The authors propose novel one-pass minimum-variance deconvolution (MVD) algorithms which give the MV estimate, or the approximate MV estimate, of a system's input sequence by means of just one reversed-time filter. They develop the one-pass MVD algorithm in two steps. First, by projecting the input sequence into the space spanned by the future states, they obtain a reversed-time Markov model. Then, by running a Kalman filter for this model, they obtain the MV estimate of the input sequence. In order to avoid the high computational load of the optimal algorithm, a one-pass approximate MVD algorithm which gives almost the same results as the optimal algorithm is developed. Storage requirements and operation counts of J.M. Mendel's (1983) two-pass MVD algorithm and the proposed one-pass approximate MVD algorithm are analyzed for the case of a single-channel system in controllable canonical form. The results are of interest in connection with the seismic deconvolution problem. >


For bulk AC/DC hybrid transmission systems with high wind power penetration, this paper presents a distributed dispatch approach to the security-constrained unit commitment (SCUC) problem. To fully use the flexible adjustment capability of the HVDC tie-line to promote inter-regional wind power accommodation, an operation model for the HVDC tie-line is presented. Then, a distributed SCUC approach based on the analytical target cascading technique is proposed, where the day-ahead SCUC problem is decomposed into an upper-level master problem and parallel sub-problems of lower-level regional dispatch. The master problem is in charge of determining the day-ahead transmission plan for the HVDC tie-line, and the lower-level dispatch centers independently solve their SCUC problems in parallel in accordance with the hierarchical and partitioned power scheduling mode. Simulations show that considering the flexible and controllable nature of the HVDC tie-line, the proposed distributed dispatch approach for bulk AC/DC hybrid systems has the advantages of promoting inter-regional wind power accommodation and improving the economics of the overall system operation while relieving the peak regulation pressure of the receiving-side system.


Analyses data from the USA and UK to determine whether diversification within a region by property type is better than diversification between regions within a property type. Compares both strategies to full diversification by both property type and region. Calculates and compares property type and regional correlation matrices. Produces efficient frontiers and calculates principal components to determine if there are dominant property type or regional dimensions to real estate returns. Suggests that for the USA a purely retail portfolio diversified over all regions would have been almost as effective as a fully diversified portfolio. In the UK, there is less diversity across regions within retail property. Overall, there is no simple conclusion applicable to all regions and all property types in either country.


In Reply .—We demonstrated that the prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity increased by over 40% between 1965 and 1980. We defined obesity as a triceps skin-fold thickness equal to or greater than the 85th percentile for children and adolescents of the same age and sex studied during the National Health Examination Surveys Cycles 2 and 3. Dr Kashani, in his letter, and Dr Barness, in his editorial, commented on the validity of our diagnostic criteria for obesity. Furthermore, Dr Barness disparaged our use of the "pejorative term obese ... for normal children." We agree that the definition of obesity is crucial. In contrast to the use of obesity as a pejorative term by the general public, nutritional scientists have always relied on a dichotomous, statistically derived, and somewhat arbitrary definition of obesity. 1-3 An individual either is or is not obese, based on whether they are in the fattest 15% of the population,


This paper presents the Sensory Interactive Table (SIT): an instrumented, interactive dining table. Through the use of load cells and LEDs that are embedded in the table surface, SIT allows us to study: (1) the eating behaviors of people in a social setting, (2) the social interactions around the eating behaviors of people in a social setting, and (3) the continuous cycle of feedback through LEDs on people's eating behavior and their response to this feedback in real time, to ultimately create an effective dietary support system. This paper presents the hard- and software specifications of the system, and it shows the potential of the system to capture mass-related dimensions in real time and with high accuracy and spatial resolution.


My response to John Hibbing raises questions about the nature of judgment implied in the biology and politics agenda that he would have us adopt. Although rightly critical of overly rationalist and cognitivist models, the neurobiological turn casts action and judgment as the mere effects of already primed dispositions, for which the giving of reasons is little more than window-dressing on what was going to happen in any case. Furthermore, the reductively biological picture of human beings that emerges in Hibbing's account is hard to square with democratic conceptions of politics that emphasize the capacity for freedom and association with others. Finally, I worry that Hibbing's unapologetic embrace of scientism remains entangled in the fraught history of deterministic explanatory models and American social science.


We have used Coherent Bragg Rod Analysis (COBRA) to investigate the atomic structure of a 5.6 nm thick Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} film epitaxially grown on a (100) GaAs substrate. COBRA is a method to directly obtain the structure of systems periodic in two-dimensions by determining the complex scattering factors along the substrate Bragg rods. The system electron density and atomic structure are obtained by Fourier transforming the complex scattering factors into real space. The results show that the stacking order of the first seven Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} film layers resembles the stacking order of Ga and As layers in GaAs then changes to the stacking order of cubic bulk Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3}. This behavior is distinctly different from the measured stacking order in a 2.7 nm thick Gd{sub 2}O{sub 3} in which the GaAs stacking order persists throughout the entire film.


Around the start of the twentieth century articles which were critical of Dutch colonial rule and its treatment of Muslim subjects in the East Indies appeared in certain Ottoman newspapers. For the Dutch, who had not yet been able to fully establish control within the borders of their colony, such inflammatory material was not desirable, especially given the fact that these newspapers had a readership among the colonized Muslims. The Dutch tried to prevent these publications, regarding them as the product of the pan-Islamist attitude of the Porte, a suspicion encouraged by Abdulhamid II's apparent behind-the-scenes support for such Ottoman newspapers.


Provided is a stretching structure for stretched member, whereby a frame can be manufactured inexpensively without the use of complex and expensive dies, and a stretched material having an attractive external appearance, particularly the external appearance in back view and side view, is obtained through a simple stretching operation. In a stretching structure for a stretched member (28) stretched onto a back frame (27) serving as the frame, the back frame (27) is equipped with a main frame member (32), the surface of which abuts the stretched member (28); and an upper auxiliary frame member (33) fastened to the back surface of at least a portion of the main frame member (32). The stretched member(28) is looped in succession about the outside peripheral surface of the main frame member (32) from the front side, and along the outside peripheral surface, the back surface, and the inside peripheral surface of the upper auxiliary frame member (33), affixing the outside peripheral edge portion of the stretched member (28) to the upper auxiliary frame member (33) at the surface thereof opposing the back surface of the main frame member (32).


Introduction Acute traumatic coagulopathy (ATC) in bleeding trauma patients increase in-hospital mortality. Fibrinogen concentrate (FC) and prothrombin complex concentrate (PCC) are two purified concentrates of clotting factors that have been used to treat ATC. However, there is a knowledge gap on their use compared with the standard of care, the transfusion of plasma. Methods and analysis The factors in the initial resuscitation of severe trauma 2 trial is a multicentre, randomised, parallel-control, single-blinded, phase IV superiority trial. The study aims to address efficacy and safety of the early use of FC and PCC compared with a plasma-based resuscitation. Adult trauma patients requiring massive haemorrhage protocol activation on hospital arrival will receive FC 4 g and PCC 2000 IU or plasma 4 U, based on random allocation. The primary outcome is a composite of the cumulative number of all units of red cells, plasma and platelets transfused within 24 hours following admission. Secondary outcomes include measures of efficacy and safety of the intervention. Enrolment of 350 patients will provide an initial power >80% to demonstrate superiority for the primary outcome. After enrolment of 120 patients, a preplanned adaptive interim analysis will be conducted to reassess assumptions, check for early superiority demonstration or reassess the sample size for remainder of the study. Ethics and dissemination The study has been approved by local and provincial research ethics boards and will be conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki, Good Clinical Practice guidelines and regulatory requirements. As per the Tri-Council Policy Statement, patient consent will be deferred due to the emergency nature of the interventions. If superiority is established, results will have a major impact on clinical practice by reducing exposure to non-virally inactivated blood products, shortening the time for administration of clotting factors, correct coagulopathy more efficaciously and reduce the reliance on AB plasma. Trial registration number NCT04534751, pre results.


In Swedish forestry, final felling is usually done by a harvester and a forwarder. These machines are heavy and the risk for rutting and soil compaction can be considerable under unfavourable soil conditions. The aim of this study was to evaluate effects of forwarder tyre inflation pressure on rutting and soil compaction after final felling. Three levels of forwarder tyre pressure were studied, 300, 450 and 600 kPa, after 2 and 5 machine passages. The first passage was driven with a 19.7 Mg harvester, and the second to fifth passages with a fully loaded forwarder totalling 37.8 Mg. Rut depths were not significant affected by tyre pressures but increased significantly with the number of machine passages. Soil density was significantly increased by 0.075 Mg m(-3) by the harvester passage. Soil density increased significantly with increasing number of forwarder passages, and tyre pressure did not significantly influence this increase but the interaction between number of forwarder passages and tyre pressure was almost significant. Data suggest that density increases occur earlier in the 600 kPa treatment than in the other treatments. Only parts of an area harvested are trafficked in a normal harvesting operation. Outside the research area approximately 12.5 per cent of the area harvested was covered with ruts. On primary strip roads, which are heavily trafficked, soil compaction cannot be avoided by reducing the tyre pressure. On secondary strip roads, not passed more than once by the forwarder, a low forwarder tyre pressure may reduce soil compaction. Language: en


As a result of crucial importance of control panels in satellite earth stations, for the purpose of implementation of this panel, a separate DOS operating computer is used and the rest of commands are executed by another computer running windows OS. Combined application of two computers and establishment of coordination between them, in addition to lack of suitability of the DOS operating system for users are the weaknesses of the mentioned method. Therefore, this article focuses on implementation of the entire operations on a single Windows XP operated computer. In this regard, the control panel is meant to be a real-time system. Making use of the software of MATLAB in combination with application of Windows NT and the Windows CE operating systems are the steps which have been taken in order to obtain the former goal. In this article, the software of RTX Venturcam is used for implementation of the real-time control algorithm in combination with implementation of some other side programs under Windows XP. RTX is approved by Microsoft and by making use of this application, the both advantages of real-time execution of tasks and a user friendly environment can be obtained.


This study investigates whether corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and board gender diversity affect bankruptcy. The core issue focuses on the moderating effect between CSR activities and board gender diversity on bankruptcy. Using 4,654 firmyear observations from a sample of 581 non-financial firms listed on the Korean Stock Exchange over the period 2009–2017, we employ the fixed effect estimation and two-way fixed effect estimation of panel analysis to control endogenous. We find firms engaging more in CSR activities reduce the level of bankruptcy, but board gender diversity does not reduce the level of bankruptcy due to tiny portion of female director in the boardroom. The moderating effect on the relationship between CSR activities and board gender diversity reduce the level of bankruptcy. This result indicates that the influence of female directors on the boards of Korean listed firms is not yet strong but board gender diversity with good CSR activities positively operate to reduce the level of bankruptcy.


The classical no-three-in-line problem is to find the maximum number of points that can be placed in the $n \times n$ grid so that no three points lie on a line. Given a set $S$ of points in an Euclidean plane, the General Position Subset Selection Problem is to find a maximum subset $S'$ of $S$ such that no three points of $S'$ are collinear. Motivated by these problems, the following graph theory variation is introduced: Given a graph $G$, determine a largest set $S$ of vertices of $G$ such that no three vertices of $S$ lie on a common geodesic. Such a set is a gp-set of $G$ and its size is the gp-number ${\rm gp}(G)$ of $G$. Upper bounds on ${\rm gp}(G)$ in terms of different isometric covers are given and used to determine the gp-number of several classes of graphs. Connections between general position sets and packings are investigated and used to give lower bounds on the gp-number. It is also proved that the general position problem is NP-complete.


This study examined factors reported to contribute to job terminations of adults with disabilities. Fifty-one terminations were investigated utilizing three job termination categories. The most frequently reported causes for job loss were problems in the areas of character and/or production. Social awareness, character, and/or production accounted for more than 80% of all terminations. Results indicated that the majority of job terminations were due to reasons classified as social reasons, and when production problems were reported, the presence of social problems was associated with a greater likelihood of job termination.


A fundamental attribute of cell membranes is transmembrane asymmetry, specifically the formation of ordered phase domains in one leaflet that are compositionally different from the opposing leaflet of the bilayer. Using model membrane systems, many previous studies have demonstrated the formation of ordered phase domains that display complete transmembrane symmetry; but there have been few reports on the more biologically relevant asymmetric membrane structures. Here we report on a combined atomic force microscopy and fluorescence microscopy study whereby we observe three different states of transmembrane symmetry in phase-separated supported lipid bilayers formed by vesicle fusion. We find that if the leaflets differ in gel-phase area fraction, then the smaller domains in one leaflet are in registry with the larger domains in the other leaflet and the system is dynamic. In a presumed lipid flip-flop process similar to Ostwald ripening, the smaller domains in one leaflet erode away whereas the large domains in the other leaflet grow until complete compositional asymmetry is reached and remains stable. We have quantified this evolution and determined that the lipid flip-flop event happens most frequently at the interface between symmetric and asymmetric DSPC domains. If both leaflets have identical area fraction of gel-phase, gel-phase domains are in registry and are static in comparison to the first state. The stability of these three DSPC domain distributions, the degree of registry observed, and the domain immobility have biological significance with regards to maintenance of lipid asymmetry in living cell membranes, communication between inner leaflet and outer leaflet, membrane adhesion, and raft mobility.


Coarctation of the aorta was described pathologically in the 1700s and clinical recognition occurred from the early 1900s.w1 w2 Postmortem data suggested a median age of death of 31 years—mainly from complications of the coarctation (cardiac failure in 26%, aortic rupture in 21%, bacterial endarteritis in 18%, and intracranial haemorrhage in 12%.w3 w4 The presurgical "natural" history data were similar accepting the case selection bias prevalent in that era.w5 Surgical repair was first described in 1945, balloon dilation in 1982, and stent implantation in 1991.w6–8

Currently, the clinical diagnosis (murmur, upper limb hypertension, and absent or diminished femoral pulses) can rapidly be confirmed non-invasively by echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and monitored by these techniques following treatment (fig 1). Radio-femoral delay is a poor marker for follow up. 1w9 The vast majority of coarctations are identified and treated in the first year of life and adult presentation is becoming less frequent.

 Figure 1
 Magnetic resonance imaging scans of native coarctation in a 32 year old man (A) and aneurysm at balloon dilation site in a 14 year old boy (B).

Coarctation of the aorta accounts for approximately 7% of all live births with congenital heart disease and is 1.7 times more common in males.w10 w11 Hypoplasia of the aortic arch to various degrees is a common accompanying feature.w12 There is a significant association with other cardiac lesions (ventricular septal defect, patent arterial duct, and bicuspid aortic valve (in up to 50%) commonly but also with complex defects); in some the prognosis depends more on the outcome of the associated lesions which requires simultaneous management with the coarctation while in others the associated lesion is mild and can be treated on its own merits. In Turner's syndrome (46 XO) coarctation is present in 10% of …


Proceedings: AACR 104th Annual Meeting 2013; Apr 6-10, 2013; Washington, DC

The technique for Chromatin Immunoprecipitation (ChIP) combining with high-throughput DNA sequencing (ChIP-seq), is better than the ChIP-on-chip, which might reveal interactions between proteins and DNAs by the new generation sequencing technology. ChIP-seq can accurately reveal all possible binding sites in the whole cellular genome of the transcription factors or interesting proteins. TWIST, an important transcription factor which has a highly conserved, basic helix - loop - helix (bHLH) domain, can bind with DNA motif CANNTG (E-box). However, ChIP-seq will generate millions of data and the exactly E-boxes of TWIST in the whole genome is unknown. In this study, we performed the global bioinformatic analysis for transcription factor TWIST genomic binding sites from ChIP-seq result in cell lines. MACS software was used to identify TWIST binding sites from ChIP-seq data. MEME, a motif discovery tool, was used to search for statistically over-represented motifs in and near TWIST-occupied regions. There are 26,229 binding sites and 90,659 E-boxes in whole genome, and 42,390 E-boxes within the peak of 100bp in the binding sites. The majority of ChIP-seq signals could be parsimoniously explained by a CABVTG motif within ±200bp of ChIP summit and, of these, CAGCTG is most prevalent. Specifically, the characteristics of E-box mainly are CACATG, CATATG, CAGATG, CAGCTG and CACCTG. The CAGCTG is most prevalent E-box with 9% in total, and most E-boxes located within ±200bp of ChIP summit with more than 70% in total. Additionally, further analysis in chromosome 6 revealed 1936 binding sites and 6,437 E-boxes. We defined 88 genes in which binding sites located at promoter region in chromosome 6. Through gene function prediction, they are divided into three clusters. Some genes from the clusters function as tumor development and necrosis, which will provide us the clues for studying TWIST net work regulation and signal pathways in cancer biology. Therefore, our results showed that bioinformatics analysis from high resolution ChIP-seq data may be used to drive effective discovery and dissect all of binding sites for transcript factors, including TWIST, in silico.

This work was supported by NSFC (30371493, 81172049). We thank Drs. R Chen, J Xu and Ms. J Cheng.

Citation Format: Junjiang Fu. Global bioinformatic analysis for transcription factor genomic binding sites from ChIP-sequencing. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2902. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2902

Note: This abstract was not presented at the AACR Annual Meeting 2013 because the presenter was unable to attend.


Hyperemesis gravidarum is persistent vomiting, seen more often in the first trimester of pregnancy, when the patient is unable to maintain adequate hydration. Intractable vomiting can lead to severe electrolyte imbalance, which may cause electrocardiogram abnormalities. Occasionally, ventricular tachycardia can complicate a pregnancy. Although its occurrence usually indicates an underlying cardiac structural or arrhythmic abnormality, it may rarely occur in a pregnant patient with structurally normal heart. We report a rare case of ventricular tachycardia, secondary to hyperemesis induced hypomagnesemia and hypokalemia, in a pregnant patient with a structurally normal heart.


Is proposed the method of estimation of the effectiveness in telecommunication services network (TSN). It is shown, which with building this TSN is insufficient to rationally distribute requirements for the reliability of individual devices. From the presented model evidently that with the estimation of the effectiveness of entire network necessary to consider the reliability of its constitutive devices and their connecting lines. It is shown, that the effectiveness of network determines several indices: mean times between nearest failure and average restore time of the hardware, software and the lines of communications; a quantity of possible ways for the services deliver in the network; the probability of the selection of these ways, and also the probability of the services deliver by the devices, when they are operational. Ill. 1, bibl. 4 (in Lithuanian; summaries in Lithuanian, English, Russian).


With the larger penetration of variable renewable energy resources, the role of energy storage in the power system is becoming increasingly important. The flexibility of operation of hydro and pumped-storage power plants and the variety of ancillary services that they provide to the grid enable better utilization of variable renewable resources and more efficient and reliable operation of the entire power system. The U.S. Department of Energy's Water Power Program has funded a recent study to enhance the modeling and simulation of advanced pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) technologies and examine the value of different services and contributions that they can provide to the power system. The technical approach consisted of two main components: (1) advanced technology modeling and (2) detailed production cost and revenue simulations. The advanced technology modeling focused on the development of dynamic simulation models for advanced PSH technologies, such as adjustable-speed (AS) and ternary units. These new models were developed as vendor-neutral models and published during the course of the project. The production cost and revenue simulations focused on the Western Interconnection (WI). The analyses were performed for the entire WI, for the California electricity market, and for a single balancing authority, the Sacramento Municipal Utility District. The goal of the study was to provide a comprehensive evaluation of PSH plants and their contributions to the power system. The project team has used several computer tools, including the PSSE, FESTIV, CHEERS, and PLEXOS models, to simulate system operation and contributions of PSH plants. Advanced PSH technologies, i.e., AS and ternary units, were also modeled. Detailed modeling and simulation studies were performed using different time steps ranging from a fraction of a second to one hour. This paper provides an overview of the simulations performed during the study and some key results of the analyses.


Fixed-drug eruption (FDE) is an unusual and rare adverse drug reaction. This type of reaction is actually a delayed type of hypersensitivity reaction that occurs as lesions recurring at the same skin site due to repeated intake of an offending drug. Here is a case report of a 58-year-old male patient who developed intraoral FDEs after ingestion of the first dose of ornidazole.


Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a global health emergency and low treatment adherence among patients is a major barrier to ending the TB epidemic. The WHO promotes digital adherence technologies (DATs) as facilitators for improving treatment adherence in resource-limited settings. However, limited research has investigated whether DATs improve outcomes for high-risk patients (ie, those with a high probability of an unsuccessful outcome), leading to concerns that DATs may cause intervention-generated inequality. Methods We conducted secondary analyses of data from a completed individual-level randomised controlled trial in Nairobi, Kenya during 2016–2017, which evaluated the average intervention effect of a novel DAT-based behavioural support programme. We trained a causal forest model to answer three research questions: (1) Was the effect of the intervention heterogeneous across individuals? (2) Was the intervention less effective for high-risk patients? nd (3) Can differentiated care improve programme effectiveness and equity in treatment outcomes? Results We found that individual intervention effects—the percentage point reduction in the likelihood of an unsuccessful treatment outcome—ranged from 4.2 to 12.4, with an average of 8.2. The intervention was beneficial for 76% of patients, and most beneficial for high-risk patients. Differentiated enrolment policies, targeted at high-risk patients, have the potential to (1) increase the average intervention effect of DAT services by up to 28.5% and (2) decrease the population average and standard deviation (across patients) of the probability of an unsuccessful treatment outcome by up to 8.5% and 31.5%, respectively. Conclusion This DAT-based intervention can improve outcomes among high-risk patients, reducing inequity in the likelihood of an unsuccessful treatment outcome. In resource-limited settings where universal provision of the intervention is infeasible, targeting high-risk patients for DAT enrolment is a worthwhile strategy for programmes that involve human support sponsors, enabling them to achieve the highest possible impact for high-risk patients at a substantially improved cost-effectiveness ratio.


Stomatopods, or mantis shrimps, are malacostracan crustaceans. Known as "lean, mean, killing machines" (Watling et al., 2000, p. 1), modern stomatopods are obligate carnivores, feeding exclusively on live prey (Schram, 1986). Characteristically, their second thoracic appendages are enlarged to form powerful, raptorial claws. Modern stomatopods are divided into two broad functional groups based on the shape and usage of their raptorial claws: 'spearing' and 'smashing' stomatopods (Caldwell and Dingle, 1976).

Spearing stomatopods are found in each of the seven stomatopod superfamilies (see Ahyong and Harling, 2000; Ahyong, 2001) and spear their prey, which is usually soft-bodied, with the spined terminal forelimb segment (dactyl) of the raptorial claw. Smashing forms are found within four families of the superfamily Gonodactyloidea (although the family Coronodidae within the superfamily Lysiosquilloidea has adaptations for both spearing and smashing). These stomatopods feed mainly on armoured prey such as crabs and gastropods.

There has been a large body of work on the taxonomy, functional morphology and behavior of extant stomatopods. At least 450 extant species have been described (Ahyong, 2001), but the fossil record of the group is poor; less than 30 fossil species from the Mesozoic through the Tertiary, and only four from the Paleozoic have been described (Hof and Briggs, 1997; Jenner et al., 1998). The occurrence of any new fossil material is therefore significant as it contributes important new data to help understand the evolutionary history of the group. In particular, important information can be gained regarding the evolution of spearing and smashing raptorial claws. It should be noted that, in spite of the general paucity of fossil stomatopods, the Miocene of California has previously yielded seven stomatopod specimens. Hof and Schram (1998) have suggested that this abundance, coupled with the demonstration by Hof and Briggs (1997) that stomatopods have …


We present a numerical study of the flow of an assembly of frictionless grains at zero temperature, in the vicinity of and slightly above the jamming density. We find that some of the flow properties, such as the fluctuations in the number of contacts or the shear modulus, display a critical like behaviour that is governed by the proximity to the jamming point. Dynamical correlations during a quasistatic deformation, however, are non critical and dominated by system size. At finite strain rates, these dynamical correlations acquire a finite, strain-rate dependent amplitude, that decreases when approaching the jamming point from above.


Pectin oligosaccharides (POS) are pectin-derived prebiotics that exerts anti-inflammatory effects on the host and stimulates an innate immune response. The role of POS in protective immunity against viral infections is not very obvious. Therefore, the prophylactic effect of POS in the mouse model induced by Poly I: C mimicking viral infection was examined. Mice fed POS showed a significant (p ≤ .05) increase in IgG, sIgA, IgA, IL-12, and a significant (p ≤ .05) decrease in the concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-5, IL-6, IL-13 and IL-17 in lung and blood serum after Poly I: C stimulation. However, the control group could not inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines. POS also promoted the growth of the Lactobacillus, Prevotella, Rilenellaceae, and Lachanospiraceae groups. Therefore, this study demonstrate that POS has the potiential to protect against viral inflammation by altering gut microbiota and activating mucosal immunity. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: POS is 2-10 mer oligomers of pectin. The human gastrointestinal tract lacks the enzyme to break down POS. They are fermented by gut bacteria in the colon and stimulate the proliferation of specific gut bacteria that are positively correlated with the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines and SCFA. POS also stimulates the secretion of IgA, which inhibits bacterial and viral adhesion and protects the host. Therefore, POS can be used as a functional food ingredient in food to stimulate a specific group of gut bacteria and enhance preventive immunity.


Within rural environments, the construction of financial ecosystems that both stimulate local development and contribute to poverty reduction requires an increase in associative community activity. Such activity serves as a fundamental means of organizing territorial production systems, reinforcing capacities, and strengthening the negotiating position of the population being offered financial services. Solidarity finance is important because it recognizes that collective action and criteria such as social efficiency, local capacities, cooperation, associativity, the social fabric, self-management, and resource recirculation are integral aspects of financial evaluation. Therefore, this research proposes a methodology to reinforce the financial service delivery of solidarity finance institutions through the evaluation of social capital in rural production organizations. Social capital is regarded as a resource of the organization's constituents that can facilitate financial inclusion and generate value for rural populations.


Objectives: Anemia is a common complication during interferon-ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C. While normally a fall in hematocrit in results in an exponential compensatory rise in erythropoietin, such that the correlation between hematocrit and erythropoietin is sharply negative, the erythropoietin response during interferon-ribavirin combination therapy is not known. Methods: We measured the hematocrit and erythropoietin levels before and after about 4 weeks of interferon-ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C (n = 43), and compared their relation to the normal human response to anemia. Results: The hematocrit fell from an average pre-treatment level of 43.7 ± 3.7% to 36.9 ± 5 (P < 0.0001). The erythropoietin level rose from 14.5 ± 15.1 to 58.5 ± 94.1 units/L (P < 0.0001), indicating there was an adequate stimulus for erythropoietin release. The rise of erythropoietin was severely impaired in relation to the normal human response to a fall in hematocrit. Using the normal human response to anemia as the population line, for our population there was a significant difference in the slope of hematocrit (x) versus log10 erythropoietin (y) (−8.7 vs. −3.098 respectively, P < 0.001) and y-intercept (4.609 vs. 2.753 respectively, P < 0.001). The Bonferroni adjusted "p" value was derived to be <0.002. There was an approximate 2 log10 reduction in maximal achievable erythropoietin level in subjects exposed to interferon-ribavirin combination. Conclusion: There is a subnormal rise of erythropoietin after interferon-ribavirin combination therapy for hepatitis C.


We have studied by morphometric procedures the chronic effect of captopril on the subfornical organ (SFO) and area postrema (AP) of the adult mouse. Oral administration of captopril does not produce any change in the size of individual nuclei of the ependymocytes and neurons in both centers. However, there are other quantitative effects of captopril on the global volume of the SFO and on the neuropil and vascular elements of both the SFO and AP which present a significant increase. It is suggested that this increase is due to metabolic processes at the level of both circumventricular organs.


We report three cases of vasculitis evaluated by FDG-PET/CT. Vasculitis is defined as inflammatory changes and necrosis in the aterial wall. The patients presented with non-specific symptoms such as fever up or elevated inflammatory markers. FDG-PET/CT clearly demonstrated intense FDG uptake in vessel walls. A 72-year-old female patient with a one month history of pyrexia had abnormal laboratory data suggesting an inflammatory process. FDG-PET/CT was very useful for the diagnosis of vasculitis. Steroid therapy was introduced. Normalization of laboratory data and symptomatic improvement correlated with normalization of FDG uptake in the vessels.


The development of answer-set programs often involves domain experts without a background in logic programming. In such situations, it would be beneficial to translate programs into a form which is easier to understand and closer to natural language. Since the structure of a program determines to a great extent how a program should be explained in a clear and comprehensible way, as a first step towards a natural-language representation of answer-set programs, in this paper, we introduce methods for analysing the structure of disjunctive non-ground answer-set programs. In particular, as most programs follow the generate-define-test paradigm, we introduce formal definitions to characterise the respective generate, define, and test parts of a program. Thereby, we define the non-deterministic core of a program, eectively determining the program's active solution-space generators, following ideas of the weakly perfect model semantics as introduced by Przymusinska and Przymusinski, and we prove that our definitions fulfil desirable properties. Moreover, we also provide an implementation of a tool, using a metaprogramming approach, which classifies the rules of a given program according to our definitions. Finally, we propose an algorithm that, based on our generate-define-test classification, computes the order in which the rules of a program should be explained when translated into natural language.


Abstract The proposed European Space Agency's cloud profiling radar Millimetre Active Cloud Structure Imaging Mission is a nadir-pointing radar with a 1-km footprint; it will need to integrate the received signal power for a reasonable amount of time (1.4–14 s) along track to detect a cloud. As a result, the radar will provide a set of long (10–100 km) narrow pixels that are registered either as cloudy or as clear, depending on how much cloud there is in each. These are thus likely to give a biased estimate of fractional cloud cover over a region because the radar will be unable to detect small clouds or gaps. For a nadir-pointing radar the clouds and gaps essentially form a 1D sequence that can be modeled by a general single-server queue. This model allows analytical expressions to be found for the bias and sampling error in specific cases. Such expressions are presented for the two extremes of the Erlang queuing model, that is, for an exponential and a deterministic queue. These are then compared to res...


In this letter, the thermoluminescence response and surface properties of Sr3B2O6:Dy 3+ nanophosphor prepared by combustion method exposed to -rays are reported. The crystalline structure of nanophosphors was confirmed by X-ray powder diffraction. The result indicates rhombohedral nanocrystalline structure with an average grain size of 41 nm. The microstructure and morphology were studied by transmission electron microscopy, which show nanowire like structure with an average diameter of 42 nm. The samples were irradiated with a -dose using 60 Co source in the range of 100 Gy  5000 Gy. The kinetic parameter such as activation energy (E), order of kinetics (b), and frequency factor (s) of the main glow peaks of the Sr3B2O6:Dy 3+ sample at 5000 Gy and different heating rates were determined using both the TLAnal program and Chen's method. The effect of different heating rate at a fixed dose is discussed. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to study the surface chemical composition and the electronic states. Copyright © 2015 VBRI Press.


Errorless learning (EL) is an instructional procedure involving error reduction during learning. Errorless learning is mostly examined by counting correctly executed task steps or by rating them using a Task Performance Scale (TPS). Here, we explore the validity and reliability of a new assessment procedure, the core elements method (CEM), which rates essential building blocks of activities rather than individual steps. Task performance was assessed in 35 patients with Alzheimer's dementia recruited from the Relearning methods on Daily Living task performance of persons with Dementia (REDALI-DEM) study using TPS and CEM independently. Results showed excellent interrater reliabilities for both measure methods (CEM: intraclass coefficient [ICC] = .85; TPS: ICC = .97). Also, both methods showed a high agreement (CEM: mean of measurement difference [MD] = −3.44, standard deviation [SD] = 14.72; TPS: MD = −0.41, SD = 7.89) and correlated highly (>.75). Based on these results, TPS and CEM are both valid for assessing task performance. However, since TPS is more complicated and time consuming, CEM may be the preferred method for future research projects.


The Secret History is the oldest narrative text in Mongolian (A.D. 1240), and represents a semilegendary history of Chingis Khan and his ancestors, extending into the time of his successor, Ogedei. There are text editions of that work, translations, and a good dictionary of words occurring in the text, compiled by Haenisch (1939, reprinted in 1962). The dictionary does not list all grammatical forms of the words attested, nor does it indicate all occurrences of each word. Therefore the dictionary is of little use in cases in which it is important to have a particular word in all contexts in which it occurs, or to have all its grammatical forms attested in the text. The book under review is therefore a timely and useful publication because it enables the reader to find a particular word in all contexts, and lists all grammatical forms of each word. The first part of the book (pp. 1-174) contains the text which follows the line arrangement of Pelliot's edition (P) . Each line is preceded by a code number indicating the page and line of P. The second part (pp. 177-343) is an alphabetical index of all words and forms to which code numbers referring to the pages and lines concerned are added. The third part (pp. 34547) represents a finding list which enables the user of the index to find out to which paragraph of Pelliot's edition the code numbers refer. Pelliot's transcription has been slightly modified (c instead of c, j instead of ;, etc.), but Pelliot's text has not been corrected. Thus, P 59 qatqun should be hatqun "squeezing in the hand," and so forth (see Bull, of the Inst, of Hist, and Phil., Academia Sinica, vol. 39, p. 270). However, the corrections must be left for later research. De Rachewiltz's index is to be welcomed as a valuable publication which will serve as a basis for compilation of a grammar and a complete dictionary of the language of the Secret History.


Objectives] To investigate the chemical composition of Lantana camara L.leaf essential oil, its biological activity to 3 insect pests, and its potential as a means of controlling insect pests. [Methods] L. camara leaf essential oil was extracted using the steam distillation method which gave a yield of 0.21%. The essential oil was examined using an Agilent GC-MS (gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer-computer) system. 26 major constituents were identified, but the major constituents were α-curcumene (32.76%), β-caryophyllene (16.36%), caryophyllene oxide (12.22%) and spathulenol (10.48%). After analysis of the chemical composition of this essential oil, its biological activity to 3 insect pests was determined. [Results] The contact toxicity and repellent effect of L.camara leaf essential oil were tested on Sitophilus oryzae adults, fourth instar larvae of Aedes aegypti, and Reticulitermes flavipes worker. These bioassays showed that the essential oil had significant toxicity to S. oryzae adults and fourth instar larvae of A. aegypti, with LC50 values of 0.92 mg/cm and 32.33 μg/mL, respectively. The higher the concentration of the essential oil, the stronger its repellent effect and toxicity to the termite Reticulitermes flavipes. High concentrations of essential oil displayed significant contact toxic activity to termites, but mortality from lower concentrations was not significant. [Conclusion] L. camara leaf essential oil has potential as a means of controlling the 3 insect pests tested.


Continuous infusions of naloxone HC1 (0.5 mg/kg or 3.8 mg/kg) or saline were given intravenously to fetal sheep at 119 to 137 days of gestation during a one hour period of air administration and a one hour period of hypoxia induced by having ewes breathe 9% O2, 3% CO2 and 88% N2. Fetal carotid PaO2 fell to 13.0 +/- 0.5 mmHg during hypoxia with no change in pH. During hypoxia, plasma cortisol concentration increased significantly more in naloxone-infused fetuses than controls. Ewes, whose fetuses received naloxone, showed a significant increase in cortisol during hypoxia whereas no increase was observed in controls. There were no significant differences between saline and naloxone-infused fetuses during hypoxia in fetal breathing incidence, amplitude, frequency, number of deep inspiratory efforts per hour, heart rate, electrocortical activity or in the rise in plasma glucose caused by hypoxia. Results suggest that endogenous opiates may have a role in modulating cortisol production in the ewe and fetus during hypoxia but do not have a role in mediating the decrease in incidence of breathing activity or rise in plasma glucose. During air administration, naloxone significantly increased fetal breath amplitude, fetal and maternal plasma glucose, fetal heart rate, and the number of electrocortical changes per hour. This suggests endogenous opiates may have a more important role in the normoxic pregnant ewe and fetus.


Covert network timing channels control time between transmissions of packets in overt network communication and transmits hidden messages. This paper presents an overview of different concepts of covert timing channels such as types, features and properties. There is range of terms used for security of information such as encryption, covert channels, network steganography or information hiding in network protocols. Information is hided into network protocols in case of covert channel, but information is hided into content in case of steganography. Different applications such as VoIP, SSH use covert timing channels for the purpose of security. In earlier days, encryption was only the parameter used for security; so information was not secure however simply using encryption does not prevent detection of communication patterns, so various techniques are developed. The main properties of covert timing channels are undetectability and robustness. Unauthorized access from criminals, hackers & terrorists is avoided by using covert timing channels etc. But there are some negativities of covert timing channels, e.g. terrorists misuse covert channels to coordinate their actions. This paper also discusses about use of covert timing channels and types along with applications and problems occur in covert timing channels.


Objectives Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease in which prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) displays important pathogenic role in the affected joints. Whereas the enzymes involved in its synthesis, microsomal PGE2 synthase-1 and cyclooxygenases (COX1 and COX2), are highly expressed in the inflamed synovium, little is known about 15-prostaglandin dihydrogenase (15-PGDH) that metabolises PGE2. In this study the authors aimed to investigate the localisation of 15-PGDH in the synovial tissue and the influence of common RA therapy on its expression. Materials and methods Synovial tissue specimens were obtained from healthy individuals, psoriatic arthritis, ostheoarthritis and RA patients and immunohistochemical analysis and double immunfluorescence staining was used to describe the expression pattern of 15-PGDH. In addition, synovial biopsies were obtained by arthroscopy from 10 RA patients with active knee arthritis undergoing intra-articular glucocorticoid therapy as well as from 13 newly diagnosed RA patients starting methotrexate therapy, before and after start of treatment. After immunohistochemical staining, 15-PGDH was analysed in patients receiving glucocorticoid injection and the expression of enzymes involved in the PGE2 cascade was evaluated in the methotrexate cohort. Prostaglandins deriving from the COX pathway were determined by liquid-chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry in supernatants from in vitro cultured fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) activated with IL-1β and treated with methotrexate. Results 15-PGDH is present in synovial tissue of RA, ostheoarthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients but also in healthy individuals, mainly in lining macrophages, fibroblasts and vessels. Intra-articular show a trend towards reduced 15-PGDH in RA synovium while methotrexate treatment to leaves unaltered the PGE2 pathway both in biopsies ex vivo and in cultured FLS. Conclusion 15-PGDH, the enzyme implicated in degradation and removal of pro-inflammatory PGE2 in the rheumatoid joint is expressed in the synovial tissue. While local glucocorticoids may decrease its expression, methotrexate has little influence on any of the PGE2 pathway enzymes 8 weeks after therapy start. Thus therapeutical strategies involving blocking PGE2 synthesis may find a rationale in additionally reducing local inflammatory mediators.


The choice of substrate orientation for semiconductor quantum dot circuits offers opportunities for tailoring spintronic properties such as g-factors for specific functionality. Here, we demonstrate the operation of a few-electron double quantum dot circuit fabricated from a (110)-oriented GaAs quantum well. We estimate the in-plane electron g-factor from the profile of the enhanced inter-dot tunneling (leakage) current near-zero magnetic field. Spin blockade due to Pauli exclusion can block inter-dot tunneling. However, this blockade becomes inactive due to hyperfine interaction mediated spin flip-flop processes between electron spin states and the nuclear spin of the host material. The g-factor of absolute value ∼0.1 found for a magnetic field parallel to the direction [Formula: see text] is approximately a factor of four lower than that for comparable circuits fabricated from a material grown on widely employed standard (001) GaAs substrates and is in line with reported values determined by purely optical means for quantum well structures grown on (110) GaAs substrates.


The invention concerns the use of a recombinant nucleotide sequence containing a DNAc coding for an element of the pancreatic lipase-colipase complex of mammals or for a derived protein or polypeptide, and the elements enabling a plant cell to produce this element, or the derived protein or polypeptide, coded for by said DNAc, in particular a promoter and a terminator of transcription identified by the transcriptional machinery of plant cells, for transforming plant cells in order to obtain, from these cells, or from the plants obtained from the latter, a recombinant element of the pancreatic lipase-colipase complex of mammals, or of a derived protein or polypeptide.


Instead of rapid multiplication, pathogenic mycobacteria, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis are likely to have acquired slow but long life. Host immunity affords desirable non-competitive environment for M tuberculosis in human lungs, where this pathogen slowly grows or arrests growing, which avoids rapid loss of living places. Mycobacterial DNA-binding protein 1 (MDP1), a unique histone-like protein associating mycobacterial GC-rich DNA, has pivotal role in realizing such slow life and pathogenesis including drug tolerance to isoniazid.


The COVID-19 or Coronavirus that encircled Indonesia seems to be unmuted. Its massive and relatively fast spread makes people feel scared. Everyone is forced to remain at home to break the COVID-19 transmission chain. Mass agenda eliminated because of COVID-19 also the term work from home (WFH) so popular.  COVID-19 also has a serious impact on the education sector in Indonesia. Here are some policies in the world of education taken by the Indonesian government in the emergency period of Coronavirus (COVID-19) year 2020.  This article aims to discuss government policy, especially about the education policy to deal with Coronaviruses. The results showed that some government policies related to education in the time Coronavirus could minimize the spread of coronaviruses. These policies include online learning for school children, online lectures, national Examinations 2020 canceled, UTBK SBMPTN 2020 postponed, the implementation for SNMPTN still in review


International students have been historically valued by universities around the world for their educational, cultural, and economic contributions to their host countries. Yet, perceptions about international students in the general public have become increasingly mixed in recent years, as research in many countries shows competing public narratives between their perceived societal benefits and challenges. COVID-19 has often led to increased hostility towards international students, particularly those from China or East Asian countries, as demonstrated through reports of increased discrimination towards international students on and off campuses worldwide. As such, there is ongoing need to understand how international students have been depicted and portrayed in this specific time of crisis, so as to encourage more inclusive public support for their experiences moving forward. Our study supports this endeavour by analysing public depictions of international students through a systematic collection of Twitter data and thematic analysis of 6,501 posts made during the immediate COVID-19 crisis (January-April 2020). Our findings confirm competing public narratives about international students that changed over time: initially through stereotyping and depictions as assumed disease carriers, shifting to an outpouring of empathy and support after university campus closures. We also outline troubling themes of racism, discrimination, and negative public depictions, which are of pressing importance for the global higher education sector. In doing so, we outline key concerns and recommendations for universities, particularly for challenging and more inclusively developing public depictions of international students in the long term


Validating the Use of Surfacing Mapping Tools for Monitoring Motion and Irregular Breathing Patterns for Lung SBRT Patients Purpose: In this study, we have examined the utility of surface mapping in the treatment of lung SBRT patients. We examined the extent to which intra-fraction patient motion and irregular breathing patterns impact the accuracy of treatment deliveries. Materials and Methods: The C-RAD Catalyst, an optical surface mapping system was used to track the intra-fractional isocenter motion of five lung SBRT patients treated with VMAT. A respiratory tracking tool was used to track the breathing pattern of these patients and to correlate the breathing pattern to the isocenter motion. Results: For 2 of the 5 patients the isocenter displacement exceeding the 5mm planning margin for a portion of the treatment delivery with the time outside of tolerance at 2.2%, and 2.5%. Conclusions: 1) Breathing patterns may change between different fractions for the same patient; 2)Breathing patterns can change from the beginning to the end of the same fraction; 3) Not only amplitude, but also the baseline of breathing may change during an individual fraction; 4) We cannot predict which patients will have a stable isocenter in treatment even after the simulation study; and5)Real-time motion monitoring with surface-mapping tools and respiratory gating (free breathing or breath-hold) may provide clinically valuable solution in motion management for lung SBRT patients. The research is supported by funding from Elekta.


In this article, three-dimensional autonomous chaotic systems with two quadratic terms, similar to the Lorenz system in their algebraic forms, are studied. An attractor with two clearly distinguishable scrolls similar to the Lorenz attractor is referred to as a Lorenz-like attractor, while an attractor with more intertwine between the two scrolls similar to the Chen attractor is referred to as a Chen-like attractor. A gallery of Lorenz-like attractors and Chen-like attractors are presented. For several different families of such systems, through tuning only one real parameter gradually, each of them can generate a spectrum of chaotic attractors continuously changing from a Lorenz-like attractor to a Chen-like attractor. Some intrinsic relationships between the Lorenz system and the Chen system are revealed and discussed. Some common patterns of the Lorenz-like and Chen-like attractors are found and analyzed, which suggest that the instability of the two saddle-foci of such a system somehow determines the shape of its chaotic attractor. These interesting observations on the general dynamic patterns hopefully could shed some light for a better understanding of the intrinsic relationships between the algebraic structures and the geometric attractors of these kinds of chaotic systems.


Dr Charles Clarke, consultant neurologist at St Bartholomew's Hospital and Whipps Cross Hospital, Walthamstow, writes to his parents. Sir Cyril Clarke is a former professor of medicine and past president of the Royal College of Physicians. Lady Feo Clarke is an 84 year old housewife, mother of three, geneticist, and entomologist.

Dear Mum and Dad, Was it at Christmas 1954 that I stole The Little World of Don Camillo and read it under the bedclothes?

"Lord," said Don Camillo, "am I going mad?"

The Lord thought not, just a little misguided. And, of course, everyone was doing their best and sinned a little from time to time.

I do not believe in the Lord. I am relatively sane. But this last month things do seem to have got out of hand. It has been busy in this arm of the NHS where everyone is agreed on the mission statement—to provide the patients of a deprived area of east London the service they deserve. There is a chance to build a superb hospital from two great institutions, the Royal London Hospital and St Bartholomew's Hospital, and more money has been poured in than ever before. There is care in the community, money is following the patient, and resources are being placed by experienced managers in areas where there is real need. Thereafter, opinions are divided.

There has been about four inches of administrative paperwork. At Whipps Cross there have been two highlights. Firstly, there is a conflict …


Recent sensor networks research has produced a class of data storage and query processing techniques called Data-Centric Storage that leverages locality-preserving distributed indexes like DIM, DIFS, and GHT to efficiently answer multi-dimensional range and range-aggregate queries. These distributed indexes offer a rich design space of a) logical decompositions of sensor relation schema into indexes, as well as b) physical mappings of these indexes onto sensors. In this poster, we explore this space for energy-efficient data organizations (logical and physical mappings of tuples and attributes to sensor nodes) and devise purely local query optimization techniques for processing queries that span such decomposed relations. We propose four design techniques: (a) fully decomposing the base sensor relation into distinct sub-relations, (b) spatially partitioning these sub-relations across the sensornet, (c) localized query planning and optimization to find fully decentralized optimal join orders, and (d) locally caching join results. Together, these optimizations reduce the overall network energy consumption by 4 times or more when compared against the standard single multi-dimensional distributed index on a variety of synthetic query workloads simulated over both synthetic and real-world datasets. We validate the feasibility of our approach by implementing a functional prototype of our data organizer and query processor on Mica2 motes and observing comparable message cost savings.


Commercial-scale photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting devices have been proved to be cost-competitive with fossil-based fuels. Nevertheless, large-scale PEC water splitting cells with high performance have not yet been demonstrated, and controllably scaling up high-performance photoelectrodes still remains challenging. Typically, bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) has been regarded as one of the most efficient photoanodes for use in PEC water splitting because of its well-suited band structure. However, state-of-the-art PEC performances achieved with BiVO4 photoanodes to date have generally been tested on small scales (<1 cm2), due to the nonuniformity of the scaled-up photoactive films, increased resistive losses and inhomogeneous potential distribution in scaled-up substrates, non-linear diffusion of reactants and resultants toward scaled-up photoanodes and so on. Here, a uniform scaled-up precursor (BiOI) film was prepared via a spatial-current-density-distribution-regulated electrodeposition method with a tilt-electrode-configuration. The as-prepared BiOI film was covered with a thin vanadium source layer and then converted to BiVO4 film via a modified thermal-chemical conversion method. The photocurrent density for sulfite oxidation of the 54.32 cm2 BiVO4 photoanode (∼2.55 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE) was the highest value yet reported, and it was comparable with that of the 1.66 cm2 BiVO4 photoanode (∼2.85 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE). To reduce resistive losses and improve the homogeneity of distributed potential in the FTO substrate, metal grids were deposited on the BiVO4 photoanode via thermal evaporation. The maximum fill factor of the photocurrent density curve of the scaled-up BiVO4 photoanode was raised from ∼29 to ∼44.5%. After the uniform coating of an oxygen evolution catalyst (OEC) layer that was formed by connecting tannin acid molecules with metal ions, the photoanode achieved a photocurrent density of ∼2.23 mA cm−2 at 1.23 VRHE and ∼0.83% STH conversion efficiency at 0.65 VRHE. Finally, the stability test was conducted in a designed test system with water circulation to facilitate diffusion of generated oxygen. The scaled-up OEC/BiVO4 photoanode showed <4% decay after operating under harsh conditions for 5 h.


Organic/Polymeric Semiconductor (OSC) based devices have been under extensive study for the past three decades due to their intrinsic potential advantages such as lightweight, mechanical flexibility, biocompatibility, low toxicity, abundant material availability, low cost of processing, etc. A phototransistor incorporates the properties and functions of a transistor and photodetector. In this study, a phototransistor based on a donor/acceptor (D/A) pair (photo-doping) was studied and demonstrated. Unlike in organic photovoltaics (OPV) where 1:1 proportion by mass of the donor:acceptor is utilized to make up the active layer, that ratio appears to be too high for phototransistor applications. According to literature, this 1:1 concentration leads to low overall device performance, lack of I-V curve saturation (kink effect), and bipolar behavior. By altering fabrication techniques and doping concentrations, we were able to demonstrate a donor/acceptor based phototransistor with p-type characteristics with improved performance. In this work, we fabricated a high-performance OFET based on a very small amount of Phenyl-C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) doped into a Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) host. With this work, a greater understanding behind the optimization of D/A based phototransistors is advanced.


We determined the magnetic structure of CuCr$_2$O$_4$ using neutron diffraction and irreducible representation analysis. The measurements identified a new phase between 155 K and 125 K as nearly collinear magnetic ordering in the Cr pyrochlore lattice. Below 125 K, a Cu-Cr ferrimagnetic component develops the noncollinear order. Along with the simultaneously obtained O positions and the quantum effect of spin-orbit coupling, the magnetic structure is understood to involve spin-orbit ordering, accompanied by an appreciably deformed orbital of presumably spin-only Cu and Cr.


Objectives: To evaluate the role of pre-operative lidocaine infusion for pain management in laparotomy procedures. Study Design: Prospective double blind randomized control trial. Period: 8 months duration from April 2017 to November 2017. Setting: Tertiary care hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. Method: N= 50 patients belonging to ASA Classification types I and II were selected to be part of this study. All the patients underwent major abdominal surgeries (laparotomy). The study group received lidocaine 2%, 1.5mg/kg IV bolus half an hour before induction, followed by an infusion of 1.5mg/kg/hour. The anesthesia was induced with fentanyl 3ug/kg, propofol 2mg/kg, followed by rocuronium 1mg/kg to intubate the patient. Maintenance was done with using 33% nitrous oxide in oxygen along with 0.8% of isoflurane. Fentanyl was administered as an infusion initiating prior to the procedure with a maximum dose of 1ug/kg/hour and ceasing the infusion half an hour prior to end of procedure. Visual analog scale was used to measure the pain intensity at an interval of twenty minutes during the first hour of the procedure, and at 2,4,8,12,24 and 48 hours after the end of the procedure. If the visual analog scale score was found to be more than 3, 1 to 3mg of Morphine was administered every ten minutes up to a dose of 0.1mg/kg intravenously. A proforma was used to collect data, data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 21.0. Results: The study was conducted on n=50 patients, with a mean age of 38.35 years in the study group and 36.48 years in the control group. The intensity of pain was found to be significantly less in the case group as compared to the control group having a p value of <0.001 during the first 48 hours of the procedure. Decreased consumption of morphine was observed in patients in the study group, as compared to the control group with a statistically significant difference, having a p value of less than <0.05. In our study we did not observe any side effects related to toxicity levels of lidocaine or morphine. Conclusion: Our study confirms the results of previously done studies, and we found that in our patient population Perioperative lidocaine infusion decreased the post-operative pain experienced by the patient and decreased the need for consumption of analgesics. Thus we conclude that lidocaine infusion perioperatively is an effective pain management modality.


Broad-band amplifiers find application in fiber-optic communication link and instrumentation or serve as generic components in high-speed electronic test laboratories. With an advanced AlGaAs/GaAs heterojunction bipolar transistor (HBT) technology, we have designed and fabricated broad-band monolithic variable gain amplifiers (VGAs). High-speed packages for the VGAs were carefully designed to minimize insertion and return losses and to suppress undesired package cavity resonances. Accurate and efficient models for the packages were obtained based on experimental data so that their parasitic effects could be considered in the VGA design. The packaged VGAs provided 10-16 dB adjustable gain with approximately /spl plusmn/1 dB gain variations and constant group delay in the DC-26 GHz band, and showed better than 10 dB input/output return losses in the amplifier passband. When the packaged VGAs were inserted in a 30 Gb/s electronic link, error-free operation was achieved for a 2/sup 31/-1 input pseudorandom bit sequence. These VGAs can be used in fiber-optic transmission systems with data rates up to 30 Gb/s.


Cymbopogon species are among the most reported essential oils with fungitoxic effect. In this study, mycelial growth of Fusarium oxysporum (banana wilt), Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (mango anthracnose), C. falcatum (sugarcane red rot) and Neopestalotiopsis spp. (mango leaf spot) as influenced by varying concentrations of citronella essential oil (CEO) was assessed in in vitro assays. Following growth inhibition test, spore germination and germ tube elongation of C. gloeosporioides were then examined. Mycelial growth of all test fungal pathogens was strongly inhibited by CEO, but variations were observed among fungal species. This growth inhibition activity was caused by the inhibition of spore germination and germ tube elongation as observed in C. gloeosporioides. The findings of this study show the strong growth-inhibitory activity of CEO to multiple fungal pathogens, indicating CEO's potential as a chemical control approach against these fungal pathogens. Glasshouse and field experiments would establish CEO as one potential alternative to fungicides.


The Indian Electric Power System Ashok V Desai The electric power systems in a number of industrial countries experienced large increases in costs, a slowdown in the growth of demand, and the emergence of surplus capacity after the 1973 oil crisis. It is almost as if the Indian power system belonged to another world. Whilst it also shared in the inflation that ensued, it was virtually untouched by the rise in oil prices because its dependence on oil was negligible. It faced chronic excess demand, which it could not satisfy despite an extraordinarily high rate of growth of output It could forget about efficiency and profit, and concentrate on breathless growth.


Background: Chronic cardiac (CR) and chronic pulmonary (PR) rehabilitation programs have been shown to reduce the symptoms of disease, as well as reducing health-care utilisation. To ensure the continuation of these programs Patient Outcome Measures (POMs) are essential to map treatment effectiveness. Aim: This is a quality review of the literature. Study design: This study is a comparative effectiveness literature review of all studies with a pre to post POM assessment of responsiveness and a quality assessment of POMs in this setting for responsiveness. Methods: This review not only included RCTs but also parallel studies as well as all observational and retrospective trials. It included a list of articles and their characteristics and a quality assessment of this literature. As well the review included a comprehensive list of POMs utilised in this setting and these were then assessed for responsiveness. Results: The most commonly used POM was the SF-36, however it was found that responsiveness decreased in the Mental Domain of this instrument pre to post program. The most responsive POM in this setting was the Global Mood Scale (GMS). POMs that measured simpler concepts and utilised Likert scales appeared to be the more responsive to change in health status pre to post rehabilitation. Conclusion: The surveyed literature found no "gold standard" POM for either CR or PR but there was some preference for the disease-specific POMs, however some of these instruments loose their discriminatory power at the end of the rehabilitation period.


Abstract Purpose: To evaluate the early retinal changes and its reflection on the visual field examination in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients using pegylated interferon-α (PEGIFN-α) monotherapy. Patients and methods: Thirty eyes of fifteen patients with CHB were examined prospectively for changes in the fundus examination and visual field examination (both Humphrey Perimetry and Frequency Doubling Perimetry). The patients were examined before and in 3 months intervals after starting the PEGIFN-α treatment. The changes in the fundus examination were noted and the visual field examinations, retinal nerve fiber thickness, Schirmer scores and color vision before and at 3 months of the treatment were compared. The statistical evaluation was performed with paired-t test, using SPSS 16.0 Inc. (Chicago, IL). Results: The mean age of the 15 patients (seven male, eight female) was 52.5 ± 12.4 years. There was no significant retinal change in none of the patients. Neither the visual field examination with Humphrey Field Analyzer nor the Frequency Doubling Perimetry results has demonstrated any significant change during 3 months follow-up. There was a statistically significant increase in the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness; while Schirmer test scores for dry eye assessment was significantly decreased. Conclusion: PEGIFN-α monotherapy, which is used for treatment of CHB, may cause some changes in the thickness of RNFL that may necessitate the close follow-up for further morphological changes of the optic disc in these patients.


A comprehensive study was undertaken to evaluate the egg quality traits in three naked neck genotypes, NaNa (homozygous), Nana (heterozygous) and nana (normal) by utilizing 556 eggs collected at 28, 32, 36 and 40 weeks of age. The overall mean egg weight, shape index and Haugh unit values were 56.41 g, 75.79 and 75.98, respectively. The yolk index, yolk height and yolk colour varied significantly (p<0.01) in three genotypes. All other external and internal egg quality traits were not differed significantly among the genotypes; however Naked neck had better egg quality in almost all the traits. Age had significant (p<0.01) effect on all the traits studied in Naked neck chicken. Haugh unit score was better in 28 week age group. The egg, yolk, albumin and shell weights were positively correlated with the age. The average shell weight and thickness values were 5.07 g and 0.401 mm, respectively, which had no significant variation among the genotypes. The Na gene had marginal effect on all the egg quality traits studied. The better egg quality parameters in naked neck chicken are desirable which indicate the better keeping quality of the eggs and withstand the handling damages.


With the development of functional neuroimaging tools, the past two decades have witnessed an explosion of work examining functional brain maps, mostly in the adult brain. Against this backdrop of work in adults, developmental research begins to gather a substantial body of knowledge about brain maturation. The purpose of this review is to present some of these findings from the perspective of functional neuroimaging. First, a brief survey of available neuroimaging techniques (i.e., fMRI, MRS, MEG, PET, SPECT, and infrared techniques) is provided. Next, the key cognitive, emotional, and social changes taking place during adolescence are outlined. The third section gives examples of how these behavioral changes can be understood from a neuroscience perspective. The conclusion places this functional neuroimaging research in relation to clinical and molecular work, and shows how answers will ultimately come from the combined efforts of these disciplines. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008


In recent years, several instances of political actors creating fake grassroots activity on the Internet have been uncovered. We propose to call such fake online grassroots activity digital astroturfing. In this paper, we lay out a conceptual map of the phenomenon of digital astroturfing. To that end, we first define digital astroturfing as a form of manufactured, deceptive and strategic top-down activity on the Internet initiated by political actors that mimics bottom-up activity by autonomous individuals. Next, we explore a typology of digital astroturfing according to the dimensions of the target of digital astroturfing, the political actors who engage in digital astroturfing and the goals of the digital astroturfing activity. Following the discussion of our proposed typology, we introduce the concept of digital astroturfing repertoires, the possible combinations of tools, venues and actions used for digital astroturfing efforts. The main use of this conceptual study is to serve as a basis for future empirical work. Even though empirical research on digital astroturfing is inherently difficult since digital astroturfing is a clandestine activity, it is not impossible. We suggest some possible research strategies.


Open government and contracting across the world often invest resources to win high level political officials' will for their cause. Still, there are a limited stories about why and how politicians buy-into this agendas and implement concrete, innovative open solutions to improve public service delivery. This paper tells the story of the Napoleao Bernardes administration in Blumenau, Southern Brazil. Bernardes was a dark horse in the city's mayoral election in 2011 and won by a slim margin. Since the administration took office in 2012 it has implemented a number of measures that use transparency, accountability, and participation to improve service delivery. These include setting up innovative reforms using transparency and technology to end clientelistic allocation of services (e.g. placement in kindergarten and pavement), improving transparency and accountability of procurement systems, and establishing instances of collaboration with civil society groups.These concrete actions, as well as they mayor's reelection campaign rhetoric, suggest that Bernardes has embraced the open government agenda as one that is instrumental to his political future. And yet, Bernardes and his advisors acknowledge that the open agenda does not deliver votes. Furthermore, the open government agenda have created tensions with political supporters, campaign funders, and politicians and parties the mayor needs to govern the city. This paper describes and illustrates the alternative political logic that helps understand why Bernardes tied his political future to this agenda and, in so doing, helped advance innovative solutions to problems that affect cities in Brazil and elsewhere.


Nowadays advanced mobile computing needs accurate RSS maps for effective AP deployment and mobile applications. Inspiringly, the emerging crowdsourcing paradigms provide an innovative and effective way for large-scale RSS gathering. However, existing methods need sampling data and location information from participants, which could be a serious threat to privacy. In dealing with this difficulty, we present a privacy preserving RSS map generation scheme for crowdsensing networks called PRESM. To protect the privacy of user traces, we exploit the compressive sensing technique to sample and compress RSS values along each road segment, which removes the temporal and concrete location information of each participant. Meanwhile, each smartphone user carefully selects a subset of road segments to send its compressed RSS data to a third party. The third party component provides better privacy protection by removing more road segments, and the central server is responsible for RSS map generation. Finally, we carry out our experiment on a campus of approximately 1.6 km 2 . Experimental results demonstrate that an RSS map is generated relatively accurately without sacrificing users' trace privacy, and the coverage ratio of the geographic map is greater than 90 percent.


Concentrations of selected elements (Al, Fe, Mn, Mo, As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Sb, and Zn) and Pb isotope ratios were determined in 53 sediments from Alihoca, Gümüş, Horoz, and Çakıt streams around the south-central Taurides (Ulukışla Basin), Niğde, which is a known mining province in Turkey. Several pollution and risk assessment indices were used to assess possible heavy metal pollution in the stream sediments and the associated potential ecological risks. Concentrations of As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Ni, Co, Pb, Sb, and Zn were elevated in the streams located near ancient mines, active mines, and slag piles in the area, suggesting an influence from mining activities. The pollution assessment indices indicated that the sediments were significantly polluted by As, Cd, Sb, Zn, and Pb and moderately polluted by Cu, Ni, Cr, and Co. The sediments show very high potential ecological risk with As, Cd, Sb, and Pb as the principal contributors. Ni, Cr, As, Pb, Zn, and Cd exceeded the probable effect concentrations in most of the samples implying that their concentrations may frequently affect sediment-dwelling organisms. Multivariate statistical analyses indicate that the accumulation of heavy metals in the stream sediments is due to an interplay of anthropogenic activities (mining and agrochemical application) and geogenic processes (weathering of bedrocks and supergene alteration of base metal-rich mineralization). Pb isotopic tracing indicates that total Pb in the sediments (206Pb/207Pb = 1.09–1.29) is primarily from weathering and dissolution of ultrapotassic rocks (206Pb/207Pb up to 1.20) and galena (206Pb/207Pb up to 1.21) from the Pb-Zn-Au deposits in the area with some anthropogenic input from mine slag piles (206Pb/207Pb = 1.10).


Satellite networks with dynamic bandwidth allocation capabilities (DBAC) are based on classical circuit switches. The DBAC payload allows changing the capacity of each connection dynamically, without tearing down and setting up the connection. An analysis of our DBAC satellite system performance shows a significant increase in the overall utilization factor of our system compared to a plain circuit switching solution.


The authors describe the first case reported in Ivory Coast of an 18-year-old African girl for a small size and amenorrhea and failure to reach puberty. There was no dysmorphism. The uterus was infantile. X-ray examination of the skeleton revealed early osteoporosis and KOSOWICZ sign. Hormonal evaluation demonstrated hypertrophic hypogonadism. Diagnosis of TURNER's syndrome was confirmed by karyotype obtained by culture of peripheral blood and which was 46,Xi (Xq)/45,X, associating a mosaic and isochromosome q. Hormonal therapy induced menstruation and led to normal breast development. This case report confirms that these syndromes occur in Black Africa where diagnosis remains difficult due to the sophisticated facilities required.


The actin gene in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is interrupted by a 309-base-pair intron within the protein-coding region. By using nuclease BAL-31, several intron deletion mutants were constructed to define sequences at the 5' splice junction that are required for RNA splicing. Extensive parts of the intron can be removed without affecting correct splicing. One mutant gene from which the invariant thymidine residue in the second intron position was deleted led to the accumulation of large amounts of unspliced actin mRNA when introduced into yeast cells through a recombinant high-copy-number plasmid. No evidence for the usage of alternative splice sites was obtained.


This paper presents an analysis of thermal-mechanical snap-through instabilities in structures using a hybrid load-controlled/displacement-controlled algorithm. The derivation uses the finite element method with a combination of modified Newton-Raphson and arc-length methods, aimed at providing a robust and efficient means for modeling the buckling response of structures that exhibit instability in the presence of nonuniform time-varying temperature fields and temperature-dependent material response. Load control is used to model the system's response up to the point of instability, which is identified using the method of bisections. During the instability, the analysis switches to displacement control to capture the load-shedding behavior. Once a stable point is reached, the algorithm switches back to load control. The novelty lies in the ability of the hybrid algorithm to model instabilities that are caused by material degradation under nonuniform transient temperature fields, which is particularly important in the study of structural response under fire hazards. Numerical analyses are carried out using a two-dimensional (2D) fiber-based corotational beam element. Verifications at room temperature and at elevated temperature demonstrate that the proposed approach exhibits a high level of accuracy. A brief study of toggle frames subjected to various types of heating and loading conditions is presented to illustrate the kinds of behaviors that can be captured with the proposed modeling approach.


The ability of various polymerases to catalyze the template-directed formation of a base pair between isoguanine (iso-G) and isocytosine (iso-C) in duplex oligonucleotides has been investigated. A new procedure was developed for preparing derivatives of deoxyisoguanosine suitable for incorporation into DNA using an automated DNA synthesizer. T7 RNA polymerase, AMV reverse transcriptase, and the Klenow fragment of DNA polymerase all incorporated iso-G opposite iso-C in a template. T4 DNA polymerase did not. Several polymerases also incorporated iso-G opposite T, presumably through pairing with a minor tautomeric form of iso-G complementary to T. In a template, iso-G directs the incorporation of both iso-C and T when Klenow fragment is the catalyst and only U when T7 RNA polymerase is the catalyst. Further, derivatives of iso-C were found to undergo significant amounts of deamination under alkaline conditions used for base deprotection after automated oligonucleotide synthesis. Both the deamination reaction of iso-C and the ambivalent tautomeric forms of iso-G make it unlikely that the (iso-C).(iso-G) base pair was a part of information storage molecules also containing the A.T and G.C base pairs found in primitive forms of life that emerged on planet earth several billion years ago. Nevertheless, the extra letters in the genetic alphabet can serve useful roles in a contemporary laboratory setting.


Data model is a key research field in the community of XML data management. However, the existed works fall short in their ability to model complex data structure of XML database or to support complete operations. This paper proposes a new mapping-based data model. This model aims to give the precisely defined notations for complex data structure and semantics of XML database. Along with the model, this paper also presents an associated algebra formally which includes a set of path expression operations and data modification operations. This model has already adopted in an XML-based information integration system. It shows that this model can give the precise semantics of XML database, and support the XML database applications effectively.


Eric McCormick was, from about 1940 until his death in 1995, one of New Zealand's most distinguished writers and scholars. He pioneered the appreciation and study of the painter Francis Hodgkins, and he wrote several biographies. The autobiographical fragments collected here have been edited to make a coherent volume, tracing his origins in Taihape, to school and university in Wellington, to schoolteaching in Nelson, to Cambridge and through his wartime experiences and role as editor of Centennial Publications. It includes his shrewd observations of social behaviour, recorded with a dry wit.


Giving is receiving, and receiving is giving. This is the key finding from interviews conducted with 28 African American women and men with cancer who were active participants in dynamic relationships characterized by both giving and receiving. These participants engaged in reciprocal relationships varying in the number of persons involved, types of resources exchanged, and timing of exchange. Findings suggest the need to reconceptualize social support as caregiving and caregiving as social support. This study also points to the need to redesign intervention studies to be more inclusive of components that allow the elderly in illness-related situations to maintain their status as givers in their social networks.


A) aliphatic saturated or unsaturated monocarboxylic acids with 12 to 24 carbon atoms or the dimerised or trimerised products, ammonium salts, amides, esters or nitriles thereof and B) polycyclic hydrocarbon compounds made from distillation residues of natural oils extracted from tree resins, for improving the storage stability of fuel additive concentrates comprising at least one detergent and at least one cetane number improver, wherein said mixtures are applied with a concentration of 0.7 to 20 wt. %, relative to the total amount of fuel additive concentrate.


Abstract Purpose: To obtain ultrasonography-based reference values for testicular volume, epididymal head size and peak systolic velocity (PSV) of the testicular artery in adult males of all ages. Materials and Methods: Between 2009 and 2011, 306 Caucasian adult males (median age: 51 years; range: 18 – 88 years) without scrotal pathology underwent prospective scrotal ultrasonography. The testicular volume was calculated from the length (L), width (W), and height (H) using three formulas: a) 0.52 × L × W × H, b) 0.52 × L × W², and c) 0.71 × L × W × H. Thickness and height of the epididymal head and PSV of the testicular artery were measured. Results: The median testicular volumes on the right (left) side were 13.9 (12.7) ml, 18.1 (16.5) ml, and 18.9 (17.3) ml for formula a), b), and c) respectively, and thus significantly different (p < 0.01 for all). The left testes were significantly smaller than the right testes (p < 0.01). The thickness and height of the right (left) epididymal head measured 7.5 (7.7) mm and 11.6 (11.3) mm, respectively. Median PSV of the right (left) testicular artery was 8.7 (8.6) cm/sec. No significant side-specific differences were documented with respect to epididymal size and PSV. Conclusion: It was possible to obtain virtually age-independent reference values for testicular volume, epididymal head size and PSV of the testicular artery in adults. With regard to testicular volumetry, it is essential to consider which formula has been used, since the calculated volumes differ significantly from formula to formula.


Entity linking describes the task of matching references to named entities found in natural language texts to a unique identifier, denoting a specific entity (Larson, 2010). Typically the identifier is part of a knowledge base, which provides the background knowledge for the task. An entity mention may be ambiguous, i.e. it can refer to different entities which share the same name. Consider the following text from a newspaper article:


Parents and professional caregivers, although united in their shared goal of returning a sick child to health, do not always view the caregiving situation from the same frame of reference. This article describes the perspectives of more than 50,000 parents whose child experienced a hospitalization. It outlines the greatest opportunities for improving the pediatric inpatient experience from the parent's perspective. In addition, practical tips and strategies for planning improvements in care from the patient/family perspective are offered.


A thermo-hygrometric analysis was carried out at 9, 12 and 16 hrs, under six groups of urban tree species with different levels of shading, plus a lawn as control area, on a hot and humid day of November 2018 in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro. Air temperature and relative humidity data were converted into apparent temperature heat indexes (HI). The results obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and, if significant, a regression analysis was performed. Shading indexes were calculated using five fisheye photos taken under each group of tree species, in order to obtain a mean sky view factor (SVF) for each location. Values of SVF and HI of each different evaluation time were subjected to Pearson's correlation analysis. There was a significant difference within the groups of trees at the three evaluation times. The maximum HI (43.91°C) was recorded at midday. On the lawn area, there was a significant positive correlation between the SVF and the HI at different evaluation times, and it was higher at noon. Increased sunlight exposure, due to decreased sky blockage, causes a significant increase in HI.


Cotton ranks among the world's important oilseed crops, yet relative to other oilseeds there are few studies of oil‐related biosynthetic and regulatory pathways. We present global transcriptome analyses of cotton seed development using RNA‐seq and four developmental time‐points. Because Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is an allopolyploid containing two genomes (A/D), we partitioned expression into the individual contributions of each homeologous gene copy. Data were explored with respect to genic and subgenomic patterns of expression, globally and with respect to seed pathways and networks. The most dynamic period of transcriptome change is from 20–30 d postanthesis (DPA), with about 20% of genes showing homeolog expression bias. Co‐expression analysis shows largely congruent homeolog networks, but also homeolog‐specific divergence. Functional enrichment tests show that flavonoid biosynthesis and lipid related genes were significantly represented early and later in seed development, respectively. An involvement of new features in oil biosynthesis was found, like the contribution of DGAT3 (diacylglycerol acyltransferase) to the total triglyceride expression pool. Also, catechin‐based and epicatechin‐based proanthocyanidin expression are reciprocally biased with respect to homeolog usage. This study provides the first temporal analysis of duplicated gene expression in cotton seed and a resource for understanding new aspects of oil and flavonoid biosynthetic processes.


Recognizing a p lant in any huge vegetation is a tedious work for us. We recognize a plant on the basis of its size, leaves, flowers, fru its, etc. Leaf is a part of the p lant which can be found on plants almost in all seasons and most of the time we have to recognize plants on the basis of its leaf. But when dealing with leaf o f plant, it is important to consider the finer details of the contour representing the shape of the leaf. We are t rying to build a system which has a database of leaves of different plants and given a leaf, we find out the plant to which it may belong. In this paper, we present the results of tangential angle approach used for retrieval. A database of around one thousand leaves of different plants has been created. Each leaf image is preprocessed to extract its boundary. Then tangential angle approach is applied which captures the angular details of the boundary of shape. We have done the testing for around 1000 leaves and on the basis of that recall, precision and error rate have been calculated to measure the effectiveness of the proposed method.


Background Gout is a type of arthritis caused by the formation of uric acid crystals within or around the joints. It is the most common type of inflammation arthritis for people over 40. For some of the patients, the leading symptoms are pain and stiffness in the joints, while others develop heavy joint deformations and permanent disabilities. Applying a complex rehabilitation approach with rheumatologic aid and a physio-rehabilitation program significantly improves the condition of the patients with gouty arthritis, the strength of their symptoms diminishes, and becoming handicapped is avoided or significantly delayed. Objectives The aim of this study is to measure the effect of conducting a complex drug treatment combined with a physio-rehabilitation program in patients with gouty arthritis in an acute or chronic stage that heavily affects the musculoskeletal system. Methods Between 2013 and 2015, 39 patients with gouty arthritis were hospitalized and treated at the Rheumatology Ward at UMHAT "Dr. Georgi Stranski" – Pleven. 26 of them were male and 13 female, aged between 43 and 62 years old, in subacute or chronic stage (SUE <25 mm, fibrinogen and CRP at relevant values, AST and RF (−). In addition to the drug therapy with analgesics, NSAIDs and chondoprotectors, uricoinhibitors and urikoeliminators during the non-paroxysmal period, the patients also undergo a complex physical and rehabilitation program consisting of: electrotherapy (magnetic field, mid-frequency currents and ultrasound therapy with NSAIDs, therapeutic massages, cryotherapy, active methods of kinesitherapy and occupational therapy. Functional tests and measurements – VAS for the pain, a daily activities life test (DAL) and complex functional assessment test (CFA) – were made for the purpose of the study at the beginning and at the end of the observed period. Results An individual file was created for every patient where the results from the tests and measurements are stored in order to track the patient's condition over the course of treatment. The treatment consists of 3 stages: a period in the Rheumatology ward, treatment in the Medical Rehabilitation ward and ambulatory physio-rehabilitation courses. Conducting physiotherapeutic treatment for patients with gouty arthritis in an acute or chronic stage complements the drug treatment and leads to faster relief of the symptoms during an acute stage, decreases the timeframe of the temporary inability to work, prevents any permanent damage to the affected joints and prevents the occurrence of permanent disabilities. Conclusions For patients with gouty arthritis in an acute or chronic stage that heavily affects the musculoskeletal system, the complex physio-rehabilitational and rheumathological treatment is effective and leads to a significant improvement in the quality of life of the patients. Disclosure of Interest None declared


Closed-form expressions for transient power distribution network (PDN) noise caused by an IC switching current are derived for a PDN structure comprised of traces with decoupling capacitors. Criteria for identifying a dominant decoupling capacitor for an impulse switching current are also proposed. The derived PDN noise expressions are validated with measurements of currents at both local and bulk capacitors, the PDN impedance, and the total voltage noise in an operating consumer device.