With the upcoming extremely large telescopes (ELTs), the volume, mass, and cost of the associated spectro- graphs will scale with the telescope diameter. Astrophotonics offers a unique solution to this problem in the form of single-mode fiber-fed diffraction-limited spectrographs on a chip. These highly miniaturized chips offer great flexibility in terms of coherent manipulation of photons. Such photonic spectrographs are well-suited to disperse the light from directly imaged planets (post-coronagraph, collected using a single-mode fiber) to characterize exoplanet atmospheres. Here we present the results from a proof-of-concept high-resolution astrophotonic spectrograph using the arrayed waveguide gratings (AWG) architecture. This chip uses the low-loss SiN platform (SiN core, SiO2 cladding) with square waveguides (800 nm ~ 800 nm). The AWG has a measured resolving power (=) of ~ 12,000 and a free spectral range (FSR) of 2.8 nm. While the FSR is small, the chip operates over a broad band (1200 - 1700 nm). The peak on-chip throughput (excluding the coupling efficiency) is ~40% (- 4 dB) and the overall throughput (including the coupling loss) is ~ 11% (- 9.6 dB) in the TE mode. Thanks to the high-confinement waveguide geometry, the chip is highly miniaturized with a size of only 7.4 mm x 2 mm. This demonstration highlights the utility of SiN platform for astrophotonics, particularly, the capability of commercial SiN foundries to fabricate ultra-small, high-resolution, high-throughput AWG spectrographs on a chip suitable for astronomical applications.


An adaptive method based on the sparse component analysis is proposed for stronger clutter filtering in ultrasound color flow imaging (CFI). In the present method, the focal underdetermined system solver (FOCUSS) algorithm is employed, and the iteration of the algorithm is based on weighted norm minimization of the dependent variable with the weights being a function of the preceding iterative solutions. By finding the localized energy solution vector representing strong clutter components, the FOCUSS algorithm first extracts the clutter from the original signal. However, the different initialization of the basis function matrix has an impact on the filtering performance of FOCUSS algorithms. Thus, 2 FOCUSS clutter- filtering methods, the original and the modified, are obtained by initializing the basis function matrix using a predetermined set of monotone sinusoids and using the discrete Karhunen-Loeve transform (DKLT) and spatial averaging, respectively. Validation of 2 FOCUSS filtering methods has been performed through experimental tests, in which they were compared with several conventional clutter filters using simplistic simulated and gathered clinical data. The results demonstrate that 2 FOCUSS filtering methods can follow signal varying adaptively and perform clutter filtering effectively. Moreover, the modified method may obtain the further improved filtering performance and retain more blood flow information in regions close to vessel walls.


Cationic coatings can enhance the stability of synthetic DNA objects in low ionic strength environments such as physiological fluids. Here, we used single-particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), pseudoatomic model fitting, and single-molecule mass photometry to study oligolysine and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-oligolysine-coated multilayer DNA origami objects. The coatings preserve coarse structural features well on a resolution of multiple nanometers but can also induce deformations such as twisting and bending. Higher-density coatings also led to internal structural deformations in the DNA origami test objects, in which a designed honeycomb-type helical lattice was deformed into a more square-lattice-like pattern. Under physiological ionic strength, where the uncoated objects disassembled, the coated objects remained intact but they shrunk in the helical direction and expanded in the direction perpendicular to the helical axis. Helical details like major/minor grooves and crossover locations were not discernible in cryo-EM maps that we determined of DNA origami coated with oligolysine and PEG-oligolysine, whereas these features were visible in cryo-EM maps determined from the uncoated reference objects. Blunt-ended double-helical interfaces remained accessible underneath the coating and may be used for the formation of multimeric DNA origami assemblies that rely on stacking interactions between blunt-ended helices. The ionic strength requirements for forming multimers from coated DNA origami differed from those needed for uncoated objects. Using single-molecule mass photometry, we found that the mass of coated DNA origami objects prior to and after incubation in low ionic strength physiological conditions remained unchanged. This finding indicated that the coating effectively prevented strand dissociation but also that the coating itself remained stable in place. Our results validate oligolysine coatings as a powerful stabilization method for DNA origami but also reveal several potential points of failure that experimenters should watch to avoid working with false premises.


Remipedia are rare and ancient mandibulate arthropods inhabiting almost inaccessible submerged cave systems. Their phylogenetic position is still enigmatic and the subject of extremely controversial debates. To contribute arguments to this discussion, we analyzed the brain of Godzilliognomus frondosus Yager, 1989 (Remipedia, Godzilliidae) and provide a detailed 3D reconstruction of its anatomy. This reconstruction yielded the surprising finding that in comparison with the brain of other crustaceans such as representatives of the Branchiopoda and Maxillopoda the brain of G. frondosus is highly organized and well differentiated. It is matched in complexity only by the brain of "higher" crustaceans (Malacostraca) and Hexapoda. A phylogenetic analysis limited to brain anatomy across the Mandibulata strongly contradicts the prevailing hypothesis that the Remipedia are a basal, ancestral crustacean group but instead argues in favor of a remipede-malacostracan-hexapod clade and most likely a sister-group relationship of Remipedia and Malacostraca.


The process of background subtraction is always a key step in surveillance. Currently, the mixture of Gaussians (MOG) works well in the background modeling and has been widely used in practice. In this paper, some new additional constrains are imposed on the updating process of statistics of Gaussian models. To reduce computational cost, the numbers of Gaussian models are selected dynamically based on the maximum recurrence time interval (MRTI). The experimental results show that the proposed method performs well in complex background modeling, and the efficiency in object detection is improved significantly.


Resonance tracking is an approach to measuring concentrations, forces or viscosities. Such vibration-based measurements appear to be particularly well suited for applications at the micro- or even nano-scale. In order to monitor more than one parameter or parameter ratio simultaneously, a new kind of resonance tracking is developed with methods from adaptive control. It combines parameter estimation methods and state observers to adopt the resonant excitation to vibrating systems with time-varying parameters. At the same time, these parameters are measured. This approach is exemplified at two single-input-single-output (SISO) systems: a linear spring-mass-damper oscillator and a weakly nonlinear oscillator of Duffing-type.


ABSTRACT Most literature on sexual fetishes focuses on maldevelopment, abnormality, and stigma. Benefits and psychosocial aspects of practising fetishes are seldom documented. We aimed to explore the sensations, perceptions, and socioemotional experiences involved in practicing fetishes. We recruited 316 participants from various websites and social media platforms geared specifically for people with fetishes. Participants completed our online anonymous questionnaire which yielded both quantitative and qualitative data. When asked what they wanted the world to know about their fetish, content analysis showed that those who engage in fetishes gave responses that fell into the categories of what fetishes are not, what fetishes are, about the practice itself, and about negative aspects. Participants had typical Satisfaction with Life scores. Participants had lower than typical Mate Value Scale scores (a gauge of one's own perceived desirability) with some exception. Results suggest generally positive experiences and attitudes among those who practice fetishes and support the notion that fetishes are not inherently pathological.


Since the surgical palliation of a univentricular congenital heart defect was first described in the early 1970s, thousands of lives were saved by this groundbreaking operation. Although initially described for the palliation of tricuspid valve atresia, the Fontan operation is now utilized for many other univentricular heart defects involving either hypoplastic right or left ventricles, and the number of babies who survive the surgery and the postsurgical hospitalization continues to grow. Echocardiography constitutes the mainstay follow‐up imaging modality for patients with a Fontan system. In order to obtain all the needed information from the echocardiographic studies, close familiarity with the native congenital heart defects, the build of the Fontan systems, and the potential long‐term complications is required. Detailed studies provide valuable information on the various components of the Fontan circulation such as the function of the single ventricle and the valves, flow in the Glenn and Fontan pathways, and possible sources of cyanosis and shunts. Three‐dimensional and transesophageal echocardiogram studies can assist in delineating the Fontan anatomy and to evaluate smaller intracardiac structures.


Single phase films of YBa2Cu4O8 showing an onset Tc of 80 K have been grown on MgO and SrTiO3 (100) substrates by pulsed laser ablation deposition with an excimer laser operating at 308 nm. The optimum physical properties were obtained by growth onto a room temperature substrate in 260 mbar of flowing oxygen followed by a post-growth anneal in 1 bar of oxygen at 800 degrees C.


Aguirre, C.G., Madani, A., Mohtar, R. and Haghighi, K. 2005. Deterministic finite element solution of unsteady flow and transport through porous media: Model development. Canadian Biosystems Engineering/Le genie des biosystemes au Canada 47: 1.291.35. A deterministic finite element solution to predict water flow and nutrient movement through porous media was developed and implemented using Visual C++. The model is user-friendly, can be used as a management tool, and is able to predict the NO3-N losses in subsurface drainage water. The application of either solid or liquid fertilizer can be easily simulated. To reduce computational time, mathematical expressions for the contributions of the flux boundary conditions to the finite element equations were developed analytically and directly introduced into the force vectors. The global system of equations was evaluated using a finite difference approximation in the time domain. The finite element methodology provides a very attractive approach to predict flow and transport of nutrients in soils.


Background: The present study is undertaken to evaluate the different clinical presentations of thyroid lesions in Northern Indian population. Clinical examination, although very accurate in most cases of thyroid lesion, is inadequate in some areas especially, in staging of thyroid malignancies and in detecting the multi-nodularity of the gland. Methods: The study was conducted in the postgraduate department of pathology of a teaching hospital for a period of 1 year. It was a prospective hospital based Study. In each case, a brief clinical history and physical examination along with evaluation of relevant investigation was carried out. Patient was explained about whole of the procedure & the consent for the procedure was taken in all patients. FNAC of thyroid gland was done and the results of FNAC were correlated with histopathology, wherever available. The final results were correlated with different clinical presentations using SPSS 11.5 software. Results: Out of the 139 patients, 134 presented with swelling in the neck, 3 patients presented with pain in the neck while as 2 patients came with discomfort in the neck. 74 patients have duration of swelling more than 2 years, 51 patients have duration upto 1 year, 10 patients have duration between 1 to 2 years and 4 patients have less than one month. Out of 139 patients, 110 patients have solitary swelling, 87 have swelling on right side, 119 presented with regular margins, 91 presented with firm consistency, 130 were mobile and 135 presented with non-tender. Conclusion: Majority of the patients presented after 2 years of illness i.e. 74. Only 4 patients presently acutely within 1 month of illness. The major complaint was swelling in neck i.e. in 134, rest presented with local pain and discomfort.


Abstract This paper analyses the effect of environmental standards on aggregate employment in the presence of a productivity effect in a multi-sector general equilibrium framework of an open economy. The productivity effect is generated among the skilled and unskilled workers as an improvement in the environmental quality improves their health, leading to an increase in their productivity. Though the productivity effect initially lowers labour demand as labour requirement per unit of production falls, a standard may raise employment depending on the parametric configurations. In this paper, we identify the role of this productivity effect on the change in employment and show that it may actually improve the chances of an employment expansion.


This report assessing the environmental impacts associated with the Chile Composting in Santiago Project makes recommendations for reducing these risks. Expected impacts include: air emissions and odors, an increased level of noise, proliferation of disease vectors, alteration of the landscape and loss of land from drainage, and land and water contamination from liquid contaminants. Measures to minimize air pollution may include paving access roads to property, wetting the earth being transported; setting up a greenbelt to minimize wind-carried pollutants to the project area; pressurized aeration to the composting piles; reducing vehicle speeds; preventive maintenance to vehicles and machinery; covering transport vehicles; vacating houses which can be affected by odors; containing liquid waste; using a biofilter for the air; daily cleaning of the site. Measures for noise control may include reducing traffic speeds, and avoiding the simultaneous use of all machinery and equipment. Measures to reduce the incidence of disease whether by human or animal carriers include continuously processing waste and ensuring its rapid inclusion as compost, causing an optimal mixture of waste, covering compost piles, systematically cleaning different areas, and establishing an area of control and hiring a contractor to monitor health. To prevent altering the landscape, carefully choose sites.


In this article we study Hamilton cycles in sparse pseudo‐random graphs. We prove that if the second largest absolute value λ of an eigenvalue of a d‐regular graph G on n vertices satisfies $$\lambda \leq{{(\log \, \log \, n)^2}\over {1000\, \log \, n \, (\log \, \log \, \log \, n)}}d$$ and n is large enough, then G is Hamiltonian. We also show how our main result can be used to prove that for every c >0 and large enough n a Cayley graph X (G,S), formed by choosing a set S of c log5 n random generators in a group G of order n, is almost surely Hamiltonian. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Graph Theory 42: 17–33, 2003


Abstract Introduction: Accidental cannabis poisoning after oral ingestion in infants is an emerging cause of intoxication with well-known clinical aspects but few data exist regarding the levels of cannabinoids in plasma and urine. Here, we present data on the concentrations of Δ-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and metabolites in plasma and/or urine in 10 infants after cannabis intoxication. Materials and methods: Cannabinoids were detected using an automated immunochemical method and quantified using liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Results: Ten infants were admitted after cannabis poisoning. THC, THC-COOH and 11-OH-THC plasma levels ranged from 4.4 to 127 ng/mL, from 28 to 433 ng/mL and from 2 to 59.8 ng/mL, respectively. THC-COOH urine levels ranged from 748 to 5689 ng/mL. The most common symptoms were drowsiness, hypotonia, behavioural disorder and tachycardia. Discussion: No correlation between plasma concentrations and symptoms could be found, but the concentration of THC-COOH in the two patients who experienced seizures was higher than 3000 ng/mL. This series of cases of accidental intoxication in infants showed high THC and metabolites concentrations in urine and plasma.


Adaptive Game AI improves adaptability of opponent AI as well as the challenge level of the game play; as a result the entertainment of game is augmented. The most updated algorithm of MCT (Monte-Carlo for Trees) which perform excellent in computer go can be used to achieve excellent result to control non-player characters (NPCs) in video games. In this paper, the prey and predator game genre of Dead End is used as a test-bed, the basic principle of MCT is presented, and the effectiveness of it sapplication to game AI development is demonstrated. Furthermore, by using the construction of ANN (Artificial Neural Network) trained by the data collected from Monte-Carlo Method, the validation of effectiveness and efficiency of the approach is presented. Finally, an approach of combine both the two techniques is discussed to create the intelligent adaptive game opponent.


In 1973, I wrote in Psychiatry about an ideological clash on a psychiatric ward involving paraprofessionals. The article pointed out that there is a growing trend of therapeutic sophistication among the more educated technicians and aides working in mental hospitals today. At the particular unit studied, Ward 3A, the paraprofessional clash involved a fraction supporting milieu therapy versus another advocating a more aggressive confrontation therapy, which they themselves called "harassment therapy." I wished to demonstrate the power of the modern paraprofessional in psychiatry, and to show some of the organizational dynamics behind the growth in power and sophistication. This is a follow-up to the original study, based on an additional three and a half years of work on the ward; it reports on the eventual organizational response to the paraprofessionals' power, and includes a broader and deeper analysis of the phenomenon of harassment therapy.


In order to combat the threat of Global Warming it is widely acknowledged that is necessary to reduce the carbon intensity of economies. Although remedial action should be instigated at a variety of spatial scales there is a trend towards emphasising action at the local level, where it is felt that strategies have most chance of success. Inventories that are based at the city or regional level can be useful tools in this regard as they allow the intensity and distribution of carbon flows to be calculated. The framework discussed in the paper has been developed from IPCC guidelines and the experience of other city-scale energy studies, and although the methodology was devised for application to the Greater Manchester region in the UK the approach can be replicated for other urban areas.


The study of facework (communicative strategies people use in order to enact self-face and to uphold, support, or challenge another person's face [Oetzel et al. 2000]) during discussion is in its infancy. Previous studies focused on participants' recollections of face-to-face discussions. This paper reports the results of an empirical study of facework behavior and online discussion outcomes. In the study, 103 participants used an online discussion board to discuss a controversial topic. The results show that different outcomes of online discussions are related to different facework behaviors, and gender plays a moderating role.


This study explores the relationships among transformational leadership style, cognitive trust, and collective efficacy as well as the impact of these variables on distal team performance. Data collected from 39 teams find that team cognitive trust as two process variables involves a transformational leadership process in which cognitive trust in the team leader and cognitive trust among team members mediate the impact of this leadership style on collective efficacy. Unlike previous studies, our results show that leveraging cognitive trust in the team leader is necessary but not sufficient for better proximal collective efficacy, which in turn facilitates distal team performance. Although cognitive trust among team members was more closely related to proximal collective efficacy than cognitive trust in the team leader was, the factors that foster the development of cognitive trust among team members remain scantly explored in the transformational leadership literature and deserve more attention in future research.


Advertising expenditure has risen globally and in Australia there has been a 2.7-fold rise in the last 10 years. It is suggested that some advertisements may be 'unacceptable', that is unfair, misleading, deceptive, offensive, false or socially irresponsible. Industry and regulatory responses to consumer complaints about these problems must be addressed. This research is concerned with consumer behaviour and consumer complaint behaviour specifically in the area of advertising in Australia. The general findings from the reviewed literature indicated that complainants tend to be older, have attained higher levels of educational qualifications, earn a higher gross weekly income, possess greater degrees of wealth, have higher participant levels of local community involvement and, in general terms, have more resources to avail themselves of in order to allow them to take action when dissatisfied. The results from this research engender a better understanding of the complaining public. Empirical analyses were used for determining the characteristics of people who complain to the Advertising Standards Board and inferred that their opinions regarding advertising differ from members of the general population in four key areas. This research will afford regulatory bodies a better understanding of the complaining public as well as educating marketing communications strategists in effectively reaching their target markets.


Social media is an important tool for disseminating accurate medical information and combating misinformation (ie, the spreading of false or inaccurate information) and disinformation (ie, spreading misinformation with the intent to deceive). The prolific rise of inaccurate information during a global pandemic is a pressing public health concern. In response to this phenomenon, health professional amplifiers such as IMPACT (Illinois Medical Professional Action Collaborative Team) have been created as a coordinated response to enhance public communication and advocacy around the COVID-19 pandemic.


Sleep, emotions and pain are intimately connected,
physiologically, by their location and utilization of the
same brain centers and neurotransmitters. Sleep disturbances
have been clinically observed in chronic pain populations;
yet, no treatment program has formally addressed this aspect
of patient care. It is hypothesized that a pain population
(PN) will differ significantly from a non-injured workforce
(WF) when reviewing quantitative and qualitative sleep data.
This study strongly supports that sleep disturbances and
socioeconomic decrements exist in chronic pain patients.
Forty-seven variables were surveyed and 13 were found to show
significant differences between the groups and seven were
found to discriminate between the PN and WF groups at less than the .0001 level. A discriminant analysis was performed to determine the smallest model which could efficiently classify cases, according to successive root variables. The major discriminators are pain levels, medication, amount of sleep obtained and number of awakenings.


Abstract The short-range order of vitreous V20 5 and of three (Zn0)Jt(V20 5)1_x glasses with x = 0.2, 0.4, and 0.5 is studied by X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments where the change of the contrast allows to resolve the V -0 and Z n -0 correlations. The V -0 and the Z n -0 first-neighbor peaks are approximat ed by several Gaussian functions. In case of vitreous V20 5 two obvious V -0 distances exist which are related with V 0 4 and V 0 5 units. With ZnO additions the V -O coordination number decreases from 4.4 in vitreous V20 5 to 4.0 in the metavanadate glass where the strongest decrease of the fraction of V 0 5 units is found for glasses of * < 0.2. Dominantly, the V 0 5 groups are linked with the neighboring units by comers. The Z n-0 coordination numbers of the modified glasses are about five with closest dis tances of = 0.200 nm.


Immunogenic cell death (ICD) is a regulated form of cell death that induces the activation of both innate and adaptive immune responses through the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and their subsequent recognition by pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs), generating specific CD8+ T lymphocytes. Thus, ICD inducers (such as certain chemotherapeutic agents, targeted therapies, radiation, and oncolytic viruses) could become a potential cancer treatment by providing antitumour immunity and cancer vaccination. Moreover, their combination with immunotherapy, especially with immune checkpoint inhibitors, could overcome the immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment that characterises certain cancers, including gastrointestinal cancers. This review will provide insights into the role of ICD induction in colorectal, gastric, pancreatic, and hepatocellular carcinomas. Specifically, we will discuss the main mechanisms involved in ICD, their potential application in gastrointestinal cancer treatment, and the latest clinical trial updates.


Defensins play a vital part in immunodefensity, with broad-spectrum of antimicrobial activities. Defensins can kill G(+), G(-) bacterial, fungal and some virus. At the same time, their cytotoxicity and cytolysis in tumor immunity are getting more and more attention. At present, studies on defensins in tumors especially in oral tumors increase. This paper summarizes defensins and tumor immunity and its relationship to oral tumors.


This paper discusses the challenges and possibilities attendant upon successfully implementing literacy across the curriculum initiatives–or school language policies' as they have come to be known–particularly at the secondary or high school level. It provides a theoretical background to these issues, exploring previous academic discussions of school language policies, and highlights key areas of concern as well as opportunity with respect to school implementation of such policies. As such, it provides a necessary conceptual background to the subsequent papers in this special issue, which focus upon the Secondary Schools' Literacy Initiative (SSLI)–a New Zealand funded programme that aims to establish cross-curricular language and literacy policies in secondary schools.


The purpose of this paper is to present data about the level and background characteristics of physicians' training in palliative care in Australia (AU), Belgium (BE), Denmark (DK), Italy (IT), the Netherlands (NL), Sweden (SE) and Switzerland (CH) (n=16,486). The response rate to an anonymous questionnaire differed between countries (39%-68%). In most countries approximately half of all responding physicians had any formal training in palliative care (median: 3–10 days). Exceptions were NL (78%) and IT (35%). The most common type of training was a postgraduate course. Physicians in nursing home medicine (only in NL), geriatrics, oncology (not in NL), and general practice had the most training. In all seven countries, physicians with such training discussed options for palliative care and options to forgo life-sustaining treatment more often with their patients than did physicians without. Irrespective of earlier palliative care training, 87%-98% of the physicians wanted extended training.


Epstein-Barr virus has been classically associated with certain B-lymphocytic benign and malignant proliferations. However, using molecular biological techniques it becomes clear that EBV is also associated with several T-NHL in non-immunocompromised patients. The distribution of EBV-associated T-NHL seems to be site-restricted, i.e. in about 100% of the nasal T-NHL and in 20% of the lung and gastrointestinal lymphomas and rarely in primary cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. Moreover, the expression of the LMP1 protein seems to be associated with a poor prognosis. In this section the role of EBV in the pathogenesis of T-NHL will be discussed.


Abstract In this Article we seek to shift the focus from the texts of bilateral labor agreements (BLAs) to the context of their emergence and materialization. We argue that to study BLAs and evaluate their consequences and potential relevance, they must be read from the perspective of processes of institutionalization that shape the paths of different agreements. In Israel, a cross-sectoral comparison of the agricultural and construction sectors reveals that different agreements did not follow the same path and institutionalization process. The Israel-Thailand agreements for the agricultural sector and the agreements regulating migration to the construction sector did not generate similar dynamics of institutionalization. In both sectors, BLAs transformed recruitment practices and led to a sharp decrease of illicit migration costs extracted in the process. Yet due to differences in the structure of the sectors and the expected skill level of workers, significant variations remain, most notably in the effect of BLAs on the permit and quota system and in the rise of paths to import labor outside BLAs. Based on this cross-sectoral comparison, we offer in this Article a grounded analytical perspective for examining and evaluating BLAs in context. In discussing our suggestions, we will project our analysis to the more recent agreement covering the live-in care sector that is currently the largest employing sector of guest-workers in Israel.


Radiotherapy cures patients from deadly cancer, alone or in combination with other treatments. The photons must pass through normal tissue to converge on the tumor, and it is unavoidable that radiotherapy causes acute side effects as well as late adverse effects. Roughly one million cancer survivors in Europe are suffering from radiation-induced intestinal symptoms, such as urgency to defecate, leakage of feces and mucus, bleeding, and excessive odorous gas discharge. The symptoms can appear in the pelvic-organ cancer survivor weeks to years after the treatment and severely reduce the quality of life. Very little is known about how radiation-induced pathological processes progress over time and how various factors such as diet influence the disease course. One reason is the lack of preclinical models that allow for a long-term follow-up after irradiation. To better understand the dynamics of intestinal injury after radiotherapy, we have developed a novel model of pelvic radiotherapy and determined the injury and repair mechanisms over time. In the study for Paper I, we used the clinic's linear accelerator to irradiate a small field limited to the murine colorectum. The use of the clinic's linear accelerator protected overall animal health and ensured their long-term survival. We found that the pathophysiology after 4 fractions of 8 Gy was similar to what is seen in biopsies of pelvicorgan cancer survivors, and that crypt degeneration was fractiondependent and still ongoing at six weeks post-irradiation. Moreover, there was an increased number of macrophages in the mucosa at six weeks, possibly reflecting a lasting inflammatory activity. In the study for Paper II, we characterized the mouse model over a period of 30 weeks. We observed that crypt degeneration was still present at 30 weeks post-irradiation, as well as an increased presence of macrophages, possibly reflecting a chronic, low-grade inflammation. We also found that crypt fission, not cell proliferation, was the main repair mechanism after one week post-irradiation and onwards. In Papers III & IV, we studied the effect of bioprocessed oat bran, rich in dietary fiber, on radiation-induced damage to the intestine. In Paper III, we observed that the intake of dietary fiber modified the onset, timing, and intensity of radiation-induced pathophysiological processes when compared to a fiber-free diet. In the study for Paper IV, we observed that irradiation resulted in a long-lasting increase of serum cytokines indicating a chronic low-grade inflammation and that a fiberfree diet worsened this pro-inflammatory serum profile. In convergence, pelvic irradiation results in long-lasting, possibly chronic, pathophysiological changes in the intestines that may be driven by underlying low-grade inflammation. Nevertheless, even long after irradiation, the intestine attempts to repair itself via crypt fission. This mechanism as well as dietary interventions has the potential to modify the progression of the disease and may be explored further.


The thermal and electronic properties of amorphous Al87Y8Ni3TM2 (TM=Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) and Al87Y8Ni5-xFex (x=0, 2, 3, 5) alloys have been investigated. Thermal analysis studies have shown that all alloys studied, except Al87Y8Fe5, undergo a primary crystallization process which involves a precipitation of FCC-Al followed by a eutectic crystallization process to an intermetallic compound. Al87Y8Fe5 undergoes eutectic crystallization directly and shows the highest crystallization temperature, 593 K, of the alloys studied. Alloys which do not contain Fe show resistivities which are well described by the Ziman-Faber model for structurally disordered materials. Fe-containing alloys show electronic properties which suggest the influence of magnetic interactions. The magnitude and temperature dependence of the resistivity show compositional variations which can be related to thermal stability.


The joint monitoring of the ground and sky for cereal crops based on microwave data has become a popular method for researches on earth surface objects. Focused on the sensitivity of backscatter from the scatterometer measurement and advanced synthetic aperture radar (ASAR) images to cereal parameters of rice, nine acquisitions, including rice parameters related eco-physiological variables and scattering coefficients, have been carried over the paddy field corresponding to rice growth stages. This paper analyzes the relationship between the corresponding backscatter to the cereal parameters based on the measurement at the interesting bands, polarizations, and incidence angels. Further, a modified water cloud model is built based on the ground measurement and advanced integrated equation model (AIEM), and then cereal parameters from ASAR images are retrieved and verified. The research results show that the sensitivity of backscatter to cereals from the sensor of the radar scatterometer could be helpful to build the retrieve model for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) images, which can achieve the scientific goals of the joint monitoring of ground and sky for cereal crops.


To foster agrirultural development. a nmnber of strategies are available. A well-known, long-run strategy is productivity-increasing research. Another familiar, shon-run strategy is input and output price policy. This paper argues that effectiveness of price and research policies can only be obtained if they are defined interactively, with one complementing the other. This is illustrated by showing how cassava, a traditional crop in Latin America, has evolved with respea. to research and price policy over the last few decades. Three main dimensions are distinguished. The first is appropriate timing of research and price policies in relation to changing structural features of the economy. The second is price policy to support diffusion of research-based technology. The third is definition of research policy in relation to the socioeconomic envirorunent in order to maximize the impact of price policies. The historical development of Latin American agrirulture and cassava's position within it over the last 10 years is used to illustrate these points. A major problem in obtaining more consistent and development-focused research and price policy is that the locus of decision making for these two policies is often in completely different institutions.


Pakistan's Foreign Policy 1947-2016 - A Concise History is the fourth edition of the book written by Abdul Sattar, published originally in 2007, outlining the foreign policy choices made by Pakistan since its inception to 2016. The book includes a foreword by late Agha Shahi, who was twice Foreign Minister of Pakistan, once from July to October 1993 and again from 1977 to 1982, and was also Foreign Secretary from 1973 to 1977. This latest edition of the book includes an updated view of Pakistan's foreign policy since 2012. Given his experience as a foreign policy practitioner, as well as having served as Pakistan's High Commissioner to India from 19781982 and again from 1990-1992, the book has a great deal of credibility. Information in the book draws from not only references from other published sources but the author's own professional perception of foreign policy issues while he was in service.
The book begins with a brief introduction to the history of the independence of the sub-continent from British rule, which led to the creation of Pakistan and an account of its early relations with neighbours and big powers. This is encapsulated within two chapters. In the subsequent chapter, the author discusses the Kashmir issue, which materialized as soon as Pakistan and India came into being; the two neighbours came to blows over the disputed territory of the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1947 and fought two wars subsequently. The initial armed conflict ended in January 1949 but resulted in no resolution and consequently came to shape much of the resentment and mistrust between the two states for the years to come.


Abstract In a hollow cathode He-Zn discharge it was observed that addition of Ne stops laser oscillation at the 492.4 nm Zn II line and increases significantly the spontaneous intensity at the 210 nm Zn II line, which originates from the 4d2 D5/2 lower level of the laser transition. Based on a rate equation model, the cross-section of the Ne ion-Zn atom charge transfer collisions populating the 4d2D5/2 level was determined. The cross-section 3.5x 10-15 cm2 found by us is in acceptable agreement with the value 2.3x 10-15 cm2 reported in the literature. This high cross-section together with existing lower level depopulation points to the possibility of obtaining laser oscillation at 210 nm in a Ne-Zn discharge.


Nearly after one century of research and thousands of publications, the physiological function(s) of vitamin E remain unclear. Available evidence suggests a role in cell homeostasis that occurs through the modulation of specific signaling pathways and genes involved in proliferative, metabolic, inflammatory, and antioxidant pathways. Vitamin E presence in the human body is under close metabolic control so that only α‐tocopherol and, to a lower extent, γ‐tocopherol are retained and delivered to tissues. Other vitamin E forms that are not retained in the body in significant amounts, exhibit responses in vitro that are different form those of α‐tocopherol and may include tumor cell specific toxicity and apoptosis. These responses provide a therapeutic potential for these minor forms, either as such or metabolically modified, to produce bioactive metabolites. These cellular effects go beyond the properties of lipophilic antioxidant attributed to α‐tocopherol particularly investigated for its alleged protective role in atherosclerosis or other oxidative stress conditions. Understanding signaling and gene expression effects of vitamin E could help assign a physiological role to this vitamin, which will be discussed in this review. Besides vitamin E signaling, attention will be given to tocotrienols as one of the emerging topics in vitamin E research and a critical re‐examination of the most recent clinical trials will be provided together with the potential use of vitamin E in disease prevention and therapy.


Background: The role of serotonin and its metabolic pathway in the proper functioning of the pancreas has not been thoroughly investigated yet in the aspect of AP (acute pancreatitis). Tryptophan hydroxylase (TPH) as the rate-limiting enzyme of serotonin synthesis has been considered for possible associations in various diseases. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TPH genes have been already described in associations with psychiatric and digestive system disorders. Aim of this study was to explore association of rs211105 (T/G) polymorphism in TPH1 gene with tryptophan hydroxylase 1 concentrations in blood serum in population of acute pancreatitis patients, and to investigate this association with acute pancreatitis susceptibility. Results: To date, we have found an association between the presence of the T allele at the position rs211105 (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 0.94-6.50, p = 0.06) under conditions of a decreased AP incidence. For TT and GT genotype in control group, the lowest concentration of TPH was associated with higher serotonin levels (TT: Rs=-0.415, p=0.0018; GT: Rs=-0,457, p=0.0066), while for AP group: the highest levels of TPH among TT genotype were associated with lower levels of serotonin (TT: Rs=-0.749, p=0.0000), and in GG genotype higher levels of TPH were associated with higher levels of serotonin (GG: Rs=-0.738, p=0.037).Conclusions: Here, the new insight of the potential role of selected genetic factor in pancreatitis development was brought. Not only the metabolic pathway of serotonin, but also factors affecting serotonin synthesis may be interesting and important point in acute pancreatitis.


The authors describe a method for finding the 3-D relation between primary plane surfaces in indoor scenes. An indoor scene illuminated by tubular fluorescent lamps and an imaging system like a TV camera were modeled based on lighting engineering knowledge. The 3-D relation between two object surfaces was identified by using the center position of isoluminance curves, which were constructed from the distribution of illumination on each surface. Some experimental results were shown. This method can be used for constructing a 3-D model of an autonomous mobile robot which moves about in a man-made environment and for model-based scene analysis.<<ETX>>


This longitudinal study replicated and extended an investigation of the relation between spouses' strength of identification and similarities in their patterns of change in body image components during and after pregnancy. The sample included 54 married couples. The results did not duplicate previous study findings of similarity in spouses' patterns of change in perceived body space. There were statistically significant changes in wives' perceived body space scores from the third month of pregnancy to the second postpartal month, but no changes in the husbands' perceived body space scores. Results upheld previous study findings of no relationship between spouses' strength of identification and similarities in their patterns of change in perceived body space. No changes were detected in either wives' or husbands' global body attitude scores, nor was there evidence of a relationship between spouses' strength of identification and similarity in their patterns of change in global body attitude.


Introduction – Human productivity is not only considered how the human gives service based on SOP, but also how it gives its own service. Many efforts have been conducted to improve HRD productivity of inpatient. One of maternity human productivity improvements is Lean.Methodology – This research used a case study approach. This approach was organized into three methods of data collection: documentary, survey, and observation. Survey was conducted to know the lean effects towards individual and the correlation. 61 respondents was recruited to participate in this study. There were four variables studied: positive feedback, emotional intellegence, organizational culture, and lean effects on individual. The questionnaire was adopted from Beale.Results – The study results were distinguished based on nurses and midwives, and it was found no significant difference. One way ANOVA test showed no lean effect difference between nurses and midwives. Three variables (positive feedback, organizational culture, and emotional intellegence) described 14,5% of lean effect variations. The significant influential variable was organizational culture. It indicated the lean effects on individual was affected by supporting organizational culture.Conclusion – The lean implementations at individual level: smarter, time effective, work motivation, and work load reduction. Nonetheless, these effects should be encouraged by organizational cultures, for instances, organization environment tolerating diversity, organization objectives that are easy to be understood, level of reciprocal trusting among organization members, conflict management in organization, competence-based human utilization, volunteer management control method, free and opened communication in organization, and everyone supporting each others.


Objectives: The aim of this work is to examine the effects of the free care policy on the access, management and practice of cesarean section in Niger. The secondary data collected from the various health facilities as well as the national health information system made it possible to analyze the impact of the risk and organizational factors on the practice of cesarean section in Niger before and after this policy.Methods: A panel analysis was conducted with the same data to determine the impact of this policy on the evolution of these factors and the likelihood of delivery by cesarean section in Niger. In these models, the need for Caesarean is justified by the existence of a medical matrix of gravity and a matrix of explanatory variables of organizational order. Two different models are estimated. The first explains the practice of cesarean section in Niger with data collected from all regions of the country. The second explains Caesarean section practice in the three regions that have a national maternity reference. The data collected covers the period 2006-2014. A total of 2,250 files were studied in the eight regions of the country.Results: When considering only the period after free care, the results obtained indicate that the risk factors were less important in explaining the occurrence of a caesarean section than before. This is valid for both the medical severity variables and the organizational variables.Discussion: These results confirm those of the statistical analysis in which the national rate of caesarean section has been observed to be changing, slowing down and declining.Thus, alongside the policy of care for pregnant women and cesarean section, the State must also make efforts to improve the health card, the proper functioning of the care system to through the timely reimbursement of factors issued and the availability of human resources in quantity and quality to hope to achieve the objectives pursued through this policy.


Introduction Bone metastases in patients with breast cancer have serious effects on health including pain, poor mobility, skeletal fractures, spinal cord compression and the need for radiotherapy/surgery. The introduction of intravenous (IV) bisphosphonates, such as zoledronic acid (Z) has significantly delayed the onset of skeletal-related events (SRE). However, prolonged IV bisphosphonates place burdens upon patient and hospital, and can also cause renal and acute phase toxicities. Ibandronic acid (I), a third generation amino-bisphosphonate in its oral form has previously been compared with placebo and was shown to be well tolerated and effective. Indirect comparisons with IV Z indicated similar efficacy in reducing bone events, but adverse events were overall comparable with placebo. One might therefore assume that oral ibandronate would be more acceptable to patients, and the ZICE Trial is the only large scale direct randomised comparison between IV Z and oral I to report. Methods Between January 2006 and October 2010, 1405 newly diagnosed metastatic breast cancer patients with proven bone metastases were randomised 1:1 to IV Z (4mg 15 min infusion every 3–4 weeks) or oral I (50mg per day) for up to 96 weeks. All patients were prescribed daily calcium & vitamin D supplementation, and patients with current active dental problems including infection were excluded. Patients also received chemotherapy, and or endocrine therapy as determined by their physician. The primary objective was to demonstrate non-inferiority of oral I in comparison with IV Z in terms of the SRE rate, defined as the number of SREs reported per year (using multiple event analysis). Secondary endpoints included time to 1st SRE, proportion of patients with SRE, Pain Scores, side effect profiles including ONJ and renal toxicities, quality of life and Health resources and overall survival. The trial was run under the auspices of the NCRI, sponsored by Velindre NHS Trust, coordinated by the Wales Cancer Trials Unit, funded by an educational grant from Roche and peer reviewed/endorsed by Cancer Research UK (CRUKE/04/022). Results At the time of this analysis the last randomised patient had completed 96 weeks of therapy, median follow up was 18.4 months and total number of SREs was 865 (468 in I and 397 in Z). For the primary objective, the SRE rate was 0.543 and 0.444 in I and Z groups respectively (Hazard ratio, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.45; P = .017). Ibandronate failed to meet the criteria for non-inferiority to Zoledronate, but was similar in delaying time to first SRE (hazard ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.94 to 1.31; P = .233). Overall survival (disease progression), was very similar between groups but renal AEs occurred more frequently with Z than I; Compliance with oral therapy was 82%. ONJ rate was very low in both arms (0.71%, I; 1.29%, Z; P = 0.28). Conclusion Oral I is inferior to Z in terms of the SRE rate in metastatic breast cancer patients with bone metastases, but is similar to Z in delaying time to first SRE. Both drugs had acceptable safety profiles, with adverse events consistent with those reported previously. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr PD07-09.


A new amplification technique is described for the detection of small amounts of antigen in ethanol‐fixed cytologic specimens and formalin‐fixed tissues. By adding a third antibody layer to the already sensitive avidin‐biotin immunoperoxidase system. we have demonstrated a considerable increase in both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of this immunostaining method. In evaluating this technique, we employed a previously defined small cell lung carcinoma cell surface antigen system and monoclonal antibodies.


Conventional techniques for evaluating the implied volatility from option prices involve iterative methods. The analytical algorithm presented in this article provides a simple, fairly accurate, and intuitive way of determining implied volatility. The discussion of this method is with reference to the Garman–Kohlhagen model for currency options, but the analysis is applicable to all options that can be priced using the Black–Scholes model. An improvement on a closed-form solution for implied volatility that is computationally more efficient is also presented.


This article analyzes the experiences retold by former concentration camp detainees who were placed in concentration camps like civilians at the beginning of the Bosnian war in the 1990s. The article aims to describe the recounted social interaction rituals after time spent in a concentration camp as well as identifying how these interactions are symbolically dramatized. In their stories of crime and abuse in the concentration camps, the detainees reject the guards' actions and the designation of 'concentration camp detainee'. The retold stories of violation and power rituals in the camps show that there was little space for individuality. Nevertheless, resistance and status rituals along with adapting to the conditions in the camps seem to have generated some room for increased individualization. To have possessed some control and been able to resist seems to have granted the detainees a sense of honor and self-esteem, not least after the war. Their narratives today represent a form of continued resistance.


The problems of effectiveness of scientific-and-rational methodology in the context of modern social and intellectual practices are considered in this paper. It is shown that a kind of methodological crisis that has emerged in connection with this fact can be solved not by separation and counterposition of scientific and non-scientific components in the content of the rational, but on the basis of revelation of the values of the integral forms of consciousness that characterize the integrity of human world outlook. Attention is drawn to the necessity of changing the strategy of organization and development of science in the contemporary global society.


We investigate the four-dimensional supergravity theory obtained from the compactification of eleven-dimensional supergravity on a smooth manifold of G2 holonomy. We give a new derivation for the Kähler potential associated with the scalar kinetic term of the N = 1 four-dimensional theory. We then examine some solutions of the four-dimensional theory which arise from wrapped M-branes.


Aim To explore and validate the best returned latent class solution for reading and writing subtests from the Academic Performance Test (TDE). Sample A total of 1,945 children (6–14 years of age), who answered the TDE, the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), and had an estimated intelligence quotient (IQ) higher than 70, came from public schools in São Paulo (35 schools) and Porto Alegre (22 schools) that participated in the 'High Risk Cohort Study for Childhood Psychiatric Disorders' project. They were on average 9.52 years old (standard deviation = 1.856), from the 1st to 9th grades, and 53.3% male. The mean estimated IQ was 102.70 (standard deviation = 16.44). Methods Via Item Response Theory (IRT), the highest discriminating items ('a'>1.7) were selected from the TDE subtests of reading and writing. A latent class analysis was run based on these subtests. The statistically and empirically best latent class solutions were validated through concurrent (IQ and combined attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [ADHD] diagnoses) and discriminant (major depression diagnoses) measures. Results A three-class solution was found to be the best model solution, revealing classes of children with good, not-so-good, or poor performance on TDE reading and writing tasks. The three-class solution has been shown to be correlated with estimated IQ and to ADHD diagnosis. No association was observed between the latent class and major depression. Conclusion The three-class solution showed both concurrent and discriminant validity. This work provides initial evidence of validity for an empirically derived categorical classification of reading, decoding, and writing performance using the TDE. A valid classification encourages further research investing correlates of reading and writing performance using the TDE.


An examination technique is described, including catheterizational endomyocardial biopsy of the left ventricle, used in 10 patients with cardiomyopathy, aged 9 months to 10 years. On the basis of the obtained data it was concluded that the most frequently encountered form of cardiomyopathy in children above 1year of age is infectious-allergic myocarditis. Endocardial thickening is secondary to myocardial changes.


Mesothelin is a cell surface marker expressed on most pancreatic cancers and has been associated with aggressive biology. Despite its popularity as a drug target, clinical relevance of Mesothelin expression in pancreatic cancer is unclear. We set out to define transcriptomic signatures associated with high Mesothelin expression and identify its role in tumor biology and its clinical relevance. We analyzed pancreatic adenocarcinomas in the cancer genome atlas (TCGA), (n = 145) and the results were validated using GSE62452 cohort (n = 69). We divided the cohorts into high and low Mesothelin expression by the median. High Mesothelin was not associated with progression-free, disease-free, disease specific, nor overall survival in TCGA cohort. Despite this, high Mesothelin expression was associated with high Ki67 expression and enriched all five cell proliferation-related Hallmark gene sets, but not with previously investigated pathways: TNF-alpha, PI3K, nor angiogenesis. Mesothelin expression did not correlate with MUC16 expression. The high Mesothelin pancreatic cancers demonstrated higher homologous recombination deficiency, fraction altered, and silent and non-silent mutation rates (all P < 0.001) that indicate aggressive cancer biology. However, lymphocyte infiltration score, TIL regional fraction, TCR richness, infiltration of CD8 T-cells, and cytolytic activity were all significantly lower in Mesothelin high tumors (all P < 0.015). Finally, we found that Mesothelin expression significantly correlated with sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer cell lines. In conclusion, high Mesothelin expression is associated with enhanced proliferation, depressed immune response, and sensitivity to cytotoxic chemotherapy, which may explain there was no difference in survival in pancreatic cancer patients.


Anatomically modern humans evolved around 300 thousand years ago in Africa1. Modern humans started to appear in the fossil record outside of Africa about 100 thousand years ago though other hominins existed throughout Eurasia much earlier2–4. Recently, several researchers argued in favour of a single out of Africa event for modern humans based on whole-genome sequences analyses5–7. However, the single out of Africa model is in contrast with some of the findings from fossil records, which supports two out of Africa8,9, and uniparental data, which proposes back to Africa movement10,11. Here, we used a novel deep learning approach coupled with Approximate Bayesian Computation and Sequential Monte Carlo to revisit these hypotheses from the whole genome sequence perspective. Our results support the back to Africa model over other alternatives. We estimated that there are two successive splits between Africa and out of African populations happening around 60-80 thousand years ago and separated by 12-13 thousand years. One of the populations resulting from the more recent split has to a large extent replaced the older West African population while the other one has founded the out of Africa populations.


The extended forced Korteweg-de Vries equation (efKdV) is a mathematical model for simulating the interaction of a shallow layer of fluid with external forcing agents. Herein we consider the dynamics of the efKdV when the forcing is assumed to be small and spatially periodic with a timeperiodic variation of the phase. We show that a good heuristic understanding of the dynamics for a certain class of initial data can be found by studying a one-degree of freedom Hamiltonian system. One feature associated with this Hamiltonian system is that if the phase varies slowly with time, then to leading order the dynamics for the resonant solutions are governed by the forced nonlinear pendulum equation. Furthermore, we show that resonant solutions can correspond to waves which are trapped, i.e., waves which do not travel but instead oscillate. The theory is illustrated by numerical simulations.


These findings offer a preclinical rationale for further testing of the use of radiation in combination with Ang2-blocking antibodies to improve the overall outcome of cancer treatment. Abnormal vasculature in tumors leads to poor tissue perfusion and cytostatic drug delivery. Although drugs inducing vascular normalization, for example, angiopoietin-2 (Ang2)-blocking antibodies, have shown promising results in preclinical tumor models, clinical studies have so far shown only little efficacy. Because Ang2 is known to play a protective role in stressed endothelial cells, we tested here whether Ang2 blocking could enhance radiation-induced tumor vascular damage. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with anti-Ang2 antibodies every 3 or 4 days starting 3 days before 3 × 2 Gy or 4 × 0.5 Gy whole-body or tumor-focused radiation. Combination treatment with anti-Ang2 and radiation improved tumor growth inhibition and extended the survival of mice with melanoma or colorectal tumors. Single-cell RNA-sequencing revealed that Ang2 blocking rescued radiation-induced decreases in T cells and cells of the monocyte/macrophage lineage. In addition, anti-Ang2 enhanced radiation-induced apoptosis in cultured endothelial cells. In vivo, combination treatment decreased tumor vasculature and increased tumor necrosis in comparison with tumors treated with monotherapies. These results suggest that a combination of Ang2-blocking antibodies with radiation increases tumor growth inhibition and extends the survival of tumor-bearing mice. Significance: These findings offer a preclinical rationale for further testing of the use of radiation in combination with Ang2-blocking antibodies to improve the overall outcome of cancer treatment.


In this study that was executed in Koprulu Kanyon National Park, morphological characteristics of fruit and seed of wild and grafted carob trees were determinate. Besides, wild and grafted carob trees were compared in terms of forms of utilization from its fruit and seeds. In the study, it was used "Conscious Sampling Method", five wild carob trees and five grafted carob trees were chosen. Finally, it was determined grafted carob trees have had more values than wild carob trees in terms of fruit characteristics, grafted and wild carob trees have had approximate values in terms of seed characteristics


The ad hoc Black-Scholes (AHBS) is one of the most widely used option valuation models among practitioners. The main contribution of this study is that we improve the out-of-sample forecast accuracy of the AHBS model. First, we make the empirical observation that the call and put sneers are discontinuous and have different slopes when moneyness is equal to one. Next, we propose a new data usage methodology that incorporates the information contained in the asymmetric response of the call and put sneers. Our new method provides more accurate out-of-sample forecasts for several intraday time horizons. Our results are robust across several dimensions, including time period, forecast horizon, moneyness, and model specification.


Despite the potential for pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and treatment as prevention (TasP) to have a significant impact on HIV transmission, there is broad agreement that a safe and effective preventive vaccine remains an essential tool for ending the AIDS epidemic. To date, progress towards a vaccine has been painstaking. Nevertheless, recent progress has opened up promising new leads. Results of the STEP and RV‐144 trials provide novel insights that may lead to improved design of candidate vaccines. In addition, the identification of highly potent, broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies from some infected patients suggests novel approaches to generating protective immunity. Refinements in our understanding of the gp120 structure and its interaction with CD4 also provide opportunities for improving immunogen design. Although the challenges remain daunting, these advances have instilled a renewed sense of optimism into the field.


—Convolution neural networks (CNN) have achieved great success in natural image processing where large amounts of training data are available. However, for the polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) image classification problem, the number of labeled training samples is typically limited. To improve the performance of CNN on limited training data, we propose a new network, the densely connected and depthwise separable convolutional neural network (DSNet). According to characteristics of PolSAR data, DSNet uses depthwise separable convolution to replace standard convolution, to independently extract features over each channel in PolSAR images. DSNet also introduces dense connections to directly connect non-adjacent layers. With the depthwise separable convolution and dense connections, DSNet can avoid extracting redundant features, reuse the hierarchical feature maps of PolSAR images and reduce the number of training parameters. Compared with normal CNN, DSNet is more lightweight and its training parameters decrease to less than 1/9. We compare DSNet against several popular algorithms on three different data sets, and show that DSNet achieves better results while using less training samples.


The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), scheduled to be launched in fall of 2007, is the next generation satellite for high-energy gamma-ray astronomy. The Large Area Telescope (LAT) is a pair conversion telescope built with a high precision silicon tracker, a segmented CsI electromagnetic calorimeter and a plastic anticoincidence shield. The LAT will survey the sky in the energy range between 20 MeV to more than 300 GeV, shedding light on many issues left open by its highly successful predecessor EGRET. LAT will observe Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB) in an energy range never explored before; to tie these frontier observations to the better-known properties at lower energies, a second instrument, the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) will provide important spectra and timing in the 10 keV to 30 MeV range. We briefly present the instruments onboard the GLAST satellite, their synergy in the GRB observations and the work done so far by the collaboration in simulation, analysis, and GRB sensitivity estimation.


This paper investigates to what extent underlying specific properties together with contract design determine level of trading activity on Eurex derivative exchange. Therefore the study looks beyond systematic reasons extensively examined in prior research. It is found that trading activity is higher for single stock futures on stock characterized by low institutional ownership, and high volume on spot market. The mispricing between spot and futures market also attracts investors to single stock futures market. Moreover the factors, such as a size of contract, tick size and age of contract on particular stock significantly contribute to increase open interest and traded volume. Furthermore, evidences are found that single stock futures become more efficiently priced around ex-dividend date for underlying stock. Our findings have important implications for investors who have interest in that segment of derivatives market. They should also be taken into consideration by market regulators. JEL classification: G1; G11; G14; G21


This paper presents a near field measurement system for the detection of all electromagnetic (EM) field components radiated by microwave devices. This characterization system based on the use of 4 semi-rigid coaxial probes (1 monopoly antenna, 1 differential dipole and 2 differential loops) and a controlled positioning system is power calibrated. It allows the localization of the radiation source in the RF integrated circuit (IC) and the measuring of the EM filed components amplitudes. The amplitude calibration is realized with a FR4 50 Ohms microstrip transmission line. The amplitude calibration of the system with performance factors for each probe is presented for the frequency range of [1MHz-1GHz]. A comparison between on the one hand, a 3D EM simulation of the entire probe with the standard and on the other side, the measure is presented.


Space researches are supported with the international space agencies, NASA and NASDA. Animal experiments on the space life science must conform to the NIH policies and the NASA guide for the care and use of laboratory animals. The goal of the NIH policies is to promote the humane care of animals used biomedical and behavioral research, teaching, and testing. In each institute, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) plays an important role in conformity with NIH policies. The IACUC is charged with developing, recommending and monitoring NIH/NASA (ARC and KSC) policies, guides and rules relating to animal acquisition, care and use. In ARC and KSC, investigators will be responsible only for activities directly related to the conduct of their animal experiments. Even if researchers have protocols of the space science in Japan, the animal experiment should be carried out under the global harmonized conditions in accordance with NIH policies and NASA guides.


The purpose of this research is to identify the causes of absence and find the appropriate solutions to them and to know the reasons for the problem of the absence of students before and after the holidays and tests and to identify the justifications in Abha governorate. The statistical method was used by building a questionnaire applied to a sample of 550 students, The study found that the most important reasons for repeated absence are due to the reasons for the family and the reasons for the teacher, and that these reasons for absence centered on the factors related to the school environment and family as well as factors related to the same student and student also social factors.


The dynamic of tumor growth has been estimated in breast cancer using cytologic and histologic criteria. There were definite differences between primary tumors with simultaneously observed metastases and tumors which had metastasized within the first two years following primary treatment. The primary tumors of the recurrent diseases were receptor positive more seldom, and they had a significant lower receptor concentration. Morphologically they were composed of larger cells with polymorphism and more mitoses. Between primary tumors and metastases there were no significant differences. We suspect the grade of malignancy is a typical attribute of a tumor not changing after having metastasized or recidivation. Changing tumor growth is caused by other reasons like general resistance.


Abstract. Rivers in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, have variable degrees of bedrock and alluvial influence. Pre-2000 aerial imagery for the Sabie River (catchment area 6320 km2) reveals downstream alternations from alluvial single thread or braided, to bedrock anastomosed or mixed anastomosed channel types, with pool-rapids also present locally. In 2000 and 2012, extreme floods resulted in significant alluvial erosion, widely exposing the underlying bedrock. Since the 2012 flood, aerial LiDAR surveys reveal the strong gradient control exerted by the bedrock and mixed anastomosed channel types, which influences hydraulic conditions and sediment dynamics. Two dimensional hydraulic modelling of moderate floods ( 3 s −1 ) reveals reduced velocities upstream of bedrock or mixed anastomosed channel types, which promotes deposition. During more extreme floods (>3500 m 3 s −1 ), the bedrock or mixed anastomosed channel types are drowned out, resulting in dramatically increased velocities along the entire river and widespread alluvial stripping regardless of initial channel type or location.


Yamato-74442, a brecciated LL-group chondrite, consists of fragments with igeous texture, chondrules, mineral fragments, and host. The fragments involve K-rich fragments as well as normal ones. Typically, both fragments consist mainly of euhedral porphyritic olivines and a few orthopyroxenes in a glassy grundmass. EPMA analyses for these fragments indicate that olivines and orthoptroxenes have a range of Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio of 27.19~31.33 and 20.10~26.91 mol%, respectively. There is no significant difference in these rations between K-rich (Na2O/K2O<1) and normal framents. The K2O contents of groundmass for K-rich fragments range from 0.51 to 4.89 wt% and that of the normal fragments is 0.38~090 wt%. K2O contents of groundmass vary from fragment to fragment but are rather homegeneous in a single fragment.
 Rb-Sr isotopic determination on eighteen K-rich fragments (1.5 to 9.5mg in weight) gave an internal isochron age of 4.514±0.022 (2σ) Ga (λ87Rb=1.42×10-11y-1) and initial 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.7016±0.0024. This age is somewhat old compared with a whole rock isochron age of LL chondrites (4.493±0.18 Ga; Minster and Allegre, 1981). From a comoarison of the present result with others so far reported, it is inferred that the alkali differentiation as observed in Yamato-74442 probably occurred prior to or during a process of accumulation from LL chondrite parent material in the early solar nebula.


MNT is a transcription factor of the MXD family. MNT-MAX dimers down-regulate genes by binding to E-box sequences, which can also be bound by MYC-MAX to activate transcription. MNT has been described as a modulator of MYC activity but little is known about MNT regulation and whether MNT has MAX-independent functions. Using a MAX deficient cell line and siRNA-mediated silencing of MAX, we show that in the absence of MAX, the total MNT levels are elevated and that MNT localizes both in the cytoplasm and the nucleus. In contrast, MNT is predominantly nuclear when MAX is expressed. MNT is required for optimal cell proliferation even in the absence of MAX, being the first report of a MAX-independent function of MNT. Interestingly, MNT forms homodimers and autoregulates its expression by repressing its own promoter. The tight MNT regulation and its activity in absence of MAX suggest its importance on cell homeostasis.


Maternal and newborn health remains a critical challenge in Nigeria, with high maternal and neonatal mortality rates persisting in many regions. The coexistence of formal healthcare systems with traditional birth practices provides a unique opportunity for synergy between Skilled Birth Attendants (SBAs) and Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) to improve the quality of maternal and newborn care. This study explores the potential benefits of collaboration between SBAs and TBAs in Nigeria and investigates the barriers and facilitators to such cooperation. The findings highlight the complementary strengths of SBAs and TBAs. SBAs bring formal medical training, evidence-based practices, and access to medical resources, while TBAs possess cultural knowledge, community trust, and local birthing expertise. Through joint training and capacity building initiatives, TBAs can be equipped with updated medical knowledge, improving their ability to identify high-risk pregnancies and refer cases to skilled healthcare providers effectively. Effective referral systems play a pivotal role in ensuring timely access to emergency obstetric care. Challenges to collaboration include cultural and traditional beliefs, language barriers, limited access to resources, and legal and regulatory obstacles. Addressing these barriers requires a comprehensive approach that promotes cultural sensitivity, mutual respect, and inclusiveness within the healthcare system. The study concludes that harnessing the synergy between SBAs and TBAs can lead to a more integrated and effective maternal and newborn healthcare system in Nigeria. By leveraging the strengths of both groups and creating an enabling environment for collaboration, Nigeria can make significant strides towards reducing maternal and neonatal mortality, improving the quality of care, and achieving better health outcomes for mothers and newborns. Continued research and collaborative efforts are essential to capitalize on this synergy and drive positive change in maternal and newborn healthcare across the country.


The terms 'authoritarian' and 'democratic' are political concepts often applied as a means of distinguishing human resource management (HRM) from older forms of labour management, the common assertion being that former authoritarian practices have become more democratic under HRM. This article challenges this view by arguing that the foundational principles and practices of HRM, when orientated by the expectations of a 'desired' organisational culture, cast it into a role that involves mobilising the collective psychology of organisational members to accept willingly the legitimacy of managerial authority and the virtues of firm loyalty. It is suggested that such a role has no parallel in orthodox democratic arrangements; that if political concepts are to be applied to the way labour is managed under HRM, a clearer affinity exists with the aims and practices of totalitarian regimes and their use of propaganda and other means to control civilian populations. Key points: This article challenges the assumption that HRM is cast in the spirit of democracy. HRM's foundational principles and functional practices are instead more closely aligned with totalitarian conceptions of social control. This is evidenced by HRM's role in mobilising the collective psychology of employees in accordance with a 'desired' workplace culture proscribed by organisational leaderships.


Ammonia emissions from animal houses are an important environmental issue in the
Netherlands. The current technique in the Netherlands to measure ammonia emissions in
mechanically ventilated animal houses is the chemiluminescence method (using a NOx monitor after
conversion of NH3 to NO). During campaigns to measure emissions from animal houses, it became
clear that management is an important factor in determining the emission level. Differences between
animal houses of the same type and kind of animal may differ more than the variation in time and
season within one animal house. These management related differences in emission factors point at
the need to measure more animal houses during a shorter period. This stresses the need for
development of flexible methods to be used in short term measurements, which allows monitoring
the ammonia emission from a larger number of animal buildings per year. In this paper, a practical
farm with different housing systems and two types of ventilation shafts (with and without a lid in the
ventilation shaft to regulate the temperature inside the animal house) was selected to test the performance of passive flux samplers to measure the ammonia emission from mechanically
ventilated animal houses. A statistical t-test shows that the differences between passive flux
samplers and the reference method are not significant at the 95% significance level when combining
all measurements. The use of a lid in the ventilation shaft improves the correlation between passive
flux samplers and the reference method. As a result of these measurements, passive flux samplers
are presented as an alternative to measure the ammonia emission from mechanically ventilated
animal houses.


Needlesticks are a problem occurring in the treatment of patients. This article promotes the use of needlefree systems. Dr. Hacib Aoun contracted HIV, and later died of AIDS. Nurse's Aide Peggy Ferro of San Francisco contracted HIV and passed away in 1998 at the age of 49. Registered Nurse Lisa Black contracted both HIV and Hepatitis C in her 20's. What the above healthcare workers have in common is that they contracted HIV or Hepatitis C while on the job, through accidental needlesticks from syringes or blood-collection tubes that contained infected blood. They are 3 of 590,000 US healthcare workers who sustain needlestick injuries each year. The good news is that 90% of these needlesticks could be prevented if hospitals and healthcare facilities used FDAapproved retractable syringes. In the meantime, millions of needlestick injuries have occurred. Thousands of healthcare workers have contracted deadly blood borne diseases, such as HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. Hospitals and healthcare facilities have been slow in adopting and purchasing safer medical-devices for their staff. Why are healthcare workers still using unsafe needles? There are a number of reasons. One reason is that currently, the price of these safety syringes is higher than that of conventional syringes. It is likely that the price of the safety syringes will come down as a result of market competition. Another reason is lack of government support for the use of these safety devices, as is illustrated by the following examples. Nine years ago, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which has a membership of 710,000 healthcare workers nationally, sent a petition to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The SEIU requested that the FDA "remove from the market unsafe needles and related devices." The FDA refused to issue performance standards for needle-bearing devices, and instead encouraged medicaldevice manufacturers to voluntarily develop and adopt safer medical-devices. On November 29, 2000, the SEIU, along with The Public Citizen, again petitioned the Food and Drug Administration to enforce the replacement of non-safety syringes with safety syringes. According to Tim Ulatowski of the FDA's Office of Dental, Infectious Disease, and General Hospital Devices, a response to the SEIU and the Public Citizen is forthcoming. The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) stated that their agency "does not advocate the use of one particular device over another". OSHA says it is the responsibility of each individual healthcare facility administration to examine the "specific design features for recessed needle systems that the Food and Drug Administration has published" in their Safety Alerts, and to choose their equipment accordingly. Additionally, there is little support for these safety devices from hospital administrators. This is so, despite the fact that hospital administrators could save money on treating needlestick injuries, and their secondary effects, by using safety syringes. The American Hospital Administration (AHA) represents healthcare provider organizations. AHA's mission statement is to "advance the health of individuals and communities." The AHA has not responded to this author's inquiry on their position in regard to safety syringes versus conventional syringes used by their member hospitals and other healthcare facilities. On November 6, 2000, one of former President Clinton's last actions was to sign into law the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act. Both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate unanimously passed this act. This Healthcare Workers And Needlesticks 2 of 3 legislation, which became effective on April 18, 2001, urges healthcare employers to select safer needle-devices as they become available, involve healthcare employees in identifying and choosing needle devices, and requires heathcare employers to maintain a log of injuries from contaminated needlesticks. Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital are 2 hospitals that have begun using the safety retractable syringes, as well as a related passive safety syringe, on a pilot trial basis. These hospitals are members of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation's North Bronx Healthcare Network. According to Margaret Moylan, R.N., Network Associate Director of Infection Control, both hospitals have interdisciplinary committees consisting of doctors, nurses, and housekeeping and materials management staff. These committees recommended the use of the safety devices, which began limited trial usage at both hospitals in early 2001. Ms. Moylan agrees with the positive research on the safety retractable syringe with regard to its high level of needlestick prevention rates. She indicated that at her hospitals the safety retractable syringe is primarily used for intramuscular injections. Ms. Moylan stated that patients needing injections of other types may benefit from other safety syringes, most notably, the passive safety syringe. These syringes, unlike the safety retractable syringe, require the user to flick a part of the syringe so that the needle becomes encased within the syringe. While the retractable safety syringe and passive safety syringe are being tested at Jacobi and North Central Bronx hospitals, needlestick incidents and cost factors are being monitored, with a report to be released in latter 2001 based on the findings of these evaluations. Hopefully, most U.S. hospitals and healthcare facilities will follow the lead of Jacobi Medical Center and North Central Bronx Hospital, so that accounts like that of 23 year old nursing school graduate Lynda Arnold will be a thing of the past. Ms. Arnold contracted HIV in a Pennslvania hospital, after sustaining an accidentalneedlestick while treating an AIDS patient. [Mr. Entes, the author of this article, has a Master of Arts degree in Psychology and a Graduate Certificate in Business Administration.]


In this paper we report the experimental observation of spreading and recoil of surfactant-containing water drops on various alcohol films supported on glass slides. The time evolution of spreading and recoil behavior was recorded by placing a web camera above the drop. We observed that the drop spread the fastest on CH3OH, followed by C2H5OH, and the slowest on i-PrOH. On the other hand, the recoil behavior was just the opposite. The drop recoiled the slowest on CH3OH and fastest on i-PrOH, while it recoiled in an intermediate time on C2H5OH. In addition, concentration of surfactant in the drop played a prominent role in the spreading and recoil time of the drop, with higher surfactant concentration making the drop spread and recoil faster. The time evolution of spreading velocity of the drop on different alcohol films at various surfactant concentrations occurred with a Gaussian distribution and the peak velocity was reached earliest on CH3OH followed by C2H5OH, while on i-PrOH it took the longest time. The recoil behavior was similar. The variation of velocity as a function of radius exhibited oscillatory behavior, indicating the existence of an interfacial phenomenon. We also report the observation that spreading of the drop occurred without observable fingering instability. Further, we observed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic measurements that the drop had mixed with the alcohol films as it spread. Miscibility of the alcohol in the film with the drop, alcohol evaporation cooling-induced temperature gradient, and Marangoni effect probably play important roles in the spreading and recoil behavior of the drop.


Several sets of non-receptor protein tyrosine kinases (PTK) play important roles in apoptosis induced by various extracellular stresses. Anti-cancer drugs induce cellular DNA damage and cytotoxic events, leading to apoptotic cell death. We utilized the established chicken B cell line, DT40 cells and their derived mutants, lacking the respective PTK [DT40/Syk(-), DT40/Lyn(-) and DT40/Btk(-)], to examine a role of these PTK in apoptotic processes induced by anti-cancer drugs. All anti-cancer drugs examined induced apoptosis of wild-type DT40 cells. Interestingly,DT40/Lyn(-), but not DT40/Syk(-) and DT40/Btk(-) cells, become resistant to apoptosis induced by adriamycin and etoposide, topoisomerase II (Topo II) inhibitory agents, compared to wild-type DT40 cells, as assessed by DNA fragmentation and TUNEL analyses. Ectopic expression of Fyn, another Src family member, in DT40/Lyn(-) cells restores largely the susceptibility of the cells against Topo II inhibitor-induced apoptosis. Furthermore, it was found that Topo II inhibitors activate c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) slightly in both wild-type and DT40/Lyn(-) cells to similar extents. Collectively, these results suggest that Lyn is involved in Topo II inhibitor-induced apoptotic signaling in DT40 cells independent of JNK.


This paper is a literature review on innovation and its influence on the performance of human talent in organizations. The proposed methodology is developed from the search in the Scopus database, between 2016-2022, inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied in the search. The proposed objectives were to determine the number of documents developed in the indicated timeline, in the same way in which area or sector, as well as the countries and journals in which these documents are located. The results show that the development of documents on innovation and human talent for a better organizational performance has a significant growth, and China and the United Kingdom are identified as the countries from which most of the published articles originate.


After incorporating the inverse volume modifications both in the gravitational and matter part in the improved framework of LQC, we find that the inverse volume modification can decrease the bouncing energy scale, and the presence of nonsingular bounce is generic. For the backward evolution in the expanding branch, in terms of different initial states, the evolution trajectories classify into two classes. One class with larger initial energy density leads to the occurrence of bounce in the region a > ach where ach marks the different inverse volume modification region. The other class with smaller initial energy density evolves back into the region a < ach. In this region, both the energy density for the scalar field and the bouncing energy scale decrease with the backward evolution. The bounce is present when the bouncing energy scale decreases to be equal to the energy density of the scalar field.


A systematic analysis of the spectral moments method is presented and developed to compute the response functions of very large harmonic systems. Convergence of the algorithms is discussed and solutions are proposed to improve the results obtained. New developments are proposed. They concern, on the one hand, the determination of the Green functions or correlation functions of the system, and the localization of eigenvectors and, on the other hand, the determination of the spectral density of very large homogeneous matrices by a very simple and powerful technique. These results are illustrated by several examples taken from the main subjects studied by the authors: conducting polymers, fractals and quasi-crystals. Then comparison with other methods is discussed.


3196 Background: Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a microtubule binding agent routinely used in cancer treatment. Paclitaxel has been shown to be efficacious in patients with advanced and metastatic breast cancer, as well as in the adjuvant setting in early breast cancer. Numerous preclinical studies using various cancer cell lines have contributed to identify potential mechanisms of action of paclitaxel. However, little data are available on the molecular effects of paclitaxel in-vivo.

METHODS
We conducted cDNA micro-array and antitumor activity analysis to investigate molecular alterations and tumor growth inhibition induced by paclitaxel exposure in the MDA-MB231 mouse xenograft model. Tumor cells (2 x 107 cells/mouse) were subcutaneously implanted into nude mice. Mice were ranked according to tumor volume and randomized to receive either 15 mg/kg paclitaxel or vehicle from day 1 to 5 following randomization. Animals were sacrified and tumor and healthy mouse subcutaneous tissues harvested 6 hr following dosing on days 2 and 5, and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. MDA-MB231 cells exposed for 24 hr to 100 nM paclitaxel or vehicle in-vitro were also obtained in parallel experiments. Total RNAs were extracted and analyzed on cDNA microarrays containing ca. 9000 genes.

RESULTS
Kinetic analysis of paclitaxel-treated tumor tissues revealed strong in-vivo antitumor activity (T/C = 6.5%) at relevant pharmacologic doses and transcriptional alterations involving various intracellular pathways or systems, including apoptosis, mitotic regulation, cell cycle control, microtubule regulation, and cytoskeletal remodeling. Several differences were identified in paclitaxel-treated tumor tissues compared to drug-exposed cultured cells, and may explain discordant phenotypes of response between in-vitro and in-vivo evaluation.

CONCLUSIONS
Gene expression profiling of drug effect in-vivo may improve preclinical assessment of anti-cancer compounds. In addition, such an approach may identify potential surrogate markers of drug effects that can be monitored in the clinical setting to predict clinical activity. [Table: see text].


The intelligent building concept was introduced in United States in the early 1980's. Currently has many buildings in Malaysia are using this concept, especially in the high rise office building. We know the installation or use of these systems require a very high cost and expensive. Therefore, I want to know whether Intelligent building systems in office buildings in Malaysia is very useful, or it is just a waste. The chapters in this study were arranged in six chapters. It was introduction, literature review, methodology, case studies, finding & analysis and last with conclusion & recommendation in chapter 6. There were three objectives in the research. The source on the study was used primary and secondary data. The instrument use in conducting a survey is questionnaire to public, user technical group and interview. The objective in this dissertation is to find out the effectiveness of intelligent building system at high rise office building compared to non intelligent building in term of the safety aspect. Safety systems in buildings are very important to ensure those occupants are in a safe. What I want to know is, whether the safety system in the Intelligent Building provides a very useful and benefit to the occupants when compare with non intelligent building. The second objective is to find out the cost of operating, maintenance and the replacement equipment for intelligent building system. The high cost of maintenance, whether the system returns the worth the benefits received by residents balanced with the money that was invested. The third objective is to give recommendation for a better and optimally used building intelligent system, the recommendation is proposals are contained in the chapter six and proposed by the technical group and also the results of interviews with the local authority.


This work presents an approach to the education in sensors, targeted to future engineers that relies on using educational sensors. An analysis of major issues on sensor education is carried out and two types of didactic, capacitive and low cost sensors are presented, which allow the student to easily under-stand the physical principle of the measurement, as well as to evaluate other sensor features like repeatability, sensitivity and measurement uncertainty. To this aim, some capacitive sensors have been developed to measure levels of oil and water in the laboratories. In the academic year 2006-07, the Laboratory of Sensors and Signal Conditioning of the Electronic Technology Department of the University of Vigo started using those sensors experimentally. During 2007-08 and 2008-09, a methodology based on these didactic sensors, combined with signal conditioning circuits and simulations in Pspice, has been launched. Then, a signal conditioning circuit is assembled and the information displayed on a PC monitor, connected by a data acquisition system. Furthermore, this paper includes the efficiency evaluation results of the proposed methodology, obtained from student surveys.


Mental illness is a significant factor in disease related disability throughout the world. About 16% of the global burden of disease not attributable to communicable disease has been attributed to mental disorders (Prince et al 2007) with substance abuse disorders contributing to a further 4% of this burden (ibid). In Australia, "Mental Disorders" were considered to be the third major cause of health loss (behind cancer and cardiovascular disease) in 2003 but were estimated to increase at a significant rate to move ahead of cancer and become the second major cause of "health loss" by 2013 (Begg et al 2008). This burden of mental illness is particularly pronounced in the youth of Australia with disabilityadjusted life years (DALY's) for mental illness calculated to be above 90,000 (compared to the next highest of 48,000 DALY's due to injury) for the 15 to 24 year old age group in 2003 (Eckersley 2011). Along with the current burden of disease attributed to mental illness, there is a number of challenges facing societies in the developed and developing world that are likely to lead to an increase in mental illness. Sartorius (pers comm) has recently outlined some of these challenges. They include: weakening of community resilience mechanisms, increasing awareness of gaps and unreachable opportunities, migration of people, talents and capital with the subsequent loss of social capital in some societies, the challenges of increased urbanisation on community supports and family structures, the changing nature of privileged families in developed society with less children, longer life spans and more fragile family structures, the decrease of middle class "norms" in developed countries and the additional increase of the middle class in developing countries with potential economic and social alienation from less privileged groups, the changing role of women and the implications that this has for child care and care of the elderly and the changing paradigms of medicine itself with increasing use of technology in addition to evolving ethical issues such as euthanasia. The severity of personal disability from mental illness is pervasive. The poetry of Anne Sexton in the poem "Sickness unto Death" (1977) helps describe some of this inner experience for severe mood disorder: