The careful monitoring of cows helps minimise pain and distress during calving; moreover, knowing the exact time of birth is important to ensure timely assistance and the adequate ingestion of colostrum by the calf. However, direct visual observation is time-consuming, and the continuous presence of an observer during stage two of calving can disturb cows. Video cameras or accelerometers recording the behaviour of cows can be integrated in systems using image analysis or locomotive activity to alert the farmer as to when calving is imminent. However, alerting systems require the input of benchmark information about behaviours and changes in behaviours that can be predictive of the time of calving. Eight cows in a calving barn were continuously video-monitored. The recordings of the 24 h before delivery were analysed by instantaneous time sampling to identify the behaviours associated with an imminent birth. The same were collected in an ethogram including lying, standing, walking, turning the head towards the abdomen, eating, ruminating, drinking, sniffing the ground, allogrooming, self-grooming, and posture-changing. In our conditions, the only behaviour that was significantly influenced by the distance to delivery was posture-changing (p < 0.0001). Two h before the delivery, the proportion of posture changes was different from all of the hourly proportions measured from −24 to −3 h relative to delivery (p < 0.005), resulting in 3.6 times the average of the previous 22 h relative to delivery. An increase of posture changes may be an indicator of calving approaching, but further studies are needed to input benchmark values in alerting systems.


Four series of multiarmed chiral aryl ethers carrying two, three, five, or eight side-chains on a variety of aromatic core molecules (2-5) were prepared. The structure and conformation of 2 and 3 (in the solid state) were determined by the X-ray crystallographic analyses. While a pair of alternated (anti) conformers (i.e, up-down and down-up) were found in the crystal of 2, three side-arms in 3 were aligned in the same direction to give a C(3)-symmetric syn-conformation. Examinations by dispersion-corrected density functional (DFT-D) calculations revealed that two out of six anti- and two out of four syn-conformers of 2 are energetically most important. Two calculated structures of anti-conformers are in good agreement with those found in the solid state by X-ray analysis. Similarly, relevant conformations of syn-3, fully alternated 4, and C(5)-symmetric 5 were optimized at the DFT-D-B-LYP/TZVP level. The structure and conformation of the side-arms in 2-5 in solution were further studied by temperature dependent (1)H NMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. In addition, comparative experimental and theoretical CD spectral studies were carried out in order to elucidate the contribution of the thermodynamically less-stable minor isomers in solution. The CD spectral changes observed for 2 and 3 at varying temperatures were quite different, while the parent chiral arene 1, as well as 4 and 5, only showed an increased intensity of the negative Cotton effect for the (1)L(b) band. The latter behavior is readily accounted for in terms of the conformational freezing of the chiral groups at low temperatures. The unusual CD spectral behavior observed for 2 and 3 was rationalized by the conformational alteration of the side-arms. Because of attractive van der Waals interactions between the aromatic units of the arms in nonpolar solvents, the syn-conformations become gradually more important for 2 at low temperatures, which eventually results in a weak positive Cotton effect for the (1)L(b) band. This was also supported by the SCS-MP2/TZVPP single-point energy calculations for the relevant conformers of 2. For 3, the contribution of the C(3)-symmetrical conformer becomes more important than the less-symmetrical isomers at low temperatures. The conformations of 2 and 3 in their excited states as well as in the oxidized states were also examined.


In the present work, the vapor-phase partial oxidation of cis-2-butene was carried out using V2O5-MoO3 catalysts with different compositions, at 350°C, and at a butene content of 0.65% in air, in order to elucidate the effect of the addition of MoO3 to the V2O5 catalyst on the selectivity and the mechanism for maleic anhydride formation. Two types of catalytic specificities were found, depending upon the Mo content: in the range of less than 20 atom% Mo, the specificity was similar to that of V2O5 alone, while in the range of more than 50 atom% Mo, a different specificity was observed, one which gave 1.2 times the yield of maleic anhydride than did V2O5 alone or the Mo-poor catalysts. The increase in the selectivity of butene to maleic anhydride which occurred when a large amount of MoO3 was doped is considered to be caused by the increase in the selectivity of the C4H4O→MA step, not in that of the C4H8→C4H6 or C4H6→C4H4O step. The selectivity of the side pathway in the C4H8→C4H6step was so great that no ...


Demographic corrections for cognitive tests should improve classification accuracy by reducing age or education biases, but empirical support has been equivocal. Using a simulation procedure, we show that creating moderate or extreme skewness in cognitive tests compromises the classification accuracy of demographic corrections, findings that appear replicated within clinical data for the few neuropsychological test scores with an extreme degree of skew. For most neuropsychological tests, the dementia classification accuracy of raw and demographically corrected scores was equivalent. These findings suggest that the dementia classification accuracy of demographic corrections is robust to slight degrees of skew (i.e., skewness <1.5).


In this Letter, a high-power Er/Yb-codoped fiber amplifier (EYDFA) with a high-reflection Yb-band fiber Bragg grating (FBG) at the pump end is experimentally investigated. The FBG was inscribed on a piece of double-clad fiber with a center wavelength of 1032 nm. Due to the selective reflection of the backward Yb-band amplified spontaneous emission (Yb ASE) by the FBG, a co-pump-propagating Yb-band auxiliary signal was generated. Because of the stimulated amplification and reabsorption of the auxiliary signal, the Yb ASE was dramatically suppressed and the pump conversion efficiency (PCE) of the EYDFA was notably improved. An output power of 6.48 W was achieved at a pump power of 16.5 W, which is equivalent to a PCE of ∼39%. The slope efficiency relative to applied pump power was ∼40%. The maximum output power was improved ∼20% because of the introduction of the FBG.


Abstract. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of the halal label on purchasing decisions for students of the Jagad 'Alimussirry Islamic Boarding School. The research method used is quantitative research. The sample in this study were 47 respondents, using a purposive sampling technique. The data analysis used is simple linear regression. The results showed that the halal label variable had a significant effect on the purchasing decision for Wardah cosmetics with a significant value of 0.000. The contribution of the independent variable, namely the halal label, affects the dependent variable, namely the purchase decision by 39.3%. While the remaining 60.7% is influenced by other variables not examined in this study.


This paper aims to explain dharar as a reason for divorce in the legislation of five Muslim countries, namely Indonesia, Bahrain, Sudan, Qatar, and Morocco. The five countries were chosen with consideration of representing the Sunni Islamic School and one Shia Islamic School. The approach used is a normative approach combined with a comparative method of the law. Primary legal materials are acts and other legislation relevant to the topic of discussion. The results show that the five countries equally provide room for divorce for the wife if she is experiencing dharar, the judge or hakam is obliged to reconcile the two disputing spouses, dharar includes physical and psychological, and the accusation must be proven using evidence generally applicable in procedural law. As for the difference, only Indonesia emphasizes cruelty and physical abuse, while other countries are general. Morocco is the most complete in regulating dharar as a reason for divorce and has several specifics such as violating the marriage agreement which is categorized as dharar. Morocco also regulates compensation due to ḍarar suffered by the wife, while the other four countries do not discuss it in their family law.TRANSLATE with x EnglishArabicHebrewPolishBulgarianHindiPortugueseCatalanHmong DawRomanianChinese SimplifiedHungarianRussianChinese TraditionalIndonesianSlovakCzechItalianSlovenianDanishJapaneseSpanishDutchKlingonSwedishEnglishKoreanThaiEstonianLatvianTurkishFinnishLithuanianUkrainianFrenchMalayUrduGermanMalteseVietnameseGreekNorwegianWelshHaitian CreolePersian //  TRANSLATE with COPY THE URL BELOW Back EMBED THE SNIPPET BELOW IN YOUR SITE Enable collaborative features and customize widget: Bing Webmaster PortalBack//


The Strict Avalanche Criterion (SAC) is a property of vectorial Boolean functions that is used in the construction of strong S-boxes. We show in this paper how to generalize the concept of SAC to address possible c-differential attacks, in the realm of finite fields. We define the concepts of c-Strict Avalanche Criterion (c-SAC) and c-Strict Avalanche Criterion of order m (c-SAC(m)), and generalize results of (Li and Cusick, 2005). We also show computationally how the new definition is not equivalent to the existing concepts of c-bent1-ness (Stanica et al., 2020), nor (for n = m) PcN-ness (Ellingsen et al., 2020)


NEDAT (Network Engineering Design and Analysis Toolset) is an engineering tool being developed by US Army RDECOM-CERDEC to assist network designers in the design and construction of mobile ad hoc networks based on end-user performance goals and requirements. This paper will introduce and describe the functionality of the current version of NEDAT (v2.1) and to show how it can be used in designing MANETs (Mobile Ad Hoc Networks). Results produced by the tool will help network designers to choose optimum components and parameters (e.g. protocols, transmit power) for the network to meet or exceed the stated performance goals. A description of the areas focused in the networking design space will be presented.


The Visualization, Interaction and Simulation Laboratory (VISLab) is part of the Computer Graphics, Image Processing and Interaction research group, which started its activities in 1978 developing projects mainly on rendering and animation. Along the years, as new researchers joined the group, new research fields such as image acquisition and analysis, virtual reality, non-conventional interaction, and visualization of complex data started to be investigated. Within this group, VISLab is majorly concerned with research on human-computer interaction, with emphasis on non-conventional, 3D interaction and haptics, and immersive visualization in the context of virtual and augmented reality applications. In this paper, we present the research of the VISLab and the strategy being used to achieve its main goal: to enhance the human with computers, extending the perception capabilities and improving the human power of action in a natural way.


Heterogeneous media with multiple spatial scales are finding increased importance in engineering. An example might be a large scale, otherwise homogeneous medium filled with dispersed small-scale particles that form aggregate structures at an intermediate scale. The objective in this paper is to formulate the strong-form Fourier heat conduction equation for such media using the method of reiterated homogenization. The phases are assumed to have a perfect thermal contact at the interface. The ratio of two successive length scales of the medium is a constant small parameter e . The method is an up-scaling procedure that writes the temperature field as an asymptotic multiple-scale expansion in powers of the small parameter e . The technique leads to two pairs of local and homogenized equations, linked by effective coefficients. In this manner the medium behavior at the smallest scales is seen to affect the macroscale behavior, which is the main interest in engineering. To facilitate the physical understanding of the formulation, an analytical solution is obtained for the heat conduction equation in a functionally graded material (FGM). The approach presented here may serve as a basis for future efforts to numerically compute effective properties of heterogeneous media with multiple spatial scales.


Abstract The fungal chitinase I obtained from Thermomyces lanuginosus SSBP, a thermophilic deuteromycete, has an optimum growth temperature and pH of 323.15 K and 6.5, respectively. This enzyme plays an important task in the defence mechanism of organisms against chitin-containing parasites by hydrolysing β-1, 4-linkages in chitin. It acts as both anti-fungal and biofouling agents, with some being thermostable and suitable for the industrial applications. Three-dimensional model of chitinase I enzyme was predicted and analysed using various bioinformatics tools. The structure of chitinase I exhibited a well-defined TIM barrel topology with an eight-stranded α/β domain. Structural analysis and folding studies at temperatures ranging from 300 to 375 K using 10 ns molecular dynamics simulations clearly showed the stability of the protein was evenly distributed even at higher temperatures, in accordance with the experimental results. We also carried out a number of 20 ns constant pH molecular dynamics simulations of chitinase I at a pH range 2–6 in a solvent. This work was aimed at establishing the optimum activity and stability profiles of chitinase I. We observed a strong conformational pH dependence of chitinase I and the enzyme retained their characteristic TIM barrel topology at low pH.


Background: Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functionalgastrointestinal condition, in which patients suffer from abdominal pain, bloating, and change in bowel habits. Some researchers examined the potential therapeutic role of vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) to alleviate symptoms of IBS, however, the outcomes of their studies werecontroversial. Objective: to assess the effect of vitamin D3 supplement on gastrointestinal symptoms in patients suffering from irritable bowel syndrome. Methods: a double-blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Eighty patients with IBS attending the family practice center in ElMahsama, Ismailia, Egypt were recruited, after applying inclusion and exclusion criteria. The study participants were allocated randomly into two groups, (1) the intervention and (2) the control group. The intervention group received 4000 IU of vitamin D3 orally and the control group received a placebo of edible paraffin orally. Both groups received their assigned treatment daily for 12 weeks. Irritable bowel syndrome symptom severity score (IBSSSS) was assessed at baseline and after 12 weeks. Results: IBSSSS was significantly reduced in the intervention group (114.36 ± 67.36) after 12 weeks compared to the control group (292.13 ± 74.77) (p<0.001). Regarding IBSSSS difference, patients receiving vitamin D were found to have significantly higher score difference (164.72 ± 67.77) than participants who took the placebo (-12.13 ± 50.78) (p<0.001). Conclusion: Patients suffering from IBS felt better and their gastrointestinal symptomsimproved after taking vitamin D3 supplementation.


In this letter, the development and testing of an open enterprise Wi-Fi solution based on virtual access points (APs), managed by a central WLAN controller is presented. It allows seamless handovers between APs in different channels, maintaining the QoS of real-time services. The potential scalability issues associated to the beacon generation and channel assignment have been addressed. A battery of tests has been run in a real environment, and the results are reported in terms of packet loss and delay.


PURPOSE
Aim of the study is to compare our treatment results or gamma knife radiosurgery for arteriovenous malformation (AVM) and to obtain factors determining nidus obliteration and/or adverse effect.

METHODS
We analyzed 236 patients with AVM treated between June 1990 and February 1994. The patients consisted of 137 men and 99 women, and ranged in age from 4 to 71 years. AVM volume ranged 0.7 to 37.7 ml. Maximum and peripheral doses ranged from 18.2 to 60.0 Gy and 10.0 to 28.0 Gy, respectively.

RESULTS
Complete obliteration rates at 1,2, and 3 years were 36.2, 68.9, and 86.6%, respectively. The mean time to complete obliteration was 21.4 months. Univariated analysis revealed that calculated target volume, peripheral dose, peripheral percent dose and treatment optimality were significant factors for complete obliteration. In multivariate analysis, calculated target volume, treatment optimality, and CT-based planning were significant factors. The actuarial risk of post-radiosurgical brain edema at 2 years was 20.0%. In both univariate and multivariate analysis, calculated target volume was the only significant factor. Symptomatic complications developed in 10.0% of patients at 2 years, but no significant factors were identified. Permanent complications and severe neurological deficits were seen in 4.4 and 2.8% of patients, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS
Our results were similar to those reported previously. Accurate CT-based planning contributed to an improved obliteration rate.


Leadership is rarely interrogated in the analysis of peacebuilding contexts. The dominant peacebuilding approaches focus on institutional building rather than on the relationship between leaders and the wider society. This paper examines the conceptual and practical connection between leadership and peacebuilding by examining the 14 September 2003 Coup in Guinea-Bissau. The coup presented a significant leadership conversation to be had between the elites and the wider society in Guinea-Bissau about transforming the instability that characterises Guinea-Bissau to date towards a common vision of lasting peace. The paper examines the response to the coup to determine whether the response reflected the needs and aspirations of the wider society in Guinea-Bissau. It does this in order to determine where leadership resided and therefore whether the responses reflected a mutual relationship between the elites and the wider society. It argues that the response to the crisis did not produce durable peace for the society as the exchange of influence occurred between the elites and the international actors rather than with the wider society. The coup remains significant even today not least as an important milestone in Guinea-Bissau's statebuilding process. Failure to build mutually held goals between governing elite and wider society at a critical juncture in the country's post-colonial history led to the continuation of fragile governance arrangements for more than a decade.


This essay focuses on two novels that deal with major cultural clashes in Quebec: Heather O'Neill's The Girl Who Was Saturday Night (2014), set on the eve of the 1995 referendum, and Claire Holden Rothman's My October (2014), which considers the October Crisis of 1970. Rather than shore up the divisions traditionally associated with these events, I argue that both novels encapsulate the anglophone desire for rapprochement within the context of Quebec's evolving social and political dynamics. They do so, first, by criticizing sovereigntist ideology, which both writers depict as an outmoded and divisive product of the past. They then attempt to represent and bridge the gap between cultures through translation, which is a structuring element of Saturday Night and a driving theme in My October. While both novels highlight the inherent dangers of misunderstanding or uneven power dynamics, I contend that their ultimate endorsement of translation reveals a distinctly anglophone optimism regarding the possibility of reconciliation.


Thermoacoustics is the science which describes the energy conversion between mechanical energy, in the form of acoustic waves, and heat. This energy conversion takes place in a particular porous material, named "stack" or "regenerator", which represents the core of these devices. In literature, convex uniform cross-section geometries, such as longitudinal pin array, are found to be the most efficient stack for thermoacoustic applications, thanks to the low viscous losses. On the other hand, another fundamental characteristic required for thermoacoustic porous cores is the ability to sustain a static thermal gradient along their axial length. For this reason, stack configurations with low thermal conductivity, such as transversal pin, have been also considered. Therefore, a tetragonal pin array geometry comes out as thermoacoustic stack from a trade-off between the classical longitudinal pin array (low viscous losses and high thermal conductivity) and the transversal pin array (high viscous losses and low thermal conductivity). In this work, an analytical model to assess the effective thermal conductivity of the tetragonal pin array stack is provided in order to correctly estimate the heat flux along this typology of stack. Such an analytical model has been then verified both by FEM-based numerical simulations and other correlations found in the literature.


Objectives: Current risk assessment tools can predict problematic behavior and the need for coercive measures, but only with a moderate level of accuracy. The aim of this study was to assess antecedents and triggers of seclusion. Methods: Narrative notes of health care professionals on psychiatric inpatients were analyzed daily starting 3 days prior to seclusion in the case group (n = 26) and compared to a matched control group without seclusion (n = 26) by use of quantitative and qualitative research methods, based on qualitative content analysis. Results: Quantitative measures showed more aggression in the case group with highly significant differences between the groups (p < 0.001) at all measurement times. Seclusion was significantly associated with the total word count of the narrative notes. Subjective emotional expressions by staff were more apparent before seclusion (p = 0.003). Most frequently, subjective expressions regarding "arduous/provocative" (p < 0.001) and "anxious" (p = 0.010) sentiments could be identified in the case group. Description of patients' behavior in the case group included more negatively assessed terms (p = 0.001). Moreover, sleep loss, refusing medication, high contact frequency, demanding behavior and denied requests were present in a significantly higher frequency before seclusion. Expressions like "threatening" (p = 0.001) were found only before seclusion and appeared to have the function of personal risk assessment. The expression "manageable" (p = 0.035) appeared often in difficult situations that could still be handled. Conclusion: Several factors preceding seclusion could be identified. Narrative notes of staff already showed differences 3 days before the escalation. Particularly the word count, the analysis of terms describing patients' behavior, subjective expressions of staff, and terms used as a function of personal risk assessment could help to provide better predictions of aggressive incidents and to prevent coercive measures.


Peritoneal loose body (PLB) is an extremely rare clinical entity, and its preoperative diagnosis is often difficult. We report a case of giant PLB (GPLB) confirmed by exploratory laparoscopy. A 46-year-old man was admitted to hospital with an abdominal mass and urinary frequency. He underwent clinical and laboratory tests and computed tomography (CT), which indicated a lesion at the bottom of the bladder. Exploratory laparoscopic surgery revealed a GPLB, which was subsequently removed. The patient was comfortable after surgery and was discharged 3 days later. His symptoms of frequent urination improved during the 1-month follow-up period. The egg-shaped mass excised from the peritoneal cavity measured 45 × 40 × 33 mm. This case indicates that exploratory laparoscopy can be considered as the first-choice diagnostic procedure for patients with GPLB.


Background Xenotransplantation models allowing the identification and quantification of human Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) in immunodeficient mice remain the only way to appropriately address human HSC function despite the recent progress in phenotypic characterization. However, these in vivo experiments are technically demanding, time consuming and expensive. Indeed, HSCs engraftment in mouse requires pre-conditioning of animals either by irradiation or cytotoxic drugs to allow homing of injected cells in specific stem cell niches and their subsequent expansion and differentiation in bone marrow. Recently, the development of busulfan pre-conditioning of animals improved the flexibility of experimentation in comparison with irradiation. Design and Methods In order to further facilitate the organization of these complex experiments we investigated the effect of extending the period between mice pre-conditioning and cell injection on the engraftment efficiency. In the meantime, we also explored the role of busulfan doses, mouse gender and intravenous injection route (caudal or retro orbital) on engraftment efficiency. Results and Conclusion We showed that a period of up to 7 days did not modify engraftment efficiency of human HSCs in NSG model. Moreover, retro orbital cell injection to female mice pre-conditioned with 2x25 mg/kg of busulfan seems to be the best adapted schema to detect the human HSC in xenotransplantation experiments.


A technique is developed for extraction of the wave propagation properties of power cables from S-parameter measurements. The method extracts the complex propagation constant and the characteristic impedance, as well as the LCRG telegrapher's equation parameters. The extraction process is developed after clarifying the effect of the connection between the measurement port and the power cable. It is concluded that treating the connection solely as a characteristic impedance change could lead to considerable errors in the parameter extraction. Furthermore, the method corrects for electrical lengths, which are not accounted for by the standard network analyzer calibration. The extraction is demonstrated for a medium voltage cross linked polyethylene (XLPE) cable over the frequency range 300 kHz to 300 MHz. The results are compared to a time domain short pulse propagation method for cable characterization. Both measurement methods are evaluated against a cable model.


If you are aware of the disparities between genders in academic medicine, recent publications show multiple areas with opportunities for improvement. Jena and colleagues1 found that female physicians in academia were less likely than their male counterparts to have reached the rank of full professor (11.9% vs 28.6%). Serge et al2 reported that start-up funding packages—which help launch faculty careers— were 67.5% higher for men than for women ($980 000 vs $585 000). Finally, Jena and colleagues3 reported that salaries for female academic physicians are $19 879, or 8.0%, lower than those of their male colleagues. Among the myriad rationalizations for these disparities between the genders in academic medicine, some have suggested that the burden of home responsibilities, leave for childbearing, or part-time schedules might undermine the quality of female physicians' work and explain male physicians' higher salaries. In this issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, Tsugawa et al4 find that the evidence shows the opposite for all internists, not just those in academia, as detailed above. The group examined data from hospitalized Medicare patients and found that patients treated by female internists fared better than patients treated by male internists, with lower 30day readmissions (15.02% vs 15.57%) and lower 30-day mortality (11.07% vs 11.49%).4 The differences persisted across 8 medical conditions ranging from arrhythmia to sepsis. Improvements in mortality were strongest for the most severely ill patients. A sensitivity analysis restricted to hospitalists, to whom patients were presumably randomly assigned, found no difference in the severity of illness for patients according to physician gender and confirmed better outcomes for patients treated by female physicians. We support investigation of practice patterns that mediate improved clinical outcomes. Tsugawa et al4 suggest that these improved outcomes may be the result of female physicians' greater reliance on clinical guidelines, but such adherence does not always equate with quality or value of care,5 so additional attributes should be examined. Previous work has shown that female physicians have a more patientcentered communication style, are more encouraging and reassuring, and have longer visits than male physicians.6,7 In a system that is increasingly focused on pay for performance, behaviors that lead to improved outcomes are rewarded, which might narrow the pay gap between the genders. Moreover, these findings that female internists provide higher quality care for hospitalized patients yet are promoted, supported, and paid less than male peers in the academic setting should push us to create systems that promote equity in start-up packages, career advancement, and remuneration for all physicians. Such equity promises to result in better professional fulfillment for all physicians as well as improved patient satisfaction and outcomes.


In 1995, Christa Wolf, the most eminent author of the former German Democratic Republic, published the novel Medea. Voices. It takes up themes which have been worked and re-worked in European literature since Euripides' tragedy, and which go back into pre-literary myth. Medea has many guises: she can be seen as the monstrous mother; as the victim of Jason's fickle nature; or as the perpetual 'stranger', the woman who has given up all her origins, only to be disowned. Christa Wolf's novel concentrates on the impossibility of dialogue—not merely between different cultures, but also between the sexes within one culture. 'Estrangement' has come to define the human condition. In this—by no means novel—generalization of cultural antagonism to explain what makes human society violent, there lie many unanswered questions. The hypothesis I offer is that such fictions lead to inaccurate generalizations if we take them as more than just elaborations of tragic myth. My paper will seek to narrow this focus once more—in a critical sense—by posing the question: to what extent does this specific adaptation of the myth by Christa Wolf reflect problems within the society of reunified Germany post-1989?


This work presents a Vl-attached database storage architecture to improve database transaction rates. More specifically, we examine how Vl-based interconnects can be used to improve I/O path performance between a database server and a storage subsystem. To facilitate the interaction between client applications and a Vl-aware storage system, we design and implement a software layer called DSA, that is layered between applications and VI. DSA takes advantage of specific VI features and deals with many of its shortcomings. We provide and evaluate one kernel-level and two user-level implementations of DSA. These implementations trade transparency and generality for performance at different degrees and, unlike research prototypes, are designed to be suitable for real-world deployment. We have also investigated many design trade offs in the storage cluster. We present detailed measurements using a commercial database management system with both microbenchmarks and industrial database workloads on a mid-size, 4 CPU, and a large, 32 CPU, database server. We also compare the effectiveness of Vl-attached storage with an iSCSI configuration, and conclude that storage protocols implemented using DSA over VI have significant performance advantages. More generally, our results show that Vl-based interconnects and user-level communication can improve all aspects of the I/O path between the database system and the storage back-end. We also find that to make effective use of VI in I/O intensive environments, we need to provide substantial additional functionality than what is currently provided by VI. Finally, new storage APIs that help minimize kernel involvement in the I/O path are needed to fully exploit the benefits of Vl-based communication.


The histamine H3 receptor is involved in the central and peripheral regulation of levels of histamine and other neurotransmitters (e.g., acetylcholine, noradrenaline, dopamine, serotonin and GABA), which sets it up as a target in the treatment of various CNS (e.g., depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, dementia, neuropathic pain and sleep disorders), metabolic syndrome (e.g., obesity) and allergic disorders. Novel chemical series from the most recent 2 years of patent literature have been reviewed. While overall structural diversity is moderate, these represent or relate to some of the compounds progressing through clinical trials (e.g., GSK-189254). However, an H3 receptor drug still has yet to reach the market. Patenting activity is likely to remain high in the near future, bolstered by the commercial promise of potential H3 receptor drugs.


Abstract: A regional profile of suicide in Queensland follows on from earlier work which failed to find urban–rural differences in suicide rates. Suicide rates were higher in the north of the state and lower in the more developed south. Rural Queensland health regions displayed both the lowest (Darling Downs and Mackay) and the highest (Peninsula) suicide rates. Socioeconomic factors correlated with these differences in some regions. Suicide rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, especially the young, were high, and may have contributed to elevated suicide rates in northern Queensland, but the numbers were insufficient to account for observed differences.


AIM
To measure the perceived satisfaction with gastric cancer screening as part of the National Cancer Screening Program (NCSP) in South Korea.

METHODS
Data were derived from the participants in a satisfaction survey of the Quality Evaluation of National Cancer Screening in 2009. This is a population-based nationwide telephone survey of participants who were screened by the NCSP between May and October 2009. This study included 4412 participants who provided full sets of data and who had upper endoscopies for the purpose of gastric cancer screening.

RESULTS
The negative appraisal percentages for each of the seven questions were as follows: explanation in preparation for the upper endoscopy, 12.3%; explanation about the process and procedure of the upper endoscopy, 13.8%; explanation about any pain or discomfort related to the upper endoscopy, 27.5%; level of pain during the procedure, 30.3%; physical environment, 16.2%; manner of the staff, 11.2%, and privacy protection, 8.8%.

CONCLUSION
The critical issues identified by the Pareto analysis include the adequacy of the explanation about any pain or discomfort associated with the upper endoscopy and the level of pain experienced during the procedure.


In this paper, I intend to determine the objectives and limitations of the project developed by Fichte in The Closed Commercial State. In order to achieve these aims, I first identify the problems that are left open in the cosmopolitan right of the Foundations of the Natural Right, in particular by virtue of the assumption of universal egoism. In this way, I seek to understand the project of The Closed Commercial State as an attempt to solve these outstanding issues. Thereafter, I reconstruct the central argumentations of the later text in order to make its architecture clear, according to its primary objectives. Finally, I consider the problem of the viability of this project, taking into account the lack of a moral education for the citizens focused on certain moral and psychological dispositions, which should reduce the greed for superfluous goods.


I want to suggest in this article that it is through the elaboration of the concept of discourse that the differences between Foucault and thinkers like Habermas, Hegel and Marx can best be understood. Foucault progressively develops a conception of discourse as a purely historical category that resists all reference to transcendental principles of unity – whether of substance or form – but sees the emergence of discursive frameworks as precarious and contested assemblages characterised by indeterminacy, complexity, openness, uncertainty and contingency. His approach thus enables a reconciliation of difference and commonality, or the particular and the general, in a distinctive and viable way.


The purpose of this article is to report the development, validity and reliability of School-based professional learning inventory (SPLI) that has been used to evaluate secondary teachersperception toward school- based professional learning. The first phase of the study has been carried out through Exploratory Factor Analysis by using data from 166 trained teachers from 19 secondary schools in Batang Padang District, Perak. The Exploratory Factor Analysis through orthogonal rotation varimax method has shown twelve SPLI factors from three main constructs have been developed. The Cronbach Alpha of the overall items is .918. For the second phase of the study, the Confirmatory Factor Analysis has been carried out toward data of 372 trained teachers from 41 secondary schools in Malaysia. The purpose of this analysis is to support the factor structure developed from the first phase of the study. The Cronbach Alpha of the items is .940, meanwhile for each factor developed ranged from .663 to .915. As the conclusion, the result of Confirmatory Factor Analysis has supported the existing twelve factors developed the first phase of the study.


Introduction: Endothelial cells are widely used among researchers for investigation of cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis. Since aortic endothelial cells are able to be cultured in high passages, these cells are suitable for physiological and pathological studies of blood vessels. Objectives: The aim of this study was employing a digestion method to isolate the endothelial cells from bovine aorta by utilizing collagenase P and, establishing and characterizing isolated primary endothelial cells (IPECs) cultures. Materials and Methods: IPECs were isolated from fresh bovine aorta via enzymatic digestion method using collagenase P. Cell morphology and its functions were assessed by measuring the gene expression of endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS) and endothelin-1. In order to validate them as IPECs, they were compared with bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Effects of synthetic endothelin-1 (100 nm) were assessed on the phosphorylation of Smad2 transcription factor via western blotting in IPECs for periods of one to four hours. Results: In this study, the morphology of IPECs from bovine aorta was identical to that of the BAECs. The gene expressions of endothelin-1 and eNOS were higher than those of BAECs and VSMCs. In addition, synthetic endothelin-1 resulted in the time-dependent boost of phosphorylation of carboxy-terminal Smad2 in the IPECs for periods of two and four hours. Conclusion: The results of this study confirm the efficacy of the enzymatic digestion method in isolating a large number of endothelial cells with morphological and functional characteristics.


Differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) has been increasingly used to monitor ground surface deformations due to such occurrences as underground mining, fluid extraction, earthquake and volcanic activities. However, temporal decorrelation has made it difficult to derive useful information from a single pair of repeat-pass satellite radar images for vegetated regions when the time span between image acquisitions is long. A methodology is proposed for monitoring ground deformation using multi-pass differential radar interferometry (MPDInSAR) with the aid of a Geographic Information System (GIS). In this approach, several radar images covering the same region from multiple satellite passes are grouped into master-slave pairs of short temporal baselines. These image pairs are processed individually by using spaceborne repeat-pass DInSAR to generate the results depicting ground deformation, which are then exported to the GIS. These displacement images are precisely geo-referenced, reclassified and combined using various GIS tools to produce a total displacement image over the entire period of time spanned by the multiple satellite passes. The MPDInSAR approach has been tested at the underground coal mining areas in eastern Australia. Ground subsidence due to mining has been monitored using L-band JERS-1 satellite images. The RMS errors of less than 1.5 centimetre has been demonstrated.


The combined use of radionuclide scintigraphy and computed tomography is recommended for evaluating children with laboratory and clinical data suggestive of flat bone osteomyelitis despite normal conventional radiographs. In addition, computed tomography may be helpful in the presence of abnormal radiographs in determining the exact location of the focus of osteomyelitis and the most suitable route for appropriate drainage or to obtain culture material.


In large-scale and high-speed systems, global synchronization has been commonly used to protect clocked I/O from data read failure caused by metastability. There are many drawbacks with global synchronization, which will approach its physical limit in the future as system clock frequency and system scale increase simultaneously. Mesochronous clocking overcomes these drawbacks, but without a proper delay or phase control, a metastability problem occurs. Self-tested self-synchronization (STSS) was proposed to solve this problem. In this paper, we describe two STSS methods, STSS-1 and STSS-2, implemented by two-phase input ports for parallel/serial data transfer. Measurements on a test chip for the two methods show that a data rate of 750 Mb/s is reached with 3.6-V power supply in 0.6-/spl mu/m CMOS. Comparison is made between STSS-1 and STSS-3.


Cytosine deaminase (EC 184.108.40.206), a non-mammalian enzyme, catalyzes the deamination of cytosine and 5-fluorocytosine to form uracil and 5-fluorouracil, respectively. Eukaryotic cells have been genetically modified with a bacterial cytosine deaminase gene to express a functional enzyme. When the genetically modified cells are combined with 5-fluorocytosine, it creates a potent negative selection system, which may have important applications in cancer gene therapy. In this paper, we introduce a novel positive selection method based upon the expression of the cytosine deaminase gene. This method utilizes inhibitors in the pyrimidine de novo synthesis pathway to create a condition in which cells are dependent on the conversion of pyrimidine supplements to uracil by cytosine deaminase. Thus, only cells expressing the cytosine deaminase gene can be rescued in a positive selection medium.


In recent years, deep learning techniques have shown significant potential for improving video quality assessment (VQA), achieving higher correlation with subjective opinions compared to conventional approaches. However, the development of deep VQA methods has been constrained by the limited availability of large-scale training databases and ineffective training methodologies. As a result, it is difficult for deep VQA approaches to achieve consistently superior performance and model generalization. In this context, this paper proposes new VQA methods based on a two-stage training methodology which motivates us to develop a large-scale VQA training database without employing human subjects to provide ground truth labels. This method was used to train a new transformer-based network architecture, exploiting quality ranking of different distorted sequences rather than minimizing the L2 or L1 distance from the ground-truth quality labels. The resulting deep VQA methods (for both full reference and no reference scenarios), FR- and NR-RankDVQA, exhibit consistently higher correlation with perceptual quality compared to the state-of-the-art conventional and deep VQA methods, with average SROCC values of 0.8972 (FR) and 0.7791 (NR) over eight test sets without performing cross-validation. The source code of the proposed quality metrics and the large training database will be made available here.


The invention relates to a soluble pharmaceutical composition for parenteral administration, which comprises an amylin peptide and an anionic surfactant, and methods for treatment of hyperglycemia.


For the past year we have studied a young woman with a unique triad of findings: enormous breast hypertrophy, generalized melanoderma, and, finally, thousands of pruritic polycylic bands undergoing continuous migration over the skin surface. We have encountered nothing of this kind in our clinical experience or in the literature. Intensive investigative studies disclosed the presence of an autoallergic state. The patient proved to have specific circulating autoantibodies to her own cystic breast tissue. In addition, her serum showed a strongly positive L.E. phenomenon. Accordingly it is our wish to record and to attempt to interpret these clinical observations and laboratory studies. Report of a Case The patient, a 26-year-old white woman, was first seen by us in October, 1958.*At that time she presented the three problems (Figs. 1, 2, 3) of breast enlargement, melanoderma, and gyrate migratory bands. Although she had had purpura and an attack of poison


The calcium ion influx through voltage-dependent calcium channels (VDCCs) has a vital role in the control of neurotransmitter release and membrane excitability. Prepulse facilitation is a phenomenon in which a strong depolarizing pulse induces a form of the VDCCs that exhibits an increased opening probability in response to a given test potential; this persists for several seconds after repolarization. It has been reported that prepulse facilitation occurs via dissociation of the guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding proteins (G-proteins) from the VDCCs and that recovery from facilitation involves rebinding of the G-proteins. The heterotrimeric G-proteins act as switches that regulate information processing circuits connecting cell surface G-protein-coupled-receptors to a variety of effectors. In this study, we have studied the characterization of G-protein subtypes in prepulse facilitation of VDCCs currents (Ica) in hamster submandibular ganglion (SMG) neurons, using whole-cell patch clamp recordings. Under control conditions, with GTP (0.1 mM) in the recording pipette, the rate of prepulse facilitation was 19.0 +/- 1.9% (n = 13). Intracellular dialysis with GDP-beta-S (0.1 mM), G-protein blocker, and pretreatment of neurons with N-ethylmaleimide (NEM) (100 microM for 2 min), Gi/o blocker, attenuated the rate of prepulse facilitation. Intracellular dialysis of anti-Gq/11-antibody did not alter it. These results suggest that prepulse facilitation of VDCCs is due to Gi/o-types of G-protein, but not to the Gq/11-type, in SMG neurons.


This article narrates and analyses three instances of swimming in the Beirut sea as political performances. Since the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, researchers, media outlets and community activists have highlighted the accelerating privatization of the Lebanese coast. Beirut in particular has been prominent in these discussions, as it features some of the most rampant sites of exclusive control and access. This article will be written as three separate scenes based on real-life activities that have taken place on the Beirut coast over the past three years (2012–15). In doing so, it highlights the structures of power as well as the actions of resistance by focusing on swimming as a political performance in three settings.


The conserved nonlocal charges generating the Geroch group with respect to the canonical Poisson structure of the Ernst equation are found. They are shown to build a quadratic Poisson algebra, which suggests to identify the quantum Geroch algebra with Yangian structures.


The paper proposes an approach to instruction stream generation for verification of microprocessor designs. The approach is based on using formal specifications of the instruction set architecture as a source of knowledge about the design under verification. This knowledge is processed with generic engines implementing an extensible set of generation strategies to produce stimuli in the form of instruction sequences. Generation tasks are formulated using high-level descriptions that specify target instructions and strategies of sequence construction and data generation. This provides a flexible way to generate deterministic, random and constraint-based stimuli for verification of arbitrary architectures with minimum effort. The proposed approach has been successfully applied in industrial projects for verification of ARMv8 and MIPS64 microprocessor designs.


Thai Finger Spelling (TFS) sign recognition could benefit a community of hearing-difficulty people in bridging to a major hearing population. With a relatively large number of alphabets, TFS employs multiple signing schemes. Two schemes of more common signing -- static and dynamic single-hand signing, widely used in other sign languages -- have been addressed in several previous works. To complete the TFS sign recognition, the remaining two of quite distinct signing schemes -- static and dynamic point-on-hand signing -- need to be sufficiently addressed. With the advent of many off-the-shelf hand skeleton prediction models and that training a model to recognize a sign language from scratch is expensive, we explore an approach building upon recently launched MediaPipe Hands (MPH). MPH is a high-precision well-trained model for hand-keypoint detection. We have investigated MPH on three TFS schemes: static-single-hand (S1), simplified dynamic-single-hand (S2) and static-point-on-hand (P1) schemes. Our results show that MPH can satisfactorily address single-hand schemes with accuracy of 84.57% on both S1 and S2. However, our finding reveals a shortcoming of MPH in addressing a point-on-hand scheme, whose accuracy is 23.66% on P1 conferring to 69.19% obtained from conventional classification trained from scratch. This shortcoming has been investigated and attributed to self occlusion and handedness.


Hypoxia is a critical factor in the progression and metastasis of many cancers including soft tissue sarcomas. Frequently, oxygen (O2) gradients develop in tumors as they grow beyond their vascular supply leading to heterogeneous areas of O2 depletion. Here we report the impact of hypoxic O2 gradients on sarcoma cell invasion and migration. O2 gradient measurements showed that large sarcoms mouse tumors (>300mm3) contain a severely hypoxic core (≤0.1% pO2) whereas smaller tumors possessed hypoxic gradients throughout the tumor mass (0.1%-6% pO2). To analyze tumor invasion, we utilized O2-controllable hydrogels to recreate the physio-pathological O2 levels in vitro. Small tumor grafts encapsulated in the hydrogels revealed increased invasion that was both faster and extended over a longer-distance in the hypoxic hydrogels compared to nonhypoxic hydrogels. To accurately model the effect of the O2 gradient, we examined individual sarcoma cells embedded in the O2-controllable hydrogel. We observed that hypoxic gradients guide sarcoma cell motility and matrix remodeling through HIF1α activation. We further found that in the hypoxic gradient, individual cells migrate more quickly, across longer distances, and in the direction of increasing O2 tension. Treatment with minoxidil, inhibitor of hypoxia-induced sarcoma metastasis, abrogated cell migration and matrix remodeling in the hypoxic gradient. Overall, we show that O2 acts as a 3D physico-tactic agent during sarcoma tumor invasion and propose the O2-controllable hydrogels as a predictive system to study early stages of the metastatic process and therapeutic targets. Citation Format: Daniel M. Lewis, Kyung Min Park, T.S. Karin Eisinger-Mathason, Celeste Simon, Sharon Gerecht. Intratumoral oxygen gradients mediate sarcoma cell invasion. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Engineering and Physical Sciences in Oncology; 2016 Jun 25-28; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(2 Suppl):Abstract nr B61.


PurposeFollowing Ang and Piazzesi's (2003) study, the authors use an affine term structure model to study the relevance of macroeconomic (domestic and foreign) factors for Peru's sovereign yield curve in the period from November 2005 to December 2015. The paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachRisk premia are modeled as time-varying and depend on both observable and unobservable factors; and the authors estimate a vector autoregressive model considering no-arbitrage assumptions.FindingsThe authors find evidence that macro factors help to improve the fit of the model and explain a substantial amount of variation in bond yields. However, their influence is very sensitive to the specification model. Variance decompositions show that macro factors explain a significant share of the movements at the short and middle segments of the yield curve (up to 50 percent), while unobservable factors are the main drivers for most of the movements at the long end of the yield curve (up to 80 percent). Furthermore, the authors find that international markets are relevant for the determination of the risk premium in the short term. Higher uncertainty in international markets increases bond yields, although this effect vanishes quickly. Finally, the authors find that no-arbitrage restrictions with the incorporation of macro factors improve forecasts.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge this is the first application of this type of models using data from an emerging country such as Peru.


In the present study, specific discrimination of chicken DNA contamination in processed foods using the polymerase chain reaction was investigated. The primer pair was designed to amplify a 102-bp fragment of the chicken mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene. While the DNA from chicken meat was amplified, the DNA from other poultry meat, mammalian meat, fish, shellfish, and cereals was not amplified. The primer amplified DNA fragments derived from model processed and nonprocessed food samples containing 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100% chicken.


Background: In the developed countries, pulmonary thromboembolism associated with pregnancy (VTE) continues to be the principal cause of direct maternal death. Despite thorough treatment and preventative recommendations from several national authorities, reductions in mortality due to VTE have been negligible. Anticoagulation is still the cornerstone of prenatal care and has to be given to all patients with proven or high-risk PE. The preferred medication is low molecular weight heparin (LMWH), which has a known pharmacodynamic profile. Despite the massive utilization of these drugs there is actually little evidence supporting their efficiency in recurrent pregnancy loss reduction.
Objectives: The study aims to summarize current evidences regarding the usage of anticoagulants and thrombolytics in Pregnancy.
Methods: For article selection, the PubMed database and EBSCO Information Services were used. All relevant articles relevant with our topic and other articles were used in our review. Other articles that were not related to this field were excluded. The data was extracted in a specific format that was reviewed by the group members.
Conclusion: A common cause of maternal death, pulmonary embolism-related fatalities still occur often in pregnant women with pulmonary embolism. One-third of pregnant women with pulmonary embolism and hemodynamic failure were reported to undergo systemic thrombolysis. There is an urgent need to improve prevention and care techniques for this vulnerable patient population.
LMWHs are widely used for several different purposes as well as for the treatment and prevention of VTE during pregnancy and puerperium. Although the medicine has been found to be both safe and effective, there is no scientific proof to support its usage for all indications.
In pregnant women with thrombophilia who are at high risk of developing these issues, prenatal prophylactic dalteparin does not prevent venous thromboembolism, pregnancy loss, or placenta-mediated pregnancy difficulties and is linked to an increased risk of mild bleeding. Enoxaparin may not offer any meaningful benefits to people suffering from recurrent abortion. However, in one study, the miscarriage rate was significantly lower when enoxaparin was used compared with untreated controls.


Low waste collecting rates make waste a growing problem in lowland areas of the capital of Cameroon Yaoundé. However, the biodegradable proportion of waste is high and could be reused. The aim of this study is to understand the behavior of farm households in view of managing their solid waste. Indeed, this paper seeks to identify factors that affect the choice of a method of solid waste disposal by agricultural households in the lowland area of Yaoundé. Data from a survey conducted by the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) have been used. The results from multinomial Logit indicate that household size and the accessibility of the area of residence increase the probability of choosing municipal infrastructures relative to recycling waste and/or illegal dumping. Compared to bins and garbage trucks, the number of years in the area, agricultural experience and the distance to the communal containers promote illegal dumping or recycling. In this context, transfer stations for household waste, should be constructed in or near the lowland areas to facilitate their management of waste by the collectors and by households for their farming activities.


Introduction: Hyponatremia is a dominant feature and is of primary concern in liver cirrhosis. It is an important prognostic factor for the severity and complications of liver cirrhosis associated with poor survival. The issue of hyponatremia in liver cirrhosis has been the subject of intense debate within the scientific community. Aim: To determine the association of serum sodium levels with the severity and complications of liver cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: This observational, cross-sectional study included all adult patients diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, admitted in single tertiary care centre from December 2016 to April 2018. Their serum sodium levels was estimated on admission and correlated with Child Pugh Score and complications of cirrhosis. Statistical analysis was done by Chi-Square test, Fisher's-exact test and Odds Ratio (OR) estimation. Results: A total of 95 patients were enrolled in the study. Majority were in the age group of 41-50 years (35.8%) with a mean age of 48.38±11.8 (mean±SD). There was a male preponderance (91 patients, 96.8%). Hyponatremia (≤130 meq/L) was noted in 33 patients (34.7%). Among the patients with hyponatremia, 29 (87.9%) belonged to Child Pugh C. The association of hyponatremia with Child Pugh C was highly significant (OR 3.987; CI 1.240-12.818; p=0.029). A positive correlation was found between low sodium levels (≤130 meq/L) and complications such as spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (OR 4.667; CI 1.538-14.164; p=0.004) and hepatorenal syndrome (OR 5.357; CI 0.979-29.327; p=0.034). Conclusion: Low sodium levels in cirrhosis has a positive correlation with the disease severity, hepatorenal syndrome and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis.


Chronic lower extremity wounds (diabetic foot ulcers) are a serious and prevalent complication of diabetes. These wounds exhibit low healing rates and present a high risk of amputation. Current diagnostic options for foot ulcers are limited to macroscopic wound analysis such as wound depth, implicated tissues, and infection. Molecular diagnostics promises to improve foot ulcer diagnosis, staging, and assessment of the treatment response. In this perspective, we report recent progress in understanding the pathophysiology of diabetic wound healing and point to recently emerged novel molecular targets for wound diagnostics. We discuss selected diagnostic wound dressings under preclinical development that detect one or several inflammatory markers, bacterial secretions, hyperglycemia, and mechanical stress. We also highlight key translational challenges of investigational diagnostic bandages for diabetic foot ulcers.


One of the ways to spread the approach of liberal feminism in the world is to use English language education, through which English culture is spread among language learners. With the aim of discovering the signs of promoting liberal feminism in language teaching resources, this research, with a cultural approach, first determined the dimensions and components of liberal feminism. After that, three sources were selected from the most widely used sources of English language education in Iran, and the parts where the signs of promoting liberal feminism were evident were analyzed for content. The analyzes were done based on the components of liberal feminism and common Iranian Islamic culture. These analyzes were given to 20 experts for verification, and conclusions were drawn after corrections. The results indicated that the two dimensions of equality (35.5%) and empowerment (30.5%) were the most frequent in these sources. The dimensions of freedom (17.5%) and legal protection (13.5%) were in third and fourth place. The statistics of other components were less than 5% and negligible.


In an attempt to overcome problems of conventional high-energy preparation processes for colloidal drug carrier systems, premix membrane emulsification was investigated for the first time as an alternative low-energy input process for the preparation of pharmaceutical nanoemulsions and solid lipid nanoparticles. The effect of process parameters on dispersions based on nonpolar lipids (medium-chain triglycerides, soybean oil, and trimyristin) and different emulsifiers (sodium dodecyl sulfate, poloxamer 188, polyglyceryl-10-laurate, and sucrose laurate) was studied in a small-volume device and a larger scale-up approach. For emulsions and suspensions, mean particle sizes in a range from about 100 to 200 nm were observed for monomodal to monodisperse particle size distributions after 21 cycles of extrusion through polycarbonate membrane filters. As the mass ratio of matrix lipid to emulsifier (4:3, w/w concentrations) usually applied for the preparation of stable colloidal lipid particles was quite high, the amount of emulsifier in the dispersions was minimized. It was observed that the minimal concentration of emulsifier increased with decreasing membrane pore size. The possibility to prepare colloidal drug carrier systems with a high concentration of matrix lipid (up to 20%) by an optimized membrane extrusion process offers new opportunities for the processing of sensitive substances.


In this study, query processing efficiency of the distributed database in the relational database Oracle9i was examined and compared. Our test data is based on a (Customer Type Definition), which is designed to represent customer information of bank. We generated 8 different sizes of test customers: 300, 600, 900, 2100,4500, 45000, 1360 Records. DML language (SQL) as tools for any comparison can be achieved by the statistical performance parameter (Elapsed time, CPU time, Logical read , Physical read, Logical write, Physical write, Elapsed time, UGA ) .statistical analysis using ANOVA TABLE is used to judge between comparisons. All the queries were run on two computers for different sizes of vertical and horizontal fragments. Changes in performance metrics for each query were written in table after experiments. Finally, we presented the results, and discussed where enhancements are required. Statistical analysis using ANOVA TABLE were used to distinguish between this comparison, it had been found that SELECT, UPDATE and DELETE have the most influence on the performance parameter respectively.


OBJECTIVE
To determine if motilin and gastrin are present in breast milk and to measure their concentrations in human milk and cow milk.

METHODS
The concentration of motilin was measured in 17 samples of human colostrum, 18 samples of human mature milk, 8 samples of cow colostrum and 20 samples of cow mature milk by radioimmunoassay. The concentration of gastrin in human milk was also determined by radioimmunoassay.

RESULTS
Motilin concentration in human colostrum was the highest (416.34 +/- 183.95ng/L), being higher than that in human mature milk (272.91 +/- 148.73ng/L, that in cow colostrum (229.51 +/- 63.68ng/L) and that in cow mature milk (35.46 +/- 16.94ng/L). Evidently the difference in motilin concentration was very significant between human milk and cow milk. The gastrin concentration in human colostrum was 17.20 +/- 11.98ng/L, being higher than that in human mature milk (5.62 +/- 2.33ng/L).

CONCLUSION
Human milk, especially human colostrum, contains high concentrations of motilin and gastrin. Breast feeding, especially early breast feeding, may promote the maturation of the developing gut in neonates and infants.


Not even half the number of the patients included in this study (N = 46) had been noticed as intermittent. Diplopia (N = 5) is not a reliable criterium. They need surgery with comparatively large amounts, on which behalf we prefer bi-medial rectus recessions. The prevailing result is "subnormal binocular vision," not to be confused with microtropia. Only four patients reached a cure, which means that they could not be differentiated from unaffected individuals any more.


In different countries the profession of social work has "done its work" for more or less than a century. In Lithuania its history is revived and closely related to social transformation that has taken place after the restoration of independence in 1990. The question of how fully. if at all, social work has achieved professional status has been debated throughout the last century. It is known that efforts to evaluate whether social work is a "semi-profession" or a "fully developed profession" have been made by .l. Baird. Already in 1972 social work was considered as a profession. In the opinion of J. Baird to evaluate the status of the profession depends on whether social work is being measured by classical criteria of once "free" professions, or by contemporary criteria that are relevant to helping professions which are substantially committed to public and governmental service enterprise. The present picture of the professionalization of social work has changed. American social work's aspirations to professionalization is a natural process in a liberal market economy, because the profession is created and strengthened as a result of the personal interests of those earning a living by it. The status of social work as a profession is not unequivocally fixed. There are some aspects that are considered as negative to the professionalization of social work. Namely. the private practice of social work which is said has been growing dynamically since the middle of the 2th century. But with the dramatic rise of medical care, social workers are said to return to their original mission. The nature of professional practice in any particular stale is grounded in the historical and cultural context as mediated through political, economic and social systems. This makes social work difficult to define at the global level, and attempts to identify a universal essence of social work are problematic. Despite this apparent difficulty, there are some general definitions of social work.  Definitions provokc many questions. ls it possible to develop a universal definition of social work? If so, how well docs this definition describc social work throughout thc world? Does this definition apply to social work where l live? And the likc. At the beginning of the 21 st century, the European countrics have faced many problems of a diffcrent naturc. In ordcr to understand the nature of these problems an attempt is made to catcgorize them. Much is asked of social workers, and thcy are ones that are cxpccted to make a difference by empowering human beings to change sclf and socicty. The conclusion is that it is worthwhilc to explore, review social work as a profcssion becausc, according to Midgley, therc is a "need to dcvclop a broad intcrnational approach to the study of social work to generate a globai awareness that enhances the ability of social workers to transcend their preocupation with the local and contextualize their role within a globai setting"'.


The Inventory of Callous and Unemotional Traits (ICU), developed to assess callous/unemotional (CU) traits, has recently experienced increased attention in light of the proposal to add a CU specifier to the conduct disorder diagnosis in DSM-5. In a sample of 70 at-risk adolescents (ages 13-17 years) in the foster care system who received a contemplative intervention program, the present study placed the ICU within a nomological network of correlates, including anxiety, depression, hopefulness, loneliness, and physiological measures of stress (e.g., cortisol). The findings offered some support for the ICU's construct validity, including significant negative associations with measures of compassion toward others. Nevertheless, unexpected substantial positive correlations emerged with multiple measures of psychological distress, raising questions concerning other aspects of the ICU's construct validity. Taken together, results of the current study suggest that rather than assessing a dearth of all major emotions as implied by its name and some previous descriptions, the ICU may be heavily saturated with negative emotionality and global maladjustment.


INTRODUCTION Post-transplant high-dose cyclophosphamide (PTCy) has shown to prevent graft versus host disease (GvHD) after haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HSCT). Although less extended, its use after matched unrelated donor (MUD) HSCT in combination with additional immunosuppression has been encouraging. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare outcomes of antithymocyte globulin based (ATG) versus PTCy-based GvHD prophylaxis in matched unrelated donor HSCT. MATERIAL AND METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 51 MUD (8/8 HLA-matched) transplants performed in two Spanish centers: 25 received ATG-based prophylaxis and were performed from 2010 to 2013, and 26 received PTCy-based prophylaxis and were performed from 2013 to 2016. RESULTS Characteristics of patients and post-HSCT complications are detailed in Table 1. There were no significant differences in age, gender, diagnosis and Disease risk index. For the ATG group, conditioning regimen consisted of fludarabine combined with busulfan (80%) or melphalan (12%), and TBI plus cyclophosphamide (8%). All patients received ATG 2 mg/kg from day -4 to day -2 followed by methotrexate and cyclosporine (CsA). Conditioning regimen for patients from the PTCy group consisted of fludarabine and busulfan (85%) and thiotepa combined with busulfan and fludarabine (15%). GvHD prophylaxis consisted of PTCy 50 mg/kg on days +3 and +4, combined with: CsA plus MMF in 57%, CsA alone in 31%, or tacrolimus plus MMF or sirolimus in 8%, and tacrolimus alone in 4%. With a median follow-up of 58 months for the ATG group and 12 months for the PTCy group, there were no statistically significant differences in overall survival at 18 months (56% vs 85%, p=0.08), in event free survival (56% vs 68%, p=0.5), and in cumulative incidence of relapse (12% vs 18%, p=0.3). Non-relapse mortality at 12 months was significantly higher in the ATG group (32% vs 10%, p = 0.04). The ATG group presented more cases of hepatic toxicity grades I-IV and hemorrhagic cystitis than PTCy group (Table 1). Cumulative incidence of acute GvHD grades II-IV was higher in the ATG group as well as acute GvHD grades III-IV, with no differences in moderate/severe chronic GvHD incidence (Figure A). CONCLUSION In our experience, albeit differences in follow-up and limited number of patients, we conclude that PTCy combined with additional immunosuppression after MUD allogeneic HSCT offers lower rates of acute GvHD together with less toxicity and non-relapse mortality compared to ATG-based prophylaxis. Further analysis including larger series and follow-up are needed to confirm these observations. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


Abstract Attenuation models, with and without frequency dependence, have been developed through analysis of time-domain amplitude measurements and teleseismic spectral shape data from Pahute Mesa nuclear explosions. The time-domain analysis is based on a near-field to far-field amplitude comparison. The near-field amplitude information is incorporated in two parameterized explosion source models (Mueller-Murphy and Helmberger-Hadley) based on analyses of near-field data. The teleseismic amplitude observations are from a large data set of WWSSN short-period analog recordings. For the narrow-band time-domain data, the various source and attenuation models are indistinguishable. We utilize the spectral shape data in the 0.5- to 4-Hz band as a constraint on the source-attenuation models at higher frequencies, concluding that either source model, when convolved with the appropriate frequency-dependent Q model, can be consistent with both the near-field and far-field time-domain amplitudes and the spectral shape data. Given the trade-off between source and attenuation models and the similarity of the different source models in the 0.5- to 4-Hz band, it is difficult to prefer clearly one source model over the other. The Mueller-Murphy model is more consistent with surface wave amplitude measurements because of larger predicted long-period energy levels. Whether or not frequency dependence is included in the attenuation model, the value of t * near 1 Hz is about 1.0 sec (assuming the Mueller-Murphy source model) or 0.8 sec (assuming the Helmberger-Hadley source model). This 0.2 sec difference results from greater 1-Hz energy levels for the Mueller-Murphy source model. Adopting an average attenuation model, predicted amplitudes and yields are shown to be within the uncertainty of the data for all the events analyzed.


Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) have been deployed for collecting the observed data across different areas. The continuous evolution of wireless networks and sensors emerges a new instrument concept which is called SensorWeb network. This type of network measures data related to geospatial information and can detect the conditions of remote places as a new instrument for environmental monitoring in the physical world. On the other hand the uninterrupted demand of the scientific community for computational and storage resources led us to the Grid Computing. Grid Computing is the combination of several distributed computational resources to a single problem at the same time, usually to a scientific or technical problem that requires a great number of computer processing cycles and a huge storage capability of data.


The authors propose a new framework for analyzing past financial crises by building on the concept of predatory marketing. They argue that the financial world can be seen as an ecosystem in which the provider of financial services acts as a financial predator and the client as prey. This way of describing the financial world may provide further explanations as to why financial crises happen. The authors propose possible solutions to limit financial fraud.


This book contributes to current theory building within applied linguistics and sociolinguistics by looking at the role of language in the lives, realities, and understandings of real children and youth in an urban setting. Collectively the studies amount to a comprehensive account of how urban children and youth construct, reactivate, negotiate, contest, and navigate between different linguistic and sociocultural norms and resources.


This paper presents a new method to automatically synthesize robot compliant motions based on hybrid impedance control. The scheme relies on decoupled linear impedance models of the robot and the environment, in which the errors due to control, task frame estimation, as well as environment uncertainty are explicitly taken into account. The technique consists of selecting appropriate manipulator impedances to match the environment dynamics and satisfy all the task goals. Two experimental examples of this methodology are presented.


Abstract. One hundred fifty survivors of the 11 March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (Tohoku-oki earthquake) (Mw = 9.0) were interviewed to study the causes of deaths from the associated tsunami in coastal areas of Tohoku. The first official tsunami warning underestimated the height of the tsunami and 40% of the interviewees did not obtain this warning due to immediate blackouts and a lack of communication after the earthquake. Many chose to remain in dangerous locations based on the underestimated warning and their experiences with previous smaller tsunamis and/or due to misunderstanding the mitigating effects of nearby breakwaters in blocking incoming tsunamis. Some delayed their evacuation to perform family safety checks, and in many situations, the people affected misunderstood the risks involved in tsunamis. In this area, three large tsunamis have struck in the 115 yr preceding the 2011 tsunami. These tsunamis remained in the collective memory of communities, and numerous measures against future tsunami damage, such as breakwaters and tsunami evacuation drills, had been implemented. Despite these preparedness efforts, approximately 18 500 deaths and cases of missing persons occurred. The death rate with the age of 65 and above was particularly high, four times higher than that with other age groups. These interviews indicate that deaths resulted from a variety of reasons, but if residents had taken immediate action after the major ground motion stopped, most residents might have been saved. Education about the science behind earthquakes and tsunamis could help save more lives in the future.


Some methods have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally to reduce the fluctuating torques in the driving shafts caused by the inertia forces in the crank-and-rocker mechanisms; the spatial four-bar mechanism having two revolute and two spheric pairs is cited as an example. The fluctuating torque has been actually reduced to 1/20–1/3 .


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the hepatoprotective effect of an antioxidative nanoparticle (RNPN) recently developed against APAP-induced hepatotoxicity in mice. The effects of oral administration of RNPN to APAP-treated mice were assessed for various biochemical liver function parameters: alanine transaminase (ALT) activity, aspartate transaminase (AST) activity, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, prothrombin time, and serum albumin (ALB) level. The treatment effects were assessed in terms of free radical parameters: malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, % inhibition of superoxide anion (O2 −∙), and histopathological examination. The N-acetylcysteine (NAC)-treated group exhibited an enhanced prothrombin time relative to the control group, while RNPN did not prolong prothrombin time. The RNPN-treated animals exhibited lower levels of ALT, AST, and ALP, while increased ALB levels were measured in these animals compared to those in the other groups. The RNPN-treated animals furthermore exhibited improved MDA levels, GPx activity, and % inhibition of O2 −∙, which relate to oxidative damage. Histological staining of liver tissues from RNPN-treated animals did not reveal any microscopic changes relative to the other groups. The findings of this study suggest that RNPN possesses effective hepatoprotective properties and does not exhibit the notable adverse effects associated with NAC treatment.


Protein calorie malnutrition (PCM) is prevalent in the acute care setting, affecting up to 50% of hospitalized patients. PCM is associated with poor outcomes, including increased hospital and intensive care unit length of stay, hospital readmission rates, incidence of pressure injuries and nosocomial infections, and mortality. PCM is a financial burden on the healthcare system through direct costs related to treatment as well as indirect costs related to poorer outcomes and complications. Medical coding for malnutrition after a patient's hospital stay is poorly representative of the actual prevalence of malnutrition, as only a small percentage of these hospital stays are coded for PCM. Improvements in identification and coding of malnutrition can result in significant increases in hospital reimbursement, which can in part help defray increased costs associated with the condition.


The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of blended learning and social media supported learning on the students' attitude and self-directed learning skills in Science Education. This research took place with the 7th grade 74 students attending to a primary school in Kadikoy, Istanbul and carried out "Our Body Systems" unit at 2011-2012 Academic Year. The design of the study was pretest–posttest control group design. Control Group is taught by using the traditional face to face approach with the 5E learning cycle, one of the experimental groups received blended learning model (face to face and internet based learning) with the 5E learning cycle and the other experimental group received social networking supported based on face to face approach and the 5E learning cycle model. Data were collected using the Science Teaching Attitude Scale and the Self-directed Learning Skills Scale. Quantitative data were analyzed by One-Way Anova, t-Tests and Kolmogorov Smirnov-Z Test of SPSS 17 Statistic Program. As a result, while blended learning experimental group increase science attitude and self-directed learning skills significantly than the control group; social media supported learning group has a positive impact on attitude and self-directed learning skills, although this change didn't make a significant difference compared with the control group.


The attitudes of 32 families who had their relative with mental retardation deinstitutionalized and living in the community for 3 to 7 years were examined. Preplacement data on these families indicated a high level of satisfaction with institutional services and strong opposition to community placement. Postplacement data revealed a significant change toward more positive family attitudes toward deinstitutionalization. However, families were still concerned about high staff turnover rates, inadequate community services, and future relocations.


Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis delta-endotoxin protein active against mosquitoes was inactivated by prior incubation with lipids extracted from Aedes albopictus cells. Experiments with lipid dispersions and multilamellar liposomes showed that the toxin binds to phosphatidyl choline, sphingomyelin and phosphatidyl ethanolamine provided these lipids contain unsaturated fatty acids. Phosphatidyl serine binds toxin less efficiently and phosphatidyl inositol, cardiolipin, cerebroside and cholesterol show no affinity for the toxin. The results suggest an insecticidal mechanism in which interaction of toxin with affinity for the toxin. The results suggest an insecticidal mechanism in which interaction of toxin with specific plasma membrane lipids causes a detergent-like rearrangement of the lipids, leading to disruption of membrane integrity and eventual cytolysis.


Abstract For quasi-geostrophic stationary long waves forced by topography, the nonlinear lower boundary condition is derived in terms of the geopotential height and compared with the linearized version. The common practice of replacing terms describing the flow over and around a mountain by upstream zonal flow over the mountain and evaluating the resulting condition at sea level is found to be a good approximation for the cases considered and does not need to be modified as sometimes suggested. Specifically, it is found that this approximation does not affect, for most cases, the lower boundary condition expressed in terms of the geopotential height provided that the stationary wave is not near resonance. At resonance, the eddy advection terms may become important for large-amplitude waves when dissipation and surface diabatic heating are taken into account


Communicative competence, defined as: psychological configuration that comprises cognitive and meta-cognitive abilities to comprehend and produce meaning, knowledge on linguistic discourse structures and skills and abilities to interact in various socio-cultural contexts, with different aims and purposes, is an essential condition that any professional must achieve these days, but for medical psychologists it is vital. In this paper, there is a proposal of communicative competence indicators to be trained in Medical Psychology students, defined from dimensions and indicators proposed in the cognitive, communicative and socio-cultural approach, which reveals the importance of the syntactic dimension of discourse in an indissoluble relation to the semantic and pragmatic dimensions, according to the comprehension and construction of utterances and therefore in the development of communicative competence.


Introduction: There are risk of physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic, and psychosocial hazards in workplace which may pose harm to women and their fetuses, especially if it is related to chemical hazards. Chemicals and radiation at workplace may increase the incidence of congenital anomalies, infant morbidity and mortality as well as recurrent abortion. The purpose of this study was to compile MCH surveillance. Method: A qualitative study design was used and a case study was conducted on three manufacturing companies in Sidoarjo District from August to October 2017. Thirty respondents from each company were selected using accidental sampling. Socio demographic and job-related data were obtained from the respondents. The variables of this research were personnel that were given training about public health center, data types, data instruments, data collection, data processing, data analysis, information dissemination, and comprehensive MCH information. Result: The MCH surveillance system for women workers in order to save the first 1000 days of life consisted of inputs, processes, and outputs. Inputs included worker factors, company factors, surveillance staff factors, data types and data instruments. The surveillance process consisted of several processes including data collection, data processing, data analysis, and information dissemination. Output in this service model was comprehensive maternal and child health information that can be applied in company. Conclusion: MCH surveillance model consists of input, process, and output. Every industry has unique characteristic which is not found in other type of industry. Keywords: child, health, maternal, surveillance


Using multi beam echo sounder, side scan sonar and scuba diving equipment, ceramic type, uneven type and semicircle-ramus type reefs into sandy bottom were ascertained, the depth of submersion in 7.2-10.3m on the coast of Gangneung, East of Korea, forty uneven type artificial reefs(AR) were totally buried into the sandy bottom. Two of five semicircle-ramus type ARs had only of their top area exposed. For most of the 45 ceramic reefs, only the upper 25-150cm of ARs were visible. The burial pattern is different in west and east side of the reefs, where the east side is deeply buried compared to the west side. From these results. it is recommended that sufficient analysis of bottom structure and materials especially in the sandy sea area should be undertaken in order to determine the best type of artificial reefs to be deployed and the best location for depoloyment.


CORNEAL opacities were observed in the eyes of rats after subcutaneous administration of high levels of morphine sulphate. These lesions were first noted as an incidental observation and a series of studies was initiated to elucidate their nature and aetiology. These opacities apparently result from an irreversible deposition of calcium in the region of Bowman's membrane, a condition closely resembling band keratopathy in humans. In contrast to the transient, drug-induced, lenticular opacities described by Weinstock, Stewart, and Butterworth (1958, 1963), and Weinstock and Stewart (1961), these corneal opacities were irreversible. The lenticular opacities were ascribed to the deposition of drugs or metabolites of these drugs on the surface of the lens, while the corneal opacities observed in our studies resulted from a permanent histopathological change in the cornea.


Summary: Five-day-old infant rats which acquire Haemophilus influenzae b bacteremia and meningitis after intranasal inoculation have a transient depression in weight gain (2 days), but then continue to grow at the same rate as strain U-11 inoculated controls. Brain lactate, glucose, and glycogen concentrations increase during the first 5 days of disease in infected animals. The increase in brain glycogen can be accounted for by an influx of glycogen containing polymorphonuclear leukocytes. The increased concentrations of glucose and lactate were found not to be due to a change in brain weight to dry weight ratio or the volume of entrapped blood. The mean cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) glucose concentration was higher in animals with meningitis (2.7 mM) in comparison to U-11 inoculated controls (1.8 mM). This increase in brain and CSF glucose concentration appeared secondary to an increased brain uptake of hexoses as manifested by an increased [3H]mannitol uptake. Brain lactate accumulation was not explicable from the data available. There was no evidence of cerebral cortical cellular damage because in vitro oxygen uptake and lactate production were equivalent in control and meningitic animals. The ability of the infant rat brain to maintain cerebral adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content in meningitis and the failure of CSF glucose concentration to decrease might be a reflection of the importance of alternative oxidative substrate (e.g., β-hydroxybutyrate) to the cerebral metabolism of the developing rat brain.Speculation: Infant rats surviving H. influenzae meningitis have on maturation deficits in the acquisition of a learned Skinnerian paradigm, and have reduced cortical dendritic arborization and complexity. With an increased cerebral and CSF glucose content and a normal ATP content during meningitis, the genesis of these lesions may not involve cerebral glucose uptake or oxidative metabolism. Alterations in delivery of substrates to the brain (e.g., cerebral blood flow) or the effect of bacterial products (such as endotoxin) or leukocytes on nervous tissue metabolism might be more profitable areas for future investigations. Any data, however, derived from study of this species should not be directly extrapolated to humans.


Abstract Limited information exists regarding the health risks associated with inhaling aerosols that are generated during resistance spot welding of metals treated with adhesives. Toxicology studies evaluating spot welding aerosols are non-existent. A resistance spot welding aerosol generator and inhalation exposure system was developed. The system was designed by directing strips of sheet metal that were treated with an adhesive to two electrodes of a spot welder. Spot welds were made at a specified distance from each other by a computer-controlled welding gun in a fume collection chamber. Different target aerosol concentrations were maintained within the exposure chamber during a 4-h exposure period. In addition, the exposure system was run in two modes, spark and no spark, which resulted in different chemical profiles and particle size distributions. Complex aerosols were produced that contained both metal particulates and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Size distribution of the particles was multi-modal. The majority of particles were chain-like agglomerates of ultrafine primary particles. The submicron mode of agglomerated particles accounted for the largest portion of particles in terms of particle number. Metal expulsion during spot welding caused the formation of larger, more spherical particles (spatter). These spatter particles appeared in the micron size mode and accounted for the greatest amount of particles in terms of mass. With this system, it is possible to examine potential mechanisms by which spot welding aerosols can affect health, as well as assess which component of the aerosol may be responsible for adverse health outcomes.


The Red Queen hypothesis for the maintenance of cross-fertilization requires that parasites evolve to infect disproportionately the most common of local host genotypes and prevent their spread. Here we test the idea that digenetic trematodes are non-randomly infecting the common clonal genotypes in four populations of the freshwater snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum. The results show that the most common clone was significantly over-infected in one population, significantly under-infected in two other populations, and proportionately infected in the fourth population by the predominant castrating parasite. We show that, given the expectation of time lags in the system, these results are consistent with expectation under the Red Queen theory.


Many physicians with varied clinical experience have never encountered a fibroma of the nasopharynx. It is, therefore, a relatively rare tumor, yet a number of case reports are found in the literature. Goldsmith 1 described the growth succinctly as a tumor formation histologically nonmalignant but pursuing clinically a malignant course, occurring almost entirely in young males and definitely retrogressing when the patient reaches the approximate age of 23, unique among tissue growths and found alone in the nasopharynx. Females are not, however, immune. Ewing 2 said that the tumor usually appears as a firm, pale red mass attached by a broad base in the nasopharynx and not freely movable. The main mass of the tumor consists of dense fibrous and elastic tissue, containing numerous large, thin-walled blood vessels, located more abundantly near the free portion of the tumor. The cells are round, spindle-shaped or star-shaped fibroblasts, which are rather scanty except in


An individual who intends to engage in sensitive transactions using a public terminal such as an ATM needs to trust that (a) all communications are indeed carried out with the intended terminal, (b) such communications are confidential, and (c) the terminal's integrity is guaranteed. Satisfying such requirements prevents man-in-the-middle attacks and eavesdropping. We have analysed several existing transaction schemes and concluded that they tend not to meet all requirements during the entire transaction. We propose a new, generic protocol that provides (a) optional terminal identification, (b) key establishment, and (c) customisable integrity assurance.


Purpose of review For a long time, surgery of diffuse low-grade glioma was debated because of the poor knowledge of the natural history, the lack of objective evaluation of the extent of resection, a too short follow-up and the functional risk. Recently, new technical and conceptual advances in surgery have dramatically changed the management. Recent findings Despite the lack of class I evidence, there is currently growing evidence that a more extensive surgical resection of low-grade glioma is associated with a more favorable life expectancy. The use of cortical and subcortical functional mapping allows us to tailor the resection according to individual functional boundaries, thus optimizing the extent of resection while minimizing the risk of permanent deficit less than 2%. The quality of life may also be improved, thanks to seizures control and functional rehabilitation. Summary Early surgery is currently the first treatment in low-grade glioma. Re-operation can also be considered, possibly more extensive than the first one, thanks to a functional remapping and/or a tumor shrink induced by neoadjuvant treatment, especially chemotherapy. The next step is to better evaluate the quality of life and to continue to improve it in addition to the survival to evolve towards a 'functional neurooncology'.