The origins of anisotropy in the effective spin Hamiltonian, describing the ground manifold of Hubbard models with spin-orbit interactions, are critically discussed. For tetragonal symmetry, we show exactly that spin anisotropy can arise only if one includes both spin-orbit and Coulomb exchange interactions. For lower symmetries, additional anisotropies arise from terms which were hitherto neglected. Our analytic results are supported by numerical solutions for single bond clusters. These results can explain the easy plane anisotropy in the antiferromagnetic cuprates.


The Digest Diet is a 21-day weight-loss plan based on groundbreaking science and newly discovered foods and habits that help your body to release fat. Reader's Digest sifted through all the weight-loss science to pick the foods, recipes, and habits that truly slim you down quickly and safely. We reviewed cutting-edge nutrition advances and myth-busting articles. We discovered some new reasons fat creeps on--and reliable ways to get it to fade away quickly. The Digest Diet targets surprising fat increasers in three key areas--eating, environment and exercise--and gives you the tools you need to turn the tables and shift your body into fat release mode.


The extracellular matrix (ECM) plays critical roles in tumor progression and metastasis. However, the contribution of ECM proteins to early metastatic onset in the peritoneal cavity remains unexplored. Here, we suggest a new route of metastasis through the interaction of integrin alpha 2 (ITGA2) with collagens enriched in the tumor coinciding with poor outcome in patients with ovarian cancer. Using multiple gene-edited cell lines and patient-derived samples, we demonstrate that ITGA2 triggers cancer cell adhesion to collagen, promotes cell migration, anoikis resistance, mesothelial clearance, and peritoneal metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, phosphoproteomics identify an ITGA2-dependent phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway leading to enhanced oncogenic properties. Consequently, specific inhibition of ITGA2-mediated cancer cell-collagen interaction or targeting focal adhesion signaling may present an opportunity for therapeutic intervention of metastatic spread in ovarian cancer.


This paper reviews rapidly growing specific standards for laboratory assessment and accreditation with applications in processes, products, and services. Identified are new standards for management, test methods, and commercial applications. The paper stresses recent achievements and standards with opportunities for growth. Industrial managers and writers of standards are directed to new references to improving productivity through preparing standards for test methods, quality systems, commercial requirements, and laboratory accreditation.


The paper aims to present a critical analysis of the phenomenon and notion of exceptionalism in bioethics. The authors demonstrate that exceptionalism pertains to phenomena that are not (yet) entirely familiar to us and could potentially bear risks regarding their regulation. After an overview of the state of the art, we briefly describe the origins and evolution of the concept, compared to exception and exclusion. In the second step, they look at the overall development debates on genetic exceptionalism, compared to other bioethical debates on exceptionalism, before presenting a detailed analysis of a specific case of early regulation of genetic screening. In the last part, the authors explain the historical background behind the connection between exceptionalism and exclusion in these debates. Their main conclusion is that while the initial stage of the discussion is shaped by the concept of exceptionalism and awareness of risks of exclusion, the later development centers around exceptions that are needed in detailed regulatory procedures.


Impedance spectroscopy is performed to establish the electrical property and microstructure relations of the as-deposited and post-annealed polycrystalline CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) films. Our results show that the resistance and capacitance of the grains and grain boundaries could be tuned by changing the annealing atmosphere and temperature. The simple resistor–capacitor equivalent circuit and the modified constant phase element (CPE) circuit are used to describe the impedance spectroscopy, and excellent agreement between the calculated and measured curves is obtained in the CPE circuit. Based on the experimental results, it is suggested that the origin of the semiconductivity of the grains in CCTO polycrystalline films originates from their oxygen-loss, while the grain boundaries are close to oxygen- stoichiometry.


This study was conducted to survey the perception of domestic consumers about traditional pork dishes, and to utilize the survey result as a basis for the development of processed pork products. A survey was conducted on 218 domestic consumers regarding the following: general questions, propensity and preference to consume pork dishes, pork dishes feasible for export, and the types and problems of processed products feasible for export. The results of the survey showed that the respondents consumed pork dishes 3-4 times a month on average and they appeared to consume the pork dishes most frequently in specialized restaurants. The highest preference was shown in Samgyeopasal gui (grilled pork belly) and Galbi gui (grilled pork rib) among the pork dishes, whereas the lowest preference was shown in Kkubdegi gui (grilled pork skin) and Gookbob (boiled rice and pork served in soup). When the type of processed pork products available according to pork dishes were analyzed, the result showed that Samgyeopasal gui (grilled pork belly) and Nirbiani (slices of roast, seasoned pork in width) could be developed as a frozen product, Geyook Bokeum (stir-fried spicy pork), Bulgogi (Korean-style barbecued pork), and Galbi jjim (braised short ribs) could be developed as a retort product, and that Bossam (boiled pork eaten with a salty sauce and wrapped in greens), Pyeonyuk (slices of boiled pork), Jokbal (pork trotters), and Sundae (kneading together seasoned mixture of vegetables and glass noodles stuffing it into casings made of hog intestines, which are then tied off at the ends and boiled) could be developed as a vacuum-packed product. When the survey concerning the problems expected in the development of processed products using pork dishes was conducted, the result showed that there could be a texture change issue for Galbi gui, Samgyeopasal gui and Nirbiani; a preservation issue for Bossam, Pyeonyuk; a safety issue for Bulgogi and Geyook Bokeum; a taste and flavor change issue for Geyook Bokeum and Sundae; and a packaging issue for Gookbob.


The purpose of the research is to assess factors influencing the rescaling of the shadow economy in the Russian Federation (on the example of certain regions). The analysis was carried out using mathematical and statistical methods according to regional statistics for 2013–2019. In particular, a model of multiple indicators and factors (MIMIC) was built. It adapted to the panel data structure. Variables characterizing the tax burden, government regulation and the state of the labor market were used as factors. As indicators of the shadow economy – monetary variables and characteristics of the formal economy.It is shown that in the conditions of economic difficulties there was a «compression» of the scale of the shadow economy in certain regions. According to the authors, a significant role in reducing the shadow component in the regional economy over the period under review was played by the improvement of the tax administration mechanism in the process of forming regional and local budgets (personal income tax, property taxes) as well as coordination of interdepartmental interaction in order to reliably determine the size of the taxable base. The positive role of preferential taxation regimes, which can be established by regional authorities, was proved. A significant impact on the scale of shadow activity of the structure of the regional economy and conditions in the labor market was discovered: a high share of the extractive industry and an increase in wages in the region compared to the average Russian level create incentives for participation in the formal economy and reducing the scale of the shadow economy.The modeling results confirmed the relevance of shadow economy indicators: the larger size of the regional shadow economy entails less participation in the labor force and an increase in cash turnover.The conclusions obtained from a new angle focus on the task of improving the investment climate, reducing pressure on entrepreneurship, and supporting small and medium-sized businesses.


Kellogg considers the first (1480) and second edition (1482) of the "Chronicles of England" printed at William Caxton's press at Westminster and its various imitations at other presses.  He concludes that "As a contribution to the knowledge of history, the Chronicles of England is of limited value. However, for the study of cultural history, the book is invaluable. In it one finds narrative built upon narrative, a series of stories which somehow cumulatively illustrate a people's sense of the turbulence, richness, and wonder of their nation; and which vividly reflect an uncritical and intense national pride.


The structural motifs of chalcones, flavones, and triazoles with varied substitutions have been studied for the antimalarial activity. In this study, 25 novel derivatives of chalcone and flavone hybrid derivatives with 1, 2, 3-triazole linkage are docked with Plasmodium falciparum dihydroorotate dehydrogenase to establish their inhibitory activity against Plasmodium falciparum. The best binding conformation of the ligands at the catalytic site of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase are selected to characterize the best bound ligand using the best consensus score and the number of hydrogen bond interactions. The ligand namely (2E)-3-(4-{[1-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenyl)-1H-1, 2, 3-triazol-4-yl]methoxy}-3-methoxyphenyl-1-(2-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one, is one the among the five best docked ligands, which interacts with the protein through nine hydrogen bonds and with a consensus score of five. To refine and confirm the docking study results, the stability of complexes is verified using Molecular Dynamics Simulations, Molecular Mechanics /Poisson–Boltzmann Surface Area free binding energy analysis, and per residue contribution for the binding energy. The study implies that the best docked Plasmodium falciparum dihydroorotate dehydrogenase–ligand complex is having high negative binding energy, most stable, compact, and rigid with nine hydrogen bonds. The study provides insight for the optimization of chalcone and flavone hybrids with 1, 2, 3-triazole linkage as potent inhibitors.


Male subjects scoring high (n=17) or low (n=14) on the Maudsley Neuroticism scale were randomly assigned to a positive (n=17) or negative (ego threat) (n=14) presleep condition and then slept a single night in the laboratory. The negative condition elicited significantly more rapid eye movement activity (REM density) than did the positive condition (pless than.03). There was a significant interaction for Groups X Conditions (pless than.007) indicating that low neuroticism subjects had greater REM density in the negative condition, and less REM density in the positive condition, compared to high neuroticism subjects under either condition. The low neuroticism subjects in the negative condition showed a discrepancy between greater REM density but less admission of stress on a presleep mood questionnaire compared to high neuroticism subjects. These results support the hypothesis that REM density is a correlate of stress-induced arousal that is subject to the modifying effects of individual differences.


Some health screening is a costly waste of time that can even do positive harm, health service managers were warned recently.


The faecal benzidine assay has been replaced during the last few years by a great number of different assays on occult blood in faeces. The causes of occult blood at children are different from adults. Which test should be used depends on the desired sensitivity of 2 à 3 mg haemoglobin/g faeces are most suitable to prevent false-positive and false-negative results. To reduce false-negative results it is recommended to perform the assay on three successive days.


OBJECTIVE
To describe the cost of medicines used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis in South Africa.

DESIGN
MIMS was used as the reference for the list of drugs, drug formulation and size, and recommended dosage. These figures were then checked against the package insert of each agent. The cost of each agent was originally derived from the same source, but for standardisation purposes the blue book price was used. Measure of effectiveness was derived from the International Consensus Report on the Diagnosis and Management of Rhinitis. Costs per treatment periods of 10 days (course) and 30 days (month) were calculated. The 'cost' differs from the 'price' in that it takes efficacy into account.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Cost of drugs used in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

RESULTS
The least costly treatments for allergic rhinitis are the intranasal corticosteroids. Sodium cromoglycate was the most costly, being nearly 20 times more expensive than the nasal steroids. Anticholinergic sprays and topical decongestants were also more costly than nasal steroids, as were the antihistamines. The older-generation antihistamine, ketotifen, was not only more costly than the four oral newer-generation agents in this class but has the added disadvantage of greater sedative side-effects. All oral antihistamines were outclassed by the topical antihistamine, levocabastine.

CONCLUSIONS
This study in no way aims to recommend treatment for allergic rhinitis. However, it highlights the need to consider efficacy of a drug before unit price in the selection of treatment regimens. It is therefore a comment on practical issues in drug selection in the treatment of allergic rhinitis.


Reacting to the Past (RTTP) is an immersive historical role-playing and active learning pedagogy typically employed on-campus. This case study analyzed Northern Michigan University's History Department courses that utilized RTTP during the COVID-19 emergency remote teaching (ERT) shutdown. Maintaining RTTP and online learning pedagogical best practices was especially difficult. With little time to restructure their courses, the games were innovatively adapted to a variety of web-based platforms resulting in positive learning outcomes that varied by degree depending on technology and synchronous requirements. Inspiring unintended outcomes also occurred and were analyzed. This case study provides a unique and theoretically-grounded contribution to the fields of online and history pedagogies while also supporting additional research calls for the role of emotional presence in the Community of Inquiry. The poster will visually engage the audience with the case's key findings and suggest open software other educators might employ. The presenters will stimulate discussion to assist educators interested in conducting RTTP and similar active learning strategies online.


Metal oxide materials show promise for application in photoelectrocatalytic conversion due to their inherent advantages involving positive reactive surface, improved light absorption capability, efficient charge separation yield, and fast charge transport channels. The unique electrical and optical properties of metal oxide based photoelectrodes have a great effect on their performance in solar cells, photoelectrocatalysis, and photocatalysis. It has been reported that the presence of defects on grain boundaries, oxygen vacancy, doping strategy, and heterojunction play a vital role in both the efficiency and durability of their photoelectric application. However, the intrinsic mechanisms at the atomic level remained unclear, which require more in-depth understanding in terms of theoretical analysis. In this Review, we emphatically introduce the recent advances and current challenges of metal oxide-based photoelectrodes for photoelectrocatalytic application, beneath the structure-activity relationship of metal oxide catalysts. Then, we give a summary of the state-of-the-art research in the preparation and application for the metal oxide based composite materials. Finally, we discuss key aspects, which should be addressed for design and construction.


Ludeke Dam is situated 16 km northwest of Bizana in the Mbizana Local Municipality at the confluence of the Ludeke and kuNtlamvukazi Rivers. Its purpose is to store raw water for the Greater Mbizana Regional Bulk Water Supply Scheme, estimated at R900 m. Water will be pumped from the dam for 14 km, with a static lift of 300 m, to the Nomlacu Water Treatment Plant for purification and bulk distribution.


The use of additional bars, internally placed through drill holes, in external beam-column connections subjected to cyclic loading, as shear reinforcement is experimentally investigated.The presented experimental work includes tests of full-scale specimens with different reinforcement arrangements in the joint area, they are as follows: (a) the JB0V control specimen with two (extra) vertical side bars without shear reinforcement in the joint area and, (b) the JB0R joint, same as in the case of the control specimen, without the extra vertical bars, but with four additional steel bars that were placed in holes, which were drilled through the concrete of the joint body for this purpose, (c) the JB0VFX joint, the damaged control specimen repaired and strengthened with C-FRP diagonal ties (rope connections) through the joint area. The effectiveness of these additional bars and ropes as a shear reinforcement on the overall seismic performance of the tested joint is examined.A comparison between the test results of the examined specimens indicated that the applied retrofitting technique is appropriate for the enhancement of the overall hysteretic performance of the beam-column joints in terms of load carrying capacity, stiffness and hysteretic energy dissipation.


The vapor of TDI, a chemical commonly used in the plastics industry, may be associated with pulmonary symptoms at various concentrations. Because of the high volatility and adsorptivity of TDI, it has been difficult to deliver known, dilute concentrations of TDI to test subjects in inhalation challenge studies. A delivery system has been developed which can be calibrated to deliver an air-TDI mixture having a given flow rate and TDI concentration. The delivered gas stream is produced by diluting a gas stream having a low flow rate and a fixed concentration of TDI with a high-flow-rate stream of TDI-free air. A TDI detector continuously monitors the concentration of the resultant mixture, which is delivered to the subject by means of a face mask. For dilute mixtures, the output concentration is proportional to the ratio of the input flow rates; the proportionality factor depends on temperature and the geometry of the system. The flows for the described system could be regulated to produce concentrations in the range 0.0 to 0.08 ppm which remain stable to within +/- 10%.


Abstract. One of biggest uncertainties in Numerical Weather Predictions (NWPs) comes from treating the subgrid-scale physical processes. For the more accurate regional weather/climate prediction by improving physics parameterizations, it is important to optimize a combination of physics schemes as well as unknown parameters in NWP models. We have developed an interface system between micro-Genetic Algorithm (μ-GA) and the WRF model for the combinatorial optimization of CUmulus (CU), MicroPhysics (MP), and Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) schemes in terms of quantitative precipitation forecast for heavy rainfall events in Korea. The μ-GA successfully improved simulated precipitation despite the non-linear relationship among the physics schemes. During the evolution process, MP schemes control grid-resolving scale precipitation while CU and PBL schemes determine subgrid-scale precipitation. This study has demonstrated the combinatorial optimization of physics schemes in the WRF model is one of possible solutions to enhance the forecast skill of precipitation.


The oxazolidinones are an important class of synthetic bacterial protein synthesis inhibitors with activity against Gram-positive and some fastidious Gram-negative bacteria. Key toxicological issues with the class include reversible inhibition of monoamine oxidase enzymes and reversible myelosuppression that can occur in patients treated for longer than the recommended course of therapy. Recent studies have uncovered the likely molecular mechanism underlying oxazolidinone-related myelosuppression and other toxicities, and these will be discussed here. Also reviewed are recent reports of structural modifications that can attenuate one or more of the undesired effects of oxazolidinones, while retaining the desired antibacterial effect.


New magnetostrictive rare earth - iron alloys offer an attractive opportunity for the design of high-power low-frequency transducers. In order to optimize the design of this particular class of transducers, a model based on a new variational principle has been derived, following a classical finite element method approach. This model describes the three-dimensional dynamic behavior of heterogeneous electromechanically coupled structures, in air or acoustically radiating in a surrounding fluid domain. Using a reduced scalar potential formulation of the magnetic field, the model has been implemented within the AT1LA finite element code. In this paper, a general view of the method is given and results of the computation on a characterization device are compared to plane-wave model and experimental results.


We offer this remembrance of Paul Edwin Albertson as two of his former but intense colleagues, one as professor and the other as a fellow student and protege. We were so positively affected by Paul's presence and good works that we cannot abandon this attempt to place him in the firmament of those who have profoundly affected our profession and its practitioners. Because no official memorial has yet appeared at the offices of our journal, we humbly rise to salute our departed brother.

Regrettably, we worked with and knew Paul for only three years, at the very end of his remarkable life. It is about Paul at the end of his life that we wish to offer these thoughts.

Paul Albertson had a personality that could not be missed, even in a crowd. His very being was charged in such a way that his presence would be noted, then observed, and then paid attention to. We know that Paul was of the Philadelphia Irish and that he had served his entire professional career as an engineering geologist in the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We single out two associated events that seem to have led to the Paul Albertson that we know. First of all, Paul worked for some years under the direction of the late Marvin Simmons, District Geologist at Nashville. Marvin's reputation for fairness, concern, and thoughtful career guidance and professionalism is legendary to the Corps. While at Nashville, Paul was assigned to the remedial site characterization of Wolf Creek Dam in Kentucky, a facility suffering from loss of water-retention integrity. While drilling on the crest of the dam one afternoon, the attentions of Paul and a passing female auto tourist were mutual, and Paul fell under the second detectable influence of his …


Introduction: Osgood–Schlatter disease is an irritation of the patellar tendon at the tibial tubercle. Sports with jumps, running, and repeated contractions of knee extension apparatus are considered to be importantexternal risk-factors which could cause Osgood–Schlatter disease.Objectives of the study are to draw attention to the importance of clinical examination in diagnostics of Osgood–Schlatter disease in boys playing soccer or basketball.Methods: The research included data obtained from 120 boys, average age of 14 years. Examinees were split into two groups, one with young athletes which regularly have soccer or basketball trainings and thesecond one with boys who do not participating in sports. We performed anthropological measurements and clinical examinations of both knees and hips for both groups. For the statistical analysis we used pointbiserialcorrelation coefficient.Results: Based on clinical examination, Osgood–Schlatter disease was diagnosed in 51 examinees (42.5%). In "athletic group" Osgood–Schlatter disease had 31 boys or 52%, comparing with "non-athletic group" wherewe found 20 adolescents with disease (33%). Number of boys with Osgood–Schlatter disease was higher for 19% in "athletic group" comparing with "non-athletic group". Comparing incidence rate for boys in both groups with diagnosed II and III level of Osgood–Schlatter disease we found that rate is higher in "athletic group" 2.25 times comparing with "non-athletic group".Conclusions: Clinical examination is critical method in the process of diagnosing Osgood–Schlatter disease especially for identifying II and III level of this disease.


We present new B and R CCD surface photometry for a sample of 4 Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies (BCDs) and 2 higher luminosity starburst galaxies. We find that the BCD surface brightness profiles (SBPs) can be generally well fitted by the sum of the light of 3 distinct components: 1) an exponential component at large radii, with or without a central flattening which describes the underlying older stellar population; 2) a plateau component at intermediate radii and 3) a gaussian component at small radii. The last 2 components describe the ongoing starburst superimposed on the older stellar component. We apply the 3–component decomposition scheme to 8 more BCDs from the literature and, for the total sample of 14 galaxies, derive structural properties such as central surface brightness and scale length, and perform a deprojection to obtain the luminosity density distribution for each component. We also derive color profiles and find that BCDs show generally a reddening outwards, followed by a blueing beyond a transition radius.


The global wind-energy resource is very large and widely distributed; and, within Europe, wind energy has the potential to provide an energy output equal to about three times the present electricity consumption. Although the wind is not very reliable as a source of power from day to day, it is a reliable source of energy year by year, and the main role for future wind-energy systems will be operating in parallel with electricity grid systems or, in remote locations, in parallel with diesel engines, so saving fuel. Systems integration studies indicate that existing utility grid systems could accept a contribution of about 20% from wind turbines, although, with changes to the future plant mix, the potential contribution is substantially greater: and similar percentage fuel savings are possible in remote locations with wind/diesel systems. Recent progress in the development of wind turbines is reviewed and the cost data now becoming available indicates that medium-sized machines, i.e. ~ 20-40 m diameter and with power ratings in the range 50-500 kW, offer the most attractive economics for land-based applications in the near future, giving energy costs in the range 2.8-5.6 p/kWh, for a typical site where the annual average wind speed is 5.5 m/s (measured at the normal 10 m height); in windier locations energy costs will be lower. Corresponding capital costs for installed wind turbines are in the range £750-1500/kW (with average outputs equal to about 30% of the rated). The UK, in common with some other countries, has a large offshore wind-energy potential, but, to be economically competitive, offshore systems will need to use multimegawatt wind turbines with diameters of 100 m and larger. Prototype machines in this size range already exist, but considerable further development is needed before the construction of large offshore wind turbine arrays can commence, although this is a realistic prospect for the 1990s. The economics of wind-energy conversion systems are already encouraging, and commercial applications already in evidence, most notably in the USA and Denmark where more than 2000 wind turbines with a total installed capacity in excess of 150 MW have been installed in the past two years. However, further operational experience is required to demonstrate that reliable operation can be sustained over periods of many years. As this experience is accumulated, and as the cost benefits associated with quantity production are achieved, the market for wind turbines can be expected to expand rapidly.


Objective. To report a multicenter study of nine cases of children presenting with a birth-related spinal injury. Methods. The medical charts of nine patients identified by a questionnaire sent to the members of the French Society of Pediatric Orthopedics (SOFOP) were reviewed. Results. The pregnancy was uneventful in all cases. The fetal presentation was cephalic in three cases, a breech presentation in four cases, and a face presentation in two cases. The lesion involved the cervical spine in six cases. Three patients presenting upper cervical injuries died before the age of six years. The six remaining patients experienced no neurological improvement. Conclusions. These rare conditions occur during difficult deliveries with abnormal presentations, the most common being a breech presentation with entrapment of the fetal head. In a child with hypotonia, flaccid quadriplegia or high thoracic paraplegia after a difficult delivery, a spinal cord injury must be suspected and plain radiographs and MRI must be performed.


Long-term investigation of 115 children and adolescents of either sex with delinquent behavior is presented. Of these, in 81 an early alcoholization and in 29 drug abuse behavior has been revealed. The first experience with toxic substances and alcohol was generally inspired by persons of the same age. Of wines, spirits prevailed, and of toxic substances gasoline and acetone-containing stuff. The level and direction of social activity, especially at leisure, were major prognostic factors. Twenty-four percent of patients had a steady level of social adaptation with their signs of the disease satisfactorily compensated. Language: ru


Background: Patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) have a reduced health-related quality of life (HRQOL) especially if sleep disturbances are involved. Depressive symptoms (DS) has also been described as a prevalent problem in patients with CHF, but few if any studies have focused the relationship to sleep, daytime sleepiness and HRQOL. Aim: To describe the prevalence of self-assessed DS and the relation to sleep, daytime sleepiness and HRQOL in men and women with CHF. Design and sample: Cross sectional design including 212 (129 male and 83 female) patients with CHF, NYHA classification II–IV. Measurements: Self-assessed sleep difficulties (Uppsala Sleep Inventory-CHF), daytime sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale), and HRQOL (36-Item Short Form Health Survey and Minnesota Living with Heart Failure questionnaire), depressive sympthomatology (MH-5 from the SF-36; cut of <52 indicating depressive symptoms). Findings: A total of 19% of the male and 24% of the female patients suffered from DS. Both male and female patients suffering from DS showed significantly shorter total sleep time, more problems with difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep ( p <0.01), as well as early morning awakenings ( p <0.05) compared to patients without DS. A total of 55% of the patients with DS woke up three times or more, and 11% were awake more than three hours during the night. DS correlated significantly and positively with anxiety during the night (r =0.30, p =0.01), dyspnoea during the night (r =0.26, p =0.01), and a feeling of tachycardia during the night (r =0.33, p =0.01). Almost all dimensions of the SF-36, as well as total and subscale scores for the disease-specific MLWHF showed significantly reduced HRQOL ( p <0.01–0.001) for male and female patients suffering from DS compared to those without DS. Conclusion: Men and women with CHF who suffer from depressive symptoms have a reduced HRQOL, more problems with difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep, as well as early morning awakenings compared to CHF patients without DS.


The variable-structure multiple model (MM) state estimation approach is utilized for maneuvering aircraft (MA) radar tracking. Two adaptive time-varying mode-set interacting multiple model (IMM) tracking filters are designed and investigated: switching grid (SG) IMM and adaptive grid (AG) IMM algorithms, By Monte Carlo simulations the performances of the algorithms and the respective fixed grid (FG) IMM filter are evaluated and compared over different flight scenarios. It is shown that for the considered specific maneuvering target tracking problem, the SGIMM and AGIMM tracking filters significantly outperform the corresponding fixed structure version (the FGIMM filter) with respect to performance-to-computational load ratio.


Natural products represent a rich reservoir of small molecule drug candidates utilized as antimicrobial drugs, anticancer therapies, and immunomodulatory agents. These molecules are microbial secondary metabolites synthesized by co-localized genes termed Biosynthetic Gene Clusters (BGCs). The increase in full microbial genomes and similar resources has led to development of BGC prediction algorithms, although their precision and ability to identify novel BGC classes could be improved. Here we present a deep learning strategy (DeepBGC) that offers more accurate BGC identification and an improved ability to extrapolate and identify novel BGC classes compared to existing tools. We supplemented this with downstream random forest classifiers that accurately predicted BGC product classes and potential chemical activity. Application of DeepBGC to bacterial genomes uncovered previously undetectable BGCs that may code for natural products with novel biologic activities. The improved accuracy and classification ability of DeepBGC represents a significant step forward for in-silico BGC identification.


Communication Policies in Yugoslavia, written by members of the Yugoslav Institute of Journalism, is part of a UNESCO series, the main purpose of which is to provide an analysis of communication policies in different countries. The study itself is a factual report of various aspects of Yugoslav communication policies, and its six chapters, appendix, and brief bibliography aim to present a picture of contemporary public, institutional, and professional policies in Yugoslavia. That aspects of mass communication, especially the mass media, play an important role in Yugoslavia is obvious, and'its only constraint is that an average of 15 percent of Yugoslavia's population is still illiterate, with the rate increasing to 30 percent in some of the country's southern regions. The Yugoslav system of public communication is decisively influenced by its self-management decision-making system of "socialist democracy," but to comprehend fully its objectives, it is important to understand Yugoslavia's diverse culture and its novel social and political institutions.


Traditional data model takes the geometric object as the modeling target and results directly in decomposing geographic phenomena into a series of objects. Furthermore, the temporal data and spatial data are stored separately. All of those restrict the development of GIS and resources monitoring. Feature based spatio temporal data model can support the next generation of GIS effectively. In this paper, based on the landuse monitoing research project of the five year plan of our country, we propose a new spatio temporal data model based on the states of the changing feature (SCFSTDM) in order to serve for integrating geographic phenomena and geographic information as well as applying object oriented analysis method to support spatio temporal analysis , simulation and data sharing. \;Finally, we develop a prototype of the temporal landuse information system in which there is a spatio temporal database based on the feature. With this system ,we can query states of the feature instance directly, for example, to query the states and to play the developing process of a feature instance, to make the spatio temporal reasoning.


The complexity of the human brain makes its understanding one of the biggest challenges that science is currently confronting. Due to its complexity, the brain has been studied at many different levels and from many disciplines and points of view, using a diversity of techniques for getting meaningful data at each specific level and perspective, producing sometimes data that are difficult to integrate. In order to advance understanding of the brain, scientists need new tools that can speed up this analysis process and that can facilitate integrating research results from different disciplines and techniques. Visualization has proved to be useful in the analysis of complex data, and this paper focuses on the design of visualization solutions adapted to the specific problems posed by brain research. In this paper, we propose a unified framework that allows the integration of specific tools to work together in a coordinated manner in a multiview environment, displaying information at different levels of abstraction and combining schematic and realistic representations. The two use cases presented here illustrate the capability of this approach for providing a visual environment that supports the exploration of the brain at all its organizational levels.


The financial turmoil which began in the summer of 2007 has developed into a global financial crisis. With the end of the boom in the US housing market and increasing interest rates on sub-prime mortgages, delinquency rates on mortgage loans rose. The value of mortgage-backed securities dropped heavily. Crisis in sub-prime market segment gradually spilled over to most other asset markets, in particular the credit derivatives markets, corporate bond and equity markets, and also to the money markets, not only in the US but also in the Euro area and elsewhere. The combined strength of the various shocks affecting the global financial system has been broadly unexpected, started to move the global economy into a recession. On an annual basis, global growth is expected to moderate from 5.0 percent in 2007 to 3.9 percent in 2008 and 3.0 percent in 2009. Great uncertainty surrounds the implications of this crisis for developing countries. However, the crisis as such cannot be regarded as a complete surprise. It did not build up overnight but instead has developed gradually over several years. Governments in both developed and developing countries have started to put together fiscal and monetary stimulus packages in order to prevent the global financial crisis from turning into another Great Depression.


To the Editor: We read with interest the article titled ''The Electromyographic Features of Acute Rhabdomyolysis'' by Al-Sheklee et al. At the end of the discussion, the authors claim that detecting subtle needle electromyography (EMG) changes in a moderately or severely weak patient with significant elevation of creatine kinase is not consistent with polymyositis or dermatomyositis.Webelieve this is not the fact. In a large series of 98 patients of polymyositis and dermatomyositis, 11% of patients had no EMG abnormalities, and no correlation emerged between the grade of clinical impairment at the onset of the illness and the electromyographic findings. In a retrospective study of 102 cases, EMG showed normal patterns in 35.7% of patients with early dermatomyositis. Furthermore, in another 14% of these patients, polyphasic motor unit action potentials with high amplitude and long duration were detected. This could not be explained by the chronicity of the disease because they were early cases. In another retrospective study of 153 cases, the ratio of a completely normal EMG study with otherwise classic disease was 10%, and although the ratio was low, 2% of the patients in the same group had EMG abnormalities confined to the paraspinal muscles only, and the interesting thing about themwas that they had widespread muscle weakness. Another point worth mentioning is the fact that contrary to the common description of lowamplitude potentials in polymyositis patients based on conventional EMG analysis, a quantitative study revealed no amplitude differences between patients and normal subjects. Regarding all these studies, we think it is possible to see patients diagnosed as inflammatorymyositis with subtle electromyographic changes or no pathologic changes at all, regardless of their clinical status. It is perhaps more likely to say that patients with inflammatory myositis have more pathologies in conventional EMG studies when compared with rhabdomyolysis patients, but there may always be some problems concerning differential diagnosis by conventional EMG.


EEG and neuropsychological evaluation of 66 polydrug users revealed that 43% had EEG abnormalities and 45% had neuropsychological impairment 3 weeks after admission to a polydrug study unit. At 5-month follow-up, 27% of 30 retested subjects were still impaired neuropsychologically. Impairment may be related to extensive involvement with sedatives, alcohol, or heavy polydrug use. The authors suggest that cerebral dysfunction in polydrug users might be the result of organicity of intermediate duration and that deficits may be experienced by some beyond 5 months of reduced use or abstinence. Organicity may dictate structured, reality-based intervention techniques, especially early in treatment.


Photo-affinity labeling and mutagenesis studies have identified several amino acids that may contribute to the ligand binding domains of ligand-gated ion channels. These types of studies, however, only generate a one-dimensional, static description of binding site structure. In this study, we used the substituted cysteine accessibility method not only to identify binding pocket residues but also to elicit information about binding site dynamics and structure. Residues surrounding the putative loop C ligand binding domain of the GABAA receptor (β2V199 to β2S209) were individually mutated to cysteine, and the mutant subunits were coexpressed with wild-type α1subunits in Xenopus oocytes.N-biotinylaminoethyl methanethiosulfonate (MTSEA-biotin) reacts with cysteines introduced at positions G203, S204, Y205, P206, R207, and S209. This accessibility pattern is not consistent with either an α-helix or β-strand. Instead, G203–S209 seems to form a water-accessible extended coil, whereas V199–T202 appears to buried in the protein or membrane. Coapplication of either GABA or the competitive antagonist SR-95531 significantly slows MTSEA-biotin modification of cysteines introduced at positions S204, Y205, R207, and S209, demonstrating that these residues line and face into the GABA binding pocket. MTSEA-biotin reaction rates reveal a steep accessibility gradient from G203–S209 and suggests that the binding pocket is a deep narrowing cleft. Pentobarbital activation of the receptor significantly slows MTSEA-biotin modification of cysteines at S204, R207, and S209, suggesting that the binding site may constrict during gating.


As business enterprisers are increasingly becoming dependent on using online transactions, the demand for high-end and efficient transaction monitor systems becomes a serious issue. Hence, the performance evaluation of Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) systems has an enormous importance for companies that implement this service, since the computing resources must be used efficiently in order to ensure high availability, reliability, scalability and security. This paper presents a stochastic model for performance evaluation and planning EFT systems computational resources in the course of demonstrating that the effect of the traffic variations mechanism in computational resources is magnified when the interarrivals are highly bursty and correlated. At the end, a real case study is presented in order to describe the adequacy of presented approach and results.


Niche width and inter-individual diet variation in predator populations are known to be affected by intrinsic factors such as body size, age, cognitive constraints, and by intra- and interspecific competition. By contrast, how variation in prey biological traits may affect niche width and partitioning is still a poorly explored topic. One of these candidate traits is prey mobility, which can affect the predators' niche because acting on the rate of encounter and, assuming mobility as a proxy for escape capability, on the success of predator attacks. Here we analysed 20 wasp populations and their prey as individual-based food-webs to test if prey mobility may explain niche width (here defined by the Shannon entropy-based index ) and patterns of inter-individual diet variation (here defined by the interaction-exclusiveness index H2′ and the interaction evenness index E2). Niche width was very variable among populations and overall network specialization (H2′) was always higher than the expected by null models. In case of high-speed flying prey (e.g. flies, bees), wasps showed wider niches () and lower specialization (H2′) than in case of non-flying or slow-flying prey (e.g. spiders, beetles). Evenness (E2), on the other side, did not vary with prey mobility. Altogether, these results suggest that highly elusive prey may lead to wider predators' niche but somehow limit their individual niche specialization.


Introduction: Longevity is a reality making it necessary to implement and / or implementation of effective evidence-based actions for the control of non-communicable chronic diseases and their risk factors. The objective of reporting the experience of the group of hypertensive and diabetic developed by nurses from the family health strategy, describing physical activity for prevention, health promotion and improved quality of life for seniors. Materials and Methods: This is an experience report of a descriptive nature, experienced by nurses in a group of hypertensive and diabetic elderly users. . Survey of the records (secondary data) 2008 was held until 2012. Results: Found 320 elderly, these, seven (2.2%) were diabetic, five (1.6%) diabetic and hypertensive and fifty-two (16, 2%) hypertensives only. Resulting in sixty-four elderly (20.0%) patients with a chronic non-communicable disease. Of these 320 seniors, 224 seniors (70.0%) reported that they participated in physical activities for several reasons. Discussion and Conclusions: We can conclude that with the inclusion of physical activity as a complementary activity to medical treatment, it was noticed that there was an improvement in quality of life, health and social integration of the elderly through reports of the elderly among them: control of blood pressure, decrease muscle pain and perform activities of daily life.


Antiretroviral therapy has significantly reduced morbidity and mortality associated with HIV infection. However, coinfection with HCV results in a more complicated disease course for both infections. HIV infection dramatically impacts the natural history of chronic liver disease due to HCV. Coinfected patients not on antiretroviral therapy for HIV develop liver fibrosis and cirrhosis at a faster rate, clear acute infection less commonly and respond to IFN-α-based therapy for chronic infection less often than HCV-monoinfected patients. The interaction between these two viruses, the immune system and the fibrotic machinery of the liver remains incompletely understood. In this review, we discuss recent advances in proteomics as applied to HCV and HIV and highlight issues in coinfection that are amenable to further discovery through proteomic approaches. We focus on clinical predictors of liver fibrosis and treatment outcome as these have the greatest potential clinical applicability.


Information regarding the anatomy of the physiological apical foramen is limited. Knowing its diameter and shapes contributes to clinical work, specifically to the cleaning and shaping of the apical third. The aim of this ex vivo study was to determine the minimum and maximum diameters and shape of the physiological apical foramen in the roots of maxillary and mandibular first molars. A descriptive study was conducted on 89 recently extracted first molars. Roots 3-5 mm from the apex were sectioned and prepared for analysis at 40× magnification. The minimum and maximum diameters of each physiological foramen were measured using the program Motic Images plus 2.0 ML. The shape of the foramina, classified as round, oval or irregular, was determined by the difference between the maximum and minimum diameters. A total of 174 physiological foramina were analyzed. The average of the minimum and maximum diameters was between 0.24-0.33 mm in maxillary first molars and between 0.25-0.33 mm in mandibular first molars. In maxillary molars, the most common shape of the foramen was oval (50%), then irregular (32%), then round (18%). In mandibular molars, the oval shape was also the most frequent (59%), followed by irregular (23%) and round (18%). The findings of this study regarding the morphology of physiological apical foramina in first molars make it easier for the operator to choose the appropriately-sized instruments to perform endodontic therapy successfully.


This paper presents a 3-second 3D reconstruction algorithm able to process a dense geometric approximation of the surrounding environment. Image acquisition is done by a stereoscopic panoramic system with two color catadioptric cameras mounted on a mobile robot. An algorithm running on a Graphical Processing Unit (GPU) processes the 3D reconstruction in real-time. As the camera system moves, new views of the scene are used to improve the model of the scene thanks to an incremental algorithm. Then, the performance of our approach is evaluated using a synthetic image sequence.


Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and clinical results of arthroscopic double row repair with UU stitches for massive, full-thickness, rotator cuff tears. Materials and Methods: Between January 2007 and July 2009, we consulted on 36 massive tears in which it was possible to repair the middle area of the greater tuberosity by arthroscopy. One group consisted of 11 cases that had a double row repair with UU stitches. A second group consisted of 20 cases that had a single row repair with simple stitches. We compared the 2 groups for pain, Activities of Daily Living, UCLA score, and KSS score. We did this pre operatively, and at 6 months, 1 year and final follow-ups. Statistical analysis included Student`s t test and a paired t est. Mean age was 59 (48~70); mean follow-up was 28 (12~43) months Results: VAS scores decreased from 7.5 pre operatively to 1.5 post operatively at the last f/u in the group (p group, the score decreased from 7.6 in pre op to 1.8 post operatively at the last f/u (p0.05). Mean ADL increased from 11.5 to 25.1 at the last f/u in the group (p group the ADL score increased from 11.3 to 27.5 (p0.05). The UCLA score increased from 13.9 to 31.6 in the group (p group the score increased from 13.8 to 30.1 (p0.05). Comparing MRIs at 3 and 6 months post op, there were retears in 3 of 9 cases in the first group, and in 8 of 15 cases in the second group; there was no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: Arthroscopic double row repair with UU stitches for massive, full-thickness rotator cuff tears showed no differences in clinical results. However, it was associated with a significant difference in the incidence of retears.


Aiming at the features of environmental information monitoring, a multi-parameter monitoring system is designed based on low-power ZigBee wireless communication technology to improve overall the level of system automation and monitoring. By wireless sensor networks the data is collected and processed real-time and at the receiving end the data is received, saved and displayed to achieve temperature and humidity monitoring. The implementation of system software and hardware are given, including the design of wireless node and the implementation principle of data transmission and communication modules. This system overcomes the limitations of wired sensor networks and has the properties of flexible networking for monitoring equipment, convenient removing, low cost nodes and high capacity. The monitoring results for temperature and humidity have shown that this system is stable, high reliable in data transmission and easy to use, and can be widely used in various areas of automatic monitoring of environmental parameters.


This paper explores the problem of how to construct lazy decision tree ensembles. We present and empirically evaluate a relevance-based boosting-style algorithm that builds a lazy decision tree ensemble customized for each test instance. From the experimental results, we conclude that our boosting-style algorithm significantly improves the performance of the base learner. An empirical comparison to boosted regular decision trees shows that ensembles of lazy decision trees achieve comparable accuracy and better comprehensibility. We also introduce a novel distance-based pruning strategy for the lazy decision tree algorithm to address the problem of over-fitting. Our experiments show that the pruning strategy improves the accuracy and comprehensibility of both single lazy decision trees and boosted ensembles.


This paper describes the development of a real-time system for the recognition of a real human subject using the palm dorsa subcutaneous vein pattern (PDSVP) as a physiological biometric feature. The system has been developed using a low-cost, single board computer, called the Raspberry Pi Model B, in conjunction with an infrared sensitive camera, called the Raspberry Pi No Infrared camera, and other components. The camera is sensitive to near infrared (NIR) radiations and this acquisition property has been used to acquire the pattern of vascular structure present in the subcutaneous layer of the dorsum of the human palm. Moreover, an automatic two-axis pan-tilt mechanism has been developed on which the camera is mounted. This is a completely novel mechanism that has been developed so that the data acquisition is independent of the position where the palm dorsum is positioned, as an automatic palm dorsum self-locating strategy is developed using the two-axis pan-tilt mechanism. Now, the NIR images of the PDSVP acquired, in the aforementioned methodology, do not represent the vein pattern with appreciable clarity and discernibility. Therefore, each image acquired undergoes few steps of image preprocessing, to extract the vein pattern, before they are subjected to testing conditions or they are incorporated into the training database. The recognition strategy has been developed using the collaborative representation-based classification. In this paper, we have emphasized upon the most severe case of small sample size, which is single sample per person-based training data set creation. The proposed method is tested on a well-structured database, of NIR images of the PDSVP, JU-NIR-V1: NIR Vein Database, developed in the Electrical Instrumentation and Measurement Laboratory, Electrical Engineering Department, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, India. Subsequently, through extensive experimentation it has been proven that the proposed strategy attains substantially high and stable recognition rate. Moreover, the performance of the recognition strategy is highly robust even in the presence of artifacts, such as angular displacement and scaling, that corrupt the NIR images acquired during data acquisition.


A technique for measuring SAW velocity on unprocessed wafers placed on patterns of matched filters made on a glass plate is reported. The velocity measured on quartz agrees with the value measured destructively. The relative error of ± 110ppm means that this is currently the most precise nondestructive measuring technique.


By using the theory of planar dynamical systems to a coupled nonlinear wave equation, the existence of bell-shaped solitary wave solutions, kink-shaped solitary wave solutions, and periodic wave solutions is obtained. Under the different parametric values, various sufficient conditions to guarantee the existence of the above solutions are given. With the help of three different undetermined coefficient methods, we investigated the new exact explicit expression of all three bell-shaped solitary wave solutions and one kink solitary wave solutions with nonzero asymptotic value for a coupled nonlinear wave equation. The solutions cannot be deduced from the former references.


The purpose of this study was to determine the development of android-based interactive multimedia learning media in mathematics class XII SMA and to determine the feasibility of the media that had been developed. This type of research is research and development (R&D). The model used is the analysis, design, development, implementation, evaluation (ADDIE) model. Data collection instruments in the form of validation sheets, questionnaires and tests. The data analysis technique used is descriptive qualitative analysis. Learning media that has been developed using the ADDIE model based on the results of the assessment of material experts with an average value of 4.42 with a very valid category and by media experts obtaining an average value of 4 with a very valid category, the practicality of the media by students obtains results the average score of 88% with the practical category based on the large group test and the effectiveness of the media obtained an average score of 81,935 with the effective category. The development of android-based interactive multimedia learning media is declared feasible to be used in the learning process.

Keyword: android, multimedia learning media, mathematics


Objective – To explore the motivations for choosing school librarianship as a career.

Design – Narrative research, qualitative interviews.

Setting – The School Media program specialization in a Master of Library Science program at a large research university.

Subjects – Five graduate school students seeking initial certification as school library media specialists.

Methods – The researcher employed narrative research, based on career construction theory and the Life Story Interview, (McAdams, 1995). This methodology is a set of loosely-structured, open-ended questions designed to encourage detailed, in-depth responses from the participant teller, combined with a more structured Career Style Interview (Savickas, 2005) designed to elicit self-defining stories.

Data was collected through qualitative interviews, using personal narrative interviews that focused on the entire life of each person from birth to present (Life Story Interviews) and additional questions in an interview format (Career Style Interview.)

Data was collected and analyzed in two stages. The analysis first examined participants as individuals then tried to identify commonalties among the stories. Each life story was examined to determine a career style on the basis of vocational personality, career adaptability and life theme. The interview data was then analyzed for thematic connections and occupational choice.

Main Results – The final analysis identified the following themes as relevant to the study, and to the career choices of graduate students planning to be school librarians: parental expectations; career changers; librarian mentors; prior library work experiences; reading; library experiences; altruism-service; desire to work with children; financial stability and security; flexibility of work schedule; emotional distance; and vocational personality.

In general, the participants appear to value safe, traditional career choices that allow them to put family first and maintain a flexible work schedule, while also providing financial stability and security. Those who are already teachers noted interest in a job that provides relief and emotional distance from the everyday social problems of students. All five noted the "love of reading" as a motivation for choosing this career path.

The vocational personality of each subject was determined through interpreting their answers on the Career Interest Surveys, using Holland Occupational Theme RIASEC codes: Realistic, Investigative, Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional. The vocational personality of all five students did not match the predominant code for school librarians. None exhibited a resemblance to the "enterprising" type, the most prominent personality for successful school librarians. All five did exhibit "artistic" vocational personality, and the researcher notes that this may be an explanation for the choice of librarianship as a second career, as artistic types take longer to find a compatible career match. The researcher also notes that the final code is a "best estimate" for each subject.

Conclusion – Examining the vocational development of the five graduate students through vocational personality, career adaption and life theme afforded a broader viewpoint than traditional survey studies. The determining of vocational personality type may be helpful to recruitment efforts to the profession, and help make the career choice more visible.


An increasing number of decisions regarding the daily lives of human beings are being controlled by artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) algorithms in spheres ranging from healthcare, transportation, and education to college admissions, recruitment, provision of loans, and many more realms. Since they now touch on many aspects of our lives, it is crucial to develop ML algorithms that are not only accurate but also objective and fair. Recent studies have shown that algorithmic decision making may be inherently prone to unfairness, even when there is no intention for it. This article presents an overview of the main concepts of identifying, measuring, and improving algorithmic fairness when using ML algorithms, focusing primarily on classification tasks. The article begins by discussing the causes of algorithmic bias and unfairness and the common definitions and measures for fairness. Fairness-enhancing mechanisms are then reviewed and divided into pre-process, in-process, and post-process mechanisms. A comprehensive comparison of the mechanisms is then conducted, toward a better understanding of which mechanisms should be used in different scenarios. The article ends by reviewing several emerging research sub-fields of algorithmic fairness, beyond classification.


Multiple personality is a dissociative hysterical condition in which there are two or more autonomous personalities. Historically multiple personality has been viewed as an oedipal conflict. Case studies, however, indicate the importance of preoedipal dynamic issues as well. Both ego splitting and oedipal repression seem to be the basic defense mechanisms. The depressive position, in which there is integration of good and bad objects, has not been reached. Objects are split on the basis of sex in that the mother is seen as all bad, while the father is seen as all good. Multiple personality can be considered to occupy a position between oedipal and preoedipal development.


Sir, Kingdom and Smith conclude that realtime ultrasound screening cannot prevent stillbirth, even though the latter is associated with fetal growth restriction (FGR), when defined as below the fifth or tenth centile. They suggest that now is the time to abandon the biophysical approach and embrace a biochemical one. However, perhaps before throwing the baby out with the bath water we should first revisit the place of continuous-wave Doppler (CWD) in identifying the 'Low-risk mother carrying the high-risk fetus', while noting that we (Beattie and Dornan) previously concluded that CWD screening also proved unsuccessful in identifying FGR using the same definitions. We have shown that by identifying abnormal CWD resistance indices (RIs) (11.7%) and absent end-diastolic flow (1.5%) at 28 weeks, and taking appropriate action, stillbirth rates could be reduced by 42% in healthy low-risk mothers in a low-and-middle-income population. Further, appropriate-for-gestationalage babies of these low-risk mothers, who showed abnormal RIs, have reduced fat-free mass, indicating true FGR. In 81 term infants of low-risk mothers, fat-free mass, determined by the deuterium dilution method, is significantly less at 6, 10 and 14 weeks and at 6 months in infants with abnormal RIs compared with infants with normal RIs, indicating continued altered postnatal growth. Importantly, more than 75% of these infants were classified as appropriate for gestational age according to birthweight centiles. Although a small-for-gestational-age baby is associated with poor outcomes, size alone does not define FGR, which is defined as failure to reach the full genetic growth potential. A fetus genetically destined for the 75th centile and born on the 25th centile is at more risk than a fetus destined to be on the tenth centile and born on the tenth centile. However, the former fetus will not be detected as FGR using the smallfor-gestational-age definition, but the second one will, who is not growth restricted. Further, we know that inferior CWD at 28 weeks in low-riskmothers is associated with reduced neurocognitive indices at age12 years in a cohortof theoffspringof mothers investigated previously. We suggest that screening with CWD at 28–34 weeks identifies the truly growth-restricted fetus, with reduced fat-free mass, that will not reach its genetically determined potential weight, before or after birth, and, without intervention, will have increased risk of stillbirth. Further, such screening potentially gives us the opportunity to maximise fetal physical and mental health/ wellbeing antenatally, and identify infants needing special care postnatally, Doppler ultrasound of the umbilical artery detects poor placental blood flow (measured by the RI), which is the major determinant of placental insufficiency and fetal growth restriction and potential neurological deficiency. An abnormal RI is a direct measure of poor placental function and is not dependent on measuring fetal size. The place of CWD and real-time ultrasound is accepted in known high-risk pregnancy but these data suggest strongly that the place of the former in identifying the high-risk fetus in the low-risk mother is now, at last, assured.&


This case study describes the development of technologies that enable digital-engineering and digital-twinning efforts in proliferation detection. The project presents a state-of-the-art approach to supporting IAEA safeguards by incorporating diversion-pathway analysis, facility misuse, and detection of indicators within the reactor core, applying the safeguards-by-design concept, and demonstrates its applicability as a sensitive monitoring system for advanced reactors and power plants. There are two pathways a proliferating state might take using the reactor core. One is "diversion," where special fissionable nuclear material—i.e., Pu-239, U-233, U enriched in U-233/235—that has been declared to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is removed surreptitiously, either by taking small amounts of nuclear material over a long time (known as protracted diversion) or large amounts in a short time (known as abrupt diversion). The second pathway is "misuse," where undeclared source material—material that can be transmuted into special fissionable nuclear material: depleted uranium, natural uranium, and thorium—is placed in the core, where it uses the neutron flux for transmutation. Digital twinning and digital engineering have demonstrated significant performance improvement and schedule reduction in the aerospace, automotive, and construction industries. This integrated modeling approach has not been fully applied to nuclear safeguards programs in the past. Digital twinning, combined with machine learning technologies, can lead to new innovations in process-monitoring detection, specifically in event classification, real-time notification, and data tampering. It represents a technological leap in evaluation and detection capability to safeguard any nuclear facility.


In this review of Jeremy Horder's "Excusing Crime," Huigens argues that Horder's analysis of excuse in criminal law is flawed on two grounds. First, Horder approaches the excuses (which, in American terms, correspond to non-fault arguments instead of denials of responsible agency) with a normative jurisprudence that resembles and draws upon the normative jurisprudence of Dworkin and Finnis. This approach, which is prevalent in punishment theory generally, requires an adequate explanation of criminal law to be a morally defensible account of criminal law as well. The better approach is to consider the normative claims and requirements of criminal law analytically, from an internal point of view, following Hart and Raz. Second, Horder criticizes John Gardner's normative expectations account of excuse, and then elaborates it using liberal political theory. Not only are the claims of liberalism unnecessary once one abjures normative jurisprudence, Gardner's account is not improved by them. Instead, Gardner's account can be improved by refining his broadly Aristotelian approach. Two of Horder's three proposed excuses - an excuse for demands of conscience and an excuse for a hybrid defense of diminished responsibility and excuse - are examined and found wanting from this perspective.


Embryo viability is a key element for success in assisted reproduction. Since the beginning of the era of assisted reproduction treatment, embryo viability was mostly considered to be a function of developmental progression during the preimplantation phase. In the last decade, several morphological criteria of oocytes and embryos were evaluated with regard to their potential for predicting embryo viability. The introduction of polarization light microscopy systems in assisted reproduction has enabled the detection of structures within oocytes that possess a natural birefringence. Birefringence imaging of the meiotic spindle and the zona pellucida in living animal and human oocytes represents a new approach in the assessment of oocyte and embryo viability. The technique was applied in several studies to select oocytes in order to improve treatment success. This review will summarize the present knowledge of birefringence imaging. The various applications in basic and clinical research as well as in clinical treatment will be presented, especially with regard to their effect on assisted reproduction.


Background The progression of Huntington's disease (HD) in human patients is predominantly linked with formation of aggregates, oligomers, and fragments of huntingtin (Htt). Aggregates have been related to cell death, but on the contrary, smaller soluble forms of mHtt and huntingtin oligomers were described to be toxic to the cells and to be the key factors of cellular dysfunction. Therefore we focus on the detection of these forms of Htt in our unique large animal model; transgenic minipig (TgHD) expressing mutant N-terminal (548 aa, 124 CAG/CAA) part of human huntingtin. Aims To follow disease development in transgenic minipigs by detecting different forms of Htt and comparing them with wild-type (WT) siblings. Methods We perform immunohistochemical and biochemical methods (Western blots, filter retardation assay, velocity sedimentation, etc.) on different tissues at various ages with main focus on brain in order to detect different forms of Htt. Results We observed that in cortex of TgHD minipigs, fragmentation increases with age. In addition, we have detected that fragmentation is tissue-specific. For example from all the tissues tested, we are able to see fragments mainly in the cortex, cerebellum, lung and testes of TgHD minipigs, and significantly less in other tissues. Using velocity sedimentation we have identified unphosphorylated mHtt in higher structures in TgHD minipigs. Conclusion We provide information about HD phenotype development in transgenic minipig model, to be able to test new therapeutic approaches. Acknowledgement This study was supported by CHDI Foundation (A-5378) and by National Sustainability Programme, project number LO1609 (Czech Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports). The research leading to these results has received funding from the Norwegian Financial Mechanism 2009–2014 and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports under Project Contract no. MSMT-28477/2014 (project ID 7F14308).


OBJECTIVE This analysis of 3,375 adults with overweight/obesity across the Semaglutide Treatment Effect in People with obesity (STEP) 1, 3, and 4 trials evaluated whether more participants with prediabetes had normoglycemia after 68 weeks' treatment with once-weekly semaglutide 2.4 mg plus lifestyle intervention versus placebo and assessed changes in glucose metabolism in participants with prediabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS STEP 1, 3, and 4 were phase 3, 68-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, multinational trials; STEP 4 had a 20-week semaglutide run-in and 48-week randomized period. Analyses included changes (week 0–68; before the washout period) in glycemic status (prespecified: STEP 1 and 3; post hoc: STEP 4), and in HbA1c, fasting plasma glucose (FPG), and HOMA insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) among participants with prediabetes (post hoc). RESULTS Significantly more participants with baseline (week 0) prediabetes (n = 1,536) had normoglycemia at week 68 with semaglutide versus placebo (STEP 1, 84.1% vs. 47.8%; STEP 3, 89.5% vs. 55.0%; STEP 4, 89.8% vs. 70.4%; all P < 0.0001). Fewer participants with baseline normoglycemia had prediabetes at week 68 with semaglutide versus placebo (STEP 1, 2.9% vs. 10.9%; STEP 3, 3.2% vs. 5.8%; STEP 4, 1.1% vs. 5.0%). Semaglutide resulted in greater improvements in HbA1c, FPG, and HOMA-IR than placebo among participants with baseline prediabetes (all P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS STEP 1, 3, and 4 collectively provide a robust assessment of the effects of semaglutide on glucose metabolism and prediabetes in a large cohort of adults with overweight/obesity while on treatment. Among participants with baseline prediabetes, 68 weeks' treatment with semaglutide versus placebo led to significant improvements in glucose metabolism and a higher likelihood of normoglycemia.


Background The Prospective Comparison of ARNI [Angiotensin Receptor Neprilysin Inhibitor] with ACEI [Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitor] to Determine Impact on Global Mortality and Morbidity in Heart Failure Trial (PARADIGM-HF) demonstrated in patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction of 40% or less who were symptomatic that Entresto was superior to enalapril with a 16% relative risk reduction of death from any cause and 20% relative risk reduction in cardiovascular death. These data were published in September 2014 and the use of Entresto was endorsed by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in April 2016. We sought to determine whether these trial data and recommendations in national guidelines has impacted on prescriptions for Entresto in primary care in England. Methods We conducted a comprehensive nationwide retrospective study. Data were obtained from the Prescription Cost Analysis system, which holds information on every prescription dispensed in the community in England, covering a population of more than 50 million people. We obtained data for relevant heart failure medications including Entresto. Results Between Nov 2009 and Sept 2017 there was a linear increase in the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), betablockers and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA). These results are displayed in Figure 1. There has been an increase in the use of Entresto but on a much smaller scale to the other heart failure medications. Conclusion In the 18 months since NICE carried out a technology appraisal and approved the use of Entresto there has been an increase in prescriptions but these numbers are still dwarfed in magnitude by other heart failure medications. In September 2017 there were more than 600 times the number of prescriptions for ACEi compared to Entresto. Entresto is not indicated in all patients with left ventricular impairment but it seems likely that a large number of patients who may benefit from Entresto have not yet been switched. The development of local processes/protocols may accelerate the conversion from ACEi to Entresto in those who meet NICE criteria. Abstract 42 Figure 1 Primary care prescriptions for medications used in chronic heart failure over a period of 8 years. ACEi, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor; ARB angiotensin receptor blocker; MRA, mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist


This paper presents energy efficient 4-bit successive approximation register analog to digital converter (SAR-ADC) for neural recording front end interface of neural prosthetic system(Brain machine interface). The energy efficient quaternary capacitive switching scheme (QCS) in the implementation of capacitive digital to analog converter (C-DAC) is employed which makes the energy consumption in the C-DAC independent of the output digital code. The proposed technique achieves a 50% reduction in the average energy consumption. The design is implemented in 0.25um standard complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology (CMOS).


Abstract 2037 Introduction: Monosomy 7 and deletion 7q ('del 7') are associated with poorer prognosis in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). Less is known, however, of the influence of chromosome 7 deletions with additional chromosomal abnormalities on the outcomes of allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT). We hypothesized that multiple abnormalities in addition to 'del 7' lead to worse transplant results, and investigated this hypothesis in a cohort of AML (n=101) and MDS (n=100) patients transplanted between year 1990 and 2011 in our institution. Methods: Patient and disease characteristics are shown in the table. Year 2002 marks the year in which allele level HLA class I typing was incorporated, and also when most patients received the preparative regimen of busulfan 130 mg/m2 and fludarabine × 4 days +/− clofarabine. Covariates considered in the statistical analysis were age, 'del 7' alone versus multiple, conditioning (busulfan-fludarabine-based versus others), disease status, donor type, stem cell source, treatment-related disease, year of treatment (before and after 2002), and IPSS (MDS only). Results: AML: 60% had active disease at transplant. Median follow-up of AML survivors was 36 months (range, 0.7 – 237). 'Del 7' alone was present in 27 patients, while 74 had 'del 7' with complex cytogenetics. Preparative regimen was busulfan/fludarabine-based (n=42) or others (n=59). Donors were related (n=47) or unrelated (n=54). Grafts were bone marrow (n=35), peripheral blood (n=60), or cord blood (n=6). 39 patients were transplanted before 2002. Multivariate analysis showed that survival was independently influenced by age (>50 years) (HR=2; 95% CI 1.2–3.3; p=0.006), use of busulfan/fludarabine-based preparative regimen (HR=0.6; 95%CI 0.3–0.9; p=0.04), and remission at transplant (HR=0.4; 95%CI 0.2–0.7; p=0.001). Same factors influenced PFS. MDS patients: median follow-up in survivors was 17 months (range, 0.8– 197); 32 patients had 'del 7' and 68 had 'del 7' with complex abnormalities. 54 patients had treatment-related MDS. IPSS score was 1.5 in 38 patients, and 92 patients had active disease at transplant. Preparative regimens were Flu/Bu based (n=51), and others (n=49). Donor type was related (n=52) and unrelated (n=48). Grafts were bone marrow (n=37), peripheral blood (n=58) and cord blood (n=5); 35 patients were transplanted before 2002. Multivariate analysis showed that survival was influenced by absence of other chromosomal abnormalities in addition to 'del 7' (HR=0.5; 95% CI 0.3–0.8; p=0.01), transplant after year 2002 (HR=0.6; 95%CI 0.3–0.9; p=0.03), and IPSS >= 1.5 (HR=2; 95%CI 1.2–3.4; p=0.006). Same factors influenced PFS. Conclusions: Presence of complex chromosomal abnormalities in addition to monosomy 7 or deletion 7q did not independently influence outcomes of AML patients, but was an independent predictor of survival and PFS in MDS patients undergoing allogeneic transplantation. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Horizontal cooperation in logistics has attracted an increasing amount of attention in both industry and the research community. The most common form of cooperation in the tramp shipping market is the shipping pool, formed by a fleet of ships from different ownerships operated by a centralised administration. This paper studies such a centralised horizontal cooperation, a product tanker pool in Denmark, and addresses the operational challenges, including how to maximise the pool profit and how to allocate it fairly. We apply discrete event simulation and dynamic ship routing and speed optimisation in order to maximise the pool profit in a highly dynamic environment and apply methods derived from cooperative game theory when allocating the total profit. Through a large number of experiments on realistic data, we evaluate the benefit of cooperation under different scenarios, present the results from the profit allocation and analyse the effect of pool size on the total profit and ship utilisation rate.


This report examines the mortality experience of 527 men who retired from a copper smelter where they were exposed to airborne arsenic trioxide. Urinary arsenic values of all plant employees were determined in 1973, and the relative arsenic exposure in the various departments of the plant were determined. The relationship of airborne arsenic concentrations to urinary arsenic values was studied in a separate experiment, and the feasibility of using urinary arsenic values as a measure of arsenic exposure was established. The mortality experience of the cohort under study showed them to have a mortality 12.2% higher than was found for males of the same area at the same ages and in the same time period. The excess mortality was due chiefly to respiratory cancer. When the deaths were classified by total lifetime arsenic exposure, the respiratory cancer mortality was linearly related to the amount of exposure. The 1973 figures for arsenic exposure underestimated the exposure of the cohort group by a factor of possibly 10. Evidence was obtained which suggests that after removal from arsenic exposure, the risk of lung cancer declines. Certain of the data which are presented suggests there may be a threshold value for airborne arsenic trioxide exposure below which no adverse effects may be expected.


BIOPHYSICS AND COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY Correction for "Structural basis of photosensitivity in a bacterial light-oxygen-voltage/helix-turn-helix (LOV-HTH) DNA-binding protein," by Abigail I. Nash, Reginald McNulty, Mary Elizabeth Shillito, Trevor E. Swartz, Roberto A. Bogomolni, Hartmut Luecke, and Kevin H. Gardner, which appeared in issue 23, June 7, 2011, of Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (108:9449–9454; first published May 23, 2011; 10.1073/pnas.1100262108). The authors note that Fig. 3 appeared incorrectly. As originally published, the color scale in Fig. 3C was inadvertently reversed (with red indicating minimal chemical shift changes and blue indicating maximal changes upon illumination). The corrected figure and its legend appear below.


1. Introduction 2. Abbreviations 3. Text and Translation, Notes 4. Index of Qu'ranic Quotations 5. Index of Verse Quotations 6. Indexes of Names, Authors, Titles 7. Glossary-Index


The motivation for the calibration of harmonic analysers under fluctuating harmonic conditions is considered. An overview of the prescribed design of IEC61000-4-7 harmonic analysers is given. A class of signal is presented that can be used to calibrate analysers at the 'maximum' and 'average' limits as defined in the international standard.The inherent variation in results identified as a result distribution due to variable phase (RDVP) is considered together with the consequences of the RDVP for the use and calibration of these harmonic analysers. A method to fit analyser results to the RDVP, based on multiple phase shifted harmonic modulators is presented, such that analyser performance can be assessed. Sample results are given, showing significant errors on commercial devices, despite their apparent correct performance under steady-state conditions.


This chapter discusses the social dimensions of war trauma and recovery through the examples of Mozambique, with a detailed focus on the Gorongosa, a district in the center of the country, and Uganda, specifically, Gulu district. Both countries are exemplary of how state actors and civilians struggle to come to terms with experiences of mass political violence as the result of prolonged conflict. The chapter briefly describes the dynamics of war violence and the human toll of violence in both countries. It analyzes changes in processes of social recovery over time through the introduction and consumption of new mass‐media technologies as well as in response to emergent challenges in the post‐war era. The chapter demonstrates that social recovery is a long‐term negotiated endeavor and women, while being seriously persecuted and wronged by the various factions in war violence, also appear as central actors in diverse recovery mechanisms and collective actions.


This study was conducted to investigate the association between socio-demographic factors and attitudes toward antibiotic resistance and consumer`s knowledge on antibiotic use for common cold. Telephone survey was conducted between June 24 and July 2, 2009, among 1,015 adults who were randomly stratified by age, sex and area. A total of 921 respondents were included in the analysis. Logistic regression was used to analyze the influence of socio-demographic factors on knowledge and attitudes. A total of 452 respondents(49.1%) recognised that they knew about antibiotic resistance and 769 respondents(83.5%) worried that antibiotic resistance is a serious problem in Korea. A total of 577 respondents(62.7%) had adequate knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance. Multiple logistic regression showed that younger age and higher education level were associated with adequate knowledge. The odds ratio of appropriate knowledge among persons with college degrees was 5.25(95% CI, 2.78-9.90) compared to those with elementary or less education. Sex and income variable were not predictors of adequate knowledge on antibiotic use and resistance. This study showed that consumers with less education had inadequate knowledge on antibiotic use for common cold. Even though consumers in their 40s and 50s thought they knew about antibiotic resistance, there is a need to improve their knowledge. Education campaigns for appropriate antibiotic use have to be differentiated among consumers with different socio-demographic characteristics.


Proceedings: AACR 101st Annual Meeting 2010‐‐ Apr 17‐21, 2010; Washington, DC

Developmental signaling cascades such as Notch, Hedgehog, and Wnt are increasingly being investigated as novel therapeutic targets in malignant brain tumors. These pathways are thought to play particularly important roles in stem-like cancer cells, which seem resistant to standard chemo- and radiation therapies. Indeed, inhibiting Notch signaling in medulloblastoma or glioblastoma (GBM) cultures decreases the proportion of stem-like cells. However, we thought that other developmental stem cell maintenance pathways might compensate for the pharmacological inhibition of Notch signaling, and therefore investigated Hedgehog and Wnt. Interestingly, we found that levels of the Hedgehog targets Gli1 and Patched1B increased almost two-fold in response to pharmacological inhibition of Notch in neurosphere lines derived from malignant gliomas. The Wnt target Axin2 was also upregulated in some lines, but in a less reproducible fashion. We hypothesized that there might be direct transcriptional regulation of Hedgehog targets by the Notch pathway, and used chromatin immunoprecipitation to evaluate whether the repressive factor Hes1 bound to the first intron of Gli1. We found that Hes1 does bind to multiple N-boxes in this intron, consistent with the concept that it acts as a transcriptional repressor for Gli1. Together, our data suggest a negative feedback loop between Notch and Hedgehog by which GBMs could escape from pharmacological Notch inhibition by up-regulating Hedgehog signaling.

We also investigated whether targeting both Notch and Hedgehog signaling simultaneously would kill brain tumor cells more effectively than as monotherapies. As we hypothesized, while pharmacological inhibition of Notch (using gamma-secretase inhibitor) or Hedgehog (using cyclopamine) signaling alone inhibited the growth and clonogenicity of GBM neurosphere cell lines in a dose-dependent fashion, co-treatment resulted in significantly more robust inhibition of cell growth and colony-forming ability. Moreover, when neurosphere lines capable of forming intracranial tumors were pretreated with one or both pathway inhibitors before injection into mice, co-treatment significantly prolonged survival. This is consistent with our model that inhibiting both pathways more effectively kills the xenograft-initiating cells within the culture. We next investigated whether these findings applied to primary human GBMs and found that freshly cultured neurospheres were highly susceptible to co-treatment but more refractory to monotherapy. Our findings suggest that targeting multiple developmental pathways may be necessary to fully ablate the stem-like population in malignant brain tumors.

Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 101st Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2010 Apr 17-21; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2010;70(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 14.


The Elliptic Curve Cryptography covers all relevant asymmetric cryptographic primitives like digital signatures and key agreement algorithms. In the present work, we develop a design of elliptic curve operations over binary Fields GF(2 m ). The function used for this purpose is the scalar multiplication kP which is the core operation of ECCs. Wherek is an integer and P is a point on an elliptic curve. The EC Point multiplication processor defined in affine coordinates is achieved by using a dedicated Galois Field arithmetic implemented on FPGA using VHDL language.


Biocatalysis offers an alternative approach to conventional chemical processes for the production of single-isomer chiral drugs. Lipases are one of the most used enzymes in the synthesis of enantiomerically pure intermediates. The use of this type of enzyme is mainly due to the characteristics of their regio-, chemo- and enantioselectivity in the resolution process of racemates, without the use of cofactors. Moreover, this class of enzymes has generally excellent stability in the presence of organic solvents, facilitating the solubility of the organic substrate to be modified. Further improvements and new applications have been achieved in the syntheses of biologically active compounds catalyzed by lipases. This review critically reports and discusses examples from recent literature (2007 to mid-2015), concerning the synthesis of enantiomerically pure active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and their intermediates in which the key step involves the action of a lipase.


I review a contemporary branch of the informal sector literature that focus on understanding the way firm behavior is affected by the presence of informality and how such distortions have an impact on aggregate variables. The authors in this group all make use of dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) models. I focus on models with heterogeneous firms and a cost of informality that is increasing with firm size: reducing informality entails a tradeoff because there are some distortions associated with the formal sector and some others with the informal. Quantitative evaluations of this tradeoff using these models show that, in general, reducing informality brings gains. In conclusion, substantial progress has been made in understanding informality and its consequences through the use of DGE models with heterogeneous firms. More research is needed to understand how informality affects the economy when other sources of heterogeneity are considered.


In recent years, deep learning-based sequence modelings, such as language models, have received much attention and success, which pushes researchers to explore the possibility of transforming non-sequential problems into a sequential form. Following this thought, deep neural networks can be represented as composite functions of a sequence of mappings, linear or nonlinear, where each composition can be viewed as a \emph{word}. However, the weights of linear mappings are undetermined and hence require an infinite number of words. In this article, we investigate the finite case and constructively prove the existence of a finite \emph{vocabulary} $V=\{\phi_i: \mathbb{R}^d \to \mathbb{R}^d | i=1,...,n\}$ with $n=O(d^2)$ for the universal approximation. That is, for any continuous mapping $f: \mathbb{R}^d \to \mathbb{R}^d$, compact domain $\Omega$ and $\varepsilon>0$, there is a sequence of mappings $\phi_{i_1}, ..., \phi_{i_m} \in V, m \in \mathbb{Z}_+$, such that the composition $\phi_{i_m} \circ ... \circ \phi_{i_1} $ approximates $f$ on $\Omega$ with an error less than $\varepsilon$. Our results provide a linguistic perspective of composite mappings and suggest a cross-disciplinary study between linguistics and approximation theory.


Composite languages are composed of multiple sub-languages. Examples include the parser specification languages read by parser generators like Yacc, modern extensible languages with complex layers of domain-specific sub-languages, and even traditional programming languages like C and C++. In this dissertation, we describe PSLR(1), a new scanner-based LR(1) parser generation system that automatically eliminates scanner conflicts typically caused by language composition. The fundamental premise of PSLR(1) is the pseudo-scanner, a scanner that only recognizes tokens accepted by the current parser state. However, use of the pseudo-scanner raises several unique challenges, for which we describe a novel set of solutions. One major challenge is that practical LR(1) parser table generation algorithms merge parser states, sometimes inducing incorrect pseudoscanner behavior including new conflicts. Our solution is a new extension of IELR(1), an algorithm we have previously described for generating minimal LR(1) parser tables. Other contributions of our work include a robust system for handling the remaining scanner conflicts, a correction for syntax error handling mechanisms that are also corrupted by parser state merging, and a mechanism to enable scoping of syntactic declarations in order to further improve the modularity of sub-language specifications. While the premise of the pseudo-scanner has been described by other researchers independently, we expect our improvements to distinguish PSLR(1) as a significantly more robust scanner-based parser generation system for traditional and modern composite languages.


Industry 4.0 era materials used by entrepreneurs should be recycled, environmentally friendly, renewable with less chemical content. Indonesia as a tropical country has a large land area with the potential to produce the largest natural fiber in the world. One opportunity that can be applied to the utilization of natural fibers in air filters that currently use dominant materials is synthetic fibers. natural fiber has the advantage because it does not contain toxic chemicals, local raw materials, and is easily produced. This research will analyze the mechanical and morphological characteristics of biological fibers that have great potential as pre-filter raw material. Analysis of mechanical properties through tensile strength testing for single fibers and morphological analysis through scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Tensile testing was the results are; palm oil has a tensile strength of 620 MPa; 998 MPa and 213 MPa flax coconut fiber. For the morphological test results from SEM analysis for ramie fiber, it looks solid without fiber holes; The fibers appear to be many small fibers bound to one another while coir fibers have many pore holes in one observed fiber. Kata kunci : Filter udara, serat hayati, serat sintetik, kekuatan tarik dan morpologi.


Recently, studies on medical and health monitoring systems using wireless communications have been actively conducted. In the field of health monitoring systems, Wireless Body Area Network (WBAN) is one of the key technologies and its standardization activities have also been extensively carried out. As our previous work, we proposed an optimal QoS control scheme employing a multiplexing layer and a decomposable error control coding scheme [1]. However, in our past work, we did not assume a situation where several WBANs are coexistent and give interference each other. Besides, the error correction capacity of our decomposable code was not sufficient. In this paper, we improve dependability of our scheme by extending code rates of the decomposable code. We also evaluate the performances comparing with IEEE 802.15.6 in a multiple WBAN environment by computer simulations.