BACKGROUND
The functional and cosmetic results after hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis (HFA) have primarily been described using a subjective grading system of good, fair, or poor. To obtain more objective results, the postoperative mimic function was investigated using a combination of clinical and electrophysiological methods.

METHODS
A total of 29 patients with hypoglossal-facial anastomosis were evaluated using a standardized questionnaire and the Stennert's paralysis index as clinical scoring system and electroneurography (NMG/ENoG) and electromyography (EMG) as electrophysiological assessments.

RESULTS
Twenty-six of 29 patients (89%) judged their own facial function as very good or good, and three as poor. Under resting tone conditions, no patient showed a difference between palpebral fissures (> 3 mm), an ectropium, a substantial loss of nasolabial fold, or a drop of angulus oris (> 3 mm). With attempted movement, the lid closure was complete in 76% of patients, and the cornea was lid-covered in 100%. Sixty-seven percent of the patients were able to whistle. The second upper incisor was visible (full width) in 19%. No patient could frown sufficiently or expose the upper and lower canine teeth. The mean Stennert's score decreased from 9 to 4 after surgery. The relative amplitudes of the NMGs were increased in patients with low clinical indices. Patients with a complete eye closure showed a higher density of EMG patterns in their orbicularis oculi muscles. No significant differences for clinical or electrophysiological parameters could be observed based on age, sex, or time point of operation.

CONCLUSION
Combining the Stennert's paralysis index with NMG and EMG allows a more objective assessment of functional and cosmetic results after HFA.


Subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) has been demonstrated to promote the development of mastitis, one of the most serious diseases in dairy farming worldwide, but the underlying mechanism is unclearn. Using untargeted metabolomics, we found hexadecanamide (HEX) was significantly reduced in rumen fluid and milk from cows with SARA-associated mastitis. Herein, we aimed to assess the protective role of HEX in Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus)- and SARA-induced mastitis and the underlying mechanism. We showed that HEX ameliorated S. aureus-induced mastitis in mice, which was related to the suppression of mammary inflammatory responses and repair of the blood-milk barrier. In vitro, HEX depressed S. aureus-induced activation of the NF-κB pathway and improved barrier integrity in mouse mammary epitheial cells (MMECs). In detail, HEX activated PPARα, which upregulated SIRT1 and subsequently inhibited NF-κB activation and inflammatory responses. In addition, ruminal microbiota transplantation from SARA cows (S-RMT) caused mastitis and aggravated S. aureus-induced mastitis, while these changes were reversed by HEX. Our findings indicate that HEX effectively attenuates S. aureus- and SARA-induced mastitis by limiting inflammation and repairing barrier integrity, ultimately highlighting the important role of host or microbiota metabolism in the pathogenesis of mastitis and providing a potential strategy for mastitis prevention.


OBJECT
Endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) has become a well-accepted option for obstructive hydrocephalus. However, standard ventriculostomy at the floor of the third ventricle might not be feasible under certain conditions. Here, the authors report in detail on their initial experience with an alternative option of endoscopic ventriculostomy through the lamina terminalis via a transventricular route.

METHODS
Endoscopic third ventriculostomy through the lamina terminalis from a transventricular transforaminal route was evaluated in 4 cadaveric human heads and in 4 clinical cases.

RESULTS
In all 4 human cadavers, an opening of the lamina terminalis via a transventricular approach could be achieved without injury to either the optic chiasm or the anterior cerebral arteries. In the 4 clinical cases, an accurate and reliable ventriculostomy was performed at the lamina terminalis. The bur hole was placed directly at the coronal suture 2 cm lateral from the midline. After identifying the optic chiasm and the anterior cerebral arteries, a blunt perforation was made just anterior to the optic chiasm by using perforation forceps and a balloon catheter. After the opening, the stoma was inspected with a 0° and 30° rod lens endoscope, and its patency as well as the preservation of vessels and optic nerves was checked. No complications occurred, although all patients suffered from a clinically silent fornical contusion at the foramen of Monro.

CONCLUSIONS
Endoscopic opening of the lamina terminalis via a transventricular transforaminal route appears to be feasible. No complications were observed. Although no conclusions on the clinical success rate can be drawn, the reliable anatomical opening and known success rate for anterior subfrontal approaches suggest that the technique represents an alternative in a small subgroup of patients in whom a standard ETV cannot be performed.


In a survey of endophytic fungi associated with endemic plant Cinnamomum malabatrum leaves harbored a bioactive endophytic isolate CMS 3 was identified as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides through morphological and phylogenetic analysis based on ITS-rDNA. The ethyl acetate extract of fermentation broth of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides CMS 3 displayed antimicrobial activity against gram positive and gram negative bacteria as well as the fungal pathogen, Candida albicans. The ethyl acetate crude extract showed in vitro cytotoxicity against the HeLa, MCF-7 and MG63 cancer cell lines with the IC50 values of 94.2μg/ml, 84.3μg/ml and 162μg/ml respectively. Gas chromatography and Mass Spectrophotometry (GC-MS) analysis of crude extract confirmed that CMS 3 was a prolific producer of secondary metabolites, in which nearly 74% of the metabolites not listed in the NIST database. Major compounds were phenol 3, 5- dimethoxy acetate (11.82 %), 4'-isopropylidene-bis-(2-cyclohexyl) phenol, N-Didehydrohexacarboxyl-2, 4, 5-trimethylpiperazine and 1, 2, 4-Triazolium ylide. These metabolites may be responsible for its antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities.


In recent years, wearable devices and wireless body area networks have gained momentum as a means to monitor people's behavior and simplify their interaction with the surrounding environment, thus representing a key element of the body-to-body networking (BBN) paradigm. Within this paradigm, several transmission technologies, such as 802.11 and 802.15.4, that share the same unlicensed band (namely, the industrial, scientific, and medical band) coexist, dramatically increasing the level of interference and, in turn, negatively affecting network performance. In this paper, we analyze the cross-technology interference (CTI) caused by the utilization of different transmission technologies that share the same radio spectrum. We formulate an optimization model that considers internal interference, as well as CTI to mitigate the overall level of interference within the system, explicitly taking into account node mobility. We further develop three heuristic approaches to efficiently solve the interference mitigation problem in large-scale network scenarios. Finally, we propose a protocol to compute the solution that minimizes CTI in a distributed fashion. Numerical results show that the proposed heuristics represent efficient and practical alternatives to the optimal solution for solving the CTI mitigation (CTIM) problem in large-scale BBN scenarios.


Two-dimensional transition-metal dichalcogenide (2D TMD) layers are highly attractive for emerging stretchable and foldable electronics owing to their extremely small thickness coupled with extraordinary electrical and optical properties. Although intrinsically large strain limits are projected in them (i.e., several times greater than silicon), integrating 2D TMDs in their pristine forms does not realize superior mechanical tolerance greatly demanded in high-end stretchable and foldable devices of unconventional form factors. In this article, we report a versatile and rational strategy to convert 2D TMDs of limited mechanical tolerance to tailored 3D structures with extremely large mechanical stretchability accompanying well-preserved electrical integrity and modulated transport properties. We employed a concept of strain engineering inspired by an ancient paper-cutting art, known as kirigami patterning, and developed 2D TMD-based kirigami electrical conductors. Specifically, we directly integrated 2D platinum diselenide (2D PtSe2) layers of controlled carrier transport characteristics on mechanically flexible polyimide (PI) substrates by taking advantage of their low synthesis temperature. The metallic 2D PtSe2/PI kirigami patterns of optimized dimensions exhibit an extremely large stretchability of ∼2000% without compromising their intrinsic electrical conductance. They also present strain-tunable and reversible photoresponsiveness when interfaced with semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs), benefiting from the formation of 2D PtSe2/CNT Schottky junctions. Moreover, kirigami field-effect transistors (FETs) employing semiconducting 2D PtSe2 layers exhibit tunable gate responses coupled with mechanical stretching upon electrolyte gating. The exclusive role of the kirigami pattern parameters in the resulting mechanoelectrical responses was also verified by a finite-element modeling (FEM) simulation. These multifunctional 2D materials in unconventional yet tailored 3D forms are believed to offer vast opportunities for emerging electronics and optoelectronics.


In this study (reproduced from typescript) Professor Gelb makes use of a new method he calls ' sequential reconstruction ' (and which, he says, has not previously been applied to any Semitic language), to rework his theories on the structure of Akkadian. Sequential reconstruction is based on the concept that the ' sequential ' morphemes ' appear in a certain ordered sequence, which is obligatory and immutable' (p. 2). This means that the separate morphemes denoting, for example, gender, number, and case (= mood) should all appear, both in nouns and verbs, in a strict sequence, as in the example below. By such means he is able to conclude, for example, that the u in kalbum is the marker not of case, but of gender. Challenging theories of this kind, whether eventually acceptable or not, can only do good to the study of the language, and some of his conclusions—such as the origin of the muprefix as the Nominative of the indefinite pronoun (p. 145)—have an immediate appeal. However, in order to justify his reconstructed forms he is often forced (like previous scholars) to rely on the effects of analogy, and our understanding of these is still so rudimentary that many of his conclusions can only be considered tentative. I do not intend to refer to any of them in detail, especially since a full review of the work has been written by Professor von Soden, in JNES, xxix, 3, 1970, 202-07.


Flowering is a crucial stage for plant reproductive success; therefore, the regulation of plant flowering has been widely researched. Although multiple well-defined endogenous and exogenous flowering regulators have been reported, new ones are constantly being discovered. Here, we confirm that a novel plant growth regulator guvermectin (GV) induces early flowering in Arabidopsis. Interestingly, our genetic experiments newly demonstrated that WRKY41 and its homolog WRKY53 were involved in GV-accelerated flowering as positive flowering regulators. Overexpression of WRKY41 or WRKY53 resulted in an early flowering phenotype compared to the wild type (WT). In contrast, the w41/w53 double mutants showed a delay in GV-accelerated flowering. Gene expression analysis showed that flowering regulatory genes SOC1 and LFY were upregulated in GV-treated WT, 35S:WRKY41, and 35S:WRKY53 plants, but both declined in w41/w53 mutants with or without GV treatment. Meanwhile, biochemical assays confirmed that SOC1 and LFY were both direct targets of WRKY41 and WRKY53. Furthermore, the early flowering phenotype of 35S:WRKY41 lines was abolished in the soc1 or lfy background. Together, our results suggest that GV plays a function in promoting flowering, which was co-mediated by WRKY41 and WRKY53 acting as new flowering regulators by directly activating the transcription of SOC1 and LFY in Arabidopsis.


The observation of heterogeneous protein folding kinetics has been widely interpreted in terms of multiple independent unrelated pathways (IUP model), both experimentally and in theoretical calculations. However, direct structural information on folding intermediates and their properties now indicates that all of a protein population folds through essentially the same stepwise pathway, determined by cooperative native-like foldon units and the way that the foldons fit together in the native protein. It is essential to decide between these fundamentally different folding mechanisms. This article shows, contrary to previous supposition, that the heterogeneous folding kinetics observed for the staphylococcal nuclease protein (SNase) does not require alternative parallel pathways. SNase folding kinetics can be fit equally well by a single predetermined pathway that allows for optional misfolding errors, which are known to occur ubiquitously in protein folding. Structural, kinetic, and thermodynamic information for the folding intermediates and pathways of many proteins is consistent with the predetermined pathway–optional error (PPOE) model but contrary to the properties implied in IUP models.


A single-crystal X-ray study indicates that the perovskite form of CaGeO3 is orthorhombic(Pbnm), and isotypic with GdFeO3, although it was previously reported as a cubic form; the cell dimensions are a : 5.26076)K,A : S.ZeSS(to), s : 7.4452(15) and v :2M.366)43 (Z: 4; Dcarc : 5.17 glcm3). The crystal structure is close to that of SmAlO3. Although the unit cell of CaGeO3 is pseudocubic, the structure itself is very distorted through the tilting and distortion of polyhedra. The oxygen polyhedra are less tilted and less distorted than those of other GdFeO3-type perovskites. The structural deformation of the GdFeo3-type perovskite is determined primarily by the size-ratio of two kinds of cation occupying A and B sites. Some structural characteristics such as O(2)-O(2F(2) and A-O(1)-B angles and bond-length distortions exhibit systematic relationships as a function of the observed tolerance factor which is newly defined here. A strong correlation between the Goldschmidt tolerance factor and the observed tolerance factor has made possible some predictions for GdFeO3-type perovskites.


Finite element analysis(FEA) and modal test are main methods to give the first-order vertical bending vibration frequency of train carbody at present, but they are inefficiency and waste plenty of time. Based on Timoshenko beam theory, the bending deformation, moment of inertia and shear deformation are considered. Carbody is divided into some parts with the same length, and it's stiffness is calculated with series principle, it's cross section area, moment of inertia and shear shape coefficient is equivalent by segment length, and the fimal corrected first-order vertical bending vibration frequency analytical formula is deduced. There are 6 simple carbodies and 1 real carbody as examples to test the formula, all analysis frequencies are very close to their FEA frequencies, and especially for the real carbody, the error between analysis and experiment frequency is 0.75%. Based on the analytic formula, sensitivity analysis of the real carbody's design parameters is done, and some main parameters are found. The series principle of carbody stiffness is introduced into Timoshenko beam theory to deduce a formula, which can estimate the first-order vertical bending vibration frequency of carbody quickly without traditional FEA method and provide a reference to design engineers.


Seasonal distributions of biomass, egg production, and production rates of the pelagic copepod community were compared to the variation in abundance and size and taxonomic composition of the microplankton in the southern Kattegat, Denmark. Copepod production was episodic and occurred in bursts associated with three net phytoplankton blooms. The seasonal distribution of copepod biomass, on the other hand, was unimodal with peak concentrations in June-July. The vernal increase in copepod biomass coincided with the spring production burst, but copepod biomass was otherwise unrelated to the seasonal variation in copepod production. Specifically, the continuous decline in copepod biomass between early August and late October overlapped the most significant production event during the year (August-September) and must, therefore, have been caused by elevated mortality during this period. Weight-specific egg production rates in several species of copepods were similar and varied in concert. Egg production rates varied significantly with the concentrations of chlorophyll (> 11 pm) and total microplankton biomass but were unrelated or only weakly related to other components of the microplankton (dinoflagellates, nanoflagellates, ciliates, and copepod nauplii). Significant egg production occurred only when concentrations of diatoms and other large phytoplankters were high and ciliates were too dilute to contribute significantly to copepod diet during these production bursts. However, microzooplankton concentrations were sufficient to account for observed egg production rates when these were low during major parts of the year. Although microzooplankton may ensure a nutritionally complete diet throughout the year, integrated annual copepod production appears to depend primarily on episodic net phytoplankton blooms.


The study was carried out to analyse the effect of trade liberalization policies on agricultural output growth in Nigeria, using time series data from 1960-2014.The objectives were to; estimate the differences in agricultural output before and after trade liberalization period and estimate the long and short-run effect of agricultural trade policies on agricultural output in Nigeria. Data for the empirical study were sourced from various issues of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin and publications of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The estimation procedure was the co-integration and error correction model. The analysis reveals that the mean agricultural output after trade liberalization (AGR GD2) was different from that of the pre-trade period (AGR GD1) and also the t-test result confirms that there exist a significant difference between agricultural output during the pre-trade and post-trade liberalization period given that the t cal (4.5146) was greater than the t crit (2.0484) at 5% level of significance. The long–run and short-run regression results shows that trade openness and exchange rate had a negative effect on agricultural output in the three models meaning that trade openness will lead to reduction in agricultural output both in the long and short-run. The study therefore recommended that monetary authorities should adopt policies that will reduce the volatility of the exchange rate. Also the institution of import quota could curb the negative effect of trade openness on agricultural output growth in Nigeria. Keywords: Agricultural output, Trade liberalization, Trade openness, long-run, Short-run


The study aimed to identify to clarify the role that can be played by Knowledge Management in human capital investment applications company Saudi Arabian Airlines,  furthermore the study aimed to identify the Recognize reality of Knowledge Management in the field of human capital investment applications, As well as to identify the the most serious obstacles Knowledge Management applications for the investment and development of human resources, to fulfill these objectives the descriptive analytical method is used in this study, where the researcher used the questionnaire to collect primary data through direct questions and inquiries. The study population consisted of personnel management of human resources in the company reached (586) employee, and researcher selected a simple random sample of the total overall society for the study size was (296) employee of the total community individual. the study concluded that the results of the study concluded that there are many positive indicators suggest that Knowledge Management applications for human capital investment available is very high degree, the study also pointed that there are some Knowledge Management need to activate up to fit and perform its vital role in the development of human resources of the company. the study also showed that the most important human resource management needs to support Knowledge Management applications represented in the existing knowledge of the staff need to modern techniques to be published, also through the importance of spreading knowledge and culture through seminars, workshops, training programs. The study results revealed that the technologies of Knowledge Management is very vital role in the development of investment in human capital and by providing a work environment that encourages creativity and excellence. the main recommendations of  the  study that need to maintain the current ratio of Knowledge Management, and encourage a culture of acquiring new knowledge and information among workers, and need that the administration working to provide advanced systems for service personnel, and the need for attention to the deployment of knowledge and culture through seminars, workshops, training programs and need to focus on knowledge management techniques as they have a very vital role in the development of investment in human capital. And the need to provide a working environment that encourages creativity and excellence, the researcher recommended further studies on the subject as there is scarcity in such studies in the local environment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.


Background Nail psoriasis is acknowledged to be associated with Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA). Onycho-Psoriasis (ONPS), however, is extremely common in psoriatic population and correlate poorly with skin involvement. Further, not all clinical subsets of PsA may be linked to ONPS. Objectives Our aim was to investigate clinical risk factors predictive for PsA in a population of psoriatic subjects. Methods Patients were enrolled in a dermatological clinic dedicated to psoriasis care. Subjects reporting muscolo-skeletal discomfort and/or articular swelling were referred to rheumatologist. Dermatological features (PASI score, age of onset, previous/current therapies) were recorded. Rheumatological parameters encompassed joint counts (tender, swollen, damaged), entheses counts and others as suggested in the international consensus. Patients also underwent radiographic evaluation of painful areas. PsA diagnosis was established through rheumatologist opinion. After univariate analysis for possible risk factors, a multivariate model was built for unconditional logistic regression. Statistical significance was set on P<0.01. Results Overall, among 1200 subjects followed up at our center, 277 consecutive patients were evaluated (131 males). The mean age was 55.7 years (SD 13; median 58, range 21-81), 79.1% suffered from plaque psoriasis (41.8% had nail disease, 2.8% isolated ONPS). Median PASI score was 3.1 (IQR 1.2-5.8), 12.3% of patients had a score of 10 or more. Only 16% of patients had a previous diagnosis of PsA. We diagnosed 110 PsA, 59.1% of whom as consequence of enrolment. PsA was early (onset within 1 year since enrolment) in 33.6%. PsA was classified in 82.7% of cases as peripheral arthritis, 34.5% of patients had dactylitis and 15.5% showed axial disease. Radiographic damage due to PsA was present in 38.2% of cases. At univariate level, risk factors for PsA were: male sex; younger age at enrolment and at psoriasis onset. The multivariate analysis (shown in table 1) confirmed statistical significance only for male sex, although at low level (95% CI 1.3-3.9). Table 1. Unconditional logistic regression: risk factors for PsA Term OR 95% CI p value Current age 0.97 0.94–1.00 0.054 Age at psoriasis onset 0.99 0.97–1.01 0.51 IBP (present vs absent) 1.20 0.54–2.64 0.64 Nail psoriasis (present vs absent) 0.86 0.49–1.49 0.60 PASI score (10 or more vs <10) 1.91 0.91–3.99 0.08 Sex (male vs female) 2.31 1.34–3.97 0.002 OR = odds ratio; CI = confidence intervals; IBP = inflammatory back pain; PASI = psoriasis area and severity index. Conclusions PsA seems to be hardly linkable to clinical parameters easily available in daily dermatological practice. Above all, our data alert for the first time that the mere presence of nail psoriasis does not confer increased risk for PsA. Disclosure of Interest None Declared


Driven by growing momentum in two-dimensional geophysical flow modeling, this paper introduces a general family of"thermal"rotating shallow-water models. The models are capable of accommodating thermodynamic processes, such as those acting in the ocean mixed layer, by allowing buoyancy to vary in horizontal position and time as well as with depth, in a polynomial fashion up to an arbitrary degree. Moreover, the models admit Euler--Poincare variational formulations and possess Lie--Poisson Hamiltonian structure. Such a geometric property provides solid fundamental support to the theories described with consequences for numerical implementation and the construction of unresolved motion parametrizations. In particular, it is found that stratification halts the development of small-scale filament rollups recently observed in a popular model, which, having vertically homogeneous density, represents a special case of the models presented here.


This article addresses the performative dimension of the post-1989 Polish memorial culture of the Holocaust, characterised by a collaborative and audience-participatory model of remembering the Jewish victims. In this model participants are invited to become creators and owners of public memory, rather than silent observers or witnesses to commemorations performed by others. The article offers a critical and theoretical understanding of performativity in Holocaust commemoration through the examples of educational memorial actions Listy do Henia ('Letters to Henio') and Kroniki sejnenskie ('The Sejny Chronicles') led by the Polish grassroots institutions Ośrodek Brama Grodzka ('Grodzka Gate-NN Theatre Centre') in Lublin and Ośrodek Pogranicze ('Borderland Foundation') in Sejny. Drawing mainly on Polish perspectives on memory, the article examines the aesthetic and ethical value of these actions. It further probes how a performative model of engagement can serve to expose the complex past of Polish–Jewish relations, to bring the historical past vividly into current consciousness, and to facilitate a sense of belonging to a moral community of memory among younger generations of Poles.


Background Mediterranean type of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is present in different parts of Iran. Several studies have identified dogs as the main reservoirs of the VL caused by Leishmania infantum in Iran and other Mediterranean regions. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis as animal reservoir host for human visceral leishmaniasis in Boyer Ahmad district in southwest of Iran. Methods A seroepidemiological study was carried out to determine the seroprevalence of canine visceral leishmaniasis (CVL) among ownership dogs by using direct agglutination test (DAT) in 23 of 182 villages of Boyer Ahmad district, during August 2009 to August 2010. One hundred and seventy serum samples from ownership dogs were selected by multi-stage cluster sampling in villages of Boyer Ahmad district. All samples were tested by DAT and anti-Leishmania antibodies titers at ≥ 1:320 was considered as positive. Results Of the 170 serum samples, 10% were positive by DAT at titers of 1:320 and higher. No statistical significant difference was found between male (10.7%) and female (8.3%) seroprevalence. The highest seroprevalence rate (15.1%) was observed among the ownership dogs of four to seven years age. Altogether, seventeen (25.4%) of the seropositive dogs had clinical signs and symptoms. Conclusion It seems that Boyer Ahmad district is an endemic area for canine visceral leishmaniasis in Iran.


Abstract This work examines how the introduction of social media has affected the role of the Public Information Officer (PIO)—the public relations component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS). Through analysis of 25 PIO interviews, we examine the work practice of PIOs and find that social media expand not only the scope and type of PIO work activity, but also the "information pathways" that exist between PIOs, the media, and members of the public. We model these changes and examine how the presence of social media challenges previous conceptualizations of PIO work. Lastly, we present a view of how PIO work could be better imagined for the future of emergency management organizations.


Electronic textile (E-textile) research requires an understanding of the mechanical properties of fabric substrates used to build and support electronics. Because fibers are often non-uniform and fabrics are easily deformed, locating fiber junctions on the irregular surface is challenging, yet is essential for packaging electronics on textiles at the resolution of single fibers that deliver power and signals. In this paper, we demonstrate the need to identify fiber junctions in a task where microelectromechanical structures (MEMS) are integrated on fabrics. We discuss the benefits of fiber-aligned placement compared with random placement. Thereafter we compare three image processing algorithms to extract fiber junction locations from sample fabric images. The Hough line transform algorithm implemented in MATLAB derives line segments from the image to model the fibers, identifying crossings by the intersections of the line segments. The binary image analysis algorithm implemented in MATLAB searches the image for unique patterns of 1s and 0s that represent the fiber intersection. The pattern matching algorithm implemented in Vision Assistant - LabVIEW, uses a pyramid value correlation function to match a reference template to the remainder of the fabric image to identify the crossings. Of the three algorithms, the binary image analysis method had the highest accuracy, while the pattern matching algorithm was fastest.


In today's digital age, businesses have begun to realize that taking care of cyber-related risks and building security measures is imperative. Not only the cyber-attacks that are becoming more frequent and more complicated, but also the regulatory frameworks such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) lead businesses to invest in information and data protection.
The common mistake of the companies is that they face the information security technologically and not operationally. The aim of this master thesis is to highlight the importance of information security as an integral part of the enterprise business strategy.
In the chapters of the thesis we present the right approach that businesses should follow to enhance their competitive advantage through a proper information security strategy by initially defining the information security management system and the security policies to follow and, then, integrating of the technological solutions for the protection of their information systems in order to preserve their businesses activities.


This study examines the influence of ammonia (NH3) on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from the alpha-pinene/ozone oxidation system for dry and humid conditions. Aerosol yield differed depending on which OH scavenger was used, with the highest yield noted for CO, followed by cyclohexane and 2-butanol. Number and volume concentrations were quickly increased within the reactor by 15 and 8%, respectively, when NH3 was added after the reaction ceased. The increase in number concentration indicated the formation of new particles resulting from gas-to-particle conversion. Moreover, average particle size increased from 242 to 248 nm. The resulting aerosol growth was attributed to ammonium salts formed by the reaction between organic acids and NH3. When NH3 was added to aerosolized cis-pinonic acid in the environmental reactor, a dramatic increase in both number and volume concentrations of cis-pinonic acid was observed. This provides further evidence that NH3 can interact with gas-phase organic acids forming condensable salts and thereby enhancing SOA formation. Initially present NH3 significantly enhanced aerosol yield in alpha-pinene-ozone reactions, regardless of the presence of water vapor. The role of NH3 on SOA formation in the dry and humid conditions is discussed in terms of a theoretical modeling study.


A 54-year old male, current smoker, was admitted to the emergency unit with lingular pneumonia. The follow-up chest CT and bronchoscopy showed an airway-blocking intrabronchial tumour. After surgical resection, pathological examination established the diagnosis of a bronchial mucous gland adenoma. The bronchial mucous gland adenoma is an extremely rare and benign lung tumour. It is composed of mucus-containing acini lined with cuboidal cells without pleomorphism. Total surgical resection is usually required for complete diagnosis and treatment. The main differential diagnoses are a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma and a mucinous cystadenoma of the lung. This case highlights the importance of a complete lung workup after acute pneumonia in patients with a history of smoking, including the CT scan and bronchoscopy.


Spatial and temporal patterns of soil water are major determinants of net primary production and plant functional composition in arid and semiarid ecosystems which cover approximately 30% of global land area. The 'ecohydrological niche' defines the components of species' niche that are described by the relationship between ecohydrological conditions and species occurrence. We modelled the ecohydrological niche of different sagebrush ecosystems types, which are widespread in the semiarid western United States, and identified characteristics, which, if altered, will potentially lead to changes in their geographic distribution. We ran a daily soil water simulation model, SOILWAT, to simulate the water balance in space and time for sites from across the geographic range of sagebrush ecosystems. Additionally, to evaluate the relative importance of weather type, soil texture, soil depth, vegetation biomass, and phenology, we performed a sensitivity analysis using output from SOILWAT. Our results demonstrated that soil water dynamics in sagebrush ecosystems are characterized by spring recharge followed by a dry period (timing dependent on ecosystem type), where top soil layers dry earlier and more completely than the bottom layers. Most response variables were strongly influenced by weather type, followed by phenology of biomass, and soil depth. Reducing the availability of deep soil water during summer dry periods by increasing evaporative demand or reducing spring recharge will potentially lead to shifts in the range of sagebrush ecosystems. Characterizing the ecohydrological niche will be essential for improving our understanding of how semiarid ecosystems will be affected by future climate and biological invasions. Published in 2011. This article is a US Government work and is in the publish domain in the USA.


Asymptotic and leading 'correction-to-scaling' critical exponents and critical amplitudes for zero-field specific heat, spontaneous magnetization and initial susceptibility have been accurately determined for quenched random-exchange Heisenberg ferromagnets through an elaborate analysis of highly precise electrical resistivity, bulk magnetization and AC susceptibility data taken on amorphous FexNi80-x(B,Si)20 (x=10, 13, 16 and 20) alloys in the critical region. The values of critical exponents and universal critical amplitude ratios so obtained do not depend on composition and conform very well with the corresponding estimates given by the renormalization-group calculations for quenched random site- and bond-diluted Heisenberg ferromagnets. The amplitude ratios ac1+/ac1- and ac1+/achi 1+, which are characteristic of ferromagnets with quenched random disorder and for which no theoretical estimates are presently available, seem to possess universal character for they too are composition-independent. The experimental results are consistent with the concept of scaling in that the exponent equalities alpha += alpha -, beta + gamma = beta delta and alpha + gamma =2(1- beta ) are obeyed to a high degree of accuracy and the magnetization data satisfy the scaling equation of state characteristic of second-order phase transition. The effect of the isotropic long-range dipolar interactions on the asymptotic critical behaviour is mainly felt through the enhanced value of the A+/A$ratio. Only a small fraction of moments actually participates in the ferromagnetic(FM)-paramagnetic(PM) phase transition for the alloys with Fe concentration x not very far from, but above, the critical concentration xc and this fraction reduces further at a rapid rate as xc is approached along the FM-PM phase transition line in the magnetic phase diagram.


The main open-field and greenhouse producer regions of tomato in Panama (Los Santos, Herrera, Veraguas and Chiriquí provinces) were surveyed to determine the occurrence and distribution of Bemisia tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum during the growing seasons of 2017 and 2018. Twenty-two plots were surveyed, and DNA extracts of 112 adult whiteflies were analyzed by multiplex PCR, using a set of specific primers of B. tabaci MEAM1, B. tabaci NW, and T. vaporariorum . DNA extracts corresponding to 57 individual whiteflies (50.9 %) rendered PCR products of expected size with B. tabaci -specific primers (37 belonged to B. tabaci MEAM1 and 20 to B. tabaci NW), whereas the remaining DNA extracts corresponding to 55 individual whiteflies (49.1 %) rendered the product of the expected size with T. vaporariorum - specific primers. The sequencing of those PCR products and BLAST analysis allowed for the identification of B. tabaci MEAM1, B. tabaci NW, and T. vaporariorum . Bemisia tabaci NW was detected in all four provinces, while B. tabaci MEAM1 was detected in the provinces of Los Santos, Herrera and Chiriquí, and T. vaporariorum was detected only in the province of Chiriquí. Bemisia tabaci MEAM1, B. tabaci NW and T. vaporariorum were detected in both production systems (open fields and greenhouse). Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 and B. tabaci NW were detected in the tropical rainforest (Af) and tropical savanna (Aw) climates, at an altitudinal range of 19–1543 meters above sea level (MASL), while Trialeurodes vaporariorum was found only in the Af climate, at an altitudinal range of 818–1661 MASL. To our knowledge, this is not only the first report of B. tabaci MEAM1 and B. tabaci NW at an altitude above 1000 MASL in Panama, but it is also the first report of T. vaporariorum at an altitude under 1000 MASL in this country. Information about the identification and geographic distribution of whiteflies in Panama will help to design effective strategies for pest management


We aim to improve diversity of domesticated wheat by transferring genetic variation for important target traits from related wild and cultivated grass species. The present study describes the development of F1 hybrids between wheat and related species from the genera Aegilops, Secale, Thinopyrum, and Triticum and production of new amphidiploids. Amphidiploid lines were produced from 20 different distant relatives. Both colchicine and caffeine were successfully used to double the chromosome numbers. The genomic constitution of the newly formed amphidiploids derived from seven distant relatives was determined using genomic in situ hybridization (GISH). Altogether, 42 different plants were analysed, 19 using multicolour GISH separating the chromosomes from the A, B, and D genomes of wheat, as well as the distant relative, and 23 using single colour GISH. Restructuring of the allopolyploid genome, both chromosome losses and aneuploidy, was detected in all the genomes contained by the amphidiploids. From the observed chromosome numbers there is an indication that in amphidiploids the B genome of wheat suffers chromosome losses less frequently than the other wheat genomes. Phenotyping to realize the full potential of the wheat-related grass germplasm is underway, linking the analyzed genotypes to agronomically important target traits.


Monitoring myocardial stiffness changes with shear wave elastography (SWE) has promising potential for assessing chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity for pediatric cancer patients. While ultrasound B-scan with adult cardiac probes on children is commonly acceptable, SWE can be challenging due to the narrow intercostal spaces of children, which hinders the effective transmission of the push beam and detection beam for shear wave generation and shear wave detection. This study aimed at addressing this challenge by implementing cardiac SWE on a pediatric cardiac probe (P7-4) with pulse-inversion harmonic imaging (PIHI) and time-aligned sequential tracking (TAST). The performance of the proposed pediatric cardiac SWE sequence (P7-4 PIHI-TAST) was systematically compared with an adult cardiac transducer equipped with the same PIHI and TAST cardiac SWE sequence (P4-2 PIHI-TAST), and a pediatric cardiac SWE sequence with fundamental imaging TAST shear wave detection (P7-4 Fundamental-TAST). In vivo transthoracic scans in healthy pediatric volunteers demonstrated substantial improvement of shear wave signal quality using the P7-4 PIHI-TAST sequence, as compared to the adult P4-2 PIHI-TAST sequence and the pediatric P7-4 Fundamental-TAST sequence. The results showed higher increase in SWE success rate among younger children when using the pediatric transducer. Also agreeing with previous studies, this study demonstrated that PIHI shear wave detection could substantially improve the shear wave signal quality as compared to fundamental imaging shear wave detection.


The autonomic information flow (AIF) represents the complex communication within the autonomic nervous system (ANS). It can be assessed by the mutual information function (MIF) of heart rate fluctuations (HRF). AIF represented by HRF is based on several interacting physiological mechanisms operating at different time scales. Therefore one prominent time scale for HRF complexity analysis is not given a priori. MIF reflects the information flow at different time scales. This allows a more specific characterization of the complex communication leading to dynamic stability (homeostasis) of the cardiovascular-respiratory system. Three clinically relevant examples of autonomic communication, namely AIF of normals during awake state and deep sleep, and of patients with multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) were investigated. In these states MIF clearly represents and distinguishes the different communication in dependence on the time scale of information transfer. The results confirm our systems-theoretical concept that AIF, represented by MIF, characterizes the complex communication of the ANS at different time scales.


This paper reports on the use of the construction toy LEGO as an effective learning resource for undergraduate classes in the psychology of creativity. Students first attended a short series of lectures on aspects of creativity, including learner characteristics such as motivation and metacognition, and theoretical approaches to problem-finding and problem-solving including the Geneplore model and the metaphor of learning as navigation in a multidimensional conceptual space. This was followed by three sessions in which students explored the conceptual space of LEGO under each of three conditions: freeplay in session 1, constraints on process in session 2 (rules for assembly), and constraints on product in session 3 (set goals). Throughout this time, students were required to keep a 'metacognitive diary' of their experiences, and to reflect on their own learning processes within and across sessions. Evaluation was carried out by means of a post-activity questionnaire. The paper reports on the kinds of structures produced under each set of constraints, patterns of student learning experiences, motivational changes, and student evaluations of the activity as a whole. It is suggested that, used in this way, LEGO provides a simple, highly enjoyable, yet effective medium for teaching, learning and research in the psychology of creativity.


In spite of the epidemiologic magnitude of respiratory diseases worldwilde the literature is scarce regarding the diagnostic ability of acute and chronic respiratory condition by general practitioners (GPs). The objective of this study was to verify the agreement between GPs and pulmonologists in diagnosing acute respiratory illnesses (ARI), tuberculosis (TB), chronic obstructive respiratory disease (COPD) and asthma. A cross sectional study was undertaken in three cities in the surroundings of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. We invited both, GPs and patients older than 15 years presenting at least one of the following symptoms: cough, breathlessness and/or wheezing who looked for medical assistance at the primary care facilities. The clinical history, the physical examination and the diagnosis of above cited clinical conditions were recorded into the standardized documentation form in order to independently compare the diagnosis made for GPs and pulmonologists. Subsidiary tests were not used. Sixty GPs and 554 patients were included. 235 (42.4%) had ARI, 123 (17.3%) asthma, 87 (15.7%) COPD and 69 (12.4%) were TB-suspected. Kappa values were 0.450 for ARI (95%CI 0.381;0.519), 0.426 for TB (95%CI 0.358;0.494), 0.432 for asthma (95%CI 0.325;0.539) and 0.548 for COPD (95%CI 0.461;0.635). A moderate agreement between GPs and pulmonologists in the diagnosis of the most prevalent respiratory conditions was found. This result emphasizes the need to adopt some measures in order to improve the ability of GPs in diagnosing of respiratory conditions in this context.


We made comprehensive analyses of long‐range transport episodes of air pollutants from East Asia to the Arctic and associated meteorological conditions. While our main focus was black carbon (BC) as its transport to the Arctic has attracted great attention, carbon monoxide (CO) was also diagnosed as a species co‐emitted with BC and as a tracer of long‐range transport. We used satellite observations by the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) and a newly implemented BC tagged‐tracer simulation using a global chemical transport model, GEOS‐Chem. Temporal variations of IASI‐CO column over the Pacific Arctic (160–200°E, 60–80°N) showed that episodic increases occurred several times in each season. For the period of 2007–2011, 11 strong events (6 in spring, 3 in autumn, and 2 in winter) caused by the long‐range transport from East Asia were identified. Two transport pathways from East Asia to the Arctic were found: over Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk, and over the North Pacific. In the pathway over Siberia and the Sea of Okhotsk, the pollutants were transported northeastward from China mainly through the Sea of Okhotsk and East Siberia. The low pressures passing from East Siberia to the Sea of Okhotsk played important roles in the transport in the lower troposphere and uplifting to the middle troposphere. In the pathway over the North Pacific, the pollutants were transported eastward from the Asian continent and subsequent northward transport took place over the North Pacific. The poleward transport occurred west of the high pressure that stayed around the Bering Sea.


HLA-A B and DR typing were performed in 77 patients with AIDS related complex (ARC)--69 lymphadenopathy associated syndrome and 8 thrombocytopenic purpura LAV/HTLV III related--and 21 symptom free homosexual males. A significant increase in the frequency of HLA DR5 antigen was observed in patients with ARC mainly in purpura thrombocytopenic patients. We suggest that increase of HLA DR5 antigen support the view that DR5 antigen could be one of the factors necessary at the spreading out clinical symptoms.


A clinical protocol was developed for the purpose of assessing the oral and speech motor abilities of children. An 86-item test was administered to 90 normally developing children aged 2:6-6:11. Evaluations of the structural integrity of the vocal tract did not show developmental change, although evaluations of oral and speech motor functioning changed significantly with age. The functional portion of the protocol was most sensitive to developmental change up to age 3:6, with an asymptote in performance thereafter. Clinical application of the protocol is discussed.


The rapid evolution of the Internet may largely depend on gaining and maintaining the trust of users. This possibility may especially rule enterprises whose financial viability depends on electronic commerce. Customers will neither have the time, the ability or the endurance to work out the best deals with vendors, nor will vendors have time to bargain with every customer. In order for customers to strike the best bargain with vendors, they need a privacy supporter, an information intermediary or "infomediary". Infomediaries will become the custodians, agents and brokers of customer personal information exchanged via the Internet, while at the same time protecting their privacy. There is a scale between security and privacy that currently leans towards security; security adopts strong user authentication mechanisms. In order to control access to personal data, while privacy requires loose authentication in order to provide user anonymity. In this paper, we introduce a new infomediary-based privacy-enhancing business model, which is capable of providing anonymity, privacy and security to customers and vendors of e-commerce. Using this model, customers can buy goods or services without revealing their real identity or preferences to vendors, and vendors can sell or advertise goods or services without violating the privacy of their customers.


Background Type 2 diabetes (T2D) among youth is a public health problem where there is great potential to improve primary and secondary prevention. Impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) is often diagnosed prior to the development of overt T2D, and without treatment, approximately 50% of patients with IGT will go on to develop T2D within 5 years. The first line of therapy for both conditions is healthy eating and regular physical activity. The Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA) developed Cooking for Your Life! (CFYL!): classes that teach healthy cooking and eating for adults with T2D. For the pediatric population, there are currently very few nutrition education programs. Previous studies have shown that family-based behavior management strategies are effective interventions for weight management in children. Objective To assess the attendance rate and educational satisfaction of adolescents with T2D or IGT and their family members during a CFYL! youth and family program. Design The existing CDA CFYL! course was modified for adolescents with T2D or IGT and their families. The CFYL! program consists of three 3-hour cooking classes and a 2-hour class involving a Shop Smart Tour. This 4-week community-based hands-on nutrition and cooking program is co-facilitated by a dietitian and a cook on Saturday afternoons. Attendance was tracked at each of the classes. At the end of the 4 classes, each participant answered a questionnaire to assess their satisfaction with the classes. Results A total of 32 people from 16 families participated; 16 adolescents with T2D or IGT and 17parents/grandparents/siblings. 26/33 participants (79%) attended at least 3 of the 4 classes, and 15/16 adolescents attended at least 3 of the 4 classes. 28/31 were mostly or completely satisfied with the teaching, 28/31 enjoyed the program's recipes, and 22/31 indicated that they would be interested in attending a second set of classes. Conclusion The youth and family CFYL! program is one of the few nutritional education programs available to youth with T2D and IGT. The program had good attendance from both the adolescents and their families. The majority of the participants were satisfied with the course, enjoyed the recipes, and would be interested in taking a second set of classes. These results suggest that both adolescents and their families can commit to this CFYL! educational program.


Abstract Purpose Substance P is a sensory neuropeptide increasingly used as a biomarker for ocular and systemic neuropathic conditions. Due to the limited studies on tear storage conditions compared to other bodily fluids including blood and urine, the aim of this study was to investigate whether different storage durations at 4 °C can impact on substance P concentrations prior to storage at −80 °C. This is important to assess potential practical limitations in the handling and storage of tear fluid essential. Methods Tears were collected and pooled from both eyes of 31 healthy participants using the flush tears method. The samples were centrifuged and aliquoted into three sets of microcentrifuge tubes with each stored at 4 °C for <2 h, 4 h or 6 h (Timepoints 1, 2 or 3). After each respective storage duration, the aliquoted samples were than stored at −80 °C before analysis, within 6 months. Tears were analyzed for the concentration of substance P and the total protein content (TPC). Results Substance P concentrations across the three timepoints were not significantly different (p > 0.05), including Timepoint 1 (Median [interquartile range]: 10.7 ng/ml [1.6-37.9]), Timepoint 2 (10.9 ng/ml [1.6-32.6]) and Timepoint 3 (5.2 ng/ml [1.3-25.2]). There were also no significant differences in TPC concentrations measured at the three timepoints, including Timepoint 1 (3.1 mg/ml [1.7-3.8]), Timepoint 2 (2.9 mg/ml [1.9-4.1]) and Timepoint 3 (2.7 mg/ml [1.6-3.7]). Conclusions While the levels of substance P were stable while stored at 4 °C prior to proper −80 °C storage and analysis, future research should investigate the impact of other storage conditions such as ambient room temperature to optimize the feasibility of using tears for biomarker purposes in clinical settings.


The essential oils of OCIMUM CANUM, O. GRATISSIMUM and O. MINIMUM grown in S. Tomé, where they are used in Traditional Medicine mainly as febrifuge and for the treatment of respiratory diseases, were investigated. The essential oils were obtained from the aerial parts by hydrodistillation and subsequently analysed by GC, GC-MS and (13)C-NMR. (13)C-NMR SPECTROSCOPY proved to be an important tool, which can be very useful in the identification of most of the constituents. Major compounds in the volatile oil of O. GROTISSIMUM were thymol (48.1%) and P-cymene (12.5%). The essential oil of O. CANUM was characterized by its high content of TRANS-METHYL cinnamate (79.7%), whereas the most important oil constituent of O. MINIMUM was linalool (52.7%).


Many problems related to analysis and recognition of sound signals are characterized by the fact that finding the proper analysis rule or the proper recognition algorithm is very difficult. In addition the signal analysis methods and the methods of its recognition must be strictly adapted to the specific features of the particular task considered. It is worth noticing, that the situation is essentially different from the one encountered in the sound processing. The method of lowand high-pass filtering, compression techniques or algorithms of spectral transformations for a sound signal do not actually depend on the type of signal or the purpose for which it is being registered and processed. Therefore in the field of sound signal processing an enormous progress has been achieved, and the elaborated methods are to a high degree universal. The effect is additionally enhanced by the availability of affordable [lowcost] and convenient DSP technique. On the contrary in the tasks of sound signals analysis and processing the progress is much slower and the unification of methods and standardization of algorithms encounters considerable difficulties. The main source of these difficulties is the fact that in almost every task of signal analysis the features to be extracted and the required signal parameters are different, they are strongly dependent on the specific task being solved and they are expected to provide answers for different questions. Similarly in the tasks of sound signal recognition the criteria and goals of their classification can be very different even for the same signal types. Yet, the approach unification in the above mentioned field is strongly recommended, because it enables[promotes] more cost-effective and faster development of the required solutions for particular problems. It seems that in the field of analysis and recognition of sound signals a very promising direction in the search for such unification, and the universal solutions which might lead to it, are the methods used in the artificial intelligence research. There are several definitions of artificial intelligence [1,2], but in the tasks of speech processing and recognition the most appropriate seems to be the slightly narrower concept of computational intelligence [1]. In the discussed field of interest (speech as a biomedical signal) the methods of artificial intelligence are mostly employed to: preliminary signal processing and filtering [6], determination of the space of phono-acoustic features and its visualization [5], speech recognition, identification of the speaker or pathological states [3,4,7], understanding the signal [8]. In addition to classical methods of pattern recognition, fuzzy systems or genetic algorithms the neural networks seem to deserve a special attention. The neural network MAVEBA 2001, Firenze, Italy 228 ISCA Archive http://www.isca-speech.org/archive Models and Analysis of Vocal Emissions for Biomedical Applications (MAVEBA) 2 nd International Workshop


This study examines two knowledge management processes, namely knowledge capture and retention and knowledge sharing, in the context of the Caribbean. It provides theoretical backgrounds of the processes and specifically looks at the advantages for and barriers to knowledge management in the public sector. The study suggests that by using existing information and communication technologies (ICTs) to create an online presence, the Caribbean public sector can already move towards achieving some knowledge capture and retention and knowledge sharing goals. The study concludes by evaluating through use of a checklist of the online presence of development agencies present in the Caribbean.


Education plays a key role in the awareness of professionals to build a more sustainable future and gives opportunity to discuss theoretical proposals and practices related to the theme.Investment in training of undergraduate and graduate students is a direct and efficient way to achieve this goal.This paper aims to describe the methodology of teaching the discipline of Sustainability in Built Environment,tothe post Graduate Civil Construction Engineering program of Federal University of Parana.The approach occurred under a collaborative perspective and directed toward the resolution of problems at local, regional and global levels, promoting a new way of thinking about teaching and learning.Thus, the discipline has been structured opportunity to the literature review and analysis of available materials to supply the demand for more sustainable technologies and materials.Based on different researches, addressed the topic of LCA (life cycle analysis) and AELC (analysis of the energy life cycle) in buildings.Closing the discipline was made through the development of an architectural design, applying the basics covered. The development of architectural design materialized knowledge acquired mainly in environmental impact analysis relating to the materials specified index of CO2 emissions throughout the life cycle of the material, from production to the operational phase of the building.


What was actually produced when the first derivatives wriggled their way out of the conventional financial trajectories? When one understood that a transaction did not have to be a transaction of something, but that the transaction itself, which was nothing, could be transacted? And what does this tell us about the functioning of the economy? These questions will be addressed by making a detour through some passages in Aristotle's economic writings, hoping thereby to demonstrate that financial derivation, far from being simply a hyperbolic tool of speculation, is an economic geno-practice, the productive play, the mobility itself, of economy, its inventive, deviatory clinamen or line of flight on which new 'economies' are engendered.


Objectives: Calculations of healthcare costs rarely disclose the specific approach used to allocate the cost of hospitalizations by diagnosis. However, the type of approach used can have a major impact on the findings in the case of significant comorbidities. The present analyses compared three approaches for attributing Medicare DRG reimbursements (which were used as surrogates for average costs) for hospitalization by diagnosis. Methods: Medical resource utilization data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey were analyzed using each of three allocation approaches: a) attributing 100% of the cost of hospitalization to the disease when it was the first-listed diagnosis; b) attributing a portion of the cost of hospitalization to the disease, depending on its position in the list of diagnoses and the relevance of any comorbidities; and c) an incremental analysis of cost based upon the hospitalization experiences of an age and gender matched cohort. These three approaches were applied to the cost of hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Results: The first approach projected 206,098 hospitalizations at $3,449 per hospitalization for a projected U.S. annual total of $711 million. The second approach projected 681,547 hospitalizations at $3,205 per hospitalization for a projected U.S. annual total of $2.2 billion. The third approach also projected 681,547 hospitalizations, but at $2,361 per hospitalization, for a projected U.S. annual total of $1.6 billion. Conclusions: Expanding from the example on COPD, the limitations of each approach are described and their applications to other conditions are presented.


This paper presents DST, a decentralized scalar timestamp scheme to scale distributed transactions using multi-version concurrency control (MVCC). DST is efficient in storage and network by being a scalar timestamp but requiring no centralized timestamp service for coordination, which may become a scalability bottleneck. The key observation is that concurrency control (CC) protocols like OCC and 2PL already im-ply a serializable order among concurrent read-write transactions through conflicting database tuples. To this end, DST piggybacks on CC protocols to maintain the timestamp ordering with low cost and no new scalability bottleneck for read-write transactions. DST further provides snapshot reads with bounded staleness by using a hybrid scalar timestamp (physical clock and logical counter). To demonstrate the generality of DST, we provide a general guideline for the integration of DST and further show the effectiveness by using three representative transactional systems (i.e., DrTM+R, MySQL cluster, and R OCOCO ) with different CC protocols. Experimental results show that DST can achieve more than 95% of optimal performance (using Read Committed) without compromising correctness. With DST, DrTM+R achieves up to 1.8X higher peak throughput for TPC-E and outperforms other timestamp schemes by 6.3X for TPC-C . DST also leads up to 1.9X and 2.1X speedup on TPC-C for MySQL cluster and R OCOCO , respectively.


A non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, Sustiva (efavirenz, formerly DMP 266), received FDA approval for use by children and adults. Dosing is recommended at bedtime to avert side effects, which are described. People who receive the drug should avoid driving. Women should not become pregnant while taking this medication. Triple combination therapy with Sustiva and AZT/ Epivir (3TC) may be as effective as the combination of Crixivan with AZT/Epivir (3TC), preliminary trials showed. The drug costs about $4,000 a year. Contact information for obtaining financial assistance in the purchasing the drug is provided.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of our study was to prospectively evaluate the feasibility, safety, and effectiveness of 1-T open MRI-guided percutaneous cryoablation of hepatic dome hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Thirty-seven patients with 37 hepatic dome HCCs underwent MRI-guided percutaneous cryoablations. MR fluoroscopy with a freehand technique was applied in the procedure. All lesions ranged in size from 8 to 38 mm. Patients were followed for at least 12 months after cryoablation or until death. Survival period, local tumor control, and complications were recorded.

RESULTS
MRI-guided percutaneous cryoablation procedures were successfully performed on all 37 lesions. The technical success rate was 100%. The median follow-up time was 21.0 months (range, 10-26 months). Two patients with local tumor progression at the 4th and 11th month after the procedure were treated with a supplementary cryoablation. One patient died of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage at the 10th month after cryoablation. Local tumor progression and overall survival rates were 2.7% (1/37) and 100% (37/37) at 6 months and 5.4% (2/37) and 97.3% (36/37) at 1 year, respectively. Postoperative hydrothorax that required chest tube drainage occurred in two patients; no other severe complications occurred.

CONCLUSION
Cryoablation of hepatic dome HCCs with 1-T open MRI guidance is a feasible, safe, and effective therapy method.


Abstract School-based sexuality education remains a key response to the HIV epidemic. Drawing on findings from an ethnographic study, this study explores how young people engage with sexuality and HIV- and AIDS-related education as it is delivered through the Life Orientation (LO) learning area in South Africa, in order to understand the dynamics that support or hinder engagement. Focus group discussions were held with Grade 9 and 11 learners (aged 14–18 years) from 16 randomly selected public secondary schools across three provincial districts. Results show that enjoyment of LO education was related to perceived relevance and distinctiveness, informal lesson delivery, subjective assessment standards and seemingly minimal effort. However, the perception of reduced effort tarnished the status of LO and young people's motivation to participate. Learner engagement is influenced by a variety of cognitive, affective and behavioural pathways including internalised discourse around HIV and AIDS, gender and sexuality; the quality of youth–educator relations and teaching competencies; peer pressures; and broader cultural dynamics. The cultivation of a learning environment in which young people share and debate their views promotes engagement and critical thinking. In-service and pre-service educator training, structured activity plans and monitoring are recommended to advance the content knowledge and pedagogy of educators.


ABSTRACT Applicants for legal permanent residency in the United States are required to pass a medical screening. Most of these applicants are already living in the United States on non-immigrant and temporary visas and are screened by civil surgeons, physicians designated by the government to look for infectious diseases, incomplete immunisation records, and signs that the immigrant will pose a threat or become a public charge. Little is known about the work of these 4000+ physicians, who play a key role as migration brokers in a context where migration control has devolved to non-state actors. I present quantitative analysis of a random survey of civil surgeons, identifying features of this migration industry and constructing at typology of profit seekers, immigrant advocates, and screeners. Most civil surgeons are in the private sector, dominated by immigrant doctors who tend to pass most applicants and charge higher fees. A smaller subset are in the public sector, dominated by US born doctors who pass fewer applicants and charge lower fees. These patterns exacerbate inequalities among immigrants. I consider theoretical implications for literatures on migration industries and brokerage, co-ethnic economies, and street-level bureaucrats, as well as the implications of the US case for global migration management.


Recently, mutations in WWOX have been identified in the setting of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, highlighting a previously unrevealed role of this gene in the normal development and function of the CNS. In this report, we add five patients from two seemingly unrelated families presenting with a primarily neurological phenotype. All the children were product of consanguineous marriages. Whole exome sequencing revealed the same homozygous mutation (NM_016373.3:c.606‐1G>A) of WWOX in all five patients. All patients and carriers in the family share the same haplotype indicating the families are in fact related to one another. The clinical presentation included progressive microcephaly, early onset of spasticity in the first 3 months of life, intractable epilepsy, severe failure to thrive, and profound developmental delay. Retinopathy was observed in two patients. All five patients died before their third birthday. Neuroimaging showed extensive neurodegeneration characterized by periventricular white matter volume loss and atrophy of the corpus callosum. Additional degeneration selectively affecting the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus was observed in one patient. Our findings in five new patients affected by WWOX mutation with early infantile phenotype confirm the features of the disease represented by early infantile epileptic encephalopathy. We suggest that neuroimaging in these patients reveals a characteristic pattern of neurodegeneration in which the cerebellum is spared that could help with early diagnosis in the appropriate clinical setting. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.


The advertising industry is undergoing major changes as markets and clients become more global. Using the integration-responsiveness framework and the transnational framework, it is apparent that advertising agencies have a high need to be simultaneously integrated and responsive. This paper reports on a series of depth interviews with international agency leaders intended to gain an assessment of both the extent to which their firms are responding to these important but conflicting needs and the appropriateness of the framework for understanding the strategic options available for ad agency management. The findings indicate that the agencies have tried to modify their strategies to accommodate both kinds of pressures. However, their success in this regard is questioned and other broader strategic concerns are considered.


Simultaneous eye and hand movements are highly coordinated and tightly coupled. This raises the question whether the selection of eye and hand targets relies on a shared attentional mechanism or separate attentional systems. Previous studies have revealed conflicting results by reporting evidence for both a shared as well as separate systems. Movement properties such as movement curvature can provide novel insights into this question as they provide a sensitive measure for attentional allocation during target selection. In the current study, participants performed simultaneous eye and hand movements to the same or different visual target locations. We show that both saccade and reaching movements curve away from the other effector's target location when they are simultaneously performed to spatially distinct locations. We argue that there is a shared attentional mechanism involved in selecting eye and hand targets that may be found on the level of effector-independent priority maps. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Movement properties such as movement curvature have been widely neglected as important sources of information in investigating whether the attentional systems underlying target selection for eye and hand movements are separate or shared. We convincingly show that movement curvature is influenced by the other effector's target location in simultaneous eye and hand movements to spatially distinct locations. Our results provide evidence for shared attentional systems involved in the selection of saccade and reach targets.


As a result of sustained housing market fragility, a growing number of borrowers are walking away from their underwater homes even though they have the ability to pay. Despite recent advances, questions remain about what influences this decision. In this paper, we use survey data to examine the role of social expectations, financial literacy and knowledge of default consequences. We find that homeowners who believe that others are likely to strategically default in the future are more willing to walk away as they anticipate reduced social stigma. Financially literate borrowers appear better able to calculate the benefits of strategically defaulting and are more willing to walk away at high levels of shortfall. We also find evidence that those who better understand the consequences of default, particularly that a default's impact on one's credit score weakens over time, have a higher willingness to walk away. Our results suggest that policies that help shape expectations about future strategic defaults may influence present foreclosures.


The design concept of a central liquefier supplying satellite stations as well as failure nudes will be discussed. Performance data will also be presented.


Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is a wireless network consisting of small nodes with sensing, computation, and wireless communications capabilities. The design of wireless sensor networks depends of many factors, such as transmission errors, network topology and power consumption. Many routing protocols, protocols for data transmission, are specifically designed for wireless sensor networks where energy consumption is essential. This paper provides a brief description of the IEEE 802.15.4/ZigBee standard, also surveys the known attacks on wireless sensor networks. WSNs are particularly vulnerable to several key types of attacks. These attacks can be performed in several different ways. One of the commonly used methods is a denial of service (DoS), but there are also other types of attacks from which we should be aware as a traffic analysis, privacy violation, physical attacks etc. Three MAC protocols, such as IEEE 802.15.4 MAC, T-MAC, and S-MAC are proposed to analyze the performance of the WSN under DoS attack using OMNeT++ simulator. Different application scenarios have been evaluated. Performance parameters such as throughput, network delay, energy consumption in the coordinator, and network load are the main considered factors in our study.


Due to its distinct capability to improve the efficiency of shale gas production, supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) fracturing has attracted increased attention in recent years. Heat transfer occurs in the transportation and fracture processes. To better predict and understand the heat transfer of SC-CO2 near the critical region, numerical simulations focusing on a vertical flow pipe were performed. Various turbulence models and turbulent Prandtl numbers (Prt) were evaluated to capture the heat transfer deterioration (HTD). The simulations show that the turbulent Prandtl number model (TWL model) combined with the Shear Stress Transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model accurately predicts the HTD in the critical region. It was found that Prt has a strong effect on the heat transfer prediction. The HTD occurred under larger heat flux density conditions, and an acceleration process was observed. Gravity also affects the HTD through the linkage of buoyancy, and HTD did not occur under zero-gravity conditions.


Study Design. Blinded animal study. Objectives. To determine if an increased concentration of epidural glutamate can cause a focal nociceptive response in the lower extremities that is consistent with sciatica. Summary of Background Data. It is believed that the origin of sciatic pain is related to more than physical pressure on the nerve roots. Recently, it was determined that disc material may be a significant source of free glutamate, resulting from the enzymatic degradation of matrix aggrecan proteins. We believe that this free glutamate acts as a neurotransmitter at glutamate receptors on the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) cell bodies, thereby initiating a nociceptive response. Methods. Rats were subject to a 72-hour epidural glutamate infusion via a mini osmotic pump. Von Frey behavioral testing was performed 24 hours before, and 24 and 72 hours after the onset of the infusion. DRG and dorsal horn tissues were analyzed for changes in receptor expression, which have been previously shown to correlate with a nociceptive state. Results. Von Frey behavioral tests showed focal hyperalgesia that was maximal at the 0.02 mmol/L glutamate concentration. Significant changes in DRG glutamate receptor expression were seen for α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid, kainite, and N-methyl-D aspartate receptors. Analysis of dorsal horn glutamate receptors also showed patterns in α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazoleproprionic acid and kainate receptor expression that were consistent with a nociceptive state. Conclusions. Epidural glutamate elicits a focal nociceptive response. Free glutamate that has been liberated from the disc material may be an important factor in the development of sciatic pain.


The policy-driven focus, at present, is to improve the energy performance of buildings. However, energy-related issues alone do not capture the full impact of buildings on occupants and the wider environment. The performance of a building also includes occupant wellbeing and indoor environmental quality (IEQ). Specifically, for schools, there is a strong association between IEQ (temperature, ventilation rates, and indoor CO2 concentrations) with cognitive performance. Traffic-related external pollutants such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide are linked to adverse health impacts, especially in dense urban environments. This paper assesses the performance issues and inter-relationships between energy and IEQ in a newly-built and partly-refurbished school campus in London. Based on the evidence gathered from this case study, larger endemic issues and constraints within the construction industry are explored and lessons for improved performance in the design and operation of school buildings are highlighted.


We assume a spatial blind source separation model in which the observed multivariate spatial data is a linear mixture of latent spatially uncorrelated Gaussian random fields containing a number of pure white noise components. We propose a test on the number of white noise components and obtain the asymptotic distribution of its statistic for a general domain. We also demonstrate how computations can be facilitated in the case of gridded observation locations. Based on this test, we obtain a consistent estimator of the true dimension. Simulation studies and an environmental application demonstrate that our test is at least comparable to and often outperforms bootstrap-based techniques, which are also introduced in this paper.


Author(s): Boyle, Chloe Cassandra | Advisor(s): Bower, Julienne E | Abstract: Anhedonia, or pervasive diminished interest or pleasure, is a core diagnostic symptom of depression that predicts poor treatment response and may also play a role in depression etiology. Anhedonia is increasingly recognized as multidimensional, reflecting decreased reward motivation, reward sensitivity, and/or reward-learning. The mechanisms that give rise to dysregulation in these dimensions of reward have yet to be characterized. Compelling evidence and theory suggest two processes may play a central role: stress and elevated inflammation. Both stress and inflammation induce anhedonic behavior, and Social Signal Transduction Theory posits that inflammation is a central mechanism linking stress to depression more broadly. However, studies have yet to test whether stress-induced inflammation alters specific dimensions of reward. Thus, the current study experimentally evaluated the effects of stress-induced inflammation on multiple dimensions of reward. Fifty-four female young adults were randomized to undergo an acute psychosocial laboratory stressor or a no-stress active control, and completed three behavioral tasks for assessment of reward motivation (Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task; EEfRT), learning (Probabilistic Reward Task; PRT) and sensitivity (positive faces on an emotional dot probe task, EEfRT, PRT). To test inflammation as a mediator of effects of stress on reward, the tasks were administered before and 90 minutes post stress to coincide with the peak of the inflammatory response to stress. Participants provided blood samples for assessment of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 at study entry and 90 and 120 minutes post stress. Consistent with hypotheses, stress-induced inflammation decreased sensitivity to social reward, operationalized as decreased attentional bias towards positive faces. Contrary to hypotheses, stress-induced inflammation increased sensitivity and motivation for monetary reward. These associations were not moderated by depressive symptoms or early life stress. Together, findings demonstrate that stress-induced inflammation does indeed alter multiple dimensions of reward, though effects were not always in the hypothesized direction. Most notably, stress-induced inflammation was associated with increases in reward motivation and sensitivity for monetary reward, but decreased sensitivity to social reward. This study contributes to a growing literature characterizing the relationship between inflammation and dimensions of reward processing, which will ultimately promote targeted and effective treatment for anhedonia and depression.


Dynamic BDD reordering is usually a computationally-demanding process, and may slow down BDD-based applications. We propose a novel algorithm for distributing this process over a number of computers, improving both reordering time and application time. Our algorithm is based on Rudell's popular sifting algorithm, and takes advantage of a few empirical observations we make regarding Rudell's algorithm. Experimental results show the efficiency and scalability of our approach, when applied within an industrial model checker


For many students, mathematics is regarded as a challenging subject to learn and master in class. One of the significant factors contributing to the students' difficulties in learning mathematics is caused by a phenomenon called mathematics anxiety. Mathematics anxiety is a feeling of unease and anxiety toward mathematics and it can be different from person-to-person. Understanding the effects of mathematics anxiety levels on students' mathematics performances in class can be the key to help students' mastery of mathematics. The aim of the study is to investigate the relationship between mathematics anxiety levels and students' mathematics performances at the foundation level. A sample of 545 students from a local foundation centre was chosen for this study. Data collection via questionnaire was used where quantitative data were analysed using correlation, t-test, and descriptive analyses. The results showed that there was a weak positive correlation between students' anxiety levels and the students' mathematics performance in their final examination. Recommendations and future potential for this study were further discussed in this paper.


AbstractThe ability to predict the impact of typhoons on transportation infrastructure is important as it can help to avoid serious delays and dangers when roads are closed due to such events. This research uses support vector regression (SVR) to predict the impact of typhoons on transportation infrastructure. It first integrates and examines the infrastructure and precipitation data from different authorities. An SVR model is constructed to solve a nonlinear prediction problem for small size data. The SVR model is calibrated and validated by a heuristic process. The calibrated and validated results are then applied to predict closed roads in a real network through a simulation assignment model. Several traffic management strategies are developed to reduce the negative impacts of typhoons. The results show that the mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of SVR prediction is 9.7%. The impact of typhoons on transportation networks can thus be predicted and simulated based on the calibrated SVR model, and app...


Abstract Background: Tertiary hyperparathyroidism (THPT) is very common in hemodialysis patients with secondary hyperparathyroidism. However, a medical treatment is not indicated for THPT. Purpose: To investigate the feasibility, safety and efficacy of microwave ablation (MWA) in treating THPT. Materials and methods: Twenty-three patients with THPT were enrolled and treated with MWA. Clinical characteristics, serum levels of intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), calcium, phosphorus and alkaline phosphatase (ALP), as well as treatment outcomes, were evaluated pre- and post-MWA. All patients were followed for >36 months for all assessable clinical data. Results: All patients successfully completed MWA. The mean follow-up was 47.0 ± 8.4 months. Immediately 1-day post-MWA, iPTH, calcium, phosphorus and ALP levels significantly decreased (all p < 0.001). During the long-term follow-up, iPTH levels increased gradually until 24 months and then remained at stable levels. After MWA, serum calcium reached stable levels at 24 months, while phosphorus and ALP reached stable levels at 6 months, and the levels were in the normal range or slightly higher than the upper normal limit. No obvious blood flow signals or significant recurrence was observed in the surgical nodules during follow-up. In the last follow-up, all nodules were persistent, but their maximum diameter and average volume were significantly lower after MWA (both p < 0.001), with an average reduction of 75.9 ± 11.3%. All patients had no major complications during MWA and follow-up. Conclusions: MWA is feasible, safe, effective and minimally invasive in treating THPT. Thus, MWA can be a nonsurgical alternative for treating THPT patients who are ineligible for surgery.


The spectral characteristics of the longitudinally diode-pumped Tm : YLF laser radiation are experimentally studied. The laser wavelength was tuned within a spectral range of 1860 - 1940 nm with a linewidth not exceeding 1 nm. The effect of water vapour on the spectral characteristics is studied.


The integration of the raster data cube alongside another form of geospatial data (e.g., vector data) raises considerable challenges when it comes to managing and representing it using knowledge graphs. Such integration can play an invaluable role in handling the heterogeneity of geospatial data and linking the raster data cube to semantic technology standards. Many recent approaches have been attempted to address this issue, but they often lack robust formal elaboration or solely concentrate on integrating raster data cubes without considering the inclusion of semantic spatial entities along with their spatial relationships. This may constitute a major shortcoming when it comes to performing advanced geospatial queries and semantically enriching geospatial models. In this paper, we propose a framework that can enable such semantic integration and advanced querying of raster data cubes based on the virtual knowledge graph (VKG) paradigm. This framework defines a semantic representation model for raster data cubes that extends the GeoSPARQL ontology. With such a model, we can combine the semantics of raster data cubes with features-based models that involve geometries as well as spatial and topological relationships. This could allow us to formulate spatiotemporal queries using SPARQL in a natural way by using ontological concepts at an appropriate level of abstraction. We propose an implementation of the proposed framework based on a VKG system architecture. In addition, we perform an experimental evaluation to compare our framework with other existing systems in terms of performance and scalability. Finally, we show the potential and the limitations of our implementation and we discuss several possible future works.


Multi-objective optimization (MOO) is a preva-lent challenge for Deep Learning, however, there exists no scalable MOO solution for truly deep neural networks. Prior work either demand optimizing a new network for every point on the Pareto front, or induce a large overhead to the number of trainable parameters by using hyper-networks conditioned on modifiable preferences. In this paper, we propose to condition the network directly on these preferences by augmenting them to the feature space. Furthermore, we ensure a well-spread Pareto front by penalizing the solutions to maintain a small angle to the preference vector. In a series of experiments, we demonstrate that our Pareto fronts achieve state-of-the-art quality despite being computed significantly faster. Furthermore, we showcase the scalability as our method approximates the full Pareto front on the CelebA dataset with an EfficientNet network at a tiny training time overhead of 7% compared to a simple single-objective optimization. We will make our code publicly available. 2


The study investigated the relationship of self-disclosure about a psychotic episode to posttraumatic stress symptoms, posttraumatic growth (PTG) and recovery following psychosis. Thirty-four participants who had experienced a first episode of psychosis completed the Impact of Events Scale-Revised, Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire (a measure of need for, and resistance to, disclosure), a measure of actual self-disclosure, Posttraumatic Growth Inventory and Process of Recovery Questionnaire. The results highlighted that degree of self-disclosure about a psychotic episode was associated with lower levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and higher levels of PTG and recovery. Low PTSD symptoms, high recovery, high actual self-disclosure and low reluctance to talk were significantly related to high PTG. However, only low levels of PTSD symptoms significantly predicted recovery. Finally, recovery was found to mediate the relationship between self-disclosure and PTG. The findings are discussed in terms of the PTG model. Clinically, the findings suggest that people with early psychosis may benefit from disclosing their experiences of psychosis, including those aspects that were traumatic, as this may support the processes of recovery and PTG.


The objective of this study was to evaluate the proximate composition, mineral content and phytochemical constituents of Ananas comosus stalks using distilled water, methanol, ethanol, chloroform and petroleum ether as extraction solvents. Analysis of minerals present in the different extracts of the stalk of A. comosus revealed that the aqueous extract had the highest concentration of sodium, magnesium, zinc, tin, molybdenum and manganese while the lowest was found in petroleum ether extract. Methanol extract had the highest concentration of potassium, iron and copper. The result of the physicochemical analysis of the stalk of A. comosus revealed that the stalk was high in nitrogen free extract (58.74±1.13 %). However, ether extract had the least value (1.12±0.20 %). Qualitative phytochemical screening of A. comosus stalk extract revealed the presence of saponins, alkaloid and terpenes. Quantitative evaluation of the phytoconstituents revealed that flavonoids and phenol were highest in petroleum ether extracts (2.74±0.02 mg/kg and 2.73±0.02 mg/kg) while alkaloids concentration was highest in the ethanol extract (1.78±0.01 mg/ml). The study found that Ananas comosus stalk extracts had a good amount of micronutrients according to the various criteria examined; the high ash content also supports this finding. The study showed that the stalk of A. comosus is a good source of important phytochemicals.


This workshop aims to facilitate human participants to become more aware of other animals' sensory and aesthetic sensibilities, raising points for discussion and future research within ACI. For all animals, being able to make sense of the environment is crucial in order to gain control and make informed choices, as well as to achieve competence in daily activities. Although human perception is limited by evolution, technology can enable us to perceive signals that may be meaningful for other species, thereby gaining insight and possibly empathy. Moreover, pursuing a multi-species perspective may foster inclusive approaches to design that aim to achieve a lighter environmental impact by taking into account the sensory experiences of other species. We will offer participants a range of activities to challenge human senses and sense-making abilities, and then invite them to collaboratively design and test a system that incorporates some animal-centred sensory stimulation inspired by the activities previously undertaken.


The paper highlighted the channels of information acquisition and dissemination among the rural dwellers. The descriptive research was employed for the study. It discovered that: Town-criers, marketplaces, socio-political meetings, traditional festival, role play, songs and dance, demonstration, lecture and exhibition, GSM handsets, television, radio, and newspapers are channels of information that are used to acquire and disseminate information among rural dwellers. The study recommends among other that the indigenous languages should be used for radio and television news to enable rural dwellers understand the message better since study has shown that many rural people cannot read or write; that modern and traditional information acquisition and dissemination channels should be used by information agent working in the rural areas; that further study should be carried out to discover the best acceptable channels to each categories of rural people.

 Key words: Knowledge, office, Africa, tradition, rural dwellers, information acquisition.


Urokinase and streptokinase are the two fibrinolytics approved for clinical use. Streptokinase has the broader application, being used to treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), arterial thromboembolism, and occluded arteriovenous shunts in renal dialysis. Bleeding, the most significant complication of fibrinolytic therapy, arises mostly from invaded sites and can be significantly reduced by minimizing venipuncture and other invasive procedures.


The wind-induced performance response of large-span truss curved roofs is extremely complex and changes obviously under wind load. This paper has taken the large-span steel roof of Liu Zhaike highway toll station as an example to analyze by both numerical simulations and field tests of responses of the steel canopy under wind load. In this case, simulated analysis results using finite element software were calibrated and verified by the field test results. In addition, a new method of large structure field testing was proposed which obtained the internal force and displacement of the canopy structure. Moreover, this paper analyzed and determined the actual stress state of the rectangular pipe truss. Finally, the safety condition of the roof was evaluated based on the monitoring data and the simulation of the finite element model. And the analysis methods provides references for similar engineering field tests, as well as guidance for the operation and maintenance for this project.


Nanotechnology is a design, synthesis and implementation of nanostructures or nanomaterials. It paves a way for fundamental understanding of materials' dimension and their corresponding physical properties for a desired application.
Synthesis and processing of nanostructures are the essential aspects of nanotechnology. Studies on their new physical properties and applications are possible only when nanostructured materials are made available with desired size, morphology, microstructure and chemical composition. In general, there are two philosophically distinct approaches for creating small objects: top-down and bottom-up. In the top-down approach, small features are patterned in bulk materials by a combination of lithography, etching and deposition to form functional devices and their integrated systems. The top-down approach has been exceedingly successful
in many venues, with perhaps, microelectronics being the best example today. While developments continue to push the resolution limits of the top-down approach, these improvements in resolution are associated with a near exponential increase in cost associated with each new level of manufacturing facility. Whereas, in the bottom-up approach the functional structures are assembled from well defined
chemically and/or physically synthesized nanoscale building blocks. The optimization of this bottom-up approach for nanotechnology requires a focus on two key areas that are at the heart of devices and integration processes. First of
all, the bottom-up approach necessitates nanoscale building blocks with precisely controlled and tunable chemical composition, structure, size and morphology, as these characteristics determine their corresponding physical properties. To meet this goal, it requires developing methods that enable rational design and predictable synthesis of building blocks. Secondly, it is critical to explore and developthe limits of functional devices based on these building blocks. In this doctoral work, the above basic principles are taken into consideration for the selection of both vertical and horizontal nanowire fabrication techniques, the integration of the synthesized functional nanowires into device and their characterization under different conditions.