Objectives To compare perioperative outcomes related to atherectomy with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty versus percutaneous transluminal angioplasty alone for the treatment of lower extremity chronic limb threatening ischemia using a national patient database. Methods Patients with chronic limb threatening ischemia treated with atherectomy and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty or percutaneous transluminal angioplasty alone from 2011 to 2016 in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database were identified. Primary outcomes were major adverse limb events (30-day untreated loss of patency, major reintervention, major amputation) and major adverse cardiac events (cardiac arrest, composite outcome of myocardial infarction or stroke). Secondary outcomes included 30-day mortality, length of stay, and any unplanned readmission within 30 days. Multivariate regression analyses were performed to determine independent predictors of outcome. Propensity score matched cohort analysis was performed. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Subgroup analyses of femoropopliteal and infrapopliteal interventions were performed. Results In total, 2636 (77.2%) patients were treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and 778 (22.8%) were treated with atherectomy and percutaneous transluminal angioplasty. Multivariate analyses of the unadjusted cohort revealed no significant differences in major adverse cardiac events or major adverse limb events between the two groups (p-value >0.05). Subgroup analysis of femoropopliteal interventions demonstrated a significantly decreased likelihood of untreated loss of patency in 30 days in the atherectomy group compared to the percutaneous transluminal angioplasty group (1.1% vs. 2.7%, respectively; p-value = 0.034), which persisted on propensity score matched analysis (1.1% vs. 3.1%, respectively; p-value = 0.026). Conclusion Atherectomy with balloon angioplasty of femoropopliteal disease provides a significant decrease in untreated loss of patency compared to balloon angioplasty alone.


Personalized service is becoming a hot topic in information processing field. Meanwhile, mobile network operators pay much more attention to information service than they used to do. It is necessary to provide pertinent service to different customers if different users have different demands. To meet the need of personalized service system and aim to implementing personalized information recommendation, a new model on mobile networks is purposed at the beginning of this paper. Then the paper focuses on research on the relationship between users' behavior of using the system and their preference and discussing the interests reflected by those users' log files. The paper gives an algorithm of mining user's true preference on mobile network. Then the paper introduces a personalized information recommendation engine to implement recommending valuable information items to users. In this paper, some background of information service system on mobile networks is introduced firstly. Then a new model of this personalized service system is described. The association between user's data and their hidden preference as well as a concerned algorithm is discussed. Then, two important methods to implement personalized service, clustering and mining association rules, are depicted. An experiment to check the model and these algorithms is introduced and analyzed at the end of the paper.


Inherited epidermolysis bullosa (EB) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of disorders manifesting with blisters and erosions of skin and mucous membranes in response to minor mechanical trauma. More than 1500 mutations in 17 different genes underlie more than 30 different EB subtypes. To date, the treatment is symptomatic aiming mainly to support wound healing and solve complications, and patients with severe subtypes, with chronic, life-long skin fragility have high, unmet medical needs. During the last years, many experimental therapeutic studies for EB have been initiated in cell culture systems, animal models or pilot clinical trials, making use of gene correction, RNA reprogramming, protein replacement or therapeutic stem cells. Although gene therapy was the first to be applied in patients, the focus now moved towards protein and cell-based therapies. However, the approach is extremely complex; not only in technical terms, but also in the way the chronic disease, its progression and its complications can be amended in the long term. Therapeutic efficacy, as well as unexpected outcomes must be carefully monitored.


Electrical properties of motoneurons, muscle fibres and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cells were studied in an organotypic coculture of embryonic rat spinal cord, dorsal root ganglia and skeletal muscle. The motoneurons were identified by their morphology and position in culture. Their size and input conductance were significantly larger than those of spinal interneurons. Intracellular current injection evoked action potentials in all motoneurons, but only evoked stable repetitive firing patterns in some. Excitability was correlated to somatic size and the rate of spontaneous excitatory input. It is suggested that the somatic growth and the increase in excitability is regulated by the excitatory afferents. The motoneurons showed spontaneous excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials and action potentials which disappeared with the application of various agents known to inhibit excitability or excitatory synaptic transmission. Excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs and IPSPs respectively) were distinguished by their shape, reversal potential and pharmacology. IPSPs could be depolarizing or hyperpolarizing in different cells. A higher percentage of cells with hyperpolarizing IPSPs was found in older cultures and in the presence of skeletal muscle, suggesting a reversal of the polarity of IPSPs with development. The spontaneous muscle contractions observed in the cultures could be due either to innervation, spontaneous oscillations of the membrane potential, or electrical coupling between neighbouring fibres. A small percentage of DRG cells showed spontaneous action potentials, all of which were found in cultures with spontaneous muscle contractions. The electrical stimulation of DRG afferents evoked mono‐ and polysynaptic EPSPs in motoneurons, endplate potentials and muscle contractions. The stimulation of the ventral horns evoked endplate potentials and muscle contractions via mono‐ or polysynaptic pathways. Together these results indicate that appropriate and functional contacts were established in the culture between myotubes and DRG cells, between DRG cells and motoneurons, and between motoneurons and muscle fibres.


The mucin alterations associated with the progress of cellular atypia of the colorectal mucosa were investigated by light and electron microscopy using lectin-histochemical technique with DBA and PNA. The samples showing positive staining in the more than one-third areas of the colonic epithelial mucosa were scored as positive reaction. The DBA positive reaction was found 100%, 95.8% and 45.7% in the normal mucosa, adenoma and carcinoma, respectively. On the other hand, the PNA positive cases increased with the grade of malignancy; 18.2%, 58.5% and 97.1% respectively. The DBA binding sites were found in the mucin of the goblet cells of the normal and adenomatous epithelia. The PNA positive sites were localized in the supranuclear portion of the normal mucosa and adenoma while in the epithelia of the carcinoma the PNA positive areas were found in the intraglandular substance and cell apex. With the electron microscopy the PNA binding sites were detected in the cis cistern of Golgi apparatus in the normal and adenomatous epithelia and in the apical membrane in the epithelia of the carcinoma. It is suggested that the PNA binding activity is a useful marker to detect the adenomas with the high risk of malignant transformation.


The purpose of my thesis is to examine Shakespeare's heroines in a modern context so that actresses and directors have a more complete and balanced view of these characters. By evaluating Shakespeare's text from the perspective of modern feminist writers, one is able to see more clearly the universal issues that both women of today and women of Shakespeare's time have in common. In addition, one can better understand Shakespeare's views on women, which in some ways could be considered "ahead of his time." In this paper, I will look specifically at central female characters in four of Shakespeare's well-known plays: Hamlet, Measure for Measure, Taming of the Shrew, and King Lear. By reevaluating these women in new ways, modern audiences can gain a better understanding of characters that are often written off as weak or flat by current standards. Finally, I want to help directors and actresses find ways to interpret and perform these women for the rich and fully human characters that they are.


Aging is associated with a loss of bone mass and an increased risk of oral and systemic bone loss. Systemic osteoporosis can result in bone fractures, especially of the spine and hip, with the characteristic spinal curvature and loss of height often seen in osteoporotic postmenopausal women. Loss of teeth and ridge resorption can occur in the mouth.


Human caused mortality is a primary limiting factor in carnivore conservation globally. A large proportion of predator persecution is the result of retaliation due to lost livestock. If carnivore conservation is to succeed then the economic burden on livestock producers needs to be ameliorated. Proactively preventing livestock depredation is perhaps the most effective method to solve conflicts compared to reactively relocating problem animals or reimbursing people for losses. Large carnivores, however, range across wide areas while management dollars are limited and thus where to implement conflict prevention measures is a matter of triage. To prioritize conflict prevention efforts we examined 23 years of data on livestock depredation by grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Since 1993 livestock loss by grizzlies has increased an average of 6% per year and depredations were positively associated with warmer weather. Additionally, we forecasted spatial risk by estimating the relative probability of livestock loss across the reservation. Using logistic regression models we tested remotely sensed landscape variables to understand how habitat features influence the risk of depredation by bears. We found that locations closer to trees had the highest chance of livestock loss. Furthermore, places closer to perennial and seasonal water also had increased risk. Topography also influenced depredation probability with lower elevations and gentler slopes having increased risk. In all, our results will provide 1) managers a clear path in prioritizing areas to receive conflict prevention resources, and 2) livestock growers a knowledge of how to distribute animals to reduce risk.


Cr-rich spinels obtained from drill cores in the margins of heavily altered basaltic sills and flows contain a wealth of petrological information about the host magmas that crystallized them. These host igneous units, cored during Leg 127 of the Ocean Drilling Program in the Japan Sea, underwent extensive hydrothermal alteration that makes petrogenetic interpretations difficult. Most spinels in these samples exhibit minor or no zoning and are similar in composition to others reported from mid-ocean ridge basalt and backarc basin basalt tholeiites. Most show a range in Cr/(Cr + Al) of 0.26 to 0.62, a range in Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) of 0.53 to 0.68, low TiO2 (<0.7%), and low Fe3+/(Cr + Al + Fe3+) (<O.l), which is consistent with crystallization from a tholeiitic liquid at a magmatic oxygen fugacity 2 log units or more below the nickel-nickel oxide oxygen buffer. By recasting the composition of these spinels in terms of an ideal reciprocal solution model and by deriving a AGEx for spinel-liquid Mg-Fe2+ exchange, direct determination of magmatic Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) is possible. The compositions of these Leg 127 spinels clearly show that some units underwent syn- and post-eruption enrichment in Mg/(Mg + Fe2+) during hydrothermal alteration and diagenesis. This study proves that Cr-spinel is a unique and powerful tool for deciphering the original magmatic characteristics of heavily altered basalts.


This work presents the development of an ultrasonic system for inspecting adhesive joints, using the pulseecho mode. In order to test the proposed system, a real pipe section made with fiberglass reinforced epoxy resin composite, purposely containing disbonds, was provided by PETROBRAS oil company. A mechanical structure embraces the tube, allowing for rotational and translational movements of the transducer along the outer surface of the joint. The ultrasound transducer was coupled to the joint by flowing tap water. Two step motors, one moving linearly and the other moving angularly, were controlled by a specifically developed hardware, which generates the control pulses and the trigger signal to synchronize the ultrasonic emission. The hardware was connected to a PC through an RS-232C interface, and a software was implemented to control the hardware through a based protocol. Ultrasonic pulses are emitted, received and amplified using a pulser/receiver. An A/D converter board was plugged into the PC and the software controled the acquisition. It is possible to observe the acquired signals in A-, Band Cscans using the visualization software. Tests were carried out by using a 2-MHz ultrasonic transducer to inspect four joints. In order to verify the capability of detecting defects at poor resolutions, C-scan images were acquired using three different spatial discretizations (2, 4 and 6 mm). Moreover, for comparison purposes, a 5-MHz ultrasonic transducer was used to inspect one of those joints. This higher frequency transducer results in higher resolution. However, the smaller attenuation at 2 MHz makes it easier to find returning echoes, especially when dealing with the composite, which is an extremely lossy material. The ultrasonic technique has viability to inspect adhesive joints since it was capable of detecting the inserted defects.


Recently an oxidation and reduction cycle of metals has been proposed as alternative for liquid fuel combustion. Out of several possible metals iron is an interesting candidate because the oxide does not form making it more easy to develop a cyclic process. As a first building block towards a computation or particle dust clouds here a computational model for the combustion of a single iron particle is developed. During high temperature oxidation of iron particle both iron and iron oxide remain in solid form and the combustion occurs in the form of a reaction zone at the interface between iron core and iron oxide outer layer. Because of the difference in density of iron and iron oxide the particle grows in size during the combustion process. The conversion can be either oxygen diffusion limited or kinetically limited depending on the temperature. After ignition the process is mainly diffusion limited. The model is developed for the case of a spherically symmetric particle. It consists of the transient transport equations of oxygen and of energy with boundary conditions for oxygen concentration and radiative heat flux to the surroundings. These are solved using finite difference and finite volume methods on a one-dimensional computational domain with radial coordinate as independent variable. A submodel is developed for the evolution of the reaction zone in the case of diffusion limited reaction. In this model the amount of oxygen available for reaction is obtained using penetration theory applied on the scale of the thin reaction layer. Particle volume increase is also included. The model is implemented in Matlab. Using the model combustion of particles with diameter in the range 2 tot 12 micrometer and for different levels of oxygen level and temperature of the surroundings is computed. The results show the development of oxygen concentration and temperature profiles over time and lead to the prediction of particle degree of oxidation over time. The evolving particle peak temperature results from the competition between heat loss to the surroundings and heat gain from the oxidation reaction. The radial temperature profile is nearly flat due to the high thermal conductivity. The predicted life-time of the particles is in agreement with experimental observations in the literature. The following observations are potentially important for process development: the combustion of the last 10% is slow due to the combined effects of particle cooling and oxygen diffusion limitation through an oxide layer of growing thickness. The energy released by combustion ends up in the sensible heat of the oxide and the gaseous surroundings. Energy efficient heat recovery should take the balance between these two heat sources into account.


Since it has small field of view and only records the light intension of scene, the regular optical imaging system is short of immersion and stereo vision. The needs for stereo apperception and recurrence of large field of view scene are emerging due to the development of robot navigation technology and virtual reality technology. Some panoramic stereo imaging technologies have been developed under the drive of optoelectronics and computer vision and graphics. In this paper, a new method to construct cylindrical image-based virtual space (IBVS) automatically with smooth quadric convex curved mirror catadioptric imaging is proposed, and the projection transformation with conic reflection surface and telecentric lens is described in detail. The method to transform pixel point at image plane taken by camera into field of view image along gaze direction in cylindrical IBVS is given. The prototype instrument of system is designed, and its hardware implementation is given. The experiment result shows that the instrument can construct real-time IBVS that has wide field of view and better imaging effect. The method would enhance the capability of surveillance and reconnaissance and self defense in battlefield


The Witnesses of Jehovah is a religious community posing special problems because of their religions conviction which objects to transfusions of blood or blood products. Six patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (one adult and 5 children) are presented. We obtained permission for blood transfusion in four children without resorting to legal pressures which, on the hand, are non-existent in Mexico.


ABSTRACT Introduction: Prior research suggests that racial minority groups in the United States are more vulnerable to develop a gambling disorder than whites. However, no national survey on gambling disorders exists that has focused on ethnic differences. Methods: Analyses of this study were based on the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a large (N=43,093) nationally representative survey of the adult (≥18 years of age) population residing in house-holds during 2001–2002 period. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition-Text Revision diagnoses of pathological gambling, mood, anxiety, drug use, and personality disorders were based on the Alcohol Use Disorder and Associated Disabilities Interview Schedule-DSM-IVVersion. Results: Prevalence rates of disordered gambling among blacks (2.2%) and Native/Asian Americans (2.3%) were higher than that of whites (1.2%). Demographic characteristics and psychiatric comorbidity differed among Hispanic, black, and white disordered gamblers. However, all racial and ethnic groups evidenced similarities with respect to symptom patterns, time course, and treatment seeking for pathological gambling. Conclusion: The prevalence of disordered gambling, but not its onset or course of symptoms, varies by racial and ethnic group. These varying prevalence rates may reflect, at least in part, cultural differences in gambling and its acceptability and accessibility. These data may inform the need for targeted prevention strategies for high-risk racial and ethnic groups.


Abstract Motivation Plasma ionization is rapidly gaining popularity for mass spectrometry (MS)-based studies of volatiles and aerosols. However, data from plasma ionization are delicate to interpret as competing ionization pathways in the plasma create numerous ion species. There is no tool for detection of adducts and in-source fragments from plasma ionization data yet, which makes data evaluation ambiguous. Summary We developed DBDIpy, a Python library for processing and formal analysis of untargeted, time-sensitive plasma ionization MS datasets. Its core functionality lies in the identification of in-source fragments and identification of rivaling ionization pathways of the same analytes in time-sensitive datasets. It further contains elementary functions for processing of untargeted metabolomics data and interfaces to an established ecosystem for analysis of MS data in Python. Availability and implementation DBDIpy is implemented in Python (Version ≥ 3.7) and can be downloaded from PyPI the Python package repository (https://pypi.org/project/DBDIpy) or from GitHub (https://github.com/leopold-weidner/DBDIpy). Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.


The goal of unsupervised learning algorithms is to discover concise yet informative representations of large data sets; the minimum description length principle and exploratory projection pursuit are two representative attempts to formalize this notion. When implemented with neural networks, both suggest the minimization of entropy at the network's output as an objective for unsupervised learning.
The empirical computation of entropy or its derivative with respect to parameters of a neural network unfortunately requires explicit knowledge of the local data density; this information is typically not available when learning from data samples. This dissertation discusses and applies three methods for making density information accessible in a neural network: parametric modelling, probabilistic networks, and nonparametric estimation.
By imposing their own structure on the data, parametric density models implement impoverished but tractable forms of entropy such as the log-variance. We have used this method to improve the adaptive dynamics of an anti-Hebbian learning rule which has proven successful in extracting disparity from random stereograms.
In probabilistic networks, node activities are interpreted as the defining parameters of a stochastic process. The entropy of the process can then be calculated from its parameters, and hence optimized. The popular logistic activation function defines a binomial process in this manner; by optimizing the information gain of this process we derive a novel nonlinear Hebbian learning algorithm.
The nonparametric technique of Parzen window or kernel density estimation leads us to an entropy optimization algorithm in which the network adapts in response to the distance between pairs of data samples. We discuss distinct implementations for data-limited or memory-limited operation, and describe a maximum likelihood approach to setting the kernel shape, the regularizer for this technique. This method has been applied with great success to the problem of pose alignment in computer vision.
These experiments demonstrate a range of techniques that allow neural networks to learn concise representations of empirical data by minimizing its entropy. We have found that simple gradient descent in various entropy-based objective functions can lead to novel and useful algorithms for unsupervised neural network learning.


Abstract From the late 1890s through the 1920s, a new set of nonprofit, business-funded organizations spearheaded an American campaign against commercial duplicity. These new organizations shaped the legal terrain of fraud, built massive public-education campaigns, and created a private law-enforcement capacity to rival that of the federal government. Largely born out of a desire among business elites to fend off proposals for extensive regulatory oversight of commercial speech, the antifraud crusade grew into a social movement that was influenced by prevailing ideas about social hygiene and emerging techniques of private governance. This initiative highlighted some enduring strengths of business self-regulation, such as agility in responding to regulatory problems; it also revealed a key weakness, which was the tendency to overlook deceptive marketing when practiced by firms that were members of the business establishment.


Tetrapyrroles such as chlorophyll and heme are indispensable for life because they are involved in energy fixation and consumption, i.e. photosynthesis and oxidative phosphorylation. In eukaryotes, the tetrapyrrole biosynthetic pathway is shaped by past endosymbioses. We investigated the origins and predicted locations of the enzymes of the heme pathway in the chlorarachniophyte Bigelowiella natans, the cryptophyte Guillardia theta, the "green" dinoflagellate Lepidodinium chlorophorum, and three dinoflagellates with diatom endosymbionts ("dinotoms"): Durinskia baltica, Glenodinium foliaceum and Kryptoperidinium foliaceum. Bigelowiella natans appears to contain two separate heme pathways analogous to those found in Euglena gracilis; one is predicted to be mitochondrial-cytosolic, while the second is predicted to be plastid-located. In the remaining algae, only plastid-type tetrapyrrole synthesis is present, with a single remnant of the mitochondrial-cytosolic pathway, a ferrochelatase of G. theta putatively located in the mitochondrion. The green dinoflagellate contains a single pathway composed of mostly rhodophyte-origin enzymes, and the dinotoms hold two heme pathways of apparently plastidal origin. We suggest that heme pathway enzymes in B. natans and L. chlorophorum share a predominantly rhodophytic origin. This implies the ancient presence of a rhodophyte-derived plastid in the chlorarachniophyte alga, analogous to the green dinoflagellate, or an exceptionally massive horizontal gene transfer.


We consider the problem of estimating the optimal reconstruction levels of a quantizer, such as an analog-to-digital converter. A probabilistic transfer function model is applied for the quantizer. Two different assumptions are made for the transfer function, and an estimator based on order statistics is applied. The estimator turns out to give give better results in terms of mean square error than the commonly applied sample mean. The Cramér-Rao lower bound for the estimation problem is also considered, and simulation results indicate that the derived estimator is asymptotically efficient.


Objective: To note the factors linked with delayed diagnosis of congenital heart diseases (CHDs) among children. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Pediatric Cardiology, National Institute of Cardiovascular Diseases, Karachi, Pakistan. Period: September 2022 to February 2023. Material & Methods: We analyzed children aged up to 15 years who presented for the first time with echocardiographic evidence for the diagnosis of CHDs. Socio-demographic data along with clinical information like gender, age, residential status, maternal education status, history of maternal fetal echocardiography and the frequency of delayed diagnosis of CHDs were noted on a specially made proforma. Parent or guardians were asked for possible reasons of delayed diagnosis for CHDs. Results: In a total of 250 children, the mean age was 2.33±3.81 years while 162 (64.8%) children were aged below 2 years. There were 138 (55.2%) boys. Residential status of 159 (63.6%) children was rural while maternal educational status of 99 (39.6%) was illiterate. There were 164 (65.6%) children who were diagnosed to have cyanotic CHDs while 86 (34.4%) had acyanotic CHDs. Frequency of delayed diagnosis was noted among 182 (72.8%) children. In these 182 cases, delayed first consultation was the commonest factor behind delayed diagnosis noted in 78 (42.9%) children while missed diagnosis by the pediatrician was the 2nd most common factors linked with the delayed diagnosis of CHDs as described by 62 (34.1%) parents. Conclusion: Almost 3/4th of the studied children had delayed diagnosis of CHDs while cyanotic CHDs were the most common CHD types. Delayed first consultant and missed diagnosis by the pediatrician were the most common factors linked with delayed diagnosis of CHDs.


Introduction Efforts to find better adjuvant in regional anesthesia are underway since long. Dexmedetomidine is a new alpha-2 adrenergic agonist with an ability to provide postoperative analgesia. Our aim was to assess the efficacy of Dexmedetomidine as an analgesic through epidural route with special emphasis on its sedative property and other side effects. Methods and Materials A prospective randomized double blinded study was carried out with informed written consent after Institutional Review Board approval from June, 2016 to October, 2017; in 60 volunteer patients suffering from end stage renal diseases and posted for open renal transplantation. ASA physical status III and IV were randomly divided into two groups. Group-I (G1) was Levobupivacaine + Dexmedetomidine (LD) and Group-II (G2) was only Levobupivacaine (L). Each group had 30 patients. Injection (Inj.) Levobupivacaine, 10ml of 0.25%, was administered epidurally in both the groups before incision of the surgery. 1 &mgr;g/kg of Dexmedetomidine was added to levobupivacaine10 ml of 0.25% in LD group while only Inj. Levobupivacaine was administered epidurally in L group at the time of skin closure of the surgical wound. Cardio-respiratory parameters, modified Ramsay sedation scores, VAS score for pain, time to first rescue analgesic and number of analgesic doses required in first 24 hours were recorded. At the end of study, The data obtained was subjected to statistical computation with analysis of variance and chi-square test using statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 10.0 for windows and value of P < 0.05 was considered significant and P < 0.001 as highly significant. Results The demographic profile of patients was comparable in both the groups.No. of doses of analgesics in first 24 hours were also less required in G1, 1.80±0.48 than G2 2.60±0.56 (p<0.01).Postoperative analgesia (time to first rescue analgesia) was prolonged significantly in G1, 631.27±116.47 minutes than only G2, 186.33±28.18 minutes (p<0.01).Postoperative sedation was observed in G1 group for initial period which was beneficial to the patients.Incidence of side effects observed were minimum and non-significant in both the groups. Conclusions Dexmedetomidine seems to be a good epidural adjuvant to local analgesic as far as patient comfort, stable cardio-respiratory parameters and post-operative analgesia is concerned. It provides prolonged post-op analgesia, lower consumption of post-op analgesics, and much better sedation levels. Figure. No caption available. Figure. No caption available. Figure. No caption available. Figure. No caption available.


2-Mercaptoethanesulfonate (mesna) is a nontoxic drug which upon intravenous and oral administration effectively prevents urothelial toxicity in cancer patients treated with oxazaphosphorines. Mesna is rapidly oxidized to dimesna in the blood. It is then taken up by kidney tubular cells in which it is reduced and excreted into the urine as mesna where it reacts with toxic metabolites. We have observed that mesna, but not dimesna, may inhibit growth of several human malignant cell lines in vitro. Some are extremely sensitive, whereas others are more or less resistant. It was found that 2/4 relatively resistant human bladder cancer cell lines turned sensitive upon repeated administrations of mesna and 5/5 cell lines appeared to be sensitive to mesna when grown in serum-free medium. The results seem to provide an explanation of the remarkable positive clinical effects of prolonged oral mesna treatment in patients with superficial bladder cancer.


Hyperkeratosis of nipple is uncommon, benign, asymptomatic, acquired condition of unknown pathogenesis. Most cases are bilateral, although unilateral cases had been reported. Breastfeeding is usually not affected. Physiologic changes of the nipple and areola during pregnancy include enlargement, hyperpigmentation, secondary areolae, erectile nipples, prominence of veins, striae, and enlargement of the Montgomery glands or tubercles (hypertrophied sebaceous glands). Women with unilateral primary hyperkeratosis of the nipple and/or areola may have bilateral disease during pregnancy (secondary hyperkeratosis of the nipple and/or areola). Pregnancy may also produce thicker, darker lesions. Here, we report a case of pregnancy-associated hyperkeratosis of nipple in a primigravida. We counseled her about benign nature of the condition and treated her with topical steroids and moisturizers.


Lucy Hutchinson's religious commitments inform her writing across its variety of genres. Critics and historians have tended to identify her as a Baptist, following the rejection of infant baptism that she records in her biography of her husband, John Hutchinson. But the recent publication of her theological writings allows for a more complicated account of her changing religious views. In the Life, Lucy Hutchinson showed how her husband's theological commitments radicalized after the Restoration. His turn away from Protestant scholasticism towards a more independent engagement with the Bible facilitated his investigation of millennial theory. After his death, Lucy Hutchinson continued this autonomous theological exploration, and moved further from the orthodox mainstream. After the mid-1660s, she prepared a sequence of theological writings that evidence her increasingly eclectic religious style. These documents suggest that she did not resolve some of her most dramatic movements away from Reformed orthodoxy. In these writings, Hutchinson negotiated a critical distance from her husband's legacy, the Reformed confessional tradition, and the options available in any of the available dissenting congregations.


The continued development of robots has enabled their wider usage in human surroundings. Robots are more trusted to make increasingly important decisions with potentially critical outcomes. Therefore, it is essential to consider the ethical principles under which robots operate. In this paper we examine how contrastive and non-contrastive explanations can be used in understanding the ethics of robot action plans. We build upon an existing ethical framework to allow users to make suggestions about plans and receive automatically generated contrastive explanations. Results of a user study indicate that the generated explanations help humans to understand the ethical principles that underlie a robot's plan.


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This study investigates the pozzolanic properties of the volcanic ash (VA) obtained from Dutsin Dushowa in Kerang,Plateau State. Chemical analysis of the VA obtained in the study area was carried out to determine the oxide contents.Tests on some physical properties (specific gravity, fineness, soundness, consistency, water requirement and setting times -initial and final) of the VA and VA-blended cement samples were also carried out.The resultshows a Silicon  dioxide  (SiO2)content  of  41.13%  and  a  total  Silicon  dioxide,  Iron  oxide,  and  Aluminium  oxide     (SiO +Fe O +Al O ) content of 70.99%. The VA sample has a specific gravity of 2.65 kg/m3and the VA-blended cement was noted to be finer than the control cement. The soundness of the VA-blended cement ranged between 1.5 and 4.5 for replacement levels of 0% to 30%. The consistency increased from 30.0% to 31.5% as VA substitution increase from 0% to 30%. The water required for a standard consistency was noted to increase as the VA content increased. The initial and final setting times increased from 50 to 105 minutes and 135 to 180 minutes respectively for this replacement levels. All the VA-blended cements thereby satisfy the various code requirements up to the 30% replacement levels, hence suitable for use in concrete.


PURPOSE
To study the 24-hour changes in axial length, lens thickness, and anterior chamber depth in rabbits and to examine the role of ocular sympathetic activity on these changes.

METHODS
Young adult rabbits were entrained to a daily 12-hour light-12-hour dark cycle. Axial length, lens thickness, and anterior chamber depth were measured using ultrasonic techniques. In the first group of 12 rabbits, measurements were taken in the middle light phase and in the early dark phase. In the second group of 12 rabbits, measurements were taken in constant dark every 2 hours for a period of 24 hours. The latter group of rabbits underwent unilateral transection of the cervical sympathetic trunk. Three to four weeks later, axial length, lens thickness, and anterior chamber depth were measured again in constant dark every 2 hours for 24 hours.

RESULTS
Under the light- dark condition, axial length and anterior chamber depth were larger in the early dark phase than in the middle light phase. Lens thickness changed in the opposite direction. Under the constant-dark condition, axial length and anterior chamber depth changed gradually during the 24-hour period. The trough appeared in the late subjective light phase, and the peak appeared in the late subjective dark phase. Lens thickness remained relatively constant. In the eyes with decentralized ocular sympathetic nerves, 24-hour changes in axial length and anterior chamber depth occurred. However, magnitudes of nocturnal enlargement were relatively smaller than those in the intact eyes. Although larger in the decentralized eyes, lens thickness appeared unchanged in either eye for 24 hours.

CONCLUSIONS
Consistent 24-hour changes in axial length and anterior chamber depth occur in young adult rabbits. These changes are driven endogenously. Significant portions of the nocturnal enlargements of axial length and anterior chamber depth are unrelated to ocular sympathetic activity.


Practice monographs are curious things. Leaving aside the vexed question of what audience they are created for, the general model is retrospective, presenting a completed oeuvre; there is however an increasing interest in process, in how a designer goes about their work. Like breaking the diktat of the Magic Circle, there is a vulnerability in showing the workings: the laying bare constructs a concrete and explicit methodology from what might, in the reality of the studio, be much more nuanced. Vogt Landscape Architects is a practice founded by Gunther Vogt, professor of landscape architecture at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), with offices in Zurich, Munich and London. Distance and Engagement is authored by Alice Foxley, head of Vogt's newly created "search and research" arm, and contains a foreword by Gunther Vogt. Distance and Engagement is quite a different beast from the usual monograph. Jacketed in a formal Helvetic grey tweed, the elegant interior deploys photography (mainly monochrome), sketches, maps and diagrams, with almost no digitally produced drawing work. Foxley states in her introduction that the subject of the book is "the synthesis of personal experience and its transformation into criteria for landscape architecture" — this is a book about working process, a fascinating insight into the methods and approach of one of Europe's most interesting landscape design practices. The practice makes much use of thoroughly researched and documented field trips, and some of these — trips to the Yorkshire Dales, the Swiss Upper Rhine and Vauban defences in France — are documented in the book. Intertwined with these excursions are the preparatory designs and rationale for a half-dozen examples of realised and unrealised design projects, including Vogt's work for the settings of the Novartis campus in Basel, the forthcoming landscape around Tate Modern, and the abandoned scheme for London's Parliament Square. For Vogt, the process of design restates highly traditional disciplinary skills — the landscapist as something of an athletic polymath, researching and planning routes, walking equipped with rock-axe, flower press and signalmirror. Making reference to Ruskin's admiration of JM Turner, the experience of being immersed in landscape is presented as a connection between the field trips and the projects, some of which become quite explicitly linked. Other studio tasks include extensive physical modelling, hand drawing and the maintenance of a culturally diverse library. Both the book and, one realises, the work are resolutely didactic, resembling at times a school geology textbook interspersed with an old-school structuralist fascination with taxonomy, typologies and linguistics (Foxley reproduces Richard Serra's Verb List, and augments it with a glossary, intended to "invite readers into the cosmos of discussion at Vogt Landscape Architects"). The issue of how design reconciles itself with context and reference comes to the fore — how does one retrieve meaning when working with specific sites and cultural conditions? Here the practice's use of models comes in to play. Models are, for Foxley, simultaneously "representative" and "out of context", enabling the designer to escape the immediately available tyranny of context, and work instead with latent or hidden conditions, obscured by urban development. Models are used as the key design tools, from scale models which are then photographed from a walker's perspective, through to 1:1 models or created sections and mock-ups. The Novartis Campus Park is perhaps the most explicit example, modelling the introspective and exclusive world of the pharma campus on the post-glacial Rhine Valley. Vogt's landscape works are pretty awkward to access and experience at first hand — the Novartis campus for example is strictly private. Its oeuvre, from what I have seen, is well-considered and rich but the book, though elegant, presents the design process in strangely dry and reductive terms. For me the combination of "radical subjectivity" plus science wilfully ignores the real task of creating landscapes that respond to human situations, in which there seems to be little stated interest. While the modelling process is refreshingly physical, it is trapped by formal analogy and therefore struggles to rise above these desiderata. Distance and Engagement is useful as a studio resource and as an insight into a very particular technique, but as a manifesto for the discipline I find it perversely conservative at a time where huge challenges confront both our landscapes and the designer's role. DISTANCE AND ENGAGEMENT: WALKING, THINKING AND MAKING LANDSCAPE By Alice Foxley/Vogt Lars Muller, 480pp, HB £50. ★★★✩✩ BOOK


Importance
COVID-19 is associated with systemic vascular damage; however, the risk posed to the retinal vasculature remains incompletely understood.

Objective
To assess if there is a change in the incidence of retinal vascular occlusions after COVID-19 infection.

Design, Setting, and Participants
This cohort study at an integrated health care organization (Kaiser Permanente Southern California) included patients without a history of retinal vascular occlusion who were diagnosed with COVID-19 infection between January 20, 2020, and May 31, 2021. Patients were excluded if they had a history of retinal artery occlusions (RAOs) or retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) more than 6 months before their COVID-19 diagnosis or if they were enrolled in Kaiser Permanente Southern California for less than 6 months before COVID-19 diagnosis.

Exposures
COVID-19 infection.

Main Outcomes and Measures
The change in the average biweekly incidence of new RAOs and RVOs after COVID-19 diagnosis. Adjusted incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated to compare the incidence of retinal vascular occlusions before and after COVID-19 diagnosis after accounting for baseline demographic characteristics, medical history, and hospitalization.

Results
A total of 432 515 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 infection were included in this study. The mean (SD) age was 40.9 (19.2) years, and 231 767 patients (53.6%) were women. Sixteen patients had an RAO (crude incidence rate, 3.00 per 1 000 000 patients), and 65 had an RVO (crude incidence rate, 12.20 per 1 000 000 patients) in the 6 months after COVID-19 diagnosis. The incidence of new RVOs was higher in the 6 months after COVID-19 infection compared with the 6 months before infection after adjusting for age; sex; self-reported race and ethnicity; body mass index; history of diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia; and hospitalization (adjusted IRR, 1.54; 95% CI, 1.05-2.26; P = .03). There was a smaller increase in the incidence of RAOs after COVID-19 diagnosis (IRR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.64-2.85; P = .44). The peak incidence of RAOs and RVOs occurred 10 to 12 weeks and 6 to 8 weeks after COVID-19 diagnosis, respectively.

Conclusions and Relevance
The findings of this study suggest that there was an increase in the incidence of RVOs after COVID-19 infection; however, these events remain rare, and in the absence of randomized controls, a cause-and-effect relationship cannot be established. Further large, epidemiologic studies are warranted to better define the association between retinal thromboembolic events and COVID-19 infection.


A 5-year-old boy presented with disseminated, partly grouped blisters indicative of chronic bullous dermatosis of childhood (CBDC) following a gastrointestinal infection 2 weeks earlier. CBDC has long been differentiated from adult linear IgA disease. Clinical and laboratory studies revealed substantial clinical and immunological overlap between the two blistering disorders, whereas recent investigations suggest heterogeneity of the target antigen involved. Pathohistological and immunofluorescence-microscopical characteristics of a subepidermal blister and linear IgA and granular C3 deposition at the basement membrane together with the typical history and clinical signs were decisive in the differential diagnosis. The disease promptly cleared up after daily administration of 16 mg methylprednisolone-21-acetate tapering and 25 mg dapsone. Immunohistological detection of collagen IV at the base of a blister made it possible to localize the split above the lamina densa. The demonstration of collagen IV stresses the importance of immunodermatopathology in the differential diagnosis of subepidermal blistering diseases.


This paper describes a new approach for backtracing analog signals in a circuit. The process of backtracing involves finding the input signal to an analog circuit, from knowledge of its input-output behavior and the desired output signal. While previous approaches rely on the transformation of nodal equations of the circuit to accomplish backtrace, the proposed approach derives the input signal using feedback and forward simulation of a modified circuit. Hence any commercial circuit simulator can be used to the implement the backtrace function. DC convergence conditions for the proposed backtrace approach are derived and it is shown that in the absence of hard nonlinearities, the proposed approach converges to the final solution at a quadratic rate. Application of the backtrace approach to DC verification and test of analog circuits is discussed.


Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and substance use are intersecting health problems that adversely impact sexual and reproductive health outcomes for women seeking care at family planning (FP) clinics. We aimed to characterize whether and how FP clinic providers (1) assessed for IPV and substance use and (2) combined IPV and substance use assessments. Methods: Providers and patients (female, 18-29 years old, English speaking) at four FP clinics participating in a larger randomized controlled trial on provider communication skills were eligible. Providers received training on universal education, a research-informed IPV assessment approach. Visits were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim, and coded by two independent coders. We used inductive and deductive coding to assess providers' communication approaches and examined codes for patterns and categories. We then converted these approaches into variables to calculate frequencies among recorded visits. Results: Ninety-eight patient-provider encounters were analyzed. In almost all encounters (90/98), providers assessed for IPV. Many providers adopted best practice IPV assessment techniques, such as universal education (68/98) and normalizing/framing statements (45/98). Tobacco use screening was common (70/98), but alcohol (17/98) and other drug use screening (17/98) were rare. In only one encounter did a provider discuss IPV and substance use as intersecting health problems. Conclusion: This study provides insight on how FP clinicians, as key providers for millions of women in the United States, assess patients for IPV and substance use. Results show providers' willingness to adopt IPV universal education messaging and demonstrate room for improvement in substance use assessments and integrated discussions of IPV and substance use. Trial Registration Number: NCT01459458.


The distance transform (DT) is a general operator forming the basis of many methods in computer vision and geometry, with great potential for practical applications. However, all the optimal algorithms for the computation of the exact Euclidean DT (EDT) were proposed only since the 1990s. In this work, state-of-the-art sequential 2D EDT algorithms are reviewed and compared, in an effort to reach more solid conclusions regarding their differences in speed and their exactness. Six of the best algorithms were fully implemented and compared in practice.


In the present work, an effort has been made to compare the properties of the composites prepared by reinforcing pure aluminium metal with varying percentage of Coconut Shell Ash and SiC particles. The composites were prepared using stir casting process with bottom pouring at a pre-set melting temperature and stirring speed. The produced composites were then studied for mechanical properties like hardness, density etc. It was noticed from the results, that the inclusion of ash and ceramic particles has a significant influence on the mechanical properties but will make the composites brittle.


We describe tomographic integration of visible and IR projections to form 3D models of object spaces. 3D modeling is a computationally efficient means of multiple sensor data reduction and a robust means of scene analysis. We consider how imaging system design might be revised to obtain 3D data and present experimental data from a compact interferometric coherence imaging system. We experimentally and theoretically analyze 3D reconstructions of macroscopic objects, focusing in particular on the reconstruction of an automobile using a conventional camera.


RF deep hyperthermia systems make use of phased arrays of applicators in order to heat tumors selectively while maintaining healthy tissue at normal temperatures. A new method for the array synthesis is proposed based on the identification of targets to be heated (tumors) and targets to be prevented from excess electromagnetic radiation. The best array feed for each target is found from the solution of the eigenvector problem for a positive definite Hermitian matrix defined for that target. The optimal feed in a global sense then results from a trade-off of the best feeds of individual targets enforced through minimization of an objective function aimed at weighting the distances of the globally optimal feed from the feed vectors optimized for each target separately. An application to the heating of a pelvis is provided as an example.


Still very much terra incognita, grain shape has the potential to evaluate sedimentary transport, provenance, and depositional environments. There are several standard measures of grain shape. The results revealed that, the soil is non-uniformly graded with tortuous pore geometry due to overlaying layers, even though the grain size varied from granular grained size to medium grained. Therefore the soil under study is not easily moved by transporting medium. Also, there is significant effect of redox potential (ORP) on the electron availability of nitrate and the tested heavy metals (Cd, Ni, Pb, and Cu) were below detection limit of analytical equipment. The least reduced conditions occurred in stations; 2 (control), 3, 6, 15, 18 and 19 with minimum values of 99 to 110 mv. The absence of significant fungi populations in the soil indicates that the soils have no potential to biodegrade hydrocarbons when they are released into the environment.


The paper discusses construction of the image of a Russian in Polish common discourse. Investigated are diaries and memoirs written by Poles between the 16 th and 20 th centuries. The main goal of this diachronic study is to show complexity of the Polish image of a Russian that should be seen as the image of a brother who appears an enemy and the image of an enemy who is a brother. The feeling of brotherhood derives from common Slavic roots of both nations. The sense of hostility arises as an effect of the permanent political and military conflict between the two countries. The elaboration of the Polish image of a Russian reconciles the contradictions through the process of construing a stereotype of a Russian from different points of view (collective and individual, "a coloniser" and "a colonised"), placing the figure of Russian variably in the centre or on peripheries of prototypical categories of "an enemy" or "a brother". The contradictory images of a Russian are deeply rooted in the Polish common unconscious or subconscious.


Background In migration and health research, the healthy migrant effect has been a common finding, but it usually pertains to specific contexts only. Existing findings are inconsistent and inconclusive regarding the cognitive functioning of the (aging) foreign-origin population relative to the populations of their host and sending countries. Moreover, this comparison is an understudied design setting. Objective We analyze the outcomes and associations of cognitive functioning outcomes of the non-institutionalized middle-aged and older population, comparing the Russian-origin population in Estonia with Estonians in Estonia and Russians in Russia in a cross-sectional design. We aim to estimate the (long-term) effects of migration on cognitive functioning in later life, contextualizing the findings in previous research on the healthy migrant effect. Data and methods We use data from face-to-face interviews conducted within the SHARE Estonia (2010–2011) and SAGE Russia (2007–2010) surveys. Respondents aged 50+ living in urban areas were grouped by self-identified ethnicity, including 2,365 Estonians, 1,373 Russians in Estonia, and 2,339 Russians in Russia (total N = 6,077). Cognitive functioning was measured using a 25-percentile cut-off threshold for the results of two cognition outcomes - immediate recall and verbal fluency - and the odds of impairment were estimated using binary logistic regression. Results Russian men and women living in Estonia have significantly higher odds of impairment in immediate recall than Estonian men and women, though they do not differ from Russians in Russia in the final adjusted models. The differences between all groups are non-significant if age at migration is considered. There are no significant differences between the groups in verbal fluency. Conclusion Contrary to the commonly found healthy migrant effect, the middle-aged and older foreign-origin population in Estonia fares initially worse than the native population in the immediate recall outcome, but does not differ from their sending country population, possibly due to Russia's higher mortality rate and therefore the selective survival of healthier people. Different results depending on the cognitive functioning outcome suggest that migration may affect temporary memory more than crystallized knowledge. However, there are no differences between the groups if defined based on age at migration, which suggests that the age profile differences explain most of the groups' differences in cognitive functioning.


Introduction: Many sporting activities require both vertical jumping in combination with agility. Yet, both vertical jumping and agility can be executed either bilaterally or unilaterally.Problem Statement and Approach:There exist no literature exploring the association between unilateral agility with vertical jump performance variables.Thus, the purpose of this study was todetermine associationsand predictive ability between performance measures during unilateral and bilateral vertical countermovement jumpswith unilateral agility measures.Material and Method: Thirty recreationally active adults participated in two non-consecutive sessions. During the first session,participants completed three trials of right-sideunilateral countermovement jumps, left-side unilateral countermovement jumps, and bilateral countermovement jumpsin a randomized order. All jumps were performed akimbo, on force platforms, withthirty seconds of rest between trials. During the second session,participantscompleted two distinct unilateral agilitymaneuvers:single leg up three-back one and single leg cross hops, and were given two trials for each maneuver with thirty seconds rest between trials. The average of all completed trials for all countermovement jumps and agility maneuvers were used for statistical analysis. Spearman'sR correlation were used to find significant associations between completion time for the agility maneuvers and jump height, peak force, relative force, peak power, relative peak power, and landing force for all countermovement jumpconditions. Results:There were significant correlations between the cross hop and up three-back one agility maneuver completion time with countermovement jump height, peak force, peak power, relative peak power, and landing force during both unilateral and bilateral jumps. Conclusions:There appears to be an association between certain performance measures during bilateral and unilateral countermovement jumpsand unilateral agility. Peak power and landing force assist in predicting unilateral agility completion time. Therefore, coaches may desire to implement unilateral jumping with individuals necessitating single leg agility to complete their desired exercise or sport activity.


Evaluates the advantages of reconfigurable optical interconnects within massively parallel systems due to their ability to provide versatile application-dependent network configurations. Furthermore, they are being considered as alternatives to electronic interconnects within high-performance computers because of their advantages of high bandwidth, low wire density and low power requirement at high data rates. Fiber optic interconnects based on wavelength division multiplexing and free-space holographic interconnects are two classes of optical interconnects that can support network reconfiguration. Using computer vision applications, the authors compare these two classes of optical interconnects with electronic interconnects taking into account the combined effects of link speeds, link latencies, system size, message size and network topologies feasible with current implementation capabilities.<<ETX>>


Children's participation in youth sport is ubiquitous in UK society, yet high levels of attrition are evident in adolescence (Department for Culture, Media and Sport, 2012a). This attrition has been credited, in part, to questionable coaching behaviours that derogate children's experiences in youth sport. Using self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, 2000; Ryan & Deci, 2000, 2002) as a guiding framework, the purpose of this thesis was to better understand the coach-related antecedents of children's adherence and attrition in youth sport by examining the motivational processes that contribute to their engagement versus disaffection. In study one, children's perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness, or psychological need satisfaction, were examined alongside in their tendency to exhibit high levels of cognitive and affective engagement. In study two, a mediation model was tested whereby coach autonomy support and control were hypothesised to exhibit positive indirect effects on children's engagement and disaffection in youth sport respectively via both psychological need satisfaction and psychological need thwarting. In study three, the previous study was replicated and extended with three waves of data. The final study of this thesis examined the interaction of coach autonomy support and structure to extend the findings of the previous studies. Overall, the findings suggest that structure and autonomy support from coaches will help to safeguard children's adherence to youth sport because they jointly facilitate psychological need satisfaction and engagement. In contrast, control from coaches is likely to lead to children's attrition in youth sport since such provisions undermine the psychological needs and produce disaffection.


In this paper we investigate the problem of finding minimum-delay application-layer multicast trees, such as the trees constructed in overlay networks. It is accepted that shortest path trees are not a good solution for the problem since such trees can have nodes with very large degree, termed high-load nodes. The load on these nodes makes them a bottleneck in the distribution tree, due to computation load and access link bandwidth constraints. Many previous solutions limited the maximum degree of the nodes by introducing arbitrary constraints. In this work, we show how to directly map the node load to the delay penalty at the application host, and create a new model that captures the trade offs between the desire to select shortest path trees and the need to constrain the load on the hosts. In this model the problem is shown to be NP-hard. We therefore present an approximation algorithm and an alternative heuristic algorithm. Our heuristic algorithm is shown by simulations to be scalable for large group sizes, and produces results that are very close to optimal


Hydatidiform mole (H. mole), a gestational trophoblastic disease, is common in the Philippines. In general, the differentiation between complete hydatidiform mole and partial hydatidiform mole is based on morphologic evaluation via routine H&E. The problem lies on the lack of a standard criteria and overlapping features. The p57kip2 immunohistochemical stain is inexpensive, locally available, and could provide reliable results in differentiating between complete H. mole and partial H. mole.  This study aims to determine the accuracy of the diagnosis of H. moles by routine H&E stain as compared to the diagnosis by p57kip2 IHC stain. There were a total of 31 cases of H. moles in 2020. It includes 20 cases of complete H. moles and 11 cases of partial H. moles. With the advent of the p57kip2 IHC stain, a total of 18 cases were diagnosed as complete H. mole and 13 were diagnosed as partial H. mole. Diagnostic statistics such as sensitivity (Sn), specificity (Sp), positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), accuracy, and kappa statistics were computed to validate the diagnostic value of H&E staining with p57kip2 IHC staining on H. moles. This study concludes that a significant increase in accuracy and reliability are attained when supplemented with p57kip2 IHC stain. In addition, criteria in analyzing p57kip2 are simple and reproducible without significant interobserver variability. It is therefore recommended to use p57kip2 IHC stain on vesicular tissues to deduce the true nature of their pathology.


The assurance of asphalt pavement layer compaction, expressed by ratio between field and laboratory bulk density and air voids content, is one of the main criteria of the durability of asphalt road pavement. Destructive measures should be applied and cores should be taken from the asphalt pavement seeking to determine the representative compaction level of the constructed asphalt layers. New methods are constantly being sought for fast, non-destructive and accurate asphalt layer density and air void determination on road. Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) can allow determining the qualitative characteristics of asphalt pavement across the entire length of the road without causing damage to the road structure. Relative dielectric permittivity, usually called dielectric value or constant, is the leading property used in GPR applications on road pavement surveys. This article presents GPR measurement results from asphalt base and binder layers of four test sections. GPR measurements were conducted immediately after the end of asphalt layer compaction process. Test points on each layer were selected and density, air void content were determined by drilling cores and testing them in the laboratory. To estimate asphalt layer density and air void content, GPR data were analysed using different existing mathematical models. To justify the reliability of the data measured by GPR, results were checked by comparing them with the results measured directly on cores taken from the asphalt pavement layers.


In the last decade of his life, Antonio Canova carved a series of idealized female marble busts, one of which was of the ancient Greek poet Sappho (Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection, Princeton, N.J.). This bust is more restrained than most of the others, but the severity of the form is belied by the gentle charm of the expression, which is animated by an enigmatic smile with a hint of sadness. A few locks of hair escape from the smooth coiffure, showing that the sculptor's ideal of beauty, far from being purely cerebral and abstract, was humanized by naturalistic touches that lent "an extraordinary softness" to his work, in the words of a contemporary admirer.


The paper presents a fractal model of goal setting that is formally defined by a sequence of symbols in the goal-oriented prospects of a solution connected by the relationship of feasibility. The fractal model includes such elements as the "reserve of forces", confidence in oneself as a subject of future decisions, the preliminary assessment of the availability of a solution, a sense of reality (sanity), hope for a solution, and support of the environment. They are interpreted as resources of a solution. The relationship of feasibility is defined as an equivalent of "material implication". The listed elements that are connected by the relationship of feasibility, form goal-oriented tendencies (aspirations): the desire to solve the problem ("I want"), the assessment of the goal through mental action ("a mental trial of strength"), volitional efforts ("I must), and aspirations ("I claim"). The concept of adaptability is specified on the basis of three equalities: 'I want = I demand from myself' (I need), 'I demand from myself = the situation requires from me', 'I claim = I attain'. Three types of adaptive goal-setting environments are described: ordered (as in experiments on the levels of aspirations), ordinary (regular) and provocative. In an ordered environment, the subject has information about the difficulty of tasks; in an ordinary environment, claims and the necessary resources are arbitrarily correlated in a previously unpredictable way; in a provocative environment, there is an equality of the subject's aspirations and "challenges" from the environment. Numerical solutions of equations describing the elements and fragments of goal-oriented perspectives of adaptive actions in the three environments are identified as patterns of adaptability. Based on the implementation of the method of personal possibleness (that includes the distinction between the three goal setting environments represented in original questionnaires on 'a problem of the day' and 'a problem to one's taste'), the hypothesis of the adaptability of the "majority" has been confirmed: in the sample, subjects, on average, apply adaptive strategies for goal setting


Intellectual property takes several forms, the most important of which are patents, copyrights, and trade rights. Patents protect inventions. One can patent methods and processes, new varieties of plants, and (more weakly) designs. The VSI alliance proposed the usage of the three approaches for proper protection of IP designs. The detection approach directly interacts with the VLSI design, and is considered an overhead on the design cycle. IP watermarking and IP fingerprinting are the main approaches used, where the design is watermarked (tagged) then different tracking techniques are used to keep track of the usages of such design. Reuse-Based design methodology has taken hold, the very large scale integration (VLSI) design industry is confronted with the increasing threat of intellectual property (IP) infringement.


All software requires maintenance, either for error correction or for implementing updates. However, maintenance is often complex and expensive, and one of the main problems in the high cost of maintenance is the difficulty of understanding the source code of other authors. Thus, this research presents TaggingSense, a method based on sensemaking that aims to reduce object-oriented source code comprehension time on systems maintenance. Through experimentation, it was possible to observe knowledge extracted from the source code, processing, and sharing, to be positively assisted in the source code maintenance and comprehension process, thus bringing benefits such as reduction time spent, quality, and greater security in the changes made. Keywords-knowledge;sensemaking;source code maintenance;


Natural fibers are the most common fibers available on earth in various forms such as plant fibers, animal fibers and mineral fibers. Plant fibers are the upcoming novel fibers used in composites as a reinforcement material. Natural fibers have lot of potential in the materials field due to its immense advantage and its low cost availability. Certain mechanisms are to be developed to extract these fibers mechanically without losing its natural properties. This paper is concerned with the design features along with fabricated decorticator to extract the natural fibers from the resources in an eco-naturalistic mechanical manner. Conceptual novel design is been carried out and its features are discussed. This design of extracting natural fiber is done by manually-hand operated method. A view of other methods adopted, features involved in extraction, design of the product and interesting keen ideas are been included.


MPLS (MultiProtocol Label Switching) is a new technology proposed by the IETF [4,10] for network routing, and is being increasingly deployed by the largest Internet service providers. The MPLS technology differs from conventional network protocols in a crucial way: instead of reading the entire packet header at all switching points, the analysis of the packet header is done just once, when the packet header is assigned a stack of labels, and thenceforth, each switching point or router just gets to look at the label at the top of the stack (and the ingress edge), and based only on this information, it has to make a decision about the next-hop node [17,16]. In another departure from conventional routing and in particular from IP source routing, where the entire packet route is explicitly put in the header and popped off along the route, the router can not only pop the top label, it can push other labels on top of the stack.The two parameters of interest in designing MPLS routing protocols are the number of labels used, and the depth of the stack used for routing. Clearly, both cannot be simultaneously minimized, and there is often an interesting trade-off between label size and stack depth: it is obvious that if k labels are used, one must have a stack depth of logk n.In fact, it was not known whether this bound could be achieved even for trees; the best stack depth previously achieved with a constant number of labels was O(log2 n). In this paper, we show that one can indeed get asymptotically optimal upper bounds and route on trees using k labels and a maximum stack depth of O(logk n), and that this trade-off can be achieved using a simpler and more intuitive protocol than the one given in [9]. These tree-routing ideas are then shown to give better routing protocols for planar graphs as well. In particular, we show how to route along near-shortest paths (of length at most (1 + ε) times the shortest-path) with O(log2 n/ε) labels and logarithmic stack depth. We also apply them to graphs with smaller separators, including most large ISP networks.


Any sketch of the educational experiences of English workers' children -which in this instance excludes those who attended workhouse, factory, industrial and ragged schools and those who had no schooling-must remain partial and tentative. Well before their postmodem demise, certainties were-or should have been-elusive. Workers' views about religion, politics, familial obligations, etc., contrasted sharply. Living and working conditions in specific trades, within and between urban districts, between town and country, between rural districts close to and distant from industrial or mining expansion, between a 'close' and open parish in geographical proximity, varied greatly. Economic expansion and innovation, which differed markedly in place, chronology and intensity, continued to alter these variations. Comparisons of regional studies demonstrate the dangers of general conclusions. Young wine was also stretching the old social skin: 49 per cent of the population was under the age of twenty in 1821.


The case is a 65 years old man. He noticed muscle weakness of lower limbs from 3 years ago. Dysesthesia was developed, He came in our hospital in X year. He was detected muscle weakness, sensory disturbance in distal lower limbs predominance and detected radicular significant swelling in spinal cord MRI and diagnosed it with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuritis (CIDP). In the follow-up purpose of other diseases regularly, it was confirmed that nerve root was gradually swelling from around 7 years before the onset. The radicular swelling is one of the characteristics in CIDP, supports the diagnosis. This case was the valuable case that was able to chase image progress before the onset.


Binary mixtures of room temperature ionic liquids (IL) with a common cation were investigated using atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Two different binary ILs, viz., [C4mim][PF6]-[C4mim][Cl] and [C4mim][PF6]-[C4mim][BF4], were studied with varying fractions of either anion. The coordination environment of an anion around the cation is altered in the presence of another type of anion. The extent of change is larger for anions with much different radii. Atomistic MD and coarse grain MD simulations do not show any evidence for the clustering of like anions at any concentration. The binary liquids are well mixed at the molecular level.


Microbiological controls of coastal seawaters are a common practice to verify their safety for human recreational and productive uses. The aim of the present study is to describe the microbiological conditions of the Castellammare Gulf (Trapani, Sicily), an area traditionally used for aquaculture purposes. Particularly, the results obtained from three surveys (1993-1995, 2000-2001 and 2007) are compared in order to depict how the hygienic-sanitary conditions of this marine ecosystem have evolved over time. Attention has been given to the abundance and distribution of the bacterial indicators of faecal pollution (faecal coliforms, enterococci and Salmonella spp.) as well as halophilic vibrios, using the culture methods conventionally indicated by current legislation in force for the sanitary control of waters designed for aquaculture productions. The obtained results shows that the sanitary conditions of seawater samples met the criteria recommended by current legislations for shellfish farming approved areas. The low concentrations of faecal pollution indicators and of halophilic vibrios confirm the general suitability of the Gulf of Castellammare for seafood production. Nevertheless, the detection of low percentages of potentially pathogenic species of halophilic vibrios stresses the importance of extending microbiological controls also to these emerging pathogens.


Automation lessens the amount of repetitive or boring labor that humans must do, which typically results in a better customer experience and lessened stress for your teams. It involves technology that transfers a function individuals perform to pieces of gear or software. A streamlined process with fewer or no manual stages is automation. Automation comes in two flavors: attended and unattended. Both may be combined in some automated processes. Automation has benefits that are frequently attributed, such as higher production rates and increased productivity. Less waste results from improved process control because materials are used more effectively. In comparison to human workers, automation systems often complete the production process with less variability. This translates to better safety and more control over the quality of the products. Safety of the workers is an important reason for automating industrial processes. It also helps in overall reduction in work hours of factory workers. Despite the advancements over the last ten years, businesses will need new automation technology to keep up with demand. Personalization at scale will be made possible by integrating human touch into an automated process and using cutting-edge technology like AI and machine learning.


The main purpose of this study is to explain why immigrants engage in party politics and examine the possibilities and difficulties emigrants with a position of trust meet in party politics. To fulfil the purpose, four questions have been raised and addressed. 1) Which motives and incentives can explain immigrants' engagement in party politics? 2) Do immigrants meet some kind of barriers in party politics, and if so, which are they? 3) Do immigrants need any specific qualities to influence politics? 4) What can be learnt from immigrants' engagement in party politics to secure a multi-cultural party politics? As the questions imply, this paper is delimited at an individual level and adopt a qualitative approach. Furthermore, I implement a qualitative approach, where the theoretical framework and empirical literature are combined with interviews. The findings of this study are that immigrants are driven to engage in party politics preferably by idealistic motives; specifically they want to influence politics and society in aspects of integration. Additional vital motives are the social interaction between the members, followed by information, personal satisfaction, and knowledge and career opportunities. In most cases, immigrants meet barriers such as communications impediments, mainly based on cultural differences. Furthermore, immigrants have to adopt a special political jargon and certain norms and principles. Together they seem to constitute guiding principles on how to act in party politics. These barriers are also mechanisms that immigrants need to adapt to in order to influence politics. Furthermore, immigrants have to contend with discrimination and stereotypes. Finally, we can assume that direct democracy and deliberative democracy can contribute to a better integration of immigrants in party politics.


The impact of indium channel implantation on the current-voltage characteristics, gate oxide breakdown and hot-carrier reliability of deep submicrometer nMOSFETs is studied in detail. A significantly faster oxide wear-out during ramped-voltage testing and a distinctly enhanced drain current degradation during hot-carrier stressing are observed in devices with implant dose ranging from 1-2 /spl times/ 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -2/. An important generation leakage is also measured in the long-channel MOSFET, although such irregularity is normally not detected in short-channel devices owing to predominant subthreshold current. The loss in device reliability may be attributed to the generation of local amorphous regions in the channel when the implant dose exceeds 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -2/. The limited thermal budget of the subsequent gate oxidation step is generally unable to anneal out these defects, which in turn lead to the formation of local weak spots and strained Si-H bonds in the gate oxide, and dislocation loops in the channel region. This finding raises an important concern on the use of indium implantation in retrograde channel engineering, since implant doses on the order of 10/sup 13/ cm/sup -2/ are often needed for effective suppression of short-channel effects. In order to minimize the loss in device reliability, the damaged lattice would need to be restored using a dedicated thermal annealing cycle prior to gate oxidation. A good correlation between the hot-carrier stress data and the DC current-voltage (DCIV) measurement data is also presented. This makes the DCIV technique a precise, nondestructive monitor for implantation-induced damage in deep submicrometer MOSFET, via a direct measurement of the process-residue interface traps.


The chlorophyll biosynthetic enzyme protochlorophyllide reductase (POR) catalyzes the reduction of protochlorophyllide (Pchlide) into chlorophyllide (Chlide) with reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) as a cofactor. POR is a light-driven enzyme, which has provided a unique opportunity to trap intermediates and identify different steps in the reaction pathway by initiating catalysis with illumination at low temperatures. In the present work we have used a thermophilic form of POR, which has an increased conformational rigidity at comparable temperatures, to dissect and study the final stages of the reaction where protein dynamics are proposed to play an important role in catalysis. Low-temperature fluorescence and absorbance measurements have been used to demonstrate that the reaction pathway for this enzyme consists of two additional "dark" steps, which have not been detected in previous studies. Product binding studies were used to show that spectroscopically distinct Chlide species could be observed and were dependent on whether the NADPH or NADP(+) cofactor was present. As a result we have been able to identify the intermediates that are observed during the latter stages of the POR catalytic cycle and have shown that they are formed via a series of ordered product release and cofactor binding events. These events involve release of NADP(+) from the enzyme and its replacement by NADPH, before release of the Chlide product has taken place. Following release of Chlide, the subsequent binding of Pchlide allows the next catalytic cycle to proceed.


Background The gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota in healthy cats is altered in IBD. Little research has been performed to identify whether specific bacterial groups are associated with small cell GI lymphoma (LSA). Hypothesis Mucosal bacteria, including Enterobacteriaceae and Fusobacterium spp., are abundant in intestinal biopsies of cats with small cell GI LSA compared to cats with IBD. Animals Fourteen cats with IBD and 14 cats with small cell GI LSA. Methods Retrospective case control study. A search of the medical records was performed to identify cats diagnosed with IBD and with GI LSA. Bacterial groups identified by FISH in GI biopsies were compared between cohorts and correlated to CD11b+ and NF‐κB expression. Results Fusobacterium spp. (median; IQR bacteria/region) were higher in cats with small cell GI LSA in ileal (527; 455.5 – 661.5; P = .046) and colonic (404.5; 328.8 – 455.5; P = .016) adherent mucus, and combined colonic compartments (free mucus, adherent mucus, attaching to epithelium) (8; 0 – 336; P = .017) compared to cats with IBD (ileum: 67; 31.5 – 259; colon: 142.5; 82.3 – 434.5; combined: 3; 0 – 34). Bacteroides spp. were higher in ileal adherent mucus (P = .036) and 3 combined ileal compartments (P = .034) of cats with small cell GI LSA. There were significant correlations between Fusobacterium spp. totals and CD11b+ cell (P = .009; rs .476) and NF‐κB expression (P = .004; rs .523). Conclusions The bacterial alterations appreciated might be influential in development of small cell GI LSA, and should drive further studies to elucidate the effects of microbial‐mediated inflammation on GI cancer progression.


Zirconia and ceria-stabilized zirconia (12Ce-TZP) were synthesized by the dicarboxylate coprecipitation technique such as fumarate, succinate, tartarate and adipate. The formation of these dicarboxylate precursors was studied by elemental analysis, thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy. The precursors were further decomposed at 650oC for 2 hours to form respective zirconia and ceria-stabilized zirconia. The composition of these oxides was checked by Atomic absorption spectrometer and Energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The structural and morphological characterization of these oxides was done by using X-ray diffraction analysis, surface area, scanning electron micrographs and particle size distribution analysis. These properties were found depending to great extent on the nature of the precursors. The zirconia and ceria-stabilized zirconia obtained from adipate precursor were found to be good for slip- casting. The slips (i.e., suspensions) of these oxides with different solid contents were prepared at different pH with distilled water and ethanol as dispersing agents, with and without deflocculant. The suspension rheological flow
(i.e., variation of shear stress and viscosity with shear rate) was determined. The minimum viscosities were observed at pH = 10.16 for ZrO2- water and pH = 10.26 for 12Ce–TZP-water system. The slip, green and sedimentation bulk density were measured.


Acetone fractionated peroxidase from crude extract of Brassica oleracea leaves (Cabbage) was purified in three steps on chromatographic columns, using Sp-Sepharose, DEAE-Sepharose and Con A-Sepharose. The specific activity of purified main isoenzyme (BOC-POD) is 1887 u/mg protein with RZ: 3.1, which is 172 times more than the RZ of crude extract with 4.3% recovery. The molecular weight of BOC-POD is about 45,000 Dalton. Maximum pH, thermal activity and stability of this purified enzyme are also determined. Km of this isoenzyme was measured by Linewearver-Burk curve for O-dianisidine towards H2O2. This purified enzyme could be used in manufacturing diagnostic kits.


Background Paclitaxel is a chemotherapeutic agent used in the treatment of multiple types of malignant tumors which was discovered from the Taxus brevofilia tree. In some patients, anaphylaxis develops during the first exposure to paclitaxel, suggesting that primary sensitization may have occurred through hidden or unidentified allergens that produce cross-reactivity. Skin testing may be useful in identifying sensitization to these allergens. Atopy has also been reported in patients with hypersensitivity reactions (HSR) to paclitaxel. The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between atopy and sensitization to allergens with the development of immediate HSR to paclitaxel. Methods Skin prick tests (SPT) for environmental and food allergens were applied to 76 patients recently diagnosed with cancer. A SPT to paclitaxel was applied and if negative, an intradermal test was performed. After paclitaxel's infusion, the development of immediate HSR was observed. Results Of 76 skin tests, 43% of patients had allergen sensitization and 57% did not. HSR occurred in 12.1% and 11.6% of each group, respectively. Five percent of patients tested positive to paclitaxel and only one had an immediate HSR. Eighty-nine percent of patients who developed an HSR had a family or personal history of atopy. Conclusions Sensitization to environmental or food allergens does not appear to be a risk factor for the development of immediate HSR to paclitaxel, suggesting that there are other non-IgE-mediated immunologic mechanisms responsible for their development, however, a personal and family history of atopy increases 8x the risk of developing anaphylaxis.


A thorough knowledge of soil functionality is critical to successful restoration of disturbed ecosystems, and its evaluation involves the assessment of soil properties and processes as a component of a healthy ecosystem. Here, we propose a set of soil quality indicators to assess the soil status in restored soils (topsoil and waste material) and test new methods that are easy to apply, interpret, and cost‐effective for the analysis of soil biological indicators in restored ecosystems. We show that in addition to organic carbon and C:N ratio, biological indicators (microbial diversity and activity in particular) are the most sensitive indicators to detect differences among reconstructed soils and analogue undisturbed soils in semiarid areas. The use of the 1‐day CO2 test is proven to be an alternative cost‐ and time‐effective method to measure microbial activity and assess soil functionality of restored soils. Our results show a positive effect of vegetation on reconstructed soils and a recovery of soil functionality in waste material to levels similar to topsoil once vegetation is established. However, soil functionality in both restored waste materials and topsoils is still far from that in undisturbed native soils. We conclude that soil functionality is critical in the restoration process, particularly in semiarid areas, and the methods used here could be effectively applied in a broad range of restoration projects in arid and semiarid environments.


Rainfall and flow variation in Câlnău's watershed. Changes inflicted on the evolution of climate parameters such as temperature, rainfall, snow depth etc. represent a critical point in conducted studies, because of the increasing number of extreme events from one season to another. At the same time, hydrological aspects must be taken into consideration, because in the river's drainage system significant changes have also been recorded, such as the frequency of reaching or exceeding high flows values on record. The correlation between climate and hydrological aspects shows an overview of how they interact. This helps us analyze feedback processes and how they affect the evolution of a river over a period of time. Duration, intensity and frequency are key characteristics for the analyzed parameter, because they emphasize the response time. The overall objective of the study is two folded. On one hand, it can highlight periods of a year with high or low levels of flow rate, more precisely periods likely or not to produce flood phenomena and their extent: overrunning or not the three levels of alert. On the other hand, there is the situation of identifying the wettest years as compared to the driest ones and the connection with the general context available for Romania for those years, or on the contrary obtaining some local circumstances specific for Câlnău's watershed. Such an analysis is always welcome, especially for underlining the flood phenomena, which represent a major socio-economic threat, because damage before such dangers are considerable, from crops destruction to deaths among humans.


The aim of this study was to summarize the current knowledge of paraneoplastic syndromes involving eyes. The main interest was the immunopathogenesis of the abovementioned entities. A web search was conducted using Medline, Web of Science and Scopus engines. Key words concerning ocular paraneoplastic syndromes (OPS) such as: "ocular paraneoplastic syndrome", "cancer-associated retinopathy", "cancer-associated cone dysfunction", "melanoma-associated retinopathy", "bilateral diffuse uveal melanocytic proliferation", and "paraneoplastic optic neuritis" were combined with "immunology", "immune response", "antibodies", or "autoantibodies". Numerous papers were found as a result of "ocular paraneoplastic syndrome" search and many of them matched the chosen criteria. We focused on the most recent papers - published in the last 5 years - and eventually, 92 items were found. Only several papers from each detailed category fulfilled both OPS and immunologic criteria. Site-specific paraneoplastic syndromes still remain a difficult clinical challenge. The immunopathogenesis of some of them seems to be more complex than previously thought.


Three-axis CNC surface machining entails a series of processes including rough cutting, intermediate cutting and finish cutting for a reference surface defined in CAD/CAM. This study is targeting development of an integrated NURBS surface interpolator that can incorporate rough, intermediate and finish cutting processes. In each process, volume to be removed and cutting condition are different according to the shape of a part to be machined and the reference surface. Accordingly, the proposed NURBS surface interpolator controls motion in real-time optimized for the machining conditions of each process. In this paper, a newly defined set of G-codes is proposed such that NURBS surface machining through CNC is feasible with minimal information on the surface composition. To verify the usefulness of the proposed interpolator, through computer simulations on NURBS surface machining, total machining time, size of required NC data and cutting force variations are compared with the existing method.


A marked difference between the cardiac silhouette on the six-foot chest roentgenogram and the cardiac blood pool, determined by radioisotope scanning, has been shown to be consistent with pericardial effusion and/or thickening. It has also been observed that the cardiac blood pool is separated from the liver margin by the interposition of pericardial fluid and/or thickening. This separation was not demonstrated in the presence of a normal pericardium. To appreciate these features, 400 muc. of radioiodinated human serum albumin and 50 muc. of colloidal radiogold were used for scanning. The former outlind the blood pool and the latter demonstrated the position of the liver.


With the increasing number of stereo images/videos in commercial markets, the demand for content-based image retrieval (CBIR) to deal with stereo media becomes urgent. To meet this demand, a novel framework is proposed where depth cues are extracted from stereo pairs and employed in a re-ranking scheme to refine results from conventional CBIR. Experiments show the proposed method yields promising results in retrieving stereo content.


Historically, the quality of a solution in Genetic Programming (GP) was often assessed based on its performance on a given training sample. However, in Machine Learning, we are more interested in achieving reliable estimates of the quality of the evolving individuals on unseen data. In this paper, we propose to simulate the effect of unseen data during training without actually using any additional data. We do this by employing a technique called bootstrapping that repeatedly re-samples with replacement from the training data and helps estimate sensitivity of the individual in question to small variations across these re-sampled data sets. We minimise this sensitivity, as measured by the Bootstrap Standard Error, together with the training error, in an effort to evolve models that generalise better to the unseen data. We evaluate the proposed technique on four binary classification problems and compare with a standard GP approach. The results show that for the problems undertaken, the proposed method not only generalises significantly better than standard GP while the training performance improves, but also demonstrates a strong side effect of containing the tree sizes.


Cancer recurrence is an important issue in bladder tumor resections, because tissue cannot generously be removed from the thin bladder wall without impacting its functionality. Electrical impedance measurements during an operation aim to support the surgeon in making the decision which tissue areas to preserve, because physiological changes in tissue due to cancerous mutations can be detected by their altered electrical characteristics. This work investigates the detection limits of tetrapolar sensors when the impedance of heterogeneous tissue is measured. To do this, a finite element analysis is carried out where the sensors are placed on a dielectric medium with inclusions of different sizes, conductivity, and locations relative to the sensor. It is shown that a sensor with four electrodes in a square performs poorly in comparison to a sensor where the electrodes are symmetrically shaped as rings around one center electrode. This is mainly due to its enlarged regions of negative sensitivity. Based on the results, a third, optimized sensor geometry is proposed that shows superior performance to the other sensors in terms of geometry factor, sensitivities, and tumor detection. In simulation, it can reliably detect tumors with only half the radius of the sensor surface. Smaller tumor fractions cannot be detected by either sensor.