Purpose Kawasaki disease (KD) is an immune-related multisystemic vasculitis that occurs in children, especially ensuing from a coronary artery abnormality. Sodium level is known to be related to vascular injury, which could affect the progress of KD. The purpose of this study was to determine the serum sodium levels that could predict the occurrence of cardiac and coronary artery events in KD. Methods We conducted a retrospective review of medical records for 104 patients with KD from January 2015 to December 2015. Patients with serum Na levels of <135 mEq/L at the time of initial diagnosis were assigned to the hyponatremia group. Laboratory findings and echocardiographic data were analyzed for various aspects. Results Among the 104 patients with KD, 91 were included in the study, of whom 48 (52.7%) had hyponatremia. The degree of fever, white blood cell count, percentage of neutrophils, percentage of lymphocytes, total bilirubin level, brain natriuretic peptide level, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein level were higher in the patients with hyponatremia. They also demonstrated a trend of larger coronary artery diameters based on Z scores. Conclusion The severity of vascular inflammation in acute KD with hyponatremia might worsen the prognosis of coronary vasculature. Although no statistically significant correlation was found between the initial serum sodium levels and coronary arteriopathy in the patients with KD in this study, a long-term follow-up study with a larger number of enrolled patients should be designed in the future to elucidate the relationship between serum sodium level and coronary arteriopathy in patients with KD.


In the development of a web-based information system such as a demolition material management system, a great amount of diversified information on projects should be acquired from particular users located with various computer platforms. This issue is difficult to handle using the limited HTTP form submission, which could lead to inaccuracy of the information and inefficiency of the whole system. This paper describes a web-based graphical user interfaced, dynamic and distributed multimedia data acquisition mechanism, which accepts users' drawings and retrieval information from the canvas and stores the multimedia data on a server for further usages. Furthermore, techniques and principles needed to construct such a multimedia data acquisition tool are addressed in detail. The application of this distributed multimedia tool in developing a web-based demolition material management system is also described.


A dual-band stacked antenna integrated with a rescue helmet is proposed for WLAN applications. The cross slot aperture feeding technique enables the antenna to support dual-band operation at 2.4 and 5 GHz. On the ground plane, two slots are formed, perpendicular to each other and of different lengths. Four dielectric layers of different permittivity are stacked over this cross slot to attain the desired frequency bands. Under free space condition, the radiator yields 7% (2.31–2.48 GHz), 15.87% (5.12–6 GHz) 10 dB return loss bandwidth (BW). The use of low loss dielectric layers on the slots also provides a high antenna efficiency and moderate gain at both frequency bands. The small dimension of antenna encourages its use as a wearable helmet antenna. Antenna performances are observed under wearable condition. For assessing human exposure to RF electromagnetic fields, SAR evaluations are conducted at both 2.4 and 5 GHz WLAN bands.


Physics
A signature feature of topological insulators is conductive surface states that are immune to certain types of disorder. This "topological protection" appears to be at work in compounds such as Bi2Se3, in which electrons interact with one another only weakly. Whether these protected surface states exist in SmB6, a material whose insulating bulk is caused by strong electronic correlations, is still a subject of debate. Park et al. used a tunneling technique to find states on the surface of SmB6 that appeared to have the same linear dispersion as those in Bi2Se3 but were only partially protected. The loss of protection was caused by the interaction of the surface states with the magnetic excitations of the bulk.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 10.1073/pnas.1606042113 (2016).


Abstract Although combined osteopathic and allopathic medical programs are well established for graduate medical education and continuing medical education, little has been published in the literature about such integration at the undergraduate level. The authors describe the preliminary efforts of a joint clinical clerkship program with students from regional osteopathic and allopathic medical schools at a major community teaching hospital in New England. Osteopathic principles and practice are consistently reinforced, exposing students from both medical backgrounds to them. It is hoped that this pilot program serves as a model for developing similar combined programs throughout the United States.


Purpose: to evaluate the influence of postoperative lymphatic leakage volume and duration on homokinesis and incidence of postoperative complications in oncosurgury patients underwent different operative interventions.Material and methods. The results of treatment of 310 patients subjected to standard elective surgical intervention for a malignant pathology of different organs with regional lymph node dissection were evaluated. The selection criterion was prolonged (more than 7 days) and prominent (over 50 ml a day) lymphatic leakage during the postoperative period. The fluid discharged during the postoperative period was identified as a lymph by cytology. The diagnosis of a malignant pathology was verified in all patients after histological examination and patients were distributed according to established diagnosis.Results. The duration of lymphatic leakage including the outpatient treatment stage varied from 9 days to 1 year and 2 months depending on the type of surgery. The longest lymphatic leakage occurred in 2 patients after radical mastectomy. During the 1st week of observation in patients with daily lymph losses up to 100 ml, no changes in the blood composition were noted. Prolonged lymphatic leakage (1–2 weeks after operation) in a volume over 100 ml a day resulted in reduced protein content in blood plasma, severe lymphocytopenia, increased platelet count. During the postoperative period, complications were detected in 31 patients; at that, during the 1st week of observation, 27 patients experienced initial lymphatic leakage over 100 ml a day. Analysis of fatal outcomes (7 patients) showed that in all patients the lymphatic leakage exceeded 150 ml a day and lasted 1 to 2 weeks. The longest inpatient time was typical for patients after Wertheim's hysterectomy and cystectomy, whereas the longest outpatient treatment was experienced by patients after radical mastectomy and inguinofemoral lymph node dissection.Conclusion. In case of lymphatic leakage over 100 ml a day in oncosurgury patients, it was necessary to make up protein losses and after 7 days of persistent lymphatic leakage it became necessary to consider use of active surgical tactics aimed at liquidation of lymph losses.


Many studies have examined the public's perception of crime in the United State of America. As a whole, the public tends to favor harsh punishments and longer sentences for most crimes. In addition, the public tends to feel even more negatively toward sex offenders, often supporting punitive measures and restrictions when sex offenders are released, such as lifetime registration on the national sex offender registry. Although perceptions of crime, and sex offenses in general, appear to be negative among the general public, more recent research indicates that these perceptions can be influenced if information about the crime and offender is received. Thus, the main focus of this study was to examine how perceptions of a sex offender may vary based on demographic and background information provided about the offender, such as the offender's biological sex, race, and childhood upbringing. We also sought to assess if this background and demographic information would influence participants' decisions about what should happen to an offender (e.g., be part of the sex offender registry). A total of 366 participants completed a survey through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The survey included a vignette that detailed a hypothetical sexual assault crime with an offender as well as the Attitudes toward Sex Offenders (ATS-21) scale which was used to measure participants' perceptions of the offender. There were 12 possible vignettes; each vignette contained varying combinations of the factors mentioned above (i.e., biological sex, race, and childhood upbringing), which provided the participant with information about the sex offender to determine how this information would influence their perceptions. In addition, perceptions about the placement of the offender on the sex offender registry were also measured. We hypothesized that there would be a significant effect of background and demographic information on the participant's overall perception of the sex offender. Based on prior literature, we anticipated that perceptions would be more negative when participants received information that the offender was male, the offender identified with a minoritized racial group, and when the offender experienced a rough upbringing. Furthermore, we hypothesized that there would not be a significant effect of background and demographic information on the participant's thoughts towards requiring the sex offender to be placed on the sex offender registry. A series of between-subjects ANOVA were conducted. Findings suggest that only one of our hypotheses was supported. There was no significant difference between the vignette conditions when assessing perceptions toward the sex offender, meaning that participants had more negative views of the offender regardless of the background information provided (not supporting hypothesis one). This finding can be seen as support for rational choice theory as influencing the public's perceptions of sex offenders. Additionally, participants overwhelmingly supported the requirement of sex offenders to be placed on the national sex offender registry regardless of the background information provided (supporting hypothesis two). This finding supported previous research regarding the sex offender registry. Limitations as well as future research and the implications of the current findings are discussed.


Contrast induced neurotoxicity (CIN) is a rare complication of cardiac catheterization and re-exposure to contrast medium carries the risk of recurrent CIN. We report a case of successful contrast re-challenge in a 60-year-old female patient who developed CIN after her first procedure of coronary angiography (CAG) which resulted in symptoms of disorientation, amnesia and cortical blindness. A non-contrast enhanced CT performed four hours after the CAG was normal, however, her MRI brain scan showed scattered tiny hyper intensities in posterior occipito-temporal and parietal regions suggesting CIN. Patient's symptoms resolved completely after 72 hours. Two months later, because of persistent exertional angina, patient was successfully re-challenged with lesser amount of contrast medium with administration of hydrocortisone prior to procedure, and PCI to LAD was completed without recurrence of CIN.


In this article, for the purpose of improving neural network models applied in face recognition using single image per person, a bidirectional neural network inspired of neocortex functional model is presented. In the proposed model, recognition is not performed in a single stage, but via two bottom-up and top-down phases and the recognition results of first stage is used for model adaptation. We have applied this novel adapting model in combination with clustering person and pose information technique to separate person and pose information and to estimate corresponding manifolds. To increase the number of training samples in the classifier neural network, virtual views of frontal images in the test dataset are synthesized using estimated manifolds. Training classifier network via virtual images obtained from bidirectional network, gives an accuracy rate of 86.36% on the test dataset which shows 15.46% improvement in accuracy of face recognition compared to training classifier with only frontal view images.


In this theoretical paper we try to find the inter-linkages between infrastructural development, nature and society. By infrastructure we basically cover transport facilities, telecommunications, banking system and electricity sources (both small and big power projects). Following the Marxian theoretical framework we attempt to analyze what kind of relationship infrastructure has with nature and society. We argue that rapid infrastructural development one of the means that facilitates the capitalist class to exploit nature and labor class to expand its process of development, what we call the capitalist development.


This paper presents the design and implementation of four C40 based parallel processing system. It is comprised of four single CPU ISA-bus board. All four C40s are fully connected together through comports. The supporting software include basic tools such as simulator, assembler, linker, C compiler, parallel run-time support library. Four CPU debug/monitor software was also developed to ease programming. As an example, parallel FFT has been implemented using the system. Under the control of an IBM-PC, the system peak performance is 200 MFLOPS and can be further expanded. It is suitable for radar, sonar, image signal processing.


In this article, we propose a working alliance between the critical realist network and the anti-utilitarian movement in the social sciences. Joining forces, we need to overcome the reigning positivism, utilitarianism and axiological neutrality so as to open the way to a philosophically informed new classical social theory that continues the venerable project of moral and political philosophy. In other words, to build a new society, we need to build a new social science.


Author(s): Novoa, Natalie N | Advisor(s): Martin, Waldo E | Abstract: In this dissertation, I argue that recreation centers played a pivotal role in the black community as sites of racial uplift, political activism, and as a conduit to public service agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area. My work links literature in urban history and African American history to demonstrate the unique circumstances the city landscape presented to African Americans and how they not only responded to those circumstances, but also how they shaped them, especially during World War II. In particular, the project examines the ways in which black-founded and black-directed recreation centers acted as an affirmative alternative to the confrontations and humiliations that awaited them at segregated recreational venues as well as public amusements and accommodations. In addition, this work explores why, how, and with what consequences these black recreation centers contributed to the changing geography of the Bay Area. Creating their own agendas separate from white reformers and city officials, who believed structured recreation was a way to control and exercise surveillance over delinquent youth, black leaders viewed these recreational spaces as opportunities to provide community members with the necessary tools to challenge the racism they faced at work, school, and in the streets. The most significant scholarly intervention of this historical study is to center the lived experiences of African Americans: to explore thoroughly and critically how these recreational institutions operated in their lives and communities. Put another way, this dissertation uses the experiences of African Americans, both developing and participating in these institutions, as a lens to investigate and illuminate the broader concerns of African Americans living in the Bay Area from 1920 to 1960.


Obesity is a significant, and increasing, health problem for older individuals, their caregivers, and healthcare professionals and delivery systems, yet few studies document how nursing homes have responded to this epidemic. To address these gaps, an extensive electronic search was conducted in the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health, MedLine, PubMed, and the Cochrane Library using key terms and phrases, including obesity, morbid obesity, obesity in elderly, long‐term care, bariatric or weight loss surgery, nursing care, and nursing homes. Subsequent critical review suggests that research on obesity in older adults has predominantly been conducted in community‐dwelling populations and that few investigations have elucidated this problem in nursing home (NH) residents. Research priorities are also proposed to fill the current void in studies of obese NH residents.


Introduction Cardiovascular disease remains a significant problem in modern society. Among non-invasive techniques, the electrocardiogram (ECG) is one of the most reliable methods for detecting cardiac abnormalities. However, ECG interpretation requires expert knowledge and it is time-consuming. Developing a novel method to detect the disease early improves the quality and efficiency of medical care. Methods The paper presents various modern approaches for classifying cardiac diseases from ECG recordings. The first approach suggests the Poincaré representation of ECG signal and deep-learning-based image classifiers. Additionally, the raw signals were processed with the one-dimensional convolutional model while the XGBoost model was facilitated to predict based on the time-series features. Results The Poincaré-based methods showed decent performance in predicting AF (atrial fibrillation) but not other types of arrhythmia. XGBoost model gave an acceptable performance in long-term data but had a long inference time due to highly-consuming calculations within the pre-processing phase. Finally, the 1D convolutional model, specifically the 1D ResNet, showed the best results in both studied CinC 2017 and CinC 2020 datasets, reaching the F1 score of 85% and 71%, respectively, and they were superior to the first-ranking solution of each challenge. The 1D models also presented high specificity. Additionally, our paper investigated efficiency metrics including power consumption and equivalent CO2 emissions, with one-dimensional models like 1D CNN and 1D ResNet being the most energy efficient. Model interpretation analysis showed that the DenseNet detected AF using heart rate variability while the 1D ResNet assessed the AF patterns in raw ECG signals. Discussion Despite the under-performed results, the Poincaré diagrams are still worth studying further because of the accessibility and inexpensive procedure. In the 1D convolutional models, the residual connections are useful to keep the model simple but not decrease the performance. Our approach in power measurement and model interpretation helped understand the numerical complexity and mechanism behind the model decision.


Summary: In Victoria, children constitute a third of people attending homelessness services. This research aimed to gain insight into the homelessness experience of children accommodated in transitional support services in an urban setting. It is the first major investigation of children's perspectives on the experience of homelessness in Victoria. Approval to conduct the research was obtained from the University of Melbourne Behavioural and Social Sciences Human Ethics Sub-Committee of the Human Research Ethics Committee, and a reference group was appointed to oversee the project. Informed consent was sought from all participants, with special care taken to ensure that children were able to understand the process. Fundamental to this project was endorsement of the principle that children are competent to participate in research that is ethically sound and in which they are treated with respect. We interviewed 20 children aged 6 to 12 from diverse ethnicities and cultural backgrounds, as well as 12 parents or guardians and 8 case workers from homelessness services. Children were interviewed using a set of interactive activities designed both to make the experience enjoyable and to provide diverse opportunities for children to express their thoughts. There was value in having multiple sources of information: not only a range of activities, but parents or guardians to provide background and context. Children could have a different perspective from the parent who was interviewed and having, in some cases, more than one child from the same family contributed to an appreciation of families' changing circumstances. Most children were living in transitional supported accommodation and had been there for less than a year. They had experienced between three and eleven changes of residence, which had included hotels or motels, other varieties of emergency accommodation, refuges, sleeping rough or in cars, rooming or boarding houses, and caravan parks. Children revealed their concept of 'home'. Home is a place where significant family members live. It has enough room for each person to be comfortable and give them some privacy, and it feels safe. Safety comes from not having to share with strangers, especially people affected by drugs and alcohol, and from living in a friendly and familiar neighbourhood. Home has a sense of permanence, of structural stability, and of being 'ours'.


One of the major obstacles in the field of Oceanic linguistics today is the lack of substantial dictionaries for more than a smattering of the 500 or so Austronesian languages spoken in this part of the world. The number of full dictionaries would not exceed 30. In southern Melanesia, the dearth is even more marked. In New Caledonia a small team of CNRS linguists have invested very heavily in research since the early 1960s. The major results of this long-term programme have only recently emerged with the publication of a number of grammars and dictionaries of New Caledonian languages by members of the research team, originally led by A.-G. Haudricourt. Cemuhl is one of the 25 languages spoken on the mainland of New Caledonia. It is unusual among the Austronesian languages of Melanesia in that it is a tonal language, the three register tones having developed as a result of a series of phonological processes. The languages of northern New Caledonia have undergone a number of phonological innovations since splitting off from the original protolanguage: essentially, the original protoOceanic uvular, velar and palatal consonants have become velars, palatals and apicals respectively, while the original dentals have become retroflexes, palatals or velars in individual languages. The languages of northern New Caledonia have undergone great phonological erosion, and only the most meticulous recording and transcription of the Cemuhi lexicon by Rivierre, together with a painstaking examination of earlier Marist mission lexicons of the language, have allowed an accurate tracing of the stages of development of this language and its neighbours. From the point of view of comparative linguistics, then, Rivierre's Dictionnaire cemuht-francais is an invaluable tool, especially when used in conjunction with earlier phonologically oriented papers and books published by A. G. Haudricourt, F. Ozanne-Rivierre and J.-C. Rivierre since the mid-sixties. From a socio-linguistic point of view, Rivierre's lexicographical work on Cemuhi provides a veritable archive and cultural and linguistic storehouse for the 3,300 speakers of this language, especially in these times when the influence of metropolitan French is daily reinforced through the media. Rivierre began his work on Cemuhi in 1965. During the past 30 years he has collected a rich corpus of oral traditions, some of which have been published (Bensa and Rivierre, Les chemins de I'alliance, Paris: SELAF, 1982). It is this corpus which forms the backbone of his very substantial dictionary, augmented by numerous field trips and also by a very careful study of existing materials in the language, especially the French-Wagap-English dictionary produced by the Marist mission in 1891 (A. Colomb, Paris, 1891), and a later version of the same dictionary discovered at the Tuoho mission by Guiart. It is the existence of this mission corpus which has allowed Rivierre to study the dramatic phonological changes which Cemuhi has undergone over the past century and to make sense of the history of the development of this language, which, on the surface at least, looks very different from the surrounding languages of Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomons.


Ten patients with self diagnosed enlarged lymph glands were referred to a general medicine outpatient clinic and careful examination did not confirm lymphadenopathy. All patients also complained of severe chronic fatigue associated with aches and miscellaneous somatic symptoms, and fulfilled criteria for diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Phantom lymphadenopathy may be a symptom in some people with CFS, and possible reasons for this are discussed.


Abstract:First Kings 11:29–31 depicts the prophet Ahijah foretelling the dissolution of the Solomonic kingdom and the subsequent establishment of the northern kingdom of Israel under Jeroboam. The prophet engages in symbolic behavior to convey this message, tearing a new cloak into pieces and giving ten of them to Jeroboam, signifying the ten tribes that side with Jeroboam in the conflict. However, the ambiguity of the masculine singular pronouns in this passage makes it difficult to establish whose cloak Ahijah tears into pieces, Jeroboam's or his own. In this note, I challenge previous syntactical arguments that Jeroboam is the owner of the cloak in 1 Kgs 11:29–30. Furthermore, previous analyses of this passage have not examined it in the context of biblical mourning ritual, specifically calamity mourning in anticipation of an imminent personal or collective disaster. In addition to arguments on the basis of syntax, this ritual analysis of the passage suggests that Ahijah rends his own cloak in an act of calamity mourning.


Watermarking is an emerging technology that is claimed to have an important application in copyright protection. We argue that in many cases still-image watermarks cannot live up to this expectation. We show that the situation is different for video, mainly due to the sheer volume of the data. An overview is given of an important application for video watermarking, viz. DVD copy protection. Finally, we make the case that a total system solution needs more ingredients than watermarking alone.


The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed our health care capacity in an unprecedented way due to the sheer number of critically infected patients admitted to hospitals during the last two years. Endothelial injury is seen as one of the central hallmarks of COVID-19 infection that is the starting point in the generation of microthrombi and sepsis eventually leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDs) and multi-organ failure. The dramatic fall in lung function during ARDs is attributed to the microthrombi-induced coagulopathy primed by a hyperactive immune system. Due to the lack of effective antiviral agents, the line of treatment is limited to the management of two key risk factors i.e., immune activation and coagulopathy. In the present review, we describe the mechanistic role, therapeutic targets and opportunities to control immune activation and coagulopathy during the pathogenesis of COVID-19-induced ARDs.


This paper describes technical solutions based on advanced control functionalities for photovoltaic systems aiming to prevent voltage rise above technical limits in low voltage MicroGrids by limiting the injected active power. Due to the action of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) systems, it is expected that the output power of photovoltaic systems tracks the maximum value according to both solar and temperature conditions. Hence, limiting the active power to be injected into the low voltage network requires the accommodation of the generation surplus. An innovative approach is proposed for this purpose, exploiting a modified MPPT algorithm that finds a proper operation point considering also the grid operating conditions. The technical feasibility of this approach is evaluated through numerical simulations performed in the Matlab®/Simulink® simulation tool using the detailed models of the power electronic converters.


We show that the conceptual parallelism underlying multi-agent systems (MAS) and the parallelism as thought in the field of distributed systems in computer science are not the image one of each other. One should distinguish between the two notions of coexisting Agents and distributed processes in order to make them converge afterwards. Otherwise, the risk is to reduce the parallelism of the MAS to the one of the target architecture and to loose the expressiveness and the richness of the parallelism of the agents. We focus on the time conceptualization: we differentiate crude coordination of processes by synchronization from Agent temporality seen as a corner stone of autonomy. We gain insights as well into parallelism than into MAS methodology.


A creel survey, consisting of two independent surveys, was con ducted on Lake Sharpe, South Dakota from May, 1973, through flay, 1974. An aerial fisherman count was used to estimate fishing pressure and an angler interview survey was used to estimate catch rates, mean party size, mean fishennan day, and residence of the anglers. The results of the two surveys were combined to estimate harvest. The separate surveys allowed optimum stratification and allocation of sampling effort for each, Estimated fishing pressure was 32,643 fisherman-hours, 2:_ 9, 60% at the 95% confidence level, and the total estimated harvest was 113,800 fish, + 12,46%, weighing 7,36 x 104 kg (81,05 tons). The mean catch rate for the entire survey was 0.33 fish per fisherman-hour. The survey produced final estimates of catch statistics with a relatively small amount of manpower well within the range of accuracy needed for management decisions. The methods used n·ay prove to be applicable to many other large, open reservoirs with numerous access points.


Agricultural diversification to meet our future needs call for the adoption of new technologies in agriculture . Utilization of the best cultural practices, fertilization, pest control measures will not give the necessary results without the use of best planting material. Tissue culture has been significant role in producing disease free planting materials of vegetative propagated crops in horticulture industry of many countries. Among these crops potato, sweet potato, banana and citrus are the major crops being propagated intensively to produce disease free planting materials. Many research works have being conducted on the potential of in vitro plantlets over conventional one on productively per unit area particularly in horticultural crops. Almost all research results revealed that in vitro plantlets significantly perform better than conventional in terms of uniformity, earliness, yield, and quality due to free from disease load. The limiting factor of using in vitro plantlets from the point of view of farmers is the higher price of the material if compared to conventional and TC plants require additional care and improved management. Higher cost is justified by achieved high economic returns. In addition, the technology has created several employment opportunities and opened up many entrepreneurial fields. This industry has made available different unique commercial plant species such as ornamentals and foliages in large scale, which were not produced earlier by the conventional methods. Keywords: Tissue culture, in vitro and plantlets.


The knowledge of motion dynamics during running activity is crucial to enhance the development of rehabilitation techniques and injury prevention programs. Recent studies investigated the interaction between joints, using several analysis techniques, as cross-correlation, sensitivity analysis, among others. However, the direction of the joints pairing is still not understood. This paper proposes a study of the influence direction pattern in healthy runners by using kinematic data together with partial directed coherence, a frequency approach of Granger causality. The analysis was divided into three anatomical planes, sagittal, frontal, and transverse, and using data from ankle, knee, hip, and trunk segments. Results indicate a predominance of proximal to distal influence during running, reflecting a centralized anatomic source of movements. These findings highlight the necessity of managing proximal joints movements, in addition to motor control and core (trunk and hip) strengthening training to lumbar spine, knee, and ankle injuries prevention and rehabilitation.


Oxidative stress and inflammation play important roles in the development of diabetes mellitus. p-Synephrine, the primary pharmacologically active protoalkaloid in Citrus species, has been popularly consumed as a dietary supplement for weight loss management. However, the effects of p-synephrine on diabetes mellitus and the action mechanisms have not been clearly elucidated. In this study, the in vitro antioxidant effects of p-synephrine were evaluated. The data showed that p-synephrine treatment exhibited significant scavenging effects against DPPH, ABTS and OH radicals and showed high reducing power. Diabetic mice were developed by alloxan injection, followed by p-synephrine administration to investigate its hypoglycemic effects in vivo. The results showed that p-synephrine intervention significantly prevented alloxan-induced alteration in body weight, organ indexes, serum uric acid content and serum creatinine content. Meanwhile, p-synephrine application significantly improved the lipid profiles, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activities and glutathione (GSH) contents in the serum and kidneys of diabetic mice and reduced the malondialdehyde (MDA) content in the serum of diabetic mice. Further assays suggested that p-synephrine treatment improved alloxan-induced decreases of glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity. Also, p-synephrine supplementation altered histopathological changes in the kidneys and interscapular brown adipose tissues in diabetic mice. In addition, p-synephrine administration inhibited renal inflammation through suppressing tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) gene expression levels, as well as CD45 expression levels. The anti-inflammatory effects were probably involved in the regulation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) phosphorylation. In conclusion, p-synephrine application significantly ameliorated alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus by inhibiting oxidative stress via suppressing the NF-κB and MAPK pathways.


This paper provides a theory of joint venture buy-outs in the presence of demand uncertainty. In an infinite horizon framework with demand uncertainty, we consider a foreign firm's decision on whether to form a joint venture or to open a fully owned subsidiary. Without the possibility of future share adjustment, the foreign firm enters the market through a joint venture if the host-country firm helps to reduce the uncertainty significantly. Consequently, the firm enters at an earlier point in time compared to the situation in which opening a fully owned subsidiary is the only option to the firm. The possibility of future share adjustment in the joint venture further increases the incentive to speed up foreign investment. Although the possibility of share adjustment results in a joint venture buy-out and can reduce the future profits of the host-country firm, it may increase host-country welfare by attracting foreign investment at an earlier point in time. We show the implications of learning in the joint venture.


OGOLOD is a Linked Open Data dataset derived from different biomedical resources by an automated pipeline, using a tailored ontology as a scaffold. The key contribution of OGOLOD is that it links, in new RDF triples, genetic human diseases and orthologous genes, paving the way for a more efficient translational biomedical research exploiting the Linked Open Data cloud.


Includes a detailed analysis of the new federal brownfields legislation. The new second edition of this bestseller is a step-by-step, solution-oriented look at the environmental and economic challenges of redeveloping contaminated property. This one, simplified book will help you: Find new funding sources to finance your brownfield redevelopment; Resolve the most important legal, business, financial, and political issues associated with redeveloping contaminated real estate; Interpret federal and state laws governing liability for the cleanup of brownfield sites; Evaluate current State Voluntary Cleanup Programs including financial and tax incentives, eligible or excluded properties, cleanup standards, and liability protections.


Zooplankton are found very sensitive to even slight aquatic pollution due to a number of chemical imbalances in freshwater bodies. As an amazing tiny creature zooplankton play a very crucial role in the aquatic food chain by transferring energy from primary levels to tertiary organisms. For many years it has been well established that zooplankton act as promising biological indicators to continuously fluctuating aquatic environments and subsequently to global warming. While reacting to these aquatic environmental fluctu-ations, zooplankton population growth can either be stimulated or inhibited. The presence or absence of particular zooplankton species can reveal the trophic status of the water body. Moreover, in a harsh env-ironment, algal toxins may have drastic effects on the behavioral characteristics of zooplankton.


BACKGROUND
Traditionally, displaced greater tuberosity fractures are treated with open reduction and internal fixation. Arthroscopic treatment and outcome of greater tuberosity fractures is far from comprehensive. The objective of the current study was to assess the surgical procedure and outcome of an arthroscopic method in the treatment of isolated greater tuberosity fractures.

METHODS
From January 2006 to December 2009, 23 patients with isolated greater tuberosity fractures were treated with an arthroscopic procedure using three cannulated screws combined with washers. During follow-up, radiographs and the constant shoulder score (CSS) were used to evaluate the outcome.

RESULTS
Three cannulated screws with washers were used to fix the fractured fragment of the greater tuberosity under an arthroscope. All incisions healed at primary intention without infection. The mean duration of follow-up was 20 months (range 18 - 36 months). Fracture fixation was excellent, and fractures healed 2 - 6 months (mean 3.8 months) after surgery. At final follow-up, the CSS was 92 (range 86 - 100).

CONCLUSIONS
The described arthroscopic procedure provides anatomical reduction and firm fixation for isolated greater tuberosity fractures. It is a successful and minimally invasive procedure with satisfying therapeutic effects as well as excellent functional recovery.


Background: Partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PCO 2 ) measured by capnometer is mainly used to evaluate the respiratory condition of the lungs under ventilator control. Recently, the use of bronchoscopy has been reported in the evaluation of lung function after lobectomy in patients with lung cancer and those with chronic obstruc‐ tive pulmonary disease (COPD), who underwent bronchoscopic lung volume reduction (BLVR). Objectives: To determine the usefulness of bronchoscopic capnometry to assess treatment sites for BLVR. Method: Twenty patients with COPD suspected of having lung cancer who underwent transbronchial biopsy were included. PCO 2 was measured at the healthy side of the segmental bronchus under room air with a capn‐ ometer. Distribution of the percentage of low attenuation area (%LAA) as measured by chest computed tomog‐ raphy (CT), was calculated and compared to end-tidal CO 2 (EtCO 2 ) distribution obtained by the capnometer. Results: All 20 patients displayed homogeneous patterns on CT, but the distribution of EtCO 2 as measured by capnometer was uneven in 3 patients. There was no significant correlation between %LAA and EtCO 2 in the 20 patients, but in 9 patients with higher %LAA values, %LAA correlation significantly with EtCO 2 (r = −0.437, p = 0.023). Conclusions: Capnography was useful in physiologically evaluating local ventilation and perfusion status of the lung. We recommend capnography as an adjunct to CT to assess functional heterogeneity in patients potentially undergoing BLVR.


In this paper, we examine the scientific, legal, and ethical foundations for inclusion of transgender women athletes in competitive sport, drawing on IOC principles and relevant Court of Arbitration for Sport decisions. We argue that the inclusion of trans athletes in competition commensurate with their legal gender is the most consistent position with these principles of fair and equitable sport. Biological restrictions, such as endogenous testosterone limits, are not consistent with IOC and CAS principles. We explore the implications for recognizing that endogenous testosterone values are a 'natural physical trait' and that excluding legally recognized women for high endogenous testosterone values constitutes discrimination on the basis of a natural physical trait. We suggest that the justificatory burden for such prima facie discrimination is unlikely to be met. Thus, in place of a limit on endogenous testosterone for women (whether cisgender, transgender, or intersex), we argue that 'legally recognized gender' is most fully in line with IOC and CAS principles. 1. THE LEGAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURES OF INTERNATIONAL SPORT Rare is the activity and associated body of law that ultimately falls under the jurisdiction of one and only one body the world over. However, most


RORγt is a master transcription factor required for Th17 development. We identified two novel RORγt-specific inhibitors that suppress Th17 response and Th17-mediated autoimmune disease. To assess their mechanisms of action, we systemically characterize their function within the context of RORγt-directed transcriptional circuitry by integrating RORγt binding data in the presence and absence of drug with corresponding whole-transcriptome sequencing for wildtype and RORγt-deficient cells. RORγt is central in a densely interconnected regulatory network, acting both as a direct activator of genes important for Th17 differentiation and as a direct inhibitor of genes from other T-cell lineages. These inhibitors reversed both of these modes of action, but to varying extents and through distinct mechanisms. While one inhibitor displaced RORγt from its target-loci, the more potent inhibitor affected transcription predominantly without removing DNA-binding. Our work illustrates the power of a system-scale analysis of transcriptional regulation to characterize potential therapeutic compounds that inhibit pathogenic Th17 cells and suppress autoimmunity.


The present invention relates to compounds of formula (I). These compounds are a novel type of peptide deformylase (PDF) inhibitors, and are therefore of great interest especially as new antibiotics.


Evaluating the occurrence of diseases in aquatic mustelids is a priority in the conservation strategies for the Neotropical river otter and giant otter. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the frequency of infection caused by Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia sp. in both host species in northern Brazil. The collection of biological samples was carried out in the states of Amapá, Amazonas, Pará and Rondônia, totalling 337 faecal samples of these species, which were processed using Kinyoun's technique for the identification of Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts, and centrifugal flotation in zinc sulphate solution for visualization of Giardia sp. cysts. All samples were also tested by direct immunofluorescence. The frequency of infection by Cryptosporidium spp. was higher than Giardia sp., in the two otter species. In the analysed samples co-infection by both protozoa was also found in 4.47% (14/313) of Neotropical river otter and 20.83% (5/24) of giant otter samples. Oocysts and cysts of Cryptosporidium and Giardia, respectively, may remain infectious within specific environmental conditions for long periods of time. The current identification of Neotropical and giant otters as hosts of these protozoa increases the possibility of infection in this species and the transmission of those agents to other aquatic and terrestrial organisms, as well as to human populations. The findings of this study represent the first description of Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia sp. affecting Lontra longicaudis and Pteronura brasiliensis.


Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). A number of thyroid dysfunctions are induced by damage resulting from the relatively high doses of radiation administered to the thyroid and pituitary gland during radiotherapy. Hypothyroidism constitutes the most frequent type of thyroid dysfunction induced by NPC radiotherapy, while hyperthyroidism, particularly Grave's disease, is extremely rare. The present study describes the case of a 40-year-old male who presented with Grave's disease 2 years after receiving radiotherapy for the treatment of NPC. The patient exhibited swelling of the eyes, an increased appetite, decreased levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone, increased levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) demonstrated by the examination of thyroid function and enlargement of the bilateral intraocular rectus revealed by CT scan. The patient's symptoms were ameliorated following treatment with propylthiouracil and propranolol for 1 month, and the levels of T3 and T4 were restored to normal. The pathophysiological mechanism of radiotherapy-induced hyperthyroidism has yet to be elucidated. Hyperthyroidism is often neglected as several of its clinical manifestations are similar to other complications observed during and following cancer treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor thyroid function following head and neck radiotherapy.


Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) refers to the accumulation of hepatic steatosis not due to excess alcohol consumption. It is the most common liver condition in the world. The prevalence of NAFLD is up to 30% in developed countries and nearly 10% in developing nations. The aim of this study was to assess serum ferritin level among Sudanese with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. This was a case control study conducted in Advance diagnostic center, Bahary hospital, Khartoum state, Sudan in April 2017. Participants were divided into two groups; patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (N/40), and 40 normal healthy individuals as control group. Serum Ferritin will was measured by using automated enzyme immunoassay system (TOSOH). The study results revealed that there is a significant difference in serum ferritin between cases and control group (P = 0.03). The study also showed moderate positive correlation between ferritin and age (R = 0.412), (P = 0.00). Patients with NAFLD have higher serum ferritin level than those without fatty liver changes. Serum ferritin levels rise as grade of liver steatosis increases.


Goal-setting and performance feedback have motivated improved performance in various occupational groups for over 30 years. During the current time of staffing cutbacks and increased patient acuity, the nurse administrator has growing concern for the morale of the nursing staff. In this study, goal-setting and performance feedback, used in conjunction with a performance appraisal session, were successful in improving the performance of staff nurses. The author outlines the implications for head nurse training.


When a blunt body impacts an air-water interface, large hydrodynamic forces often arise, a phenomenon many of us have unfortunately experienced in a failed dive or "belly flop." Beyond assessing risk to biological divers, an understanding and methods for remediation of such slamming forces are critical to the design of numerous engineered naval and aerospace structures. Herein we systematically investigate the role of impactor elasticity on the resultant structural loads in perhaps the simplest possible scenario: the water entry of a simple harmonic oscillator. Contrary to conventional intuition, we find that "softening" the impactor does not always reduce the peak impact force, but may also increase the force as compared to a fully rigid counterpart. Through our combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we demonstrate that the transition from force reduction to force amplification is delineated by a critical "hydroelastic" factor that relates the hydrodynamic and elastic timescales of the problem.


Communication networking leverages emerging network technologies such as topology management schemes to satisfy the demand of exponentially increasing devices and associated network traffic. Particularly, without efficient topology management, Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communications will likely asymmetrically congest gateways and eNodeBs in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) networks, especially when M2M devices are massively deployed to support diverse applications. To address this issue, in this paper, we propose a 3D Topology Optimization (3D-TO) scheme to obtain the optimal placement of gateways and eNodeBs for M2M communications. By taking advantage of the fact that most M2M devices rarely move, 3D-TO can specify optimal gateway positions for each M2M application, which consists of multiple $M$ 2 $M$ devices. This is achieved through global optimization, based on the distances between gateways and M2M devices. Utilizing the optimization process, 3D-TO likewise determines optimal eNodeB positions for each M2M application, based on the distances between eNodeBs and optimal M2M gateways. Our experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed 3D-TO scheme towards M2M communications, with regard to throughput, delay, path loss, and packet loss ratio.


Background: Pulmonary Embolism (PE) is a disease characterized by not specific signs and symptoms. In Italy, there are about 65,000 cases per year; mortality is about 30% if PE is not identified and decreases to 2-8% if PE is recog- nized and treated. International guidelines include several strategies for diagnosing the disease with confidence. The diag- nostic pathway includes a clinical approach with the Wells and Revised Geneva scores, the use of D-dimer and, eventu- ally, a Computed Tomography (CT). The CT seems to be the ideal investigation to confirm or exclude PE but it is not free from complications. Sometimes in medical practice clinicians tend to order CT more frequently than necessary, reflecting a defensive behavior instead of an evidence based behavior. This practice exposes patients to some risks, especially for kidney. Objective: To identify the efficiency of the use of clinical scores and diagnostic algorithms following the latest guidelines in patients with suspicion of PE. To analyze how many CTs could be avoided using the right approach and to evaluate the importance of any clinical variable. Eventually, to apply the two scores together (Wells score and Revised Geneva score). Methods and Materials: A retrospective, single centre, cohort study was performed from January 2011 to April 2012. All patients who made a CT in the Emergency Room for suspicion of PE were collected and classified in two groups: PE - and PE +. In all patients Wells Score and Revised Geneva Score were calculated. Results: 111 patients (64% female; mean age 72±16 years) were studied. There were no differences in anamnestic, clinical and laboratory variables between the two groups. With the classic pathway 6 patients could have been safely ruled out without performing a CT. With the Wells score one PE+ patient had a low pre-test probability; with the Revised Geneva score actually 7 PE+ patients had a low pre-test probability. These results were source of doubt about the reliability of the scores. So we tried to use the two scores together, and we achieved these results: in 7 patients PE could have been safely excluded without even using CT scan. Conclusions: The study focuses on the clinical approach to PE. The clinical scores proposed by guidelines (Wells score and Revised Geneva score) are unreliable if used alone, out of a pathway. We propose to the application of the two score together to exclude PE safely without performing CT when not necessary.


Census data, analyzed over the past three decades by Putnam (1993, 1995a, 1995b, 2000) show that collective attendance at meetings between 1973 and 1993 has decreased by 36%; attendance at town meetings is down 39%. The number of Americans working for political parties has dropped 56%; the amount of time spent in local clubs is down by half. Putnam links the decline in civic engagement to decreasing social capital and attributes both to the electronic revolution, especially television. He argues that we need to meet in groups face to face in order to strengthen connectivity and social networks; these help us become involved in the community and work together to achieve common social goals. People generate and cultivate social networks, trust and norms of mutuality—what Putnam calls a community's 'social capital'—to meet human needs for companionship and individual as well as collective aid. Social networks evolve as people meet together in informal social groups (bowling leagues, bridge clubs, coffee klatches, carpool and childcare arrangements) and in formal groups (work, school, church, clubs and voluntary associations, such as the soccer league, Parent Teachers Association, and the Weight Club). The analysis of social networks— which has roots in sociology and structural analysis—is important in understanding social capital. Social network analysis investigates the ordered arrangements of relations that are contingent upon exchange among members of social systems—whether people, groups or organizations (Wellman and Berkowitz 1988). Members of social networks garner or mobilize scarce resources through a process of exchange, competition, dependency, or coalition. The analysis of social networks examines concrete social relations among specific social actors. The people, groups, or organizations that are members of social systems are 'sets of nodes' or networks, which represent social structures (see Figure 1). These 'sets of nodes' or networks can even represent institutions, nation states, or world systems. Social structures are also represented as sets of ties—or flows of resources—depicting members' interconnections. These ties or flows of resources typically involve symmetrical friendships, or aid transfers, including information. Patterns of ties suggest how members allocate resources in a social system. In this paper, the author considers the social networks among individuals and small organizations in Blacksburg, Virginia, a rural university town in the foothills of the Allegheny mountains. Blacksburg is the home of the Internet project known as the Blacksburg Electronic Village, an initiative to reflect and connect online the local people, organizations, ideas and issues that exist in the physical community. Computer networks can reinforce existing social networks. In fact, Wellman (1996) argues that when computer networks, such as the Internet, link people as well as machines, they become social networks. Not only do people and groups use the Internet, like the telephone, to maintain friendships. They also use the Internet to access resources, especially those related to information. Social networks help to build trust among members. Social trust, also a feature of social capital, increases as people get to know each other, learn who is trustworthy, and through experience do things together (e.g., the bowling league, the PTA, and other informal or volunteer work). Williams (1988, p. 8) and Newton (1997, p. 578) distinguish between "thin" trust and "thick" trust in social networks. In small face-to-face communities (tribes, isolated islands, rural peripheries), "thick" trust is generated by intensive, daily contact between people. These tend to be socially homogeneous and exclusive communities, able to exercise social sanctions necessary to reinforce thick trust (Coleman 1988, pp. 105–108). Thin trust is less personal, based on indirect, secondary social relations. It is the product of what Granovetter (1973) distinguishes as weak ties among members. Weak ties can link members of various social groups to help integrate them in a single social environment or geographic setting. There is evidence from the research reported in this paper that the Internet regularly facilitates linkages between groups or social networks, as members of one group have membership in several other groups, using Social networks help to build trust among members. Social trust, also a feature of social capital, increases as people get to know each other, learn who is trustworthy, and through experience do things together (e.g., the bowling league, the PTA, and other informal or volunteer work). Community Networks and Civic Engagement: A Social Network Approach1


Evidence of reduced sensitivity to temporal information has been found in both dyslexia and aging research. On area of interest concerns the associations between sensitivity to motion and speed of processing among dyslexics and older groups. In this study the pattern of performance of dyslexic and control readers, and a group of older observers were investigated. Sensitivity to global motion and form, and performance accuracy on rapid counting tasks that required either simultaneous or sequential processing were obtained. The results showed that the older and poor reader groups were both significantly less sensitive on the motion task when compared to the controls. No significant between groups effects were found for the global form task. The poor readers and older groups were significantly less accurate than the control group when processing rapidly presented sequential information, with the older group only less accurate with presentation of simultaneously presented information. Evaluation of individual patterns of performance revealed that reduced sensitivity on the motion task better discriminated the older group, with performance on the rapid sequencing task better discriminating the poor reader group. The implications of these data for a sensory processing deficit in dyslexia and aging are discussed.


The nanoelectrospray ion source (nanoES) has recently been developed and described theoretically. It is different from conventional electrospray sources and from other miniaturized electrospray sources by (i) its 1-2 microns spraying orifice achieved by pulling the spraying capillary to a fine tip, (ii) its very low flow rate of approximately 20 nL/min and the small size of droplets it generates, and (iii) the absence of solvent pumps and inlet valves. The fabrication and operation of nanoES needles is described in detail. Solutions with up to 0.1 M salt contents could be sprayed without sheath flow or pneumatic assist. Improved desolvation in nanoES led to instrument-limited resolution of the signals of a glycoprotein and the ability to signal average extensively allowed the C-terminal sequencing of a 40 kDa protein. Extensive mass spectrometric and tandem mass spectrometric investigation of the components of an unseparated peptide mixture was demonstrated by verification of 93% of the sequence of carbonic anhydrase. A rapid and robust desalting/concentration step coupled to the nanoES procedure allows the direct analysis of impure samples such as peptide mixtures extracted after in-gel digestion.


How do bilingual Mexican American children make sense of their school experiences in the context of restrictive language policies such as California's Proposition 227? The primary goal of this study was to better understand relationships among agency, power, and identity through an examination of participants' views, or ideologies, about language. Data were collected at an urban public school near the U.S.-Mexico border, through group and individual interviews as well as through participant observation in a bilingual third-grade and a mainstream English fourth- grade classroom. Four research questions guided the study: What views about language were held by the teachers? What views about language were held by the children? How were these views enacted within and shaped by classroom language practices? How did these views and practices contribute to the construction of children's identities at school? Overall findings suggest that children explicitly valued bilingualism but were beginning to enact the hegemony of English in keeping with the institutional structure of the transitional bilingual program. However, when teachers challenged theories of linguistic expertise and authority embedded within the policy context, children were able to exercise agency in constructing more positive academic identities. The third-grade teacher helped students understand a developmental perspective on second language acquisition. The fourth-grade teacher drew children's attention to multiple textual voices within academic discourse. Thus, children were provided multiple opportunities to be recognized as "good students." Previous and contemporary literature on student accommodation and resistance (e.g., Carter, 2005; Foley, 1990; Willis, 1977) has largely overlooked elementary school children. Studying children allows for an examination of identity construction within schools not only as a situated enactment or performance (Bucholz, 2004), but also as an aspect of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical maturation (e.g., Cole & Cole, 2001). The findings of the present study highlight possibilities for


This research uses a qualitative research approach with descriptive type and uses in-depth interviews as primary data in research data collection. This research is important because along with the digital transformation that is developing, marketing is now experiencing a development from transactional to marketing on a relationship basis. The use of various marketing tools to manage customer relationships such as Instagram and Whatsapp can also help to maintain customer relationships because this complete the customer's culture. The result of this research is an online CRM strategy built by Banner using artificial intelligence/chatbot to be able to manage relationships with customers. PT. AWP as the manager of the Banner product uses an online CRM program called Siska to be able to manage relations with customers


In order to discover new compounds with good fungicidal activities, 32 pyrazole derivatives were designed and synthesized. The structures of the target compounds were confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (HR-ESI-MS), and their fungicidal activities against Botrytis cinerea, Rhizoctonia solani Kuhn, Valsa mali Miyabe et Yamada, Thanatephorus cucumeris (Frank) Donk, Fusarium oxysporum (S-chl) f.sp. cucumerinum Owen, and Fusarium graminearum Schw were tested. The bioassay results indicated that most of the derivatives exhibited considerable antifungal activities, especially compound 26 containing a p-trifluoromethyl- phenyl moiety showed the highest activity, with EC50 values of 2.432, 2.182, 1.787, 1.638, 6.986, and 6.043 μg/mL against B. cinerea, R. solani, V. mali, T. cucumeris, F. oxysporum, and F. graminearum, respectively. Moreover, the activities of compounds such as compounds 27–32 were enhanced by introducing isothiocyanate and carboxamide moieties to the 5-position of the pyrazole ring.


Urine is a popular biofluid for metabolomics studies due to its simple, non-invasive collection and its availability in large quantities, permitting frequent sampling, replicate analyses, and sample banking. The biggest disadvantage with using urine is that it exhibits significant variability in concentration and composition within an individual over relatively short periods of time (arising from various external factors and internal processes regulating the body's water and solute content). In treating the data from urinary metabolomics studies, one must account for the natural variability of urine concentrations to avoid erroneous data interpretation. Amongst various proposed approaches to account for broadly varying urine sample concentrations, normalization to creatinine has been widely accepted and is most commonly used. MS total useful signal (MSTUS) is another normalization method that has been recently reported for mass spectrometry (MS)-based metabolomics studies. Herein, we explored total useful peak area (TUPA), a modification of MSTUS that is applicable to GC×GC-TOFMS (and data from other separations platforms), for sample normalization in urinary metabolomics studies. Performance of TUPA was compared to the two most common normalization approaches, creatinine adjustment and Total Peak Area (TPA) normalization. Each normalized dataset was evaluated using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results showed that TUPA outperformed alternative normalization methods to overcome urine concentration variability. Results also conclusively demonstrate the risks in normalizing data to creatinine.


Objective: Job satisfaction is considered to be one of the most important indicators of quality of health care and quality of work life for health professionals. In the context of nursing, social support and work engagement are regarded as two of the most important predictors of job satisfaction. Consequently, the aim of this study was to examine to what extent social support (supervisor/coworkers) and work engagement predict job satisfaction in a sample of Portugueses nurses. Methodology: A cross-sectional study using questionnaires was conducted. A convenience sample of members from Portuguese hospitals was used in this study (n = 215, return rate = 55.56%). Results: Social support from supervisor and from coworkers and work engagement were significantly related to job satisfaction. Regression models showed that job satisfaction was significantly predicted by both types of social support and work engagement. Conclusion: Interventions based on the creation of informal and formal support networks, training of supervisors in management and coaching skills, and a greater presence of work and personal resources would increase the levels of job satisfaction in nurses.


Background and Aims: Hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias are the commonest single gene disorders in India. In Terai region of India, Hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias are the most common in the Tharu community. Therefore, in this study, we aim to evaluate the Hb variant analysis of hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias in a Tharu population in Lakhimpur Kheri Districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Materials and Methods: Total 493 individuals were recruited in this study. The demographic details and blood samples were collected from different location at Kheri district during mega health camp. Hb variant analysis was performed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system beta thalassemia short program in BIO-RAD VARIANT. Results: Out of 493, 108 (21.9%) individual suffers with abnormal haemoglobinopathies. In which β-thalassemia trait is the commonest haemoglobinopathy (12.98%), followed by HbE trait (7.50%), and compound heterozygous HbS/β-Thalassemia trait (1.42%) in overall population. The HbF was significantly greater in HbS heterozygous (1.45 ± 1.41), whereas mean HbA2 was significantly greater in β-Thalassemia trait (5.17 ± 1.36). Conclusion: The high incidence of hemoglobinopathies and thalassemias were observed in Tharu community in Lakhimpur Kheri districts of Uttar Pradesh, Indian.


A simple dissolution test and standard was developed for turmeric capsules to replace the less discriminating disintegration test stated in the Supplement to Thai Herbal Pharmacopoeia 2004. A previous investigation showed that the rotating device basket was not effective enough for stirring the liquid at the bottom of the vessel. A coning effect due to dense materials in the formulation was observed thus causing variability in the results. Therefore the further study was performed for establishing the standards with paddle instead in 2008. Consequently, the proposed test used the paddle at 75 rpm and dissolution medium composed of 0.05 M hydrochloric acid and sodium lauryl sulfate at 0.6% w/v. The acceptable Q-value was proposed as 75 per cent in 60 minutes.


Introduction With the end of 1[9.sup.th] century and early 20th century the media instead of being a means for advancing freedom and democracy started flattering more and more a way of making capital and propaganda for the new and powerful classes. India is not exception for this reality, where we observe an oligopolistic supremacy over the terms of public debate and discourse by a few multi-sector conglomerates and power-wielding entities (Malik, 2012:1). The worst impacts of these changes are commercialization and urbanisation of mass media and the exclusion of the voices of rural subaltern groups. India has arrived at a historic fork towards tackling the regional disparities between urban and rural. In spite of recent economic growth, poverty levels have not been reduced at the same pace. With 33 per cent of the world's poor people, 41.6 per cent of India's population lives on less than US$1.25 a day. Poor rural people continue to live with inadequate physical and social infrastructure, poor access to services, and a highly stratified and hierarchical social structure, characterized by inequalities in assets, status and power. Agricultural wage earners, marginal farmers and casual workers constitute the bulk of subaltern rural people accounts for nearly 650 million. Majority of them belongs to scheduled caste scheduled tribe and nomadic communities (IFAD, 2011; World Bank, 2011). Although after media liberalization India saw a veritable media explosion but it has very little direct impact on the projection of the issues that has a bearing on the poor and excluded sections of the rural society (see Agrawal, 2006; Sainth, 2012; Satish, 2012). That broaches a question: Are India's rural issues, crises and anxieties getting the media spotlight they deserve? According to the recent study conducted by Mudgal Vipul (2011, pp. 92-97) of Delhi-based Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), mainstream Indian newspapers devote only two 02% of its space to stories about rural India. The aspiration level of people living in small villages is rising as much as in urban India and going pretty much unreported and undervalued. They are forced to continue only as consumers of media that is produced for them by outsiders. One reason for their lack of interest could be explained by the fact that their consumers, advertisers and journalists, mostly come from urban backgrounds (Choudhury, 2013). Isolated and marginalized in particularly rural-remote groups face acute constraints with regard to access to information and communication, and thus have limited participation and voice in the public sphere and in decision-making process affecting their lives and thus risk further marginalization, politically, socially and economically (Balit, 2004; Miller, 1992; Melkote, 2001). In this context, the ability of "common" people even from the remote rural part to create and distribute their "own" content has amplified exponentially mainly through the emergence of community media channels such as community radio, video and newspaper. Earlier the means and sources of media content production and distribution were not in the hands of poor masses (see Atton, 2002; Carpentier et al., 2003; Fraser and Estrada, 2001). It has been observed that community radio stations are more popular in Indian context than the other community media channels. The rational for community radio in India is strong on legal-constitutional, social, cultural and development grounds. India is multi-linguistic, multicultural, and multi-religious with more than 4000 castes, tribes and nomadic communities. If one considers village as a community then there more than 0. 5 million villages and hence communities (Patil, 2010, p. 1). The history of community radio in India is the account of struggle by human right activists, grass roots level community based organizations and communication media scholars with the help of few international development agencies like UNESCO, World Bank and AMARC. …


Compares the performance of hierarchical and single-level controllers in a grasping context, and concludes that for rapid, planar grasping motions of heavy objects the performance of a hierarchical control structure is superior to that of the two single-level controllers tested. Although the theory discussed applies to grasping problems of arbitrary complexity, the focus is on planar, two-fingered grasping for the sake of clarity and to simplify implementation and experimental testing of the proposed control algorithms. The control algorithms have been implemented on a multifingered hand.<<ETX>>


The area of Chajnantor, at more than 5000 m altitude in northern Chile, offers unique atmospheric and operational conditions which arguably make it the best site in the world for millimeter, submillimeter, and mid-infrared observatories. Long-term monitoring of the precipitable water vapor (PWV) column on the Chajnantor plateau has shown its extreme dryness with annual median values of 1.1 mm. Simultaneous measurements of PWV on the Chajnantor plateau (5050 m) and on Cerro Chajnantor (5612 m) show that the latter is around 36% lower under normal atmospheric conditions and up to 80% lower than the plateau in the presence of temperature inversion layers. Recently, the Government of Chile has consolidated the creation of the Parque Astronómico de Atacama (Atacama Astronomical Park), an initiative of the Chilean Commission for Science and Technology (CONICYT). This new park offers an opportunity for national and international projects to settle within its boundaries, gain access to an extremely dry site that is suitable for observations over a broad spectral range, especially in the millimeter to mid-infrared wavelengths, and benefit from operational and logistical support within a secure legal framework.


It is estimated that approximately 1% of babies born per year result from in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer, and other assisted reproductive technologies. In humans, the exact mechanisms that lead to embryonic attachment to the endometrial epithelium and invasion into the endometrial stroma have not been fully characterized. The aim of the study is to estimate serum total adenosine deaminase and isoenzymes ADA1, ADA2, as well as MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-13 and MIP-1a as parameters for pregnancy following IVF-ET. The study group comprised seventeen women who conceived (Group A) and nineteen women aged 21–42 years who did not conceive (Group B) after IVF-ET. Blood samples were collected between 09.00 and 10.00 a.m. during IVF-ET treatment at two different periods. The first blood sample was collected before ET and the second sample 14 days after ET. All serum samples were assayed for the MMP-2, MMP-3 MMP-13 and MIP-1a concentrations with ELISA assay. Serum tADA activity was measured by a spectrophotometer using adenosine as the substrate (Method by Giusti). According to our results it was demonstrated that women who successfully conceived after IVF-ET showed significantly lower serum concentrations of ADA1, MMP-2, MMP-3 and higher serum concentration of MMP-13 at 14 days following ET. In conclusion, ADA1 may play a protective role at the hemochorial interface. Thus, our results suggest that ADA1 may have a modulatory role in the implantation and duration of the pregnancy. In women with successful or unsuccessful pregnancy compared with normal women the levels of ADA and MMPs may be affected by the exogenous hormone therapy according to the protocol of ovarian stimulation during IVF-ET.


Limb motions normally involve more than one degree of freedom combined in a coordinated manner. Although prosthetic hardware today could be combined for a highly motorized limb replacement, the control options available to amputees are so limited that this approach is rarely used. In this work, we introduce a classification strategy for the real-time simultaneous prediction of the individual movements present in natural motions. The real-time evaluation of this strategy based on a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) with variable threshold outputs resulted in high motion completion rates. Moreover, the MLP alone showed higher offline accuracy than previously reported. This classifier was developed and evaluated in BioPatRec, an open source framework for advanced prosthetic control strategies based in pattern recognition algorithms. The source code and the data obtained in this study are freely available to be used for further algorithms development and benchmarking.


A 2-year-old, neutered, male golden retriever was referred to the Ontario Veterinary College, with a 6-week history of hind limb weakness and back pain. Magnetic resonance imaging of the lumbar vertebral column, and histopathology and immunohistochemistry following euthanasia identified an uncommon solitary T-cell lymphoma in the paralumbar area.


In this work, bispectral and cross-bispectral analysis was applied to LFP and electromyographic (EMG) signals recorded in a patient with essential tremor, implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) with DBS electrodes. Because the cross-bispectrum has sometimes a not plain interpretation, simulations were conducted to better understand the reliability of the estimation and to obtain a more detailed result interpretation. Both STN LFPs and the EMG had a predominant and highly coherent peak at 5Hz and a smaller peak at 10Hz. In addition, a high-beta activity (25–35 Hz) was detected in the STN. Whereas bispectral analysis on STN LFPs disclosed that STN rhythms are independent, cross-bispectral analysis disclosed a significant non-linear synchronizations between LFPs and EMG, suggesting that the 5Hz subthalamic rhythm and the 5Hz muscular rhythm were non-linearly interacting and that this interaction produced at least part of the 10Hz oscillation in the EMG. The results of this work suggest that non-linear synchronizations between subcortical structures and peripheral muscles were found to have a role in the pathophysiology of tremor.


Current deep learning based video classification architectures are typically trained end-to-end on large volumes of data and require extensive computational resources. This paper aims to exploit audio-visual information in video classification with a 1 frame per second sampling rate. We propose Temporal Bilinear Encoding Networks (TBEN) for encoding both audio and visual long range temporal information using bilinear pooling and demonstrate bilinear pooling is better than average pooling on the temporal dimension for videos with low sampling rate. We also embed the label hierarchy in TBEN to further improve the robustness of the classifier. Experiments on the FGA240 fine-grained classification dataset using TBEN achieve a new state-of-the-art (hit@1=47.95%). We also exploit the possibility of incorporating TBEN with multiple decoupled modalities like visual semantic and motion features: experiments on UCF101 sampled at 1 FPS achieve close to state-of-the-art accuracy (hit@1=91.03%) while requiring significantly less computational resources than competing approaches for both training and prediction.


The authors present the results of the study of concrete core samples extracted from the concrete coating of the airfield that was exposed to alkaline corrosion. It is shown that by the nature of the volumetric deformation kinetics, concrete samples can be classified into three groups: samples mainly subjected to swelling; samples mainly subjected to shrinkage; samples that have a marked technogenic metasomatosis. The experimetal investigation results have confirmed the theoretical conclusions drawn on the base of the technogenic metasomatosis model. There have been revealed the facts of latent technogenic metasomatosis, confirming its prevalence in concrete products. The study of volumetric deformation of samples during their exposure to various media provides additional information for assessing the material`s durability: the ascertained deformation of the samples is the evidence of the exchange processes that will reduce the operation properties of the material with an intensity increasing over time.


Balmy Palm Springs, California served as the backdrop for the 2004 Annual Meeting. Hosted by the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and chaired by Tom Jordan, Tom Henyey, and John McRaney, the meeting was held at the Riviera Resort and Racquet Club from 13-16 April 2004. A total of 340 people registered for the meeting from all around the world. Forty-nine students presented their research results at the meeting.

The conference began with an icebreaker reception around the main pool of the Riviera Resort and Racquet Club the evening of 13 April. The gala event was underwritten in part by SCEC, Kinemetrics, Inc., Digital Technology Associates, Inc., and Pacific Gas & Electric. More than 200 meeting attendees enjoyed the Mexican-influenced fresh fare and warm winds.

A total of 277 presentations (150 papers and 127 posters) was made at the technical sessions (14-16 April). Topics ranged over the broad spectrum of the Earth sciences. Special sessions included Plate Boundary Deformation Worldwide; San Andreas Fault System: Past, Present, and Future; 10 Years after Northridge: A Retrospective and Call to Action; Rupture Dynamics and Strong Motion; PSHA at Low Probabilities, the Ergodic Assumption, Precarious Rocks, and Shattered Rocks; Toward Physics-based Earthquake Rupture Models; and EarthScope. Details of the technical program and a searchable database of abstracts are available at http://www.scec.org/ssa2004/meeting.html.

At the Annual SSA Luncheon on Thursday, 15 April, the 2004 Medal of the Seismological Society of America was awarded to Dr. Raul Madariaga of ??cole Normale Sup??rieure, Paris, France, with the citation by Ralph Archuleta. Dr. John Ebel was recognized for his contribution to SSA by nurturing the Seismological Research Letters publication and fostering its development into the well respected journal it is today. Dr. Brian Tucker, president of GeoHazards International, gave the president's invited address. SSA president Dr. Stephen Malone ???


Introduction Granulocytic sarcomas (GSs), or extramedullary collections of immature leukemic cells, are observed in only 3-7% of myeloid leukemias. The t(8;21) occurs in about 7% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and in about 18% of leukemias classified as M2. This translocation seems to have a higher association with GS. GSs most frequently arise adjacent to bony or neural structures and rarely involve more than 2 sites. Though patients with t(8;21) generally have a more favorable prognosis, the presence of these sarcomas makes their course less favorable. We report a case of a woman with AML M2 who presented with 5 sites of extramedullary involvement, including pleural fluid involvement, which is exceedingly rare. Case Report A 24-year-old female presented with weakness and shortness of breath of 1 month's duration. She was initially evaluated and treated for an upper respiratory tract infection. Her symptoms persisted. Further work-up at a local hospital revealed the presence of circulating blasts on peripheral blood smear (PBS). Physical exam was positive for a left eye ptosis and bruising present on extremities. Labs at that time showed a WBC count of 22,500, hemoglobin of 7.0, and platelet count of 42,000 with 58% blasts seen on the PBS. The patient was transferred to our tertiary care center where a bone marrow biopsy and aspirate were done. There was 100% cellularity with blast forms comprising > 80% of those cells. Findings were morphologically consistent with AML M2. Cytogenetic analysis showed a 46,XX,t(8;21)(q22;q22). A CT scan of the chest and abdomen were done, which showed a paratracheal mass, an anterior mediastinal mass, a perinephric soft tissue density, as well as the development of a new pleural effusion. A superior extraconal mass was found in the left orbit on MRI. The pleural effusion was evaluated by thoracentesis and positive for malignant cells by cytology. FISH analysis was performed on those cells and confirmed the presence of the t(8;21). CSF was negative for the presence of malignant cells. The patient received chemotherapy with cytarabine and an anthracycline together for induction with a dose of prophylactic intrathecal methotrexate at the time of diagnostic lumbar puncture. Following induction therapy repeat scans have shown a resolution of the pleural effusion and improvement in the size of the other GSs. Conclusion GSs, though uncommon, are more frequently seen with t(8;21) in AML and can present with multiple sites of extramedullary involvement, including the pleural space. Proper identification of these lesions is important for therapeutic and prognostic implications.


Although he is referring to a physical configuration of the city (Manhattan seen from the 11 Qth floor of the World Trade Centre) the impossibility of emergence is analogue to the figure-ground portrayal of the urban fabric. While figure-ground organises the configuration of spaces or solids," it does not' refer to the spatial and temporal context of streets and buildings. In order to understand the complex texture of activities generated between solids and voids we need to shift from the perception of them as objects to the spatial and temporal examination of figure-ground as an index of infinite interrelations. This shifting from superficies to surfaces challenges conventional typological representations where it would be impossible either to represent or understand most of the transformations that define the city as an event.


Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is a recently discovered member of the gp130 cytokine family, which includes IL-6, IL-11, leukemia inhibitory factor, ciliary neurotrophic factor, and oncostatin M. Recent evidence suggests that, like other members of this family, CT-1 may possess anti-inflammatory properties. We hypothesized that in vivo CT-1 administration would attenuate endotoxin (ETX)-induced acute lung injury. We studied the effects of CT-1 (100 microgram/kg ip, 10 min prior to ETX) in a rat model of ETX-induced acute lung injury (Salmonella typhimurium lipopolysaccharide, 20 mg/kg ip). Six hours after ETX, lungs were harvested for determination of neutrophil accumulation (myeloperoxidase, MPO, assay) and lung edema (wet-to-dry weight ratio). Mechanisms of pulmonary vasorelaxation were examined in isolated pulmonary artery rings at 6 h by interrogating endothelium-dependent (response to acetylcholine) and endothelium-independent (response to sodium nitroprusside) relaxation following alpha-adrenergic (phenylephrine)-stimulated preconstriction. CT-1 abrogated the endotoxin-induced lung neutrophil accumulation: 2.3 +/- 0.2 units MPO/g wet lung (gwl) vs 6. 3 +/- 0.3 units MPO/gwl in the ETX group (P < 0.05 vs ETX, P > 0.05 vs control). Similarly, CT-1 prevented ETX-induced lung edema: wet-to-dry-weight ratio, 4.473 +/- 0.039 vs 4.747 +/- 0.039 in the ETX group (P < 0.05 vs ETX, P > 0.05 vs control). Endotoxin caused significant impairment of both endothelium-dependent and -independent pulmonary vasorelaxation, and CT-1 attenuated this injury. Thus, cardiotrophin-1 possesses significant anti-inflammatory properties in a model of endotoxin-induced acute lung injury.


Bacillus thuringiensis, a sporeforming insect pathogen, is being studied extensively in various laboratories throughout the world for its potentiality as an effective biological control agent against pest insects. Most laboratories either obtain preparations of B. thuringiensis spores (and its associated protein crystal) from commerical sources, or produce their own by the tedious and time-consuming method of growth and sporulation on agar media. M. Lemoigne et al. (Entomophaga 1:19, 1956), at L'Institut Pasteur, reported a procedure for spore and crystal production in a liquid medium. S. Singer et al. (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 139:16, 1966) more recently published their method of growth and sporulation of B. thuringiensis in liquid media, whereby, after the growth phase was completed, the medium was replaced with water and the cells were allowed to sporulate endotrophically. The present report describes a procedure used at this laboratory whereby small batches of clean spores and crystals can easily and quickly be produced in one liquid medium supporting growth, sporulation, and lysis of the sporangium within a 40-hr incubation period. B. thuringiensis var. thuringiensis Berliner, serotype I (H. DeBarjac, and A. Bonnefoi, Compt. Rend. 264:1811, 1967), was used in this study. A Trypticase Soy Agar (BBL) slant, reinforced with G medium minerals of H. 0. Halvorson (J. Appl. Bacteriol. 20:305, 1957), was inoculated and incubated at 30 C for 20 hr. From this slant, the inoculum was prepared in the following manner. A loopful of the slant growth was inoculated in 100 ml of Trypticase Soy Broth (BBL) contained in a 250-ml autoclavable plastic centrifuge bottle and was incubated at 30 C for 20 hr. The cells were harvested by centrifugation at 5 C and suspended in 100 ml of sterile distilled water. The supernatant fluid was discarded and the cell suspension was used as the inoculum. A 7.5-liter New Brunswick fermentor jar containing 5.9 liters of growth and sporulation medium was inoculated with the 100-ml cell suspension. The growth and sporulation medium was composed of (w/v concentrations based on 6-liter final volume): FeSO4*7H20, 0.000075%; CuS045H20, 0.00075%; ZnSO4g7H20, 0.00075%; MnSO47H20, 0.005%; MgSO4 (anhydrous), 0.003%; CaCl2 2H20, 0.0018%; (NH4)2S04, 0.30%; glucose, 0.2%; Phytone (BBL), 0.2%; buffered with 0.1 M K2HP04. Under present experimental conditions, the glucose was sterilized in the medium in the presence of the 0.1 M K2HP04. The medium was sterilized by autoclaving. The CaCl22H20 was autoclaved separately and added after the medium cooled to room temperature. ThepH of the medium after inoculation (100 ml) was 8.05. The fermentor jar was incubated in a New Brunswick FS-307 Fermentor Drive assembly at 30 C, aerated at a rate of 1,000 cc of sterile air per min, and agitated by a drive shaft with two impellers at 150 rev/min. The foam was controlled by an automated foam sensor system adding, dropwise on demand, a 2% (v/v) sterile suspension of Dow Corning Antifoam C Emulsion. Foam (1.5 to 2 inches) was allowed to accumulate on the surface of the medium before activation of the antifoam system. From an initial cell concentration of 2 x 105 cells per ml, approximately 2 x 108 heat-resistant spores per ml were produced with a spore-tocrystal ratio of approximately 1.0. The non-heatshocked viable spore count was 2 x 107 spores per ml, and visual observations indicated 100% sporulation and liberation of the spores and crystals from the sporangia. During the fermentation, the pH dropped from an initial 8.05 to 7.5 in the first 10 hr of incubation, and the cell protoplasm was homogeneous when observed under phase microscopy. However, by the 11th hr, the pH began to rise and granulation associated with sporulating cells (T. Hashimoto, S. H. Black, and P. Gerhardt, Can. J. Microbiol. 6:203, 1960) was observed in the cell protoplasm. Phase-dark spores were present in the sporangia by the 14th hr and were refractile by the 16th hr of incubation. As the refractile spores were formed, the initial stages of the development of the protein crystals


Abstract The present work reports the main results obtained from recent seafloor-mapping activities carried out offshore from south-western Albania. The area explored consists of two distinctive physiographic units: the Vlora Gulf (which is bounded to the west by the Karaburun Peninsula) and the upper continental slope offshore from the western side of the Karaburun Peninsula. Along these areas, 500 km2 of multibeam echo–sounder coverage, about 2500 km of chirp-sonar data, and 200 km2 of side-scan sonar mosaic (100–500 kHz) were acquired. This new acoustic data set was collected by two different oceanographic expeditions, which were carried out in the framework of the Centro Internazionale di Scienze del Mare (CISM) project (supported by Interreg III Italia–Albania), which focused on studying, through a multidisciplinary approach, the geological setting and the ecosystem conditions of a poorly investigated area of the Adriatic Sea, such as the Vlora Gulf. The investigated area incorporates water depths measurements from 5 m down to 57 m, whereas the offshore margin of the Karaburun Peninsula has been investigated down to 900 m water depth. The acquired high-resolution multibeam bathymetry, combined with the described chirp-sonar echo-types, documents how the recent evolution of the Vlora Gulf is strictly dependent on complex, sedimentary dynamics established in this area. Here, the Vjose River is the dominant source of sediment for the continental shelf. We provided evidences that the (Vjose River) sediment distribution is under the control of a complex, local circulation pattern that is defined by the peculiar regional shape of the gulf which is tectonically controlled. The tectonic control on the present-day, sedimentary processes is also evident offshore from the Karaburun Peninsula, along the upper slope, where important resedimentation processes have been recognized and are related to the recent geodynamic evolution of the margin.


Cloud computing gives an adaptable and helpful path for information sharing, which brings different advantages for both the general public and people. However, there exists a characteristic protection for clients to straightforwardly outsource the common information to the cloud server since the information regularly contain important data. Consequently, it is important to put cryptographically upgraded get to control on the common information. Personality based encryption is a promising crypto graphical primitive to assemble a reasonable information sharing framework. Be that as it may, get to control isn't static. That is, the point at which some client's approval is terminated, there ought to be an instrument that can expel him/her from the framework. Thus, the denied client can't get to both the beforehand and in this manner shared information. To this end, we propose a thought called revocable-capacity personality based encryption (RS-IBE), which can give the forward/in reverse security of Cipher Text by presenting the functionalities of client renouncement and Cipher Text refresh at the same time. Besides, we display a solid development of RS-IBE, and demonstrate its security in the characterized security show. The execution examinations show that the proposed RS-IBE plot has focal points as far as usefulness and productivity, and in this manner is plausible for a functional and practical.


ADVANCES in biochemistry are helping scientists identify pregnant women who are at high risk for carrying a fetus with Down's syndrome. Scientists now recognize three substances in the mother's serum—human chorionic gonadotropin, unconjugated estriol, and α-fetoprotein (AFP)—the concentrations of which, when coupled with the woman's age-associated risk, allow a more accurate calculation of the likelihood that she is carrying an affected fetus. The prenatal blood test, administered during the second trimester and followed by amniocentesis and chromosome analysis on those mothers who are at risk, detects about 67% of all affected fetuses in the general pregnant population—a twofold to threefold improvement from the standard screening method that employs only AFP serum levels and age-associated risk. Identifying Younger Patients The new method helps to identify younger patients who are at high risk and should have amniocentesis performed but may not be offered the procedure under standard screening methods. It can also


Radome for civil aircraft shall be designed to meet requirements in CCAR25.613 " Material Strength Properties and Design Values".Through the study to the past experiences,this paper designs the test items,test standards,test environments,as well as test specimen contents and test data treatment methods for material allowables of civil aircraft radomes.Comparison between the data obtained through the adopted ASTM methods in this paper and the results from the conventional GB standards show that the material allowable data in this paper has low coefficients of variation and higher value for allowable data.The methods thus avoided the low property value by the GB standards for glass fiber reinforces composite material.The test result has been proved successful by radome design and radome static tests of ARJ21 civil aircraft.


In this paper we study instance-level update in DL-LiteA , a well-known description logic that influenced the OWL 2 QL standard. Instance-level update regards insertions and deletions in the ABox of an ontology. In particular we focus on formula-based approaches to instance-level update. We show that DL-LiteA , which is well-known for enjoying first-order rewritability of query answering, enjoys a first-order rewritability property also for instance-level update. That is, every update can be reformulated into a set of insertion and deletion instructions computable through a non-recursive Datalog program with negation. Such a program is readily translatable into a first-order query over the ABox considered as a database, and hence into SQL. By exploiting this result, we implement an update component for DL-LiteA-based systems and perform some experiments showing that the approach works in practice.