Apoptosis of alveolar type II (ATII) cells in response to high-amplitude mechanical stretch represents an important mechanism of ventilation-induced lung injury. Previously, it was demonstrated in an in vitro model that stretch-induced ATII cell apoptosis was prevented by angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors. This study investigates the mechanism by which ACE inhibitors prevent stretch-induced apoptosis and elucidates the role of bradykinin as an endogenous anti-apoptotic factor. Rat ATII cells cultured on flexible membranes were subjected to cyclic stretch (40 cycles/min; 30% increase in surface area) and compared with static controls. Angiotensinogen, the bradykinin precursor T-kininogen, and bradykinin receptor expression were measured by RT-PCR; Angiotensin II and phosphoinositol 3 OH-kinase (PI3K) activity (as phospho-Akt) were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; and Bcl-2 and Bcl-X(L) were measured by Western blot. Stretch did not influence angiotensinogen expression or induce angiotensin II generation. The angiotensin II receptor antagonist saralasin did not prevent stretch-induced apoptosis, whereas ACE inhibitors did. Stretch reduced ATII cell bradykinin release (T-kininogen expression and bradykinin supernatant concentration), and subsequently led to reduced PI3K activity and decreased concentrations of the anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L). Bradykinin substitution or addition of keratinocyte or hepatocyte growth factor prevented stretch-induced decrease in PI3K activity and Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L) and reduced stretch-induced apoptosis. Mechanical stretch impairs a constitutively expressed, autocrine anti-apoptotic ATII cell survival signal involving bradykinin-mediated stimulation of the PI3K-Akt-Bcl-2/Bcl-X(L) pathway. Restoration of this pathway prevents stretch-induced apoptosis. This may be beneficial when mechanical ventilation cannot completely avoid alveolar overdistension to maintain oxygenation.


The disposition of the atypical clozapine and its desmethyl metabolite were evaluated in fourteen male chronic patients. A single 100 mg dose of clozapine was administered and blood sampling performed over the following 72 hours. The mean (SD) oral clearance and half‐life of clozapine were 55.4 (29.7) L/hr and 13.7 (9.9) hours, respectively. The mean (SD) AUC for clozapine and desmethylclozapine was 2389.9 (1406) and 751.1 (622.9) ng ·; hr/mL, respectively. The elimination of the metabolite is rate limited by its formation from cloza‐pine. A wide interpatient variability in clozapine and desmethylclozapine pharmacokinetics was observed.


The relationship between cancer and acromegaly has been subject of study for many years. From a case of differentiated thyroid carcinoma in one of our acromegalic patients, we reviewed a series of 100 acromegalics and found two others cases of thyroid cancer, which are described in this work. From that point, we have got data from the literature about this last association and its possible pathogenesis. The prevalence of thyroid disease is increased among acromegalic patients, mainly due to nodular goiter. This association will be discussed, as well as the relation between insulin-like growth factor-I and cancer, in an effort to have a better understanding of its meaning for our cases. We concluded that it would be prudent to do periodic ultrasonographic evaluation of acromegalic patients, follow by fine needle aspiration biopsies of suspect nodules.


Endoscopic sphincterotomy has been used for the treatment of many biliary disorders, including extraction of obstructing common bile duct stones. Manometric studies of the sphincter of Oddi and the common bile duct have shown a marked decrease in biliary tract pressures after sphincterotomy. A prospective study of 12 patients with intact gallbladders using hepatobiliary imaging before and after sphincterotomy was performed to assess changes in bile dynamics. Nonfilling of the gallbladder occurred in 9 of the 12 patients after sphincterotomy, indicating significant alteration of bile flow. Such changes in bile dynamics may have serious implications in patients selected for medical dissolution of gallstones. It may also adversely affect specificity of cholescintigraphy in diagnosing acute cholecystitis.


Abstract: The new name Aspicilia berntii is proposed to accommodate Lecanora mastoidea Lynge in Aspicilia and a lectotype is designated. Additional characters are added to the species description and a comparison is made with similar species. The species is reported as new to Scandinavia with localities in northern Norway. An assessement of the phylogenetic relationships, based on a split network analysis of ITS sequences, places A. berntii close to A. verrucigera in the A. cinerea group.


Objective:To assess the value and limitation of thoracic aortic MR virtual endoscopy(MRVE)and discuss its imaging technique. Methods:20 volunteers and 33 patients of thoracic aortic lesions were performed 3 dimensional dynamic contrast enhanced MR angiography (3D DCE MRA),from which MRVE were reconstructed to demonstrate the inner wall and lesions of thoracic aorta,and its visualization was also evaluated.Results:MRVE intuitively showed the anatomy and lesions of thoracic aorta.In 21 cases of aortic dissection, MRVE documented clearly the inlet,intimal flap displacement and lumina of aortic dissection,while the dilatation or narrowing of lumen of aortic aneurysm and aortitis was also shown by MRVE.For Fallot's tetralogy,the overriding aorta and the degree of the overriding were distinctly documented by MRVE.And half circle artifact was the main artifact of MRVE in this series. Conclusion: MRVE can intuitively show the inner wall and lesions of thoracic aorta,and be regarded as a routine examination for the patient with suspected thoracic aortic diseases.


artificial objects, from lice and moss to cork and written ink. Ostensibly, Micrographia championed the empiricism of the New Philosophy of seventeenth-century Europe that would mature into modern, natural science. Yet, beneath its veneer of objective, empirical inquiry, Micrographia reveals both the deep-seated social and moral anxieties of Restoration England and the exigent problems of credibility and authority that lay, and might still lie, at the heart of empirical science. I argue that Hooke's project in Micrographia was fundamentally rhetorical; its success and its very epistemic legitimacy were contingent as much, if not chiefly, upon a multifaceted ethos that strove to resolve paradoxes of personal credibility and impersonal objectivity that shaped the emergence of seventeenth-century natural philosophy. By studying Hooke's complex verbal and visual rhetoric, one discovers the achievements and compromises that enabled the heroic empiricism of the so-called "Scientific Revolution" and that might continue to govern modern assumptions about the nature and aims of scientific inquiry. Microrhetorica: Ethos and Empiricism in Robert Hooke's Micrographia (1665)


Transfusion of homologous blood components is associated with immunological (incompatibility, alloimmunization, immunosuppression) and infectious risks (hepatitis, cytomegalovirus, HIV and other agents). Endoprosthetic surgery of the hip and knee frequently requires transfusion. Preoperative deposit of autologous blood can reduce homologous transfusion requirements. The simplest method is liquid storage of whole blood. In order to re-examine the efficiency of our present scheme of preoperative deposit, we studied patients scheduled for endoprosthetic surgery with respect to the amount of blood deposited, stimulation of erythropoiesis, and homologous blood requirements at the time of operation. PATIENTS AND METHODS. Sixty-seven consecutive patients (33 men, 34 women) scheduled for endoprosthetic replacement of hip or knee or for revision arthroplasty of the hip were studied. Patients with anemia, coagulopathies, coronary heart disease, severe obstructive or restrictive pulmonary disease, cerebral sclerosis, syncopes and seizures were excluded from preoperative deposit. Patients deposited 450 ml at weekly intervals, with occasionally slightly higher or lower volumes. A patient was temporarily deferred when the hemoglobin concentration prior to donation fell below 11 g/dl. Blood was collected in CPDA-1 buffer. The aim was a deposit of three units. In patients undergoing exchange reoperation of a total hip arthroplasty, intra- and postoperative autotransfusion with a cell separator was employed in addition to preoperative donation. RESULTS. The age of the patients ranged from 43 to 83 years (mean +/- SD: 61.2 +/- 9.1). The differences between men and women with respect to height (172.9 +/- 6.8 vs 160.6 +/- 7.4 cm; p less than or equal to 0.001), weight (75.7 +/- 11.2 vs 69.1 +/- 11.0 kg; p less than or equal to 0.05), calculated blood volume (p less than or equal to 0.001), and erythrocyte volume prior to donation (p less than or equal to 0.001) were significant. A total of 185 units was deposited. Men donated 1350 (450-1970) ml blood (median, range) and women 1260 (340-1450) ml (p less than or equal to 0.01). Hemoglobin concentrations decreased significantly from an average of 14.7 g/dl in men and 13.8 g/dl in women prior to donation to 13.4 g/dl and 12.3 g/dl preoperatively (p less than or equal to 0.0001 for both groups). The donation was not associated with serious complications. For 4 patients the scheduled operation was deferred for a longer term. Forty-six patients (23 men, 23 women) underwent total hip arthroplasty, 12 (4 men, 8 women) exchange of total hip arthroplasty, and 5 (3 men, 2 women) endoprosthetic knee surgery. In total hip arthroplasty men required 0 to 500 ml homologous packed red cells (median=0), women 0 to 1250 ml (median=0;p less than or equal to 0.05). Thirty-nine (69.6%) of the patients, 19 (82.6%) men and 13 (56.5%) women, did not require homologous transfusion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Urea, crop residues, and green manure are all suitable sources of N for lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.). However, N sources undergo mineralization at different rates, affecting rice N uptake and utilization. Little is known about the effect of the chemical composition of crop residues on N mineralization and rice performance. Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the dynamics of N mineralization, microbial biomass, and rice N uptake. Twelve treatments representing a wide range of crop residue chemical composition and two controls (with and without urea) were compared. The N mineralization pattern ranged from rapid (Sesbania rostata Brem. & Oberm.) to immobilization at the beginning of the season (Cassia velosa L.). Immediately after incorporation, N mineralization was positively correlated to crop residue N concentration (r 2 = 0.64, significant at P < 0.01), and negatively correlated to tannin concentration. However, at tillering, the tannin/N ratio was best correlated to the rate of N release (r 2 = 0.86, significant at P < 0.01). Grain yield was best predicted by the (lignin + polyphenol)/N ratio (r 2 = 0.67, significant at P < 0.01). Incorporation of residue into soil generally increased microbial biomass ninhydrin-reactive N compared with control treatments at the tillering stage, but not at maturity. Microbial biomass N was highly correlated to soil NH 4 + -N at rice tillering (r 2 = 0.76, significant at P < 0.01). The N derived from fertilizer in rice was 35.4% on average for residue treatments, which was comparable with that of the urea control (33.5%). This study emphasizes the importance of considering the interactions among chemical constituents of crop residues to understand the dynamics of N release and uptake by rice.


High-performance concurrent libraries, such as lock-free data structures and custom synchronization primitives, are notoriously difficult to write correctly. Such code is often implemented without locks, instead using plain loads and stores and low-level operations like atomic compare-and-swaps and explicit memory fences. Such code must run correctly despite the relaxed memory model of the underlying compiler, virtual machine, and/or hardware. These memory models may reorder the reads and writes issued by a thread, greatly complicating parallel reasoning.
 We propose Relaxer, a combination of predictive dynamic analysis and software testing, to help programmers write correct, highly-concurrent programs. Our technique works in two phases. First, Relaxer examines a sequentially-consistent run of a program under test and dynamically detects potential data races. These races are used to predict possible violations of sequential consistency under alternate executions on a relaxed memory model. In the second phase, Relaxer re-executes the program with a biased random scheduler and with a conservative simulation of a relaxed memory model in order to create with high probability a predicted sequential consistency violation. These executions can be used to test whether or not a program works as expected when the underlying memory model is not sequentially consistent.
 We have implemented Relaxer for C and have evaluated it on several synchronization algorithms, concurrent data structures, and parallel applications. Relaxer generates many executions of these benchmarks with violations of sequential consistency, highlighting a number of bugs under relaxed memory models.


Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disease that produces a progressive inflammatory response that leads to severe pain, swelling, and stiffness in the joints of hands and feet, followed by irreversible damage of the joints. The authors developed a miniaturized, label-free electrochemical impedimetric immunosensor for the sensitive and direct detection of arthritis Anti-CCP-ab biomarker. An interdigitated-chain-shaped microelectrode array (ICE) was fabricated by taking the advantage of microelectromechanical systems. The fabricated ICE was modified with a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of Mercaptohexanoic acid (MHA) for immobilization of the synthetic peptide bio-receptor (B-CCP). The B-CCP was attached onto the surface of SAM modified ICE through a strong avidin-biotin bio-recognition system. The modified ICE surface with the SAM and bio-molecules (Avidin, B-CCP, Anti-CCP-ab and BSA) was morphologically and electrochemically characterized. The change in the sensor signal upon analyte binding on the electrode surface was probed through the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) property of charge-transfer resistance (Rct) of the modified electrodes. EIS measurements were target specific and the sensor response was linearly increased with step wise increase in target analyte (Anti-CCP-ab) concentrations. The developed sensor showed a linear range for the addition of Anti-CCP-ab between 1 IU mL−1 → 800 IU mL−1 in phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and Human serum (HS), respectively. The sensor showed a limit of detection of 0.60 IU mL−1 and 0.82 IU mL−1 in the PBS and HS, respectively. The develop bio-electrode showed a good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD), 1.52%), selectivity and stability (1.5% lost at the end of 20th day) with an acceptable recovery rate (98.0% → 101.18%) and % RSD's for the detection of Anti-CCP-ab in spiked HS samples.


Examining the relationships among DNA sequence, meiotic recombination, and chromosome structure at a genome-wide scale has been difficult because only a few markers connect genetic linkage maps with physical maps. Here, we have positioned 1195 genetically mapped expressed sequence tag (EST) markers onto the 10 pachytene chromosomes of maize by using a newly developed resource, the RN-cM map. The RN-cM map charts the distribution of crossing over in the form of recombination nodules (RNs) along synaptonemal complexes (SCs, pachytene chromosomes) and allows genetic cM distances to be converted into physical micrometer distances on chromosomes. When this conversion is made, most of the EST markers used in the study are located distally on the chromosomes in euchromatin. ESTs are significantly clustered on chromosomes, even when only euchromatic chromosomal segments are considered. Gene density and recombination rate (as measured by EST and RN frequencies, respectively) are strongly correlated. However, crossover frequencies for telomeric intervals are much higher than was expected from their EST frequencies. For pachytene chromosomes, EST density is about fourfold higher in euchromatin compared with heterochromatin, while DNA density is 1.4 times higher in heterochromatin than in euchromatin. Based on DNA density values and the fraction of pachytene chromosome length that is euchromatic, we estimate that approximately 1500 Mbp of the maize genome is in euchromatin. This overview of the organization of the maize genome will be useful in examining genome and chromosome evolution in plants.


Abstract Despite the well‐known benefits of breastfeeding, breastfeeding rates remain suboptimal, particularly for women with lower socioeconomic position. Although popular, breastfeeding apps are often poor quality; their impact on breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, confidence and intentions is unknown. A mixed method pre‐post feasibility study was conducted to: 1) explore the feasibility of the My Baby Now app in providing perinatal breastfeeding support; 2) examine the impact on breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes, confidence and intentions; 3) to examine any differences in acceptability and impact of the app according to maternal education. The My Baby Now app was offered to pregnant women 20–30 weeks gestation. Breastfeeding knowledge and intentions were collected at baseline (T1) and 36–38 weeks gestation (T2); attitudes and confidence were collected at baseline, T2 and T3 (8–12 weeks post‐partum). App engagement was measured via app analytics. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample following T3. Of 266 participants recruited, 169 (64%) completed T2 and 157 (59%) completed T3. Mothers without university education rated the app to be higher quality, more useful and impactful than mothers with university education. From T1–T2, breastfeeding knowledge (59.6% vs. 66.5%, p < 0.001) and exclusive breastfeeding intentions (76.6% vs. 80.9%, p < 0.001) increased. Breastfeeding attitudes and confidence scores also increased significantly across T1–T2 and T1–T3. App engagement during pregnancy predicted changes in breastfeeding attitudes from T1–T2 among participants without university education. App engagement did not predict changes in breastfeeding knowledge, confidence or intentions. Future randomised controlled studies should examine the effectiveness of mHealth interventions on breastfeeding outcomes.


BACKGROUND
Many women undergoing an assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle will not achieve a live birth. Failure at the embryo transfer stage may be due to lack of good-quality embryo/s, lack of uterine receptivity, or the transfer technique itself. Numerous methods, including the use of ultrasound guidance for proper catheter placement in the endometrial cavity, have been suggested as more effective techniques of embryo transfer. This review evaluates the efficacy of ultrasound-guided embryo transfer (UGET) compared with 'clinical touch' (CTET), which is the traditional method of embryo transfer and relies on the clinician's tactile senses to judge when the transfer catheter is in the correct position.

OBJECTIVES
To determine whether ultrasound guidance compared with clinical touch improves pregnancy outcomes in women undergoing embryo transfer during ART cycles.

SEARCH METHODS
For the 2016 update of this review, we ran updated searches in the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group trials register (May 2015), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (the Cochrane Library, May 2015), MEDLINE (2009 to May 2015), and EMBASE (2009 to May 2015). We also handsearched relevant conference proceedings: American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), and International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO). There were no language restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA
We included only randomised controlled trials.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed eligibility and quality of trials and extracted data from those selected. We calculated odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for dichotomous outcomes. No outcomes were reported using continuous data. We assessed the overall quality of the evidence for the main findings using the GRADE working group methods.

MAIN RESULTS
This systematic review now has 21 included studies (four of which we added in the 2016 update), two studies awaiting assessment, and 47 excluded studies. In total, data for meta-analyses were available in 21 trials (n = 6218 women), of which only four reported live births.UGET was associated with an increased chance of a live birth/ongoing pregnancy compared with CTET (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.30 to 1.65; 13 trials; n = 5859 women; I(2) = 74%; low-quality evidence). Sensitivity analysis by including only trials with low risk of selection bias or by using a random-effects model did not alter the effect. We estimate that for women with a chance of a live birth/ongoing pregnancy of 23% using CTET, this would increase to between 28% and 33% using UGET. We considered the quality of the evidence using GRADE methodology to be low.UGET was associated with an increase in the chance of a clinical pregnancy (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.17 to 1.45; 20 trials; n = 6711 women; I(2) = 42%; moderate-quality evidence). We identified no differences between groups for the incidence of adverse events including multiple pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage. These events were relatively rare, and sample sizes limited the ability to detect such differences.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
The evidence suggests ultrasound guidance improves the chance of live birth/ongoing and clinical pregnancies compared with clinical touch, without increasing the chance of multiple pregnancy, ectopic pregnancy, or miscarriage. Methodological limitations included: only four studies reporting details of both computerised randomisation techniques and adequate allocation concealment, only four studies reported on the outcome of live birth, and none of the nine studies that reported on ongoing pregnancy reported on live birth, suggesting possible reporting bias. Adequate reporting of randomisation and allocation concealment will improve the quality of future studies. The primary outcome measure of future studies should be the reporting of live births per woman randomised.


Purpose The purpose of this hydropedological work is to investigate the feasibility of a method to calculate permeability of soil peds on the matrix pore scale resolution. This paper focuses on imaging of the intra-aggregate microstructure and, based on the three-dimensional (3D) images, quantification of the pore network connectivity and permeability tensor. Finally, lattice Boltzmann equation (LBE) simulations of Navier–Stokes flow in the thus derived pore network allow to compute the heterogeneous 3D flow velocity field. Materials and methods Nanotomographic X-ray absorption mode imaging of a single soil ped has been performed at the TOMCAT beamline of the Swiss Light Source synchrotron facility with 0.74 μm spatial resolution. Segmentation of the 3D Nano-CT images into solid phase and pore space allowed to study the statistical properties of the connected pore network. The thus derived pore network data were used as direct input for the software package GeoDict integrated with a LBE algorithm to perform saturated water flow modeling. Results and discussion The soil ped features quantified from the tomographic images were pore and grain size distributions (PSD, GSD), porosity, percolation tensor in x, y, z-direction and percolation pathways (macropores). The PSD frequency has a peak in the range 3–8 μm (mesopores) contributing 50% of the total. In general, the matrix pore structure and, hence, saturated flow field velocity of our sample is highly anisotropic. LBE-simulated pore scale fluid flow is used to ultimately determine gross parameters (coefficients) of Darcy's law such as the saturated hydraulic conductivity, Ks. The thus simulated Ks=105±24 cm day −1 of a single soil ped (mean of three ROIs and directions) is one order of magnitude higher than the value of Ks=12±2 cm day −1 predicted by a classical pedotranfer function approach. This Ks underestimation by PTF is typical for macropore flow. Conclusions Integration of 3D image evaluationwith the LBE approach as an essential step toward understanding the highly heterogeneous intra-aggregate microstructure is now possible on the submicron scale. Modeling the resulting anisotropic fluid advection field is, however, just a first step for 3Dmodels of biogeochemical reactions at soil interfaces on this pore scale.


We study the property of the Fused Lasso Signal Approximator (FLSA) for estimating a blocky signal sequence with additive noise. We transform the FLSA to an ordinary Lasso problem. By studying the property of the design matrix in the transformed Lasso problem, we find that the irrepresentable condition might not hold, in which case we show that the FLSA might not be able to recover the signal pattern. We then apply the newly developed preconditioning method -- Puffer Transformation [Jia and Rohe, 2012] on the transformed Lasso problem. We call the new method the preconditioned fused Lasso and we give non-asymptotic results for this method. Results show that when the signal jump strength (signal difference between two neighboring groups) is big and the noise level is small, our preconditioned fused Lasso estimator gives the correct pattern with high probability. Theoretical results give insight on what controls the signal pattern recovery ability -- it is the noise level {instead of} the length of the sequence. Simulations confirm our theorems and show significant improvement of the preconditioned fused Lasso estimator over the vanilla FLSA.


This study aims to determine the effect of applying the Family Tree method on student learning outcomes in learning History in class X SMAN 1 Payakumbuh District. This type of research is experimental quarsi research. The population in this study were all students of class X SMAN 1 District Payakumbuh consisting of 4 classes with the total number of students, namely 116 students. The sampling technique was taken by proportionate stratified random sampling. The result from the data analysis, it was obtained Thitung = 5.05 and T table = 1.68 where 1.68 <5.05> 1.68 which means that the hypothesis was accepted at the 95% confidence level. Thus it can be concluded that, there is the influence of the application of the Family Tree learning method to student learning outcomes compared to conventional learning methods in history learning in class X SMA N 1 Payakumbuh District.
Keywords: Family Tree Method and Learning Outcomes


Purpose: Some controversies exist over the prognostic values of lymphatic, venous, and neural invasion in patients with gastric cancer. This study was conducted to confirm the prognostic values of these histopathologic factors in gastric cancer patients who received a gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: Data for clinicopathologic factors and clinical outcomes were collected retrospectively from the medical records of 1,018 gastric cancer patients who received a gastrectomy at Yeungnam University Medical Center between January 1995 and December 1999. A statistical analysis was done using the SPSS program for Windows (Version 10.0, SPSS Inc., USA). The Kaplan-Meier method was used for the survival analysis. Prognostic factors were analyzed by using a multivariate analysis with Cox proportional hazard regression model. Results: Ages ranged from 21 to 79 (median age, 56). A univariate analysis revealed that age, tumor size, location, gross type, depth of invasion, extent of gastrectomy or lymph node dissection, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, lymphatic invasion, venous invasion, neural invasion, pathologic stage, histologic type, and curability of surgery had statistical significance. Among these factors, lymph node metastasis, curability of surgery, neural invasion, lymphatic invasion, and depth of invasion were found to be independent prognostic factors by using a multivariate analysis. Venous invasion showed no prognostic value in the multivariate analysis. Conclusion: Neural invasion and lymphatic invasion are useful parameters in determining a prognosis for gastric cancer patients.


In this paper, we study the effects of inserted needle on the subcutaneous interstitial flow. A goal is to describe the physical stress affecting cells during acupuncture treatment. The model consists of the convective Brinkman equations to describe the flow through a fibrous medium. Numerical studies in FreeFem++ are performed to illustrate the acute physical stress developed by the implantation of a needle that triggers the physiological reactions of acupuncture. We emphasize the importance of numerical experiments for advancing in modeling in acupuncture.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on visceral organs when challenged with E. coli strain 0157:H7 using albino mice as an experimental model. Eight weeks old mice of both sexes (26.6 – 35.3g) were used in the study and were divided into 6 groups of 12 mice each using stratified random sampling method. Group 1 was given 10 % ethanol (V/V) in their drinking water. Group 2 received 20 % of ethanol. The third group received 30 % of ethanol while group 4 and 5 received 40 % of alcohol ad-libitum respectively. Group 6 served as control and received only water. The alcohol-receiving groups received ethanol for 3 weeks to establish a chronic state of alcoholism and Groups 1-4 were then challenged with E. coli strain 0157:H7 for 7 days. The mice were then humanely euthanized and dissected. The kidney, liver, stomach, intestine and spleen were collected and fixed in Boiun's fluid for 24 h and histopathology slides were prepared. The results showed that when the alcohol intoxicated animals were challenged with E. coli, about 90 % of the females in each of the different groups were died between 24-48 h. However, the females in group 5 (without E. coli challenge) survived. Postmortem examination of the animals showed that with increase in the concentration of alcohol in the groups, there was a concentration dependent decrease in the gross size of the kidneys. Gross finding from the carcass showed that there was a relative increase in the size of the stomach with increasing concentration of alcohol consumed. The stomach seemed translucent which was concentration-dependent. With an increase in the concentration, the stomach wall was more transparent. It was also observed that there was a decrease in the peritoneal fat with an increase in the concentration of consumed alcohol. Comparing the sizes of the spleen of the different groups, it was also observed that there was a gradual decrease in the degree of size enlargement of this hematopoietic/lymphatic organ with an increase in alcohol concentration in the presence of E. coli. Histopathology slides showed significant changes with increased necrosis on the spleen, liver and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and other portal areas due to toxicity from secondary metabolic products of alcohol. The necrosis and quick death of the females was seen more in the alcohol challenged and E. coli infected groups. This was proposed to be as a result of hemo concentration and concurrent weakening of the lymphatic organs, allowing the toxins of the E. coli to act faster and destroy a larger number of cells. Chronic alcohol (ethanol) consumption has adverse pathologic effects on the spleen, liver, kidneys and gastrointestinal organs. Although alcohol is generally obtained from the fermentation of starch-containing food, its abuse and daily consumption causes damage to visceral organs and metabolisms in the body. Thus, when such a body is challenged with a pathogenic organism, there is less resistance to systemic entry of the cells, faster access to body cell due to the dehydration effect, and a quick necrotic time due to the toxins produced by such pathogenic organisms.


Palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) were deposited on the surface of the modified clay mineral, kaolinite. To improve compatibility, abundance and control of the size of the nanoparticles, kaolinite was modified by the grafting of an amino alcohol (triethanolamine (TEA)) and an ionic liquid (1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-3-methylimidazolium (ImIL)). Characterization techniques (XRD, TGA, solid state (13)C NMR and FTIR spectroscopy) confirmed the effective grafting of these compounds on the internal surface of kaolinite. After the synthesis of PdNPs onto clay particles, TEM allowed the visualization of abundant PdNPs with sizes ranging from 4 to 6 nm, uniformly distributed onto the platelets of modified kaolinite. Unmodified clay showed low abundance and random distribution of the nanoparticles. The catalysts obtained were effective for the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP), the material with TEA being the most effective. These materials have exhibited excellent performance during the Heck and particularly the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions, with reaction yields up to 100%. These catalysts showed a very slight loss in activity for three consecutive catalytic cycles (less than 10% decrease of the activity compared to the first cycle). This was an evidence that the prior grafting modification of kaolinite helps in significantly improving the quality of the synthesized NPs and also promotes their strong attachment onto the clay mineral surface.


We consider the pricing of European options under a modified Black–Scholes equation having fractional derivatives in the "spatial" (price) variable. To be specific, the underlying price is assumed to follow a geometric Koponen–Boyarchenko–Levendorski process. This pure jump Lévy process could better capture the real behaviour of market data. Despite many difficulties caused by the "globalness" of the fractional derivatives, we derive an explicit closed-form analytical solution by solving the fractional partial differential equation analytically, using the Fourier transform technique. Based on the newly derived formula, we also examine, in theory, many basic properties of the option price under the current model. On the other hand, for practical purposes, we impose a reliable implementation method for the current formula so that it can be easily used in the trading market. With the numerical results, the impact of different parameters on the option price are also investigated.


Typical seismic waveform data sets comprise hundreds of thousands to millions of records. Compilation is performed by time‐consuming handpicking of phase arrival times, or signal processing algorithms such as cross‐correlation. The latter generally underperform compared to handpicking. However, differences in picking methods creates variations in models and interpretation of Earth's structure. Here, we exploit the pattern recognition capabilities of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN). Using a large handpicked data set, we train a CNN model to identify the seismic shear phase SS. This accelerates, automates, and makes consistent data compilation, a task usually completed by visual inspection and influenced by scientists' choices. The CNN model is employed to identify precursors to SS generated by mantle discontinuities. It identifies precursors in stacked and individual seismograms, producing new measurements of the mantle transition zone with quality comparable to handpicked data. This rapid acquisition of high‐quality observations has implications for automation of future seismic tomography studies.


When a mobile robot inspects tasks with complex requirements indoors, the traditional backstepping method cannot guarantee the accuracy of the trajectory, leading to problems such as the instrument not being inside the image and focus failure when the robot grabs the image with high zoom. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive backstepping method based on double Q-learning for tracking and controlling the trajectory of mobile robots. We design the incremental model-free algorithm of Double-Q learning, which can quickly learn to rectify the trajectory tracking controller gain online. For the controller gain rectification problem in non-uniform state space exploration, we propose an incremental active learning exploration algorithm that incorporates memory playback as well as experience playback mechanisms to achieve online fast learning and controller gain rectification for agents. To verify the feasibility of the algorithm, we perform algorithm verification on different types of trajectories in Gazebo and physical platforms. The results show that the adaptive trajectory tracking control algorithm can be used to rectify the mobile robot trajectory tracking controller's gain. Compared with the Backstepping-Fractional-Older PID controller and Fuzzy-Backstepping controller, Double Q-backstepping has better robustness, generalization, real-time, and stronger anti-disturbance capability.


Abstract Aluminum (Al) is an environmental xenobiotic that stimulates free radical generation and hence reproductive toxicity. Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) effectively counteracts free radical-induced tissue damage. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids present in fish oil (FO) exert beneficial effects on reproduction in male animals. This study therefore investigated the effects of both agents on testicular dysfunction induced by aluminum chloride (AlCl3). Fifty male rats were gavaged with either 1% gum acacia (control group) or AlCl3 (34 mg/kg/day) for ten weeks. Concurrently, AlCl3-treated rats received no treatment, CoQ10 (10 mg/kg/day, p.o.), and/or FO (400 mg/kg/day, p.o.) for ten weeks. AlCl3 caused a significant decrease in serum testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH), and follicular stimulating hormone (FSH), as well as testicular weight, antioxidant enzyme gene expression and activities, reduced glutathione, zinc, adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) contents, and number of Leydig cells, along with down-regulation of 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD), 17β-HSD, steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (STAR), and cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme (P450scc) gene expression. However, testicular Al, malondialdehyde (MDA), and nitric oxide (NO) levels were markedly increased. Treatment with CoQ10 and FO, alone or in combined form led to an improvement in the aforementioned biomarkers. Overall, individual or combined treatment with CoQ10 and FO could ameliorate the toxic effects of AlCl3 on testicular tissues by mechanisms related to their potent antioxidant potential and stimulatory effects on steroidogenic enzymes transcription. CoQ10 seems to be better than FO regarding oxidative and nitrosative stress, Zn deficiency, and Al overload. However, FO showed more pronounced effect than CoQ10 on hormones, steroidogenic markers, and cAMP. A cocktail of both demonstrated greater protective effects on testicular tissues than monotherapy.


In recent years, platform economy has been raising competition concerns around the globe. In the European Union, the European Commission and the National Competition Authorities actively enforced Article 102 TFEU, sanctioning companies for abuse of a dominant position. Within the various theories of harm presented and mostly upheld by the Court of Justice, a common point is the ability of dominant undertakings to leverage, due to owning a platform, their market power in adjacent markets. This article therefore explores whether the Essential Facilities Doctrine should be revitalised to preserve a competitive structure and avoid exploitation of users. Moreover, the entry into force of the Digital Markets Act led researchers to analyse similarities with the doctrine and their possible complementarity once the Regulation will start applying in 2023. With a view to this possibility, concerns as to respect of the fundamental principle of ne bis in idem have been underlined, trying to clarify the future Competition Law landscape. JEL CLASSIFICATION: K21


In this article, the Author uses the concrete case of Antonio Perez, the ex-secretary of the king Philip II of Spain, to demonstrate the course of the Spanish state formation and the integration of the Law and State with its problems and contradictions. The object of this study is to research the mentioned process in theory and in reality, because they are different. In theory, the process of the State formation comes to its end in the epoch of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella governing. Later, in the epoch of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, Spain was the Empire yet. However, in the epoch of Philip II the unity and integrity of the new sate are in danger, because the case of Antonio Peres demonstrates that customary law as fueros, privileges and time-honoured traditions are able to survive the political and legal processes.


Objective Evaluation of an education/counselling programme intended for pregnant/puerperal women in a secondary health care facility. Methods The education/counselling programme was launched in September 2004, following the preparation of environmental and material components. Evaluation of the two-year project was achieved by means of satisfaction surveys of service receivers and service providers, an information survey of service receivers and focus group discussions (FGDs) for both groups. Results Forty percent of the pregnant women who attended antenatal visits and 90% of those who had recently delivered were given education/counselling in accordance with the project. The information survey showed that 92.5% of the pregnant women knew that they should take an iron supplement during pregnancy and the puerperium; 72% of the puerperal women knew of the danger signs postpartum and concerning the newborn, and 70% were aware of the methods of effective breastfeeding. The FGDs showed improved competence of the applicants in pre-delivery, pregnancy and puerperal care as well as in newborn nutrition. Feedback from service providers confirmed the patients' improved active participation in their self-care. Conclusion The safe motherhood education/counselling programme was successfully completed. The applicants and health care professionals benefited from the service.


Sam Foster, Chief Nurse, Oxford University Hospitals, reflects on how the pandemic has changed work practices and suggests that refocusing priorities can not only improve staff wellbeing but also productivity and competition.


Studies analysing welfare have previously focused on countries as units. In the course of pension cuts and the increasing importance of occupational welfare, our traditional understanding of a homogeneous welfare state is being challenged. In this article, I distinguish between both economic individual power (employee skills) and political collective power (trade unions), and their relation with different occupational pensions. A combined analysis by both factors is not common, where employee skills and power resources are traditionally treated as separate, rival explanations of public welfare. Combining the 'method of difference' with the 'method of agreement', the article first presents the within-country variety of occupational pensions in Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Denmark. Occupational pensions in the same economic sectors across countries are then used as the units of analysis in order to illustrate the plausible determinants of economic individual power and political collective power.


The use of social norms has become the tool of choice for behaviourally informed interventions. However, it is still not clear for what type of contexts and populations is this intervention effective. This randomised controlled trial with 4298 students tests the applicability of social norms to improve the late payment of university tuition fees. We find that providing information to late payers does not increase their likelihood of paying. This finding highlights how the use of social norms may not always be an effective tool in influencing behaviour.


Introduction This qualitative study explored the recreation and leisure activities of employed Nigerians with visual impairments. Methods A questionnaire was developed that examined the work, recreation, and leisure activities of adults with visual impairments. The sample included 172 adults with visual impairments living and working in Nigeria. Participant responses to the open-ended survey questions about recreation and leisure activities are presented in this article. Results Although most participants (89%) reported engagement in some sort of recreation or leisure activity on a regular basis, the vast majority of recreation and leisure activities reported were sedentary (69%) or solitary in nature such as listening to the radio, watching television, reading, or cooking. Participants identified the lack of personal funds or time, facilities, and adapted equipment as challenges to their recreation and leisure participation. Transportation issues and environmental barriers, discrimination, and inadequate assistance or training of human supports were also included in the challenges reported. Discussion Choices for recreation and leisure involvement were severely limited for participants. Active and community-based recreation and leisure offerings were virtually nonexistent. Although the respondents were employed, their economic status as workers was not adequate to support their engagement in a variety of recreation and leisure activities. The underlying turmoil of social, political, and economic issues described by participants was a highly restrictive obstacle. Implications for practitioners Practitioners and other stakeholders in developing countries are encouraged to intervene in the remediation of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers to recreation and leisure participation on behalf of their students and clients. Public awareness efforts, professional development courses, and disability-specific skill training programs are essential components in the improvement of the overall life satisfaction of people with visual impairments.


Photograph of a fold out print with lions at the entrance to the Zichner home in Fort Worth upon Mildred Zichner's arriving from her trip.


Purpose: To develop and evaluate a method of calculating split renal function from computed tomography (CT) images based on the assumption that the accumulation of contrast medium is proportional to the renal function, and to compare the results with the renogram. Material and Methods: The study comprised a retrospective analysis of CT images and renograms from previous donors. Twenty‐seven potential renal donors were studied using a technique for measuring the area and mean attenuation of the separate CT slices, and for calculating the volume and total attenuation of the whole kidney. Results: Correlation between CT and renography was moderate (r=0.43), but the range of results was narrow. The ratio between the two kidneys was more even with CT (50±2.1%) than with the renogram (48±2.9%) (right kidney), and the mean difference between the two methods was 3±2.3 percentage points. Conclusion: The renogram can be replaced using calculations from the CT examination in estimating split renal function in potential renal donors.


The prognostic relevance of an enhanced variability of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) throughout the day was evaluated in asthmatics in remission: it was expressed as the coefficient of variation (CV) of values recorded 4 times daily for 2 weeks. Outcome at 3, 6, and 12 months was assessed in 2 groups of 16 patients each, differing because of a CV respectively higher (group A) and lower (group B) than 8%. A significantly higher frequency of abnormal PEFR values during the subsequent 3 months was recorded in patients of group A, and found as correlated to the magnitude of CV; in the same group a significantly worse clinical status--scored on the basis of response to treatment--was pointed out. Therefore, a high CV of PEFR may be assumed as a reliable indicator of the risk of exacerbation--not otherwise predictable--both in a short and a longer term; on this basis home monitoring of PEFR may be recommended as a useful tool in the evaluation of all the cases of asthma in remission.


Introduction When General Practitioners (GPs) refer patients with headache to neurologists, it is often because the patient and/or doctor want imaging. Some GPs now access Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) directly. We aimed to describe patients' experience of GPs using direct access, compared to patients who saw a specialist first. Methods We invited participants to semi-structured Interviews about two months after imaging. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis in Nvivo. Results We interviewed 10 patients from each pathway in South London, eleven women, median age 41, range 20–72. We found more similarities than differences between groups. Ten said they received a clear scan result explanation, while six had difficulty understanding results. Eleven participants felt relief once results were received, while five still wanted an answer on the underlying cause for symptoms. Seven felt the specialist appointment wait time was long. Those using the direct-access pathway were more likely to report MRI results delay. Conclusion Patient reassurance was linked closely with results receipt and worry linked with wait times. Some felt MRI results did not provide sufficient explanation for symptoms. Improvement in both pathways can be achieved, providing results are delivered in a clear, timely manner.


Aging effects on heart rate and atrioventricular (AV) conduction were studied in Langendorff-perfused hearts from 18 mature (4-6 mo), 12 middle-aged (12-14 mo), and 18 senescent (24-26 mo) Fischer 344 rats. Heart rate decreased with increasing age from 218 +/- 18 in mature to 196 +/- 27 (mean +/- SD) beats/min in middle-aged rats to 183 +/- 22 beats/min in senescent rats (analysis of variance, P less than 0.001). Spontaneous AV conduction time increased from 43 +/- 7 to 49 +/- 5 to 62 +/- 9 ms with aging (P less than 0.0001). Paced AV conduction time also lengthened with aging, and AV Wenckebach block cycle length increased from 122 +/- 10 to 133 +/- 9 to 152 +/- 16 ms (P less than 0.005). Intra-atrial conduction time was unaffected by age. Age differences in heart rate and AV conduction responses to isoproterenol (0.5 x 10(-9) to 1 x 10(-7) M) were noted with greater sensitivity at lower doses in hearts from younger rats. In separate experiments, 18 mature and 19 senescent Fischer 344 rats received reserpine (0.25 mg.kg-1.day-1 ip) for 6 days before study. Age differences in heart rate and AV conduction persisted (P less than 0.0001). Histopathological examination of AV nodal and His-bundle tissues in three hearts from each age group showed increased intercellular collagen with advancing age.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


PURPOSE Electronic health records (EHRs) are created primarily for nonresearch purposes; thus, the amounts of data are enormous, and the data are crude, heterogeneous, incomplete, and largely unstructured, presenting challenges to effective analyses for timely, reliable results. Particularly, research dealing with clinical notes relevant to patient care and outcome is seldom conducted, due to the complexity of data extraction and accurate annotation in the past. RECIST is a set of widely accepted research criteria to evaluate tumor response in patients undergoing antineoplastic therapy. The aim for this study was to identify textual sources for RECIST information in EHRs and to develop a corpus of pharmacotherapy and response entities for development of natural language processing tools. METHODS We focused on pharmacotherapies and patient responses, using 55,120 medical notes (n = 72 types) in Mayo Clinic's EHRs from 622 randomly selected patients who signed authorization for research. Using the Multidocument Annotation Environment tool, we applied and evaluated predefined keywords, and time interval and note-type filters for identifying RECIST information and established a gold standard data set for patient outcome research. RESULTS Key words reduced clinical notes to 37,406, and using four note types within 12 months postdiagnosis further reduced the number of notes to 5,005 that were manually annotated, which covered 97.9% of all cases (n = 609 of 622). The resulting data set of 609 cases (n = 503 for training and n = 106 for validation purpose), contains 736 fully annotated, deidentified clinical notes, with pharmacotherapies and four response end points: complete response, partial response, stable disease, and progressive disease. This resource is readily expandable to specific drugs, regimens, and most solid tumors. CONCLUSION We have established a gold standard data set to accommodate development of biomedical informatics tools in accelerating research into antineoplastic therapeutic response.


Response of PEM fuel cells to a step-change in load is investigated experimentally in this work. Voltage undershoot, a characteristic feature of such transient response, is shown to be due to transients of water distribution in membrane phase occurring at sub-second time scales. Use of humidified reactants as a means to control magnitude of voltage undershoot has been demonstrated. Constant stoichiometry operation under certain current-step conditions is found to result in reactant starvation, potentially leading to cell shut down. Further, response under step decrease in current density has been explored to determine existence of hysteresis. Under sufficiently humidified conditions, response under forward and reverse step changes are found to be symmetric, but under low RH conditions, voltage undershoot is found to be twice as large as the overshoot.


This paper proposes a novel flux-weakening control algorithm of an interior permanent-magnet synchronous motor for ldquoquasirdquo six-step operation. The proposed method is composed of feedforward and feedback paths. The feedforward path consists of 1-D lookup table, and the feedback is based on the difference between the reference voltage updated by current regulator and the output voltage limited by the overmodulation. Using this method, the flux-weakening and the antiwindup controls can be achieved simultaneously. In addition, the quasi-six-step operation can be obtained. That is, the available maximum output torque in the flux-weakening region is close to that in the six-step operation while the ability of the current control is maintained. The effectiveness of this method is proved by the experimental results.


Extensive prior research has explored the stabilization of the CLC phase with polymer networks. These prior efforts have demonstrated both tunable and switchable electro-optic reconfiguration of the selective reflection of the CLC phase. Recently, we and other groups have detailed that polymer stabilization of the CLC phase with liquid crystalline monomers retains "structural" chirality (e.g., the chiral phase templates the morphology of the achiral polymer network). Here, we demonstrate that structural chirality can be retained in aliphatic, non-liquid crystalline monomers. PSCLCs prepared by photoinitiated polymerization of aliphatic polymer networks exhibit reversible electro-optic responses. Facilitated by the retention of structural chirality in aliphatic stabilizing polymer networks, we explore the role of surface affinity and crosslink density in the transfer of structural chirality to the liquid crystal media.


Abstract:The development of the Hindi/Urdu cinema is intimately connected to the history of artistic performance in India in two important ways. Not only did hereditary music and dance practitioners play key roles in building this cinema, representations of these performers and their practices have been, and continue to be, the subject of Indian film narratives, genres, and tropes. I begin with this history in order to explore the Muslim religio-cultural and artistic inheritance that informs Hindi/Urdu cinema, as well as examine how this heritage has been incorporated into the cinematic narratives that help construct distinct gendered, religious, and national identities. My specific focus is on the figure of the tawa'if dancer, often equated with North Indian culture and nautch dance performance. Analyzing the ways in which traces of the tawa'if appear in two recent films, Dedh Ishqiya and Begum Jaan, I show how this figure is placed in a larger representational regime that sustains nationalist formations of contemporary Indian identity. As I demonstrate, even in the most blatant attempts to define the Indian nation as "Hindu," the "Muslimness" of the tawa'if—and by extension the cinema she informed in ways both real and representational—is far from relinquished.


Monitoring animals in the wild without disturbing them is possible using camera trapping framework, which is a technique to study wildlife using automatically triggered cameras and produces great volumes of data. However, camera trapping collects images often result in low image quality and includes a lot of false positives (images without animals), which must be detection before the postprocessing step. This paper presents a two-channeled perceiving residual pyramid networks (TPRPN) for camera-trap images objection. Our TPRPN model attends to generating high-resolution and high-quality results. In order to provide enough local information, we extract depth cue from the original images and use two-channeled perceiving model as input to training our networks. Finally, the proposed three-layer residual blocks learn to merge all the information and generate full size detection results. Besides, we construct a new high-quality dataset with the help of Wildlife Thailand's Community and eMammal Organization. Experimental results on our dataset demonstrate that our method is superior to the existing object detection methods.


Fourier optics, the principle of using Fourier Transformation to understand the functionalities of optical elements, lies at the heart of modern optics, and has been widely applied to optical information processing, imaging, holography etc. While a simple thin lens is capable of resolving Fourier components of an arbitrary optical wavefront, its operation is limited to near normal light incidence, i.e. the paraxial approximation, which put a severe constraint on the resolvable Fourier domain. As a result, high-order Fourier components are lost, resulting in extinction of high-resolution information of an image. Here, we experimentally demonstrate a dielectric metasurface consisting of high-aspect-ratio silicon waveguide array, which is capable of performing Fourier transform for a large incident angle range and a broad operating bandwidth. Thus our device significantly expands the operational Fourier space, benefitting from the large numerical aperture (NA), and negligible angular dispersion at large incident angles. Our Fourier metasurface will not only facilitate efficient manipulation of spatial spectrum of free-space optical wavefront, but also be readily integrated into micro-optical platforms due to its compact size.


Background This study aimed to summarize the available data on the association between the severity of (COVID-19) and routine blood indicators, inflammatory, biochemical parameters and coagulation parameter. Methods A literature search was conducted of PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Sciences, CNKI, WanFang database providing relevant data. Random-effects meta-analysis was used to pool effect sizes. Results In patients with severe symptoms, interleukin-6, [IL-6; standardized mean difference (SMD) =1.15, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.01, 1.29, P<0.001, n=1,121], interleukin-10 (IL-10; SMD =0.92, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.08, P<0.001, n=782), interleukin-4 (IL-4; SMD =0.2, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.39, P=0.04, n=500), procalcitonin (PCT; SMD =1.16, 95% CI: 0.99, 1.33, P<0.001, n=734), C-reactive protein (CRP; SMD =1.42, 95% CI: 1.27, 1.57, P<0.001, n=1,286), serum amyloid A (SAA; SMD =2.82, 95% CI: 2.53, 3.11, P<0.001, n=502) neutrophil count (SMD =0.63, 95% CI: 0.44, 0.82, P<0.001, n=558), alanine aminotransferase (ALT; SMD =2.72, 95% CI: 2.43, 3.02, P<0.001, n=538), aspartate aminotransferase (AST; SMD =2.75, 95% CI: 2.37, 3.12, P<0.001, n=313), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH; SMD =4.01, 95% CI: 3.79, 4.24, P<0.001, n=1,055), creatine kinase (CK; SMD =2.62, 95% CI: 2.2, 3.03, P<0.001, n=230;), CK-MB isoenzyme (CK-MB; SMD =3.07, 95% CI: 2.81, 3.34, P<0.001, n=600, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT; SMD =0.63, 95% CI: 0.39, 0.87, P<0.001, n=351), and prothrombin time (P-T; SMD =1.83, 95% CI: 1.55, 2.11, P<0.001, n=351) were significantly higher than in patients with mild symptoms. On the contrary, lymphocyte count (SMD =−1.04, 95% CI: −1.21, −0.86, P<0.001, n=805) platelets (SMD =−1.47, 95% CI: −1.7, −1.24, P<0.001, n=653), monocyte count (SMD =−0.56, 95% CI: −0.8, −0.32, P<0.001, n=403), and albumin (SMD =−2.95, 95% CI: −3.21, −2.7, P<0.001, n=637) was significantly lower in patients with severe symptoms than in patients with mild symptoms. IL-6 (SMD =2.62, 95% CI: 2.15, 3.09, P<0.001, n=185), PCT (SMD =0.2, 95% CI: 0.16, 0.23, P<0.001, n=156), creatinine (SMD =2.29, 95% CI: 1.87, 2.7, P<0.001, n=213), and neutrophil counts (SMD =2.77, 95% CI: 2.38, 3.16, P<0.001, n=260) in patients with COVID-19 in the death group were significantly higher than that in patients in the survival group, while the lymphocyte count was significantly lower. Conclusions In summary, current evidence show that those laboratory indicators are associated with the severity of COVID-19 and thus could be used as prognostic risk stratification of patients with COVID-19.


The shareholder's derivative action has been transplanted into the Lithuanian Corporate Law (e.g. the Law on Stock Companies, Art. 16 str. part 1 par. 5), but has not received great interest from the national scholars. Analyzes of the shareholder's derivative action starts with the key general aspects of the action, e.g. its concept, rationale and goals. It is concluded in the article that shareholder's derivative action is used to protect different private interests. First, since the company's claim is enforced, company's interest as primary interest is protected. Second, shareholder' locus standi is her subjective right, due to the reflective loss shareholder indirectly (derivatively) protects her own interests. To present a derivative action, violation of shareholder's personal tangible interests is mandatory. Third, collective interests of all shareholders which may be affected equally by the action should be also taken into consideration. The rationale of the shareholder's derivative action is to protect interests of minority shareholders as well as to control management of the company and ensure its better management. Compensation is the key goal of the derivative action.


This paper introduces a methodology for abstraction of photovoltaic (PV) technologies by parametrization of relevant PV module characteristics. The proposed approach is utilized to evaluate PV projects integrated with the road infrastructure. The silicon monocrystalline and polycrystalline PV modules are selected as examples of technologies for illustration of the proposed meta-parametrization methodology and the calculated meta-parameters for these two PV technologies are reported. The proposed methodology can be applied to evaluate PV projects based on general PV technology characteristics instead of individual PV module parameters. An example of a PV system design next to a road is analyzed to illustrate how the proposed methodology can enable comparison of PV technologies in a general way. The example also shows how different trade-offs can be identified from the meta-parametrization compared to comparison based on individual modules. It has been found that the polycrystalline technology performs better for the considered case study.


This paper presents the experiences of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, North Wales, UK in improving facilities, access and quality of care for bariatric dental patients. It includes the multi-stakeholder audit of existing practice which informed those improvements. Public health competencies illustrated: needs assessment; development and implementation of oral health strategies; oral health improvement; development of clinical pathways; improving patient safety; clinical and public engagement; addressing inequalities.


In this paper, we propose an algorithm which detects boundaries of objects from a color image. The result of this method is a binary image where the boundary points are only represented. A lot of methods of edge detection from color images have been developed before. One of the most efficient ones is based on vectorial computations of the tristimuli R, G, B. But, in the case of complex color images, it is difficult to automatically determine a global threshold, in order to find the boundary pixels. For this reason, we suggest a local thresholding algorithm, using co-operating relaxation process to enhance edge probabilities. The labeling relaxation algorithm processes probabilities which are the result of a gradient application to the different features of the color images. So, this algorithm is able to detect edges from a slope of intensity, saturation or hue. The relaxation algorithm analyzes four classes of pixels. Three classes represent a gradient filter output of the three color image features, R, G, B. At each pixel, the higher the response of a feature value, the higher the probability of the pixel to belong to the class corresponding to this feature. The last label represents the no edge pixel, whose probability to belong to it is computed with the probabilities of the three other ones. For each pixel, the sum of the four probabilities must be equal to 1. The process is iterated as many times as the probability of each pixel to belong to the no edge class is near 0 or 1. We consider that a pixel with a low probability to belong to no edge class represents an edge pixel. The efficacy of the relaxation algorithm depends on the choice of the compatibility coefficients. We propose to compute these coefficients with the initial probabilities of the pixels to belong to the four classes, by the evaluation of the neighboring mutual information between two classes. The compatibility coefficients definition is based on the mutual information of the classes at neighboring points. The presented method has been successfully tested on complex color images and compared with the classic edge detection methods. We show that this local segmentation method is better than a global one.


An incident fast ion in the electronic stopping regime produces a track of excitations which can lead to particle ejection and cratering. Molecular dynamics simulations of the evolution of the deposited energy were used to study the resulting crater morphology as a function of the excitation density in a cylindrical track for large angles of incidence with respect to the surface normal. Surprisingly, the overall behavior is shown to be similar to that seen in the experimental data for crater formation in polymers. However, the simulations give greater insight into the cratering process. The threshold for crater formation occurs when the excitation density approaches the cohesive energy density, and a crater rim is formed at about six times that energy density. The crater length scales roughly as the square root of the electronic stopping power, and the crater width and depth seem to saturate for the largest energy densities considered here. The number of ejected particles, the sputtering yield, is shown to be much smaller than simple estimates based on crater size unless the full crater morphology is considered. Therefore, crater size cannot easily be used to estimate the sputtering yield.


A growing concern for universities is developing a new educational model in which the student is educated both for future social responsibilities, and where information literacy is viewed as a lifelong learning requirement. Thus, there is a pressing need for empirical analyses to identify the extent to which university students are information‐literate. Therefore, an investigation of university students from two institutions in the USA and Europe was carried out in order to determine how they use their libraries, information and computers. It was found that there were similarities and differences between the two groups of students from the University of Murcia, Spain, and the National University of Mexico.


The motivation for this paper is the observation that combinations of small deviations in continuous performance parameters can combine to cause failure of an entire system, even though no one of these deviations is sufficient of itself to cause any failure. To be able to trace the change of continuous parameters and predict their transfer to non-permissible regions of the system state space, we suggest construction of continuum fault trees, which allow combinations of small, continuous deviations of system parameters as well as discrete failures. The construction of continuum fault trees suggests also developing equation bi-graphs, a causal diagram visualizing and combining all continuous performance parameters. The bi-graphs serve several purposes, one of which is the explication of feedback loops and hidden loops, that allow identification of hazards attributed to the loops as a whole rather than to individual components. Construction of both bi-graphs and continuum fault trees is demonstrated on the example of an automobile engine, the performance of which is presented by an analytical model. We consider the potential for employing continuum fault trees for analysis of AI-driven systems, as their performance is built on neural networks that have underlying continuous analytical models. An example for this is also provided. The general applicability of continuum fault trees is also considered


Feature selection has an important application in the field of pattern recognition and data mining etc. However, in real world domains, if there are spatial data operated in the application, the performance of feature selection will be decreased because of without considering the characteristic of spatial data. In this paper, a feature selection method from the point of the characteristic of spatial data, named MEFS (maximum entropy feature selection), is proposed. Based on the theory of maximum entropy, MEFS uses mutual information and Z-test technologies, and takes two-step method to execute feature selection. The first step is predicate selection, and the second step is to choose relevant dataset corresponding to each predicate. At last, the experiments between feature selection algorithms MEFS and RELIEF, and between ID3 classification algorithm and classification algorithm based on MEFS are carried out. The experimental results show that the MEFS algorithm not only saves feature selection and classification time, but also improves the quality of classification.


The aim of this research is to provide the formation of knowledge and professional competence of primary school teachers with online education. The research was conducted in the summer term of 2020-2021. 436 primary school teachers who continue their studies in Kazakhstan participated in the research. For the research, 6 weeks of online training on professional competence was given to primary school teachers. The measurement tool called "Online Education and Vocational Competence", which was developed by the researchers and compiled by taking the opinion of experts in the field, was applied to primary school teachers. The data was shared with primary school teachers from the internet with an online questionnaire, and their participation was ensured and collected. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS program. Frequency, percentage, average, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were used to analyze the data obtained from the Vocational Competence measurement tool.According to the results of the research, the information was examined and in the light of the obtained information, it was observed that the distance education and professional competence status of the primary school teachers showed positive results. Even though their opinions are high, it has been concluded that the online usage status of male teachers is higher than female teachers.
Keywords: Primary School Teacher, Zoom Application, Online Education, Professional Seniority, Distance Education


The research problem – Despite the fact that the visual identity of Slavonski Brod is created in early 2011 th , it is still not sufficiently recognizable among tourists. Research objectives – It is necessary to determine activities that have to be undertaken as components of an action plan for tourism development of Slavonski Brod within the branding strategy to make the city more recognizable in tourist markets. The purpose – The purpose of this paper is to support the thesis that tourist destinations branding is lengthy process that includes an evaluation of the image by the visitors, but also by the target market groups we aim at. Design – The special focus is given to review the issue of the process of determing the logo, slogan and visual identity of a destination. Methodology – The methodology of the research includes the examples of good practice, analysis of the existing strategic documents in the segment of tourist destinations branding and activities on branding Croatia and Slavonia, as well as Slavonski Brod as a tourist destination. It also includes primary research conducted by the Tourist Board of Slavonski Brod among the tourists and the locals, as well as the Tourist Board web visitors, city public institutions and tourism and hospitality sector. Approach – Synthesizing distinguishing elements on which one should build a long-term market recognition of Slavonski Brod, the Zagreb Institute for Tourism, during the development of tourism master plan, found that the tourist image of Slavonski Brod should be based on history and culture, friendly people, a characteristic atmosphere and natural features space. That was the starting point for the research of the Tourist Board of Slavonski Brod. Findings – In the past activities on the branding of the city of Slavonski Brod neither tourists nor the local population were dominated by negative associations. However, studies that were conducted among the various target groups during January and February 2014 th showed that the practical application of the new visual identity of Slavonski Brod in tourism and hospitality sector was more or less absent, what is the reason why the city brand was not recognized by a sufficient number of tourists as well as users of services in this sector which resides outside the city. The originality – The paper defines the steps that should be undertaken to create the new logo and slogan in a tourist destination. The model of branding of the city of Slavonski Brod can be applied in surroundings.


© 2016 Oliver Degner & Andreas Drechsler. We develop a decision-making process model that implements generic discourse ethics and business ethics proposals specifically for ethical digital business strategy (DBS) development. The model's objective is to answer the question how DBS initiatives – with the potential to affect the wider society – can be developed and justified considering economic, ecological and social criteria, based on consensus among the relevant stakeholders. We evaluate the model by examining two past DBS initiatives that were reported in the media as being controversial because of a lack of stakeholder consensus. With the model, we contribute a pragmatization of the business and discourse ethics literature for the IS discipline that covers the time before actual IS design and development decisions take place. Business and IT executives in practice can draw on the model to guide their DBS processes along ethical lines.


Principal component analysis (PCA) is one of the most commonly adopted feature reduction techniques in remote sensing image analysis. However, it may overlook subtle but useful information if applied directly to the analysis of hyperspectral data, especially for discriminating between different vegetation types. In order to accurately map an invasive plant species (horse tamarind, Leucaena leucocephala) in southern Taiwan using Hyperion hyperspectral imagery, this study developed a spectrally segmented PCA based on the spectral characteristics of vegetation over different wavelength regions. The developed algorithm can not only reduce the dimensionality of hyperspectral imagery but also extracts helpful information for differentiating more effectively the target plant species from other vegetation types. Experiments conducted in this study demonstrated that the developed algorithm performs better than correlation‐based segmented principal component transformation (SPCT) and conventional PCA (overall accuracy: 86%, 76%, 66%; kappa value: 0.81, 0.69, 0.57) in detecting the target plant species, as well as mapping other vegetation covers.


THE causes of African church sectarianism have been variously given as polygamy, political oppression, religious reaction, or social and economic tension; rarely theological heresy as in Europe. Dr. Webster, as a historian, traces the growing tensions of the late nineteenth century, and links religious independency with the clash between the new policy of imperialism and rising African nationalism. The early policy of the Church Missionary Society in Nigeria had been to encourage self-governing and self-propagating churches. Under an enlightened general secretary, Henry Venn, this policy bore fruit in the appointment of the Yoruba Samuel Crowther as missionary bishop in 1864. But towards the end of the century there arrived young missionaries imbued with a soul-searching, inquisitorial, and imperialistic spirit, who condemned the Yoruba and Niger missions. There was a ' purge ', and after Crowther's death no other African diocesan bishop was appointed for over fifty years. Two members of the C.M.S. committee resigned over this. There were efforts on the African side, and Assistant Bishop James Johnson raised a too successful fund for an African bishopric. He was excluded from his church and house, in his absence, and while he remained within the Anglican Church some 800 of his followers founded the African Church. There had been previous secession among the Baptists, whose looser organization allowed both this and their reunion which came about in 1920. Later, in 1917, the Nigerian Methodists saw a schism, caused by their disciplinarian chairman, and this was the only split over polygamy.


Fibrous dysplasia (FD) of the bone is rare and self-limiting. However, lesion expansion may occur, causing pain, deformity and pathological fracture, in which case surgery is occasionally required. Indicators of FD have not been previously described, although there are several surgical procedures reported (curettage, curettage and graft, and internal fixation). In this study we discuss whether intramedullary nailing of these lesions could result in more favorable outcomes in correcting deformities, including the prevention of secondary fractures and maintenance of the bone, compared to other internal fixation methods. A total of 39 patients with FD of the bone treated with intramedullary nailing were retrospectively analyzed. The surgical procedures involved curettage, grafting and intramedullary nailing. No infection, thromboembolism or other notable complications occurred. The patients resumed full activities of daily living. At the last follow-up, 33 patients presented no pain and seven patients had occasional mild pain. The clinical score according to the modified criteria of Guille improved from an average of 4.4 points prior to surgery to an average of 8 points following surgery. The neck shaft angle of the femur improved from an average of 90˚ prior to surgery to 125˚ following surgery. Intramedullary nailing may be used to correct deformity and prevent pain and refracture in FD of the bone of the lower limbs with large lesions, pathological fracture or deformities. All patients were allowed full athletic recovery following surgery.


In this paper, we study the performance of complete complementary code-based spread-time code-division multiple access (CC-ST-CDMA) in frequency-nonselective and frequency-selective fading channels. The theoretical bit-error-rate (BER) expressions conditioned on the number of users and the sequence length (and the number of resolvable paths for multipath frequency-selective fading) are obtained. The theoretical approximation of the BER for the system using long-sequence-length complete complementary codes is investigated as well. The simulations are conducted over flat-fading and two-path frequency-selective fading channels and have been used to verify the theoretical analysis. The results show that the proposed CC-ST-CDMA system has a comparable BER performance with complete complementary code-based multicarrier direct-sequence code-division multiple access (CC-MC-DSCDMA) for a flat-fading channel. However, for a frequency-selective fading channel, the CC-ST-CDMA is found to be more resistant, resulting in about 2-3 dB better performance than the CC-MC-DSCDMA.


This paper presents a 60 GHz power amplifier (PA) suitable for wireless communications. The two-stage wideband PA is fabricated in 55 nm CMOS. Measurement results show that the PA obtains a peak gain of 16 dB over a -3 dB bandwidth from 57 GHz to 67 GHz. It archives an output 1 dB compression point (OP1dB) of 4 dbm and a peak power added efficiency (PAE) of 12.6%. The PA consumes a total DC power of 38.3 mW from a 1.2 V supply voltage while its core occupies a chip area of 0.45 mm2.


This study thrashes out some of the visualisation and computational challenges encountered in the field of neuroscience. With the intention to address such computational challenges; we recognised the particular significance of the iterative solvers and parallel algorithms on Multi-Core parallel computing atmosphere. In order to detect tumour cells, 2D and 3D Partial Differential Equations (PDE) are considered and compared by using Multi-Core parallel computing atmosphere with visualisation, communication and data analysis. The performance analysis of Multi-Core computing is presented in provisions of speedup, efficiency, effectiveness and temporal performance where the use of 2D and 3D PDEs and parallel algorithms was found to give in remarkable results.


BACKGROUND
Nursing home (NH)-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) causes excessive mortality, hospitalization, and functional decline, partly because many NH residents do not receive appropriate care. Care structures like nurse/resident staffing ratios can impede or abet quality care. This study examines the relationship between nurse/resident staffing ratios, turnover, and adherence to evidence-based guidelines for treating NHAP.

METHODS
A prospective, chart-review study was conducted among residents of 16 NHs in three states with > or = 2 signs and symptoms of NHAP during the 2004--2005 influenza season. NH medical records were reviewed concurrently for functional status, comorbidity, NHAP severity, and guideline adherence. Ratio of licensed nurse and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) hours per resident per day (hrpd) and ratio of newly hired nursing staff/year to current nursing staff were provided by Directors of Nursing. Associations among guideline adherence, nurse and CNA hrpd, and turnover were assessed using multiple regression to adjust for case mix, facility characteristics, and clustering of residents in facilities.

RESULTS
Mid (1.7-2.0) and high (> 2.0) CNA hrpd were significantly associated with better pneumococcal and influenza vaccination rates. More than 1.2 licensed nurse hrpd was significantly associated with appropriate hospitalization (odds ratio [OR] 12.4; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.5-43.8) and guideline-recommended antibiotics (OR 3.8; 95% CI, 1.7-8.7). A > 70% turnover was inversely related to timely physician notification (OR 0.4; 95% CI, 0.2-0.7) and appropriate hospitalization (OR 0.09; 95% CI, 0.05-0.26).

CONCLUSIONS
NHAP treatment guideline adherence is associated with nurse and CNA hrpd and stability. An NH's ability to implement evidence-based care may depend on adequate staffing ratios and stability.


Every year, the research firm CSO Insights publishes the results of its Sales Performance Optimization survey, an online questionnaire given to more than 1,000 sales executives worldwide that seeks to examine the effectiveness of key sales practices and metrics. In this article, two partners from CSO provide the 2005 and 2006 survey highlights, which describe the challenges today's sales organizations face and how they're responding. An overall theme is the degree to which the buy cycle has gotten out of sync with the sell cycle. Buyers have always had a buy cycle, starting at the point they perceive a need. Sellers have always had a sales cycle, starting at the point they spot a prospect. Traditionally, the two have dovetailed--either because the seller created the buyer's perception of need or because the buyer pursued a need by contacting a salesperson (often for product information). Now the buy cycle is often well under way before the seller is even aware there is a cycle--in part because of the information asymmetry created by the Internet. The implications for managing a sales organization are profound in that sales training must now address how reps handle an environment in which buyers have more knowledge than they do. The authors offer evidence that sales executives are taking--and should take--aggressive action to train and retain sales talent, manage the sales process, and use sales support technologies to meet the challenges of this new environment.


This article aims at giving the reader a vision, in the present Brazilian situation especially of the relation between undergraduate and graduate studies as an institutional form to maintain the indissociability between teaching, research and extension. The possibilities of a mutual relationship that may enrich both levels are highlighted on the ground of data on the higher education system. The text also reviews the legal provisions existing on the matter and. identifies the gaps that should be filled.


Pellagra is a nutritional disorder secondary to niacin deficiency. The classical triad is dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia. We report the case of a young girl with hypermobility-type Ehlers–Danlos syndrome who exhibited the classical pellagra symptoms, despite apparent adequate nutritional intake. Her condition resolved after oral niacin supplements were administered. Although this association has not previously been recognized, an inherited connective tissue disorder may be related to the appearance of pellagra.


In this paper, we present a novel routing protocol for wireless ad hoc networks – Fisheye State Routing (FSR). FSR introduces the notion of multi-level fisheye scope to reduce routing update overhead in large networks. Nodes exchange link state entries with their neighbors with a frequency which depends on distance to destination. From link state entries, nodes construct the topology map of the entire network and compute optimal routes. Simulation experiments show that FSR is simple, efficient and scalable routing solution in a mobile, ad hoc environment.


Organic photovoltaics (OPV) have attracted great interest as a solar cell technology with appealing mechanical, aesthetical, and economies-of-scale features. To drive OPV toward economic viability, low-cost, large-scale module production has to be realized in combination with increased top-quality material availability and minimal batch-to-batch variation. To this extent, continuous flow chemistry can serve as a powerful tool. In this contribution, a flow protocol is optimized for the high performance benzodithiophene-thienopyrroledione copolymer PBDTTPD and the material quality is probed through systematic solar-cell evaluation. A stepwise approach is adopted to turn the batch process into a reproducible and scalable continuous flow procedure. Solar cell devices fabricated using the obtained polymer batches deliver an average power conversion efficiency of 7.2 %. Upon incorporation of an ionic polythiophene-based cathodic interlayer, the photovoltaic performance could be enhanced to a maximum efficiency of 9.1 %.


Experimental measurements of the shift and width of the aluminium K-absorption edge in laser shock-compressed plasma is presented. The spectrometer used in these experiments allows an accurate wavelength calibration and fiduciary and hence provides precise measurements of both the shift and the width of the absorption edge. Results have been obtained for compressions up to approximately ×2 and temperatures up to about 1.5 eV. The values of shift and width are compared with a new model with which there is very good agreement.


ABSTRACT Mendoza, E.T., Trejo-Rangel., M. A., Salles, P., Appendini, C.M., Lopez-Gonzalez, J. and Torres-Freyermuth, A., 2013. Storm characterization and coastal vulnerability in the Yucatan Peninsula A preliminary coastal hazard potential assessment due to storm impacts in terms of erosion and flooding for the Yucatan coast is presented. Firstly, a 30-year wave hindcast is employed in order to characterize the coastal storms by creating a 5-class storm scale in terms of wave information. Subsequently, the storm classification is converted to one based on the consequences over 26 beach profile sections located along the Yucatan coast. The storm consequences were classified according to their flood and erosion potential by means of parametric and numerical model results which are correlated with key beach characteristics such as beach width and maximum beach height. According to the obtained results, the storms were characterized in five different categories and it was found that the Yucatan coast presents higher threat to flood than to erosion during the impact of storms.


Subplasmalemma microtubules were present in the cleavage furrows during zoosporogenesis in Thraustochytrium sp. The microtubules transversed the furrows but were not at right angles to nor circumferentially arranged in the plane of cleavage. Evidence of microtubule-plasmalemma bridges was found. Colchicine and deuterium oxide inhibited cleavage. The data suggested that microtubules had a motive rather than a structural function.


Research aimed at determining the extent of terrestrial habitat use by amphibians has been impeded by the difficulties associated with relocating and identifying individuals in the field. Recent studies have used fluorescent powder pigments as a method for tracking short-term terrestrial movements of frogs and salamanders. In a laboratory experiment we found no effect of repeated exposure to two different types of fluorescent powder on mass or survival of terrestrial juvenile and adult Eastern red-spotted newts (Notophthalmus viridescens). We provide further evidence that fluorescent powder tracking is safe for use on amphibians and may be an effective tool for studying terrestrial habitat use.


Abstract This article examines difficulties arising from the deep-rooted assumption that the innovation process exists as a phenomenon incorporating two distinct and identifiable stages of creative discovery and subsequent implementation. An alternative perspective is proposed in which innovation is represented as the process whereby individuals enact new social procedures; creativity is the associated process in which the meanings of the enactments are discovered and labelled. Innovation treated in this manner occurs as the streams of human activities and ideas mutually interact. The starting, ending, and bounding of an innovation project are all parts of a unitary process of meaning-creation within social contexts. "Creative" thoughts and actions interact throughout the process. ("Creativity through the finishing line"; "implementation first and last"). Not least, such an interpretive model avoids the difficulties that have been encountered in attempts to treat innovation as a series of objective stages...


The problem of real-time photorealistic imaging is discussed. New
techniques for specifying free forms without their approximation by polygons
are considered. Free
forms based on the perturbation functions have an advantage
of spline representation of surfaces, that is, a high degree of smoothness, and
an advantage of arbitrary form for a small number of perturbation functions.
Transformations of geometric objects are described for set-theoretic
operations, projections, offsetting, and metamorphosis. We propose a GPU solution to render freeform objects at high frame rates.


An electric starter provides initial power to run the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) during the starting process. As the starter degrades, its output power declines which, as a result, affects the APU starting performance, and eventually leads to the starting failure. Therefore, a reliable starter health condition monitoring system is necessary to estimate the starter's degradation, diagnose its fault, and prevent its malfunction. Some research works have been reported in the literature for starter performance estimation and fault diagnostics, however, these prior works typically employ statistical analysis and data-driven methods, which are not physically interpretable and in some cases, are not reliable. Accordingly, the objective of this thesis is to develop a physics-based diagnostic scheme for the starter performance degradation estimation to improve fault diagnostics reliability.


Abstract: Our studies show that dietary caloric restriction (CR) alters the expression of key metabolic enzymes in a manner consistent with an increased rate of extrahepatic protein turnover and renewal during aging. Of the key hepatic gluconeogenic enzyme genes affected by CR, glucose 6‐phosphatase mRNA increased 1.7‐ and 2.3‐fold in young and old CR mice. Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase mRNA increased 2‐fold in young mice, and its mRNA and activity increased 2.5‐ and 1.7‐fold in old mice. These changes indicate that CR enhances the enzymatic capacity for gluconeogenesis. The carbon required for gluconeogenesis appears to be generated from peripheral protein turnover. Muscle glutamine synthetase mRNA increased 1.3‐ and 2.1‐fold in young and old CR mice, suggesting increased disposal of nitrogen and carbon derived from protein catabolism for energy. mRNA for the key liver nitrogen disposal enzymes glutaminase, carbamyl phosphate synthase I, and tyrosine aminotransferase were increased by 2.4‐, 1.8‐, and 1.8‐fold in CR mice. Consistent with increased hepatic nitrogen disposal, hepatic glutamine synthetase mRNA and activity were each decreased about 40% in CR mice. Together, these and our other published data suggest that CR enhances and maintains protein turnover, and thus protein renewal, into old age. These effects are likely to resist the well‐documented decline in whole body protein renewal with age. Enhanced renewal may reduce the level of damaged and toxic proteins that accumulate during aging, contributing to the extension of life span by CR.


In recent years, mortality associated with pancreaticoduodenectomy has come down to less than 5% but morbidity still remains high. Pancreatic fistula is one of the most common complications following pancreaticoduodenectomy. Postpancreatectomy hemorrhage is a rare but disastrous complication and associated with poor outcome. Early bleeding is usually due to some surgical mishap, but the management is simpler. Delayed hemorrhage has more complex pathophysiology and requires a multimodality approach for its management. In this paper, we review the recent articles related to postoperative hemorrhage after major pancreatobiliary surgery. Here we discuss the incidence, cause, investigations and management of early and late postoperative hemorrhage.


This study examines the potential effects of crosslinguistic influence in the acquisition of subject–verb inversion in Spanish matrix and embedded wh-questions among Spanish heritage language learners living in the United States. The results from an acceptability judgment task and a written production task administered to 17 US-born heritage speakers indicate crosslinguistic influence effects. The effects are more evident with embedded interrogatives than with matrix questions. A follow-up study with the heritage speakers also shows less inversion behavior with embedded questions in oral production but higher performance levels than in written production. The findings are discussed in relation to interface vulnerability approaches and current debates on the selective nature of crosslinguistic influence in L2 and bilingual development.


We investigated the exposure to antibiotics in the production of antibiotic-mutant strains of Salmonella. Ten isolates of poultry origin were assayed for antibiotic susceptibilities. One strain of Salmonella Enteritidis, one of Salmonella Heidelberg, and one of Salmonella Typhimurium were selected to induce antimicrobial resistance. Each strain was exposed to high concentrations of streptomycin, rifampicin, and nalidixic acid, respectively. Parent and antibiotic-mutant strains were assayed for antibiotic susceptibilities using a commercial microdilution test and the disk susceptibility test. The strains were assessed for virulence genes and evaluated for fecal shedding, cecal colonization, organ invasion, and mean Salmonella counts after inoculation in 1-day-old chicks. The study revealed that exposure to high concentrations of streptomycin produced the antibiotic-mutant strain SE/LABOR/USP/08 and the exposure to rifampicin produced the antibiotic-mutant SH/LABOR/USP/08. These strains showed significantly reduced fecal shedding (P≤0.05) and organ invasion, persisting less than the parental strains and showing no clinical signs in inoculated chicks. High concentrations of nalidixic acid produced the antibiotic-mutant strain ST/LABOR/USP/08, which did not show any differences compared with the parent strain. Likewise, SE/LABOR/USP/08 did not show the expression of plasmid-encoded fimbriae (pefA) and plasmid virulence protein (spvC), suggesting that after exposure to streptomycin, the parent isolate lost the original gene expression, reducing fecal shedding and organ invasion in inoculated chicks.