Chronic wounds (CW) have numerous entry ways for pathogen invasion and prosperity, damaging host tissue and hindering tissue remodelling. Essential oils (EOs) exert quick and efficient antimicrobial (AM) action, unlikely to induce bacterial resistance. Cajeput oil (CJO) has strong AM properties, namely against Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as previously established by the team (DOI: 10.3390/antibiotics9060314). Chitosan (CS) is a natural and biodegradable cationic polysaccharide, widely known for its AM features. CS (100-300 kDa; DA of 9.6±1.4%) and PVA (72 kDa, 88% hydrolyzed) films (ratio 30/70; 9%wt) were prepared by solvent casting and phase inversion method (similarly as in DOI: 10.1002/app.48626). CJO was added to CS solution before blending it with PVA, with loading amount of 1 and 10 wt% in relation to total polymeric mass. Loaded films with 0.89 ± 0.05 and 1.14 ± 0.10 mm in thickness were obtained, respectively, 23 and 57% thicker than the unloaded films. Degree of swelling (%) and porosity also increased. Films chemical composition and thermal stability reinforce the achievement of loaded blended films. AM activity was evaluated through the agar diffusion assay and time kill kinetics, with the biomaterials incubated with S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. Thin inhibitory zones were observed with films placed in direct contact each of the bacterium. CS films alone showed an outstanding AM activity against both bacteria, with 1h being sufficient to eradicate all P. aeruginosa colony traces. Still, CS/PVA blended films carrying 1/10% CJO, having improved mechanical properties than CS films alone, resulted in 2/3 (S. aureus) or 3/4 (P. aeruginosa) log reduction in 24h of contact. This study is a first proof of concept that CJO can be dispersed into CS/PVA films and show bactericidal effects, notably when combined with CS, and particularly against P. aeruginosa, this way opening new avenues for CW therapeutics.


Rectangular laminar microchannel heat sinks have been used for cooling banks of integrated circuits, semiconductor laser diodes, radar components and optical devices all of which may generate high heat flux. The effect of varying the fin width to channel width ratio and the channel aspect ratio was investigated for silicon heat sinks and the design which provided the minimum base temperature for a given heat transfer rate and given pumping power was recommended. The recommended design had fin width to channel width ratios of 1.3 and 2.4 and channel aspect ratios of 21.2 and 32.8 for water and Fluorinert (FC-5312) coolants respectively. The constant properties, fully developed assumptions were evaluated and were shown to be acceptable for the recommended geometry.


The many papers by Soviet authors have been translated into English by A. P. Kirillov, N. A. Nikiforova, E. A. Voronov, and others. Some of the papers were trans lated by the authors themselves. The discussion records have been prepared at the Institute for Theoretical Astronomy by V. K. Abalakin, N. A. Belyaev, A. P. Kirillov, V. A. Shor, E. A. Voronov, N. S. Yakhontova, and others. The three papers published in French have been carefully checked by B. Milet. The final editing has been done at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory, and we thank J. H. Clark, P. D. Gregory, J. E. Kervick, and G. Warren for retyping much of the material. Our special thanks are due to the D. Reidel Publishing Company for the excellent care they have taken in printing these proceedings of IAU Symposium No. 45. G. A. CHEBOT AREV E. I. KAZIMIRCHAK-POLONSKA Y A B. G. MARSDEN INTRODUCTION The idea to organize a Symposium on 'The Motion, Evolution of Orbits, and Origin of Comets' dates back to the IAU thirteenth General Assembly, held in 1967 in Prague. Owing to the impossibility of completing during the General Assembly the discussion on the problem of orbital evolution of comets Professor G. A. Chebotarev, then the newly elected President of IAU Commission 20, initiated the organization of the international symposium in Leningrad where the full scope of cometary problems might be considered from the viewpoint of celestial mechanics."


Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) is known to play an important role in cerebral ischemia through apoptosis and neuron regulation. Histone demethylase JMJD3, specifically removing the methylation of H3K27me3, is highlighted to attenuate cerebral ischemic injury. However, few studies have explored the interaction between ATF4 and JMJD3 in this disease. Thus, we intended to explore the effect of ATF4 on cerebral ischemia. We first constructed a mouse model of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and cultured PC12 cells. Specifically, the regulatory function of ATF4 and demethylase JMJD3 on the ischemic injury was explored via using ectopic expression and depletion by determination of modified neurologic severity score, blood–brain barrier, brain water content, apoptosis, infarct size, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Moreover, the interaction among ATF4, JUNB, JMJD3, and ETS1 was assessed by western blot analysis, immunofluorescence, immunoprecipitation, and dual‐luciferase reporter gene assay. These data showed that ATF4 and JMJD3 were upregulated in the MCAO model and PC12 cells. In addition, ectopic expression of ATF4 aggravated the ischemic injury through demethylation of JMJD3. Meanwhile, JMJD3 upregulated JUNB expression by inhibiting H3K21me2/3 enrichment and promoted ETS1 expression as well. Altogether, ATF4 could exacerbate cerebral ischemic injury through JMJD3‐dependent upregulation of JUNB/ETS1 expression, suggesting a potential theoretical basis of treatment for cerebral ischemic injury.


This thesis takes a human values perspective on the concept of differentiation. The aim is to understand how the concept applies to experience creation in a software company, and how decisions about experiences can be made. The monograph suggests a values-in-experience differentiation concept, develops a decision-making framework and a method for introducing values into the strategic decision process. A software case-company is used to implement the tool and attest the values perspective for experience creation. The goal of a business strategy is to establish a unique position for the company's offerings in the minds of customers, while maintaining financial results. Historically, uniqueness was achieved by focusing on product and service features. The experience view, however, departs from the historical assumptions about the nature and sources of differentiation. This thesis examines both the assumptions and changes of differentiation by experience. The apparent complexity of experiences requires research approaches of a matching complexity that suits the understanding of the challenges that managers face over the course of the experience creation. The thesis suggests that values provide both a stable platform and a flexible environment to guide the strategy process. The research contrasts the human values perspective with the traditional concept of needs and rational view. It proposes that the stability and the universal nature of values seem to provide grounds for combating the risks in experimentation, formulation and re-configuration of a unique position of company's offerings.


A compact and robust, dual-crystal cross polarized wave generation setup combined with a hollow waveguide filter is implemented to deliver few-cycle, high-contrast laser pulses sourced from a commercial multipass Ti:Sa amplifier. The initial 25-fs pulses with a temporal contrast of 108 are shortened to 10 fs with an improved contrast of at least 10^10. The single nonlinear stage for spectral broadening and contrast enhancement of a commercial amplifier serves as an ideal injector for petawatt-class laser systems.


Multiple-Graphics Processing Units (Multi-GPUs) means using two or more display adapters in the same PC to speed up the graphics animation for gamers. In this paper, we provide a way of using multi-GPUs in image processing acceleration based on NVIDIA CUDA technique that makes the processing progress more flexible and controllable. For demonstration we deal with canny edge detection using GTX295, which with the power of two GeForce GTX 200 GPUs on a single card, we show how to use multi-GPUs when accelerating image processing. Also, we did some optimization work. We found out that in image processing which contains mass data and complex algorithm, by using multi-GPUs the processing time almost can be reduced to half; however in the case have less data and simple algorithm, the advantage of multi-GPUs is not obvious even takes more time.


Background: Treatment outcome in Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease is poor, with cure rates of 50-70%. To understand this, we retrospectively assessed the pharmacokinetics and MICs of key drugs in MAC disease treatment. Methods: Pharmacokinetic and drug susceptibility data of all patients admitted at National Jewish Health, Denver, USA, in the January 2006-June 2010 period was retrieved from databases. Pharmacokinetic measurements were done by high performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography. Isolates were identified as MAC by AccuProbe assays. MICs were determined by the BacTec460 macrodilution method; synergy between rifampicin and ethambutol was assessed. Results: Pharmacokinetic data, median MICs and pharmacodynamic calculations are given in Table 1. Simultaneous use of rifampicin significantly lowered serum concentrations of macrolides (30-60%) and moxifloxacin (10-15%). Conclusions: Serum rifampicin, ethambutol and moxifloxacin concentrations attain effective levels in a minority of patients; rifampicin use exerts detrimental effects on pharmacokinetics of macrolides and moxifloxacin. This may partly explain the poor outcomes of MAC disease treatment.


Continuous Authentication (CA) has been proposed as a potential solution to counter complex cybersecurity attacks that exploit conventional static authentication mechanisms that authenticate users only at an ingress point. However, widely researched human user characteristics-based CA mechanisms cannot be extended to continuously authenticate Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The challenges are exacerbated with the increased adoption of device-to-device (d2d) communication in critical infrastructures. Existing d2d authentication protocols proposed in the literature are either prone to subversion or are computationally infeasible to be deployed on constrained IoT devices. In view of these challenges, we propose a novel, lightweight and secure CA protocol that leverages communication channel properties and a tunable mathematical function to generate dynamically changing session keys. Our preliminary informal protocol analysis suggests that the proposed protocol is resistant to known attack vectors and thus has strong potential for deployment in securing critical and resource-constrained d2d communication.


The heteropatriarchal ideology undergirding sport has been recognized as a root cause of gender biases across multiple domains. Gender bias persists, although there is a growing number of female sport psychology practitioners entering the field. As such, continued exploration of the impact gender biases and stereotypes has on women's career experiences remains necessary. Utilizing a feminist standpoint framework, the purpose of this research was to explore the career experiences of female sport psychology practitioners, centering the role of sexism. Seventeen cisgender female sport psychology practitioners participated in semistructured interviews from May 2021 to July 2021. Participants' ages ranged from 24 to 46 years, with a mean age of 33.2 years, and years of applied experience ranged from 2 to 21 years, with a mean of 7.4 years. Reflective thematic analysis revealed five themes: (a) perceived lack of credibility, (b) compensation disparities, (c) sexist attitudes, (d) pregnancy and parenthood, and (e) advocating for self and others. Participants' experiences suggest female sport psychology practitioners are confronted with blatant sexism in the workplace that poses professional challenges and career obstacles they have resiliently navigated. This study contributes to the growing body of literature pertaining to women in sport by purposefully exploring the juncture of gender with other identity factors (e.g., age, sexual orientation, and credibility).


The atomic d shell is explored from the perspective of the quark model of the atom. In this scheme, all the states are generated by four statistically independent fictitious particles (the quarks), each with angular momentum 3/2, augmented by two parity labels. The detailed quark expansions are given for the two 2D terms of d3, and the results are compared to the classic analysis of Condon and Shortley (1935). Matrix elements of single-electron tensor operators and of the Coulomb interaction are calculated in the quark scheme, and the connection to the conventional approach is made. The diagonal sum method of Slater is applied to the quark states and extensions to many-electron operators are discussed. The correspondence between the quark model and the traditional method implies relations between various n-j symbols, and this is illustrated by two special cases.


A giant brownfield re-development project with long horizontal wells was initiated to arrest production decline mainly caused by a lack of pressure support and free gas influx from the large gas cap.
 Key value drivers for the project are developing an understanding of the layers with regards to gas breakthrough, and achieving capital efficiency through low-cost well delivery, better planning and technology applications.
 Firstly, the field has been segmented based on the analysis of multiple factors influencing the free gas production. It considers geological aspects such as the study of depositional environment and diagenesis, structural elements such as high permeability streaks and fractures, dynamic behaviors such as the water injection efficiency, gas cap expansion or coning.
 Secondly, numerical simulations were then run in order to rank the sectors based on the expected model performance, compare them with real data categorization, and test the effect of the new proposed development schemes such as water injection at gas-oil contact and long horizontal wells equipped with downhole control valves.
 It was found that each sector has a specific production mechanism and appropriate developments were recommended and then tested in the simulation. For instance, high permeability streaks play a significant role on the development of some sectors instigating a big difference of maturity between sub-layers, early water or gas breakthrough. Also, the inefficiency of water injection is one of the biggest issues of the field. Most of the water injectors are located too far from the oil producers, and have a low injectivity due to the often degraded facies in the aquifer because of diagenesis. This leads to a lack of pressure support that is counterbalanced by the gas injection, ending up with a lot of high GOR wells and a bad sweep from the top of the structure as the gas tends to by-pass the oil.
 Simulation work showed that several remaining zones are safe for immediate development and should be prioritized for development in the near future. On the other hand, some of the mature layers prone to gas and water breakthrough need a boost for development, such as water injection at gas-oil-contact, artificial lift, low pressure system, GOR relaxation. Tight and undeveloped reservoirs are improved by implementing long horizontal drains.


Generative object-centric scene representation learning is crucial for structural visual scene understanding. Built upon variational autoencoders (VAEs) [11], current ap-proaches infer a set of latent object representations to interpret a scene observation (e.g. an image) under the assumption that each part (e.g. a pixel) of a scene observation must be explained by one and only one object of the underlying scene. Despite the impressive performance these models achieved in unsupervised scene factorization and representation learning, we show empirically that they often produce duplicate scene object representations which directly harms the scene factorization performance. In this paper, we address the issue by introducing a differentiable prior that explicitly forces the inference to suppress duplicate latent object representations. The extension is evaluated by adding it to three different unsupervised scene factorization approaches. The results show that the models trained with the proposed method not only outperform the original models in scene factorization and have fewer duplicate representations, but also achieve better variational posterior approximations than the original models.


Abstract Microscopic fungi (micromycetes) play an important role in rock alteration, often leading to the formation of insoluble biogenic oxalates on their surface. Oxalate crystallization under the influence of fungus Aspergillus niger (one of the most active stone destructors) was studied in vitro conditions on following Mn,Ca-bearing minerals of manganese ores: todorokite (Na0.36,Ca0.09,K0.06,Sr0.03, Ba0.02)0.56(Mn5.53,Mg0.47)O12∙3–4H2O and kutnohorite (Ca0.77,Mn0.23)(Mn0.74,Fe0.14,Mg0.11)(CO3)2. The underlying minerals and the products of their alteration were investigated via powder and single-crystal X‑ray diffraction, optical microscopy, SEM and EDX methods. It was shown that more intense leaching of Ca-ions (compared to Mn-ions) from todorokite and kutnohorite leads to an earlier crystallization of calcium oxalates (predominantly whewellite) compared to manganese (lindbergite, falottaite). Crystallization of manganese oxalates on the surface of kutnohorite occurs in a more acidic (compared to todorokite) medium through the formation of mycogenic Mn,Ca-bearing oxides, which are close in composition and structure to todorokite. The possibility of structural evolution within the manganese oxalate crystalline phases caused by hydration and dehydration processes, which are responsible for changes in proportions of lindbergite and falottaite, derives from the similarities of falottaite and lindbergite crystal structures. The amorphization of falottaite in the temperature range of 70–80 °C suggests that formation of linbergite by falottaite dehydration occurs via amorphous precursor. The result can be used for developing efficient biotechnologies using fungi for industrial enrichment of poor manganese ores and environmental bioremediation.


The phenotypic diversity and productivity of a diverse alfalfa (M. sativa subspp.) panel of cultivars, landraces and wild relatives with putative drought tolerance were evaluated in two Mediterranean environments (central Chile and Southern Australia). In Chile, 70 accessions were evaluated in rainfed conditions and in Australia 30 accessions under rainfed and irrigated conditions, during three growing seasons. Large phenotypic variation was observed among and within subspecies for NDVI, stem length, intercepted PAR and forage yield. Principal component analysis indicated that the first two principal components (PC) accounted for 84.2% of total variance; fall dormancy, taxa, and breeding status were closely related to the agronomical performance of alfalfa accessions. Forage yield varied largely among accessions across years and locations. A linear relationship was found between annual forage yield and annual water added to the experiments (R2 = 0.60, p < 0.001). The GxE analysis for forage yield allowed the detection of the highest yielding accessions for each of the two mega-environments identified. The accessions CTA002 and CTA003 showed greater forage yield in both Chile and Australia environments. It is concluded that new breeding lines derived from crosses between cultivated alfalfa (M. sativa subsp. sativa) and wild relatives belonging to the primary (M. sativa subsp. falcata) and tertiary (M. arborea) gene pool, achieve outstanding agronomical performance in drought-prone environments.


The history of humanity is the history of migration. Migration in Turkey also has a long history, affecting the people who migrated and those who have stayed. Research on migration from Turkey frequently concentrates on the economic reasons that caused migration, while research on migrants in the receiving countries considers the social, cultural and religious "problems" that the migrants might have created in their new "homes." This article focuses on the effects of Assyrian migration from Turkey to Europe, and their return migration to their homelands in Turkey. The Assyrians, who belong to the OrthodoxChristian groups of the Middle East, today live in Mardin and Istanbul in addition to small populations in Antakya, Diyarbakır, and Şırnak in Turkey. The mass migration of non-Muslims from Turkey to Europe, the U.S., and Australia dates back to the 1900s. However, Assyrians had migrated from Turkey in various waves in 1942, 1955, 1974, and especially after the coup d'etat in 1980 for various social and political reasons. I conclude that the migration from Turkey, in return, created an upward mobility in education and politics in their homeland, which can be seen in the returnee Assyrians and their families in the past few years. After briefly considering the causes of Assyrian migration, I will particularly focus on the returnees in their traditional homeland in Turabdin (Mardin) in recent years, and examine the socio-psychological effects of migration and return migration. I will also consider the social, cultural, and political contexts which the Assyrians face upon their return. As such, the article will shed light on important aspects of the Assyrian migration and contribute to the studies on Assyrians, which are very much neglected in Turkey.


This study examined how altering text and graphics of a nutrition brochure could affect the ability to remember the content of the message. Two theoretical models were used to guide alterations: dual-coding theory and the communications model. Three brochure formats were tested: the original brochure containing abstract text and abstract graphics, a modified brochure with relatively concrete text and abstract graphics, and a relatively concrete text brochure with concrete graphics. Participants (N = 239 women) were divided into four age groups: 20-30, 40-50, 60-70 and over 70 years. Women were randomly assigned into each of the three experimental brochure formats or a control group. Participants completed recalled materials from the assigned brochures (the no treatment control group did not include a brochure) at two different sessions, 30 days apart. Data were content analyzed and results were compared using analysis of covariance to test differences by age and brochure types. Younger women (20-30 and 40-50 years) recalled more information than women over 60 years. More concrete nutrition education print materials enhanced recall of information presented immediately after reading the material; however, this effect was transient and lasted less than 30 days after a one-time reading. The implications of these data for communicating nutrition messages with print materials are discussed.


Abstract : We present results of experiments on very-high Mach number (> 100) shocks and very-high Mach number and Reynolds number (> 100, 106) turbulence. Such high Mach number hydrodynamics are initiated with a powerful laser pulse driver. We show that shocks created with a laser driver follow the Taylor-Sedov self-similar solution and scale via the Sachs scaling law just like shocks created by more traditional methods. In one experiment we examined laser- produced-shock solid-surface interactions and observed expected phenomena such as Marsh stems and triple points, and also measured a new phenomenon termed a blast wave decursor. In second experiment we found that shocks become unstable if they propagate through a gas which has a low adiabatic index and we measured the growth rate of the instability. In a third experiment we have shown that a high Mach number shock dramatically enhances the structure of a turbulent field through which it passes and that the shock is itself badly distorted. This result is unexpected since common wisdom has it that high Mach number shocks would self-heal as they pass through a turbulent field. Turbulence, Shock.


Human cognition is extended and enacted. Drawing the boundaries of cognition to include the resources and attributes of the body and materiality allows an examination of how these components interact with the brain as a system, especially over cultural and evolutionary spans of time. Literacy and numeracy provide examples of multigenerational, incremental change in both psychological functioning and material forms. Though we think materiality, its central role in human cognition is often unappreciated, for reasons that include conceptual distribution over multiple material forms, the unconscious transparency of cognitive activity in general, and the different temporalities of metaplastic change in neurons and cultural forms.


An effective heat transfer device such as heat pipe is used to reduce thermal stress and thermal gradients of inner material by transferring heat from one location to another with very large heat fluxes. Radiative transfer is important and complex at elevated temperature of the ceramic material. These temperatures in the two aeroheating regions and working fluid inside heat pipe are unknown and depend on the heat exchange process. The heating conditions for the internal and external surfaces of every aeroheating region can be quite different. In this paper, the control volume method was combined with the Monte Carlo method to calculate the coupled heat transfer in this kind of composite wall. The effects of aeroheating flux to the outer surface and the area of radiative cooling on the heat transfer were analyzed. The results show that the thermal environment of the outer surface and the area of radiating cooling are the key parameters for the heat transfer in the structure.


This research aims to develop the educational process and its applications by bridging theoretical knowledge and practice with action plans prepared and implemented based on collaborative teaching methods. In addition, this research aimed to emphasize that learning together based on solidarity by coming together in line with the knowledge and skills of students can be more effective. The research was conducted in action research design, one of the qualitative research designs. In this study conducted in the 2018-2019 school year with 4th grade students of a bus school in Sarıkaya district in Yozgat and their teachers, ten lessons were initially observed before implementation and an attempt was made to understand the current situation through semi-structured interviews and observations.Then, action plans were prepared and thirty-two hours of implementation was carried out. Descriptive analysis was used to analyse the data obtained within the scope of the study, and the data obtained before and after the application were interpreted by making comparisons. According to the findings obtained at the end of the study, it was found that the use of collaborative teaching techniques in social studies classes broke the competitive classroom climate, reduced some negative student behaviors, increased interest in the classroom, and contributed to the professional development of the classroom teacher.The research will shed light on future research by transferring the experiences gained through action research into the literature.


This paper considers the problem of scheduling a set of jobs on a single machine subject to stochastic breakdowns with incomplete information on the probability distributions involved in the decision process. We focus on the preemptive-repeat discipline, under which a machine breakdown leads to the loss of the work done on the job being processed. The breakdown process of the machine is allowed to depend on the job it is processing. The processing times required to complete the jobs, and the machine uptimes and downtimes, are random variables with incomplete information on their probability distributions characterized by unknown parameters. We establish the preemptive-repeat model with incomplete information and investigate its probabilistic characteristics. We show that optimal static policies can be obtained for a wide range of performance measures, which are determined by the prior distributions of the unknown parameters. We derive optimal dynamic policies via Gittins indices represented by the posterior distributions, which are updated adaptively based on processing histories. Under appropriate conditions, the optimal dynamic policies can be calculated by one-step reward rates in a closed form. As a by-product, we also show that our incomplete information model subsumes the traditional preemptive-repeat models with complete information as extreme cases.


Molds are tiny fungi whose spores float through the air. They like damp environments and need four things to grow: food, air, appropriate temperature and water. Molds can be found outdoors, in homes and in other buildings. Everyone breathes in mold spores in the air, but some people have an allergic reaction or asthma symptoms if exposed to too much of this fungus. If you are allergic to mold, your immune system is overly-sensitive to specific mold spores and treats them as an allergen. When you inhale the mold spores, your immune system triggers symptoms such as sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, runny nose, nasal congestion or itchy nose, mouth and lips. There are hundreds of types of molds, but not all of them are responsible for causing allergy symptoms. The most common allergy-causing molds include Alternaria, Aspergillus, Cladosporium and Penicillium. Many people allergic to mold develop symptoms outdoors on days when mold spores are in the air. You may also have symptoms indoors if mold is in your home, school or workplace (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Official website: http://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/allergies/mold-allergy.aspx)


Research on emotional competence development (ECD) in university students is scarce and shows mixed results. This research establishes what is possible to expect from an optional self-leadership program (SLP) consisting of eight workshops of three hours each, and with a student-centered and experiential approach. The research method was a mixed DEXPLIS design (n=126), which is quasi-experimental ex-post-facto for the first quantitative phase, with experimental and control groups where the CDE A35 self-informed instrument of Bisquerra and Pérez-Escoda was administered, and with participation in qualitative interviews in the second phase. The results indicate global progress in ECD, more evident in intrapersonal emotional competence (EC), although the SLP has not been effective in interpersonal EC. The students perceive their ECD as being very important. In the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), ECD is part of the acquisition of generic or transversal competences, which contribute to more effective and integral training, as well as to a better preparation for the world of work.


Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is increasingly an important food and income generating crop in eastern Africa. Unfortunately, its production is characterised by low yields largely caused by minimal utilisation of improved varieties and poor production techniques. In response to the rising rice demand, rain-fed lowland rice production in the country is associated with field expansion rather than intensification. Consequently, farmers are encroaching on vulnerable ecologies, especially the wetlands. The objective of this study was to identify farmer preferred and rain-fed lowland adapted improved rice varieties. Six varieties ( IR 64, Basmat 370, Supa, Wita 9, K85, Buyu ) were evaluated in four trials in the Kyoga plains agro-ecological zone in eastern Uganda. Varieties K85 and Wita 9 yielded 6133 and 5553 kg ha -1 , respectively; significantly higher (P<0.05) than Buyu, the local check. Basmat, IR64 and Supa yielded 4191, 3554 kg and 3608 kg ha -1 , respectively; though not significantly different (P>0.05) from the local check. Variety K85 was preferred by 59% of the farmers; and this was followed by Wita 9. Basimat 370 and Supa were selected by 50.4% as the worst performing varieties. Gender based preference for K85 was 54.5 and 36.4% for male and female, respectively. The criteria for variety preference were level of grain yield, short maturity time, plant height and resistance to lodging.


Citation Oberman, Lindsay M., Peter G. Enticott, Manuel F. Casanova, Alexander Rotenberg, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, and James T. McCracken. 2015. "Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) therapy for autism: an international consensus conference held in conjunction with the international meeting for autism research on May 13th and 14th, 2014." Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 8 (1): 1034. doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.01034. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2014.01034.


abstract:The article discusses the experience of being "carried by witches" narrated to me repeatedly during my field research in rural eastern Slovenia in 2000–2001. The experience, which was ascribed to the agency of witches who "enchanted" their victims and led them astray, typically occurred in the forest at night and implied disorientation, sometimes (but not necessarily) the vision of light(s) that people followed or were drawn to, and a shift of consciousness. The article argues that particular neurological conditions (out-of-body experiences, near-death experiences) may have provided a basis for the experience of at least some of the subjects in the memorates, and that various cultural concepts explaining the experience, and cultural patterns of structuring narratives about it, may have been adopted by people in order to cope with and make sense of what they experienced in a society that does not grant cultural value to altered states of consciousness.


The present paper is focused on a new possibility to resolve the problem of air purification in highly- urbanized areas through architectural and urban design. The aim of the research is to develop an architectural form as air-purifiers especially dedicated to Turkish cities, forms which will be integrate local tradition and high technology solutions. The forms are treated as events in the city to demonstrate the process of cleaning the air with use TiO2. The first part of the research includes studying local tradition in search of forms that will be understandable for the inhabitants and associated with Turkey. The second part of the research depicts possible usage of Titanium dioxide (TiO2) technology - nanoparticles of TiO2, as a building materials component. These components are the latest findings in the field of nanomaterials development, and their effectiveness due to the usage of the photo catalysis, which depends on eliminating various atmospheric pollutants and especially cleaning the atmosphere from nitrogen oxides. The result of this research is the design of energy efficient biomimetic architectural forms that can be a component of public space in every city in Turkey. In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the usage of titanium technology and local tradition, open a new way in architecture and structure designing in the urban public space. This is indispensable to improve citizens' health and to clear the atmosphere from nitrogen oxides or the volatile organic compounds and serves also as the basis to newly-built communities.


Filter paper discs saturated with dried blood can be used in the Immunotube solid-phase thyroxine radioimmunoassay. This assay utilizes polypropylene tubes to which antibody to thyroxine is covalently bound. The filter paper standards and samples are placed in the tubes, followed by an assay buffer that contains I125-labeled thyroxine and compounds to displace thyroxine from its binding proteins. After incubation, bound and free thyroxine are separated by aspirating or decanting the disc and buffer from the tube. The test can be used with 0.32 cm (1/8 inch) or 0.64 cm(1/4 inch) discs, and gives quantitative results that correlate well with those for serum samples. The intra-assay coefficient of variation is less than 10%. The assay may readily be mechanized with existing disc-punching equipment, and results of its use in mass screening programs are described.


Cell division cycle 37 (Cdc37) is an important partner for heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), assisting in molecular chaperone activities, particularly with regard to the regulation of protein kinases. Given its influence on cell growth pathways, Cdc37 has been discussed as a potential intermediate in carcinogenesis. However, to date, the potential functional roles and molecular mechanisms by which Cdc37 regulates cell survival in colorectal carcinoma (CRC) remain unclear. Here, we investigated the expression of Cdc37 and its clinical significance in CRC, and systematically explored the role and the underlying mechanism of Cdc37 in CRC cell survival both in vitro and in vivo. Our results showed that Cdc37 was remarkably up‐regulated in CRC, which facilitated cell survival mainly by promoting cell proliferation, G1‐S transition, and inhibiting cell apoptosis. Our data further indicated that Cdc37 increased the stability of cyclin‐dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) to activate the retinoblastoma 1 (RB1) signaling pathway, followed by increased expression of Bcl‐2 and Bcl‐xL, which ultimately promoted cell survival in CRC. Moreover, knockdown of CDK4 reversed the Cdc37‐mediated effect in promoting the progression of CRC. Our findings showed that Cdc37 played a critical role in promoting CRC cell survival by increasing CDK4 stability to activate the RB1 signaling pathway. Thereby, Cdc37 might serve as a potential therapeutic target in CRC patients.


Many governments seek to improve the health of their populations, and some seek to reduce health inequalities. Yet, there remains a large gap between their policy statements, practices, and outcomes. It prompts perennial questions in public health research: why is this gap so large, why does it endure, and what can be done to close it? In that context, this essay uses political science and policy studies' insights to explain the gap between rhetorical and substantive support for health improvement policies. On the one hand, the idea of 'prevention' has widespread appeal, particularly when governments think they can save money or reduce inequalities by preventing problems happening or worsening. While health protection inoculates populations against communicable diseases, health improvement strategies, including 'Health in All Policies' (HiAP), address non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Further, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic highlighted the unequal spread of ill health, showing that preventive health ideas should be at the core of government responses. On the other hand, there is: a large gap between rhetorical commitment and actual practices, a continuous HiAP implementation gap, and a tendency for COVID-19 health protection to overshadow health improvement. Explaining each problem clearly should help public health researchers support solutions that are tethered to political reality. To that end, we identify the factors that always undermine prevention policies and those specific to HiAP and COVID-19. We go beyond a tendency to relate politics primarily to leadership or treat low 'political will' as the main policymaking problem. Instead, we identify the systemic policymaking dynamics that apply to even the most sincere, energetic policymakers. Health improvement policy is typically undermined by a lack of: clarity about what prevention means in practice; congruity between the radical aims of prevention and established policymaking routines and practices; and, capacity to overcome obstacles to policy change.


In evolutionary theory, a key issue in selection theory is the expected time for a given amount of allele frequency change to occur. Crow and Kimura, by assuming weak selection, presented explicit results for several important cases of the directional selection and of the stochastic process. Those results played an important role in the theory of population genetics. In this paper, first we show that the weak selection assumption can be removed from most of the results of Crow and Kimura, and then we generalize those results to the most general selection model. Next, we estimate the errors of the deterministic formulae produced by proving that the deterministic formulae are limits of the corresponding stochastic formulae when the size of the population tends to infinity. Finally, we present a result which removes the restriction of Kimura's corresponding results for a favourite recessive selection model, and we also observe that the conclusion made by Kimura about the favourite dominant selection might not be correct.


Background and aims The analgesic efficacy of serratus anterior plane (SAP) block with catheter insertion was compared against thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA) and paravertebral analgesia (PA) in patients with multiple rib fractures (MRFs). Methods Data were collected from patient notes on 203 participants who received either SAP, TEA or PA between 2016 and 2018 at two major trauma centres in the UK. Primary outcomes were change in inspiratory volumes (mls) and pain scores, which were measured on a numerical rating scale of 0–3 (0=no pain, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3=severe). Paired t-test or ANOVA were conducted to compare pre/post block parameters and difference between groups. Institutional approval was obtained from both sites (GF0223/CARMS14833). Results There was a significant increase in inspiratory volumes and reduction in pain scores in all three groups (inspiratory volumes: increase of 789 mls, P<0.001, pain: reduction of -1.40, P<0.001). the magnitude of this change was the same for SAP, TEA and PA. table 1 and figures 1 and 2 show the breakdown of results overall and for each group. Abstract ESRA19-0333 Figure 1 Pre and post mean inspiratory volumes for each block type (error bars represent standard deviations) Abstract ESRA19-0333 Figure 2 Pre and post pain scores for each block type (error bars represent standart deviation) Abstract ESRA19-0333 Table 1 Pre, post inspiratory volume and pain scores as a function of block type Conclusions Our research represents the first study to date that compares the analgesic effectiveness of SAP block to traditional methods of PA and TEA in patients with MRFs. the results reveal that the SAP block is comparable to TEA and PA analgesia in terms of reduction in pain scores and improvement in inspiratory volume post insertion. This study gives additional support to the promising new role of SAP blocks in this cohort especially when PA or TEA may be contraindicated.


Purpose Patients often complain of change of defecation pattern and it is necessary to quantify their symptoms. To quantify symptoms, use of questionnaire is ideal, so we adopted a simple and easily writable visual analogue scale for irritable bowel syndrome questionnaire (VAS-IBS). The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Korean version of VAS-IBS questionnaire (Korean VAS-IBS) that can adequately reflect the defecation pattern. Methods This study translated English VAS-IBS into Korean using the forward-and-back translation method. Korean VAS-IBS was performed on 30 patients, who visited the outpatient clinic and had no possibility of special defecation pattern. Detailed past medical history and Bristol stool chart was added to the questionnaire. The survey was conducted twice, and the median interval between the 2 surveys was 10 days (8–11 days). Cronbach α for internal consistency reliability and intraclass correlation coefficients for test-retest reliability were analyzed. Results Korean VAS-IBS achieved acceptable homogeneity with a Cronbach α coefficient of 0.66–0.79 showing adequate internal consistency reliability. In addition, intraclass correlation coefficients showed significant test-retest reliability with 0.46–0.80 except for the question assessing the "perception of psychological wellbeing." Conclusion The Korean VAS-IBS is a valid and reliable questionnaire for the measurement of the symptoms of defecation pattern changes.


The perceived social value of higher education in the United States and the political will to fund it represents a fascinating paradox. This article explores one way that paradox is reconciled. I look closely at the emergence of a specific educational critique in the discourse of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. The critique encourages a neoliberal reinvention of higher education. It does so by constructing symbolic representations that align with preexisting public vocabularies and socially shared orientations reflected in images of the Deserving and Undeserving Poor. By illuminating the discursive techniques by which these representations construct an image of what I call the Undeserving Professor, the critique offers significant theoretical and political insights into an underexplored area of rhetoric, neoliberalism, and public affairs.


The p35 isoform of the human invariant chain (Iip35) contains an N-terminal RXR endoplasmic-reticulum (ER) retention signal that becomes nonfunctional only after assembly with MHC-class-II molecules. We have previously shown that the MHC-class-II β-chain cytoplasmic tail is crucial for the maturation of class-II/Iip35 complexes. In order to shed some light on the molecular determinants involved in shielding the RXR motif, we performed site-directed mutagenesis of the DRβ chain and Ii cytoplasmic domains. Chimeric β chains with irrelevant cytoplasmic tails allowed the efficient transport of Iip35 out of the ER in transiently transfected HEK 293T cells. An alanine scan of the cytoplasmic tail of HLA-DRβ confirmed that no specific motif is required to overcome ER retention. Surprisingly, a β chain with a three-amino-acid-long cytoplasmic tail (Tyr-Phe-Arg) was sufficient to overcome the Iip35 RXR motif. Moreover, replacement of residues F231 and R232 with alanines created a cytoplasmic tail (Tyr-Ala-Ala) that allowed ER egress. Given the limited length of this tail, steric hindrance would only be possible if the Ii ER retention motif was close to the membrane in the first place. However, this is not likely because an Ii molecule with an internal cytoplasmic deletion bringing the RXR motif closer to the membrane is not retained in the ER, even in the absence of class-II molecules. These results suggest that MHC-class-II molecules overcome ER retention and prevent COPI binding to the Iip35 RXR motif through a mechanism distinct from steric hindrance by its β chain.


4D CAD system is a simulation tool for visualizing the finished appearance of construction facility by construction schedule. That is, project manager can continuously simulate the changed appearance of the facility with 3D type by each construction time schedule. Recently, the application of 4D CAD system is being increased by linking with VC (Virtual Construction) functions. Virtual construction methodology enables to construct project facility from design phase to construction phase in 3D virtual environment. It is a technique that can solve problems of construction in virtual construction process before real construction. This study suggests some methodologies for using virtual construction technology in the design phase of construction project. And the methodologies are verified by a developed virtual construction system linked with 4D CAD tool.


Uncertainty is becoming more prevalent in the software systems we build, introducing challenges in the way we develop software, especially in software testing. In this work we explore how uncertainty affects software testing, how it is managed currently, and how it could be treated more effectively.


Intra-uterine growth retardation (IUGR) represents one of the major problems in perinatal medicine. IUGR is one of main causes of perinatal mortality and morbidity. A huge number and variety of established and possible causes of IUGR have been described. There are currently no data about effective treatment of this fetal condition. IUGR has been described to be strictly involved in fetal programming. Fetal programming is the general idea, which tells us how during development of the embryo and fetus significant physiological parameters can be shaped by environmental events. A link between the intra-uterine growth retardation and the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease postnatally has been well documented. The aim of this paper is to present an overview of the current knowledge of IUGR effects on development of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, impact on insulin secretion and resistance, diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome. The influence of intrauterine growth retardation on predisposition to obesity and adipose dysfunction was also described.


Over the last few years, both the growth and the impact of microfinance have often been overestimated. Today, many analysts try to provide a more balanced overview, stressing what has been learned and what remains to be done. This paper contributes to this objective by analyzing four areas: lessons learned, debates, future developments, and evaluation.


T smooth snake Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768, is distributed widely over the European mainland occurring as far south as Sicily and Greece and as far north as Sweden and Norway where it reaches 60° N (Artsobservasjoner, undated; Artportalen, undated). This is a slender snake with a total adult length of 70–90 cm that in Norway feeds mainly on slowworms Anguis fragilis and shrew species Sorex spp. The female is ovoviviparous, bearing live young mostly in August or September. The reproductive ecology of the smooth snake is poorly understood since mating and parturition have rarely been documented. Here we present the first records of smooth snake mating activity in both spring and autumn in Norway, and report how parturition date varies with summer temperature.


The air transport sector is about to enter the European Trading Scheme progressively in 2011. The regulation of the CO2 emissions means for airlines more costs and a modification of the organization of their market. Our paper proposes a precise model of nonetheless the regulation but also of airlines CO2 emissions. Our conclusions are twofold. Firstly, although profits are negatively impacted by the introduction of the ETS, a monopoly airline carries more passengers at a lower price. Two opposite effects are at play: the marginal cost increases as polluting becomes costly, which results in an increase of the price. However, there is a second effect that makes the price decreasing: the way the free allowances are given creates a bias towards more activity. We show that more activity is reached at the equilibrium. De facto, more CO2 is emitted. Nevertheless, we show as well that it is profitable for the airline to buy a new aircraft because the marginal cost decreased. Again more activity is reached at equilibrium but at the cost of less CO2 emissions.


The photo-induced formation of peroxide ions on the surface of cubic Ln2O3 (Ln = Nd, Sm, Gd) was studied by in situ microprobe Raman spectroscopy using a 325 nm laser as excitation source. It was found that the Raman bands of peroxide ions at 833-843 cm(-1) began to grow at the expense of the Ln(3+)-O(2-) bands at 333-359 cm(-1) when the Ln2O3 samples under O2 were continuously irradiated with a focused 325 nm laser beam at temperatures between 25-150 °C. The intensity of the peroxide Raman band was found to increase with increasing O2 partial pressure, whereas no peroxide band was detected on the Ln2O3 under N2 as well as on the samples first irradiated with laser under Ar or N2 followed by exposure to O2 in the dark. The experiments using (18)O as a tracer further confirmed that the peroxide ions are generated by a photo-induced reaction between O2 and the lattice oxygen (O(2-)) species in Ln2O3. Under the excitation of 325 nm UV light, the transformation of O2 to peroxide ions on the surface of the above lanthanide sesquioxides can even take place at room temperature. Basicity of the lattice oxygen species on Ln2O3 also has an impact on the peroxide formation. Higher temperature or laser irradiation power is required to initiate the reaction between O2 and O(2-) species of weaker basicity.


The interview was recorded in San Salvador, El Salvador,on June 19, 1997.The Interviewer was Jean Krasno.
Between 1973 and 1994, he was the general secretary of the Communist Party of El Salvador. As GS of the PCS, Handal embraced elections and rejected armed struggle to conquer political power in El Salvador. Later on, after two allegedly fraudulent elections in 1972 and in 1977, and despite the intervention of the Communist Party of Cuba (History of the FMLN, newspaper "Frente"), Handal became convinced that the defeat of the military dictatorship would not be possible through elections. As a guerrilla leader in the late 1970s and early 1980s, he was a member of the group that brought five opposition forces together to found the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN).

Following the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords in 1992, the FMLN converted itself from a guerrilla army into a political party, and Handal served as its general coordinator. In 1997, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly, serving as the leader of the FMLN's party bloc in the legislature.

He was the FMLN's candidate in El Salvador's 2004 presidential election, held on March 21, running on a leftist platform that called for a friendly relationship with the United States (according to his own pamphlet for the campaign), renegotiation of free trade treaties and a closer relationship with socialist-oriented countries in Latin America, including Cuba, Venezuela and Brazil. Opponents accused Handal of exploiting anti-American sentiment while FMLN supporters accused the United States of corrupting the electoral process, because several high-ranking U.S. officials stated that American relations with El Salvador would be seriously threatened if Handal won the elections. Handal was defeated by the candidate of the ruling conservative ARENA party, Antonio Saca, who was also of Palestinian descent, by a margin of 58% to 36%. The election saw a turnout of 70% at the polls.


A type of ionic liquid crystals, 4′-(N,N,N-trimethyl ammonium bromide hexyloxy)-4-cyanobiphenyl (6CNBP-N), was synthesized and explored as a novel additive to modify the PEDOT:PSS anode buffer layer for P3HT:PCBM polymer solar cells (PSCs). Due to the ionic functions of 6CNBP-N, the amount of PEDOT on top surface of PEDOT:PSS was increased with increasing amount of 6CNBP-N, leading to a rougher surface and better conductivity. Most strikingly, when the 6CNBP-N modified PEDOT:PSS anode buffer layer was annealed at 150 °C (in the mesophase temperature region of 6CNBP-N), a more continuous network in the modified PEDOT:PSS film and more ordered microstructure and higher crystallization of P3HT in the overlying P3HT:PCBM active layer were formed, mainly induced by the self-assembling behavior of 6CNBP-N in its mesomorphism, thus favoring excition dissociation, charge transport and collection. Without undergoing the annealing of active layers, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 3.17% was obtained. Our results showed that the ionic liquid crystals, which combined the liquid crystal properties and ionic functions, were a promising additive for PEDOT:PSS, which could improve the properties of the PEDOT:PSS buffer layer and the overlying active layer at the same time, thereby enhancing the PCE of PSCs.


We have investigated the electrodynamic response of UPd2Al3 both above and below the antiferromagnetic phase transition at TN = 14 K. At low temperatures, we observe the formation of a low-frequency narrow resonance, which indicates the development of the many-body coherent state. However, we do not find any evidence of a gap absorption associated with a spin-density-wave state, which would develop if the state arised as a consequence of a Fermi surface instability.


Power device structures, which could be implemented by using diamond technology of today, have been analyzed with the aid of a two-dimensional numerical simulator code for semiconductor devices. It has been found that partial ionization of deep acceptor states substantially degrades the electrical performance of 1000 V lateral diamond power MESFETs. No advantage over corresponding silicon devices can be obtained. If the partial ionization phenomenon can be eliminated, the on-resistance of the diamond MESFET is almost two orders of magnitude smaller than in vertical silicon power MOSFETs having the same breakdown voltage.


Metropolitan regions are engines of economic growth, where research, innovation, technology and creative human potential are concentrated. The cooperation of municipalities in metropolitan regions in economically developed Europe dates back to the mid-1990s, while in the Czech Republic this new form of cooperation has been discussed more intensively since 2014, when three metropolitan areas and ten urban agglomerations were defined. However, there is still no systemic coordination of the problems and needs of metropolitan areas. The first activities aimed at real strengthening of metropolitan cooperation and development took place in the Brno Metropolitan Area within the framework of the TAČR ÉTA project "Institutionalization of metropolitan cooperation as a factor to increase the motivation of municipalities to cooperate in metropolitan areas". The aim of the publication is to present the results of the project, experiences from abroad and their possible application in the Czech environment, as well as real steps to set up metropolitan inter-municipal cooperation.


Purpose : This study aimed to estimate age- and gender-specific cut points for metabolic syndrome (MS) components, including body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP), triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and glucose. Methods : Data from the 1998, 2001, and 2005 Korean NHANES (National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) were analyzed (n=4164; 2,139 boys and 2,025 girls, aged 10-19 years). Height, weight, waist circumference (WC), BP, triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, and fasting glucose were measured. Results : BMI over 25 kg/m2 represents the 85thP (percentile) in 17-year-old boys and the 90thP in 17-year-old girls. A level of WC higher than that of the cutoff points of Asian adults was found in the 90thP of 17-year-old boys and girls. The 90thP of boys aged 15 years old and the 95thP of 13-year-old were included in the range of systolic BP over 130 mm Hg. Over the 75thP of the group showed triglycerides greater than 110 mg/dL, (criterion of MS presented by NCEP-ATP III) and the 90thP of the group showed triglycerides greater than 150 mg/dL by IDF. An HDL cholesterol level of 40 mg/dL represents the 25thP in boys and the 10thP in girls. A glucose level greater than 110 mg/dL represents the 95thP and greater than 100 mg/dL represents the 90thP. Conclusion : Values of the 90thP of MS components in late adolescent boys (WC, BP, and triglycerides) and girls (WC and triglycerides) were very high and in close proximity to the diagnostic criteria of adult MS.


This paper examines disability as measured and reported in three Census surveys: the American Community Survey (ACS), the Current Population Survey (CPS), and the Survey on Income Program Participation (SIPP). We focus on whether person-specific disability, as measured by the Census, is a permanent or a transitory condition. Survey data results regarding the incidence of Census-measured disability are shown both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It is found from longitudinal CPS and SIPP responses that Census-measured disability is largely transitory. That finding empirically confirms the longstanding theoretical objections to the use of Census cross-section disability data along with a permanent disability assumption in worklife expectancy models; hence, any worklife expectancy model which assumes that Census disability measures are permanent conditions is misspecified and empirically invalid. Instead of using the permanent disability assumption, we use actual longitudinal disability transition probabilities and life table analysis to quantify the lifetime duration of disability as measured by the Census in total life years and working life years. We show that the realistic feature of disability transition dramatically lowers the effect of disability on worklife expectancy.


Self-collimated slow-sound propagation in a two-dimensional rectangular sonic crystal composed of elliptical scatterers in air is numerically demonstrated. The group velocity at the centre and the edges of the fourth acoustic band is reduced to 45 m s−1 and 30 m s−1, corresponding to 1/8 and 1/12 of the speed of sound in air, respectively. Elimination of omni-directional reflections encountered in linear waveguides and the reduction of group-velocity dispersion at the mid-band frequencies lead to preservation of pulse shape and amplitude upon traversal of the sonic crystal. Wave transmission is increased from approximately −20 to −2.5 dB, with almost an order of magnitude enhancement, via injector layers optimized through a pattern search algorithm. Self-collimating performance of the system is not degraded under oblique incidence, except for pulse broadening due to increased effective source width.


Public administration is under pressure to work more effectively and increase effectiveness with regards to internal administrative processes as well as level of service towards citizens. This paper identifies process management challenges encountered in Swedish municipalities and provides concrete examples of consequences of these challenges by using a bottom up approach. It is done by using a common public service process and a mobile solution as platform for discussions with municipal officials working with the process. To categorise the challenges they are grouped into six core categories of business process management, which provide a picture of challenges that municipalities face today. Results show that Swedish municipalities face challenges in all categories and that it was not possible to design a generic process for the analysed service. To initiate work with improving process maturity in local governments the bottom up approach used was found successful.


We present a mobile manipulation system used by the Georgia Tech team in the RoboCup@Home 2010 competition. An overview of the system is provided, including the approach taken for manipulation, SLAM, object detection, object recognition, and system integration. We focus on our manipulation strategy, which utilizes a low-degree of freedom manipulator and makes use of the robot's differential drive as part of the manipulation strategy. Empirical results demonstrating our platform's ability to detect and grasp a variety of tabletop objects are presented.


The three elements in evidence-based clinical decisions are " best clinical research evidence,physicians' personal experience,and patients' basic values and wishes". This concept coincides with the " bio-psycho-social" model of systematic medicine,and this is the key reason why evidence-based medicine has become the most important diagnostic and therapeutic system under the new medical model. However,there is no methodological support for the implementation of " respecting patients' basic values and wishes".As a result,this concept is difficult to be implemented in clinical practice,and has become the form of " patient or family member' s signature for consent". In narrative medicine,doctors are advocated to record details,psychological processes and even family members' feelings in non-technical language to form parallel medical records,and the key point is to achieve " empathy" between doctors and patients. This idea is consistent with traditional Chinese medicine( TCM),and also provides a practical operation method " to respect patients' basic values and wishes". Medicine is a discipline based on human science,with dual attributes of science and humanity. Humanistic care is the tradition of TCM,and also is one of the basic characteristics and core connotations in TCM. Therefore,in the development of evidence-based TCM,we should combine evidence-based medicine with narrative medicine,and inject humanistic care into evidence-based medicine with the concept and methodology of narrative medicine,so as to achieve the deep integration of science and humanity.


INTRODUCTION
The growing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic initially led to widespread use of hydroxychloroquine sulfate as an off-label experimental treatment of this disease.

CASE PRESENTATION
Acute hemolytic anemia developed in an African American man with COVID-19-related pneumonia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency who completed the standard 5-day experimental course of hydroxychloroquine. Although the trigger leading to our patient's hemolytic sequelae will never be known with certainty, his clinical course suggests that hydroxychloroquine use and/or COVID-19 infection may trigger hemolysis in susceptible patients with G6PD deficiency.

DISCUSSION
This case confirms recent findings that the potential risks of hydroxychloroquine therapy for COVID-19 may outweigh the benefits.


Preparation and disinfection of the root canal aims to remove organic and inorganic tissue from within the root canal, reduce the number of microorganisms, neutralize endotoxins inside the dentin, and prepare the root canal for proper obturation. These aims can be achieved in many cases to a degree that promises a high chance of success through a combination of mechanical preparation and chemical disinfection—in other words, irrigation and medication. Preparation and disinfection both physically and chemically act on the lumen of the root canal itself, trying to remove as much infected material as possible, but also act on the surrounding dentin and all of its components including the dentinal tubules. The chemomechanical process attempts to remove the adhering biofilm as well as microorganisms and their by-products. It is important to investigate the effect of various treatment options on root canal dentin, the periodontal ligament, and the surrounding alveolar bone. When mechanical processes and chemical agents are applied to a substrate such as dentin, this implies that the dentin will be altered or modified in structure, composition, and/or physical properties. This review aims to summarize the present knowledge on the effects of mechanical instrumentation and chemical irrigation on the root canal dentin and surrounding tissues.


Mungbean can successfully be grown under strip tillage system if appropriate seeding rate can determine and adjust with machine. Due to high weed pressure in strip tillage system, selection of such mungbean varieties that have some potentialities to suppress weeds need to find out and moreover, determining optimum seed rate for different varieties could help to achieve best yield. Therefore, a study was conducted at Agronomy Field Laboratory, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh during March-June, 2013 to study the effect of variety and seed rate on weed suppression and yield performance of mungbean under strip tillage system. The study comprised three mungbean varieties (BARI mung-6, BINA mung-5 and BINA mung-8) and five seed rates (20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 kg ha -1 ). The experiment was laid out in split-plot design with three replications. The study exposed that variety and seed rate had significant effect on plant population of mungbean, weed dry matter, number of pods plant -1 , pod length, number of seeds pod -1 , seed yield and stover yield of mungbean. The study results clearly found that weed population significantly reduced with increasing seeding rate of mungbean. Seeding of mungbean at 40 kg ha -1 and 35 kg ha -1 could successfully suppress weed under strip tillage system. Moreover, BINA mung-8 and BINA mung-5 had the more potentiality to suppress weeds compare to BARI mung-6. However, BINA mung-5 was found the superior among the three tested varieties that produced the highest seed yield from 35 kg ha -1 seed rate. In case of BARI mung-6 and BINA mung-8, maximum seed yield was also obtained from 35 kg ha -1 seed rate. Therefore, the study concluded that seeding of any of the three mungbean varieties at 35 kg ha -1 rate may help to obtain the satisfactory yield but the study suggest cultivation of BINA mung-5 at 35 kg ha -1 seeding rate under strip tillage system that will give not only the optimum seed yield but also provide good weed suppression. J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 14(1): 49-56, June 2016


Multilevel modeling is applied to logistic regression and other generalized linear models in the same way as with linear regression: the coefficients are grouped into batches and a probability distribution is assigned to each batch. Or, equivalently (as discussed in Section 12.5), error terms are added to the model corresponding to different sources of variation in the data. We shall discuss logistic regression in this chapter and other generalized linear models in the next. State-level opinions from national polls Dozens of national opinion polls are conducted by media organizations before every election, and it is desirable to estimate opinions at the levels of individual states as well as for the entire country. These polls are generally based on national randomdigit dialing with corrections for nonresponse based on demographic factors such as sex, ethnicity, age, and education. Here we describe a model developed for estimating state-level opinions from national polls, while simultaneously correcting for nonresponse, for any survey response of interest. The procedure has two steps: first fitting the model and then applying the model to estimate opinions by state: We fit a regression model for the individual response y given demographics and state. This model thus estimates an average response θ l for each cross-classification l of demographics and state. In our example, we have sex (male or female), ethnicity (African American or other), age (4 categories), education (4 categories), and 51 states (including the District of Columbia); thus l = 1, …, L = 3264 categories. […]


Background Orthostatic tremor (OT) is a disabling movement disorder manifested by postural and gait disturbance. Primarily a condition of elderly people, it can be progressive in up to 15% of patients. The primary treatments are medications that are often ineffective. Case Report A 75-year-old male presented with a 10-year history of progressive and disabling OT. He had tried various medications without significant benefits. He underwent bilateral thalamic Vim deep brain stimulation (DBS). At 30-month follow-up, he has had continued significant improvement of his OT. Discussion Bilateral thalamic DBS may be a viable option for medically refractory OT.


A case of suspected poisoning by benzodiazepines is presented in this paper. Toxicological analyses were applied on the blood collected 48 hours after the facts. GC-MS and HPLC-DAD have detected only nordiazepam which was prescribed in the treatment. Therefore, LC-MS/MS has detected lormetazepam and lorazepam (major metabolite of lormetazepam) in addition of nordiazepam. The concentrations of lormetazepam, lorazepam and nordiazepam measured in blood were 6.8, 6.3, and 16.2 ng/mL, respectively. The initial concentration of each drug at the relevant time, has been calculated from these residual concentrations, using an extrapolation approach. According to estimates, only lormetazepam (189 ng/mL) and lorazepam (68 ng/mL), were active at the target moment. A poisoning by lormetazepam was then considered. The more technology we have, the greater chance we have to get an outcome that is favorable to justice.


The AussieGRASS Environmental Calculator is a national simulation framework for Australian grasslands. It was developed by the Department of Environment and Resource Management in Queensland in collaboration with agencies from New South Wales, South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory and with funding from Land & Water Australia (LWA) through its Climate Variability in Agriculture Program (CVAP). AussieGRASS was initially developed as a tool to assess drought conditions and has been used extensively for this purpose leading to its inclusion in the Commonwealth's National Agricultural Monitoring System (NAMS – now decommissioned). This paper describes the AussieGRASS modelling framework and outlines a range of other AussieGRASS applications.


Leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that represents a threat to the life of millions of people around the globe, is currently lacking effective treatments. We have previously reported on the antileishmanial activity of a series of synthetic 2-phenyl-2,3-dihydrobenzofurans and some qualitative structure–activity relationships within this set of neolignan analogues. Therefore, in the present study, various quantitative structure–activity relationship (QSAR) models were created to explain and predict the antileishmanial activity of these compounds. Comparing the performance of QSAR models based on molecular descriptors and multiple linear regression, random forest, and support vector regression with models based on 3D molecular structures and their interaction fields (MIFs) with partial least squares regression, it turned out that the latter (i.e., 3D-QSAR models) were clearly superior to the former. MIF analysis for the best-performing and statistically most robust 3D-QSAR model revealed the most important structural features required for antileishmanial activity. Thus, this model can guide decision-making during further development by predicting the activity of potentially new leishmanicidal dihydrobenzofurans before synthesis.


We studied four patients with ruptured aneurysms of the sinus of Valsalva. All were men with a mean age of 33 years. The presenting illness was insidious in three and of abrupt onset in one. Physical examination showed a continuous murmur in all. Chest X ray film showed moderate cardiomegaly. Electrocardiogram disclosed left ventricular hypertrophy. Echocardiogram revealed the site of the rupture which was corroborated by aortography. Two aneurysms ruptured to the right ventricle and two to the right atrium. All were corrected by surgery. All patients became asymptomatic.


A fast and accurate method of confidence interval construction for the smoothing parameter in penalised spline and partially linear models is proposed. The method is akin to a parametric percentile bootstrap where Monte Carlo simulation is replaced by saddlepoint approximation, and can therefore be viewed as an approximate bootstrap. It is applicable in a quite general setting, requiring only that the underlying estimator be the root of an estimating equation that is a quadratic form in normal random variables. This is the case under a variety of optimality criteria such as those commonly denoted by maximum likelihood (ML), restricted ML (REML), generalized cross validation (GCV) and Akaike's information criteria (AIC). Simulation studies reveal that under the ML and REML criteria, the method delivers a near‐exact performance with computational speeds that are an order of magnitude faster than existing exact methods, and two orders of magnitude faster than a classical bootstrap. Perhaps most importantly, the proposed method also offers a computationally feasible alternative when no known exact or asymptotic methods exist, e.g. GCV and AIC. An application is illustrated by applying the methodology to well‐known fossil data. Giving a range of plausible smoothed values in this instance can help answer questions about the statistical significance of apparent features in the data.


An in situ combination of atomic force microscopy and micro x-ray diffraction was developed to study the elastic behavior of nanosized objects. This technique offers the means to locally access the Young elastic moduli and Poisson ratios of individual nanostructures. Here, we investigated the elastic behavior of a single self-assembled 450 nm high SiGe island. As pressure was applied on the island, the resonance frequency of the atomic force microscope tuning fork was tracked together with the x-ray diffraction stemming from this individual crystal. The change in the tip-island contact stiffness could be derived from the variation in the resonance frequency of the tuning fork, whereas the island mean lattice parameter was inferred from the center of mass of the island's Bragg scattering. From this information, the reduced elastic modulus of the tip-island system could be directly determined, which is in very good agreement with literature values. The pressure needed to compress the island lattice to the S...


Applying Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an educational setting presents a wealth of opportunities, particularly for Open and Distance Learning (ODL) institutions. As ODL relies heavily on human-machine interactions, AI thus naturally offers open universities various means to address issues such as how do people actually learn; what constitutes effective teaching; as well as what are the advantages and limitations of computer-based systems in education. Open University Malaysia (OUM) is Malaysia's premier ODL institution and has been operating for seven years. As an ODL institution, OUM's operations and services are heavily anchored on a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that could potentially include AI. Though the implementation of AI has not been fully realised in education, OUM foresees many areas that can benefit from it, in terms of ensuring quality, improving pedagogical methods as well as enhancing the overall teaching and learning experience. In this paper, we will explore several fields whereby AI could be potentially utilised in an ODL institution, i.e. expert system for programme advising; automated scheduling of classes; marking of assignments; plagiarism detection; retaining learners and adapting to their diverse needs and backgrounds; maintenance of property; and ensuring security. OUM also anticipates that AI could provide a significant and highly intriguing paradigm shift in the deployment of ODL and that it could greatly influence the future of all open and distance learners.


Following a computer-generated, randomized, chart review at the Sunnybrook Medical Centre Family Practice Unit, an attempt was made to delineate the factors that would determine the likelihood of influenza vaccination in the elderly population during 1985 and/or 1986. Although current recommendations call for vaccination of all patients over the age of 65, particularly those with chronic underlying disease, only the presence of chronic obstructive lung disease (p = 0.003) and the total number of visits (p = 0.0001) were found to be significant among 15 variables examined in 451 patients. A subsequent questionnaire relating to vaccination was distributed to the participating family practitioners to determine the degree to which physicians' ideas about indications for influenza vaccination concur with the actual determinants of patients being immunized in their practices. The overall Sunnybrook vaccination rate was compatible with that obtained in national surveys, indicating that compliance rates are remarkably low (20%).


Two strains, TMB456T and TMB1265, were isolated from different locations in the Mariana Trench. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene and genomic rRNA sequences indicated that they were from the same novel species and were affiliated with the genus Methylophaga of the class Gammaproteobacteria. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the most closely related validly published species were Methylophaga muralis Kr3T (98.1 % similarity) and Methylophaga nitratireducenticrescens JAM1T (97.3 % similarity). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization values of TMB456T with M. muralis Kr3T and M. nitratireducenticrescens JAM1T were <25 %. The average nucleotide identity value between strain TMB456T and M. muralis Kr3T was 80.9 %. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strains TMB456T and TMB1265 were both 44.9 mol %. Strains TMB456T and TMB1265 could grow at 4-37 °C (optimum at 20-28 °C), at pH 3-10 (optimum at pH 7-9) and in the presence of 0-10 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum at 0-1 %). Cells of strains TMB456T and TMB1265 were Gram-negative rods (0.3-0.6 µm×0.7-1.3 µm). Chemotaxonomic analysis showed that ubiquinone 8 was the sole quinone produced by strain TMB456T and that the major cellular fatty acids were iso-C16 : 0, summed feature 3 (C16 : 1  ω7c and/or C16 : 1  ω6c) and summed feature 8 (C18 : 1  ω7c and/or C18 : 1  ω6c). The polar lipid profile of this strain included phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphoglycolipids and two unidentified polar lipids. Based on the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and molecular features, strains TMB456T and TMB1265 belong to a novel species within the genus Methylophaga, for which the name Methylophaga pinxianii sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is TMB456T (=KCTC 82622T= MCCC 1K05898T).


Chinese economic activities in Africa have gained increased visibility in parallel to the recent acceleration of Sino-African relations. This paper, which is framed from a geographical perspective that is often absent or neglected in studies covering China–Africa, focuses on the spatial forms and dynamics. It depicts the way in which two contrasting Chinese economic entities – a state-owned company in Chad and privately owned commercial malls in Johannesburg, South Africa – engage with their respective host environments. While drawing on concepts of "liminality" as well as "heterotopias", I argue that the modalities of the Chinese footprint are characterised both by closure and interaction, creating a dynamic tension that produces its own set of unique practices. This ambivalence between enclave and active linkages with host societies is not only perceivable from a spatial point of view, but also emerges with regard to economic strategies. In the midst of a transitional period, along with a launching and a consolidating phase, the Chinese economic entities in both case studies show signs of change in terms of behaviour and territorial foothold.


Best known for his lavish portraits of 17th-century nobility at the court of King Charles I in particular, Anthony van Dyck was also a master in the arts of drawing, watercolour and engraving. While his formal commissions are couched in the language of conspicuous wealth and power, his sketches and drawings display a taste for the dramatic action scene as well as a keen sense of character and humour. This book published on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Van Dyck's birth takes a close look at all aspects of the master's techniques, his subject matter from highly stylised royal portraits to sketches of a beloved dog, and the modernity of his watercolour landscapes. Through a wide variety of ink and chalk drawings the text explores the relationship of the painter with the different media, and with the artistic conventions of his time. The biography places van Dyck in his historical context and completes a fresh, unorthodox view of this artist.


In this paper we build upon the recently developed uncertain parameter framework for valuing derivatives in a worst-case scenario. We start by deriving a stochastic volatility model based on a simple analysis of time-series data. We use this stochastic model to examine the time evolution of volatility from an initial known value to a steady-state distribution in the long run. This empirical model is then incorporated into the uncertain parameter option valuation framework to provide 'confidence limits' for the option value.


Organ-sparing surgeries for vulvar cancer (VC) include wide excision of perineal tissues or hemivulvectomy. The advances in the treatment of VC reduce the risk of complications in patients with somatic pathology and preserve reproductive function in young patients with minimal risk of disease recurrence. The development of new approaches to VC therapy based on currently accepted clinical and morphological criteria will help to improve treatment outcomes.Materials and methods.We retrospectively analyzed the data on 252 patients with VC. Of them, 58 participants had stage I VC, 103 had stage II VC, 79 had stage III VC, and 12 had stage IV VC. The majority of patients (n = 152) underwent vulvectomy; 100 patients underwent extended vulvectomy.Results.Tumor size and depth of invasion are independent prognostic factors determining overall patient survival. The overall survival rate in patients with tumors of 1.5 cm or smaller was 91.7 %, whereas in patients with tumors >2 cm the overall survival rate was 62.2 %. Thefive-year survival rate was 53.9 % in individuals with tumor invasion >1 cm and 84.6 % in individuals with tumor invasion <0.5 cm.Conclusion.We have developed the criteria for minimal vulvar cancer: tumors <2 cm, tumor invasion <5 mm, tumors located outside theclitoris, no tumor emboli in the vessels, no multifocal growth.


To determine if a patient's sex influences access to renal transplantation in Canada, transplant recipient data for first cadaveric unrelated renal transplants were obtained from the Canadian Organ Replacement Register (CORR) for the period 1985-1992. There were 4683 first unrelated cadaveric transplant recipients during this time. Differences in the proportion of men and women registered with CORR who received a renal transplant were analyzed. In Canada between 1985 and 1992, 25% of males 40 years and older on dialysis received renal transplants compared with 18% of females (p < 0.0001, RR 1.54, 95% CI 1.40-1.67). There was no difference in the rates of transplants in males and females who were under 40 years of age. Adjusting for panel-reactive antibody data did not change the significance of the difference in transplant rates between the sexes. In Canada from 1985 to 1992, male patients with end-stage renal disease received proportionately more transplants than females.


Recent developments in the study of ultrafast dynamics are reviewed concerning the spin ladder system, α'-NaV2O5, which is known to have a charge order phase transition accompanying spin dimerization at 34 K. The low energy excitations specific to the low temperature phase is observed by coherent excitation method and their origins are discussed, comparing with the Raman and infrared absorption data. Photoinduced phenomena are studied by transient reflectance and time-resolved Raman spectroscopy and the thermal and nonthermal effects are distinguished by their response time.


Since 2004, the most complete estimate of background noise levels across the continental United States was attained using 61 broadband seismic stations to calculate power spectral density (PSD) probability density functions. To improve seismic noise estimates across the United States, we examine vertical component seismic data from the EarthScope USArray Transportable Array seismic network that rolled across the United States and southeastern Canada between 2004 and 2015 and form a large (10 TB) PSD database from 1679 stations that contains no smoothing or binning of the spectral estimates. Including station outages, our database has a mean of 98.9% data completeness, and we present maps showing the spatial and temporal variability of seismic noise in six bands of interest between 0.2 and 75 s period. At 0.2 s period, seismic noise across the eastern United States is predominantly anthropogenically generated and may be subsequently amplified more than 20 decibels in the sandy and water-saturated sediments of the southeastern U.S. Coastal Plain and Mississippi Embayment. In these sediments, 1 s noise shows similar amplification and is generated through a variety of mechanisms across the United States including cultural activity throughout Kentucky and the southeastern Appalachian Mountains, lake waves around the Great Lakes, and ocean waves throughout New England, the Pacific Northwest, and Florida. Both 0.2 and 1 s noise levels are the lowest in the Intermountain West portion of the United States. We attribute this to a combination of installations on crystalline rocks and reduced population density. Finally, we find that sensors emplaced in sandy, water-saturated sediments observe median, diurnal variations in vertical component power at 18–75 s period, which we infer arise through local deformation driven by pressure variations. Ultimately, our results underscore that for shallow (<5 m depth) sensor installation, bedrock provides superior broadband noise performance compared to unconsolidated sediments.


Abstract Samantha Vice's proposal on how to live in 'this strange place' of contemporary South Africa, includes an appeal to the concepts of shame and silence. In this paper, I use Emmanuel Levinas and Giorgio Agamben to move the discussion of shame from a moral to an existential question. The issue is not about how one should feel, but about the kind of self that whiteness in South Africa makes possible today. Shame desubjectifies. Vice's recommendation of silence is then taken as witnessing/listening, which I argue grounds the possibility of a recovery of the self.


This paper, using 40 years of monthly industrial production data, examines the relationship between the business cycles of the 12 Eurozone countries. Since estimates of the business cycle have been found to be sensitive to how the cycle is measured, a range of alternative measures are considered. We focus on both parametric and nonparametric univariate measures of the 'classical' and 'growth' cycles. We then investigate whether Eurozone business cycles have converged. This is based on an analysis of the distribution of bivariate correlation coefficients between the 12 countries' business cycles. This extends previous work that has tested for convergence, in a similar manner by focusing on correlation, but has not considered the entire distribution, instead focusing on the mean correlation coefficient or particular bivariate correlation coefficients. Although empirical inference about individual Eurozone business cycles is found to be sensitive to the measure of the business cycle considered, our measure of convergence between the Eurozone business cycles exhibits common features across the alternative measures of the business cycle. Interestingly, we find that there have been periods of convergence, identified by the distribution tending to unity, and periods of divergence. Although further data are required to corroborate the story, there is evidence to suggest that the Euro-zone has entered a period of convergence after the clear period of divergence in the early 1990s in the aftermath of German unification and at the time of the currency crises in Europe. This is encouraging for the successful operation of a common monetary policy in the Eurozone. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)


Using two pairs of macroscopic equations deduced from a dipole lattice model including electronic polarization (EP) of ions and local field effects (LFEs) self-consistently, optical lattice vibrations in monolayer hexagonal boron nitride (BN) are studied theoretically for both in-plane and out-of-plane motions. Longitudinal and transverse optical (LO and TO) modes and out-of-plane (ZO) modes are derived, and explicit expressions are obtained for phonon dispersion, group velocity and density of states. The analytical phonon dispersion relations describe previous numerical results very well; the LO phonon dispersion is identical to the analytical expression of Sohier et al, which shows the degeneracy of the LO and TO modes at and the splitting at finite wavevectors due to the long-range macroscopic field. Whilst relating to microscopic quantities, the linear coefficients of the lattice equations are determined by first-principles calculated quantities (such as macroscopic susceptibilities). Therefore the EP and LFEs on the vibrational properties are studied. With no EP or LFEs, all the phonon frequencies are overestimated significantly. Including EP, the LFEs increase (decrease) the in-plane (out-of-plane) dielectric susceptibility by a factor of 2.5–3.5. Both ionic EP and LFEs should be included to obtain an accurate description of the lattice dynamics.


Past work in motion-compensated interframe coding has been restricted to two-dimensional translation. It is the purpose of this paper to report some experimental results of a study on the potential advantage of considering more general types of motion. More specifically, we shall consider general two-dimensional motion including translation, rotation, and scale change (zooming). The entropy of the histogram of motion-compensated frame differences will be used as a performance measure. For comparison, this quantity will be measured for the case of using only two-dimensional translation as well as the case of using general two-dimensional motion.


OBJECTIVE
Previous studies have associated attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with growth deviations and obesity. However, available data regarding the growth of children with ADHD in their early childhood are insufficient. Therefore, we aimed to examine whether there are differences in body size between preschool boys with and without ADHD.

METHODS
The study used cross-sectional and retrospective longitudinal data concerning 112 boys with ADHD and a community-based sample of 308 boys without ADHD. The groups were homogeneous in terms of socioeconomic status, place of residence, term of birth, and birth weight. The average age of diagnosis was 8.3 years, and none of boys had been treated with stimulants before they were 7 years of age. Comparisons were made at the ages of 2, 4, and 6 years, for World Health Organization (WHO)-norm-standardized height, weight, body mass index (BMI), prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity. Separate analysis were made for the cross-sectional measurements of current body size.

RESULTS
Boys with ADHD at the age of 2 had significantly lower z scores for weight (t=-1.98, p=0.04) and BMI (t=-2.09, p=0.04), and at the age of 4 for weight (t=-2.05, p=0.04) than the boys from the control group. A significantly lower percentage of overweight/obesity was observed in boys with ADHD at the age of 2 in comparison with the control group. At the age of 6, boys with ADHD were underweight more often. Cross-sectional analysis of current body size showed that boys with ADHD had lower z scores for height (t=-3.08, p=0.002) and higher z scores (t=3.13, p=0.002) for BMI. Overweight was more frequent in this group.

CONCLUSIONS
Preschool boys with ADHD (age of 2-6 years) have a tendency toward lower body weight than their peers. But in subsequent phases of development, they are shorter and more frequently overweight than boys without ADHD, when place of residence, socioeconomic status, term of birth, birth weight, comorbid conditions, and treatment are controlled.


Objectives To assess to which extent the COVID-19 pandemic affected corneal transplantation by virtue of donor selection algorithms in different European countries. Design Survey. Setting 110 eye banks in 26 European countries. Participants 64 eye banks covering 95% of European corneal transplantation activity. Interventions A questionnaire listing the number of corneas procured and distributed from February to May 2018–2020 was circulated to eye banks. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the number of corneal procurements. Additional outcomes were national algorithms for donor selection, classified according to their stringency (donors with COVID-19 history, suspected for COVID-19, asymptomatic, PCR testing) and the pandemic severity in each country. We calculated Spearman's correlation coefficient to determine, two by two, the relationship between the 3-month decline in eye banking activity (procurement), the stringency of donor selection algorithm and the grading of pandemic severity (cases and deaths). A partial correlation was run to determine the relationship between decline and stringency while controlling for pandemic severity. Results Procurements decreased by 38%, 68% and 41%, respectively, in March, April and May 2020 compared with the mean of the previous 2 years, while grafts decreased, respectively, by 28%, 68% and 56% corresponding to 3866 untreated patients in 3 months. Significant disparities between countries and the decrease in activity correlated with stringency in donor selection independent of pandemic severity. Conclusions Our data demonstrate significant differences between countries regarding donor screening algorithms based on precautionary principles and, consequently, a decrease in the donor pool, already constrained by a long list of contraindications. Fundamental studies are needed to determine the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission by corneal transplantation and guide evidence-based recommendations for donor selection to justify their substantial medical and economic impact.


The performance of current channel selection criteria used in cochlear implant (CI) devices (e.g., maximum selection criterion used in ACE) degrades significantly in the presence of noise. In noisy backgrounds, coding strategies that select the "right" channels for stimulation could potentially produce substantial improvements in intelligibility. In this study, the performance of two alternative channel selection criteria is assessed in terms of intelligibility and subjective quality with CI users in noise. The performance is compared against that of the maximum selection scheme employed in the ACE strategy (comparison is also made with the CIS strategy). Sentences were presented to seven CI users in speech weighted noise (-5, 0, and 5 dB SNR). Both channel selection criteria were implemented under ideal conditions where a priori knowledge of the target and masker was assumed. This was done to assess the full potential benefit of selecting the "right" channels for stimulation in noisy backgrounds. Substantial intelligibility improvement relative to the CI users' daily strategy (i.e., ACE or CIS) was achieved with the two different channel selection criteria under all noisy conditions considered. No significant difference in subjective quality of noisy speech processed by the two channel selection criteria was observed.