolescent ewes who subsequently underwent nutritional manipulation to produce fetuses of variable size. Ultrasound measurements of biparietal diameter, abdominal circumference (AC), trunk diameter, renal volume (RV), femur length, tibia length and placental size were taken at 126–133 days gestation (term=145d) and compared with fetal/placental weight and physical measurements at late-gestation necropsy (n=19) or following spontaneous delivery (n=13). Results Nutritional manipulation resulted in a wide range of necropsy/birth weight (1.72–6.26 kg). Of all parameters measured the AC and RV correlated most strongly with physical measurements (r=0.78–0.83), relevant fetal organ weights (r=0.75–0.80) and necropsy/birth weight (r=0.79–0.84). Regression equations derived from AC and RV performed best in the prediction of fetal weight with equivalent absolute and percentage mean prediction errors (396–656 g and 11.1–15.4%). Error using AC alone was significantly higher for the largest fetuses (p=0.036). In contrast error using RV (individually or in combination) was consistent across the entire range of fetal size. Conclusions The ultrasound parameters of choice for the evaluation of fetal growth in late-gestation sheep pregnancy are the AC and RV. These may be used for fetal weight estimation with a similar degree of accuracy as the human.


The study examines bank-specific determinants of Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) of commercial banks in Bhutan using time series data for the quarterly period from 2014 to 2021. Explanatory variables in this study are credit growth, deposit rate, return on equity and capital adequacy ratio. To investigate the relationship between explanatory variables and NPLs, multiple regression analysis is employed. The regression analysis exhibit that credit growth and deposit rate significantly contribute to the growth of NPLs, while return on equity and capital adequacy ratio lowers NPLs. The outcome of this study is relevant to policy makers and regulators, as the findings suggest higher credit growth and increasing cost of funds are more likely to escalate and expose the commercial banks to NPLs. In addition, adherence to regulatory norms reduces the likelihood of default risk. In this regard, investment in productive sectors and business diversification are seen as an alternative to interest income from loans and advances. The outcome of this study is consistent with past studies on the bank-specific determinants of NPLs. The findings from this study will help decision makers and commercials banks in Bhutan to develop an effective credit risk management framework.


The basic methods of larynx cancer diagnosis were presented. It included subjective and objective examination, and laboratory examination. The importance of detailed history of cases determined by the tumor localization was underlined. Indirect and direct laryngoscopy have not lost it importance despite the development of modern methods of larynx cancer diagnosis. Microlaryngoscopy provides the most valuable information about the localization and advancement of neoplasmatic change. Its also allows for precise taking of specimen for histopathological examination. Radiological method in larynx cancer diagnosis were also taken into consideration particularly laryngotomography which allows for evaluation of subglottic region, ventrical and recesus piriformis. The histological examination remains a decisive factor in the surgery of larynx cancer. Great diagnostic possibilities of neck lymphatic system and larynx are being provided by the ultrasonographic examinations, computer tomography and magnetic tomography of nuclear resonance which allow for detailed evaluation of neoplasm extend and appearance of recurrence and metastases. The greatest responsibility in diagnosis of larynx cancer is put on a doctor who first advised the patient.


Effects of serine on restorative growth were characterized by comparing embryo/fetal responses after maternal exposure to 2-methoxyethanol (ME) and ME + serine by gavage on gestation day (gd) 13, a day of heightened limb sensitivity. Paws (gd 20) and limb buds (gd 15) were examined after ME alone at 50, 100, and 250 mg/kg, and after ME (either 100 or 250 mg ME/kg) + serine (1734 mg serine/kg) administered within minutes (0 hr) to 24 hr after ME. Paw development was not altered after ME at 100 mg/kg, but was highly sensitive to 250 mg ME/kg with all fetuses and litters exhibiting defects (ectrodactyly, syndactyly, and short digit) in the preaxial region. In contrast, the limb bud displayed dose-related incidences of abnormalities after maternal treatment with the low and high levels of ME. The condensing (precartilaginous, pentadactyl pattern) and noncondensing (undifferentiated mesenchymal cells) regions exhibited changes in their size, number, and location. Serine administration after 250 mg ME/kg was effective in reducing the occurrence of paw dysmorphogenesis with its protection potency inversely related to its delay of administration (i.e., 0% paw defect incidence after 0-hr delay, 25% after 4-hr delay, 41-45% after 8- and 12-hr delays, and 76% after 24-hr delay). The occurrences of limb bud pattern disturbances produced by ME were also markedly decreased by serine cotreatment. Higher incidences of embryonic defects versus those of fetal defects demonstrate that restorative growth followed ME exposure. Serine attenuation of ME teratogenicity appears to emanate from enhanced restorative growth so that tissue damage, which otherwise would be expressed as a defect at parturition, is repaired and replaced to resume development of the limb toward its normal structure.


Background: Induction of labor is one of the most important and irrevocable interventions in obstetric practice. Timely induction could reduce maternal mortality and morbidity and assure a delivery of a healthy baby.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of misoprostol as a cervical ripening agent and its comparison with dinoprostone gel and Foley's catheter in terms of success rate, safety, side effects, patient's compliance, and cost factor.

Materials and Methods: A total of 175 pregnant women requiring induction of labor were recruited. Of the 175 cases, 75 were induced with 50 µg misoprostol, 50 cases with intracervical Foley's catheter No. 18, and 50 cases with 0.5 mg intracervical dinoprostone gel, selected by purposive sampling method during April to August 2002, at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Guru Gobind Singh Hospital, Jamnagar, and M.P. Shah Medical College, Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. Written and informed consent was taken from the patients. Outcome measures such as change in Bishop's score, need of augmentation, and induction delivery interval and complications such as hyperstimulation, fever, and meconium passage were compared between the three groups. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA test.

Results: The age range of the patients was 21 to 35 years; 76% of the patients were in the 21–25 years age group. Thirty-eight (50.6%) patients were multigravida, and 45 (60%) patients reported more than 37 weeks of pregnancy. Thirty-five (46.6%) of the patients showed premature rupture of membrane as indication of labor. The mean Bishop's score for induction was 3.20 in misoprostol group. Only 12% of the patients required augmentation in misoprostol group, while it was 48% in dinoprostone group and 72% in Foley's catheter group. Sixty-three (84%) patients in misoprostol group and 94% of patients in dinoprostone group delivered by vaginal delivery; 57.3% patients delivered within 6 h in misoprostol group (misoprostol: 57.3%, dinoprostone: 28%, Foley's catheter: 8%; p < 0.001). Incidence of thin meconium occurred in 12% in misoprostol group, 10% in dinoprostone group, and 18% in Foley's catheter group. In misoprostol and Foley's catheter groups, three patients developed fever after induction. No patient reported diarrhea and vomiting. Incidence of cervical tear and vaginal laceration was similar in all the groups. No case of hyperstimulation was observed in our study. Misoprostol is quite cheaper than dinoprostone gel and Foley's catheter.

Conclusion: Vaginal misoprostol is safe and effective for induction of labor with lesser need of oxytocin augmentation and shorter induction delivery interval and possess some advantages compared with dinoprostone and Foley's catheter including improved efficacy and lower cost of the drug.


The potential effects of a 14-day oral administration of methanolic stem bark and fruit extracts of Ficus sur on some haematological parameters in anaemic rats was investigated. Hemolytic anaemia was experimentally induced in rats by daily oral administration of Phenylhydrazine (PHZ) at a dose of 10 mg/Kg for 8 days. Post-induction, 50 mg/Kg, 100 mg/Kg and 150 mg/Kg of methanolic stem bark and fruit extracts of Ficus sur were administered to rats in group 1-3 and group 4-6, respectively. Group 7 which received 50 mg/Kg of FeSO4 served as the positive control. Group 8 received no treatment as negative control. The Haematocrit and Haemoglobin concentration and Red Blood Cell Count of rats treated with both methanolic stem bark and fruit extracts of F. sur were found to be significantly higher than the negative control, though less than the positive control. However, there was no significant difference between the White Blood Cell Count of all the groups treated with extract and the positive control, except for the negative control in which significant increase was observed. Differential White Blood Cell Count shows the proportion of cells in this order: lymphocytes>neutrophils>monocytes. Calculated Rf value following the thin layer chromatography test of the methanolic stem bark and fruit extracts of Ficus sur was 0.8375 cm. Qualitative phytochemical screening of the extracts revealed the presence of tannin, flavonoid, terpenoid and saponin, while alkaloid, glycoside and anthraquinone were absent in both. The results of this study affirm the haematinic properties of Ficus sur , hence may be explored in the complementary treatment of anaemia.


Abstract. Six field-scale (FS) digesters designed using a plug-flow design used by millions of farmers in developing countries and reconfigured for a temperate climate were tested over an 18-week period. Digester efficiency was analyzed based on methane (CH 4 ) production, volatile solids (VS) reduction, cost-benefit analysis, and energy production efficiency. Results were compared to the literature and a full-scale on-site anaerobic digestion system (BARC) that uses the same manure source. The average CH 4 yield of the replicate FS digesters was 0.31 m 3 CH 4 kg -1 VS added, resulting in 0.34 m 3 CH 4 m -3 digester -1 d -1 , with 67.2% CH 4 and 4310 ppm H 2 S in the biogas. The digesters reduced VS in the solid-separated dairy manure by 43.3%. Weekly CH 4 production values between the six replicate digesters varied 3 CH 4 kg -1 VS). Both systems used separated liquid manure and operated in the lower mesophilic range (25°C to 30°C), yet functioned at the higher range of literature values. The total energy produced by the FS digesters was three times the energy needed to counteract heat loss from the digesters, but the heating kettle system was inefficient. The material cost of the system ($16,800) was much higher than in developing countries ($150 to $400) but lower than traditional U.S. digestion systems, illustrating the impact of the heating and insulation infrastructure on sustainability at the small-scale. The FS design presents an alternative for smaller-scale farmers in temperate climates without anaerobic digestion systems. However, while the design and insulation appeared to be sufficient, the heating efficiency should be improved and/or use of waste heat from an engine generator set should be explored.


The materiality of forced migration and resettlement have understandably moved to the forefront of archaeological research recently, although data from prehistoric refugia remain limited. One potentially informative example is the west Mediterranean island of Sardinia, where remains of the later third millennium BC document discontinuities associated with the appearance of Bell Beaker elements in local cultural modalities. Employing an augmented version of Aaron Burke's ethnographically based approach, this study examines the Sardinian record, first toward identifying the contexts and factors that may have induced forced migration, such as agonistic relations with Beaker-bearing entities, then toward identifying likely refugia. Diagnostic correlates are derived in terms of the material consequences of adaptations to anthropologically documented risks encountered by refugees (e.g. landlessness, homelessness, marginalization). On these criteria, the eastern Sardinian settlement of Sa Sedda de Biriai in Oliena is identified and investigated as a possible refuge settlement of the Monte Claro culture. Evidence is marshalled with the aim of discovering temporal, spatial and material patterns consistent with Burke's model in an augmented form, emphasizing non-local source venues, homelands or pre-flight affiliations, pre-flight or transitional objects, post-flight/refuge integrative expressions, security-adapted house architecture, residential enclaves or districts and removals of iconic pre-flight cult spaces. The social identity of the bearers of Beaker material culture on Sardinia is discussed briefly.


The continual shrinkage of minimum feature size in integrated circuit (IC) fabrication incurs more and more serious distortion in the optical lithography process, generating circuit patterns deviating from the desired ones. Conventional resolution enhancement techniques (RETs) are facing critical challenges in compensating such increasingly severe distortion. The approach of inverse lithography, which is a branch of mask design methodology to treat the design as an inverse image problem, is adopted in this paper. We apply nonlinear optimization techniques to design masks with minimally distorted output. The output patterns so generated have high contrast and low dose sensitivity. We also propose a dynamic program-based initialization scheme to pre-assign phases to the layout.


To support the goal of a tobacco-free Air Force, a longitudinal study of 3,531 first-term airmen was conducted during basic military training (BMT) at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Tobacco use is currently prohibited during the 6-week period of BMT. Three self-reported surveys to determine tobacco use prevalence and behaviors were administered at the beginning, end, and 90 days post-BMT. Results indicate that 36% of men and 29% of women used some form of tobacco prior to BMT. Within 90 days after completing BMT, 74% of matched males and females resumed tobacco use and 6% of matched males and females initiated tobacco use. Regression analysis found that several survey questions could predict 85% of tobacco use and 88% of non-tobacco use after BMT. We conclude that tobacco prohibition during BMT has a small, beneficial effect on post-BMT tobacco use. Further efforts, however, are needed to meet the goal of a tobacco-free Air Force.


Cell replacement therapy aims to replace cells lost to the disease process, with the rationale that they will re-innervate the host brain and repair the damage neural circuitry. In HD, the cells most affected are the medium spiny neurons (MSNs), so these are the target cells for cell replacement in HD. Cell replacement is only successful if the donor cells differentiate precisely into target cells (in this case, MSNs). In normal development MSNs differentiate within the part of the foetal brain called the ganglionic eminence (GE). Animal studies have shown that GE cells transplanted into the striatum of adult HD rodents can alleviate motoric and cognitive deficits. There is also pilot data suggesting that transplantation of human foetal GE cells can improve function in people with HD. However, the scarcity of foetal tissue of sufficient quality severely limits clinical application, quite apart from the ethical controversies surrounding this source. Thus, there is an imperative to identify a reliable renewable source of donor cells. Many potential sources exist, but most attention recently has been on deriving MSNs from human embryonic stem (ES) cells; an attractive potential donor cell source as they can be expanded in vitro, cryopreserved, and differentiated into mature somatic cells. Within the Repair-HD consortium, we are working to bring together the elements (optimisation of MSN differentiation protocols, GMP translation, rodent and primate transplant studies, and development of improved clinical assessment tools) required for clinical translation of ES-derived transplantation in HD.


A good neural sequence-to-sequence summarization model should have a strong encoder that can distill and memorize the important information from long input texts so that the decoder can generate salient summaries based on the encoder's memory. In this paper, we aim to improve the memorization capabilities of the encoder of a pointer-generator model by adding an additional 'closed-book' decoder without attention and pointer mechanisms. Such a decoder forces the encoder to be more selective in the information encoded in its memory state because the decoder can't rely on the extra information provided by the attention and possibly copy modules, and hence improves the entire model. On the CNN/Daily Mail dataset, our 2-decoder model outperforms the baseline significantly in terms of ROUGE and METEOR metrics, for both cross-entropy and reinforced setups (and on human evaluation). Moreover, our model also achieves higher scores in a test-only DUC-2002 generalizability setup. We further present a memory ability test, two saliency metrics, as well as several sanity-check ablations (based on fixed-encoder, gradient-flow cut, and model capacity) to prove that the encoder of our 2-decoder model does in fact learn stronger memory representations than the baseline encoder.


In this research, a bimetallic Pt-Ni/CeO2-SiO2 catalyst, synthetized via wet impregnation, was successfully employed for the oxidative steam reforming of ethanol between 300 and 600 °C. The reaction performance of the Pt-Ni catalyst was investigated and compared with the Ni/CeO2-SiO2, Pt/CeO2-SiO2 as well as CeO2-SiO2 sample. The bimetallic catalyst displayed the best results in terms of hydrogen yield and by-products selectivity, thus highlighting the crucial role of active species (Pt and Ni) in promoting ethanol conversion and reaching the products distribution predicted by thermodynamics. The most promising sample, tested at 500 °C for more than 120 h, assured total conversion and no apparent deactivation, demonstrating the stability of the selected formulation. By changing contact time, the dependence of carbon formation rate on space velocity was also investigated.


For subjects on a normal diet, urea is the major urinary solute and is markedly concentrated in the urine compared with in the plasma. Because urea is not known to undergo active secretion, its excretion rests on filtration lessened to a variable extent by tubular reabsorption. It is well established that the efficiency of urea excretion drops with increasing urinary concentration and decreasing urinary flow rate (from approximately 60% of filtered load, above 2 mL/min, to approximately 20% below 0.5 mL/min) because the prolonged transit time in the distal nephron favors passive urea reabsorption. Thus, a higher urinary concentration is achieved at the expense of a reduced efficiency of urea excretion. Recent experimental observations suggest that GFR could actually increase in parallel with the urinary concentrating activity, thus ensuring a normal urea excretion in the face of a high, concentration-dependent urea reabsorption, with only a moderate increase in plasma urea. A possible mechanism is proposed that could explain how the vasopressin-induced intrarenal recycling of urea (which contributes to improvement in urinary concentration), but not an exogenous urea administration, could indirectly depress the tubuloglomerular feedback and hence increase GFR. An increased concentration of an osmotically active solute in the thick ascending limb of Henle's loop (such as urea and, in some cases, glucose) could enable a lower NaCl concentration to be achieved at the macula densa by reducing the osmotically driven water leakage in this nephron segment. This mechanism could explain the hyperfiltration seen in various pathophysiologic situations such as chronic vasopressin infusion, high protein intake, severe burns, and diabetes mellitus. Whatever the mechanism, if the need to excrete relatively high amounts of urea in a concentrated urine leads to a sustained elevation of GFR, the price to pay for this water economy is higher than generally assumed. It is not limited to the energy spent in the sodium reabsorption providing the "single effect" for the urinary concentrating process. It also includes the consequences on the glomerular filter of sustained high pressure and flow and the energy spent in reabsorbing the extra load of solutes filtered. In chronic renal failure, the ability to form hypertonic urine declines but is nevertheless well preserved with respect to declining GFR, thus imposing on remnant nephrons an additional permanent stimulus for hyperfiltration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Many different quantitative assessment models have been proposed to measure and report the usability of a general software product for various business and design purposes. However, there are several problems coupled with existing models that consequently bias and affect the process and results of the usability assessment. Moreover, they do not aid their usage by analysts who are not experienced in the filed of usability. Therefore, an integrated, accurate, consolidated and simple usability assessment model is required, to provide an entire construct of usability for general software products. In this paper, we proposed an Integrated Quantitative Assessment Model for Usability Engineering (IQAMUE) for measuring and reporting usability for general software products. The contribution of the IQAMUE has been done at several points: (1) The investigation into existing models that represents usability factors, either by standard bodies or by well-known researches in the field of usability. As a result, we have proposed an improved comprehensive model, which integrates potential and general usability factors, and measure their related metrics in a standard way (2) We have proposed an adjustable sample size estimation model for usability assessment, which enhances the estimation process, by using historical data to gain an initial idea of the software product, and on present data to predict the complexity of the software product (3) For the applicability purpose of the proposed model, we have conducted an empirical case study for a local e-mail system (Eudora V7) to examine and practice the proposed model.


This extended paper examines the procedure of the Church of Scotland in relation to the admission of children to the Eucharist before they make a public profession of faith. It considers the Kirk's current legislation on paedocommunion in the context of: the Reformed doctrine of the sacraments; eighteenth-century discussion of the question; the protracted debate on the issue in recent decades; and the influence of the sacramentology of Karl Barth. It concludes by raising some important questions about the logic of the Kirk's present practice and doctrine relating to the issue.


Rare studies of cocrystal engineering have focused on improving carrier mobility of organic semiconductors mainly because of the generation of ambipolarity, the alteration of the charge carrier polarity or the reduction of electronic couplings. Herein, we utilize indolo[2,3-a]carbazole (IC) as the model compound and 2,6-diphenylanthraquinone (DPAO) and 9-fluorenone (FO) as the coformers to construct IC2-DPAO and IC-FO cocrystals with 2:1 or 1:1 ratios respectively through hydrogen bonds and donor-acceptor interactions. Very interestingly, the more appropriate packing structure, possessing not only enhanced electronic couplings but also increased intermolecular distances, is achieved in IC2-DPAO, which shows an improved carrier mobility of 0.11 cm 2 V -1 s -1 by four orders of magnitude relative to IC crystal. These results suggest that non-equal ratio cocrystal engineering opens up the possibility to the development of organic semiconductors with enhanced charge transport behaviors.


Aim: The foremost aim of the study was to investigate and analyze the relationship of General Mental Ability, Interest and home environmentwith Academic Achievement. Methods: The participants were 110 students drawn from three KendryaVidyalayas of Delhi. Their ages ranged between 13 and 14 with a mean age of 13.6 years. Two validated instruments were used to elicit responses from the participants-General mental ability test prepared by R. K Tandon (1972),Multiphasic Interest Inventory of S. K. Bawa (1998) and Home EnvironmentInventory of K S Mishra (1989) were administered on the selected sample. Whereas their annual examination grades of class VIIwere considered as academic achievement. Findings: Four major hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.01 level of significance. Pearson-Moment Correlation Co-efficient and t-test were used to analyze the data. The study reveals that General Mental Ability, home environmentInterest and academic achievement are significantly and positively correlated. Whereas the high score of girls indicates that they are superior to boys. Keywords: General Mental Ability, Gender, Home Environment, Interestand Academic Achievements.


Abstract The three genera and four species of Larainae (Elmidae) previously described from Australia are reviewed, and one new genus and seven new species are described: Australaraglaisterigen. et sp. nov., Ovolaralawrenceisp. nov., Ovolaramonteithisp. nov., Stetholuscarinatussp. nov., Stetholuslongipennissp. nov., Stetholusmetatibialissp. nov., and Stetholusworonorasp. nov. A lectotype is designated for Hydoralaticeps (Carter & Zeck), and the first new collection records of the species are reported since its description in 1932. The occurrence in Australia of Potamophilinuspapuanus Satô, described from Papua New Guinea, is reported. A key to the species, photographic images of the external morphology and male genitalia, distribution maps, and habitat and behavioral information, when known, are provided for all twelve species of Australian Larainae.


Abstract Variation in dormancy level was tested in seeds of four species, each collected from three populations in 1994 and 1995 (experiment 1). Germination was tested in light and darkness on recently-harvested seeds and on those after-ripened in dry storage for one year. In addition, seeds from each of eight individual plants within each of eight populations were tested for germination when recently harvested and after warm stratification or cold stratification followed by a drying period (experiment 2). Seeds from the two years differed in dormancy level in Silene noctiflora, Sinapis arvensis and Spergula arvensis. Germination percentage differed significantly among populations in Sinapis arvensis and Spergula arvensis in both experiments and in Thlaspi arvense in experiment 2. Furthermore, dormancy level in seeds from different mother plants also varied in the three species tested in experiment 2. Variations at the three levels tested (year, population and mother plant) indicate that these species have a random pattern of variation in dormancy level. It is concluded that variation in seed dormancy among mother plants, populations and years must be taken into account when testing the germination characteristics of a species and also when attempting to model weed seed bank dynamics.


A unified approach to the design of decentralized detection networks with arbitrary topologies is proposed and analyzed. In this approach, a decentralized detection system of arbitrary topology is represented by a communication matrix that specifies the interconnection structure of the detection network. This matrix is used to derive the general decision rule using the person-by-person-optimal (PBPO) solution methodology. It is shown that the PBPO decision rule is a likelihood ratio test for statistically independent observations. The threshold of the test is shown to be a function of the decision input vector of the detector under consideration. This unified approach is used to obtain the PBPO decision rules of decentralized detection systems with various topologies. Various results in the literature are verified. In addition, the PBPO decision rules for a decentralized detection system with peer communication are presented. Numerical examples are presented for illustration. >


OBJECTIVE
To review recent evidence on dietary factors associated with diverticular disease (DD) with special emphasis on dietary fibre.

QUALITY OF EVIDENCE
MEDLINE was searched from January 1966 to December 2001 for articles on the relationship between dietary and other lifestyle factors and DD. Most articles either focused on dietary intervention in treating symptomatic DD or were case-control studies with inherent limitations for studying diet-disease associations. Only one large prospective study of male health professionals in the United States assessed diet at baseline and before initial diagnosis of DD.

MAIN MESSAGE
A diet high in fibre mainly from fruits and vegetables and low in total fat and red meat decreases risk of DD. Evidence indicates that the insoluble component of fibre is strongly associated with lower risk of DD; this association was particularly strong for cellulose. Caffeine and alcohol do not substantially increase risk of DD, nor does obesity, but higher levels of physical activity seem to reduce risk of DD.

CONCLUSION
A diet high in fibre and low in total fat and red meat and a lifestyle with more physical activity might help prevent DD.


The ripening growth (or lateral growth) of Cu6Sn5 grains that form between molten Sn-rich solders and Cu under-bump metallurgies (UBMs) was investigated with Sn-0.5Cu, Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu, and Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solders. After reactions with Cu UBMs, the size and morphologies of Cu6Sn5 grains were compared with each other through the observation of the top views. The Cu6Sn5 intermetallic compounds (IMCs) that form at the interface of Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solders exhibit much smaller grains, though the thickness of the grains is similar to that of the grains that form in Sn-0.5Cu and Sn-1.0Ag-0.5Cu solders. In other words, the ripening growth of Cu6Sn5 grains during a reflow is reduced in Sn-3.0Ag-0.5Cu solders. The effects of Ag on the ripening growth of Cu6Sn5 grains were examined by comparing the angles of two neighboring Cu6Sn5 grains that formed at the interface of each solder, in addition, the interfacial energies between the Cu6Sn5 grains and the molten solders are discussed. The effect of Ag on the ripening growth of the Cu6Sn5 grains depends on the solder volume: as the volume increases, the ripening growth of the Cu6Sn5 IMCs at the interface is reduced more effectively, and small Cu6Sn5 grains are produced during the reflow. The tendency of the way smaller Cu6Sn5 grains to reduce the formation of Cu3Sn IMCs during thermal aging is also discussed.


This is an earlier version of this novel was published under the title a serpentine affair. The addictive new novel from Tina Seskis, author of One Step Too Far. It had always been the six of us. Since we met at university twenty-five years ago, we'd faced everything together. Break-ups and marriages, motherhood and death. We were closer than sisters; the edges of our lives bled into each other. But that was before the night of the reunion. The night of exposed secrets and jagged accusations. The night when everything changed. And then we were five. Praise for Tina Seskis: "A gripping thriller that will delight fans of the unexpected twist ending." (Grazia). "Taut, compelling...a storming read." (The Bookseller Books of the Year 2013). "A remarkably good thriller...Open at page one and you will be in the safe hands of a brilliant new girl on the block." (hive.co.uk). "One Step Too Far is a genius tale with a twist." (Stylist). Tina Seskis grew up in Hampshire, and worked for more than twenty years in marketing and advertising before turning her hand to writing. Her first novel, One Step Too Far was published in 2013, where it became an instant bestseller with over 100,000 copies sold in just four months. The rights have since sold to fifteen publishers worldwide. Tina lives in North London with her husband and son, where she writes full-time. When We Were Friends is her second novel.


AIM OF THE STUDY
Pulmonary hypertension is known to affect prognosis of cardiac allograft recipients. Aim of this study is to elucidate the mechanisms relating preoperative hemodynamics to early post-transplant mortality.

METHODS
Hemodynamic and pre- and postoperative clinical data of 122 heart transplant recipients were reviewed with respect to early mortality (within 1 month or in-hospital). The relationships between hemodynamics and mortality were studied by means of univariate and multivariate analysis of absolute data and at different cut-off values of hemodynamic parameters.

RESULTS
The following hemodynamic parameters were significantly different between survivors (n = 107) and non-survivors (n = 15): right atrial pressure (7.7 +/- 4.7 vs. 12.1 +/- 8.6 mm Hg, p < 0.004), pulmonary vascular resistance (2.57 +/- 1.44 vs. 3.72 +/- 1.88 Wood units, p < 0.007), pulmonary vascular resistance index (4.43 +/- 2.53 vs. 6.53 +/- 3.28 Wood units x m2, p < 0.005), and transpulmonary gradient (8.8 +/- 4.8 vs. 12.3 +/- 6.4 mm Hg, p < 0.02). Right atrial pressure and pulmonary vascular resistance index showed an independent value at stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis (p < 0.008 and < 0.03 respectively). When mortality was tested using cut-off values, it was significantly higher with right atrial pressure > or = 12 (7/28 vs 8/94, p < 0.05), pulmonary vascular resistance index > or = 8 (6/13 vs 9/109, p < 0.0005), and transpulmonary gradient > or = 15 (5/13 vs 10/109, p < 0.01). High right atrial pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance index, and transpulmonary gradient were associated with higher preoperative bilirubin (p < 0.03), which was significantly superior in non-survivors (1.44 +/- 1.53 vs. 0.83 +/- 0.61 mg/dl, p < 0.02). Postoperatively, severe right ventricular failure, severe renal failure and infections within 1 month were all strongly associated with an increased mortality (p < 0.00003); they were more common in patients with high preoperative right filling pressure (9% vs. 43%, p < 0.00002) and/or high pulmonary vascular resistance index (14% vs. 38%, p < 0.03), in those with high right atrial pressure (9% vs. 35%, p < 0.0009), and in those with high pulmonary vascular resistance index (17% vs. 58%, p < 0.002) respectively. Mortality after acute rejection within 1 month was significantly higher in patients with high preoperative right atrial pressure (8% vs. 57%, p < 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS
Besides pulmonary hypertension, elevated preoperative right filling pressure appears to indicate an increased risk of early death after transplantation; pre- and postoperative end-organ dysfunction and post-transplant complications are more common or more threatening in this setting.


Recent work on the visual interpretation of traffic scenes is described which relies heavily on a priori knowledge of the scene and position of the cam era, and expectations about the shapes of vehicles and their likely movements in the scene. Knowledge is represented in the computer as explicit three-dimensional geometrical models, dynamic filters, and descriptions of behaviour. Model-based vision, based on reasoning with analogue models, avoids many of the classical problems in visual perception: recognition is robust against changes in the image of shape, size, colour and illumination. The three-dimensional understanding of the scene which results also deals naturally with occlusion, and allows the behaviour of vehicles to be interpreted. The experiments with machine vision raise questions about the part played by perceptual context for object recognition in natural vision, and the neural mechanisms which might serve such a role.