To evaluate conduction along the proximal and distal segments of motor and sensory long limb nerves, as well as along the very short acoustic nerve, F response and somatosensory and brainstem auditory evoked potential were studied in a series of patients with hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy (HMSN) types I and II. A diffuse and comparable slowing of conduction in proximal and distal nerve segments, as well as along the acoustic nerve, seems to favour a primary myelin defect in HMSN I. F response and motor conduction velocity showed a similar derangement in both proximal and distal motor segments. Latencies of somatosensory evoked potentials were symmetrically prolonged and correlated with motor nerve impairment. Central conduction times were normal. Studies of brainstem auditory evoked potentials showed a high incidence of acoustic nerve involvement, the most evident abnormality being a statistically significant increase in the latency of the I wave. Our data seem to support the presence of primary myelinopathic damage in HMSN I.


The purpose of this study was the first purpose of this study to find out how the conditions of leadership in the world of education (headmaster) were described, in addition to knowing the leadership styles in education, to find out the leadership role of principals to face obstacles in carrying out their duties including coordinating their luggage. The research method used is literacy collection in the form of papers, books, articles and other readings. This paper complements the discussion about leadership. The existence of leaders is needed in an organization, this is because leaders will determine where they will be taken to the organization, in this case the author focuses on the field of education. In addition, leadership is needed in supporting the process of improving the quality of education, because the style or characteristics associated with leaders can influence and move individuals or groups within the organization they lead. The current leadership style in school management is no longer a force of coercion but uses commitment based on togetherness so that all parties under educational leadership can contribute to achieving the educational goals to be achieved. While the quality of education outcomes is approved by educational institutions at a certain time period. Supportive achievement or educational outcomes (student achievement) can consist of results of academic ability tests, or achievements in sports, senior or certain skills, and can also involve complexity or conditions that are not tangible (intangible) such as discipline, comfort, value respect noble values and so on. In improving the quality of this educational institution, the leadership role has a very strategic function. A leader from an educational institution will be a support for other educational institutions, especially communities, where educational institutions can get quality educational institutions.


ABSTRACT: A simulation analysis of contaminated sediment transport involves model selection, data collection, model calibration and verification, and evaluation of uncertainty in the results. Sensitivity analyses provide information to address these issues at several stages of the investigation. A sensitivity analysis of simulated contaminated sediment transport is used to identify the most sensitive output variables and the parameters most responsible for the output variable sensitivity. The output variables included are streamflow and the flux of sediment and Cs137. The sensitivities of these variables are measured at the field and intermediate scales, for flood and normal flow conditions, using the HSPF computer model. A sensitivity index was used to summarize and compare the results of a large number of output variables and parameters. An extensive database was developed to calibrate the model and conduct the sensitivity analysis on a 6.2 mi2 catchment in eastern Tennessee. The fluxes of sediment and Cs137 were more sensitive than streamflow to changes in parameters for both flood and normal flow conditions. The relative significance of specific parameters on output variable sensitivity varied according to the type of flow condition and the location in the catchment. An implications section illustrates how sensitivity analysis results can help with model selection, planning data collection, calibration, and uncertainty analysis.


"Since Conceptualism, the field of art has become increasingly accustomed to playing host to its own critique, and recent decades have seen institutions engaged in self-critique as if by mandate. Important notions of legibility, autonomy, and critical engagement that were once necessary to carve out a space for a critic or critical art publication have transposed themselves onto artistic production proper, and are now considered to be of equal importance to artist, curator, institution, and engaged audience member alike. This has made the distance that was once the bedrock of criticism increasingly hard to come by, compounded by the fact that those same institutions have been faced with an entirely widened base of audiences and professionals, who now come to the sphere of art from diverse fields and locations, invariably entering and leaving it as they wish.

This climate of disciplinary reconfiguration and geographic dispersal has made the art world a highly complex place—the objective position that once defined the role of a critic has been effectively replaced by a need to understand just how large and varied the whole thing has become. The urgent task has now become to engage the new intellectual territories in a way that can revitalize the critical vocabulary of contemporary art. Perhaps the most productive way of doing this is through a fresh approach to the function of an art journal as something that situates the multitude of what is currently available, and makes that available back to the multitude.

The selection of essays included in this book seeks to highlight an ongoing topical thread that ran throughout the first eight issues of e-flux journal—a sequence of overlapping concerns passed on from one contribution to the next. While it is our hope that the essays included here can begin to give a sense of how varied the concerns and urgencies being engaged today are, we also expect that certain consistencies and overarching issues will emerge through them, and help us shape the forthcoming editions of the journal." -- Publisher's website.


Two cases of melanoacanthoma occurring on oral mucous membranes are presented. Melanoacanthoma is considered to be a benign mixed tumor of keratinoacytes admixed with pigment-laden dendritic melanocytes. All intraoral melanoacanthomas reported thus far have been pigmented lesions of the buccal mucosa and have occurred in young to middle-aged black females. These tumors may grow rapidly and therefore they often mimic the radial growth phase of an intraoral melanoma. Because melanocanthomas have no distinguishing clinical features, biopsy is mandatory.


This paper introduces a new closed-form ESPRIT-based algorithm for multisource direction finding and polarization estimation with arbitrarily spaced electromagnetic vector-sensors whose three-dimensional (3-D) locations need not be known. The vector-sensor, already commercially available, consists of six colocated but diversely polarized antennas separately measuring all six electromagnetic-field components of an incident wavefield. ESPRIT exploits the nonspatial interrelations among the six unknown electromagnetic-field components of each source and produces from the measured data a set of eigenvalues, from which the source's electromagnetic-field vector may be estimated to within a complex scalar. Application of a vector cross-product operation to this ambiguous electromagnetic-field vector estimate produces an unambiguous estimate of that source's normalized Poynting vector, which contains as its components the source's Cartesian direction cosines. Monte Carlo simulation results verify the efficacy and versatility of this innovative scheme. This novel method maybe considered as a simplification and a refinement over Li's (1993) work.


Archaeology for 'paddlers', 'swimmers' and 'divers'. This article gives a brief outline of the numerous ways in which people can get involved in archaeology. The most important message is the idea that archaeology revolves around 'storytelling'; the archaeologist is a person who tells stories about the past. This approach can be used to appeal to three target groups: 'paddlers', 'swimmers' and 'divers'. The article is written by a director of the Hunebedcentrum, a museum which has more than 50 years' experience of telling stories to a wide public. It is an example of 'archaeology for all,' an approach that can also be applied to other activities in which archaeology has a role to play. The world has changed rapidly over the past 25 years. New media, such as smartphones, drones, audio-visual equipment and other technology, mean that the world can be experienced in a completely different way today than it could in the past. There are wonderful opportunities available to those who are receptive to new ideas. A subject such as archaeology, which stimulates people's imagination, is particularly suitable in this context.


Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), often characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, as well asrepetitive and stereotypic behaviors, isone of the most common (∼1/64 at births in US) and fastest-growing neurodevelopmental disabilities. The basic symptoms of ASD are often accompanied by other neurological deficits including, but not limited to,anxiety, mood disorder, sleep disturbance, as well as seizures. These medical conditionsassociated with ASD interact with each other and result in difficulty of any single symptomatic relief of ASD. Many patients must undergo a series of therapies, medications, and clinical visits in an attempt to alleviate some of the symptoms, which often causes economic and personal stress on the patient and their family. For this reason there is urgent clinical need to better manage multiple neurological pathologies of ASD simultaneously, and in so doing improve the quality of life of ASD individuals and their caregivers.


ABSTRACT The early life microbiome plays critical roles in host development, shaping long-term outcomes including brain functioning. It is not known which initial infant colonizers elicit optimal neurodevelopment; thus, this study investigated the association between gut microbiome succession from the first week of life and head circumference growth (HCG), the earliest validated marker for neurodevelopment. Fecal samples were collected weekly from a preterm infant cohort during their neonatal intensive care unit stay and subjected to 16S rRNA gene sequencing for evaluating gut microbiome composition, in conjunction with clinical data and head circumference measurements. Preterm infants with suboptimal HCG trajectories had a depletion in the abundance/prevalence of Bacteroidota and Lachnospiraceae, independent of morbidity and caloric restriction. The severity of gut microbiome depletion matched the timing of significant HCG pattern separation between study groups at 30-week postmenstrual age demonstrating a potential mediating relationship resultant from clinical practices. Consideration of the clinical variables indicated that optimal infant microbiome succession is primarily driven by dispersal limitation (i.e., delivery mode) and secondarily by habitat filtering (i.e., antibiotics and enteral feeding). Bacteroidota and Lachnospiraceae are known core taxa of the adult microbiome, with roles in dietary glycan foraging, beneficial metabolite production and immunity, and our work provides evidence that their integration into the gut microbiome needs to occur early for optimal neurodevelopment.


The article considers the transport and logistics system (TLS) with routes passing through sea and river basins, which is designed to enhance the possibilities of transportation. With the help of such multimodal routes, the country will receive a transport network with much greater throughput, which will ensure sustainable growth rates of the regional economy. The authors solve the problem of developing methodological approaches to justifying the need for the fleet, adapted to the conditions of transportation of road trains on ferries of ro-ro type following the emergence of new sea transport routes. A model calculation of the need for a fleet for a cargo line of TLS using sea and river vessels is provided.


A patient with triplication of all of chromosome arm 20p is presented to illustrate the relatively modest degree of developmental delay that can result from autosomal triplication and the role of nondisjunction as a mechanism for deriving a partial triplication status.


Ultrasound has a wide range of applications in oil sands separation industry due to its green and nopolluting characteristics. The combined ultrasounds technology has been widely used in many industries by virtue of the synergistic effect of cavitation effect; meanwhile, dual-frequency ultrasounds have been reported being used in lotion oil sands technology. Based on this idea, this study focuses on the application of multiple frequency ultrasounds in oil sands separation, and a comparative study has been conducted between the combined ultrasounds systems with the difference in the number of the ultrasound. The results show that the oil production rate of the samples treated by the lotion of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) and assisted by multiple frequency ultrasounds (96%) is significantly higher than that of the single frequency ultrasound (76%); the bigger the number of the ultrasound participating in the combination is, the higher the oil production rate of the oil sands is; the lower the frequency of the ultrasounds employed in the combined system is, the higher the oil production rate is. The optimum treating conditions for tri-frequency ultrasounds assisted technology are as follow: the treating time is 10–15 min, the treating temperature is 20–30oC, the concentration of surfactant in the lotion is 1.5 g/l, and the mass ratio of the lotion to oil sands is 1.8. In short, the use of multiple frequency ultrasounds can improve the oil production rate of oil sands, reduce the energy consumption during the separation process, and reduce the environmental contamination; therefore, multiple frequency ultrasounds assisted oil sands separation technology is a promising technology for oil sands resources exploitation with high efficiency.


Construction projects are characteristically complex undertakings whose successful realisation
requires the engagement of a myriad of individuals, teams and organisations. Projects therefore
provide a platform for the emergence of multiplex (i.e. entities having more than one type of
relationship), heterogeneous (i.e. entities connected to others from different backgrounds) and
overlapping (i.e. entities belonging to clusters or spanning boundaries) relationships. This notion of
the existence of relational pluralism in projects has implications for project constituents and project
delivery. For individuals, it is how to grapple with multiple and conflicting identities in achieving
outcomes. For teams, it is how to grapple with multiple types of inter-team relations and still maintain
harmony to achieve goals, and for organisations, it is how to deal with the multiplicity of
relationships among individuals and teams and still achieve goal congruence. This paper draws on
social identity theory, social network theory and social capital, and their complementarity to
explicitly examine the presence of multiplex, heterogeneous and overlapping relationships in projects
and explain how relational pluralism can be exploited to facilitate effective project delivery. We
further highlight the research avenues relational pluralism presents in project settings and examine
the methodological implications of such research agendas.


Symbolic Regression is the study of algorithms that automate the search for analytic expressions that fit data. While recent advances in deep learning have generated renewed interest in such approaches, the development of symbolic regression methods has not been focused on physics, where we have important additional constraints due to the units associated with our data. Here we present $\Phi$-SO, a Physical Symbolic Optimization framework for recovering analytical symbolic expressions from physics data using deep reinforcement learning techniques by learning units constraints. Our system is built, from the ground up, to propose solutions where the physical units are consistent by construction. This is useful not only in eliminating physically impossible solutions, but because the"grammatical"rules of dimensional analysis restrict enormously the freedom of the equation generator, thus vastly improving performance. The algorithm can be used to fit noiseless data, which can be useful for instance when attempting to derive an analytical property of a physical model, and it can also be used to obtain analytical approximations to noisy data. We test our machinery on a standard benchmark of equations from the Feynman Lectures on Physics and other physics textbooks, achieving state-of-the-art performance in the presence of noise (exceeding 0.1%) and show that it is robust even in the presence of substantial (10%) noise. We showcase its abilities on a panel of examples from astrophysics.


Sepsis is a severe immune system reaction to infection and a major cause of ICU-related fatalities. Because of the high mortality, high cost of treatment, and complex aetiology of sepsis, sepsis has a huge impact on healthcare. Some of the health complications in sepsis are abnormal cardiac functions, hypoperfusion, hypotension, tissue damage, multiple organ failure, and ultimately death. Individuals with weak immune systems and chronic medical conditions are highly vulnerable to sepsis. In sepsis, a patient shows the extreme immune response in the initial stage while prolonged immunosuppression in the later stages. Sepsis-driven immunosuppression ushers in death because sepsis cases develop secondary infections postrecovery. The later immunocompromised state in sepsis is attributed myeloid-derived suppressor cell upregulation and reduced immune activity displayed by lymphocytes (lymphocyte anergy). As a result, it is currently suggested that regulating the immune response is a better therapeutic approach than focusing on inflammation to improve the immune system's capacity to fight infections. Moreover, finding novel and accurate prognostic biomarkers that can help in rapid sepsis diagnoses and deciding better therapeutic strategies will significantly lower clinical case mortality rates.


The one dimension ENO (essentially non-oscillatory) MW (morphological wavelet) algorithm is proposed, using the characteristics of ENO interpolation basically with out oscillation, and improved reconstruction strate gy. The original signal is decomposed by MW algorithm, and reconstructed according to ENO interpolation method . The algorithm is applied to the signal processing, resu lts show the mentioned ENO MW algorithm has better profermance than the existing MW and has good appli cation value.


The Militant Listener: Reading Mongane Wally Serote's Sikhahlel' u-OR alongside Walter Benjamin's Theses on the Philosophy of History In Sikhahlel' u-OR: A Praise Poem for Oliver Tambo, Mongane Wally Serote presents an unflinching yet delicate meandering through the questions, reflections and provocations resistance history offers up through O. R. Tambo's life. As Ciraj Rassool points out, in this work Tambo appears not as an individual, but as an integral node in a web connecting various lives.1 This counter-neoliberal interpretation of Tambo's life offers what Michael Löwy calls 'a heterodox form of the narrative of emancipation' rebuilding the struggle hero narrative along a decentred framework.2 By radically dislodging this narrative, Tambo is portrayed as the 'non-iconic icon' he was esteemed to embody, and in this move, the poem, notably, points to the dearth of dialectic politics, both in our quotidian praxis, and the commemoration of others.3 Aptly, Serote's work contributes to what Souleymane Bachir Diagne and Jean-Loup Amselle describe as a 'total decentring of all thought, one that rejects all "centrisms" and highlights instead branchings and connections, transfers, analogies and reciprocal influences between cultural places and intellectual fields that may be distant but are not distinct in space and time'.4 To this end, the poem presents us with a constellation of historical actors who flicker on the horizon, beckoning us to engage in the labour of freedom ('here we go again / the hour demands us to be daring once more / to emerge from a possible storm').


This is the case report of a woman with more than 70 years and good PS, with diagnosis of right sided, BRAF mutated and MSI-high colon cancer, diffusively metastatic to lymph nodes. The treatment sequencing of FOLFOXIRI bevacizumab (I line) and FOLFIRI aflibercept (II line) allowed to maximally shrink the disease burden and dramatically extend survival thanks to the treatments' intensification (due to BRAF mutation-related aggressiveness) and the immune-modulating effects of anti-angiogenic treatments (due to immune-suppressive burden associated with MSI-high status).


Turbulence has two distinctive effects on sonic booms: there is distortion in the form of random perturbations that appear behind the shock waves, and shock rise times are increased randomly. A first scattering theory by S.C. Crow in the late 1960s quantified the random distortions, and Crow's theory was shown to agree with available flight test data. A variety of theories for the shock thickness have been presented, all supporting the role of turbulence in increasing rise time above that of a basic molecular-relaxation structure. The net effect of these phenomena on the loudness of shaped minimized booms is of significant interest. Initial analysis suggests that there would be no change to average loudness, but this had not been experimentally investigated. The January 2004 flight test of the Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstrator (SSBD), together with a reference unmodified F-5E, included a 12500foot linear ground sensor array with 28 digitally recorded sensor sites. This data set provides an opportunity to re-test Crow's theory for the post-shock perturbations, and to examine the net effect of turbulence on the loudness of shaped sonic booms.


A solution aims on high-speed and real-time hyperspectral image reconstruction from interference data has been proposed. Multi-DSP parallel data processing based on the CPCI Express Standard bus architecture is used in this technique. The presented hardware platform includes two clusters of interconnected DSPs. The interconnection among DSPs in each cluster utilizes topological framework which combines interconnecting Link port architecture and sharing bus storage. Based on the indicated hardware platform, the reconstruction of interference spectroscopy is completed by 8 parallel multi-DSPs from the frame structures of interference data cube. And the separation of frame structures is based on the features of interference date structure and spectroscopy data inverse algorithm. Experimental results demonstrate thathighly accurate spectralreconstruction has been achieved using the 8-DSP parallel processing technique. Compared to image process speed with single DSP, the speedup ratio of proposed technique reaches 7.7. Hence, this technique realizes the requirement of real-time spectral data processing.


We investigate a reinforcement approach for distributed sensing based on the latent space derived from multi-modal deep generative models. Our contribution provides insights to the following benefits: Detections can be exchanged effectively between robots equipped with uni-modal sensors due to a shared latent representation of information that is trained by a Variational Auto Encoder (VAE). Sensor-fusion can be applied asynchronously due to the generative feature of the VAE. Deep Q-Networks (DQNs) are trained to minimize uncertainty in latent space by coordinating robots to a Point-of-Interest (PoI) where their sensor modality can provide beneficial information about the PoI. Additionally, we show that the decrease in uncertainty can be defined as the direct reward signal for training the DQN.


A novel asymmetric MOSFET with no lightly doped drain on the source side is simulated on bulk Si using a device simulator (SILVACO). To overcome the problems of the conventional asymmetric process, a novel asymmetric MOSFET using a mesa structure and a sidewall spacer gate is proposed, and it provides a self-alignment process, aggressive scaling, and better uniformity. First of all, we have compared the simulated characteristics of the asymmetric and symmetric MOSFETs. Basically, both asymmetric and symmetric MOSFETs have an n-type channel and the same physical parameters. Compared with the symmetric MOSFET, the asymmetric MOSFET shows better device performance. Moreover, we have successfully fabricated 50-nm asymmetric NMOSFETs based on simulation results and investigated its operation and characteristics.


This paper describes a new algorithm for the estimation of rotor position in a switched reluctance motor. It is based on a recursive least-squares estimator deducing both position and speed. A particular advantage of the algorithm is its ability to extract information about rotor position at very low speeds (one electrical cycle per minute) from voltage and current waveforms sampled only at the converter switching frequency. Experimental results for a 12/8 motor demonstrate that estimation is possible over the full range of operating conditions, including the field-weakening region, with a typical accuracy of better than two mechanical degrees. The paper also illustrates the performance of the algorithm by showing it operating within a sensorless position controller.


This letter presents a low complexity user scheduling algorithm based on the capacity lower-bound in the downlink of MU-MIMO systems. The basic principle is to make sure that the maximal capacity lower-bound can be achieved. Furthermore, it relies mainly on matrix multiplication operation to schedule users, thus with lower complexity. Simulation results show that the new technique can effectively increase the sum capacity.


Nowadays, a new parallel paradigm for energy-efficient heterogeneous hardware infrastructures is required to achieve better performance at a reasonable cost on high-performance computing applications. Under this new paradigm, some application parts are offloaded to specialized accelerators that run faster or are more energy-efficient than CPUs. Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) are one of those types of accelerators that are becoming widely available in data centers. This paper proposes OmpSs@cloudFPGA, which includes novel extensions to parallel task-based programming models that enable easy and efficient programming of heterogeneous clusters with FPGAs. The programmer only needs to annotate, with OpenMP-like pragmas, the tasks of the application that should be accelerated in the cluster of FPGAs. Next, the proposed programming model framework automatically extracts parts annotated with High-Level Synthesis (HLS) pragmas and synthesizes them into hardware accelerator cores for FPGAs. Additionally, our extensions include and support two novel features: 1) FPGA-to-FPGA direct communication using a Message Passing Interface (MPI) similar Application Programming Interface (API) with one-to-one and collective communications to alleviate host communication channel bottleneck, and 2) creating and spawning work from inside the FPGAs to their own accelerator cores based on an MPI rank-like identification. These features break the classical host-accelerator model, where the host (typically the CPU) generates all the work and distributes it to each accelerator. We also present an evaluation of OmpSs@cloudFPGA for different parallel strategies of the N-Body application on the IBM cloudFPGA research platform. Results show that for cluster sizes up to 56 FPGAs, the performance scales linearly. To the best of our knowledge, this is the best performance obtained for N-body over FPGA platforms, reaching 344 Gpairs/s with 56 FPGAs. Finally, we compare the performance and power consumption of the proposed approach with the ones obtained by a classical execution on the MareNostrum 4 supercomputer, demonstrating that our FPGA approach reduces power consumption by an order of magnitude.


Declines in winter snowpack have increased the severity of summer droughts in western U.S. forests, with the potential to also impact soil available nitrogen (N). To understand how snowpack controls spatiotemporal N availability, we examined seasonal N dynamics across elevation, aspect, and topographic position (hollow vs. slope) in a forested watershed in the northern Rocky Mountains. As expected, peak snow‐water equivalent (SWE) was generally greater at higher elevations and on north‐facing aspects. However, the effects of topographic position and snowdrift led to variability in snow accumulation at smaller spatial scales. Spatial patterns of the snowpack, in turn, influenced soil moisture and temperature, with greater SWE leading to generally higher soil moisture levels during the summer and smaller temperature fluctuations throughout the year. Wetter conditions in spring or fall generally supported greater inorganic N pools, but at the driest locations (low‐elevation slope), pulses of N mineralization in summer may have played important roles in overall N dynamics. More importantly, soil moisture during the summer appeared to be more influenced by antecedent snowpack from the previous year than by current‐year summer rain. Subsequently, N mineralization under snowpack may be strongly influenced by soil moisture and temperature conditions from the previous fall, before snowpack accumulation. Together, our results indicate that snowpack strongly influences N dynamics beyond the current growing season in western coniferous forests through mediation of soil moisture and temperature, and suggest that further decline in winter snowpack may affect these forests through constraints in both water and N availability.


Biology learning in accordance with its essence should emphasize direct experience so that students are able to explore the natural surroundings scientifically. Practicum is a vehicle to provide direct experience to students. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of distance learning, the implementation of the practicum cannot run as it should. The purpose of this study was to describe the implementation of Biology/Science practicum in secondary schools during the COVID-19 pandemic T.A 2020/2021. This research is a descriptive study that was conducted from February to July 2021. The subjects of this research were Biology and Science teachers in high schools throughout Solo Raya. The data was taken by using a questionnaire technique which was distributed through google form. The number of respondents in this study were 41 people. The results of the questionnaire analysis on the implementation of Biology and Science practicums in high schools throughout Solo during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was found that 65.9% carried out practicums during the COVID-19 pandemic while 34.1% did not carry out practicums. The implementation of the practicum uses various platforms such as google meet and moodle app, zoom meeting and youtube, google classroom, and so on. Regarding the effectiveness of online practicum implementation, 92.7% said it was not effective while 7.3% said it was effective.


Despite the enormous reach and influence of the literature on economic and economic policy uncertainty, one surprisingly under-researched topic has been the forecasting performance of economic uncertainty measures. We evaluate the ability of seven popular measures of uncertainty to forecast in-sample and out-of-sample over real and financial outcome variables. We also evaluate predictive content over different quantiles of the GDP growth distribution. Real-time data and estimation considerations are highly consequential, and we devote considerable attention to them. Four main findings emerge. First, there is some explanatory power in all uncertainty measures, with relatively good performance by macroeconomic uncertainty (Jurado, Ludvigson, and Ng, 2015). Second, macro uncertainty has additional predictive content over the widely-used excess bond premium of (Gilchrist and Zakrajsek, 2012) and the National Financial Conditions Index. Third, quantile regressions for GDP growth indicate strong predictive power, especially at the lower ends of the distribution, for all uncertainty measures except the VIX. Finally, we construct new real-time versions of both macroeconomic and financial uncertainty and compare them to their ex-post counterparts used in the literature. Real-time uncertainty measures have comparatively poor forecasting performance, even to the point of overturning some of the conclusions that emerge from using ex-post uncertainty measures.


This paper presents two methods for tracking a user based on Aulin's wave scattering channel model. The first method is based on the extended Kalman filter approach, while the second method is based on the particle filter approach. Aulin's model takes into account non line of sight and multipath propagation environments, which are usually encountered in wireless fading channels. The received instantaneous electric field at the base station is a nonlinear function of the mobile location and velocity as Aulin's model indicate. The proposed methods cope with nonlinearities in order to estimate the mobile location and velocity. The assumptions are knowledge of the channel and access to the instantaneous received field, which are obtained through channel sounding samples from the receiver circuitry. In contrast to the extended Kalman filter tracking approach, the particle filter approach does not rely on linearized motion models, measurement relations, and Gaussian assumptions. Numerical results are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the proposed methods


Cholera exoenterotoxin (CT) from Vibrio bacilli enhances antibody responses when administered together with an antigen such as sheep erythrocytes but suppresses immune responses when given several days before antigen. Although CT is known to stimulate adenylate cyclase activity and alters cyclic AMP levels in lymphoid as well as nonlymphoid tissues, the mechanisms of immunologic modulation by the toxin are unknown. In the present study the in vitro hemolytic antibody plaque response to sheep red blood cells was found to be markedly enhanced when splenocytes were obtained from mice treated with CT on the day of culture initiation or 1 day earlier, similar to the enhancement of antibody formation in vivo when mice were given CT and antigen at the same time. Spleen cells from mice treated 2 to 3 days earlier with CT, however, showed marked impairment of in vitro responsiveness to sheep erythrocytes, similar to the immunosuppression observed in vivo in toxin-pretreated mice. In contrast, CT induced only an enhanced antibody response when added to normal spleen cells in vitro, either on the day of culture initiation and immunization or 2 days earlier, suggesting that suppression of immunity induced by CT pretreatment in vivo is due to an indirect effect on cells other than immunocytes. This was substantiated by experiments with adrenalectomized mice since only enhancement and not suppression of antibody responses occurred. Impairment of spleen cell responsiveness from CT-pretreated mice could be partially restored by addition of PE cells and fully restored by "educated" T cells derived from recipient mice given thymocytes and SRBC. Thus, CT suppression of antibody formation may be due to an indirect effect on specific cell populations, whereas immune enhancement was probably due to a direct adjuvant effect of the toxin on immunocytes or their precursor.


Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have considerably improved patient outcomes in various cancer types, but their efficacy remains poorly predictable among patients. The intestinal microbiome, whose balance and composition can be significantly altered by antibiotic use, has recently emerged as a factor that may modulate ICI efficacy. The objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to investigate the impact of antibiotics on the clinical outcomes of cancer patients treated with ICIs. Methods PubMed and major oncology conference proceedings were systematically searched to identify all studies reporting associations between antibiotic use and at least one of the following endpoints: Overall Survival (OS), Progression-Free Survival (PFS), Objective Response Rate (ORR) and Progressive Disease (PD) Rate. Pooled Hazard Ratios (HRs) for OS and PFS, and pooled Odds Ratios (ORs) for ORR and PD were calculated. Subgroup analyses on survival outcomes were also performed to investigate the potential differential effect of antibiotics according to cancer types and antibiotic exposure time windows. Results 107 articles reporting data for 123 independent cohorts were included, representing a total of 41,663 patients among whom 11,785 (28%) received antibiotics around ICI initiation. The pooled HRs for OS and PFS were respectively of 1.61 [95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.48-1.76] and 1.45 [95% CI 1.32-1.60], confirming that antibiotic use was significantly associated with shorter survival. This negative association was observed consistently across all cancer types for OS and depending on the cancer type for PFS. The loss of survival was particularly strong when antibiotics were received shortly before or after ICI initiation. The pooled ORs for ORR and PD were respectively of 0.59 [95% CI 0.47-0.76] and 1.86 [95% CI 1.41-2.46], suggesting that antibiotic use was significantly associated with worse treatment-related outcomes. Conclusion As it is not ethically feasible to conduct interventional, randomized, controlled trials in which antibiotics would be administered to cancer patients treated with ICIs to demonstrate their deleterious impact versus control, prospective observational studies and interventional trials involving microbiome modifiers are crucially needed to uncover the role of microbiome and improve patient outcomes. Such studies will reduce the existing publication bias by allowing analyses on more homogeneous populations, especially in terms of treatments received, which is not possible at this stage given the current state of the field. In the meantime, antibiotic prescription should be cautiously considered in cancer patients receiving ICIs. Systematic review registration https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, identifier CRD42019145675.


Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are immature, activated myeloid cells that can suppress T cell function via multiple mechanisms and dampen antitumor immunity. As with many tumor models, we found a high frequency of MDSC in the primary kidney tumor, spleen, and lung metastases in an orthotopic model of advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC). MDSC from both primary tumor and spleen suppressed T cell proliferation in vitro. However, following treatment of the primary kidney tumor with a recombinant adenovirus encoding TRAIL (Ad-TRAIL) in combination with CpG ODN, MDSC numbers decreased at all aforementioned locations and a robust systemic CD8 T cell-mediated antitumor immune response was initiated that was ultimately responsible for clearing the primary RCC tumors and lung metastases. Subsequent analysis revealed that CpG ODN alone was able to directly modulate MDSC frequency and phenotype at the primary tumor site and metastatic lung, resulting in a more "mature" phenotype as seen by increases in CD40, CD80, and CD11c and decreases in Gr-1. Interestingly, concomitant depletion of MDSC, which alone lead to tumor regression, did not exhibit any synergistic effects with therapy, suggesting that Ad-TRAIL/CpG alone overcomes MDSC suppression. These data suggest that while CpG ODN may play many roles contributing to the antitumor immune response, one important role appears to be the modulation of the suppressive MDSC population.


This paper presents a 3-5 GHz, high output amplitude, carrier-less based Ultra Wideband (UWB) transmitter for wirelessly powered RFID application. The UWB transmitter consists of a baseband pulse generator, a driver amplifier and an output on-chip filter. The baseband pulse generator and the driver amplifier are designed as zero DC power consuming circuit, which enables scalable power with the pulse rate. IC pad and bonding wire parasitics are considered to be absorbed as part of output filtering network, realizing package co-design. The simulation result shows that the proposed transmitter radiates 2.34 pJ/pulse energy with 1.63 V pulse amplitude. The total energy consumption under 1.8 V power supply is 18 pJ/pulse, corresponding to 13% energy efficiency.


The study was to research the clinical characteristics of Shenmai injection treating tumor based on hospital information system, including the characteristics of the age, the sex, the dosage, the course of the treatment and the combination drugs. The data of tumor patients injected with Shenmai injection was analyzed. The information was collected from the hospital information system (HIS) in twenty hospitals of grade III-A. The method of frequencies and association rules was used in this reaearch. The patients over 45 years old were up to 3 338, about 79.36% of the whole. The ratio of male and female was 1.73: 1. The hospitalization day between 15 and 28 was most. The complications of the hypertension and coronary heart disease happened most. The support was 5.939% and 5.099% respectively. Fifty-five patients had the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome of Qi-Yin deficiency, about 14.78% of the whole. There were 8 491 patients treated with the single dose of 81 to 100 mL, about 48.70% of the whole. The main combination drugs were dexamethasone, tropisetron and maxolon. The confidence was 44.63%, 31.22% and 20.53% respectively. The information from HIS showed that tumor patients used Shenmai injection were most quinquagenarian with smooth condition. The dose of the Shenmai injection sometimes was higher than that of the drug use instructions in clinical. Shenmai injection was most often combined with glucocorticoid, antemetic and nutritional support medicine when treating tumor in clinical.


The authors evaluated the involvement of large cerebral artery in 13 patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) with angiography (12 MR and one conventional). Five patients (38%) showed stenosis: at the middle cerebral artery in three, vertebral artery in one, and the internal carotid artery in one. The stenosis persisted on follow-up angiogram in two patients. There were no differences in risk factors between patients with angiographic abnormality and those without, suggesting occasional involvement of large vessels in CADASIL.


Background and Objectives: Dioxin, classified as a human carcinogen by International Cancer Research Institute, shows inconsistent results on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cancer in epidemiological studies. International Cancer Research Institute classifies dioxin as a human carcinogen, but epidemiological studies of its effects on type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cancer show inconsistent results. Therefore, we conducted a Korean population study to ascertain if the blood concentration of dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/DFs) is associated with T2DM and thyroid cancer.Methods: Within a nested case-control study, we identified 15 people diagnosed with thyroid cancer, 30 people diagnosed with T2DM, and 55 for control. Due to the 4ml human blood requirement for PCDD/DF and DL-PCB concentrations tests, a total of 500 samples were used in 100 pooling samples. The continuous variable of a pooled sample was calculated as an average value taking into account the blood weight of each sample. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) for determining the association between total dioxins and risk of T2DM and thyroid cancer were estimated using the multivariable logistic regression.Results: The study population included 100 participants from the KCPS-II (median [IQR] baseline age, 54.06 [21.04] years; 48 women). The toxic equivalents of PCDD/DFs showed a significant positive association with T2DM and thyroid cancer, after adjustments for potential confounders (T2DM ORs = 1.23; 95% CI = 1.05-1.43; Thyroid cancer ORs = 1.34; 95% CI = 1.12-1.61). These results showed a stronger association in women than in men.Conclusion: In this study, both T2DM and thyroid cancer appear to be associated with the levels of PCDD/DFs serum. The association between T2DM and levels of PCDD/DFs serum is found in women and not in men. Our findings suggest that further biochemical in vivo research and epidemiologic studies are needed to clarify the nature of the association between dioxins concentrations and diseases.


Background: Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are among the widespread everchanging threats to public health. Web-based queries using information gathered from social media can enhance global syndromic surveillance to trace EIDs activity. This systematic review aimed to investigate the correlation of web-based queries to outbreak of EIDs. Methods: Nine electronic databases were systematically searched and updated in August 2018 including; PubMed, Virtual Health Library (VHL), WHO Global Health Library (GHL), Scopus, ISI, Google Scholar, POPLINE, and Systems for Information of Grey Literature in Europe (SIGLE), New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM Grey Literature Report). A prior protocol was registered at Prospero (CRD42016038104). In a total five included articles, 47 datasets were included for reviewing. The correlation was assessed through Spearman and Pearson tests using either google trends or number of tweets. Results: Meta-analysis of influenza-like illness data revealed that correlation was significant (0.784 (0.743-0.820, 0.964 (0.918-0.985) for both Spearman and Pearson tests respectively. Conclusions: Web-based surveillance systems could serve as a good method in predicting events of EIDs.


Over the last several years, the Smart Cities concept has become apparent from the academic world of' conferences and workshops to the strategic planning of' national governments and primary commercial projects ofglobal 11' corporations. multinational infrastructure providers as well as system integrators. Smart city unlike the conventional city is anticipated as a prime city of' wellbeing. prosperity and productivity. The urge to embrace the smart city concept which is fundamental to sustainable development has been on the rise. 1n the same vein, Lagos state as an African commercial hub has embarked in her journey to city smartness. The current administration has put various measures and strategies in place to ensure that Lagos state does not lag behind in this "smartness" race. This is evident in some finished and current laudable projects already embarked upon as part of' her city smartness revolution. These include amongst others: the construction of the Eko Atlantic city, activation oftollfree emergency services. city heritage MOU it signed with Dubai andfree Wi-Fi in public parks. This paper evaluated l.agos states' accomplishments as an emerging smart city hy exploring current working definitions of smart city and a diversity of various conceptual relatives similar to smart city visavis the present situation of the state. The study recommended strategic measures in conformity with international best practices that can be adopted by Lagos state government to enhance her city smartness.


Observational data from psychiatric patients are usually of the ordinal scale type. Therefore, in the traditional one-rating-per-symptom-and-patient-situation, the resulting score values can be analysed only by applying nonparametric statistical methods. These methods are rather inefficient when--as is usual--there are only four-point-scales for evaluating the symptoms. Moreover, non-parametric methods are not available as of yet to take into consideration the often complex structure of data from psychiatric studies. This leads to the conclusion that the quantification of ordinal scale type data would be very desirable in order that parametric statistical methods could be applied. Such a method of quantification is proposed on the basis of the audiovisual psychiatric rating technique. It is shown that the data resulting from the many-ratings-per-symptom-and-patient-situation can be subjected to parametric statistical methods. In applying the proposed method, therefore, much better use could be made of and a maximum of information could be extracted from the data in psychiatric studies.


The advanced computer architecture, specially designed for high-speed and low-cost digital simulation of complex systems, has been combined with six mathematical modeling principles to provide a convenient, interactive engineering plant analyzer for nuclear power plants. Simulation needs of the nuclear industry are discussed, and the architectural and mathematical modeling principles are presented. Various features of the analyzer are highlighted.<<ETX>>


OBJECTIVE To review the main articles on energy imbalance and obesity in order to quantify the daily energy surplus associated with weight gain in children and adolescents. DATA SOURCES Articles published in the last ten years, indexed in electronic databases Medline (Pubmed) and SciELO-Br. In the Medline database, the descriptor "energy gap" was used and describes the energy values associated with changes in body weight in individuals or populations. In SciELO-Br database, the descriptors "obesity", "energy metabolism", "energy balance", and "energy imbalance" were used, once it was not possible to find national articles discussing the energy gap. DATA SYNTHESIS In the pediatric population, four studies were performed and indicate that children and adolescents are gradually gaining weight due to a small, but persistent, daily positive energy balance of 70 to 160kcal above the total energy suitable for growth. The results suggest that small changes in daily eating behavior as well as physical activity would be enough to prevent future weight gain in this population. CONCLUSIONS gradual weight gain can be explained by small daily average of positive energy balance, from 70 to 160kcal above the total energy suitable for growth. The incentive to small changes in eating behavior and physical activities that promotes daily reduction of 160kcal can be an accessible practice in order to block weight gain in this population.


Abstract The article sets out the thesis that the social-ontological account based on the form of life concept can be used to analytically and normatively reflect alternative economies and their attempt to overcome capitalistic structures.2 To develop the thesis, I provide conceptual work on the "economic form of life", pointing at its plasticity due to the general substitutability of economic practices. Against this background, I argue that Capitalism makes use of this plasticity to create a fully commodified, radical contingent form of life. Actors of alternative economies can wake up of from this dream world of Capitalism by using the substitutability of economic practices to deconstruct the capitalist form of life. The two most important practices for doing so are the practices of "in-sourcing" and "solidary out-sourcing". They also reveal the normative kernel of conviviality, namely to seek to do justice to the economicity of human life. The paper ends with locating the presented form-of-life-account within the strand of literature on alternative economies.


By the study for the mixing of a charm quark c and a new quark m with the mixing angle theta in an extended standard model, we Obtain the theoretical values of R-b and R-c, which are fairly accordant with the experimental values of R-b(ex) and R-c(ex).


volume, and total lung capacity.5 Any reduction in pulmonary mechanical efficiency must be avoided in respiratory failure, and controlled use of carbimazole may permit a fall in basal metabolic oxygen requirement but with thyroid function remaining within the normal range. Carbimazole would seem suitable for a double-blind controlled trial of treatment in chronic irreversible respiratory failure, and the drug may have a role in otherwise intractable cases while the results of such a study are awaited.


There are no known studies that have been conducted focusing on the congruency or discrepancy of pre service agricultural education programmes in relation to secondary school agriculture teaching in Zimbabwe. The purpose of this study was therefore to make a qualitative investigation on the contribution of pre service agricultural education training programmes to the teaching of high school Agriculture. A participatory investigation approach was used to gather data, where among other relevant stakeholders, school authorities, agricultural teachers and training institutions staff were consulted on the congruency or discrepancies between pre - service agricultural education programmes and expected competencies of a qualified agricultural teacher. Teachers displayed requisite content and pedagogical competencies in the teaching of agriculture at secondary school level gained from their pre-service agricultural education. The study established the need for continuous in-service and staff exchange course programmes for agricultural teachers in order to keep them abreast with the dynamism and technological innovations in agricultural education sector.


Abstract Objectives To investigate the association between cognitive impairment and hospitalizations, quality of life and satisfaction with life among patients with schizophrenia. Methods A point-in-time survey was conducted between July and October 2019 via the Adelphi Schizophrenia Disease Specific Programme across the United States of America. Patients were stratified as mild or severe based on the level of cognitive impairment reported by their psychiatrist (normal, mild = mild; moderate, severe, very severe = severe). Multiple regression analysis was used to model the association between cognitive impairment and outcomes, adjusting for baseline characteristics. Results Data were provided by 124 psychiatrists for 651 mildly and 484 severely impaired patients with schizophrenia; PSCs were completed by 349 mildly and 206 severely impaired patients. Severe cognitive impairment was associated with increased odds of hospitalization due to schizophrenia relapse since diagnosis (2.10 odds ratio [OR], P = .004) and within 12 months (1.95 OR, P < .001) compared to mild impairment. Moreover, patients with severe cognitive impairment had poorer quality of life according to the EuroQoL 5-dimension (EQ-5D) Health Index (−0.085 coefficient, P < .001) and EQ-5D Visual Analogue Scale (−6.24 coefficient, P = .041) compared to patients with mild cognitive impairment. Severe cognitive impairment was also associated with lower overall life satisfaction according to the Quality-of-Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (−8.13 coefficient, P = .006) compared to mild cognitive impairment. Conclusion Schizophrenia patients with severe cognitive impairment had more hospitalizations due to relapse than patients with mild cognitive impairment. Additionally, patients with severe cognitive impairment had significantly lower quality of life and overall satisfaction with life compared to patients with mild cognitive impairment. Funding Sunovion Pharmaceuticals


Dynamical processes of myoglobin after photon-excited charge transfer between Fe ion and surrounding water anion are simulated by a molecular dynamics model. The roles of Coulomb interaction effect and water effect in the relaxation process are discussed. It is found that the relaxations before and after charge transfer are similar. Strong Coulomb interactions and less water mobility decrease Coulomb energy fluctuations. An extra transferred charge of Fe ion has impact on water packing with a distance up to 0.86 nm.


Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is an important treatment option for patients with breast cancer. This paper utilises data from the Breast Surgeons of Australia and New Zealand Quality Audit (BQA). This is a large bi-national audit which collects approximately 80% of all breast cancer cases in Australia and New Zealand. Although data from the BQA is encouraging with NAC use more than doubling from 2011 to 2016 (3.08% to 6.65%) in many centres it remains an underutilized option.


General information about the course: This course is an introduction to Behavioral and Experimental Economics. Behavioral Economics has emerged as a discipline studying situations in which the behavior of people does not correspond to the predictions of standard economic theory. Mainstream economics is based on several assumptions. First, economic agents are assumed to maximize their own utility. Second, agent's behavior is not influenced by social or emotional factors. Third, agents have unlimited cognitive abilities allowing them to choose optimally from all available alternatives. Since 1970s researchers have accumulated a lot of evidence showing that the observed human behavior is at odds with what is predicted based on these assumptions. People often make "irrational' choices with respect to their insurance, saving plans, health, participation in lotteries, etc. In this course we will consider the new concepts that help to explain the observed anomalies of human behavior. Since large part of these anomalies has been detected with the help of economic experiments, we will spend a lot of time discussing this methodology and its examples. Course goals and learning objectives: This course has several learning objectives. First of all, it aims at developing interdisciplinary thinking. Behavioral Economics (broadly defined) combines knowledge from several disciplines, such as Economics, Psychology, Sociology and Neuroscience. Students will learn how to formalize the concepts from social sciences outside Economics (e.g., fairness, reciprocity, trust, envy etc.) and how to incorporate them into economic models. Second, the course is focused on understanding what is an economic experiment. Students will discover various types of experiments (lab, field, natural, etc.) and learn how to use experiments to test economic theories. Finally, the course helps to develop critical thinking with respect to the results of economic research. Students will have a chance to train their ability to be conscious readers of economic studies and integrate evidence from various sources. Who can benefit from this course? This course is for anyone who wants to broaden their understanding of human economic behavior. Since Behavioral Economics gets more and more incorporated into many areas of economic research anyone has a chance to come across its basic notions in their field of interest. The course implies that you have taken a course in Microeconomics as well as a course in calculus and statistics.


We aimed to investigate the pre‐operative predictive role of haematological parameters in patients with testicular torsion. The medical records of patients operated between January 2016 and November 2018 were retrospectively analysed. The demographic characteristics and complete blood count of the patients were recorded. We divided the patients who operated with testicular torsion into two groups: detorsion (Group 1) and orchiectomy (Group 2). A control group (Group 3) was created from healthy volunteers. All haematological parameters and other demographic data were compared between three groups. A total of 144 participants were included; Group 1, Group 2 and Group 3; 61, 27 and 56 respectively. The duration of symptoms and monocyte counts were found statistically significantly higher in patients undergoing orchiectomy than detorsion (p < .01). We found a significant difference in terms of neutrophil, lymphocyte, monocyte counts and neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio between patients with testicular torsion and controls. We also found that the monocytes count and symptom duration differed significantly between the detorsion group and the orchiectomy group. It is obvious that there is contradictory information according to the studies in the literature. We can say that the duration of symptoms and the number of monocytes are predictors of testicular viability.


The aim of this study is to examine the direct and indirect effect of  trust to government, costs of compliance and moral obligation on taxpayer compliance behavior. This study was conducted in  East Java.  The respondents of the study are business taxpayers. Fourty three taxpayers participated in this study. The findings of this study show that: (1)  the direct effect trust to government on taxpayer compliance behavior is  positive and significant (2)  the indirect effect of trust to government on taxpayer compliance behavior through moral obligation is positive and significant (3) the indirect effect of trust to government on taxpayer compliance behavior through costs of compliance is  insignificant. This study contribute not only to the research literature but also to help government to develop strategies toward improving compliance. Keywords: trust to government, moral obligation, compliance costs, compliance  behavior.


Infantile Blount's disease results in multi-planar proximal tibial deformity consisting of varus, procurvatum, internal rotation and shortening. The deformity is attributed to disordered growth of the posteromedial proximal tibial physis.
The aetiology is multifactorial. It is associated with childhood obesity and African ethnicity. The ability to differentiate between infantile Blount's disease and physiological bowing depends on the findings of focused clinical examination, X-ray appearance, tibial metaphyseal-diaphyseal angle and tibial epiphyseal-metaphyseal angle.
The gold standard of treatment is proximal tibial metaphyseal corrective osteotomy before the age of 4 years. The limb should be realigned to physiological valgus.
The recurrence rate after realignment osteotomy is high. Recurrence is associated with age at osteotomy, obesity, higher Langenskiold stage and medial physeal slope ≥60°.
The surgical management of severe, recurrent or neglected infantile Blount's disease is challenging. Comprehensive clinical examination and multi-planar deformity analysis with standing long leg X-rays are essential to identify all aspects of the deformity. Distal femur coronal malalignment and significant rotational deformity should be excluded. Knee instability due to intra-articular deformity should be corrected by elevation of the medial tibial plateau.
Lateral epiphysiodesis should be done at the same time as medial plateau elevation and when medial growth arrest is certain to prevent recurrence.
Level of evidence: Level 5


In the last decade, studies in the field of information security have progressed very rapidly. The advancement and development of new technologies in the field of information security have not only affected existing areas in the field but have also led to the emergence of new areas. Examining patent documents to monitor technological developments and track trends is an important way to make future predictions about technology. By doing so, companies know which areas they should invest in, and they can more easily predict in which direction research and development should proceed. To date, many studies have been conducted to analyze and share the patents obtained in different fields. This study will include advantages over current studies in the field of patent data and data mining. Although the patent analysis method used in the present study has recently become popular, it is expected to be a valuable resource for Turkey because the lack of technology prediction methods in the field of information security. In this study, patent documents obtained in the field of information security are analyzed. Data mining will be used to analyze patent documents retrieved from the field of information security. Furthermore, trends in the field of information security will be identified from the collected data.


The aim of this study was to present a case of enteric duplication cyst and criteria for a proper differential diagnosis. A 51-year-old male was hospitalized for pancreatic tail neoplasm and distal pancreatectomy with splenectomy was performed. During surgery, a jejunal cystic lesion was incidentally detected and jejunectomy was performed. Microscopically, the cyst was observed to be covered by Keratin 7/Keratin 20 positive intestinal type epithelium and the muscularis layer was shared by the cyst and adjacent jejunum, without a cleavage plane between the cyst wall and jejunal muscularis propria. In the deep muscularis propria, a Heinrich's type I ectopic pancreas was also noted. In the pancreatic tail, a low grade intraepithelial lesion (panIN-1a) was diagnosed. This case highlights the necessity for a correct differential diagnosis of such rare lesions. Roughly 30 cases of jejunal duplication cysts have been reported to date in the PubMed database.


We investigate the single-photon transport properties in a one-dimensional coupled-resonator waveguide non-locally coupled to a whispering-gallery resonator embedded with two separated two-level atoms based on the real-space approach. The control of single-photon transport is realized by modulating the detuning between two separated atoms, phase differences, and the symmetric/asymmetric nonlocal couplings. The multi-frequency photon-filter is obtained, and the influences of dissipation effects on single-photon transmission spectra and the phase shift are also discussed.


Hamster embryo development to the blastocyst stage in vitro can be modulated by amino acids. This series of experiments employed both empirically and statistically designed approaches to elucidate which of 20 amino acids inhibit or stimulate development and to devise a complement of amino acids that best supports in vitro development of hamster 1‐cell embryos. Development and/or mean cell number were significantly inhibited by the presence of leucine, tyrosine, valine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, arginine, methionine, or cysteine (at 0.5 mM) and isoleucine, phenylalanine, or tryptophan (at 0.05 mM). Three amino acids—glutamine, taurine, and glycine—were stimulatory and in combination improved development; the culture medium containing these amino acids was designated Hamster Embryo Culture Medium‐5. Moreover, addition of another eight amino acids—asparagine, aspartic acid, serine, glutamic acid, histidine, lysine, proline and cysteine (medium designated HECM‐6)—had a significant stimulatory effect on development over previously formulated culture media for hamster embryos. These results demonstrated that amino acids, alone and in combination, can markedly stimulate or inhibit hamster embryo development in vitro up to the blastocyst stage. Embryo transfer experiments showed that HECM‐5 and −6 (chemically defined, protein‐free culture media) supported normal preimplantation embryo development in vitro. This study also indicates that empirically designed embryo culture media formulations can be as effective as those obtained by application of statistical methodologies. © 1995 wiley‐Liss, Inc.


1. Visual purple from the sea robin, sea bass, and scup is almost identical spectroscopically with that from frogs. The interrelations of this pigment with vitamin A and retinene are also the same as in the frog. 2. In strong acids or at pH > 11, the visual yellow of sea robin retinas is converted irreversibly into a pH indicator, yellow in acid and almost colorless in alkaline solution. Unlike neutral visual yellow, the indicator is not removed to form either vitamin A or visual purple. In the ammoniacal retina the reversion of visual yellow itself to purple is accelerated. 3. The combined pigment epithelium and choroid layer in these fishes contain vitamin A, flavine, and an unidentified xanthophyll.


CONTEXT
Neonates are being discharged from the hospital more rapidly, but the risks associated with this practice, especially for low-income populations, are unclear.

OBJECTIVE
To determine the impact of decreasing postnatal length of stay on rehospitalization rates in the immediate postdischarge period for Medicaid neonates.

DESIGN AND SETTING
Retrospective, population-based cohort study using Ohio Medicaid claims data linked to vital statistics files from July 1, 1991, to June 15, 1995.

PARTICIPANTS
A total of 102 678 full-term neonates born to mothers receiving Medicaid for at least 30 days after birth.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
Rehospitalization rates within 7 and 14 days of discharge, postdischarge health care use, and regional variations in length of stay and rehospitalization.

RESULTS
The proportion of neonates who were discharged following a short stay (less than 1 day after vaginal delivery, less than 2 days after cesarean birth) increased 185%, from 21% to 59.8% (P<.001) and the mean (SD) length of stay decreased 27%, from 2.2 (1.0) to 1.6 (0.9) days (P<.001), over the course of the study. The proportion of neonates who received a primary care visit within 14 days of birth increased 117% (P = .001). Rehospitalization rates within 7 and 14 days of discharge decreased by 23%, from 1.3% to 1.0% (P=.01), and by 19%, from 2.1% to 1.7% (P=.03), respectively. Short stay across the 6 regions of the state varied significantly over time (P<.001). Factors significantly associated with increased likelihood of rehospitalization within both 7 and 14 days of discharge were white race, shorter gestation, primiparity, earlier year of birth, lower 5-minute Apgar score, vaginal delivery, married mother, and region of the state.

CONCLUSION
Our data suggest that reductions in length of stay for full-term Medicaid newborns in Ohio have not resulted in an increase in rehospitalization rates in the immediate postnatal period.


Myeloid‐derived suppressor cells with immunosuppressive functions have been described to be associated with one of the mechanisms by which malignant tumors escape immune surveillance. However, little is known about the role of myeloid‐derived suppressor cells in autoimmunity. In the current study, when we attempted to characterize the peritoneal cells in pristane‐induced lupus model, as reported previously, we observed that there were markedly increased CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes. Surprisingly, this type of monocytes was almost phenotypically identical to the reported monocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells. Further analysis on how these CD11b+Ly6Chi cells affected T cell response showed that they strongly suppressed T cell proliferation in vitro in a manner dependent on cell–cell contact, NO, and PGE2. In addition, we found that CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes inhibited Th1 differentiation but enhanced development of forkhead box p3+CD4+ regulatory T cells. Consistent with the in vitro experimental results, the in vivo adoptive cell transfer study showed that infusion of pristane‐treated syngeneic CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes significantly suppressed the production of anti‐keyhole limpet hemocyanin antibodies induced by keyhole limpet hemocyanin immunization. In addition, we found that CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes were also increased significantly in spleen and peripheral blood and showed immunosuppressive characteristics similar to their peritoneal counterparts. Our findings indicate that CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes in a pristane‐induced lupus mouse model are monocytic myeloid‐derived suppressor cells instead of inflammatory monocytes, as demonstrated previously. To our knowledge, this is the first to describe myeloid‐derived suppressor cells in a pristane‐induced lupus mouse model, which may lead to a better understanding of the role of CD11b+Ly6Chi monocytes in this specific pristane‐induced lupus model.


The success of companies at the market is for several decades depended on the quality of the provided products and services. This quality cannot be achieved without functioning quality management system. ISO/TS 16949 standard, which includes the requirements for quality management system in the automotive industry whose suppliers are mostly metallurgical companies in Chapter 7.6.1 requires, that statistical studies must be performed in order to analyze the variability of all types of measurement and testing systems. The acceptability of the measurement system is currently assessed on the results of combined gage repeatability and reproducibility study (GRR). The most used methods for evaluation of GRR study are average and range method (A&R) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results of GRR analysis can be considerably influenced by interactions between parts and appraisers. Less used ANOVA which requires using of special software and its numerical results are difficult to interpret, is able to evaluate these interactions. More used A&R method, which use is much simpler, is not capable to evaluate these interactions. The occurrence of interactions can significantly affect the results of gage repeatability and reproducibility study and therefore also acceptability of the measurement system. For this reason it is necessary the influence of these interactions correctly evaluate and recognize. The aim of this paper is to analyze the possibility of identification of these interactions using appropriate graphical tools of measurement system analysis. It will be also analyzed the ability of these graphical tools to reveal not only existence, but also the location of these interactions.


The Bar subclass of homeodomain proteins was first identified for its role in Drosophila eye development. The Bar subclass homolog, Barx1, has since been cloned in mouse and in chick. The expression of Barx1 in developing teeth and craniofacial mesenchyme of neural crest origin makes it a strong candidate for the related human disorders of Axenfeld-Reiger syndrome (ARS) and iridogoniodysgenesis syndrome (IGDS). Here we report the cloning and characterization of a novel human Bar class gene, human BARX1. Screening of a human fetal craniofacial library resulted in the isolation of a 1.6-kb full-length transcript. Sequence analysis indicated that human BARX1, mouse Barx1, and chick Barx1 show 100% identity at the amino acid level within their homeodomains. Human BARX1 is expressed in a number of tissues including testis and heart by Northern analysis and in iris and craniofacial tissues by PCR of cDNA libraries. BARX1 chromosomal localization to 9q12 was determined by radiation hybrid mapping. Intron/exon boundaries were established, and primers were generated to PCR amplify all four exons. A mutation screen was conducted in 55 patients affected with ARS, IGDS, or related ocular malformations. While six sequence polymorphisms were detected, no disease-causing mutations of BARX1 were observed.


This grammar introduces undergraduate and graduate students to the essentials of classical Hebrew. It begins with the simple and regular elements of the language and proceeds to the complex and irregular, frequently referencing the historical development of Hebrew. Extensive explanations of elements in English prepare students for the discussion of the corresponding Hebrew element. Through the course of the text, the reader will translate the book of Ruth as well as other biblical and nonbiblical texts, learning particular skills in reading both the entire Hebrew Bible and the later sixth-century Hebrew material, such as the Lachish Letter. Accomplished students of this text will be prepared to progress to advanced study of Hebrew grammar and exegesis of the Hebrew Bible.


Secretion of neutrophil granules is dependent on calcium, but at the same time this process is regulated differently for each type of granules. We attempted to find calcium-regulated proteins that selectively translocate from the cytosol to the membranes of the neutrophil granules. An in vitro calcium-dependent translocation assay was designed by mixing cytosol with different neutrophil organelles isolated by subcellular fractionation. Immunoblotting using an anti-cytosol antiserum revealed a cytosolic protein of 42 kD that selectively binds to the specific granules of human neutrophils. It was neither associated with the azurophil granules nor with the secretory vesicles/plasma membrane. The protein was translocated at a calcium concentration of 100 micromol/L and binding was further increased by 1 mmol/L calcium. The 42-kD protein was partially purified from neutrophil cytosol by using its affinity for specific granules and by ion-exchange chromatography. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the partly purified protein allowed the 42-kD band to be excised and subjected to tryptic peptide mapping. Peptides from three peaks were N-terminally sequenced. Searching among known proteins, each one of the amino acid sequences was found to share sequence similarity to annexin XI.


Fermented foods are consumed by a very large population in Africa but the products have many drawbacks ranging from shelf life instability to contamination and toxicity. These foods therefore require an upgrade through improved fermentation processes. This work determined the phenotypic characteristics of the fermenting microorganisms and microbial ecological succession during fermentation of cassava and maize to determine the predominant fermenting microorganisms. Cassava roots and maize grains were fermented using the traditional method of processing them into fufu and ogi for 72 h and 48 h respectively. Samples were drawn every 12 h for analysis. Enumeration and characterization of lactic acid bacteria were carried out on MRS medium with subsequent microscopic examination, physiological, biochemical reaction tests and API 50 CH gallery. Yeast isolates were identified by their morphological characteristics. Thirteen lactic acid bacteria were isolated from the fermenting cassava and 6 from the fermenting maize. The Isolates were Gram positive and catalase negative. Lactobacillus plantarum, L. fermentum and L. pentusus predominated in both fermentations while Candida tropicalis, C. krusei and Saccharomyces cerevisae also predominated in both fermentations. Candida inconspicuo was found only in cassava fermentation. The results of this work revealed the microbial ecology of fermented cassava and maize which is a prerequisite to the understanding needed to develop a multifunctional starter culture for these fermentations for their upgrade.
 Keywords: Cassava, Maize, Fermentation, lactic acid bacteria, Yeasts.


Front cover Too many people are running around nowadays calling themselves social media experts. Simon doesn't call himself that. His clients do. And they're right. I'll read anything this man writes. Peter Shankman Back cover Social Location Marketing Breakthrough social location marketing techniques for promoting your service, product, or venue! Social Location Marketing offers powerful new ways to promote practically any product, service, or venue. Now, pioneering expert Simon Salt shows exactly how to make the most of it! Salt introduces Foursquare, Gowalla, Yelp, and other apps, helping you choose your best options, and build cost-effective marketing programs that work. Through real examples, youll learn how to reach your key audiences and segmentscraft and execute winning strategies on realistic budgetsmeasure activity and calculate ROIavoid costly mistakesand much more! Whatever your goal, role, or industry, this book will help you find new customers where they are, strengthen loyalty and retention, and supercharge profits! Youll Learn How To: Understand how social location marketing works and what it can (and cant) do for your business Learn the surprising realities about who uses social location software Know your customers and their motivationsand build marketing plans around them Develop communities of customer advocates wholl work on your behalf Use games, competitions, time-limited offers, and other innovative approaches Successfully reach teens, tweens, women, or men Discover proven approaches for fashion, retail, hospitality, and restaurants Effectively handle criticism, and transform negatives into positives Preview brand-new social location tools, including Google Hotpot Understand the privacy issues associated with social location marketing SIMON SALT is a key social media influencer who works with large brands and international PR companies. After participating in three succes1tups, he now leads his own marketing communications firm, whose client list includes Fortune 500 companies. Salt is now conducting a Social Media roadshow, speaking on social location sharing across the United States. He has spoken at major conferences including BlogWorld, Internet Summit, and will speak at SXSW 2011.


Introduction: Electrical impedance myography (EIM) quantifies muscle health and is used as a biomarker of muscle abnormalities in neurogenic and myopathic diseases. EIM has yet to be evaluated in the tongue musculature in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), who often show clinical bulbar signs. Methods: The lingual musculature of 19 subjects with motor neuron disease and 21 normal participants was assessed using EIM, strength and endurance testing, and clinical assessment. Results: Tongue musculature in the ALS group was characterized by significantly smaller phase (Ph) and greater resistance (R) when compared with the healthy cohort. Ph and tongue endurance were correlated in the ALS group. Conclusions: EIM of tongue musculature could distinguish those with ALS from healthy controls. The demonstrated relationship between tongue function and Ph supports further testing of EIM of the tongue as a potential biomarker in ALS. Muscle Nerve 52: 584–591, 2015


Anaemia is a serious public health challenge in India with more than 50% prevalence across vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, infants, young children and adolescents. It has adverse effects on health, physical and mental productivity affecting quality of life. Guideline is any document containing recommendations about health interventions, whether these are clinical, public health or policy recommendations. The National Anemia Prevention and control guidelines have been developed taking cognizance of the current scientific evidence. The National Iron+ Initiative guidelines have been developed by the Adolescent Division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.  Prevention and control of anaemia is one of the key strategies of the Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Programmes for reducing maternal, neonatal and childhood mortality and improving maternal, adolescent and childhood health status. It is estimated that anaemia causes 20 per cent of maternal deaths in India.


Introduction. Hemodiаlysis pаtients аre аt higher risk of trаnsmitting virаl infections, including hepаtitis B virus (HBV) infection, due to the frequent need for blood trаnsfusions аnd the potential exposure to contаminаted diаlysis equipment.
Mаteriаl аnd methods. The study was conducted on a risk group of 121 hemodiаlysis pаtients, аged between 18 аnd 70 yeаrs, the meаn аge being 48.1±13.1 yeаrs.
Results. The prevalence of the serological mаrker of hepаtitis B virus (HBsАg) accounted for 7.4±2.4% (n=9) of cases and no аnti-HBs mаrker wаs detected in 47.7±5.3% of the hemodiаlysis pаtients investigаted. Mаles were positive for the HBsАg mаrker in 8.7±3.4% (n=6) of cases, whereas most patients being from the Central Аreа (13.8±6.5%).
Conclusion. The serological prevalence of the hepatitis B virus infections markers, аs well аs the аssessment of the immune response in people undergoing hemodiаlysis treаtment might outline the bаsic monitoring and control tools in the development of specific аntiepidemic meаsures against this infection.


De Borda voting method was proposed in the period of French revolution to be used in a multiple decision-maker environment. Later, it was adapted to multicriteria ranking problems. The adoption of criteria weights in De Borda modeling is an evolution of the original De Borda method; despite this fact, evolution does not approach how to define the weights, that is: the weights are an input to De Borda. The proposal is to segment the problem into two ones. The first is a weight assignment problem and was approached through AHP modeling. The second problem is a ranking problem, being approached through De Borda method. AHP and De Borda are based in principles from different multicriteria Decision Schools: AHP is classified into the American School; De Borda is recognized as a French method. This paper shows that it is possible to use both methods, in a complementary way. The proposal can assist and support decision makers in the modeling of multicriteria ranking problems by assigning weights to the criteria under a systematized way. This hybrid approach proposes a better way for the structuring of the problem, by linking an approach that natively supports the assignment of weights (AHP) into another devoted to the ordering of objects (De Borda).


The effect of desmopressin (DDAVP) on protein C (PC) and PC inhibitors was investigated in 7 uremic predialysis patients, 7 hemodialysis patients and 7 controls. Significant decrease in PC activity was observed in all groups after DDAVP administration. Desmopressin did not influence PC antigen and two well-known PC inhibitors, plasminogen activator inhibitor-3 and alpha 1-antitrypsin. Thus, it is suggested that DDAVP-induced decrease in PC activity is not related to the changes in PC inhibitors; further studies are needed to clarify the precise mechanisms of the effect of DDAVP on PC in uremia.


Well into the twelfth century and beyond, most medieval Christians instinctively identified some form of the contemplative life, usually Benedictine monasticism, as the highest "order" in Christian society and the exemplar toward which all should strive.1 It is altogether appropriate then that within the broad compass of medieval studies few areas have attracted such concentrated attention since the Second World War as the religious revival of the twelfth century.2 This movement, hardly mentioned two generations ago in Charles Homer Haskins's "renaissance," looms so large today that its preachers and reformers threaten at times to overshadow Haskins's poets, translators, lawyers, and scholars. Such a notable shift in emphasis could hardly have taken place without a distinct rearrangement of the historiographical terrain. To create a separate space worthy of monastic thought and culture, Jean Leclercq argued vigorously for a "monastic theology" that rivaled "scholasticism" in creativity and beauty. And to provide a setting adequate to so many contemporary reformers, several scholars argued for a


The history of the discoveries of the mechanisms of the pancreatic secretion is a fine example of the conflict of two schools and the concurrence of two concepts: The nerve control (Pavlov and his co-workers) and the humoral control (Bayliss and Starling). Only the synthesis of both conceptions brought about the most accurate model of the control mechanisms.


Visual tracking, which has been widely used in many vision fields, has been one of the most active research topics in computer vision in recent years. However, there are still challenges in visual tracking, such as illumination change, object occlusion, and appearance deformation. To overcome these difficulties, a reliable point assignment (RPA) algorithm based on wavelet transform is proposed. The reliable points are obtained by searching the location that holds local maximal wavelet coefficients. Since the local maximal wavelet coefficients indicate high variation in the image, the reliable points are robust against image noise, illumination change, and appearance deformation. Moreover, a Kalman filter is applied to the detection step to speed up the detection processing and reduce false detection. Finally, the proposed RPA is integrated into the tracking-learning-detection (TLD) framework with the Kalman filter, which not only improves the tracking precision, but also reduces the false detections. Experimental results showed that the new framework outperforms TLD and kernelized correlation filters with respect to precision, f-measure, and average overlap in percent.


As part of the AGRIBALYSE® project, apple and peach from France, small citrus from Morocco and mango from Brazil were evaluated. Representative systems for each fruit were designed relying mostly on expert knowledge for apple, peach and small citrus and on a de-tailed survey of 8 commercial orchards for mango from the Rio San Francisco Valley in Brazil. For most impact categories, apple showed the least impacts, small citrus the greatest. Beyond the classical yield effect, this was mostly linked to lower fertilizer rates for apple and to fossil energy share in the electricity. For marine eutrophication, mango and small-citrus had the least impact, followed by apple and peach far above. For ecotoxicity, mango had the least impact followed by apple, peach and small citrus far above. Ecotoxicity results re-vealed the most uncertain due to the difficulty to determine representative crop protection practices for perennial crops. Complementary research is needed to better model crop protection practices, field emissions and water use impacts.


Type‐2 adenovirus was shown to inhibit the growth of transplantable hamster melanoma in 70% of Syrian hamsters without any injurious effect to the host. Greatest inhibition of tumor formation was seen when animals were injected with 106 TCD50 of adenovirus and 2.5 × 105 tumor cells, or 106 TCD50 of virus and 5.0 × 105 tumor cells followed either 1 or 7 days later by a second injection of a similar dose of virus. Significant inhibition in tumor growth was also noted when 2 injections of virus (106.2 TCD50/injection) were given on 2 separate occasions as late as 7 and 10 days after the inoculation of tumor cells. The mechanism of tumor inhibition is not known but it could be due to a combination of factors such as viral toxicity, viral oncolysis, and antitumor immunity.


In this paper, we have tried to remark the significance of the arbitrary nature of figurative expressions for the Turkish learners of English comparing English metaphors, similes, idioms, proverbs, sayings and collocations with their closest Turkish equivalents. If figurative expressions are interpreted literally or translated word for word, they sound nonsense. From the view point affective communication, inaccuracy or inappropriateness of the informative connotations of our words are irrelevant. Therefore, we may refer to the moon as "a beautiful lady", "a grandfather", "a tray", or "silver ship" or anything as long as the words arise the desired feeling. For that reason, literary works are difficult to translate from one language to another because regarding only the informative connotations will often falsify the affective connotations. Figurative expressions are based on some supplementary complements in the primary meaning and often they are arbitrary and conventional. Therefore, they are usually specific to a particular culture and language. For example, "an owl" is considered to be exceptionally clever in the Western culture but its most important connotation in the Turkish culture is its bringing bad luck. The traits assigned to animals and entities differ from culture to culture. Thus, to comprehend such figurative expressions and translate them properly is impossible without knowing their closest equivalents in the relevant languages. We can see the arbitrary nature of figurative expressions clearly examining some metaphors, similes, idioms, proverbs, sayings and collocations and their equivalents in the target language. We are of the opinion that this activity will enable us to raise awareness on the Turkish learners of English particularly on the prospective teachers of English and so that they will have the chance of becoming component speakers and writers.


Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is an important cause of the heart failure. Timely diagnosis and optimal management decrease morbidity and mortality in heart failure patients. Although transthoracic echocardiography is used as the diagnostic test of choice in these patients, new modalities like speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) have promising results in diagnosing these patients in the earlier course of the disease. Advancements in cardiac imaging are expected as more clinical studies on the role of STE in different cardiac diseases that emerge. In this review article, we will discuss the basics of STE and its role in diagnosing DCM.


This paper investigated the effects of selected common chemical species in natural waters (HCO3(-), NO3(-) and humic acids (HA)) on the photodegradation of amoxicillin (AMO) under simulated irradiation using a 300 W xenon lamp. Quenching experiments were carried out to explore the mechanisms of AMO photodegradation. The results indicated that AMO photodegradation followed pseudo-first-order kinetics. Increasing AMO concentration from 100 to 1,000 μg L(-1) led to the decrease in the photodegradation rate constant from 0.2411 to 0.1912 min(-1). The presence of NO3(-) and HA obviously inhibited the photodegradation rate of AMO because they can compete for photons with AMO. Bicarbonate, as a hydroxyl radical (·OH) scavenger, also adversely affected AMO photodegradation. Quenching experiments in pure water suggested that AMO could undergo self-sensitized photooxidation via ·OH and singlet oxygen ((1)O2), accounting for AMO removal of 34.86 and 8.26%, respectively. In HA solutions, the indirect photodegradation of AMO was mostly attributed to the produced ·OH (22.37%), (1)O2 (24.12%) and (3)HA* (20.80%), whereas the contribution of direct photodegradation was to some extent decreased.


Quantitative methods to assess the creditworthiness of the loan applicants are vital for the profitability and the transparency of the lending business. With the total loan volumes typical for traditional financial institutions, even the slightest improvement in credit scoring models can translate into substantial additional profit. Yet for the regulatory reasons and due to the potential model risk, banks tend to be reluctant to replace the logistic regression as an industrial standard with the new algorithms. This does not stop researchers from examining such new approaches, though. This thesis discusses the potential of the support vector machines, to become an alternative to logistic regression in credit scoring. Using the real-life credit data set obtained from the P2P lending platform Bondora, the scoring models were built to compare the discrimination power of support vector machines against the traditional approach. The results of the comparison were ambiguous. The linear support vector machines performed worse than logistic regression and their training consumed much more time. On the other hand, support vector machines with non-linear kernel performed better than logistic regression and the difference was statistically significant at 95% level. Despite this success, several factors prevent SVM from the widespread applications in credit scoring, higher training times and lower robustness of the method being two of the major drawbacks. Considering the alternative algorithms which became available in the last 10 years, support vector machines cannot be recommended as a standalone method for credit risk models.


This study describes the appearance of Capillaria (C.) hepatica in an adult dog with a history of fever, which has been previously documented in different parts of the world, yet never in domestic animals in Nigeria. The infection was observed during a retrospective study on the pathology of liver diseases in dogs in the south-western part of the country. Fifty-six formalinised liver tissues of dogs were retrieved and examined from the archives of two veterinary schools and one veterinary clinic. Only one case of C. hepatica infection was found (1.79%). Macroscopically, multiple foci of yellowish-white areas were observed on the hepatic surface. Microscopically, randomly distributed multifocal areas of granuloma-like reactions were observed in the hepatic parenchyma intermingled with Capillaria eggs. The eggs showed characteristic bipolar lids positive for glycoprotein with Periodic acid Schiff andWarthin Starry silver stains. The double-layer shell showed radial striations in the outer shell. Portal and septal fibrosis with closely associated mast cells were also observed. In conclusion, this is the first reported case of the C. hepatica infection in dog in Nigeria. The public health importance of the parasite was also discussed.


Heme enzymes have attracted lots of attention due to their significance in physiology and potential application in synthetic chemistry. Genetic code expansion has become a powerful technique in protein engineering in recent years. It also has wide applications in heme protein studies. Many site-specific incorporated probes have been reported for heme protein structural studies, including nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probes, spin probes and infrared probes. Together with newly developed spectroscopic methods, structure information which cannot be gained using traditional methods has been revealed. Meanwhile, genetically encoded unnatural amino acids with novel chemical properties have brought about new opportunities in heme enzyme design and optimization, such as the precise design of the coordination environment, and tuning of the steric and redox properties of the protein scaffold. Site-specific immobilization based on genetically encoded "click" probes has shown potential application in enzyme electrocatalysis, which is crucial for the large-scale synthetic application of heme enzymes. With continuous progress in both genetic code expansion methods and heme enzyme studies, inspiring achievements are expected in the future.