Electrical characteristics of a Au/CeO2/Si structure have been measured by means of capacitance-voltage (C–V) and conductance-voltage (G–V) methods. Single crystalline and polycrystalline CeO2 films are grown on silicon substrates using electron-beam evaporation. MOS characteristics of the samples are classified by the crystallinity of the CeO2 films rather than by the orientation or conduction type of the Si substrate. Polycrystalline CeO2 film samples show a fine structure around the flat-band voltage in the C–V curves and injection-type hysteresis. It is clarified that the characteristics of the single crystalline CeO2 film sample are free from such undesirable properties caused by negative charge and carrier injection. Dielectric constant er of the CeO2 films is estimated to be around 20, which is close to the bulk value (~26).


We propose an analog two-dimensional network for detection of an approaching object with simple shape recognition based on the visual systems of lower animals such as locusts and frogs. It was shown with the simulation program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE), that a proposed network constructed with simple analog circuits can detect the two-dimensional direction of an approaching object and simultaneously recognize the simple shape such as a circle, square, triangle and rectangle. The application of the network is expected to realize collision avoidance.


High-resolution solution-state NMR spectroscopy studies of large proteins typically require uniform deuteration of the system and selective protonation and isotope labelling of methyl groups. Under such circumstances, the assignment of methyl resonances presents a considerable experimental challenge and automation of the process using computational algorithms has been actively sought. Through-space connectivities between the labelled methyl groups can be established through nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectroscopy (NOESY). If a high-resolution structure of the system is available, the sparse connectivity restraints derived from this information enable structure-based methyl resonance assignment. Here, we outline a protocol for full automation of the methyl resonance assignment process using the CYANA software package. We tested the protocol on three-dimensional (3D) 13C/13C-separated NOESY spectra of a dimer of regulatory chains of aspartate transcarbamoylase (ATCase-r2). We used CYPICK to detect NOE signals, followed by automatic resonance assignment with FLYA. On this dataset, FLYA generated highly similar results using either automatically or manually generated peak lists, confidently assigning ∼60% of the methyl groups with high accuracy (95 ± 2% correctness). We compared this performance to two alternative automatic methyl assignment protocols, MAP-XSII and FLAMEnGO2.0, both of which, similarly to FLYA, support unassigned NOESY peak lists as input.


This paper presents the case of a non-traditional use of the Delphi method for theory evaluation. On the basis of experience gained through secondary and primary research, a generic decision toolkit for Delphi studies is proposed, comprising of taxonomy of Delphi design choices, a stage model and critical methodological decisions. These research tools will help to increase confidence when adopting the Delphi alternative and allow for a wider and more comprehensive recognition of the method within both scientific and interpretivist studies.


Feature representations derived from models pre-trained on large-scale datasets have shown their generalizability on a variety of audio analysis tasks. Despite this generalizability, however, task-specific features can outperform if sufficient training data is available, as specific task-relevant properties can be learned. Furthermore, the complex pre-trained models bring considerable computational burdens during inference. We propose to leverage both detailed task-specific features from spectrogram input and generic pre-trained features by introducing two regularization methods that integrate the information of both feature classes. The workload is kept low during inference as the pre-trained features are only necessary for training. In experiments with the pre-trained features VGGish, OpenL3, and a combination of both, we show that the proposed methods not only outperform baseline methods, but also can improve state-of-the-art models on several audio classification tasks. The results also suggest that using the mixture of features performs better than using individual features.


Although non-real time simulation and pilot based evaluations are available for the development of flight control computer prior to real flight tests, there are still many risky factors. The control law designed for prototype aircraft often leads to degraded performance from the initial design objectives, therefore, the proper evaluation methods should be applied such that flight control law designed can be verified in real flight environment. The one proposed in this paper is IFS(In-Flight Simulator). Currently, this system has been implemented into the F-18 HARV(High Angle of Attack Research Vehicle), SU-27 and F-16 VISTA(Variable stability In flight Simulation Test Aircraft) programs. This paper addresses the concept of switching mechanism for FLCC(Flight Control Computer)-SWMC(Switching Mechanism Computer) using 1553B communication based on flight control law of advanced supersonic trainer. And, the fader logic of TFS(Transient Free Switch) and stand-by mode of reset '0' type are designed to reduce abrupt transient and minimize the integrator effect in pitch axis control law. It hans been turned out from the pilot evaluation in real time that the aircraft is controllable during the inter-conversion process through the flight control computer, and level I handling qualities are guaranteed. In addition, flight safety is maintained with an acceptable transient response during aggressive maneuver performed in severe flight conditions.


Including a positive electrode plate, the casing made of a negative electrode collector of the sheet-like and the negative electrode active material layer's peripheral formed, leaving parts of the edge on the inner surface comprising the casing and the positive electrode active material layer's peripheral formed, leaving parts of the edges on its inner surface made of a whole of the sheet-like positive electrode current collector a negative electrode plate, and which is bonded via the positive electrode active material layer and the negative electrode active material has the separator layer made of a polymer electrolyte interposed between the layers, the positive electrode the entire periphery of the house and the anode current collector round the edge portion of insulating material The non-aqueous electrolyte secondary battery.


Chicago - A three-tiered program to reduce inflammation in the body on a cellular level includes a diet rich in antioxidants, antioxidant supplements, and topical preparations that will deliver unique antioxidants directly to the skin, according to research performed by dermatologist Nicholas Perricone, M.D.


The objective of this qualitative study was to understand the complex practice of software testing, and based on this understanding, to develop hypotheses on testing organizations and knowledge management. The population of the study consisted of organizational units (OUs) that develop and test technical software for automation or telecommunication domains. First, a survey of testing practices was conducted and 26 OUs were interviewed. From this sample, five OUs were further selected for an in-depth case study. The study used grounded theory as its research method and the data was collected from 41 theme-based interviews. The analysis yielded hypotheses that included that the business orientation of an OU affects testing organization, knowledge management strategy, and outsourcing of testing. Further, identifying and avoiding barriers and using enablers improve knowledge transfer between development and testing. The results of this study can be used in developing the testing organization and the knowledge management strategy of an OU.


Two studies evaluated the effects of ammonium carbamate (AC) on preservation and digestibility of high-moisture (HM) Coastal bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) hay. A 3 X 7 factorial arrangement of treatments in a completely random design was used to estimate the efficacy of AC in laboratory conditions. Treatments were 25, 30, or 35% moisture (M) forage treated with levels (L) of 0, 1.14, 2.28, 3.42, 4.56, 5.70, or 6.84% AC. Nitrogen in forage increased (P less than .01) linearly due to M and L. There was a linear decrease (P less than .01) in ADF N due to M. Neutral detergent fiber decreased (P less than .01) linearly as M increased and increased (P less than .01) linearly with increased L. Acid detergent fiber decreased (P less than .01) linearly due to L. There was an M X L interaction (P less than .01) for hemicellulose (HC) concentrations and total aerobic fungal counts. The digestibility of HM hay treated with a product (ACNH) containing 57% AC was compared to that of untreated hay (UH) and UH plus urea (UHU) when fed to lambs (four lambs per treatment). Digestibility of NDF and hemicellulose (P less than .01) and ADF (P less than .05) was increased for ACNH forage compared with UH or UHU. Ammonium carbamate seems to be beneficial for preserving HM forage, and an admixture containing ammonium carbamate is effective for increasing the digestibility of Coastal bermudagrass hay.


Aims: A study was carried out to determine the effect of replacing fishmeal with Leucaena leucoephala leaf meal in the diet of Tilapia zilli fingerlings.
Study Design: Three hundred (300) Tilapia zilli fingerlings (9.5±0.5 g/fish, mixed sex) fed with diet containing Leucaena leucoephala leaf meal for 10 weeks at 0%, 2.5%, 5.0%, 7.5% and 10.0% level of inclusion, representing the replacement of fish meal at 0%, 25% 75% and 100% respectively.
Place and Duration of Study:  A study was carried out in the wet laboratory of Fisheries Technology department of Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu between July 2017 and October 2017.
Methodology: Tilapia sp. fingerlings were treated with five diets including a control experiment of which each treatment was replicated thrice, the total number of replicates was fifteen and the experiment was laid out in a completely randomized design.
Results: Statistical analyses revealed that there was no significant difference (P=05) in weight gain, feed conversion ratio and protein efficiency ratio.
Conclusion: L. leucocephala can be recommended in the diet of Tilapia zilli because of its economic in terms of cheapness and abundance especially in the tropical region and its nutritional values as a good source of plant protein.


Abstract— A simple method of intravenous infusion of convulsant drugs (pentetrazol and bicuculline) into the tail vein of rats has been used to determine seizure threshold and construct log‐dose seizure threshold response curves for several anticonvulsant drugs (diazepam, phenobarbitone, pentobarbitone, chlormethiazole and valproate). It has been shown that an index of the dose required to increase seizure threshold by 50% (TI50) can be obtained using small numbers of animals. The advantages of this method over that of the subcutaneous pentetrazol method are several: small numbers of animals required, speed and reproducibility. The data also demonstrate the concordance between TI50 values obtained using pentetrazol and bicuculline as the convulsant agent. It is suggested that this method can be used routinely in screens of anticonvulsant drugs thought to work through GABAergic mechanisms.


The Persian garden, as a perfect structure, demonstrates a close relationship between cultural and natural back grounds. In the past, the Persian garden would help reveal latent potentiality of the environment and perceive its intricacies. The Persian garden, a demarcated and surrounded place with its own mysteries and enigmas, includes a natural background, a cultural background, and the capacity of the environment which encircles it; and far beyond a merely anatomical and objective nature, it is associated with a relationship with the cosmic order. This way, the garden, this domesticated nature, possesses aesthetic, exalted, and fruitful values. The art and tradition of constructing gardens in Iran has a long history and is one of the main gardening schools in the world. The creator of the garden would rely upon his own experimental knowledge to create a place, addition al aesthetic and fruitful values which brought about the survival and dynamism of the natural background. This paper tries to identify the primary pattern and the continuity of garden elements in Persian gardens review ing from the ancient through the contemporary period. Impact of culture and nature on permanence or alter ation of garden elements was investigated. The changes in Pahlavi era resulted in the transition of Persian garden to the urban parks which led to cultur al transformation in Persian gardening.


A comparison is made between results from the R -matrix Floquet approach and the direct numerical integration of the full-dimensional time-dependent Schrodinger equation for the multiphoton ionization of helium. Good agreement is obtained away from resonances in the intensity range 5 × 1013 to 4 × 1014 W cm-2 at a laser wavelength of 248.6 nm. This agreement confirms error estimates made independently of the comparison. We review and contrast the two approaches, and discuss details of the convergence tests by which error estimates are obtained.


Abstract The effects of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) enrichments, and N:P ratios on nutrient and carrageenan contents in Chondrus crispus Stackhouse were investigated using a factorial block experiment design. After a variable preconditioning period until they were markedly depleted in P and N, plants were cultivated for 5 weeks in seawater enriched with different concentrations of P (0, 1.5, 3, 4.5, 6 μM wk−1) and N (12.5, 20, 40 μM wk−1). Tissue total P content increased significantly with P enrichment up to 4.5 μM wk−1. Variations in tissue total N content were more the reflection of seasonal variations of the initial nutrient content than due to experimental enrichment. Carrageenan production was optimized in the range of 20 μM N wk−1 and 1.5 to 3 μM P wk−1, and of 40 μM N wk−1 and 1.5 μM P wk−1, or higher, enrichments. No clear correlation was found between N:P ratio and carrageenan content. Dissolved inorganic N (DIN) in seawater remained low at all N and P enrichments; however, dissolved inorganic P (DIP) concentrations increased sharply at an enrichment of 4.5 μM P wk−1 and greater when algal tissues were becoming P saturated. Hence, determining the proper combinations of P and N enrichments, not N:P ratios, is of major importance for aquaculture systems for three reasons: 1) optimizing carrageenan production, 2) minimizing the direct cost of nutrients, and 3) minimizing the levels of DIP and DIN in effluents and, therefore, the indirect cost of nutrients due to their treatment to avoid excessive enrichment of coastal waters.


Template combination of copper acetate (Cu(AcO)(2)⋅H(2)O) with sodium dicyanamide (NaN(C≡N)(2), 2 equiv) or cyanoguanidine (N≡CNHC(=NH)NH(2), 2 equiv) and an alcohol ROH (used also as solvent) leads to the neutral copper(II)-(2,4-alkoxy-1,3,5-triazapentadienato) complexes [Cu{NH=C(OR)NC(OR)=NH}(2)] (R = Me (1), Et (2), nPr (3), iPr (4), CH(2)CH(2)OCH(3) (5)) or cationic copper(II)-(2-alkoxy-4-amino-1,3,5-triazapentadiene) complexes [Cu{NH=C(OR)NHC(NH(2))=NH}(2)](AcO)(2) (R = Me (6), Et (7), nPr (8), nBu (9), CH(2)CH(2)OCH(3) (10)), respectively. Several intermediates of this reaction were isolated and a pathway was proposed. The deprotonation of 6-10 with NaOH allows their transformation to the corresponding neutral triazapentadienates [Cu{NH=C(OR)NC(NH(2))=NH}(2)] 11-15. Reaction of 11, 12 or 15 with acetyl acetone (MeC(=O)CH(2)C(=O)Me) leads to liberation of the corresponding pyrimidines NC(Me)CHC(Me)NCNHC(=NH)OR, whereas the same treatment of the cationic complexes 6, 7 or 10 allows the corresponding metal-free triazapentadiene salts {NH(2)C(OR)=NC(NH(2))=NH(2)}(OAc) to be isolated. The alkoxy-1,3,5-triazapentadiene/ato copper(II) complexes have been applied as efficient catalysts for the TEMPO radical-mediated mild aerobic oxidation of alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes (molar yields of aldehydes of up to 100 % with >99 % selectivity) and for the solvent-free microwave-assisted synthesis of ketones from secondary alcohols with tert-butylhydroperoxide as oxidant (yields of up to 97 %, turnover numbers of up to 485 and turnover frequencies of up to 1170 h(-1)).


During the last few decades, the introduction of bancassurance has become one of the most important changes in the bank insurance sector. Due to the recent adverse financial situation, the contribution of private insurance in the greater society is becoming increasingly felt and is leading to an increase of profit margins in the private insurance sector and to a greater extent that of the profit margins resulting from insurance products. Private insurance products constitute a new product type for banks, designed to offer high returns and profitability growth contributions with a relative low capital expenditure. In addition, the provision and sale of private insurance products from within the banking sector, enables banks to form long term relationships of trust with clients. Such relationships are a key requirement considering the large number of competing banks and the demographic changes which restrict the growth of client portfolios. Furthermore, banks that choose to expand their operations in the private insurance sector can increase their per customer profit margin and at the same time leverage their overall business risk. Additional potential benefits stem from the banks' established distribution networks and efficient customer portfolio management, which allow for lower distribution cost and the capability of offering insurance products at more competitive prices as compared to insurance companies. Customers perception of insurance products as closely related to the broader banking system can create a strong sense of security when these products are indeed supplied by banks instead of insurance companies. A bank's prestige and social standing can serve as to strengthen customers' purchase intention towards life insurance and private asset insurance products further contributing to the bottom line. The bank organisations in Greece, through acknowledging their competitive advantages, immerse in the insurance market predominantly through the creation of subsidiary insurance companies; this appears to be the best way as it presents to have the most favourable functional and financial results. However, the promotion of insurance products though the bank network presents some significant disadvantages that are particularly specific and relevant to the bank's employee force. More specifically, the fact that bank employees are in lack of specialised knowledge and certification, in relation to the delivery of insurance services results in the customer's insufficient informing in relation to the products on offer. Additionally, the fact that the provision of insurance services is not the main duty and responsibility of the bank employees coupled by the low salaries or bonuses received, results in the decreased interest, on behalf of such employees in promoting insurance products and thus the lack of a personal relationship with the customer. Finally, a major disadvantage appears to be the fact that the bank insurance products are specific and therefore do not allow the possibility for flexibility and change, in accordance to the customer's needs. Insurance companies in Greece are not obliged to publish statistical data relevant to each distribution chanel; therefore the bancassurance share in the insurance market is calculated approximately based on data of the insurance production as published by insurance companies. The percentage of bancassurance participation in life insurance contracts in Europe ranges between 40% and %80, among the whole sum of insurances whereas this percentage is very small on the non life insurance sector (the maximum appears to be 11%, CEA Insurance in figures, November 2010); this demonstrates the margins of participation in the non life insurance sector. The increased percentage of life insurances in Greece has decreased since 2007 to 8,27% in contrast to 17,47% in 2006; in 2008 it has presented a decrease of 0.95% and in 2009 there was an increase of 0.53% (E.A.E.E, Στατιστικη Eκθeση 2009, Η Ιδιωτική Ασφάλιση στην Eλλάδα,, Παραγωγή Ασφαλίστρων 2010 ). On the contrary, the non life insurances present an increase tendency between 2007 and 2009, with a pace of 4%-8%. (E.A.E.E, Στατιστικη Eκθeση 2009, Η Ιδιωτική Ασφάλιση στην Eλλάδα), which is primarily due to the car insurances. However, a limited increase is observed in 2010, the percentage of which is 2,6% (E.Α.E.E , Παραγωγή Ασφαλίστρων 2010). During the last few years banks have limited the provision of mortgages and customer credit, resulting in the decreased market for life insurance products. However, bancassurance continues to be the major sector in the insurance market due to its customers. When considering the various challenges and problems faced by the market in the years to come, the bancassurance products shall concentrate not only on loans and investment proposals but also in new insurance categories that are not included up to date. More specifically, the non life insurance sector and those related to car insurances, as well as the health insurance sector, given that those insured are facing income cuts and are seeking for products that are affordable, in relation to covering health costs.


One of the almost undisputed findings of contemporary policing studies is that the past few decades have witnessed a far-reaching pluralization of policing. Many countries, in different regions of the world, were confronted with the rise of new non-police providers of policing services. Increasingly, the myth of one organization (the public police) with a monopoly on policing lost its power of persuasion as a valid description of reality. Generally, the new agencies of policing concentrate on the management of petty crime and social disorder in public places. With this new situation, multiple providers, both public and private, have become involved in the prevention and management of crime and social disorder. It is often assumed that this development of the past three decades created a more or less quiet revolution (or what Bayley and Shearing (1996) called a 'watershed') in the systems of crime control and law enforcement. Although this claim has been disputed, also in the Anglo-Saxon world (Jones & Newburn, 2002), the proposition of the pluralization of policing often seems to have reached the status of a universal, world-wide trend. Until recently, however, outside the Anglo-Saxon world there has been a lack of empirical studies on plural policing. With the exception of the collection edited by Jones and Newburn (2006), the recent study by Terpstra, Van Stokkom & Spreeuwers (2013), and the volume edited by Edwards et al. (2014), there were no other international comparative studies of this issue. As a result, until now the claim of a universally similar trend of plural policing has remained largely uncontested. In fact, the absence of international comparisons implied that theories and explanations of plural policing were based only on a limited (Anglo-Saxon) sample of countries. As a consequence, there was an unanswered question concerning the extent to which descriptions and explanations of plural policing were also relevant to understanding recent changes elsewhere. For example, one question that must be asked is if there is something like a Western-European style of plural policing? Or are the differences between these European countries so great that the developments in policing cannot be gathered under a single conceptual label?


Staff who undertake effective decontamination in non-centralized settings such as general practices must be provided with training and easy-to-follow guidance. In this article we present a distillation of the current guidance in an industrial quality control format of fishbone charts. A fishbone chart (or cause-and-effect chart) depicts all the causes of an outcome in a logical way to facilitate the identification of a specific problem. We developed our fishbone chart to include instructions that, if followed, would achieve safe and effective cleaning and sterilization. A survey of those given the charts showed high user acceptability: 76% found the fishbone better than existing guidelines - although the response rate was low at 46%. The charts will enable those involved in decontamination of instruments, including managers and infection control staff, to audit the facilities, equipment and practices. The use of industrial quality tools may assist other specialties that require complicated and comprehensive guidelines to be presented in a more user-friendly design.


This paper introduces the special issue focused on mountain ecohydrology of the southwestern United States. The papers in this issue present initial results from a multi‐disciplinary observatory effort coordinated by the NSF Science and Technology Center for the Sustainability of Semi‐arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA). These studies contribute to an effort to understand how changes in vegetation affect basin‐scale water balance and water availability, and explicitly address major knowledge gaps in: (1) understanding of the role of vegetation in the partitioning precipitation into evaporation, sublimation, transpiration, soil moisture, streamflow and recharge, and (2) the ability to represent process understanding, obtained at the plant or plot scale, at the scale of catchments or basins. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


Migratory ungulates outnumber residents by an order of magnitude in several savanna ecosystems in Africa, as was apparently the case in other grasslands around the world before the intervention of modern man. Migrants may be more numerous than residents because (1) they use a much larger area, (2) they make more-efficient use of resources, or (3) they are less vulnerable to regulation by predators. These hypotheses were examined using simulation models of migratory and sedentary wildebeest in the Serengeti ecosystem. The larger area used by migrants would not lead inevitably to higher numbers. In seasonal environments, herbivore abundance is probably determined by food availability during periods of resource scarcity. Even though migrants may have access to greater food supplies for most of the year, this would not lead to increased abundance if both morphs have similar food supplies during the leanest period of the year. Rotational grazing could lead to increased numbers of migrants relative to residents only if migrants are able to use mature vegetation that has accumulated while they are foraging elsewhere. This is unlikely for savanna ecosystems in Africa because tropical grasses decline rapidly in quality as they mature. Moreover, our simulations suggest that in the Serengeti such a process would at most produce a twofold difference in abundances of migrants and residents. We conclude that increased efficiency in resource use by migrants is insufficient to explain the order-of-magnitude disparities in abundance seen in some African ecosystems. Our simulations suggest that realistic numbers of predators could regulate resident herbivores at low population densities, whereas such regulation is probably rare for migratory herds. When residents and migrants have overlapping ranges, migrants should always outcompete residents, reducing them to low numbers. These results suggest that differences in the modes of regulation explain the predominance of migratory herbivores in some grassland ecosystems.


The data mining process enables the end users to analyse, understand and use the extracted knowledge in an intelligent system or to support in the decision-making processes. However, many algorithms used in the process encounter large quantities of patterns, complicating the analysis of the patterns. This fact occurs with association rules, a data mining technique that tries to identify intrinsic patterns in large data sets. A method that can help the analysis of the association rules is the use of taxonomies in the step of post-processing knowledge. In this paper, the GART algorithm is proposed, which uses taxonomies to generalize association rules, and the RulEE-GAR computational module, that enables the analysis of the generalized rules


Several studies have been done on the survivors of the genocidal Khmer Rouge regime on issues of memory, accountability and reconciliation, but little attention has so far been paid to the children of survivors. This paper looks at how the history of Cambodian genocide has been transmitted to Cambodian second and third generations in the homes of the victims and perpetrators, at schools and through memorialization practices in Cambodia. The paper is informed by five months of field research in Cambodia conducted with around 200 Cambodian youth in the summer of 2005. The findings illustrate that, in the absence of adequate education on the history of the Khmer Rouge period, the prevalent exposure to the horrors of the genocide at homes, schools, museums and memorials has worked to produce fear, anger, disbelief or denial in many Cambodian youth, sustained their myths, and has left them with several compelling questions, such as "why did Khmer kill Khmer?" The paper asserts that Cambodia needs to better confront how it transmits the history of genocide to its young generations. It provides recommendations as to how to improve this process and to empower and include youth in Cambodia's quest for truth, justice and reconciliation.


The design flow of Analog and Mixed Signal has to be improved. In a specific application, we propose a definition of the IP content and the structure of an IP-based library. The case study consists in an ASIC which imitates the electrical behaviour of a biological neuron.


Proteins are marginally stable as a consequence of the large and opposing contributions from enthalpy and entropy to the folded state. The microscopic contributions to the total system ΔS and ΔH are still highly enigmatic. Here, we use hydrostatic pressure ‐– coupled to NMR spectroscopy detection – to explore the protein energy landscape in residue‐specific detail. As the conjugate of pressure is volume, this approach offers a mild and clearly defined perturbation of the system, as opposed to mutagenesis, temperature or denaturants. We could thus directly examine the Van der Waals contribution to stability. Pressure‐variation also allowed us to detect several partially unfolded states that consist of cooperative modules, a result that argues for a rather discrete route that connects the folded and unfolded forms of a protein.


A re-reading of The Prelude in the light of poststructuralist and feminist theory, this highly praised work is the first major study of the poem by an author distinguished as both Wordsworthian and feminist critic. Beginning with Romantic autobiography, theatrical politics, and history, the book moves by way of Romantic attitudes to language, figuration and voice to consider the role of gender in Romantic self-representation and pedagogy. Besides investigating different aspects of the high Romanticism exemplified by The prelude, individual chapters explore writing by Burke, Rousseau, Hazlitt, Lamb, and De Quincey, while engaging with topics such as literary influence, New Historicism, or the gender-related aspects of Romantic criticism. Romanticism, Writing, and Sexual Difference is an important contribution not only to Wordsworth studies, but to current theoretical debates on both sides of the Atlantic as they bear on the history and politics (including sexual politics) of Romanticism itself. 'given that we are at a breaking point in "romantic" studies, it is difficult to know how to give a book like this the kind of praise it deserves without returning to those very "Romantic" tropes which are put at risk by the book itself. Readers interested in Romanticism, writing, or sexual difference will simply have to read the book for themselves to determine how best to rearticulate the terms of praise.' Modern Philology 'a lively and stimulating book' Times Higher Education Supplement


INTRODUCTION :
Acute Appendicitis remains the most common indication for
emergency abdominal Surgery. The life time risk is 9% for men and 7%
for women. Considerable morbidity continues to be associated with
appendicitis despite what is currently considered to be appropriate
antibiotic and surgical care. Although the overall mortality rate is less
than 1 % in many series, the mortality associated with appendicitis in
elderly and infants ranges between 5 % and 15 %. The incidence of
perforation commonly ranges from 17 % to 40% and is increased at both
spectrums of age and is well known to be associated with significant
morbidity.
In the early eighties in our department the incidence of
appendicitis was so low, that a clinical diagnosis of acute appendicitis
was not the first choice when a child presented with vomiting, pain,
toxemia and acute abdomen.
Surgical doctrine suggests that a percentage of negative
laparotomies are necessary and acceptable to limit the rate of perforation
as the diagnosis of acute appendicitis is essentially clinical. Current
studies demonstrate the negative Laparotomy rate to range from 15% to
30% and to be associated with significant morbidity. With the available
gamut of investigations this can be lowered.
The purpose of this study is to know the accuracy of clinical
diagnosis in appendicitis by correlating histopathological examination
report of removed appendix specimen against clinical diagnosis in
Madurai Medical College Hospital over a period of two years between
August 2005 to June 2007 and discuss it in the light of available
literature.
AIM :
The objectives of this clinical study are :
1. To know the accuracy of clinical diagnosis in appendicitis by
comparing with histopathological examination report of removed
appendix specimen.
2. To find out the cause or causes for the increased incidence.
MATERIALS AND METHODS :
Materials - This work includes the study of 202 patients with clinical
diagnosis of acute appendicitis admitted in Madurai Medical College
Hospital between Aug.2005 to June 2007.
All of them were admitted as emergency.
Methods - This includes detailed history from the patients, clinical
examination, blood studies (total count, differential count), plain X- ray
abdomen and urine examination.
All the information were entered in the proforma specially
designed for this study.
CONCLUSION :
 Appendicitis is common in 5 - 13 years of age. In 202 surgically
treated patients diagnostic accuracy was nearing cent percent. The
incidence of Appendicitis is significantly higher in males (67%) as
compared to females (33%).
 We found that the proportion of children with complicated disease
did not change during the 10-year period. Young children had the lowest
incidence of acute appendicitis, but they had a 5-fold greater risk of
complicated disease than older children.
 The annual crude incidence of acute appendicitis was 89 % in the
surgeries performed in our Department.
 The overall perforation rate was 15%. Perforation rates and
complication rates were higher in smaller children. There were no
differences between genders.
 Acute appendicitis is essentially clinical diagnosis, but is aided by
the present gamut of investigations.
 Detailed clinical history and examination can reduce the removal of
normal appendix. Logistic regression analysis showed that a history of
nausea or vomiting and pain migration to the right iliac fossa
independently predicted a correct diagnosis of acute appendicitis.
 The clinical diagnostic accuracy is better in male sex than in
female.
 Commonly used inflammation markers (CRP, WCC, fraction of
neutrophil granulocytes and rectal body temperature) are useful in
predicting active disease.
 By appropriate use of Ultrasound and CT Abdomen removal of
normal appendix in equivocal cases can be reduced further. In fact if
laparoscopy is included as a diagnostic tool the incidence of negative
Appendicectomy would be 0 %.
 Total white blood cell count may be normal in acute appendicitis.
 Acute appendicitis was histologically proven in all the cases.
 Increased usage of ultrasound may be the reason for early reference.
 "Natives live on a diet abundant in cellulose and fibres are immune
from this disease. When they adopt the diet of civilization they loose
that immunity." - William Boyd. The incidence of appendicitis is
higher in more affluent societies that have a prevalence of low-fiber
diets. Low-fiber diets change the bacterial flora, increasing stool
viscosity, bowel transit time, and intra luminal pressure, which
encourage the formation of faecoliths. These diets contribute to lowresidue
stool, which can become impacted within the appendiceal
lumen. We believe that the changes we see in the economic status, life
style and food habits of people who live in rural and semi urban
areas may be the causes for this increased incidence, as evinced by
Bush's recent statements that there is a demand for increased amount of
posh food stuffs in the third world countries.


Experimental methods, apparatus, and practically useful theoretical analysis are provided for the coagulation‐based spinning of effectively unlimited lengths of carbon nanotube fibers having exceptional toughness and reasonably high strength. This spinning process fundamentally depends on the mechanical properties of intermediate gel state fibers, which we find are surprising elastic up to about 20 % strain and sufficiently strong for diverse processing methods. More specifically, we show that assemblies of these gel fibers can be used as intermediates for making nanotube sheets, large diameter fibers, and conformal coatings. When suitably processed, these composites (comprising many parallel solution‐spun nanotube fibers) have useful strength and extraordinary toughness.


Accurate finite element models play significant roles in the design, health monitoring and life-cycle maintenance of long-span bridges. However, due to uncertainties involved in finite element modelling, updating of the finite element model to best represent the real bridge is inevitable. This is particularly true after a long-span bridge experiences a moderate or severe earthquake and suffers some damage. This study thus proposes a time history analysis-based nonlinear finite element model updating method for long-span cable-stayed bridges. Special efforts are made to (1) establish the response time history-based objective functions and associated acceptance criteria, (2) conduct comprehensive sensitivity analyses to select appropriate nonlinear updating parameters and (3) develop a highly efficient cluster computing-aided optimization algorithm. A scaled structure of the Sutong cable-stayed bridge in China is adopted as a case study. Three nonlinear test cases performed in the shake table tests of the scaled bridge are used to validate the feasibility and accuracy of the proposed method. A good agreement is observed between the simulated response time histories and the measured response time histories for the scaled bridge under both moderate and strong ground motions. The proposed method could provide an accurate nonlinear finite element model for better performance assessment, damage detection and life-cycle maintenance of long-span cable-stayed bridges.


Abstract. Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models solve a system of partial differential equations based on physical laws to forecast the future state of
the atmosphere. These models are deployed operationally, but they are computationally very expensive. Recently, the potential of deep neural
networks to generate bespoke weather forecasts has been explored in a couple of scientific studies inspired by the success of video frame
prediction models in computer vision. In this study, a simple recurrent neural network with convolutional filters, called ConvLSTM, and an advanced
generative network, the Stochastic Adversarial Video Prediction (SAVP) model, are applied to create hourly forecasts of the 2 m temperature
for the next 12 h over Europe. We make use of 13 years of data from the ERA5 reanalysis, of which 11 years are utilized for training and
1 year each is used for validating and testing. We choose the 2 m temperature, total cloud cover, and the 850 hPa temperature as
predictors and show that both models attain predictive skill by outperforming persistence forecasts. SAVP is superior to ConvLSTM in terms of
several evaluation metrics, confirming previous results from computer vision that larger, more complex networks are better suited to learn complex
features and to generate better predictions. The 12 h forecasts of SAVP attain a mean squared error (MSE) of about 2.3 K2, an
anomaly correlation coefficient (ACC) larger than 0.85, a structural similarity index (SSIM) of around 0.72, and a gradient ratio (rG) of
about 0.82. The ConvLSTM yields a higher MSE (3.6 K2), a smaller ACC (0.80) and SSIM (0.65), and a slightly larger rG
(0.84). The superior performance of SAVP in terms of MSE, ACC, and SSIM can be largely attributed to the generator. A sensitivity study shows that a
larger weight of the generative adversarial network (GAN) component in the SAVP loss leads to even better preservation of spatial variability at the cost of a somewhat increased MSE
(2.5 K2). Including the 850 hPa temperature as an additional predictor enhances the forecast quality, and the model also benefits
from a larger spatial domain. By contrast, adding the total cloud cover as predictor or reducing the amount of training data to 8 years has only
small effects. Although the temperature forecasts obtained in this way are still less powerful than contemporary NWP models, this study demonstrates
that sophisticated deep neural networks may achieve considerable forecast quality beyond the nowcasting range in a purely data-driven way.


The paper has two aims: one is to publish a critical edition of an early humanistic poem, the other is to explain the circumstances in which it was written. The study engages the traditional methods of textual criticism. The author analyses several sources, among them the manuscript 802 preserved in the Kornik Library which contains the poem. In the first part of the paper Jacob's biography is reminded. Jacob of Sienno (Jakub z Sienna, 1413–1480) was a diplomat, a politician, the bishop of Kujawy and next the archbishop of Gniezno. He was born in an nobleman family, studied in Rome and in the mid 1430's pursued his ecclesiastical and political career. He turned back to Italy many times, both as a royal diplomat and a political refugee during his conflict with king Casimir IV Jagiellon. The author stresses the fact that in his Italian journeys he must have come in contact with the early Humanistic culture, which is proved for instance by his collection of Renaissance decorated books acquired in Italy. In the second part the author reveals the circumstances in which the poem was written. The deliberations here touch upon the problem of authorship. Although some researchers made a conjecture that the author would have been Leonardo Mansueti (1414–1480), the Master General of the Dominican Order and Jacob's friend, a hypothesis that an anonymous Cracow scholar would have been the grateful poet is more convincing. The author reminds a long-standing relationship between Jacob and the University of Cracow. As a patron of the university the bishop made it a gift of his library. The third part contains analysis of the text. The poet drew a picture of a bishop-good shepherd and a wise statesman devoted to the country. To construct such a figure, typical for Renaissance literature in the next century, he employed the classical rhetoric, astrology and especially the Stoic philosophy. The analysis leads to the conclusion that To Jacob of Sienno can be one of the first Humanistic panegyrics in Poland. It can be considered a result of Jacob's patronage on literature and fine arts. At the end the author asserts that the bishop courts in Poland in the 15th century were important centres of Humanistic culture, among them Jacob's court. Future research on this topic can shed new light on the beginnings of the Renaissance in Poland. Additionally, the paper provides critical edition of the Latin text and its Polish translation with commentaries.


In the contemporary global political context of stringent conservation policy and low carbon economies, Guyana has positioned itself between two divergent paths of development and identity: 1) its desire to entrench itself as a competitive player in the global economy, and 2) its goal to pursue a more ecologically sustainable model of development. Focusing on Guyana's controversial Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) and its Reduction of Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) framework, this paper critically explores the increasing marketization of forest management and climate change governance and their implications for negotiating Indigenous rights and participation in national and global climate change and conservation policies and debates.


This project presents a single-phase 11-level (5 H-bridges) cascade multilevel DC-AC grid-tied inverter. Each inverter bridge is connected to a 200 W solar panel. OPAL-RT lab was used as the hardware in the loop (HIL) real-time control system platform where a Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithm was implemented based on the inverter output power to assure optimal operation of the inverter when connected to the power grid as well as a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) for phase and frequency match. A novel SPWM scheme is proposed in this paper to be used with the solar panels that can account for voltage profile fluctuations among the panels during the day. Simulation and experimental results are shown for voltage and current during synchronization mode and power transferring mode to validate the methodology for grid connection of renewable resources.


Extrapolating ecological processes from small‐scale experimental systems to scales of natural populations usually entails a considerable increase in spatial heterogeneity, which may affect process rates and, ultimately, population dynamics. We demonstrate how information on the heterogeneity of natural populations can be taken into account when scaling up laboratory‐derived process functions, using the technique of moment approximation. We apply moment approximation to a benthic crustacean predator‐prey system, where a laboratory‐derived functional response is made spatial by including correction terms for the variance in prey density and the covariance between prey and predator densities observed in the field. We also show how moment approximation may be used to incorporate spatial information into a dynamic model of the system. While the nonspatial model predicts stable dynamics, its spatial equivalent also produces bounded fluctuations, in agreement with observed dynamics. A detailed analysis shows that predator‐prey covariance, but not prey variance, destabilizes the dynamics. We conclude that second‐order moment approximation may provide a useful technique for including spatial information in population models. The main advantage of the method is its conceptual value: by providing explicit estimates of variance and covariance effects, it offers the possibility of understanding how heterogeneity affects ecological processes.


BACKGROUND
Increased medicalization of childbirth in Mexico has not always translated into more satisfactory childbirth experiences for women. In developed countries, pregnant women often prepare written birth plans, outlining how they would like their childbirth experiences to proceed. The notion of expressing childbirth desires with a birth plan is novel in the developing world. We conducted an exploratory study to assess the feasibility and acceptability of introducing birth plans in a hospital serving low-socioeconomic status Mexicans and to document women's and health practitioners' perspectives on the advantages and barriers in implementing a birth plan program.

METHODS
We invited 9 pregnant women to prepare birth plans during their antenatal care visits. The women also participated in interviews before and after childbirth. We also conducted in-depth interviews with 4 women who had given birth in the past year, and with 2 nurses, 2 social workers, and 1 physician to learn about their perspectives on the benefits and challenges of implementing a birth plan program.

RESULTS
All 9 women who completed a birth plan found the experience highly satisfying, despite the fact that in some cases, their childbirths did not proceed as they had specified in their plans. Interviewed practitioners believed that birth plans could improve the childbirth experience for women and health care practitioners, but facilities often lacked space and financial incentives for birth plan programs.

CONCLUSIONS
Our findings suggest that birth plans are acceptable and feasible in this study population. Facility administrators would need to commit to provide the physical space and financial incentives necessary to ensure successful implementation.


The overall goal of this project is to quantify changes in the land use and land cover in the Ft. Cobb Reservoir Watershed located in southwestern Oklahoma. The changes were quantified over short-term (2001-2005) and long-term (1992-2005) time periods. The LULC map for 2005 was developed using Landsat TM image data for 2005. Multiseasonal imagery for the watershed comprised of Landsat images for March, June, September, and November time periods for the year 2005. Using a hybrid approach involving unsupervised and supervised classification techniques, these individual images were independently processed for better delineation of the vegetation cover types within the agriculturally dominant watershed. In addition to the remote sensing data, ground truth data pertaining to the watersheds were obtained from the USDA Grazinglands Research Laboratory (GRL), El Reno. Overall, the analysis indicated similar trends in changes for the short-term and long-term time periods, with agriculture decreasing by about 12% with a corresponding increase in grasslands.


The Interactive Data Language has been used to produce a software program capable of advanced three-dimensional visualizations of pole figure and θ-2θ data. The data can also be used to calculate quantitative properties such as strain level and to minimize the peak-height texture effects in individual θ-2θ scans. The collection of the large data sets necessary for the analyses is facilitated by use of a position sensitive detector or area detector.


We show that in spatially resolved reflectance anisotropy (RA) spectrometers, off-axis optical rays introduce a spurious signal component that cannot be addressed by optical alignment. Such a component is associated with the difference between the reflectivities s and p of the sample and depends, in a complex manner, on the incidence position of the incident light on the surface of the sample. We report a data-reduction procedure to easily identify and remove spurious RA signals associated with the off-axis optical rays, based on the singular value decomposition analysis of spatially resolved RA spectra. We validated this approach by developing a spatially resolved RA spectrometer based on an 8 × 8 multi-anode photomultiplier (PMT). The PMT allowed the use of phase-sensitive detection techniques to enhance the signal-to-noise ratio, which is essential for the evaluation of the proposed data reduction procedure.


OBJECTIVE
Periodontal ligament has been reported to have adult stem cells (PDLSCs) which are responsible to regenerate the alveolar bone tissue after tooth is removed from its socket. Also PDLSCs may be the stem cells responsible for the osseointegration of titanium implants after installing the implant immediately in the fresh extracted socket. Here we tested cellular responses of PDLSCs on the various titanium surfaces to verify this notion.

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Titanium disc were prepared for the different surface textures; smooth machined, blasted with 75 and 125 μm Al(2) O(3) particles, and anodized. PDLSCs were cultured on these titanium discs and tested their proliferation and gene expressions of osteocalcin, osteopontin, type I collagen, and GAPDH.

RESULTS
  Proliferation of PDLSCs was higher on the rough surface blasted with 75 μm Al(2) O(3) particles. Osteocalcin expression was increased on the Al(2) O(3) particle treated-surface regardless of its particle size. Type I collagen expression was generally decreased with time in 6 days culture.

CONCLUSIONS
In this experiment, it was shown that cultured PDLSCs proliferate in higher rate on the rough surface especially at the 75 μm Al(2) O(3) particle treated surface than other surfaces. Also, osteocalcin was highly expressed on the rough surfaces treated with 75 μm and 125 μm Al(2) O(3) particles.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Titanium particles/ions detected in peri-implant tissues have been considered as a potential etiologic factor for crestal bone loss around oral implants. However, the definite impact of titanium wear particles on the health of surrounding structures remains undetermined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of titanium particles-induced foreign body reaction on peri-implant bone level and the related mechanism by using clodronate liposomes to deplete macrophages.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
Sprague Dawley rats with custom-made titanium screw implanted in bilateral maxillary first molar area for 4 weeks to obtain osseointegration were randomly divided into four groups. Twenty microgram titanium particles were introduced into the peri-implant tissue to induce aseptic foreign body reaction, and macrophages were depleted by the local injection of 100 μL clodronate liposome immediately and re-injection every 3 days until the sacrifice of the rats (Ti + LipClod group). Titanium-injected rats also treated with phosphate buffer solution (Ti + PBS) or empty liposome (Ti + Lip) as well as rats injected with PBS alone (Control) were included as controls. Eight weeks later, animals were sacrificed and samples containing implants were collected. Half of the samples were analyzed radiologically to measure bone level change, and macrophage markers (CD68, CCR7, CD163) was also characterized by immunofluorescence to evaluate macrophage number, density, and phenotype distribution (CCR7+M1/CD163+M2). The rest of the samples were used to determine the relative mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and RANKL with real-time PCR analysis.

RESULTS
No obvious bacterial contamination was found in all titanium-injected areas, and the implant survival rate was 100% with no implant loss. Compared with Ti + PBS and Ti + Lip group, macrophage density (1.64 ± 0.86%) infiltrated into peri-implant tissue and bone loss (0.17 ± 0.03 mm) around implant decreased significantly in the Ti + LipClod group. Immunofluorescence analysis showed that more macrophage infiltrated into peri-implant tissue in the Ti + PBS and Ti + Lip groups, predominantly with M1 phenotype. In contrast, the macrophage density was lower and M2 phenotype was dominant in the Control group, while macrophages density was significantly reduced and the M1 type macrophages were slightly more than M2 type in the Ti + LipClod group. Accordingly, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL6, and RANKL mRNA expression increased significantly in the Ti + PBS and Ti + Lip groups compared with Control and Ti + LipClod groups.

CONCLUSIONS
Titanium particles had a negative effect on peri-implant tissue by activating macrophages which induced an M1 macrophage phenotype promoting local secretion of inflammatory cytokines. It was found that clodronate liposome treatment attenuated the severity of inflammation and bone loss by depletion of macrophages. Therefore, the present study revealed the marked impact of macrophage polarization with respect to peri-implant bone loss caused by titanium particles.


Many models have been developed to model, estimate and forecast financial time series volatility, amongst which are the most popular autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (ARCH) model introduced by Engle (1982) and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) model introduced by Bollerslev (1986). The aim of this paper is to determine which type of ARCH/GARCH models can fit the best following cryptocurrencies: Ethereum, Neo, Ripple, Litecoin, Dash, Zcash and Dogecoin. It is found that the EGARCH model is the best fitted model for Ethereum, Zcash and Neo, PARCH model is the best fitted model for Ripple, while for Litecoin, Dash and Dogecoin it depends on the selected distribution and information criterion.


Background Apremilast (APR), an oral small-molecule inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 4 (PDE4) enzymes, works intracellularly to modulate a network of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory mediators. PDE4 is a cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-specific PDE, with PDE4A, B, and D being the major PDE4 enzymes expressed in leukocytes. PDE4 inhibition elevates intracellular cAMP levels, which in turn down-regulates the inflammatory response by modulating the expression of TNF-α, IL-23, IL-17 and other inflammatory cytokines. However, the expression and function of PDE4 in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovium and synovial fibroblasts has not yet been fully elucidated. Objectives The expression pattern of the major PDE4 enzymes was studied in normal and RA synovium, and in normal and RA synovial fibroblasts (SF). The effects of APR on intracellular cAMP levels and on the production of major destructive proteases by RASF were examined. Methods PDE4A, B, and D protein expression was measured in whole synovial tissue or isolated synovial fibroblasts from individuals with RA or from normal controls by quantitative laser scanning cytometry (iCyte) and by semiquantitative immunohistochemistry (IHC). Gene expression in normal SF, RASF, peripheral blood mononuclear cells from RA and normal controls was measured by qRT-PCR. RASF cell cultures were treated with 0.1-10 µM APR and then stimulated with 10 ng/mL IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-17, or IL-6 for a total of 24 hours, then supernatants were collected for analysis of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)1, MMP3, MMP13, and MMP14 by ELISA. Results Laser scanning cytometry of synovial tissue from RA patients showed higher overall expression of PDE4A, B, and D protein compared to normal synovium (p<0.001). IHC staining also showed higher PDE4A, B, and D protein levels in the superficial synoviocytes and subsynovial histiocytes in RA samples compared to normal controls. Laser scanning cytometry of normal synovial fibroblasts and RASF showed similar strong cytoplasmic staining of PDE4A in normal and RA samples. PDE4B showed abundant cytoplasmic staining, with 45% higher staining in RASF compared with controls (p<0.01). PDE4D showed moderate to strong cytoplasmic staining in normal samples, but 31% weaker expression in RASF samples (p<0.05). qRT-PCR analysis of PDE4A and PDE4B gene expression was similar in RASF and controls, but PDE4D gene expression was 60% lower in RASF compared with controls (p<0.01). In RASF cell cultures, APR treatment increased intracellular cAMP levels. APR significantly inhibited RASF production of all MMPs induced by IL-1β stimulation, whereas in TNF-α-stimulated RASF cultures, APR inhibited MMP3 and MMP14 production. In the IL-17- or IL-6-stimulated cultures, no significant inhibition of MMP production was observed. Conclusions Overall, PDE4A, B, and D protein expression was stronger in RA vs. normal synovium, largely due to increases in superficial synoviocytes, subsynovial histiocytes, and lymphoplasmacytic cells. In isolated RASF, there is a shift in expression away from PDE4D toward PDE4B expression. In RASF, APR is capable of elevating intracellular cAMP and inhibiting MMP production in response to the JAK-independent stimuli, IL-1β and TNF-α. This study provides the preclinical rationale for using APR in RA. Disclosure of Interest L. Wu Employee of: Celgene Corporation, M. Adams Employee of: Celgene Corporation, A. Parton Employee of: Celgene Corporation, P. Schafer Employee of: Celgene Corporation


This paper brings together literature on welfare, austerity and second-hand cultures with theories of the makeover to analyse the cultural politics of charity shops in the UK, and their real aftereffects. Based on an analysis of two television programmes, a 2009 BBC Two reality television makeover programme Mary, Queen of Charity Shops , and a camp, cult-hit comedy web series, Charity Shop Sue (2019), the article traces the politics of makeover culture in second-hand spaces. In the first programme, retail celebrity Mary Portas sweeps in to make over a shabby British charity shop, sweeping out old things, people, and spaces, to make way for new ones. Tracing how the programme not only valorises but causes changes across the charity retail sector, the article shows how a regime of the makeover of things, people, and places in charity shops relates to a regime of real-world austerity politics I call makeover welfare, in which makeover is offered instead of welfare. Yet despite efforts to enforce makeover welfare, second-hand things, people, and places resist and escape this regime. In the second programme, analysing the camp satire of Charity Shop Sue's failed makeovers, I unpack second-hand's counter -aesthetic: a surprisingly durable second-hand politics located in unruly tatt, stubborn subjects, and rummage spaces. Further, because charity shops are important but overlooked instruments of welfare provision and governance, understanding their cultural politics opens up insights into how late capitalism is lived and felt.


Mathematicalmodels of electric activity in cardiac tissue are becoming increasingly powerful tools in the study of cardiac arrhythmias. Considered here are mathematical models based on ordinary differential equations (ODEs) that describe the ionic currents at the myocardial cell level. Generating an efficient numerical solution of these ODEs is a challenging task, and, in fact, the physiological accuracy of tissue-scale models is often limited by the efficiency of the numerical solution process. In this paper, we examine the efficiency of the numerical solution of four cardiac electrophysiological models using implicit-explicit Runge-Kutta (IMEX-RK) splitting methods. We find that variable step-size implementations of IMEX-RK methods (ARK3 and ARK5) that take advantage of Jacobian structure clearly outperform the methods commonly used in practice.


Cannabinoids can be endogenous (endocannabinoids), plant-derived (phytocannabinoids), or synthesized (synthetic cannabinoids). They are being used for the management of several medical conditions. Laboratory and preliminary clinical studies suggest that topical cannabinoids may be beneficial for the treatment of acne and for skin rejuvenation. (SKINmed. 2021;19:-0).


Scene text recognition has made significant progress in recent years and has become an important part of the workflow. The widespread use of mobile devices opens up wide possibilities for using OCR technologies in everyday life. However, lack of training data for new research in this area remains relevant. In this article, we present a new dataset consisting of real shots on smartphones and demonstrate the effectiveness of profile normalization in this task. In addition, the influence of various augmentations during the training of models for analyzing document images on smartphones is studied in detail. Our dataset is publicly available.


Adequate die-to-leadframe adhesion is necessary for LOC package integrity during and after manufacturing process. Poor adhesion may result in a variety of defects such as die adhesion failure, marginal wire bond, broken wire, exposed wire at the surface of the plastic encapsulated package, and bent leads, ultimately leading to electrical failure [1,2]. In this paper, a technique to measure the adhesion of leadframes to electronic chips in LOC type packages is described. In this method, the leads on opposite sides of the die are pulled using a universal materials tester (e.g., Instron). We found that sample preparation and measurement equipment set-up were critical to the consistency and repeatability of the measurements. A comparison of measurements on packages bonded with three different materials is presented. Minimum bonding forces required for best yields were determined for these three types of chip-to-leadframe bonding materials. Using this information, we were able to rank materials with respect to their relative adhesion characteristics.


This paper examines how industry-specific uncertainty affects firms' investments for varying degrees of asset irreversibility (i.e. the wedge between purchase price and liquidation value of an asset). To identify more or less irreversible capital goods, we exploit unique survey data on German manufacturing firms over the sample period 2004 to 2012 in which managers provide information on investments' purpose (capacity expansion, replacement, restructuring, rationalization, and other). We find that uncertainty only depresses capacity expansion investments, while non-capacity expansion investments such as replacement, restructuring and rationalization investments are not affected. Our results indicate that only investments into the most irreversible capital goods will decrease if uncertainty raises. We provide several tests confirming the robust impact of asset irreversibility on the investment-uncertainty relationship as we analyze several competing channels explaining the negative investment-uncertainty relation, such as the financial friction or the market power channel.


Abstract Purpose The goal of the present study is to carry out prospective echocardiographic measurements of intima-media thickness (IMT) in the abdominal artery of newborns. Methods Study subjects were 96 mothers and their newborns. We measured the adjusted IMT (aIMT, mm/mm) of newborn abdominal arteries by high-resolution ultrasound and evaluated the association of aIMT with various maternal and newborn factors. Results Negative correlations were observed between aIMT and gestational age (r = − 0.678, p < 0.01) and positive correlations between aIMT and placenta-to-fetus weight ratio (r = 0.418, p < 0.01). Comparing the small-for-gestational-age (SGA) versus appropriate-for-gestational-age (AGA) categories, aIMT in the SGA (n = 14) was greater than in the AGA (n = 82), with values of [0.115 (0.117) mm/mm versus 0.084 (0.074) mm/mm, p < 0.01], respectively. A multiple linear regression analysis was performed with aIMT as a dependent variable, and significant correlations were noted with gestational age (R 2 = 0.524, β = − 0.515, p < 0.001 for gestational age). Conclusion On the basis of these findings, we suggest that aIMT thickness is associated with placenta-to-fetus weight ratio and gestational age, and that increased values of aIMT in SGA may indicate presence of a latent link to cardiovascular disease that might otherwise go undetected in infancy.


In 124 patients 141 thoracic myelographies were performed with metrizamide (Amipaque). This contrast medium penetrates narrow spaces more easily than gas and oily media. The technique and the positioning of the patient should be adapted to the region clinically suggested in order to obtain best results.


Slow-scan television cameras have been used as visual scanners in orbiting satellite programs. The sensor, as an input device, and the associated readout or output device are the terminal parts of an orbiting television satellite system. Some of the input-output elements will be described covering visual sensors, optics, kinescope recording, and facsimile. Sample systems, such as TIROS and Essa satellite systems, will show these elements as part of the system. Trade-off parameters of resolution, light level, electronic bandwidth, frame time, and storage time will be examined to show their effects on the video transmission system.


The development of experimental nuclear fusion facilities and the systems connected to them currently involves the operation (or advanced design) of some large plants in the national territory. Devices such as neutron generators and plasma focus systems are also included. The machines developed to test the main components of these systems such as neutral beam generators (Neutral Beam Injector) and the experimental plants for thermonuclear fusion, mainly in the Tokamak configuration (toroidal geometry), are in the list. These applications are characterized by high neutron fluxes of high energy (typically 2.5 and 14 MeV from deuterium-deuterium and deuterium-tritium fusion reactions, respectively). They involve the production of radionuclides in the components of the machines and in the fluids used for targets' cooling and in the primary containments. In many cases, the atmosphere of the rooms containing these structures is activated and may be affected by the dispersion of powders that are more or less radioactive. The present work addresses the issues mentioned so far, taking into consideration the real cases relating to the devices and the facilities in operation, under construction, and in the advanced design phase. The conclusions highlight the critical aspects related to the management of these types of waste, as well as the low or very low environmental impact, from a radiological point of view, of the examined facilities.


Nanoscale objects that combine high luminescence output with a magnetic response may be useful for probing local environments or manipulating objects on small scales. Ideally, these two properties would not interfere with each other. In this paper, we show that a fluorescent polymer host material can be doped with high concentrations of 20–30 nm diameter magnetic γ-Fe2O3 particles and then formed into 200 nm diameter nanorods using porous anodic alumina oxide templates. Two different polymer hosts are used: the conjugated polymer polydioctylfluorene and also polystyrene doped with the fluorescent dye Lumogen Red. Fluorescence decay measurements show that 14% by weight loading of the γ-Fe2O3 nanoparticles quenches the fluorescence of the polydioctylfluorene by approximately 33%, but the polystyrene/Lumogen Red fluorescence is almost unaffected. The three-dimensional orientation of both types of nanorods can be precisely controlled by the application of a moderate strength (∼0.1 T) external field with sub-second response times. Transmission electron microscope images reveal that the nanoparticles cluster in the polymer matrix, and these clusters may serve both to prevent fluorescence quenching and to generate the magnetic moment that rotates in response to the applied magnetic field.


An in-line wet etch/cleaning system was established for the research and development in wet etch process as a formation of electrode such as metal or transparent conductive oxide layer. A reverse moving system was equipped in the in-line wet etch/cleaning system for the alternating motion of glass substrate in a wet etch bath of the system. Therefore, it was possible for the glass substrate to be moved back and forth and it was possible to reduce the size of the system by using the reversing moving system. For the effect of the alternating motion of substrate on the etch rate in the in-line wet etch bath, indium tin oxide(ITO) patterns were obtained through wet etch process in the in-line system in which the substrate was moved back and forth. From the CD(critical dimension) skews resulted from the ADI CD and ACI CD of the ITO patterns, it was concluded that the alternating motion of glass substrate are possible to be applied to the mass production of wet etch process.


Camels are raised in the desert, arid and other rain fed or hard climatic areas of Pakistan, where very little advisory and veterinary services exist due to which they remain exposed to a large number of diseases especially the parasitic infestations of which scabies has the special significance. A cross sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of scabies mange infestation in camels in Punjab, a province of Pakistan from September, 2013 to August, 2014. A total of 1489 animals from different camel populations of Punjab were examined for mange mite infestation. 168 animals were found positive for Sarcoptic mange, on the basis of microscopic examination of the skin scrapings. Statistically significant difference (p<0.05) regarding the prevalence of mange mite infestation between different months of the year and seasons prevailing in the country was observed. Furthermore a non-significant difference with reference to the sex and age of animals regarding the prevalence of disease was observed. Negative and significant effect of temperature and non-significant effects of rainfall and humidity were also observed as during the period when there was low temperature the disease increased. " The results of this study revealed that mange infestation is a potential health hazard of the camel population of Punjab in Pakistan, particularly during the winter season with young and females more prone to the disease, which further requires studies to measure its impact on camel production with economic losses and the ways to control it for the betterment of farmers of the area


The theme of this article covers the benefits of sport for society in general, but also the provisions of Romanian Law no. 69/2000 on Physical Education and Sport, as subsequently amended, as well as all the relevant Romanian legislation arising from the provisions of European Union (EU) law on the subject, in particular The White Paper on Sport and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, documents which entered into force pursuant to the Treaty of Lisbon. Last but not least, the article debates the possibility of enhancing the importance of practicing physical education and sport as an inherent human right. The sporting phenomenon - a significant social phenomenon Every individual is keen on developing speculations and debates regarding the causes, consequences and even the content itself of various phenomena and processes that he or she might encounter in daily life. The most probable outcome of such an endeavor would most probably be that of referring to these subjects from different perspectives that is, ascertaining different point of views - subjectivity owing, in this case, mainly to conditional experience and common sense. Therefore, one must position himself in a position that claims a prudent attitude - if not total rejection - towards intuition, speculation, horse sense (the fundamentals of common sense), and strive for the rigors of the scientific method. It is thought that human rights are an ideological projection in order to justify certain social actions, a philosophy, a concept on the world and the existence. Human rights are, foremost, a sociology of contemporary life, inasmuch that they encompass facts, phenomena, social processes and relationships alike, mentalities, states of mind, imagery, representations, interests and perceptions. Max Weber spoke of the design of the world and man's place in it. The topic on human rights is often reduced to a legislative concept, and human rights education bears a technical nature - law articles, pros and cons debates in sustaining a certain idea, case analysis etc. In this particular context, one cannot ignore the existence of a sporting phenomenon, which has developed into an important social phenomenon. Its importance is foremost justifiable by man's dependence on his physiological and social needs to participate in organized or random sporting activities, also used - more recently - with the aim of satisfying a professional avocation (professional sports). We see it imperative to remind ourselves that man "is not static, he is profoundly dynamic, he is a living reality in a tireless state of wanting, restless until reaching his goal" (1). It is from this psychology-of-the-(dynamic)-person perspective that we will be able to appreciate the three forms of human development: biological, dynamic and psychological, reaching the conclusion that these are the working fundamentals of the motivational theories. Whether one agrees or not - ultimately confident in the social-cultural calling of the human nature - man is concurrently nature and culture. That is why one can argue that the need to exert physical activity - viewed as a means of physical education and sport, whether professional or amateur - is also a biological need that is integrated in man's various organic necessities, as are those "linked to the assimilation and dissimilation process, or anabolism and catabolism, such as hunger, thirst and breathing, on one hand, and the necessity to preserve the species, or sexual instinct, on the other." (2) Every single need-related work motivation theory drawn up by authors such as Maslow, Clayton Alderfer (ERG theory - Existence, Relatedness, Growth), McClelland (3) (Necessities theory), Faverge J.M (4), states that until elementary necessities, more urgent and pressing, have not been fulfilled, all others remain in the background; as one category of needs is satisfied, another, superior one, is sought after. …


'A model of analytical history. In...spare, cogent prose, Wooster delineates military strategy against the western tribes, places the political influence of the Gilded Age military establishment in solid perspective, gives an able survey of the institutional structure of the postwar army, briefly describes key Indian campaigns, and presents pithy characterizations of leading western military personalities...Wooster's book places events in a national, and in military terms international, context. In so doing he has made a major contribution to frontier and military scholarship' - Paul Andrew Hutton, "American Historical Review".'A superior and important book...Wooster succinctly identifies and illumines significant truths about the military establishment and its role in the final stages of confrontation and conflict along the western Indian frontier' - Robert M. Utley, "Journal of American History". 'A provocative example of the new historiography...Students of the Indian wars have frequently suffered from a form of myopia...until now, no one has undertaken so comprehensive or critical a look at the army's role in formulating and implementing Indian policy' - Bruce Dinges, "New Mexico Historical Review". Robert Wooster, an associate professor of history at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, is the author of "Nelson A. Miles" and the "Twilight of the Frontier Army" (Nebraska 1993).


Drug-drug interaction evaluations of new pharmaceutical candidates are critical to preventing drug withdrawal and are routinely determined through the use of cytochrome P450 assays. The measurement of the effect of test compounds on the metabolism of known substrates allows for the determination of specific CYP450 isoenzyme inhibition and calculation of IC50 values. A sensitive, high-throughput ultra-performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometric (UPLC/MS/MS) method is presented for the evaluation of CYP450 inhibition. The assay was performed using a cocktail of probe substrates and the results were compared to those obtained with the more time-consuming methodology utilizing individual substrates. The use of a high-resolution, sub-2 microm particle, LC system allowed for a high-throughput assay of just 1 min. The extra resolution of the UPLC/MS/MS system allowed for the complete resolution of the analytes, with a fast switching MS for comprehensive data collection. The CYP450 inhibition results obtained using the substrate cocktail approach were found to be essentially identical to those obtained using individual substrates.


Summary Platelet adhesion to rabbit aortic subendothelium or collagen-coated glass was quantitated in a rotating probe device by uptake of radio-labelled platelets. Under conditions in which aspirin had no effect, dazoxiben, a selective inhibitor of thromboxane synthetase, reduced platelet adhesion to aortic subendothelium by about 40% but did not affect adhesion to collagen-coated glass. Pre-treatment of aortic segments with 15-HPETE, a selective inhibitor of PGI2-synthetase, abolished the inhibitory effect of dazoxiben on adhesion. Concentrations of 6-oxo-PGFlα in the perfusate were raised in the presence of dazoxiben alone, and following addition of thrombin (10 units/ml) there was a 2-3 fold increase in concentration. Perfusion of damaged aorta with platelets labelled with (14C)-arachidonic acid in the presence of thrombin and dazoxiben resulted in the appearance of (14C)-labelled-6-oxo-PGFiα. Inhibition of thromboxane synthetase limits platelet adhesion probably by promoting vascular synthesis of PGI2 from endoperoxides liberated from adherent platelets, which subsequently promotes detachment of cells from the surface.


This dissertation is a compilation of three different applied statistical problems from the Bayesian perspective. Although the statistical question in each problem is different, a common challenge is the high dimensionality of the data and the complex dependence structure. These introduce challenges with standard statistical techniques and computational issues. For each problem, we address the statistical problem and resolve the computational issues in the implementation. The first topic considers the problem of Bayesian inference for the location of the global extreme of a nonparametric regression function given noisy observations. We model the unknown function using a Gaussian Process (GP) prior. The unknown function may be high dimensional and sampling posterior realizations of the function can be computationally intensive. We introduce a novel algorithm that makes use of existing optimization routines to simultaneously sample and optimize the GP realizations in an efficient manner. We demonstrate our method on a spatial data sets with non-Gaussian observations as well as an application in astronomy in which the location of the extreme varies temporally. The second topic constructs a Bayesian Hierarchical Model for surface wind fields over the globe. Surface winds are intrinsically multivariate with spatially heteroscedastic behavior over the globe. Our model is the first to model wind fields at the global scale over land and sea. Motivated by the geostrophic relationship, we fit a varying coefficient model to model wind fields using the pressure gradient. We apply our method on surface wind and sea level pressure products from a general circulation model. We will show that our model can produce realistic wind fields that resemble the wind fields from the climate model. The third topic considers the problem of hierarchical multilabel classification (HMC) given existing single label classifier outputs. In our problem setting, multiple labels can be assigned to each subject and the assignments have to respect a given hierarchy. We want to utilize the existing local classifiers to give assignments consistent with the hierarchy. We rank each label assignment under a Bayesian framework by its probability of being positive given all local classifier outputs. We use this ranking to sequentially assign labels according to a cutoff. However, we also update the ranking after each assignment to ensure consistency. Our algorithm outperforms existing HMC methods in various simulation studies and on a disease diagnosis dataset with a large hierarchy with few independent observations.


Warm temperature anomalies are increasing in frequency in the global ocean with potential consequences on the goods and services provided by marine ecosystems. Recent studies have analyzed the distribution and dynamics of marine heat waves (MHWs) and evaluated their impacts on marine habitats. Different drivers can generate those anomalies and the emerging attributes can vary significantly both in space and time, with potentially different effects on marine biology. In this paper we classify MHWs based ontheir attributes and using different baselines, to account for different adaptive responses in phytoplankton dynamics. Specifically, we evaluate the impacts of the most extreme, long-lasting and high-intensity MHWs on phytoplankton communities using remote sensing data. We demonstrate marginal impacts on total chlorophyll concentrations which can be different across different ocean regions. These contrasting effects on phytoplankton dynamics are most likely the results of the different mechanisms generating the MHWs in the first place, including changes in front dynamics, shallower mixed layers, and eddy dynamics. We conclude that those drivers producing extreme MHWs can also induce different phytoplankton responses across the global ocean.


predictive of mood fluctuations (particularly dysthymic swings) over time (Williams, 1981). Our reference list (44 items) does contain recent reviews of conversion disorder and will be adequate for most readers of a publication of this nature. We stated on the first page of our text our reasons for considering globus to be different from disorders such as pseudoseizures. It remains our opinion that globus might make a good model for conversion disorder. The results of our preliminary study have encouraged us to con tinue our study of psychological factors in globus. A report, in preparation, of a substantial number of patients, including an ENT control group, uses ques tionnaires designed to index psychoneurotic disorder and attempts to replicate our previous results on the personality traits of globus patients. We agree with the workers from NHND that journal clubs can be educationally rewarding. Some times, however, the joint perusal of a document can lead to errors in understanding.


Abstract The magnitude of the divergent component of the wind is relatively small compared to that of the nondivergent component in large-scale atmospheric flows; nevertheless, it plays an important role in the case of explosive cyclogenesis examined here. We have calculated the kinetic energy budget for the life cycle of an intense, developing cyclone over North America. The principal kinetic energy source is the net horizontal transport across the boundaries of the region enclosing the cyclone. By investigating the relative importance of the divergent and nondivergent wind components in the kinetic energy budget, we found, as expected, that neglecting the divergent wind component in calculating the magnitude of the kinetic energy is of little consequence, but that the horizontal flux convergence and generation of kinetic energy depend crucially upon the divergent component. Modification of the divergent wind component can result in significant changes in the kinetic energy budget of the synoptic system.


Multifunctional nanodrugs with the integration of precise diagnostic and effective therapeutic functions have shown great promise in improving the efficacy of cancer therapy. We report herein a simple and effective approach to directly assemble an anticancer drug (curcumin), a photodynamic agent (Ce6) and tumor environment-sensitive molecules into cross-linked polyphosphazene and coat on superparamagnetic Fe3O4 nanoclusters to form discrete nanoparticles (termed as FHCPCe NPs). FHCPCe NPs have high physiological stability and good biocompatibility, and can enhance accumulation in tumor tissue via the enhanced permeability and retention effect. Meanwhile, the FHCPCe NPs exhibit an effective performance of dual-modality magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) due to the Fe3O4 cores and fluorescence imaging (FL) in the xenografted HeLa tumor because of the fluorescence of Ce6. Importantly, under the conditions of supernormal glutathione levels and acidic microenvironment in tumor tissue, curcumin and Ce6 can be effectively released by the degradation of FHCPCe NPs. Therefore, excellent anti-tumor effects both in vitro and in vivo have been achieved by synergistic chemotherapy/photodynamic therapy (CT/PDT) using multifunctional NPs. Our study highlights the promise of developing multifunctional nanomaterials for accurate multimodal imaging-guided highly sensitive therapy of cancer.


Clear cell sarcoma is
usually described as a malignant melanoma of the soft tissues. The overall
prognosis is poor because of delay in diagnosis and vague clinical symptoms. It
is rarely involved in the gastrointestinal tract, and its diagnosis is
often missed secondary to infrequent occurrence and histological resemblance
to melanoma. We present two cases of primary CCS of
the jejunum whose clinical presentations were
complicated by lymph node involvement. Prompt diagnosis and potential
aggressive surgical intervention may improve overall survival.


In this paper, we investigate the finite-time stochastic synchronization problem of two chaotic systems with noise perturbation. We propose new adaptive controllers, with which we can synchronize two chaotic systems in finite time. Sufficient conditions for the finite-time stochastic synchronization are derived based on the finite-time stability theory of stochastic differential equations. Finally, some numerical examples are examined to demonstrate the effectiveness and feasibility of the theoretical results.


As a young music graduate with a fresh performer's degree (DiplA´me d'Etudes Musicales) in hand from a French conservatoire, I often replaced conservatoire teachers in the Parisian suburbs. On one occasion, I was asked to substitute for a recorder teacher who was suffering from severe health issues for a couple of months. I was required to teach several young students who were preparing for their end of year exams. The music teacher gave me instructions as to which pieces they were working on and what to expect from the students. One of them, she told me, was completely hopeless: after three or four years of study he could still not read music, he would play about two notes and then get stuck. She had no hopes regarding his exam performance. Â


BACKGROUND
The aim of this study was to analyse the expression of EGFR in newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Our study included a total of 48 paired samples collected from 24 patients diagnosed with GBM. The intensity of EGFR cytoplasmatic staining was scored on a scale of 1-3+ (weak, intermediate or strong).

RESULTS
We found EGFR overexpression in 23 patients (96%) with newly diagnosed GBM, while all recurrent tumours overexpressed EGFR. Ten recurrent tumours (42%) had a lower expression than their new counterpart 13 tumours (54%) had a similar expression, and only one case (2%) had increased expression on recurrence. The expression of EGFR in newly diagnosed GBM was significantly correlated with EGFR expression in recurrent tumour (p = 0.036). In addition, new GBMs with strong EGFR expression had a mean relapse-free interval of 11.5 months (p=0.017). A benefit of combined therapy was observed in the radiotherapy-plus-chemotherapy group where the average time was 11 months (p=0.011), as compared with surgery/radiotherapy alone (average time 6.8 months).

CONCLUSIONS
The present data show that EGFR is overexpressed in paired GBMs. The discrepancies of EGFR expression between the primary tumour and the recurrence suggest heterogeneity of GBMs but also unity at relapse.


While the influence of landscape heterogeneity on responses of both crop pest and natural enemy populations have been extensively studied, impacts on the variation of these responses are not. In this study, we aimed to determine how landscape heterogeneity affects the variation of densities of the soybean aphid and of the guild of natural enemies, and whether temporal variations are observed. We hypothesized that 1) landscape heterogeneity is associated with lower variation of densities of pests and natural enemies; and 2) the effect is stronger during the period of highest aphid population level. Respectively 29 and 31 soybean fields were weekly sampled in 2011 and 2012 in Quebec (Canada). For each field, a coefficient of variation was calculated regarding the density of the soybean aphid (Aphis glycines), of the entire guild of natural enemies, and of the different sub-guilds (predators, parasitoids, entomopathogens) during 1) the population peak of the soybean aphid (August 15-20), and 2) two weeks before (August 1-6). Landscape heterogeneity indices were calculated at a scale of 1.5 km radius around the fields: Crop richness, Crop diversity, Margin density, Landscape patchiness, and Proportion of woodlands. Overall, when considering aphids, predators, pathogens or the entire guild, results are in accordance with our 1 hypothesis: less variation in densities observed in heterogeneous landscapes. Finally, in accordance with our 2 hypothesis, landscape heterogeneity has a stronger effect on the variation of natural enemy densities (but not on aphid density) during the population peak of the soybean aphid.


Online learning with multiple kernels has gained increasing interests in recent years and found many applications. For classification tasks, Online Multiple Kernel Classification (OMKC), which learns a kernel based classifier by seeking the optimal linear combination of a pool of single kernel classifiers in an online fashion, achieves superior accuracy and enjoys great flexibility compared with traditional single-kernel classifiers. Despite being studied extensively, existing OMKC algorithms suffer from high computational cost due to their unbounded numbers of support vectors. To overcome this drawback, we present a novel framework of Budget Online Multiple Kernel Learning (BOMKL) and propose a new Sparse Passive Aggressive learning to perform effective budget online learning. Specifically, we adopt a simple yet effective Bernoulli sampling to decide if an incoming instance should be added to the current set of support vectors. By limiting the number of support vectors, our method can significantly accelerate OMKC while maintaining satisfactory accuracy that is comparable to that of the existing OMKC algorithms. We theoretically prove that our new method achieves an optimal regret bound in expectation, and empirically found that the proposed algorithm outperforms various OMKC algorithms and can easily scale up to large-scale datasets.


A new procedure for correction of Ebstein's anomaly that restores to near normal the anatomic and physiologic function of the tricuspid valve and the right ventricle is reported. Through a surgical approach, the displaced anterior leaflet was detached from the annulus. Most of the atrialized portion of the right ventricular wall was suspended; the tricuspid annulus was plicated anteromedially. The leaflet was then reattached to the native anterior annulus. Tricuspid valve was repaired using a 33 mm St. Jude ring. The patient was discharged from hospital uneventfully.


SUMMARY Goal: Assessing barriers to vaccination among healthcare workers may be particularly important given their roles in their respective communities. We conducted a mixed methods study to explore healthcare worker perspectives on receiving COVID-19 vaccines at a large multisite academic medical center. Methods: A total of 5,917 employees completed the COVID-19 vaccine confidence survey (20% response rate). Most participants were vaccinated (93%). Compared to vaccinated participants, unvaccinated participants were younger (60% < 44 years), more likely to be from a non-Asian minority group (48%), and more likely to be nonclinical employees (57% vs. 46%). Among the unvaccinated respondents, 53% indicated they would be influenced by their healthcare provider, while 19% reported that nothing would influence them to get vaccinated. Key perceived barriers to vaccination from the qualitative analysis included the need for more long-term safety and efficacy data, a belief in the right to make an individual choice, mistrust, a desire for greater public health information, personal health concerns, circumstances such as prior COVID-19 infection, and access issues. Principal Findings: Strategies endorsed by some participants to address their concerns about safety and access included a communication campaign, personalized medicine approaches (e.g., individual appointments to discuss how the vaccine might interact with personal health conditions), and days off to recover. Mistrust and a belief in the right to make an individual choice may be harder barriers to overcome; further dialogue is needed. Applications to Practice: These findings reflect potential strategies for vaccine requirements that healthcare organizations can implement to enhance vaccine confidence. In addition, organizations can ask respected health professionals to serve as spokespeople, which may help shift the perspectives of unvaccinated healthcare workers.


ABSTRACT Dong, C.H.; Zhang, M.; Yang, H.M., and Xu, X.B., 2020. Evaluation of slope safety using the pignistic probability-based analysis method. In: Guido Aldana, P.A. and Kantamaneni, K. (eds.), Advances in Water Resources, Coastal Management, and Marine Science Technology. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 104, pp. 302–307. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. On the basis of the slope stability analysis using the pignistic probability-based analysis method, considering the characteristics of dynamic change of parameters under the actual working conditions, an indoor model was built. The pignistic probability-based analysis method was suitable for the uncertainty working conditions caused by the fact that soil material parameters changed with water level and other conditions in the reservoir bank slope stability analysis, and the analysis results were consistent with the monitoring results. This study can provide a reference for other laboratory model tests of slope and a new solution for large slope stability analysis.