Equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) in the medical field is crucial for meeting the healthcare needs of a progressively diverse society. A diverse physician workforce enables culturally sensitive care, promotes health equity, and enhances the comprehension of the various needs and viewpoints of patients, ultimately resulting in more effective treatments and improved patient outcomes. However, despite the recognized benefits of diversity in the medical field, certain specialties, such as Radiology, have struggled to achieve adequate equity, diversity and inclusion, which results in a discrepancy in the demographics of Canadian radiologists and the patients we serve. In this review, we propose strategies from a committee within the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) EDI working group to improve EDI in the CaRMS selection process. By adopting these strategies, residency programs can foster a more diverse and inclusive environment that is better positioned to address the health needs of a progressively diverse patient population, leading to improved patient outcomes, greater patient satisfaction, and advancements in medical innovation.


The North American lodgepole pine Pinus contorta has been planted on 660 000 ha in Sweden. We compared the performance of Ips typographus and Pityogenes chalcographus in storm‐felled and standing pheromone‐baited trees of the historical host species Norway spruce (Picea abies) and lodgepole pine. In the first summer after a storm, I. typographus colonized 0.2% and P. chalcographus colonized 2.4% of the storm‐felled lodgepole pines compared with 31% and 25%, respectively, of the storm‐felled Norway spruces. In the second summer 1.6% and 41.5% of the lodgepole pines were colonized by I. typographus and P. chalcographus, respectively. The reproductive success of I. typographus was five‐fold higher in Norway spruce than in lodgepole pine. Other species colonizing lodgepole pine were Ips duplicatus, Orthotomicus proximus, Orthotomicus laricis, Monochamus sutor and Pissodes pini. The male attack densities of both bark beetle species required to overcome defences of standing pheromone‐baited trees were much higher in lodgepole pine than in Norway spruce. The reproductive success of I. typographus and P. chalcographus was approximately five‐ and 14‐fold higher, respectively, in Norway spruce than in lodgepole pine. Larvae of the most important groups of bark beetle enemies were present in both storm‐felled and standing pheromone‐baited lodgepole pines colonized by I. typographus and P. chalcographus. In the standing trees, the densities of enemy larvae were lower in lodgepole pine than in Norway spruce, whereas the opposite was true for storm‐felled trees.


Coupled partial differential equations (PDEs) are key tasks in modeling the complex dynamics of many physical processes. Recently, neural operators have shown the ability to solve PDEs by learning the integral kernel directly in Fourier/Wavelet space, so the difficulty for solving the coupled PDEs depends on dealing with the coupled mappings between the functions. Towards this end, we propose a \textit{coupled multiwavelets neural operator} (CMWNO) learning scheme by decoupling the coupled integral kernels during the multiwavelet decomposition and reconstruction procedures in the Wavelet space. The proposed model achieves significantly higher accuracy compared to previous learning-based solvers in solving the coupled PDEs including Gray-Scott (GS) equations and the non-local mean field game (MFG) problem. According to our experimental results, the proposed model exhibits a $2\times \sim 4\times$ improvement relative $L$2 error compared to the best results from the state-of-the-art models.


BACKGROUND
Patients suffering from chronic disorders of consciousness (DOC), including minimally conscious state (MCS) and unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), typically show an awareness impairment paralleled by a significant reflex hyper-excitability, which depend on the cortical deafferentation following brain-damage-induced thalamocortical system deterioration. Nonetheless, recent studies have shown a residual preservation of cortico-subcortical pathways that may sustain residual fragments of awareness in some DOC patients.

OBJECTIVE
The aim of our study was to assess whether the cortical modulation of auditory stapedial reflex (ASR) could be a marker of a higher degree of brain network connectivity, which is a fundamental prerequisite for awareness generation and maintenance.

METHODS
We applied a repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) protocol over the primary auditory area and measured the neuromodulation effects on ASR threshold (ASRt) in a DOC sample and a healthy control group (HC).

RESULTS
We observed an ASRt reduction in all the HC and MCS individuals, in parallel to a better sound-induced motor responsiveness in MCS sample, while all the UWS patients, but two, did not show any significant ASRt modulation.

CONCLUSION
We hypothesize that our conditioning protocol may have entrained and potentiated some spared cortico-subcortical networks that sustained the clinical and electrophysiological amelioration we found. Our data electrophysiologically demonstrate for the first time that primary the auditory area can influence ASR elicitation, and such finding may support the DOC differential diagnosis.


The importance of thermal dose and the location of the heat maximum for the outcome of transurethral microwave thermotherapy for benign prostatic hyperplasia was studied. It was originally designed as a two-arm randomized study of 196 patients comparing high and low effect with the heat maximum at the apex of the prostate. The inclusion criteria were: prostate volume 25 to 70 cc, Madsen score > or = 8, Qmax < or = 15 mL/sec, residual urine volume < 350 mL, and no median-lobe enlargement. Using the same inclusion criteria, another group of 31 patients was compared in which the location of the heat maximum was at the base of the prostate. Treatment was performed as an outpatient single session procedure for 70 minutes with the Prostcare (Bruker Medical, France). Improvement was found after 6 months in all three groups regarding Qmax and Madsen, bother, and quality of life scores. The improvement of Madsen score from baseline was more pronounced in the high-effect base group than in the other two groups. Responders were defined as patients showing improvement in Madsen score who were satisfied with treatment outcome and in no need of complementary treatment at 6 months' follow-up. Significantly more responders were found, and the increment of serum prostate specific antigen and side effects were more pronounced, in the high-effect base group than in the other two groups. Treatment outcome seems to be both dose related and dependent on the location of the heat maximum. However, the improvement in outcome is associated with increased morbidity.


Provision of medicinal productsto children with orphan diseasesis an urgent problem, because itssolution involves medical and social issues. The aim of this work was to study the social and economic aspects of provision of medicinal products to children with orphan diseases in the Rostov region. In the regional segment of the Federal Register of patients with orphan diseases, patients under the age of 18 years represent over 65% (rate of increase 76.6%), one in two patients has a disability. Structure of nosological forms of orphan diseases of patients under the age of 18 years has been determined. An analysis of the cost of pathogenetic therapy of patients with orphan diseases allowed to establish the top-5 most financially costly nosologies. Given the peculiarity of pathogenetic therapy of orphan disease and special conditions of  the administration of medicines, the need for redistribution of financing aid and additional attraction of CHI funds has been shown. It has been established that orphan diseases may not be included in the clinical and statistical groups together with other nosologies, not related to the orphan ones. When determining the estimated cost of medical care and medicinal therapy, it is necessary to form independent clinical and statistical groups for each orphan disease and develop indicators, characterizing clinical resources. Discussed the need for the social adaptation of children with orphan diseases.


Nolan's thesis would apply equally to all societies where the powerful oppress the weak, the rich oppress the poor, and religion sanctions segregation. After treatments of sin, guilt, and the suffering God within the system of apartheid, Nolan explains the necessity of righteous indignation against a system which promotes continued discrimination. Such a system is against the spirit of the gospel. He attacks apocalyptic eschatology (even though stated clearly in Revelation) in favor of a prophetic warning element as key to all eschatological pronouncements. His treatment of kairos is the keystone to the underlying theology of the book. Now is the day of opportunity-salvation or judgment, depending on how we respond. Nolan points the way to hope for South Africa through a democratic process in which all would have a voice in government, labor, and education. He sees the spiritual struggle against evil metamorphosing into the political struggle. For a deep Amos-like experience, read Nolan's book!


It is with the chapter on 'man and bats' that I have particular complaint. This includes a section entitled 'Bats and public health', which discusses the bacterial, viral, fungal and invertebrate associations with bats and has very little to do with humans—it is a fascinating aspect of bat biology often omitted from bat books, but one which belongs outside the scope of this chapter. In attempting to justify its place here the authors have suggested possible links with human health which are often, at best, misleading. This is not good for a book that purports to give a more realistic image than the one bats have suffered for so long.


The following article describes the three roles of Wilbur Schramm, that influenced the process of establishment of a new academic field in China scholar structure - the communication study. The authors review the visit of Schramm in China in 1982 and discuss the impact of this tour for Chinese academic society.
Schramm`s Chinese name "Xuan Weibo" has not only phonetic but also ideological meaning - "The Great Uncle of Dissemination." The following article answers the question - why did China choose Schramm for the role of "icebracker" for the establishment of communication studies in the country?


Authors have proposed a concept of guidelines for applying the ambulatory complex cardiovascular rehabilitation (ACCVR) into the clinical practice in Slovakia. As a background they have used an actual cardiovascular mortality and morbidity data from home country and abroad as well. They emphasize the non-optimal situation in this aspect which may not be solved by the increasing supporting the invasive revascularization methods and by the intensifying pharmacotherapy only, because the favourable effects of these procedures is timely missing if it is not accompanied by the therapeutic lifestyle changes. In this proposal the ACCVR is considered not as a regular, controlled physical training only, but there is included patient´s education, relaxation, stress management, behavioral changes and possible social support too. At the end of one 3 months lasting cycle of ACCVR there is subsumed a final test oriented on patient´s education and physical fitness levels and the continuing long-term contacts with him during following home-based training. Main parts of the concept are the concrete conditions which should by fulfilled as for as a personal, space and device equipment needed for accreditation so called cardiology stationary for ACCVR activities (in connection with cardiology department for out patients). Moreover, there are also included practical guidelines how to do patient´s stratification, how to send the patients to stationary, indications and contraindications, establishing of the training heart rate and training load, the composition of one cycle 3 months lasting, application of the progressive aerobic and resistance training and how to continue in home-based training. At the end the authors have proposed conditions which are needed to fulfil for a successful implementation of ACCVR into the health care system.Key words: cardiovascular rehabilitation for out patients - exercise training - home based training with telemonitoring control - progressive resistance training - relaxation and stress management.


In this study, the organomodified clay (OVHAC) was synthesized by the cation exchanging of sodium montmorillonite clay (Na-MMT) with the quaternary ammonium salt, vinylbenzyldimethylhexadecylammonium chloride (VHAC) Polystyrene-clay nanocomposites (PS/OVHAC) were synthesized by in situ polymerization method. Organomodified montmorillonit clay and PS/OVHAC nanocomposites were characterized by 59 FTIR technique. The interlayer spacing of the organoclay platelets and the polymer clay nanocomposites were determined by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy. It was determined that the clay dispersion in the polymer matrix was exfoliated. Thermal behaviors and thermal degradation activation energies of nanocomposites were determined by thermogravimetric analysis method (TGA). Theoptical characterization of polymer thin films prepared by spin coating technique was tested with a UV-VIS spectrophotometer at 340 nm-700 nm wavelength range.


The high variability of transgene expression is frequently observed in independent transgenic lines. Variability of transgene expression has been attributed to several factors, including differences in chromosome position, repeat sequences and copy number. The eukaryotic genome, with a heterogeneous chromatin structure, is not homogeneous for transcriptional activity. Chromatin structure at the site of integration can affect transgene expression; this phenomenon is called the position effect. In this study, we investigated whether position effects confer variability of transgene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana. We analyzed the expression of randomly integrated single 'complete' (intact, non-truncated, non-rearranged) copy transgenes in A. thaliana. Ten independent lines containing single complete copies of the transgene located at different chromosome positions showed very similar levels of transgene expression, and variability of transgene expression was not observed. This result indicates that position effects may not generally be a major cause of variability of transgene expression in A. thaliana.


Graft versus host disease (GVHD) is the main complication following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Recent data indicated that regulatory T (Treg) cells might relate to GVHD, and such functions might be mediated by certain T-cell receptor (TCR) subfamily of Treg cells. Thus, we analyzed the distribution and clonality of the TCR Vα and Vβ repertoire of Treg cells from leukemia patients with and without GVHD after allo-HSCT. Numerous TCR Vα subfamilies, including Vα1, Vα9, Vα13, Vα16-19, and Vα24-29, were absent in Treg cells after allo-HSCT. The usage numbers for the TCR Vα and Vβ subfamilies in Treg cells from patients without GVHD appeared more widely. The expression frequencies of Vα10 or Vα20 between both groups were significantly different. Moreover, the expression frequency of TCR Vβ2 subfamily in patients without GVHD was significantly higher than that in patients with GVHD. Oligoclonally expanded TCR Vα and Vβ Treg cells were identified in a few samples in both groups. Restricted utilization of the Vα and Vβ subfamilies and the absence of some important TCR rearrangements in Treg cells may be related to GVHD due to a lower regulating function of Treg subfamilies.


The Santos Basin, offshore Brazil contains a complex set of salt‐tectonic structures, the origins of which are debated, that is, the Albian Gap and the São Paulo Plateau (SPP). The Albian Gap is a ca. 450 km long, 60 km wide feature characterized by a post‐Albian, counter‐regional rollover overlying depleted Aptian salt, and in which the Albian is largely absent. The SPP, located immediately downdip, is defined by a pre‐salt structural high overlain by ca. 2.5 km thick salt. Another prominent feature is the Merluza Graben, a rift‐related depocentre that underlies the southern portion of the Albian Gap and displays significant (3–4 km) base‐salt relief along its main faults. Two competing hypotheses have been proposed to explain the kinematics of these provinces. One invokes post‐Albian extension in the Albian Gap and kinematically‐linked contraction in the SPP. The other invokes post‐Albian salt expulsion in the Albian Gap and salt inflation in the SPP. Recent studies, however, suggest these processes likely alternate in time and space, contributing nearly equally to the evolution of these domains. We apply 3D physical modelling to (i) test this hypothesis; and (ii) to more generally understand how gravity gliding and spreading over three‐dimensionally variable base‐salt relief control regional salt tectonics. The results show a similar salt‐related evolution and structural styles to those proposed in the most recent studies. They also (i) explain the origin of the ca. 25 km wide diapir precursor of the Albian Gap by early salt inflation against base‐salt steps; (ii) show that normal faults with different polarities and rollover types form due to the interplay between gliding and spreading over different base‐salt domains and (iii) provide a mechanism for the origin of strata encased within salt structures. This improves our understanding of the distribution and origin of salt‐related structural styles in worldwide salt basins.


The article presents the results of multivariate classification of Russian regions by the indicators characterizing the population income and their concentration. The clusterization was performed upon an author approach to selecting the characteristics which determines the academic novelty in the evaluation of regional differentiation by population income and the interconnected characteristics. The performed analysis was aimed at the evaluation of the real scale of disproportions in spatial development of the country territories by the considered characteristics. The clusterization results allowed to formulate the condition of a relatively "strong" position of a group of high-income regions (the changes in the array of regions constituting it is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future). Additionally there has been revealed a group of Russian regions that the population is struggling to live on quite low income. These so-called "poor" regions, within the crisis conditions caused by Covid-19 are in need of additional public support, without which their population will impoverish.


The Venetian printmaker Giacomo Franco produced several engravings for the 1597 coronation of Morosina Morosini, the wife of doge Marin Grimani (1595-1605). Focusing on three of these prints in which a bird's-eye view of the city is framed with illustrations of the festivities, this essay explores relations between space, gender, allegory and costume as they were manifested in this rare female procession. An examination of the pictorial conventions used by Franco and other artists to depict the event suggests that Morosina's coronation functioned both to resist existing codes of gender but also to reassert female patrician status.


In this study, we investigate a bilevel optimization model for the hazmat transportation problem with lane reservation. The problem lies in selecting lanes to be reserved in the network and planning paths for hazmat transportation tasks. The trade-off among transportation cost, risk, and impact on the normal traffic is considered. By using the traffic flow theory, we quantify the impact on the normal traffic and modify the traditional risk measurement model. The problem is formulated as a multiobjective bilevel programming model involving the selection of reserved lanes for government and planning paths for hazmat carriers. Two hybrid metaheuristic algorithms based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm and the genetic algorithm, respectively, are proposed to solve the bilevel model. Their performance on small-scale instances is compared with exact solutions based on the enumeration method. Finally, the computational results on large-scale instances are compared and sensitivity analysis on the key parameters is presented. The results indicate the following: (1) Both algorithms are effective methods for solving this problem, and the method based on the particle swarm optimization algorithm requires a shorter computation time, whereas the method based on the genetic algorithm shows more advantages in optimality. (2) The bilevel model can effectively reduce the total risk of the hazmat transportation while considering the interests of hazmat carriers and ordinary travellers. (3) The utilization rate of reserved lanes increases with an increasing number of tasks. Nevertheless, once the proportion of hazmat vehicles becomes excessive, the advantage of reducing the risk of the reserved lanes gradually decreases.


Co3O4, MgCo2O4 and MgO materials have been synthesized using a simple co-precipitation approach and systematically characterized. The total conversion of toluene to CO2 and H2O over spinel MgCo2O4 with wormlike morphology has been investigated. Compared with single metal oxides (Co3O4 and MgO), MgCo2O4 with the highest activity has exhibited almost 100% oxidation of toluene at 255 °C. The obtained results are analogous to typical precious metal supported catalysts. The activation energy of toluene over MgCo2O4 (38.5 kJ/mol) is found to be much lower than that of Co3O4 (68.9 kJ/mol) and MgO ((87.8 kJ/mol)). Compared with the single Co and Mg metal oxide, the as-prepared spinel MgCo2O4 exhibits a larger surface area, highest absorbed oxygen and more oxygen vacancies, thus highest mobility of oxygen species due to its good redox capability. Furthermore, the samples specific surface area, low-temperature reducibility and surface adsorbed oxygenated species ratio decreased as follows: MgCo2O4 > Co3O4 > MgO; which is completely in line with the catalytic performance trends and constitute the reasons for MgCo2O4 high excellent activity towards toluene total oxidation. The overall finding supported by ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of toluene oxidation on the Co3O4 and MgCo2O4 suggest that the catalytic process follows a Mars–van Krevelen mechanism.


Hypertension is a major public health problem that does not spare Sub-Saharan Africa and especially Benin. There is scarce data on the factors associated with this condition in areas of high population pressure in Benin. We investigated factors associated with hypertension in Atlantic region. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in Benin in the Atlantic region for people aged 18 and over. This was an analysis of data collected during the STEPS Chronic Disease Risk Factor Surveillance Survey during the last quarter of 2015. We estimated the overall prevalence of hypertension and determined associated factors using a logistic regression model including factors with a p-value less than 0.20 in the univariate analysis. The overall prevalence of hypertension was 33.2% [95% CI (29.8-36.7)]. Age was associated with hypertension (global p-value ≤ 0.001). In addition, obesity and high salt intake were independently associated with hypertension AOR; 95%CI were 4.89 (2.74 - 8.73) and 1.54 (1.07 - 2.21), respectively. In the Atlantic region of Benin, factors associated with hypertension were age of at least 35 years, obesity and high salt consumption. Strategies that promote physical activity, reducing salt intake and fat could decrease the burden of the disease.

 Key words: Hypertension, associated factors, age, obesity, salt, Benin.


Ultrathin semiconductor nanowires as ideal nanoscale building blocks have gained much research attention. However, the macroscopic-scale synthesis of high quality nanowires remains a challenge in the field of nanowire science and technology. Here, we demonstrate the first sub-kilogram-scale synthesis of ultrathin tellurium nanowires (TeNWs) by a one-pot scale-up hydrothermal process. As much as 150 g of uniform TeNWs with diameters of 7–9 nm and lengths of several micrometers can be synthesized. The ultra-large-scale synthesized TeNWs also can be used as a versatile template to prepare a family of high quality metal telluride nanowires in large quantities because of their high chemical reactivity and excellent dispersibility in various solvents. This research sheds light on the possibility of ultra-large-scale synthesis of high quality nanowires in the future, which is of crucial significance from the viewpoint of practical applications of functional inorganic nanowires.


The Internet is one of the fastest growing areas of intelligence gathering. The ranking of web page for the Web search-engine is one of the significant problems at present. This leads to the important attention to the research community. Web Prefetching is used to reduce the access latency of the Internet. However, if most prefetched Web pages are not visited by the users in their subsequent accesses, the limited network bandwidth and server resources will not be used efficiently and may worsen the access delay problem. Therefore, it is critical that we have an accurate prediction method during prefetching. To provide prediction efficiently, we advance an architecture for predicting in Web Usage Mining system and propose a novel approach for classifying user navigation patterns for predicting users' requests based on clustering users browsing behavior knowledge. The Expremental results show that the approach can improve accuracy, precision, recall and Fmeasure of classification in the architecture.


BACKGROUND
Tropical spastic paraparesis (TSP) is an endemic disease in Chile. In most countries, only 50% of patients are seropositive to HTLV-I. However, new studies suggest that seronegative TSP is also associated with HTLV-I.

AIM
To describe clinical and virological features of seronegative patients with TSP.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
Seventy two Chilean patients with TSP, studied by clinical, radiological and laboratory methods during 1998, are reported. The determination of antibodies to HTLV-I was accomplished by ELISA, immunofluorescence and Western-blot analysis. Polymerase chain reaction for tax and 5'Ltr genes was made using primers SK 43-44, LTR1 and LTR6.

RESULTS
Thirty one patients were HTLV-I positive and 41 were negative. No clinical, radiological or laboratory differences were observed between both groups. In seropositive patients, tax and 5'ltr viral gene sequences of the HTLV-I provirus were detected in DNA of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. In seronegative cases, sequences of tax gene were detected, exclusively, in 18 of 41 patients.

CONCLUSIONS
These results confirm an association with HTLV-I infection in 43.9% of the TSP seronegative patients. These findings support the hypothesis that a defective provirus infects peripheral blood mononuclear cells in seronegative cases of TSP. The importance tax gene in the diagnosis of the TSP is also emphasized.


Fast variances of temperature profile and heat flux through the water-air interface caused by atmospheric turbulence in weak wind conditions have been determined on the basis of measurements of radio brightness evolution of water at the frequencies of 60 and 131 GHz. Two components of the heat flux related to evaporation and to thermal conductivity have been obtained, which enabled us to determine evaporation rate and viscous sublayer depth variances. Statistical parameters of water surface temperature variations have been calculated.


Indium tin oxide (ITO) is the current standard state‐of‐the‐art transparent conductive oxide (TCO), given its remarkable optical and electrical properties. However, the scarcity of indium carries an important drawback for the long‐term application due to its intensive use in many optoelectronic devices such as displays, solar cells, and interactive systems. Zinc oxide‐based TCOs can be a cost‐effective and viable alternative, but the limitations imposed by their transmittance versus resistivity tradeoff still keep them behind ITO. In this work, an in‐depth study of the structural and compositional material changes induced by specific postannealing treatments is presented, based on aluminum zinc oxide (AZO) and hydrogenated AZO (AZO:H) thin films grown by rf‐magnetron sputtering at room temperature that allows an extensive understanding of the films' electrical/structural changes and the ability to tune their physical parameters to yield increasingly better performances, which put them in line with the best ITO quality standards. The present investigation comprises results of thermal annealing at atmospheric pressure, vacuum, forming gas, H2 and Ar atmospheres and plasmas. Overall the study being performed leads to a decrease in resistivity above 40%, reaching ρ ≈ 3 × 10−4 Ω cm, with an average optical transmittance in the visible region around 88%. Such results are equivalent to the properties of state‐of‐the‐art ITO.


The working reliability of disk brake system is analyzed,through which the main factors influencing the reliability and the main causes of malfunction of the brake are discussed.


This article aims to present the problematic, the approach and the results of the Project Sante Publique - Sante Mentale (SPSM). The Project SPSM - Employability brings together academic actors and those from the health and social sectors of 5 European countries. It refers to the practices of professional accompanying to work of people with psychic handicap. In Public Health, it constitutes an interventional research. SPSM - Employability aims to put in place a training module intended for socio-professional integration specialists and to ensure each country's durability. With duration of 3 years, the Project SPSM encourages the return of experiences and exchanges between partners in Romania, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. It produces knowledge through the conception and implementation of a pilot training action for socioprofessional integration specialists. Co funded by the European Funds Erasmus+ Strategic Projects, it illustrates the current issues of the research in mental health promotion in a participatory, communal and international approach. The SPSM Project aims to find a better adequacy of training between the new realities of employability in companies and administrations and the mental health sector.The aim is to go beyond the local .know-how. (skills) in order to provide a more open training perspective, adapted to the tendencies observed in Europe.


A new search strategy is presented to obtain initial phases for single-crystal diffraction data by molecular replacement. It consists of carrying out 'Patterson refinements' of a large number of the highest peaks of a rotation function. The target function for Patterson refinement is proportional to the negative correlation coefficient between the squared amplitudes of the observed and the calculated normalized structure factors. If the root-mean-square difference between the search model and the crystal structure is within the radius of convergence of the minimization procedure employed, the correct orientation can be identified by having the lowest value of the target function after refinement. Similar to conventional crystallographic R-factor refinement, the target function for Patterson refinement may be combined with an empirical energy function describing geometric and non-bonded interactions. Patterson refinement of individual atomic coordinates or of rigid-group parameters may be carried out. Search models of crambin and of myoglobin with 1.6-2.0 A backbone atomic r.m.s, differences from the target crystal structures show that the Patterson refinement strategy can solve crystal structures that cannot be solved by conventional molecular replacement or even by full six-dimensional searches.


ABSTRACT:Fiji's agricultural sector has been integral to the Fijian economy in terms of the provision of food and raw materials for the domestic market, the absorption of domestic labour and capital, and generation of export income. It has also supported manufacturing and services sectors. However, research providing a systematic investigation into the effect of trade on agricultural value added and the spillover effects of agriculture into other sectors of the Fijian economy deserve an extended analysis in terms of setting effective agricultural trade and sectoral linkage policies. This paper investigates the effect of trade on agricultural value added and inter-industry spillover effects in Fiji. The analytical procedure involved testing the effect of trade on agricultural value added; testing the effect of trade as well as the investment in agriculture on the manufacturing of food, beverages and tobacco; and testing the spillover effects of agriculture on the industry and services sectors. Our findings reveal the positive but statistically insignificant effect of trade on the agricultural and industrial sectors. However, we find evidence of a positive and statistically significant correlation of agricultural value added on food, beverage and tobacco manufacturing, which is important in its own right and due to its impact on the industrial sector. Our findings do not provide any strong support for a positive and statistically significant spillover effect directly from agriculture to the industrial and services sectors. Fiji's agricultural sector has suffered through poor agricultural policies, institutional failures as well as low levels of public and private sector investment that has led to its gradual decline. While the services sector has emerged as the dominant sector in Fiji, with large concentrations on tourism services, the continued success of the services sector is also dependent on the concurrent emergence of a productive agricultural sector that can supply locally produced food to the tourism industry, reduce food import bills and foster greater linkages with the agricultural sector. We conclude that policy makers need to seriously consider new agricultural policy initiatives that would allow greater connectedness of the agricultural sector to other sectors such as tourism services.


Although typically thought of as a solid solution strengthened material, Alloy 625 is susceptible to significant precipitation hardening through the formation of γʺ (D022 ) precipitates. These particles can form both during manufacture and in high temperature service and, consequently, the accurate prediction of their behaviour is crucial. To this end, a model is developed in this work which describes γʺ precipitation in Alloy 625, encompassing the concurrent homogeneous nucleation, growth and coarsening of different particles and allowing for them to be shape changing. Based on the Svoboda-Fischer-Fratzl-Kozeschnik (SFFK) framework, the model is calibrated with respect to experimental measurements of aspect ratio evolution at 650°C, with the statistics were acquired through a novel analysis methodology. The outputs generated by the model for interfacial energy, particle size distribution and number density are in excellent agreement with experimental data for a simulation of 1000 hours at 650°C, however beyond this point a divergence is introduced by the phenomenon of precipitate "encounter" (described by Davis et al. [1]). Following suitable changes for descriptions including precipitation driving force and material elastic constants, application of the model to the evolution of γʺ precipitates in Alloy 718 at 700°C measured by Han et al. [2] reveals reasonable agreement. Whilst the results presented in this paper are predicated on a homogeneous microstructure and the formation of exclusively γʺ precipitates, the underlying frame work outlined is flexible enough for inhomogeneous and competitive precipitation to be included at a later date. Furthermore, through the application of an addition class management mechanism the model is likely applicable to a large range of ageing temperatures and durations.


In this work we perform a meta-analysis of neuroimaging data, consisting of locations of peak activations identified in 162 separate studies on emotion. Neuroimaging meta-analyses are typically performed using kernel-based methods. However, these methods require the width of the kernel to be set a priori and to be constant across the brain. To address these issues, we propose a fully Bayesian nonparametric binary regression method to perform neuroimaging meta-analyses. In our method, each location (or voxel) has a probability of being a peak activation, and the corresponding probability function is based on a spatially adaptive Gaussian Markov random field (GMRF). We also include parameters in the model to robustify the procedure against miscoding of the voxel response. Posterior inference is implemented using efficient MCMC algorithms extended from those introduced in Holmes and Held [Bayesian Anal. 1 (2006) 145--168]. Our method allows the probability function to be locally adaptive with respect to the covariates, that is, to be smooth in one region of the covariate space and wiggly or even discontinuous in another. Posterior miscoding probabilities for each of the identified voxels can also be obtained, identifying voxels that may have been falsely classified as being activated. Simulation studies and application to the emotion neuroimaging data indicate that our method is superior to standard kernel-based methods.


We present deadlock-free packet/wormhole routing algorithms ba\-sed on multidimensional interval schemes for certain hypercube related multiprocessor interconnection networks and give their analysis in terms of the compactness (i.e.~the maximum number of intervals per link) and the buffer-size (i.e.~the ma\-xi\-mum number of buffers per node/link). The issue of a simultaneous reduction of the compactness and the buffer-size is fundamental, worth to investigate and of practical importance, since the interval routing and wormhole routing have been industrially realized in INMOS Transputer C104 Router chips. In this paper we give an evidence that for some well-known interconnection networks there are efficient deadlock-free multidimensional interval routing schemes (DFMIRS) despite of a provable non-existence of efficient deterministic shortest path interval routing schemes (IRS). For $d$-dimensional hypercubes (tori) we present a $d$-dimensional DFMIRS of compactness $1$ and size $2$ (of compactness $1$ and size $4$), while for shortest path IRS we can achieve the reduction to $2$ (to at most $5$) buffers per node with compactness $2^{d-1}$ (with compactness $O(n^{d-1})$). For $d$-dimensional generalized butterflies we give a $d$-dimensional DFMIRS with compactness $2$ and size $3$, while each shortest path IRS is of the compactness at least superpolynomial in $d$. For $d$-dimensional cube-connected cycles we show a $d$-dimensional DFMIRS with compactness and size polynomial in $d$, while each shortest path IRS needs compactness at least $2^{d/2}$. We also present a nonconstant lower bound (in the form $\sqrt{d}$) on the size of deadlock-free packet routing (based on acyclic orientation covering) for a set of monotone routing paths on $d$-dimensional hypercubes.


Predators significantly affect ecosystem functions, but our understanding of to what extent findings can be transferred from experiments and low‐diversity systems to highly diverse, natural ecosystems is limited. With a particular threat of biodiversity loss at higher trophic levels, however, knowledge of spatial and temporal patterns in predator assemblages and their interrelations with lower trophic levels is essential for assessing effects of trophic interactions and advancing biodiversity conservation in these ecosystems. We analyzed spatial and temporal variability of spider assemblages in tree species‐rich subtropical forests in China, across 27 study plots varying in woody plant diversity and stand age. Despite effects of woody plant richness on spider assemblage structure, neither habitat specificity nor temporal variability of spider richness and abundance were influenced. Rather, variability increased with forest age, probably related to successional changes in spider assemblages. Our results indicate that woody plant richness and theory predicting increasing predator diversity with increasing plant diversity do not necessarily play a major role for spatial and temporal dynamics of predator assemblages in such plant species‐rich forests. Diversity effects on biotic or abiotic habitat conditions might be less pronounced across our gradient from medium to high plant diversity than in previously studied less diverse systems, and bottom‐up effects might level out at high plant diversity. Instead, our study highlights the importance of overall (diversity‐independent) environmental heterogeneity in shaping spider assemblages and, as indicated by a high species turnover between plots, as a crucial factor for biodiversity conservation at a regional scale in these subtropical forests.


In China, mothers of children with autism spectrum disorder struggle with parenting, often becoming depressed. This can harm the well-being and sociocognitive development of their children. We determined whether a psychoeducational group intervention increases the frequency of mothers'
 positive speech patterns and alleviates their depression, and, in turn, whether these changes improve the behavior of their children. Mothers (8 from Shanghai, 8 from Taiwan) participated in a 12-week intervention of a weekly counseling session. At the end, analysis of transcripts of the mothers'
 speech showed that the frequency of positive emotional words increased and negative emotional words decreased, and their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Anxiety Inventory decreased significantly. Children also showed a significant reduction in scores on the Childhood Autism
 Rating Scale. These results demonstrate that counseling via a semistructured group intervention can improve mothers' parenting and coping skills, and help to alleviate their children's autism symptoms.


Reading the Bible is the principal religious practice of many Javanese Protestants. It is here compared to Javanese interpretive approaches to other texts, such as the Qur'an, magical formulae, and schoolbooks. While many aspects of the format of the village Bible study group constitute a break with conventional Javanese interpretive practices, the interpretive discourse of a Bible study meeting is still constrained by long-standing status and gender distinctions. Nevertheless, the innovative format of Bible study opens some room for interpretations that undercut more authoritative and conservative readings.


The results of studies of biochemical redox reactions photosensitized by inorganic semiconductor particles are reviewed. The mechanisms of hydrogen photoproduction, NAD+ or NADP+ photoreduction, CO2 photofixation and photosynthesis of organic and amino acids under the coupled action of TiO2, ZnO, CdS, ZnS and enzymes or bacterial cells are considered. Studies on the photocatalytic activity of ferritin, a protein containing microcrystals of hydrous ferric oxide, are described. The data on biosynthesis of cadmium sulfide by microorganisms and plants are analyzed. The possibility of the participation of inorganic semiconductors in photoprocesses in vivo is discussed.


This report is the result of a Master Thesis project conducted at the Research & Development Department of Teracom during the autumn 1997. The area investigated is the Network Management in a Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) Network. The result can also be used in a Digital TV Network. The goal is to find a way to remotely manage the Configuration, Supervision and Performance of the Servers in a DAB Network. This report first describes the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Management Information Base (MIB), Structure of Management Information (SMI) and Abstract Syntax Notation One (ASN.1) which are used in a Network Management system. The second part of the report will compare the different commercial products which can be found on the market and finally choose one of them for implementation. The last part will describe the special MIB constructed during the project for use with the Agent application in each DAB Server.


Wheat straw is a non-wood agricultural residue which serves as an excellent fibrous source for pulp and paper industry. In the present work, TCF bleaching sequences were developed for indigenous variety of AS/AQ wheat straw pulp. Different chemicals such as acid, oxygen, oxone, dithionite, alkali and hydrogen peroxide were optimized in different stages and sequences at varying doses of bleaching agents and reaction conditions. Multistage TCF bleach sequences i.e., AOOxPP*, AOOxEP, AOOxYP, AO¢Ox¢P¢ are resulted from various optimization trials during the study. It was very promising to find out that cellulose remained protected whereas most of the residual lignin was removed during the process. Most of the hemicelluloses were washed away during bleaching. However, it is quite evident from the pulps' sugar analysis that only a small fraction of hemicelluloses remained intact in the bleached pulp which is important in fiber preparation and its bonding during papermaking process. Similarly, hexenuronic acid was also removed during successive stages of bleaching that may be the causes of reduction in fiber strength, brightness and brightness stability. The results also revealed that the developed bleaching sequences are effective and selective to fully bleach the pulp with brightness gain greater than 80% ISO without deteriorating its fibre characteristics such as kappa number, viscosity, strength and brightness stability etc. A considerable reduction in effluent load with reduced toxicity and zero AOX level shows the advantage of process over chlorinated bleaching processes. Thus the study provides enough evidence to fill the gap between producing quality products and requirements for a healthy environment using TCF bleaching sequences.


In two dramatic experiments in 1996, iron was added to a large area of the tropical Pacific Ocean, causing a large phytoplankton bloom. This result not only demonstrated that (in at least some parts of the ocean) the lack of iron limits productivity, but also raised the possibility that fertilization of the ocean could increase its output. But how do we know where in the ocean to fertilize? In his Perspective, Mullineaux discusses an indicator of iron limitation (reported on p.
 840
 of this issue), which shows that iron is limiting productivity in unexpectedly large areas of the ocean.


Sensor faults can affect the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring (SHM) systems. Recent studies demonstrate that artificial neural networks can be used to detect sensor faults. In this paper, decentralized artificial neural networks (ANNs) are applied for autonomous sensor fault detection. On each sensor node of a wireless SHM system, an ANN is implemented to measure and to process structural response data. Structural response data is predicted by each sensor node based on correlations between adjacent sensor nodes and on redundancies inherent in the SHM system. Evaluating the deviations (or residuals) between measured and predicted data, sensor faults are autonomously detected by the wireless sensor nodes in a fully decentralized manner. A prototype SHM system implemented in this study, which is capable of decentralized autonomous sensor fault detection, is validated in laboratory experiments through simulated sensor faults. Several topologies and modes of operation of the embedded ANNs are investigated with respect to the dependability and the accuracy of the fault detection approach. In conclusion, the prototype SHM system is able to accurately detect sensor faults, demonstrating that neural networks, processing decentralized structural response data, facilitate autonomous fault detection, thus increasing the dependability and the accuracy of structural health monitoring systems.


To the Editor:

We read with great interest the paper by Rathore and colleagues,1 who have underscored a problem that indeed occurs from time to time. Emphysematous lung that occupies the entire dome of the left pleural cavity and expands well over the midline can occasionally present a substantial challenge in the surgeon's positioning of the left internal thoracic artery (ITA) conduit. The particular problem is the traction of the most proximal part of the left ITA (LITA) graft, due to pressure on the graft from the apical segment of the emphysematous lung. It cannot be avoided, even with the use of classic pericardial incision-slit or flap techniques,2 or a crisscross incision on the fascia over the LITA. Skeletonization of the ITA has recently been advocated as a method by which to increase available graft length. However, skeletonized ITA loses its "milieu," which theoretically may reduce its long-term resistance to atherosclerosis (due to accumulation of metabolic waste deposits over a period of years)—and subsequently attenuate the superior longevity of the conduit.3

The technique that Rathore and associates presented (in which the LITA graft was placed in the "fissure" of the upper left lobe for protection) was reported earlier by Rao and colleagues,4 and good results in 35 patients were confirmed later by Bernet and co-authors.5 Although it is a very tidy technique, disadvantages include the cost of a single-use device (U.S. $250)5 and possible pitfalls during the creation of a slit in the apical segment.

We have hesitated to further traumatize emphysematous lung by performing a surgical incision in the apical segment. Since 2000, we have used a new, simple, combined technique (pericardial incision plus pericardial strip)2 in more than 30 patients. With this technique, we suture a strip of autologous pericardium (5–8 cm in length and 2–3 cm in width) to the upper edge of the previously formed deep slit in the pericardium. The upper part of the pericardial strip is then sutured to the periosteum of the rib, just lateral to the origin of the LITA, thus forming the barrier toward the lung. This prevents herniation of the lung, avoiding the pressure on the LITA. The emphysematous lung is still allowed to expand fully, but only around the LITA conduit, and without exerting any pressure on it. Our technique enables adequate protection of the LITA graft, yet allows the lung to expand freely, which avoids unwanted traction and ventilation problems in the upper portion of the left lung. We believe that this modification of the surgical technique is as effective as—but less traumatic than—the slitting of the left upper lobe that has been promoted by Rao and Bernet, and now by Rathore and colleagues.

Dusko Nezic, MD, PhD

Aleksandar Knezevic, MD, BcS

Miomir Jovic, MD, PhD

Milan Cirkovic, MD

Department of Cardiac Surgery, "Dedinje" Cardiovascular Institute, Belgrade, Serbia


Calcination of oganic calcium was carried out in fixed bed, pore structure of tested sample was analyzed with auto-adsorption analyzer, and desulfurization experiment was studied by intelligent sulfur determination analyzer. Specific surface area of calcium magnesium acetate (CMA) was 46.6 m2/g after calcination at 900 degrees C, almost four times of that of limestone. Specific surface area of calcium acetate (CA) were mainly made up of pore of diameter less than 5 nm, and those of CMA was chiefly contributed by middle pore of diameter about 5 nm. Agglomeration of CA occurred in pore of diameter less than 5 nm, while CMA was sintered in whole range of pore size distribution. Agglomeration of organic calcium were slighter. Desulfurization efficiency of organic calcium ranged from 62.28% to 75.55% at 1000 degrees C as calcium/sulfur ratio being one, which was one time more than that of limestone. Perfect pore structure of organic calcium contributes to higher desulfurization efficiency.


The propagation of spin waves in the presence of a single skyrmion was considered. It was found that short-wavelength spin waves are hardly scattered, and that the main effect consists in an additional rotation of the spin deviation around the unperturbed spin direction in skyrmions. A special branch of collective excitations was found corresponding to oscillations of the skyrmion core size.


The buttonhole technique represents an arteriovenous fistula puncture tool that allows positioning the needle always at the same site. This procedure not only is more comfortable for patients, but is also appreciated by nurses because it reduces hemostasis time and offers the advantage of an easy cannulation.The only negative outcome of the buttonhole technique is, possibly, an increased incidence of skin infections. We introduced the buttonhole technique at the dialysis centers of the Rimini Hospital in 2009 and we here investigate the results and complications recorded during the following 5 years.


Samples of HgBa,CuO,+B (Hg-1201) were annealed under various conditions. After carefully controlling annealing time, annealing temperature (T,), and O2 partial pressure (P,), we were able to find the reversible annealing conditions for Hg-1201. Under 1 atm 0, at 260 "C~~,~400 "C, the obtained T, is nearly the same (-97 K). However, it decreases quickly with T,>300 "C in high vacuum (PO-lo-* atm), and reaches zero at T,=400 "C!. On the other hand, T, decreases with the decrease of T, in high-pressure O2 (-500 atm) and reaches -20 K at about 240 "C!. In the entire annealing region, the oxygen surplus varies significantly from 0.03 to 0.4, and a wide range of T, variation (O-+97 K-+20 K) was obtained with anion doping alone.


As it is well known, the 0 − 0 component of the Schwarzschild space can be obtained by the requirement that the geodesic of slowly moving particles match the Newtonian equation. Given this result, we show here that the remaining components can be obtained by requiring that the inside of a Newtonian ball of dust matched at a free falling radius with the external space determines that space to be Schwarzschild, if no pathologies exist. Also we are able to determine that the constant of integration that appears in the Newtonian Cosmology coincides with the spacial curvature of the FLRW metric.


In this study, the silk fibroin/nano-hydroxyapatite/hyaluronic acid (SF/nHAp/HA) composite scaffolds with different HA contents were developed by blending, cross-linking and freeze-drying, and their physicochemical properties and cell biocompatibility in vitro were subsequently studied. It was observed that the molecular conformation of the composite scaffolds was mainly composed of silk I and a small amount of the β-sheets structure. On enhancing the HA content, the pore size of the scaffold decreased, while the porosity, water absorption, swelling ratio and mechanical properties were observed to increase. In particular, the SF/nHAp/HA scaffold with a 5.0 wt% ratio exhibited the highest water absorption and mechanical properties among the developed materials. In addition, the in vitro cytocompatibility analysis showed that the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells exhibited excellent cell proliferation and osteogenic differentiation ability on the SF/nHAp/5.0 wt%HA scaffolds, as compared with the other scaffolds. It can be concluded that the developed composite scaffolds represent a promising class of materials for the bone tissue repair and regeneration.


In pursuit of explainability, we develop generative models for sequential data. The proposed models provide state-of-the-art classification results and robust performance for speech phone classification. We combine modern neural networks (normalizing flows) and traditional generative models (hidden Markov models - HMMs). Normalizing flow-based mixture models (NMMs) are used to model the conditional probability distribution given the hidden state in the HMMs. Model parameters are learned through judicious combinations of time-tested Bayesian learning methods and contemporary neural network learning methods. We mainly combine expectation-maximization (EM) and mini-batch gradient descent. The proposed generative models can compute likelihood of a data and hence directly suitable for maximum-likelihood (ML) classification approach. Due to structural flexibility of HMMs, we can use different normalizing flow models. This leads to different types of HMMs providing diversity in data modeling capacity. The diversity provides an opportunity for easy decision fusion from different models. For a standard speech phone classification setup involving 39 phones (classes) and the TIMIT dataset, we show that the use of standard features called mel-frequency-cepstral-coeffcients (MFCCs), the proposed generative models, and the decision fusion together can achieve $86.6\%$ accuracy by generative training only. This result is close to state-of-the-art results, for examples, $86.2\%$ accuracy of PyTorch-Kaldi toolkit [1], and $85.1\%$ accuracy using light gated recurrent units [2]. We do not use any discriminative learning approach and related sophisticated features in this article.


Large Language Models (LLMs) are powerful tools for natural language processing, enabling novel applications and user experiences. However, to achieve optimal performance, LLMs often require adaptation with private data, which poses privacy and security challenges. Several techniques have been proposed to adapt LLMs with private data, such as Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA), Soft Prompt Tuning (SPT), and In-Context Learning (ICL), but their comparative privacy and security properties have not been systematically investigated. In this work, we fill this gap by evaluating the robustness of LoRA, SPT, and ICL against three types of well-established attacks: membership inference, which exposes data leakage (privacy); backdoor, which injects malicious behavior (security); and model stealing, which can violate intellectual property (privacy and security). Our results show that there is no silver bullet for privacy and security in LLM adaptation and each technique has different strengths and weaknesses.


A main issue preventing the use of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) in end user applications is the low level of transparency in the decision process. Previous work on CNN interpretability has mostly focused either on localizing the regions of the image that contribute to the result or on building an external model that generates plausible explanations. However, the former does not provide any semantic information and the latter does not guarantee the faithfulness of the explanation. We propose an intermediate representation composed of multiple Semantically Interpretable Activation Maps (SIAM) indicating the presence of predefined attributes at different locations of the image. These attribute maps are then linearly combined to produce the final output. This gives the user insight into what the model has seen, where, and a final output directly linked to this information in a comprehensive and interpretable way. We test the method on the task of landscape scenicness (aesthetic value) estimation, using an intermediate representation of 33 attributes from the SUN Attributes database. The results confirm that SIAM makes it possible to understand what attributes in the image are contributing to the final score and where they are located. Since it is based on learning from multiple tasks and datasets, SIAM improve the explanability of the prediction without additional annotation efforts or computational overhead at inference time, while keeping good performances on both the final and intermediate tasks.


The authors compare two groups of intracranial epidural hematomas treated in the Neurosurgical department of Sainte-Anne Hospital in Paris: the first group includes 262 patients operated upon between 1965 and 1977; the second group concerns 124 patients operated during the period 1979-1984. The mortality rate has been progressively diminishing from 1969 (50%) to 1984 (12.5%). Among the survivors, functional sequellae are still frequent; some improvement in the functional prognosis has although been noted; in the first group, 41% of patients are cured and 56% of them returned to work; in the second group, 50% are cured, and 62% returned to their professional activities. The detailed analysis of those data emphasizes the importance of CT-Scan and of the improvement of specialized neurosurgical intensive care; on the other hand, the particular role of an emergency care organisation, such as the SAMU, appears rather discreet referring to this type of pathology.


The study investigated how library and information services promote intellectual freedom. It adopted a descriptive research survey and sampled both undergraduate and postgraduate students that use the library in Rivers State University. The instrument used for data collection was questionnaire. 120 copies of questionnaire were randomly administered to the undergraduate and postgraduate library student users, 100 copies of the questionnaire were successfully completed, returned and used for the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequency distribution and percentages were used to compute the data based on the number of questionnaires successfully completed and returned. The findings of the study revealed that the library was well equipped with current book/materials and journals on various fields including E-books and E-journals. The reasons for using library resources were to enhance thinking/intellectual ability, enhance academic performance, be motivated and decisive in order to contribute meaningfully to the society and to be informed positively. It was also reported that the reasons for using library resources were achieved and that library and information services could really promote intellectual freedom. It was therefore recommended that the society should see library and information services as a tool to intellectual freedom.Keywords: Change, Mindset, intellectual freedom, Library, Information Services


Microbes are ubiquitously distributed, and they are also present in algae production systems. The algal microbiome is a pivotal part of the alga holobiont and has a key role in modulating algal populations in nature. However, there is a lack of knowledge on the role of bacteria in artificial systems ranging from laboratory flasks to industrial ponds. Coexisting microorganisms, and predominantly bacteria, are often regarded as contaminants in algal research, but recent studies manifested that many algal symbionts not only promote algal growth but also offer advantages in downstream processing. Because of the high expectations for microalgae in a bio‐based economy, better understanding of benefits and risks of algal–microbial associations is important for the algae industry. Reducing production cost may be through applying specific bacteria to enhance algae growth at large scale as well as through preventing the growth of a broad spectrum of algal pathogens. In this review, we highlight the latest studies of algae–microbial interactions and their underlying mechanisms, discuss advantages of large‐scale algal–bacterial cocultivation and extend such knowledge to a broad range of biotechnological applications.


Concurrent C, a superset of C providing parallel programming facilities, is considered. A uniprocessor version of Concurrent C was first implemented. After experience with this version, the Concurrent C implementation was extended to run on two types of multiple processor systems: a set of computers connected by a local area network (the distributed version) and a shared-memory multiprocessor (the multiprocessor version). Experience with implementing and using these versions of Concurrent C is described. Specifically, the language changes triggered by the multiple processor implementations, some sample programs, a comparison of the execution times on various systems, and the suitability of these multiple processor architectures are discussed. >


In recent years, sharing healthcare information becomes one of essential requirements of e-health development. To cover this gap, different solutions are presented through different technologies. In this paper, we proposed a cloud computing solution for sharing healthcare information based on Google App Engine (GAE). With the experiment test results, we achieve interoperability among different healthcare centers and between healthcare providers and receivers with high stability and availability.


In this paper, a new modular active power filtering approach is proposed to eliminate harmonic currents and compensate reactive power. The method for identifying reference currents is based on FMVs "multi-variable filter" .This method uses two (FMVs) having the advantage of extracting harmonic directly from the αβ axis, the first FMV (FMV Current) extracts the fundamental and individual harmonic component of the distorted line current signal and injects equal-butopposite of each harmonic current into the line using a voltage source inverter VSI dedicated to that specific harmonic and the second FMV (FMV Voltage) estimates the fundamental component of the line voltage. Moreover the dc-side voltage is controlled by a fuzzy logic controller. The new approach has been illustrated in order to find the best way to reduce network harmonic currents and reactive power compensating of the connected load. All of the studies have been carried out through detail digital dynamic simulation using the MATLAB/Simulink Power System Toolbox.


The search for reliable early indicators of age-related cognitive decline represents an important avenue in aging research. Most research on late-life development charts cognitive change as a function of chronological age (CA), however, although CA is a commonly used developmental index, it offers little insight into the mechanisms underlying cognitive decline. In contrast, biological age (BioAge), reflecting the vitality of essential biological processes, represents a promising operationalization of developmental time. My overall programmatic doctoral research interests involve the identification of biological risk factors that predict agerelated cognitive decline, impairment and dementia. In this dissertation document, I present: an overview of my empirical contributions to the BioAge and cognitive aging literature throughout my doctoral training; the dissertation project which uses preliminary data from the PREVENT study and provides evidence that elevated plasma pro-inflammatory proteins are associated with cognitive status (healthy controls (HC) vs Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD)), cognitive performance and are related to poorer cognitive performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (a-MCI); and a discussion on the broad implications of the project results and future directions in BioAge research.


Quiet Sun Ellerman Bombs (QSEBs) are transient brightenings that are ubiquitously observed in the lower solar atmosphere in H-beta. As they are believed to pinpoint sites of magnetic reconnection, understanding their occurrence and detailed evolution will quantify their energy budget and explore their role in chromospheric and coronal heating. It is estimated that about half a million QSEBs could be present in the lower solar atmosphere at any given time. With DKIST's superior spatial resolution, we will be able to study their flaring structure and evolution, plus number density. 12 Mapping the magnetic field of small-scale structures in the sunspot penumbra Sara Esteban Pozuelo


BACKGROUND
Previous studies of lesbian and bisexual women have suggested that negative experiences with health care practitioners, combined with misinformation about the health needs of this diverse population, have led to an underutilization of medical services.

METHODS
This study combined focus group data (N = 44) with a self-administered questionnaire (N = 57) to explore the health concerns of lesbian women, including the prevalence of risk factors for cervical cancer, the frequency of Papanicolaou (Pap) test screening, and the barriers to obtaining care. We examined the influence of women's perceptions regarding the knowledge and sensitivity of their clinicians to lesbian issues and their experiences of discrimination in the medical setting of Pap test utilization.

RESULTS
Respondents reported risk factors for cervical cancer, including multiple past or current sexual partners (both male and female), early age at first coitus, history of sexually transmitted diseases, and cigarette smoking. One forth of respondents had not had a Pap test within the last 3 years, including 39 (7.6%) who had never had a Pap test. Women who reported that their health care providers were more knowledgeable and sensitive to lesbians issues were significantly more likely to have had a Pap test within the last year, even when controlling for age, education, income, and insurance status.

CONCLUSIONS
Lesbian women are at risk for cervical cancer and should receive routine cytologic screening according to individual risk assessment. The quality of clinician-patient interactions strongly influences care-seeking within the population sampled.


Candidiasic laryngitis is a very rare Candida spp infection of mucosa, appearing typically in immunosuppressed patients, mainly in patients with neoplasia, and, recently, in patients with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (VIH) infection. We present four cases of candidiasic laryngitis and HIV infection, as well as the clinical description and evolution of said cases after treatment with fluconazole. We review, as well, the cases published on the scientific literature. We maintain that in each HIV infected patient, with or without oral candidiasis, who shows dysphonia, candidiasic laryngitis should be ruled out.


AtMEK5^DD is an active mutant of AtMEK5, a MAP kinase kinase in Arabidopsis. Induction of AtMEK5^DD expression in transgenic plants leads to activation of 44 and 48 kD MAPKs and causes a rapid cell death. To compare the cell death induced by the expression of AtMEK5^DD with the HR-cell death induced by avirulence pathogen infection, we analyzed the activation of downstream MAP Kinase and induction of PR genes expression in permanent transgenic Arabidopsis plants. In-gel kinase activity assay revealed that the infection of Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 harboring Avr Rpt2 gene also lead to activation of 44 and 48 kD MAPKs. PAL, PR1 and PR5 were strongly induced in plants undergoing HR-cell death caused by the infection of P. syringae DC3000, while only the expression of PR5 was strongly induced in transgenic plants expressing AtMEK5^DD protein. NahG protein in AtMEK5^DD×NahG plants cannot suppress the cell death induced by AtMEK5^DD. And AtMEK5^DD protein expressed AtMEK5^DD×NahG plants showed no significant change in salicylic acid (SA) level. All these suggest that the cell death induced by the activation of AtMEK5 is salicylic acid-independent.


Abstract Over the past 30 years, our greatest accomplishments in advancing understanding about the safety, effectiveness and value of healthcare interventions have been achieved through the availability and accessibility of health insurance claims for large populations and, more recently, access to pockets of electronic health records that can be linked to information on expenditures, outcomes and patient experience. Although useful, this data lacks clinical detail and patient relevance. Going forward, we need qualified data networks that understand their data, have a research administration in place to evaluate requests, obtain institutional review and transfer data – all on a timely basis. The mecca of health information will be networks with comprehensive electronic health records that are able to collect and link supplementary data collected from clinicians, tissue banks, etc., and/or directly from patients, including information on quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes. A combination of data collected from clinicians, patients and health systems will provide details about treatment use, patient characteristics and health outcomes that are not consistently available in a patient's medical record, including whether prescriptions were actually filled, and if patients were hospitalized or had other costly healthcare that may not have been reported to their network doctors. We need a simple process to serve as a gateway to identify qualified research partners, the types of data each has access to, and how to work with them. The best partners will have established processes for contracting, prompt and informed institutional review, and data integration including supplementation from patients, clinicians and others, as needed, to support evidence generation that is more nuanced than simply choosing treatments based on how the average patient would respond.


A two-year-old, intact female Sussex spaniel was presented with signs of exercise intolerance. Pre- and post-exercise serum lactate and pyruvate concentrations and urinary organic acid screening supported a diagnosis of pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency, as previously reported in this breed. Dietary therapy was initiated for six months, during which time there was no reported clinical deterioration. A full neurological examination and repeat evaluation of lactate and pyruvate concentrations before and after exercise was conducted one year after diagnosis, at which time the patient had been without dietary modification for six months and had developed more severe exercise intolerance along with evidence of central nervous system dysfunction.


Computer vision is increasingly becoming interested in the rapid estimation of object detectors. Canonical hard negative mining strategies are slow as they require multiple passes of the large negative training set. Recent work has demonstrated that if the distribution of negative examples is assumed to be stationary, then Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) can learn comparable detectors without ever revisiting the negative set. Even with this insight, however, the time to learn a single object detector can still be on the order of tens of seconds on a modern desktop computer. This paper proposes to leverage the resulting structured covariance matrix to obtain detectors with identical performance in orders of magnitude less time and memory. We elucidate an important connection to the correlation filter literature, demonstrating that these can also be trained without ever revisiting the negative set.


A major consideration we had in writing this survey was to make it accessible to mathematicians as well as to computer scientists, since expander graphs, the protagonists of our story, come up in numerous and often surprising contexts in both fields. But, perhaps, we should start with a few words about graphs in general. They are, of course, one of the prime objects of study in Discrete Mathematics. However, graphs are among the most ubiquitous models of both natural and human-made structures. In the natural and social sciences they model relations among species, societies, companies, etc. In computer science, they represent networks of communication, data organization, computational devices as well as the flow of computation, and more. In mathematics, Cayley graphs are useful in Group Theory. Graphs carry a natural metric and are therefore useful in Geometry, and though they are "just" one-dimensional complexes, they are useful in certain parts of Topology, e.g. Knot Theory. In statistical physics, graphs can represent local connections between interacting parts of a system, as well as the dynamics of a physical process on such systems. The study of these models calls, then, for the comprehension of the significant structural properties of the relevant graphs. But are there nontrivial structural properties which are universally important? Expansion of a graph requires that it is simultaneously sparse and highly connected. Expander graphs were first defined by Bassalygo and Pinsker, and their existence first proved by Pinsker in the early '70s. The property of being an expander seems significant in many of these mathematical, computational and physical contexts. It is not surprising that expanders are useful in the design and analysis of communication networks. What is less obvious is that expanders have surprising utility in other computational settings such as in the theory of error correcting codes and the theory of pseudorandomness. In mathematics, we will encounter e.g. their role in the study of metric embeddings, and in particular in work around the Baum-Connes Conjecture. Expansion is closely related to the convergence rates of Markov Chains, and so they play a key role in the study of Monte-Carlo algorithms in statistical mechanics and in a host of practical computational applications. The list of such interesting and fruitful connections goes on and on with so many applications we will not even


Tissue mercury levels in humans have increased during the past 50 years to an alarming concentration, with possible deleterious effects that may involve neurological, cardiovascular, and immunological pathology. This article reviews the protocol for the use of oral 2,3-dimercaptopropane-1-sulfonate (DMPS) and oral meso-2, 3-dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) in combination with intravenous glutathione and high-dose vitamin C for treatment of high-level mercury. This protocol yielded an average 69% reduction of urine mercury by provocation analysis.


Communication between cells and extracellular environments is of interest because of its critical roles in cell development and differentiation. Particularly, this signal transduction is commonly believed to rely on the contact and binding of the participating molecules/proteins, suggesting that the binding distance needed is less than a few nanometers. However, it is difficult to precisely match the rapidly binding interaction which depends on the probability of molecular collision in living systems, raising a hypothesis that another mechanism exists, could promote this signal communication, and remains unknown. Here we report that a long-range signal delivery over 10-μm and 20-μm polydimethylsiloxane(PDMS) barriers can be observed in microfluidically tetracycline (Tet) inducible expression systems. Results show that a significant increment of the long-range induced green fluorescent protein in human embryonic kidney 293T (HEK 293T) cells by the stimulation of Tet is demonstrated, and that such a signal induction is not dominated by Tet diffusion and displays a specific bindingless property. In addition, our experimental results, combined with theoretical modeling, suggest that this communication exhibits a bump-shaped characteristic depending on barrier thickness, materially structural property, surface roughness, and agonist concentration. It strongly relies on the PDMS barrier to delivery signal; therefore, we call such a mechanism as "wired" cell communication instead of wireless. These results could ignite interests in the novel and "wired" cell communication, which we call it X-signal, and in the use of such systems for the study of cellular biology and development of new drug.


In data scarce regions of the world, co‐produced management tools that combine remote sensing, modeled, and in situ data provide the information needed to support ground‐based monitoring systems for improved water and natural resource management. On the Navajo Nation (N.N.), in the Four Corners of the southwestern United States, there is a need for data‐driven management of water resources as the region is prone to water scarcity and emergency drought declarations, which have become more common under a changing climate. The current tools used by the N.N. Department of Water Resources largely lack the spatial detail, consistent measurements, and political and administrative information specific to their needs for determining appropriate response actions. The Drought Severity Evaluation Tool (DSET), a cloud‐based web application that harnesses the capabilities of Google Earth Engine, is a user‐friendly tool that pairs remotely sensed, modeled, and in situ data on the N.N. The DSET computing capabilities include on‐the‐fly generation of regional to field scale maps, time series figures, and reporting metrics that can assist in drought emergency declarations and the assistance to local communities through the subsequent allocation of relief dollars across the N.N. to the regions that need it most.


Breast lesions are one of the most common types of lesions among women in Brazil and worldwide, accounting forabout 28% of new cases each year. These lesions may have Benignor Malignant behaviors. In this work, a computational method-ology for image classification was developed to differentiate malignant and benign lesions breast, aiming at low computational cost and good efficiency. In our approach, different Convolutional Neural Networks architectures and several classifiers were tested. Transfer Learning was employed to deal with the limitation of the small number of images in the database, reaching an accuracy of 81.73%, a sensitivity of 85.66%, a specificity of 78.40%, Kappa of 0.63 and ROC curve of 0.82. Finally, it is believed that theproposed methodology can integrate a CAD tool acting as patient screening or providing a second opinion to the specialist.


Mastery of abstract chemistry concepts requires learning strategies to facilitate students to make mental imagery to the submicroscopic level. This study aims to analyze the differences in students' mastery of the ionic equilibrium in salt solutions concept by applying the Problem-Based Learning (PBL) model with multilevel representation. The study applied a quasi-experimental method with a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. The research samples were 61 students of natural science 11th grade SMAN 6 Banjarmasin, which were determined by random cluster sampling. This test instrument is in the form of reasoned-multiple choice with a Content Validity Ratio (CVR) score of 1 (valid), reliability score of 0.96 (very high), difficulty index is moderate to difficult, distinguishing power is moderate to good, and sensitivity item is a sensitive category. Data were analyzed inferentially using an unpaired ttest. This research found that the PBL model with multilevel representation increased the students' thinking ability at Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) levels. The student's mastery of the ionic equilibrium in salt solutions concept learned by using the PBL model with multilevel representation was better than by using the PBL model.


The H(3l) + H2 collision has been investigated in the velocity range of 2-7 km s-1, at room temperature, through time-dependent fluorescence intensity measurements after pulsed excitation, at different pressures; the l-mixing cross sections and the cross sections for non-radiative quenching processes have been determined.


Background and the purpose of the study: This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of different concentrations of Nanosilver solution against Iranian strain of Leishmania major (MRHO/IR/75/ER) both in vitro and in vivo on BALB/c mice model for the first time. Methods: this is an interventional study which was conducted on the infected macrophages by L. major amastigotes in vitro. In order to confirm the in vitro results, various concentration of Nanosilver solution were administered topically on skin lesions caused by L.major in 78 inbred BALB/c mice as test or interventional and 52 mice as control groups once or twice daily for 14 days. Results and major conclusion: Results of this study showed that different concentration of Nanosilver reduced proliferation of L. major amastigotes compared with the control wells but the differences were not statistically significant. Also, different concentrations of Nanosilver did not decrease the lesion sizes and amastigote counts in the BALB/c mice significantly. Secondary infection was significantly decreased in Nanosilver- treated groups compared with control groups (p<0.01). In conclusion, Nanosilver seems to be effective for control of secondary infection of localized cutaneous leishmaniasis.


Recently, a novel quantization technique has been put forward, which yields the imaginary-time quantum-mechanical propagator as a noise average involving the solutions of a Langevin equation in configuration space with a Gaussian white noise. Contrary to previous attempts, this strategy does not require any knowledge about the ground-state quantum dynamics. Our aim is to show that this approach can be cast in a different form, which exhibits a manifest connection with classical mechanics (at imaginary time). The advantages of this strategy are pointed out and illustrated by taking the harmonic oscillator as an example.


Despite the importance of international trade on intermediate goods, the literature did not pay much attention to this aspect in determining the effects of trade liberalisation in the presence of labour unions. We take up this issue here and show the effects of trade liberalisation on the final goods and/or the intermediate goods, where the domestic firm pays unionised wage and imports intermediate goods from another country. We show that trade liberalisation on the intermediate goods (final goods) increases (reduces) the unionised wage, labour union's utility and the domestic profit. Trade liberalisation on both the final goods and intermediate goods may either increase or reduce the domestic unionised wage, labour union's utility and the domestic profit depending on the input coefficients and the initial tariff levels. Our qualitative results are robust with respect to the intermediate goods market structure, the pricing strategy of the intermediate goods producer, the union's objective function and input substitution, yet they affect the results quantitatively.


Aphelops was a hornless, cursorial, browsing, rhinoceros that lived in herds and was distinct morphologically and ecologically from the other North American Miocene rhinoceroses, Teleoceras and Peraceras. Measurements of presumptive male and female jaws show that Aphelops, like the modern Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros), was sexually dimorphic in tusk and diastemal size, but not in body size. The relative shape of the occipital condyles indicates that Aphelops was more active than Teleoceras, Peraceras, any of the extant rhinoceroses, or the hippopotamus. Cranial comparisons among Aphelops and the proboscis-bearing tapir (Tapirus) indicate that the former lacked a proboscis. However, Aphelops was a prehensile-lipped browser as evidenced by size and retraction of the narial notch, size of the infraorbital foramen, and relative brachydonty. Measurements of long bones show the possibility that later Aphelops were becoming more cursorial. Restorations of the face and body of Aphelops and its contemporaries are provided to supplement the above comparisons. Aphelops is comprised of three successive species that increased in size through the Miocene. Positions of the narial notch relative to the maxillary teeth are particular to each species. Aphelops lived in small herds on the American savanna, was the most successful aceratherine, and was one of the last American rhinoceroses to become extinct. Extinction of Apllelops resulted from the inability of it and other large browsing, non- ruminating herbivores to adapt to an increasingly continental climate.


Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), present in climbing and mossy fiber afferents to the adult mouse cerebellum, acts as a neuromodulator to enhance the spontaneous and amino-acid-induced firing rate of Purkinje cells. CRF also is present during development of the mouse cerebellum, at ages that precede synaptogenesis, which suggests that it may have a different function during development compared to its modulatory role in the adult. The intent of this study was to determine when CRF begins to affect the firing rate of Purkinje cells as well as the time course over which this effect matures. The earliest effect of CRF was elicited at postnatal day (P) 9 at which time a weak enhancement in the amplitude of the firing rate was recorded. However, the amplitude, time to peak, sustainability, and duration of the response were significantly different from that recorded in the older animals or adults. The excitatory effect of CRF became stronger and the duration of the response increased progressively from P9 until it was adult-like by P20. Purkinje cells in the posterior lobe vermis developed a mature response before those in the anterior lobe or hemispheres. Data from previous studies have shown that CRF and its type 1 receptor are present in the cerebellum before birth and that both undergo major reorganization around P10. Taken together, these immunohistochemical observations and the present physiologic data indicate that CRF does not modulate the activity of Purkinje cells until the peptide begins to assume an adult-like distribution in cerebellar afferents.


The mucormycosis is a rare opportunistic invasive infection caused by fungi of the order Mucorales and characterized by vascular invasion and tissue necrosis. It affects generally the subjects with altered natural resistances, particularly the diabetics patients. The cerebro-rhino-orbital region is the most common site. The clinical signs depend on the intra-tissular and intra-vascular evolution of the fungi. The diagnosis of this disease is asserted by the mycological and anatomo-pathological exams. The treatment is based on the antifungic and the surgical excision of necrotic tissues. We report three observations: one man (42 years) and two women (59 and 60 years). Diabetes was found in two cases. The diagnosis was in every case anatomo-pathologic. Our objective was to study the epidemiological and clinico-pathologic aspects of this serious affection and to discuss its prognosis.


Molecular charge control agents (CCAs) of different physical states, ranging from molecular adsorption on the silica surface to particulate mixture with silica particles, were prepared by treating a hydrophobic silica (Aerosil R972 from Degussa), with various CCA coating solutions. The CCAs studied are 3,5-di-t-butylsalicylic acid (t-BSA), potassium bis(3,5-di-t-butylsalicylato)borate (LR120), and potassium tetraphenylborate (KTPB). The physical states ofthe CCAs in the silica samples are controlled by careful manipulation of the coating solvent (system). The models and assumptions used in the solution coating experiments are discussed and are verified in the case of t-BSA. Studies of the charging properties of the synthesized CCA-modified silicas in styrene-butadiene toner against a series of polymer-coated metal beads show that higher toner charges and shorter admix times are consistently obtained when the CCA is molecularly adsorbed on the silica surface. Since the surface area of the CCA is largest when it is molecularly adsorbed on the silica surface, the high toner charge obtained when these surface modified silicas is incorporated in toner is attributable to a surface area effect. The short admix time can also be attributed to the surface area effect, either due to the rapid charging or to the rapid charge exchange between CCA sites.


The development of industrial safety law in Britain and New Zealand and the origins of construction, safety law are outlined in Part I. The administration and interpretation of the Construction Act 1959 are described in Part II, and Part III highlights the comparable statute law in three Commonwealth countries. The thesis will assist persons engaged in industry, lawyers and departmental officers in the understanding of the law and its application to construction work. The information presented on overseas law will assist those involved in the task of reviewing and consolidating the New Zealand industrial safety, health and welfare legislation. The history of the British Factories Acts leading on to the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, described in Chapter 1, highlights the importance of a self-regulating, integrated statutory system and a professional inspectorate with an advisory role and residual enforcement powers. New Zealand safety law has developed as the country's industrial needs have determined, as will be seen from Chapter 2. Generally, British statutes have been adopted, but construction safety law is the exception and Chapter 3 shows that, from the earliest Bill introduced by Richard John Seddon in 1892 up to the present, the legislation covering the construction industry has been initiated and drafted with industry representation. The more empirical subjects such as current policy and practice, sanctions, codes, education, other legislation and reform, as well as the purpose, effect, extent and application of the Construction Act 1959 are discussed in Chapter 4. The results of the author's legal research and analysis are contained in Chapters 5 and 6 under the headings of 'Liabilities' and 'Technical Law'. The responsibilities of employers, workmen, safety supervisors, inspectors and the Crown are set out and explained in terms of the statute and the interpretation from the case law. The technical subjects include scaffolding, guardrails, brittle roofing, fall of objects, access, excavations, mechanical plant, demolition, eye protection, asbestos, work in compressed air, health and welfare. Chapters 7, 8 and 9 examine the present legislation, in Britain, Australia and Canada and indicate a trend towards a unified approach to occupational safety, health and welfare and one enactment for all places of work, and with separate regulations and codes of practice for each industry. This study has been carried out by the present Chief Safety Engineer of the Department of Labour who has been responsible for the administration of the Construction Act 1959 since 1968. A separately bound appendix includes a copy of the Construction Act 1959 and the Amendments (Appendix A), the Inspection of Building Appliances Bill 1892 (Appendix B), the Scaffolding Inspection Act 1906 (Appendix C), the Tasmanian Industrial Safety, Health and Welfare Act 1977 (Appendix D), the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act 1978 (Appendix E), and copies of the unreported judgments and decisions referred to in the thesis (Appendix F).


When the human erythroleukemia cell line K562 is treated with OKT9, a monoclonal antibody against the transferrin receptor, effects on receptor dynamics and degradation ensue. The apparent half-life of the receptor is decreased by greater than 50% as a result of OKT9 treatment. The transferrin receptor is also rapidly redistributed in response to OKT9 such that a lower percentage of the cellular receptors are displayed on the cell surface. OKT9 treatment also leads to a decrease in the total number of receptors participating in the transferrin cycle for cellular iron uptake. The reduction in iron uptake that results from the loss of receptors from the cycle leads to enhanced biosynthesis of the receptor. Receptors with bound OKT9 continue to participate in multiple cycles of iron uptake. However, OKT9 treatment appears to result in a relatively small increase per cycle in the departure of receptors from participation in iron uptake to a pathway leading to receptor degradation. Radiolabeled OKT9 is itself degraded by K562 cells and this degradation is inhibitable by leupeptin or chloroquine. In the presence of leupeptin, OKT9 treatment results in the enhanced intracellular accumulation of transferrin. Because the time involved in the transferrin cycle is shorter (12.5 min) than the normal half-life of the receptor (8 h), a small change in recycling efficiency caused by OKT9 treatment could account for the marked decrease in receptor half-life. In this paper the implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to systems in which receptor number is regulated by ligand.


The electromagnetic scattering by a homogeneous gyrotropic bianisotropic cylinder of arbitrary cross section is analyzed in this paper using the generalized multipole technique (GMT) where only the longitudinal fictitious electric and magnetic currents are involved. The general scattering solution is formulated and numerical results of near fields and bistatic radar cross sections are presented for four specific examples, namely, a chiral circular cylinder, a chiral square cylinder, a gyrotropic bianisotropic circular cylinder, and a gyrotropic bianisotropic "lens" cylinder. Results obtained using the GMT for the chiral and the gyrotropic bianisotropic circular cylinders are in excellent agreement with those obtained from the eigen-function expansion. Results of the GMT for the chiral square cylinder are in excellent agreement with those obtained from the method of moments (MoM) solution.


Today's world is depending more on the internet for knowing new things or for clearing the doubts related to their field of work etc. But when we enter a topic in the search engine it is not necessary that the pages related to our interested area would come. It may show the pages in various fields that possess that word. So sometimes it may be irritating for the users when the pages which are not of their interests are displayed. So this paper deals with the idea of personalised web search where a user profile is created. It may contain the details of the user and his topics of interests. But due to security reasons most of the users do not disclose their private information. This paper provides an online profile creation where the user can customize his related topics and when a query is entered the topics related to his interests will be displayed first with his privacy preserved.


Power-handling capability of bulk CMOS-based single-pole double-throw (SPDT) switch operating in millimeter-wave (mm-wave) and subterahertz region is significantly limited by the reduced threshold voltage of deeply scaled transistors. A unique design technique based on impedance transformation network (ITN) is presented in this work, which improves 1-dB compression point, namely P1dB, without deteriorating other performance. To prove the presented solution is valid, a 70–100-GHz switch is designed and implemented in a 55-nm bulk CMOS technology. At 90 GHz, it achieves a measured P1dB of 15 dBm, an insertion loss (IL) of 3.5 dB, and an isolation (ISO) of 18 dB. The total area of the chip is only 0.14 mm2.