Increased left atrial size has been identified as a precursor of atrial fibrillation and of stroke once atrial fibrillation is manifest. Conflicting data exist regarding the effect of high blood pressure on left atrial size. Our objective was to evaluate the association of contemporary and long-term measures of blood pressure with echocardiographically determined left atrial size in a large, population-based cohort. The study sample consisted of 1849 male and 2152 female participants of the Framingham Heart Study and Framingham Offspring Study. All analyses were sex specific. In correlation analyses, systolic and pulse pressures were identified as statistically significant determinants of left atrial size after adjustment for age and body mass index, although the magnitudes of these relations were very modest (partial r < or = .10). Multivariable linear regression models showed the relative contributions of the pressure variables to the prediction of left atrial size to be substantially less than those of age and, in particular, body mass index. Furthermore, inclusion of left ventricular mass in these multivariable models eliminated or attenuated the associations of the pressure variables with left atrial size. In logistic analyses, increasing levels of the pressure variables were significantly predictive of left atrial enlargement. Subjects with 8-year average systolic pressure of 140 mm Hg or higher were twice as likely to have left atrial enlargement as those with values of 110 mm Hg or lower. Overall, in this population-based study sample, increased levels of systolic and pulse pressures (but not diastolic or mean arterial pressures) were significantly associated with increased left atrial size.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


In order to evaluate the potential use of external cardiac pacing (EXP) in the clinical termination of sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT), we attempted VT terminations in seven patients. All had recurrent sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (mean rate 145 beats/min), which had previously required cardioversion. During subsequent VT episodes, all seven underwent overdrive pacing with EXP at a pulse amplitude of 120 mA, and rates of 200 pulses/min. A total of 18 of 18 episodes of VT were successfully terminated by EXP alone. In one patient, the first attempt at EXP termination of one episode of VT resulted in an acceleration of the tachycardia, which was then terminated by EXP. All patients tolerated EXP well with minimal sedation. We conclude that EXP may be an effective clinical modality for the termination of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia.


A popular idea amongst ecologists last century was that animals which exploit dynamic environments often display 'fast' life history strategies (high fecundity, rapid growth and maturation, and low or variable adult survival rates) relative to those which occupy more stable environments. Whilst the underlying theory has been discredited, the categorization remains of interest, because species with 'fast' life history traits are thought to be more robust to human-induced environmental change than those with 'slow' life history traits. We examined the life history traits of the endangered Australian frog Litoria raniformis, to determine whether it displays 'fast' life history traits (like its sister species L. aurea and L. castanea), and to assess the role of these traits in the decline of this species. Mark-recapture data confirmed that L. raniformis displays rapid growth and maturation. The data also suggest that L. raniformis displays relatively low adult survival rates. We propose that the 'fast' life history traits of this species are adaptive to metapopulation dynamics. In turn, we suggest that the rapid decline of L. raniformis may have resulted from metapopulation collapse, driven ultimately by habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation, and proximately by severe stochastic perturbations.


During 3 years we observed in specialized neurological department of St. Olga Children's City Hospital 708 babies aged up to 42 months with different paroxysmal disorders. Non-epileptic paroxysmal events (NEPE) were diagnosed in 98 cases. These disorders were qualified (according to ILAE criteria) as differentiated and undifferentiated NEPE. In most cases neurophysiological assessment data, neurovisualization data, and neurological status of infants with NEPE and babies from comparison group varied marginally. It was shown that NEPE development correlated with perinatal factors, and with infants' developmental diseases (functional gastrointestinal disorders, iron deficiency states, chronic or persistent infections). The obtained data was interpreted according to the developmental neurology principles (optimality concept, in particular).


The economic crises in 1997–9 in Asia, Brazil and elsewhere represent collectively the first post-Cold War 'crisis of globalization', and a significant set-back for the process of international economic liberalization. Contrary to some arguments, the crises do not represent the final ideological triumph of liberalism in a post-Cold War era. Rather they must be seen as a further spur to rethinking significant aspects of the neoliberal project. A comparative analysis of Asia and Latin America in this context demonstrates that while trade liberalization and a broad neoliberal economic strategy are unlikely to be abandoned, there is strong evidence that the tide of capital account liberalization has turned, and that emerging 'sites of resistance' are becoming salient factors in the political equation in the relationships of both regions to the wider global economy. Asian and Latin American responses to the crisis of globalization refute notions of convergence, on which many recent conceptions of the global political economy have rested, and point to the emergence of a genuine contestation of policy ideas that will have significant implications for the future management of the global economic order.


Recently, thioredoxin reductase as a target for treatment of tumors has attracted the attention of scientists. 1,2-[Bis(1,2-benzisoselenazolone-3(2 H)-ketone)]ethane (ethaselen, BBSKE, PCT: CN02/00412), designed and synthesized previously, is an effective thioredoxin reductase inhibitor; presently it is in phase II clinical trials, targeting gastric cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. To seek more novel and effective anticancer drugs, we have developed many selenazole-based compounds. Evaluation of the thioredoxin reductase inhibitory effect and investigation of the mechanism of anticancer drugs require abundant thioredoxin reductase, but since commercial thioredoxin reductase is expensive its use is often limited. Therefore, the preparation of thioredoxin reductase is necessary. Base on the above investigation, in this work we have prepared thioredoxin reductase and evaluated selenazole-based compounds, and found that 44 compounds have high inhibitory effect on thioredoxin reductase with IC50 < 10 µ m, of which 16 compounds have IC50 values below 1 µ m. This is helpful in investigating and elucidating the mechanism of this kind of compound. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


The limitations of nonmedicated intrauterine devices (IUDs) and the potential for improving IUD performance through the addition of pharmacologic agents are discussed. The mechanisms of action of IUDs, particularly of the copper and the progesterone‐releasing devices, are reviewed. The development of improved intrauterine contraceptive devices will depend on an understanding of these mechanisms of action. In order to determine the optimal design of intrauterine contraceptives, the effects of the pharmacologic agents will also have to be evaluated, both separately and in combination with the carrier (vector).


The one-Coulomb-centre problem is considered in the prolate spheroidal coordinate system. The asymptotic expansions for the separation constant and the Coulomb spheroidal quasiradial and quasiangular wavefunctions are derived when the distances between the foci of the spheroidal system R are large. The constructed wavefunctions are in excellent agreement with the exact wavefunctions in intra-atomic space, when the condition is fulfilled. The formulae obtained in the present paper can easily be generalized for the case of the two-Coulomb-centre problem.


Received on: 02.10.2018 Revised on: 13.12.2018 Accepted on: 15.12.2018 Alloimmunization is common among transfusion recipients due to the human body defence mechanism as it is exposed to a foreign antigen on the donor's red blood cells. The antibody developed in transfusion recipients varies among the different population. This study determines the prevalence and specificity of red blood cells alloantibody detected during pre-transfusion testing among patients at Hospital Seberang Jaya, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was carried out among the 17,708 patients admitted and underwent antibody screening test within one year. The study was then narrowed to focusing on the patients that showed positive antibody screening results for further analysis. A total of 226 patients were selected out of the total 17,708 samples with the incidence of 1.28%. The red blood cells alloantibodies were detected in 179/226 (79.2%) patients, and a combination of auto and alloantibodies were identified in 2/226 (0.9%) patients. There were 44 (19.5%) patients with undetermined antibody specificity. 170 (75.2%) patients had developed a single antibody, while 56 (24.8%) patients had developed multiple antibodies. For single alloantibody, the non-specific antibody was the most identified with 44 (19.5%) patients, followed by antiD 31 (13.7%) patients, and anti-Lea 26 (11.5%) patients. As for multiple specificity antibody cases, the combination of anti-Lea and anti-Leb were the most common antibodies identified with 33 (14.6%) of the cases. Among the 226 patients, 50 (22.1%) have a history of blood transfusion, while 118 (52.2%) were without blood transfusion, while no information was available for the remaining 58 (25.6%) patients. In view of the alloimmunization cases among patients, antibody screening is a crucial part of pre-transfusion testing in order to provide the most suitable blood and avoid compromising patient's safety.


The method to produce spin-polarized xenon-129 gas was based on the method of spin-exchange optical pumping (SEOP). The magnetizations produced by the hyperpolarized (HP) xenon-129 gas were analyzed from the perspective of theoretical and experimental research. The theoretical simulation was based on the conventional Bloch equation. The experimental research was based on measurements made by using an all-optical atomic magnetometer. The experimental results agreed with the theoretical simulated results, which proved that an all-optical atomic magnetometer had the ability to measure the magnetic field produced by xenon-129 nuclei in a low external magnetic field. Because the frequency of the nuclear spin precession could be detected precisely, the results showed that the mean measurement error of the gyromagnetic ratio was 1.1 × 10 -4 Hz/nT.


Desulfurization of heavy naphtha by a catalytic oxidation process combining hydrogen peroxide with organic and inorganic acids and in the presence of a PMN550 catalyst. This study was conducted to find out the effect of many variables on the efficiency of the process, especially the effect of hydrogen peroxide, the amount of acid, temperature, residence time, weight of the catalyst (0.01-0.6) g, temperature (20-120) C, residence time (20-140) minutes, ratio hydrogen peroxide to heavy naphtha (0.1-0.6) ml and ratio acid to heavy naphtha (0.01-0.175) ml. The catalytic oxidation process depends on all of the above variables. Desulphurization of heavy naphtha using organic and inorganic oxidizers in combination with hydrogen peroxide, glacial acetic acid, phthalic acid, malic acid, sulfuric acid and formic acid. The maximum removal of sulfur was with sulfuric acid and formic acid, which are 50%, 55%, respectively. the catalytic oxidation process carried out In two steps: the first step was the catalytic oxidation at a moderate temperature and atmospheric pressure, and the second step was to extract the oxidized mixture with a methanol-water mixture. The efficiency of the catalytic oxidation process carried out in the presence of PMN550 reached 99%. The catalyst was manufactured in the laboratory and a set of catalyst tests were performed on it FT-IR, AFM, BET, XRD, and XRF, which It has proven its efficacy. Mathematical models of the relevant reactions were developed to match the experimental results by obtaining the optimal kinetic parameters. Using optimization methods, the maximum conversion rate was 99%, at a temperature of 90°C, a residence time 60 minutes and the initial concentration was 651.3ppm.


Expression of cytokeratin (Ck) proteins in the guinea pig cochlea was examined using a recently developed immunohistochemical method for celloidin section. This method has allowed us to observe a whole cochlea with excellent morphological preservation in a visual field under the light microscope. Anti-Ck antibodies FIL-7 (AE-1, Signet Lab.) and NCL-CK19 (Novocastra Lab.) stained all supporting cells of the organ of Corti, in which pillar cells, Deiters' cells, Hensen's cells, and Boettcher's cells showed a strong reaction. The histochemical labeling of pillar and Deiter's cells showed a gradual increment from the base to the apex. The immunohistochemically stained area in Hensen's cells increased toward the apex, which was attributed mainly to the increase in both the number and size of Hensen's cells from the base to the apex. In an electron-microscopic examination, changes in histochemical labeling of Hensen's cells did not appear from the base to the apex. Close examination revealed that reaction precipitates were distributed along a filament structure which seemed to correspond to the cytokeratin filaments. These results suggest that the Ck filaments give elasticity and flexibility to the supporting cells in the organ of Corti and provide mechanical strength to the organ of Corti at the upper turns, which vibrate with larger amplitudes, and that the Ck filaments in the supporting cell must be of considerable importance as a tuning mechanism. Immunohistochemical labeling for Ck was also observed in the spiral prominence cells, outer sulcus cells, interdental cells, and Reissner's membrane. The positively stained area in the outer sulcus increased from the apex to the base.


We proved that a trained model in supervised deep learning minimizes the conditional risk for each input (Theorem 2.1). This property provided insights into the behavior of trained models and established a connection between supervised and unsupervised learning in some cases. In addition, when the labels are intractable but can be written as a conditional risk minimizer, we proved an equivalent form of the original supervised learning problem with accessible labels (Theorem 2.2). We demonstrated that many existing works, such as Noise2Score, Noise2Noise and score function estimation can be explained by our theorem. Moreover, we derived a property of classification problem with noisy labels using Theorem 2.1 and validated it using MNIST dataset. Furthermore, We proposed a method to estimate uncertainty in image super-resolution based on Theorem 2.2 and validated it using ImageNet dataset. Our code is available on github.


We report the case of an unexpected 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose-avid lesion in the right lower abdomen in a patient with otherwise "very limited" (T1N0) small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Additional imaging and endoscopic studies showed no abnormality. The patient was treated for presumed very limited disease SCLC, with resection, adjuvant chemotherapy, and prophylactic brain irradiation. Follow-up fusion positron emission tomography-computed tomography revealed an unusual SCLC complication.


Using rapid filtration, we investigated the kinetics of release toward the lumen of sarcoplasmic reticulum vesicles of the two Ca2+ ions transported by the Ca(2+)-dependent ATPase of these vesicles. Release rates at 20 degrees C were measured by three methods, with vesicles previously made leaky with an ionophore. First, we measured the rate at which 45Ca2+ bound to ATPase approached its steady-state level after addition of ATP to the 45Ca(2+)-equilibrated ATPase. At pH 6 in the absence of potassium, the observed kinetics did not reveal any very fast phase of 45Ca2+ dissociation from phosphorylated ATPase. Second, we measured the kinetics of 45Ca2+ dissociation from phosphorylated ATPase in a "chase" experiment, by isotopic dilution of calcium under turnover conditions in the presence of potassium. We found that these kinetics were essentially monophasic. Moreover, when they were measured in the presence of a high concentration of calcium, designed to saturate the low-affinity calcium transport sites on the lumenal side of the ATPase, they only departed slightly from monophasic behavior, irrespective of the experimental pH (pH 6, 7, or 9). This small perturbation by high calcium concentrations of the observed dissociation kinetics was attributed to ADP-facilitated rapid exchange of 40Ca2+ for Mg2+ at the catalytic site of phosphorylated ATPase. The third method was based on the fact that phosphorylation-induced 45Ca2+ occlusion occurred faster than 45Ca2+ dissociation from nonphosphorylated ATPase: here, we measured the rate of 45Ca2+ internalization on addition to 45Ca(2+)-saturated ATPase of an unlabeled ATP-containing medium. This method allowed separate observation of the dissociation kinetics of each of the two 45Ca2+ ions bound to phosphorylated ATPase, after either one or the other had been labeled by a preliminary partial isotopic exchange in the non-phosphorylated state of the ATPase. We found that after ATP-induced phosphorylation, the two 45Ca2+ ions dissociated toward the lumenal medium with virtually identical rate constants; this was observed under different ionic and pH conditions and also in the presence of a high Ca2+ concentration. As a control, the same partial isotopic exchange procedure allowed us to confirm that, in contrast, when ATP was absent from the final dissociation medium, the two 45Ca2+ ions dissociated from nonphosphorylated ATPase toward the cytoplasmic medium at different rates, the one bound more deeply only dissociating after a lag period corresponding to dissociation of the superficial one.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


Material and Methods Current study was conducted in large accredited academic institute serving as a tertiary care centre in the city of Mumbai, India. Study was done in Department Of Nuclear Medicine by performing myocardial perfusion scintigraphy in all cases. Patients with CKD with or without dialysis are at a higher risk of ischaemic heart disease due to multiple risk factors associated with renal disorders. Gated myocardial perfusion scintigraphy used in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h p h y s i c a l o r pharmacological exercise testing gives information about perfusion, ejection fraction, wall motion and myocardial thickening. According to current opinion, the demonstration of silent myocardial ischaemia requires the detection of CAD, preferably by myocardial perfusion s c i n t i g r a p h y ( M P S ) o r s t r e s s


Four new iridoid glucosides, called genamesides A-D, have been isolated from the fruit of Genipa americana L. (Rubiaceae), along with four known iridoid glucosides, geniposidic acid, geniposide, gardenoside and genipin-gentiobioside. Their chemical structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data.


Following a recent paper by Alday and Tachikawa, we compute the instanton partition function in the presence of the surface operator by the localization formula on the moduli space. For SU(2) theories we find an exact agreement with CFT correlation functions with a degenerate operator insertion, which enables us to work out the decoupling limit of the superconformal theory with four flavors to asymptotically free theories at the level of differential equations for CFT correlation functions (irregular conformal blocks). We also argue that the K theory (or five dimensional) lift of these computations gives open topological string amplitudes on local Hirzebruch surface and its blow ups, which is regarded as a geometric engineering of the surface operator. By computing the amplitudes in both A and B models we collect convincing evidences of the agreement of the instanton partition function with surface operator and the partition function of open topological string.


228 Inherited Cholinesterase Deficiency in a Parturient: Prolonged Neuromuscular Block Due to Pseudocholinesterase Deficiency in a Parturient Abstract Type: Case Report/Case Series Natesan Manimekalai, M.D.; Izabela M. Wasiluk, M.D.; Igor Ianov, M.D. Uf College of Medicine-JacksonvilleType: Case Report/Case Series Natesan Manimekalai, M.D.; Izabela M. Wasiluk, M.D.; Igor Ianov, M.D. Uf College of Medicine-Jacksonville Introduction: Pseudocholinesterase deficiency can be inherited or acquired, and results in the impairment of the metabolism of choline-ester drugs such as succinylcholine and chloroprocaine. We present a case in which pseudocholinesterase deficiency was detected for the first time in the immediate post partum period after emergent surgery. Case Report: 29 yr old G5, P5 parturient with no known medical issues and no previous surgery, 6hrs post normal vaginal delivery, had profuse vaginal bleeding and was brought to OR for emergent D&E and cervical laceration repair. Rapid sequence general anesthesia was induced with standard doses of propofol and succinylcholine. Surgery lasted for 1hr and 26 min, at the end of which the patient did not return to spontaneous breathing and remained apneic, due to prolonged neuromuscular blockade (TOF revealed 0/4 twitches). The patient was left intubated with ventilator support in the PACU for 1 hr 50 min later (total of 3 hr and 40 min from succinylcholine administration), when patient was successfully extubated; following commands, breathing spontaneously with good tidal volume and TOF of 4/4 strong twitches. A diagnosis of pseudocholinesterase deficiency was suspected. Laboratory test were undertaken for dibucaine inhibition testing. Dibucane number returned at 38% and a diagnosis of heterozygous pseudocholinesterase deficiency was made. Patient recovered well and was discharged home in good condition, while being informed that she should give this information to anesthesia providers prior for any future surgery and that family members should be tested for this condition. Discussion: Pseudocholinesterase activity is reduced during pregnancy and early post partum period, with the highest reduction (33%) occurring 3 days post partum (1). This reduction can cause a longer lasting neuromuscular block recovery from succinylcholine, when compared to non-pregnant patients, but is usually not clinically significant (2). If there is an additional decrease in levels due to additional pathology such as impaired liver function in HELLP, then a more pronounced residual neuromuscular block from succinylcholine can occur. The prolonged neuromuscular blockade from succinylcholine seen in this case, was likely due to the combination of pregnancy and heterozygous pseudocholinesterase deficiency. Neuromuscular monitoring is essential for early detection of prolonged neuromuscular block and for clinical assessment of recovery. Pseudocholinesterase deficiency should be suspected and tested for patients who have prolonged neuromuscular block after administration of succinylcholine. References 1. Robertson GS. Br JAnaesth. 1966;38(5):361-369. 2. Gyasi HK, Mohy O, Adu-Gyamfi Y, Naguib M. Plasma Middle East J Anesthesiol. 1986 8(5):379-85.


Exposure to chronic restraint stress has been shown to cause a number of morphological changes in the hippocampal formation of rats. Tocotrienol, an isoform of vitamin E, exhibits numerous health benefits, different from those of tocopherol. Recent studies have demonstrated that tocotrienol prevents stress-induced changes in the gastric mucosa, thus indicating that it may also protect other organs such as the brain from the damaging effects of stress. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) extracted from palm oil on the dentate gyrus of rats following exposure to chronic restraint stress. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups: control, stress, tocotrienol and combination of stress and tocotrienol. Animals were stressed by restraining them for 5 hours every day for 21 consecutive days. TRF was administered via oral gavage at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight. Our results showed that the plasma corticosterone level was significantly increased in response to stress, compared to the control. The results confirmed previous findings that chronic restraint stress suppresses cellular proliferation and reduces granule cell number in the dentate gyrus. However, TRF supplementation failed to prevent or minimize these stress-induced changes. Therefore, we conclude that TRF at the current dosage is not effective in preventing the morphological changes in the dentate gyrus induced by chronic restraint stress.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate and analyze the typical CT findings of salivary gland lymphoepithelial carcinoma.

METHODS
CT findings in 8 patients with lymphoepithelial carcinoma (LEC) in salivary gland were studied retrospectively. Surgical resection was performed in all cases.

RESULTS
8 cases were subdivided to primary tumor and secondary tumor. In primary tumor group, 5 were localized in the parotid gland, 2 were found in the submandibular glands; 6 lesions had with homogeneous density, 1 was associated with cystic degeneration and 1 with calcification; the margins of lesions in 5 cases were poorly defined, while well-defined in 2. On enhanced CT: obvious enhancement was achieved in all of the 7 solitary lesions, among which 4 were homogenously enhanced while the other 3 had heterogeneous enhancement. In the 2 cases of nodules in deep lobe, retromandibular vein was affected; 7 patients had positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) test, with Ki-67 measurements ranged from 40% to 80%. 1 patient had LEC secondary to Benign Lymphoepithelial Lesion (BLEL), with involvement of bilateral parotid glands; the lesion was manifested as multiple differently-sized nodules, with partial cystic change, all of the nodules had clear margins, and obvious ring-shape enhancement was seen in the nodules with cystic change; the patient with secondary LEC had negative EBV test and a Ki-67 value of 20%.

CONCLUSION
In most cases, LEC was primary and occurred in the parotid glands. The probable diagnosis could be made based upon Dual-phase contrast-enhanced CT scan findings combined with positive expression of EBV.


This article compares two theories of human rationality that have found application in political science: procedural, bounded rationality from contemporary cognitive psychology, and global, substantive rationality from economics. Using examples drawn from the recent literature of political science, it examines the relative roles played by the rationality principle and by auxiliary assumptions (e.g., assumptions about the content of actors' goals) in explaining human behavior in political contexts, and concludes that the model predictions rest primarily on the auxiliary assumptions rather than deriving from the rationality principle. The analysis implies that the principle of rationality, unless accompanied by extensive empirical research to identify the correct auxiliary assumptions, has little power to make valid predictions about political phenomena.


ABSTRACT This qualitative study, grounded theory oriented, identifies familial affection and preference for abundance as major drivers of wasted food in lower-middle income American families. These positive intentions provide an improved understanding of household food waste, a problem with high environmental impact and moral implications. Based on empirical data collected with twenty caregivers via in-depth interviews, observations, and analysis of photos, this study provides novel explanations, such as on how stockpiling comfort foods in abundance – a form of both boosting positive self-emotions and showing affection for kids – can promote more wasted food. Other antecedents identified include multiplicity of choices, convenience, procrastination and unplanned routines. In sum, this research identifies a negative outcome of affection and food abundance in the family context, while providing a theoretically relevant general framework to help understand the food waste phenomenon. Authors suggest increasing the awareness of nutritional gatekeepers through behavioral economics principles.


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 of this issue, two groups of climate researchers report that two climate models have passed a new test: simulating the warming of the deep oceans during the past half-century. Climate modelers say the studies provide stronger evidence that climate is changing and that the change is likely due to human influence. However, a conflict between the two studies underscores the difficulties in gauging how bad greenhouse warming could be.


In this paper, we consider risk-sensitive sequential decision-making in Reinforcement Learning (RL). Our contributions are two-fold. First, we introduce a novel and coherent quantification of risk, namely composite risk, which quantifies the joint effect of aleatory and epistemic risk during the learning process. Existing works considered either aleatory or epistemic risk individually, or as an additive combination. We prove that the additive formulation is a particular case of the composite risk when the epistemic risk measure is replaced with expectation. Thus, the composite risk is more sensitive to both aleatory and epistemic uncertainty than the individual and additive formulations. We also propose an algorithm, SENTINEL-K, based on ensemble bootstrapping and distributional RL for representing epistemic and aleatory uncertainty respectively. The ensemble of K learners uses Follow The Regularised Leader (FTRL) to aggregate the return distributions and obtain the composite risk. We experimentally verify that SENTINEL-K estimates the return distribution better, and while used with composite risk estimates, demonstrates higher risk-sensitive performance than state-of-the-art risk-sensitive and distributional RL algorithms.


In the past 2 decades the increasing intensive use of non-linear loads has resulted in a substantial reduction of power quality in electric power systems. Current harmonics produced by non-linear loads, such as power electronic converters and electrical drives cause a number of problems in power distribution networks. In more recent years this problem has affected also smaller distribution grids like for example in aircrafts, due to the so called "more electric aircraft" trend, consisting in the replacement of most of hydraulic/pneumatic actuators with electronically controlled electromechanical devices. Electrically powered actuation is becoming more attractive due to technology advances in bespoke equipment among which electrical motors, magnetic materials, electronic control circuits and power devices. Power electronics converters are required to control electrical power and are necessary for example for actuator motor drives and to convert variable frequency (360-800Hz) in the next generation of civil aircraft to a constant frequency supply bus for various loads or to a DC supply bus. Although the presence of electrically powered equipment is desirable for weight and fuel cost reduction, the increase of electrical systems on board, and above all the presence of power electronic subsystems, brings severe challenges to aircraft power system distribution interns of power quality.

The aim of this research project is to investigate Shunt Active Filter (SAF) solutions to improve the quality of power of on-board grids. In particular advanced control strategies will be studied in order to enhance the SAFs' operation in maintaining high power quality in these particular power networks. Anyway, only harmonics compensation will be addressed, as considered SAF are not intended to alleviate other power quality potential issues such as current unbalance between phases, reactive power compensation. This research project presents the specific application of a wide-band current control method based on Iterative Learning Control (ILC) for aircraft power networks, and introduces enhanced design strategies to increase compensation accuracy and improve the robustness of the SAF control system by using a P-type ILC controller. Due to the fact that a variable supply frequency (360Hz - 800Hz) is adopted in the power networks of newly released aircrafts, this research project presents a close investigation of the P-type ILC current controlled SAF system in such application (together with the standard fixed 400Hz supply), and hence identifies suitable modifications for the SAF system control to provide an effective and accurate current harmonic cancellation during the supply frequency variation.

Considering both simulation and experimental results, it can be concluded that the proposed SAF control proved to be very effective for accurate reduction of current harmonics on aircraft power grids with both fixed and variable supply frequency, using ordinary equipment and reasonable switching frequency and also ensuring good dynamics in transient conditions.


For the first time in the history of Dutch dialectology, a detailed overview of the variation in the formation of words has become available in the Morphological Atlas of the Dutch Dialects (MAND). MAND presents the state of the art in dialect morphology at the end of the twentieth century in two volumes.There exists an enormous differentiation in word formation in a rather small linguistic area: the area where Netherlandic and Frisian dialects are spoken within the states of the Netherlands and Belgium. The word formation processes in these dialects differ considerably from Standard Dutch by different word endings, different stem vowels (shortened, lengthened and umlauted vowels) and tonal contrasts.The MAND is based on data acquired in fieldwork from 1979-2000, a collaborative effort of linguists from the Netherlands and Belgium. In 613 localities, recordings were made of 1876 word forms or sentences. Volume I includes three subjects: plural formation of nouns, the formation of diminutives and the gender of nouns, adjectives and possessive pronouns. The more than 200 maps are accompanied by linguistic commentary. Volume II (Fall 2006) includes the grades of comparison, the verbal system and subject and object pronouns. Further information on MAND can be found at: www.meertens.knaw.nl/projecten/MANDAvailable in a Dutch and English edition


Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a food safety concern worldwide due to its high toxicity, particularly in rice, which accumulates As more easily than other crops. Accordingly, low-cost, simple methods are needed for accurate determination of iAs in food crops. We extracted total arsenic (As) from rice using HNO3 and then reduced arsenate (As5+) to arsenite (As3+) using thiourea. The combined As3+ was separated from organic As using polystyrene resin cartridges, and quantified by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). This method achieved 1.1 μg kg−1 limit of detection, 3.6 μg kg−1 limit of qualification, and <6% relative standard deviation. Validation was performed using certified reference materials and conventional high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (HPLC-ICPMS). Compared with LC-HG-AFS or LC-ICPMS, this method appears suitable for general use because of its low cost.


Contactless palmprint recognition systems alleviate the concerns on personal hygiene, acquisition flexibility, etc. Unfortunately, the preprocessing of contactless palmprint image faces several severe challenges, including unconstrained hand placement, complex background, light interference, etc. This paper proposes logical conjunction of triple-perpendicular-directional translation residual (TPDTR) for the improvement of contactless palmprint image preprocessing. The search of hand valley point is within the borders of hand valley gap detected by TPDTR, therefore, the computational cost is effectively decreased. Furthermore, the anti-interference capacity of region is stronger than that of point and line, so TPDTR improves the accuracy of hand valley point detection. The experimental results confirm the superiorities of TPDTR over the existing methods in computational cost and accuracy.


We discuss discrete stochastic processes with two independent variables: one is the standard symmetric random walk, and the other is the Poisson process. Convergence of discrete stochastic processes is analysed, such that the symmetric random walk tends to the standard Brownian motion. We show that a discrete analogue of Ito's formula converges to the corresponding continuous formula.


Adipokinetic hormones (AKH) are synthesized in endocrine cells of the glandular corpora cardiaca, in the anterior part of the retrocerebral complex. AKH plays an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates that fuel energydepleting activities such as flight and walking. To date, the primary sequences of eight isoforms from various beetle species have been elucidated. In this study, the glandular part of the CC from two Ladybird beetles, Cheilomenes lunata and Coccinella septempunctata were directly analysed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. Subsequently, the amino acid sequences of both putative novel AKHs were confirmed by tandem mass spectrometry.


In this study, advanced steel usage on seat construction was studied to obtain weight reduction, and structural analysis was done by using finite-element analysis (FEA) method. Two different seat frames were used. Different loading conditions were applied. One of the seat frames were made of mild steel which is conventional seat frame material and used as a reference for comparison. The other was made of advanced steel to obtain a weight reduction by optimising thickness and improving the design. The results show that the maximum displacement and maximum stress are decreased for four tests when advanced steel is used. In addition, using advanced steel can provide significant weight reduction for seat frame. Thus, using advanced steel can provide fuel efficiency over the vehicle's operating life and also reduce CO2 emissions. Besides comparison of the structural safety and weight reduction, this study researches a lightweight seat concept for future electric/hybrid buses.


Knowledge of the temperature variation with depth near the San Andreas fault is vital to understanding the physical processes that occur within the fault zone during earthquakes and creep events. Parkfield is near the southern end of the Coast Ranges segment of the San Andreas fault. This segment has higher mean heat flow than the Cape Mendocino segment to the northwest or the Mojave segment to the southeast. Boreholes were drilled specifically for the U.S. Geological Survey's Parkfield earthquake prediction experiment or converted from other uses at 25 sites within a few kilometers of the fault near Parkfield. These holes, which range in depth from 150 to over 1500m, were intended mainly for the deployment of volumetric strain meters, water-level recorders, and other downhole instruments. Temperature profiles were obtained from all the holes, and heat flow values were estimated from 17 of them. For a number of reasons, including a paucity of thermal conductivity data and rugged local topography, the accuracy of individual determinations was not sufficiently high to document local variations in heat flow. Values range from 54 to 92 mW m−2, with mean and 95% confidence limits of 74±4 mW m−2. This mean is slightly lower than the mean (83±3) of 39 previously published values from the central Coast Ranges, but it is consistent with the overall pattern of elevated heat flow in the Coast Ranges, and it is transitional to the mean of 68±2 mW m−2 that characterizes the Mojave segment of the San Andreas fault immediately to the south. The lack of a heat flow peak near the fault underscores the absence of a frictional thermal anomaly and provides additional support for a very small resolved shear stress parallel to the San Andreas fault and the nearly fault-normal maximum compressive stress observed in this region. Estimates of subsurface thermal conditions indicate that the seismicaseismic transition for the Parkfield segment corresponds to temperatures in the range of 350°–400°C. Increasing heat flow to the northwest of Parkfield corresponds to a transition from locked to creeping sections and to a shallowing of the base of seismicity and confirms the importance of temperature in controlling the thickness of the seismogenic crust. Lateral variations in heat flow do not appear to have any major role in determining the regularity of M5.5–6 earthquakes at Parkfield.


Background: Interventions with the performance of sessions with sprints in different intensity manipulations, can be a great alternative to improve physical performance. Objective: To verify the influence of different break times between sprints on the performance of amateur futsal athletes Methods: 10 individuals, men, amateur futsal athletes (Age: 21.5 ± 1.6; Weight: 72.4 ± 6.88; Height: 1.72 ± 0.05; BMI: 24.3 ± 1.2; Fat%: 13.7 ± 3.3, VO2peak: 49.1 ± 10.5) participated in the study. For the intervention, individuals were randomly selected to perform sessions with sprints (10 sets 20 meters) with different pause times, being 15 (S15), 30 (S30) and 60 (S60) seconds. For performance analysis, the speed (km / h) applied to each sprint was used, monitored by a device with a photocell (CEFISE Biotecnologia Esportiva®, Nova Odessa, São Paulo) and the statistical treatment of all data was through the software Statistica 7.0 (Statsoft ™, Tulsa, OK, USA) using a significance level of p≤0.05. Results: There was an interaction between speed and interval time (p = 0.000). For condition S15, a greater reduction in performance was observed (p≤0.05), while for S30 and S60, no significant reduction in performance was observed (p> 0.05). The data for the area under the curve showed a significant difference (p = 0.000), where the interval of 60 seconds (S60) was longer compared to the values of 30 (S30) (p = 0.000) and 15 seconds (S15) (p = 0.000). However, there were no significant differences between the 30 and 15 second data (p = 0.248). Conclusion: Shorter time (15 seconds) of interval between repeated sprints can significantly affect performance when compared to longer breaks (30 and 60 seconds). But, all the conditions tested here, can be positive for the improvement of the performance, mainly in sports that demand fast and efficient motor actions, as for example, futsal.


Calculations of the integral and differential cross sections for the electronic excitation of the 21L and 31L states of helium are reported. The multichannel eikonal theory employing a 10-channel basis set is used. The lambda and chi parameters for the 21P and 31P states at 80 eV are also reported. A number of misprints concerning the original multichannel eikonal theory results of Flannery and McCann (1975) have occurred in the literature. These misprints are corrected in the paper. A detailed description of both the theoretical and experimental difficulties involved in the determination of the integral cross sections sigma 11S to 31S and sigma 11S to 31D is provided. In addition, a critique of the assumptions made in previous experimental determinations of the differential cross sections (both composite and magnetic sublevel) for the 21L states of helium is given. A principal conclusion of the paper is that the first Born approximation underestimates experimental data in the intermediate energy region for 1S1D transitions, in contrast to the trend seen in 1S1P transitions. In the paper the importance of indirect mechanisms in the excitation of the 31S and 31D is shown, thereby confirming the early results of Chung and Lin (1968, 1969) and the tentative conclusions of Massey (1969, 1974).


Two years after the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects on rural tourism remain understudied. This paper aims to study the performance of rural accommodation businesses by assessing their environmental and health attitudes. Data on environmental and health measures and business performance perceptions were collected through a questionnaire completed by 1,794 managers, the largest dataset to date for rural tourism. A PLS-SEM model and Importance- Performance Analysis (IPMA) were run to assess both dimensions towards these businesses' resilience. The main findings were that (1) environmental dimensions were relegated by COVID-19 ones affecting resilience and (2) the fulfilment of hygiene protocols and measures by guests and businesses were crucial in business resilience. The IPMA also allows informed decision-making by identifying relative importance and performance, supporting the PLS-SEM conclusions. In conclusion, the recent situation might have benefited rural tourism businesses thanks to their resilience and might be a chance to tackle rural tourism seasonality.


A value stream is all the actions (both value added and non-value added) required to bring a product through the main flows essential to every product for the production flow from raw material into the arms of the customer and to design the flow from concept to launch as a lean manufacturing tool. Taking a value stream perspective means working on the big picture, not just individual processes and improving the whole not just optimizing the parts. Value stream mapping is a lean manufacturing technique and was first introduced as an independent methodology by Mike Rother and John Shook. Recording and mapping the processes to measure distances, times, number of workforce involved in the flow will further improve the productivity andquality of goods and service. It also reduces production lead time and WIP inventory. This paper describes the basic overview of manufacturing system performance improvement by VSM and the previous work carried by researchers along with brief review. It is possible to reduce lead time by reducing waste through proper scheduling, better team work, planning, training the workers and awareness in the workforce regarding the global competition. VSM is applicable to any kind of industry for performance improvement.


Report on prenatal sonographic diagnosis of osteogenesis imperfecta of the classical type Ekman Lobstein (osteopsathyrosis) in the 35th week of pregnancy. We could demonstrate the marked penetration of ultrasound through the characteristically very thin long bones even before the occurrence of fractures. Difficulties in attributing our case to one of the four groups of osteogenesis imperfecta according to Sillence are discussed, as well as the obstetrical management of these prenatally diagnosed cases.


This paper describes a novel learning-based approach for improving the performance of stereo computation. It is based on the observation that whether the image matching scores lead to true or erroneous depth values is dependent on the original stereo images and the underlying scene structure. This function is learned from training data and is integrated into a depth estimation algorithm using the MAP-MRF framework. Because the resultant likelihood function is dependent on the states of a large neighboring region around each pixel, we propose to solve the high-order MRF inference problem using the simulated annealing algorithm combined with a Metropolis-Hastings sampler. A segmentation-based approach is proposed to accelerate the computational speed and improve the performance. Preliminary experimental results show that the learning process captures common errors in SSD matching including the fattening effect, the aperture effect, and mismatches in occluded or low texture regions. It is also demonstrated that the proposed approach significantly improves the accuracy of the depth computation.


Abstract The paper presents new applications of the Ontology-to-Text Relation Strategy to Bulgarian Iconographic Domain. First the strategy itself is discussed within the triple ontology-terminological lexicon-annotation grammars, then - the related works. Also, the specifics of the semantic annotation and evaluation over iconographic data are presented. A family of domain ontologies over the iconographic domain are created and used. The evaluation against a gold standard shows that this strategy is good enough for more precise, but shallow results, and can be supported further by deep parsing techniques.


Objectives: Dysphagia is a common consequence of pediatric ingestion injury, yet there is a lack of data relating to recommencement of oral (per os; PO) intake or use of feeding therapy. We describe patterns of early PO intake, and referral to speech-language pathology (SLP) for feeding therapy, during the acute admission of a pediatric cohort postchemical or button battery ingestion injury. Methods: Retrospective chart review of pediatric ingestion injuries admitted to a quaternary hospital from 2008 to 2013. Clinical parameters, PO intake progression, and nature of referrals for feeding therapy during the acute admission were examined. Results: Fifty-one children (26 boys; mean age: 31.5, range 4–170 months) were identified (75% with grade II or III mucosal injuries), of whom 31 (60%) had impaired PO intake. Of these, 5 recommenced premorbid PO intake during admission. At discharge, 16 remained on modified PO intake, and 10 remained nil PO. Eight (26%) were referred to SLP for feeding therapy during acute admission, or within 4 months of discharge. Feeding therapy-referred children were more likely to have pediatric intensive care admission (PICU) (100% vs 26%), and longer hospital admission (36.1 vs 9.3 days for those not referred). Conclusions: More than half of the cohort had impaired PO intake, and one-third were nil PO at time of discharge. Referrals for feeding therapy were limited. Our findings may provide some guidance for clinicians, patients, and their families regarding possible PO intake recovery patterns, as well as provide background for evaluating the potential for feeding therapy and SLP involvement within this population.


In the current millennial era, the digitalization of promotions offers abundant potential so that each agency is competing to attract public attention through the development of promotional digitization. East Java "Veteran" National Development University has the same opportunity to compete in providing the best digital information and promotions. As for some urgency to immedi-ately build a campus network, it needs to be developed, prospective new students, prospective work partners, or colleagues who come from outside the city, outside the region, or even abroad, a distance appropriate to the cost becomes an obstacle to realizing the journey to campus, and the need provide real experiences and deeper impressions for the stakeholders to see the con-tents of the Campus. So, this study aims to build a Virtual Campus Exploration application (Jejakatua) as a Media Promotion Era at the "Veteran" National Development University of East Java. The result of this research has succeeded in building JEJAKATUA and can facilitate the limitations of distance, space, time, and costs for all Campus stakeholders in a more real, realistic, and interactive virtual form.


Digital media fosters new spatial concepts and constructs in ways unconventional to the representational culture of architecture. Non-linear and simultaneous modes of expression, simulations, and construction of spatial and interactive experiences through simultaneous collective reception of images, can trigger technological, material and spatial concepts to be realized. My research and teaching encompass interdisciplinary processes, utilizing multi-dimensional, time-based disciplines to address spatial and temporal dynamics of movement through space. This body of work engaging interdisciplinary issues of interface between technological and theoretical discourses of architecture has become the means to develop and investigate pedagogic and didactic aspects of this hypothesis.


Heterologous serum was obtained from rabbits that had received repeated intravenous injections of a suspension of intact cells prepared from the thymus glands of puppies. The survival of renal homotransplants in bilaterally nephrectomized dogs treated with a single subcutaneous injection of this serum was significantly longer than the survival of transplants in untreated animals.


Measurements have been made in glass capillary tubes of 52 and 108u diameter, in the temperature range from 1.15 to 2.15 °K. For sufficiently small temperature gradients the thermal resistance is independent of the heat flow and is caused solely by the viscosity of the normal fluid, nn. This viscosity has been calculated from the measured thermal resistance data with the use of the existing entropy values, and the results from the two tubes are in very good agreement except for a small deviation at low temperatures which is attributed to slip. The viscosity at the saturated vapour pressure, when corrected for slip, agrees closely with the results obtained by the rotating cylinder viscometer but does not agree with the oscillating disk experiments. The variation of nn at low temperatures follows the theory of Landau & Khalatnikov if A/k is taken as 8.9 °K, but the measured values of the slip correction are slightly larger than would be expected from the theoretical phonon and roton mean free paths. In the 52 u tube the measurements have been extended up to the solidification pressure so as to give nn as a function of density. Near the lambda line nn increases rapidly with density, but at low temperatures the variation is quite small and it is found that the contribution from the rotons is almost independent of density.


Introduction Respect for patients' privacy and dignity and the maintenance of confidentiality are long-established principles of medical practice. General Medical Council has emphasised that patients have a right to expect that information about them will be held in confidence by their doctors and staff involved in their care. Confidentiality is central to the preservation of trust between doctors and their patients. Without assurances about confidentiality, patients may be reluctant to give information to the doctors, which they need in order to provide good care to the patients. The aim of this research study was to assess the patient impression on the confidentiality and privacy, maintained in maternity wards at tertiaryreferral centre of St Mary's Hospital for women and children. Materials and methods Using a structured questionnaire, patients were interviewed about privacy, dignity and confidentiality experienced during their stay in the hospital. The questionnaire did not have any questions, which would reveal the identity of the patient and was conducted in confidentiality, after their consent. Results Sixty patients returned the completed questionnaire. The survey group mainly consisted of postnatal mothers (80%) staying in the bays shared by four patients (70%). There were eight patients in the teenage group. Number of days for the stay varied from 1–20 days, with mean of 7.5 days. Conclusion Our research study focused on women's responses to their recent experience on maternity wards regarding privacy and confidentiality. It sought to gain insight into the service features the women associated with negative and positive reactions.


Fraud has general and specific meanings: In general conversation, fraud is a deception; in law, it can be a felony. In The Great Betrayal: Fraud in Science, Horace Freeland Judson usually implies the general meaning, but he discusses the legal setting.

The significant fraud that Judson sees in science is plagiarism in the broad sense by those who review grant proposals and journal manuscripts, and fabrication and falsification by scientists who write the proposals and manuscripts. To get at this, he begins with twentieth-century business and social fraud: investment trusts developed in the years leading to the Great Crash of 1929, the exuberance of the 1990s, inventive reporting of Jayson Blair at the New York Times, corruption of the U.S. Olympic Committee, and scandal in the Catholic Church.


BILATERAL duplication of the submandibular ducts was revealed by sialography in a patient with a dermoid cyst in the floor of the mouth. A literature search failed to reveal previous reports of duplicated submandibular ducts. Report of a Case A 22-year-old Negro male factory worker was admitted to the Medical Service of the Yale-New Haven Medical Center in July 1965 with gonococcal polyarthritis, septicemia, and possible gonococcal endocarditis. He was treated satisfactorily with penicillin for four weeks. During the course of treatment, consultation was obtained from the Section of Otolaryngology for evaluation of a mass in the floor of the mouth. The patient complained of a gradual, progressive swelling of the floor of his mouth for seven months. Dysphagia with decreased appetite was occasionally present for three months. A change in the character of his speech had been noticed by his friends for several weeks. There was no history


ABSTRACT Diverse and well-preserved marine palynomorphs occur in the Padeha, Khoshyeilagh, and Mobarak formations in the Khoshyeilagh area, northeastern Alborz, northern Iran. The marine palynomorph assemblages consist of acritarchs, prasinophytes, and chitinozoans, comprising 27 genera and 46 species. In addition, the studied sediments contain 20 species of algae, foraminifera, and corals allocated to 11 genera. The vertical distribution of acritarchs and chitinozoans allows the erection within these sediments of three local assemblage zones. Biozone I occurs in the upper part of the Padeha Formation and the basal part of the Khoshyeilagh Formation, suggesting a Frasnian–early Famennian age; Biozone II is present in the Khoshyeilagh Formation and indicates a Famennian age. Biozone III, which occurs in the basal part of the Mobarak Formation, suggests a Tournaisian age for this interval. Many of the palynomorph species, such as Crassiangulina tessellita, Daillydium pentaster, Deltotosoma intonsum, Gorgonisphaeridium discissum, Helosphaeridium microclavatum, Horologinella horologia, Papulogabata annulata, Somphophragma miscellum, and Veryhachium downiei, are closely comparable with coeval assemblages recorded from Australia, Ireland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, South America, and North America. This indicates the close relationship of the Iranian Platform to other parts of the northern Gondwana and southern Laurentian domain during the Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous. Moreover, results of similarity indices of marine microphytoplankton indicate a relatively high degree of similarity between the assemblages of the Khoshyeilagh area and those elsewhere in the Alborz Mountains and the Kerman Basin. Palaeontological evidence indicates that the Khoshyeilagh Formation was deposited in a low-energy, somewhat offshore, normal marine environment within the Alborz Basin, along the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean during this time interval. Furthermore, based on palynological data gathered from Iran, it can be concluded that Iran was an island during this interval of time.


Recent evidence suggests that the compressive nonlinearity responsible for the extreme dynamic range of the mammalian cochlea is implemented in the form of Hopf amplifiers. Whereas Helmholtz's original concept of the cochlea was that of a frequency analyzer, Hopf amplifiers can be stimulated not only by one, but also by neighboring frequencies. To reduce the resulting computational overhead, the mammalian cochlea is aided by two-tone suppression. We show that the laws governing two-tone suppression and the generation of combination tones naturally emerge from the Hopf-cochlea concept. Thus the Hopf concept of the cochlea reproduces not only local properties like the correct frequency response, but additionally accounts for more complex hearing phenomena that may be related to auditory signal computation.


Strain controlled fatigue life of EN 19 steel and 6082-
T6 aluminum alloy have been predicted considering both crack
initiation and crack propagation phases. Continuum Damage
Mechanics (CDM) approach models the crack initiation life with a damage value and damage beyond the crack initiation phase is predicted by Fracture Mechanics in terms of crack size. Fatigue life is predicted for a smooth (un-notched) specimen in the strain amplitude range of 0.3 % to 0.7 %, in room temperature at stress ratio of -1. The inputs required for both the models have been determined by
conducting monotonic, cyclic, fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth tests. Predicted life is also compared by conducting strain controlled fatigue tests and predicted life compares well with the experimental life. The results show that by using monotonic, cyclic and fracture parameters of a material available in literature and by
conducting Multiple Step Test on one fatigue specimen, it is possible to determine strain controlled crack initiation and crack propagation life of metals and alloys.


Abstract Background: The Bilicare™ is a new device that measures transcutaneous bilirubin (TcB) level at the ear pinna. There are only few studies which have evaluated its accuracy in clinical practice. Objective: This study aims to determine the accuracy of Bilicare™ as a predischarge screening tool in late preterm and term neonates and to define the optimal cutoff point for determining the need to measure total serum bilirubin (TSB). Methods: The 35 weeks' gestation or more and healthy neonates who underwent predischarge TSB measurement were enrolled. Bilicare™ TcB was measured within 30 minutes of blood sampling. Paired TcB and TSB data were analyzed. Results: We collected 214 paired samples. Mean age (SD) at TcB measurement was 57.17 (7.47) hours. Mean TSB (SD) was 9.79 (2.83) mg/dL. TcB showed a significant correlation with TSB (r = 0.84, r2 = 0.7). The mean difference (SD) between TcB and TSB was 0.7 (0.21) mg/dL (95%CI 0.49–0.91). TcB tended to overestimate TSB level at the TSB values of <12 mg/dL but underestimate at the higher TSB level. The accuracy of using TcB values to detect neonates who required phototherapy was 92.5%. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were 78.3, 94.2, 62.1, and 97.3%, respectively. If TcB +3 mg/dL was applied as a cutoff point, the sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV were 100, 53.9, 20.7, and 100%, respectively. Conclusions: Bilicare™ TcB and TSB measurements were well correlated. The TcB level +3 mg/dL could detect all neonates who had significant hyperbilirubinemia requiring phototherapy during their birth hospitalization.


Abstract We investigated the effect of Mg2+ on calcite hillock growth over a broad range of solution conditions in terms of supersaturation (Ωcalcite) and Mg/Ca ratios using atomic force microscopy and secondary ion mass spectrometry. We found that both the incorporation pattern/incorporated Mg2+ quantity in the hillock structure and the Mg2+-induced morphological change of the hillock surface showed strong dependence of the growth conditions. Specifically, when Mg/Ca was high (i.e., >5) and Ωcalcite was low (i.e., ~0.45), Mg2+ was predominantly incorporated into the negative sectors of the hillock structure, resulting in gradual loss of step structure and morphological amorphism on these vicinal surfaces. When Mg/Ca and Ωcalcite were in intermediate ranges (i.e., Mg/Ca < 5, and 0.45 < Ωcalcite < 1), the originally straight edges of the hillock steps exhibited curvatures of varying degrees and formed "tear-drop" morphologies. It is noted that such "tear-drop" morphology was stable within the duration of the experiments and did not evolve into other surface patterns. By contrast, when both Mg/Ca and Ωcalcite were high (i.e., Mg/Ca > 5, and Ωcalcite > 1.1), the growing hillocks experienced two phases of morphological changes, initiated with the formation of "tear-drops" followed by the development of linear ruptures along [481] and [441] directions. And the occurrence of these ruptures segmented the hillock surface effectively into multiple isolated plateaus. Significantly, we revealed the underlying mechanisms for these condition-specific effects of Mg2+ on calcite growth, which mainly resulted from the interplay among three major factors: (1) the size-mismatch between Mg2+ and Ca2+ that causes structural strains in magnesian calcite and leads to morphological amorphism in high-Mg carbonate; (2) the asymmetry of the calcite crystal structure that sets a physical limitation for Mg2+ incorporation patterns in the hillock structure; and (3) the step advancing rate (i.e., the calcite growth kinetics) that affects both Mg2+ incorporation and the accommodation of Mg2+-induced structural strains in the hillock structure. Detailed discussions were given for each growth scenario. The results of our study provide a theoretical base to decipher the roles of Mg2+ in CaCO3 mineralization, and thus, have important implication for a range of processes that involve the growth of Mg-Ca-CO3 systems, such as biomineralization, carbon capture and storage, and scale controls in industrial settings.


An 18-yr-old female patient presented to our unit two years after she had sustained a flame burn, with a three-month history of a right thigh scar ulcer. The ulcer had rapidly progressed with involvement of the sciatic nerve and infiltration of the right femur. Biopsy of the ulcer revealed squamous cell carcinoma. The patient however died shortly after admission from an overwhelming sepsis. The rarity of early onset of Marjolin's ulcer and the rapidity of fatality in this case constitute the reasons for presenting this report.


The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of therapeutically used immunoglobulin G (IgG) on colon cancer in the presence of oxaliplatin. We observed that IgG failed to significantly influence tumor cell viability and tumor growth; however, it significantly inhibited the cytotoxic activity of oxaliplatin in vitro. In addition, we observed that oxaliplatin-induced the activation of ERK; however, IgG inhibits ERK activity. This implies that the application of therapeutical IgG to treating patients, which are receiving oxaliplatin, might have harmful side effects.


We present the hydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic equations for the liquid crystalline smectic CM phase. This phase, which is fluid in the layers, orthogonal and optically biaxial, has recently been found experimentally in polymeric liquid crystals. We compare the macroscopic properties of the CM phase with those of the classical fluid smectic phases, namely smectic A, which is uniaxial, and the classical smectic C phase, that is tilted and biaxial. lAh predict that the in-plane director in the CM phase can show flow alignment. We point out that the chiralized version of smectic CM, C&, has electromechanical properties, that are qualitatively different from those of chiral smectic C*, hut rather similar to those of a classical cholesteric phase. In contrast to C*, C& is not helielectric and thus does not show a linear response to an externally applied spatially homogeneous electric field, except for an electroclinic effect near phase transitions to a tilted phase. But similarly to C* and cholesterics it is predicted to show piezoelectricity.


Dye and Hurley's (1978) conclusion that the states are somewhat more responsive to city needs than the federal government was questioned on methodological grounds by Ward (1981). The point of contention was Dye and Hurley's use of per capita measures of state/federal aid and urban needs. The research reported here examines state aid to the forty seven largest U.S. cities, and employs residual measures of state aid allocations before and during the urban crisis. Multiple regression of residual state aid on social, economic, or fiscal need indicators shows the states to have been very responsive to city needs over time, and lends substantial support to the findings of Dye and Hurley.


At many of the big firm currently in the news for all the wrong reasons, there appear to have developed cultures that treated fraudulent disclosures as standard practice. This does not excuse top management at the wayward firms. However, the fact that similar cultures seem to have appeared simultaneously at a number of companies suggests that the root of the problem is much deeper than can be attributed to the greediness of a few executives.


Victoria Bazin (Northumbria University) argues that Marianne Moore was a connoisseur of modern clutter, drawing on the historical residues of "antiques, rare art objects and ancient artefacts", but also the disorder of the information age: the disaggregated fragments thrown up by contemporary journalism. Moore takes the discursive production of China in the "Illustrated News" and creates a constellation, after Benjamin, that goes further than the confirmation of the West as "a superior site of knowledge" to gesture to something beyond a technocratic modernity.


The article aims to identify the development phases in the process of the regional differentiation in the Czech Republic after 1989, and examines whether this differentiation trend is currently changing. The assumption the article's hypothesis is based on is that during recent development the basic 'parameters' of the principal features of the country's regional structure have been stabilized amidst the conditions of parliamentary democracy and a market economy. Unlike the fi rst phases of socio-economic transition, when differentiating trends prevailed, a certain degree of stabilisation can now be assumed, alongside the emergence of new trends. The development of regional differences was analysed using indicators of GDP, the unemployment rate, entrepreneurial activity, and tax revenue from self-employed physical persons. The fi ndings show that over the course of the 1990s regional differences intensifi ed at both the mezo-regional (regional) level and the micro-regional level. It was also confi rmed that at the turn of the millennium the phase of divergent regional development ended, and since that time regional differences have hovered around the same level.


Obesity is a fast-emerging epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region, with numbers paralleling the rising global prevalence within the past 30 years. The landscape of gut diseases in Asia has been drastically changed by obesity. In addition to more non-specific abdominal symptoms, obesity is the cause of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, various gastrointestinal cancers (colorectal cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, oesophageal adenocarcinoma, gastric cardia adenocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer and gallbladder cancer) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Abnormal cross-talk between the gut microbiome and the obese host seems to play a central role in the pathogenesis, but more studies are needed.


Abstract : In this excellent essay Lt Col David G. Curdy examines the prospects for democratic transitions in the Middle East. He notes that with the conclusion of the cold war, the basis for US Middle East policy, which had centered around oil, Israel, and the Soviet Union, should be reexamined and, perhaps, redesigned. Moreover, major political events stemming from the 199-91 Gulf War have reenergized efforts to implement democratic processes within the region. Colonel Curdy argues that the West has generally held the view that democracy and Islam are mutually exclusive and incompatible. However, he notes that the Islam-based traditions of consultation, consensus, and independent judgment are being used today to legitimize the rise of democracy in a number of Arab states. In opposition to this democratizing trend is the rise of Islamic radicalism which rejects evolutionary political change and liberal political formulas. The clash of these two approaches will severely test US policy in the Middle East. Contemporaneous with these political currents is a new phase in resolving the decades-old Palestinian- Israeli conflict. The Palestinians' struggle to create a democratic identity will be key in establishing their economic vitality and in reassuring Israelis that a Palestinian state will not be a security threat. Colonel Curdy concludes that the future challenge for the US will be to foster the view among Arab states that the US favors democratization based on Islamic traditions, rather than the imposition of Western democratic institutions on our Muslim friends. When democratic Arab nations can coexist with Israel, the US will have contributed to a basis for regional peace and stability that it has long sought, both as an ideal in itself and as instrumental to America's continuing access to Middle East oil and markets.


Operational Arctic sea ice forecasts are of crucial importance to science and to society in the Arctic region. Currently, statistical and numerical climate models are widely used to generate the Arctic sea ice forecasts at weather time-scales. Numerical models require near real-time input of relevant environmental conditions consistent with the model equations and they are computationally expensive. In this study, we propose a deep learning approach, namely Convolutional Long Short Term Memory Networks (ConvLSTM), to forecast sea ice in the Barents Sea at weather to sub-seasonal time scales. This is an unsupervised learning approach. It makes use of historical records and it exploits the covariances between different variables, including spatial and temporal relations. With input fields from reanalysis data, we demonstrate that ConvLSTM is able to learn the variability of the Arctic sea ice and can forecast regional sea ice concentration skillfully at weekly to monthly time scales. It preserves the physical consistency between predictors and predictands, and generally outperforms forecasts with climatology, persistence and a statistical model. Based on the known sources of predictability, sensitivity tests with different climate fields as input for learning were performed. The impact of different predictors on the quality of the forecasts are evaluated and we demonstrate that the surface energy budget components have a large impact on the predictability of sea ice at weather time scales. This method is promising to enhance operational Arctic sea ice forecasting in the near future.


Microbil activity is one of the important process for biochemical cycles in soil and forest floor of ecosystems. Because, , the carbon dioxide and nutrients needed by plants are released during the microbial activity. In this study, we were investigated releationships between environmental factors (mositure, temperature, pH, electric conductivity, C, N, Na, Ca, Mg, K, P) and seasonal variations of microbal respiration, microbial biomass-C and metabolic quotient (qCO2) in the forest floor and soil (0-5cm) under three adjacent Abies plantation plots (Abies nordmanniana ssp. bornmuelleriana Mattf. (Ab), Abies cilicica Carr. (Ac) and Abies nordmanniana ssp. nordmanniana Mattf (An)) in Ataturk Arboretum located in Istanbul-Turkey. Sampling was carried out by collecting bimonthly (from May-2012 to March-2013) both soil (54 sample) and forest floor (54 sample) samples within each species. According to the results of the study, soil microbial respiration (SMR) has significantly lower value in Ab plot. Although SMR and soil microbial biomass-C (SMBC) were correlated with moisture and temperature in An plot, they were correlated with nutrients in other plots. In general, an increase in soil respiration rates was showed in autumn and early spring. Forest floor microbial respiration (FFMR), microbial biomass-C (FFMBC) and metabolic quotent (qCO2) did not differ among the plots. The measured FFMR, FFMBC and qCO2 parameters were lower in autumn than spring. Forest floor microbial parameters were drived by the variation of nutrients amounts. As a result, microbial processes in both soil and forest floor changed with the effect of different factors although there was no clear difference among the plots,


Cochlear implants restore hearing in deaf individuals, but speech perception remains challenging. Poor discrimination of spectral components is thought to account for limitations of speech recognition in cochlear implant users. We investigated how combined variations of spectral components along two orthogonal dimensions can maximize neural discrimination between two vowels, as measured by mismatch negativity. Adult cochlear implant users and matched normal-hearing listeners underwent electroencephalographic event-related potentials recordings in an optimum-1 oddball paradigm. A standard /a/ vowel was delivered in an acoustic free field along with stimuli having a deviant fundamental frequency (+3 and +6 semitones), a deviant first formant making it a /i/ vowel or combined deviant fundamental frequency and first formant (+3 and +6 semitones /i/ vowels). Speech recognition was assessed with a word repetition task. An analysis of variance between both amplitude and latency of mismatch negativity elicited by each deviant vowel was performed. The strength of correlations between these parameters of mismatch negativity and speech recognition as well as participants' age was assessed. Amplitude of mismatch negativity was weaker in cochlear implant users but was maximized by variations of vowels' first formant. Latency of mismatch negativity was later in cochlear implant users and was particularly extended by variations of the fundamental frequency. Speech recognition correlated with parameters of mismatch negativity elicited by the specific variation of the first formant. This nonlinear effect of acoustic parameters on neural discrimination of vowels has implications for implant processor programming and aural rehabilitation.


Modern conditions of the economic development based on market principles require significant changes in the system of economic governance both at national and regional levels, including in the management of inter-industry complexes, one of the most effective tools of which is the state governance. Investment and innovation policy is one of the most influential government economic methods of management of backbone enterprises in the region. The aim of state investment and innovation policy is primarily the creation of competitive environment and provision of structural changes and economic growth by improving the investment climate in the country, the development and intensification of the investment process, targeting investments in the priority sectors and programs. The importance of innovation potential in the socio-economic development of the country and regions is due primarily to the fact that the current conditions of industrial development and, as a result, the state's and region's economy, need a manufacturing application of innovative technologies as an indispensable condition to improve the competitiveness of the country and inter-industry complexes, among others. Providing the implementation of innovative technologies in production processes is one of the main duties of the state in the implementation of innovation policy. Thus, public authorities, both at national and regional levels, should create conditions for incentives of innovative activity, facilitating the rapid implementation of innovations in the production of specific products. The success of such processes is possible only by joint industrial, commercial, and banking capital into structures that are able to produce high-tech products, such as technopolis, technology parks, technological clusters, etc. Investments are the material basis of innovative processes. Activisation of investment activity, increased investments from all sources, and their effective use in innovation activities is a prerequisite for the sustainable economic development of Ukraine. The multidisciplinary nature of the economy indicates the need to use the relative interchangeability of the main types of productive resources in order to manage them most effectively within the enterprise, industry, and region. The quantitative measure of interchangeability of resources can be determined by establishing the functional dependence of their influence on the efficiency of production. Mathematical apparatus for the translation of multi-dimensional quantities in a comparable view is developed on the basis of existing modifications of production functions. It is determined that effective management of the development of the innovative potential of regional SES is carried out with the help of information support, which helps to obtain the synergy effect taking into account the following features: the complexity of the use of resources; complementarity of resources; interchangeability of resources. In connection with this, an interchangeability of resources has been proposed, which allows determining the variants of potential levels in the production of a certain volume of production in order to manoeuvre the resources in regional SES, which will ensure effective management of potential in general and innovative potential in particular.


Objective(s): The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Health educational program on nurses' knowledge toward children pneumonia at Al-Amara City hospitals..
 Methodology: A quasi –experimental study design two-study group (pretest-posttest 1 and posttest 2) carried out at Alzahrawy Hospital and Child and maternity hospital in Al Amara City to identify the effectiveness of the Health educational program on Nurses Knowledge toward Children pneumonia; the study was conducted between 1 of September 2019 to 1 of April 2020. A Purposive (Non-probability) sample is chosen for the present study. The size of sample is (60) nurses divided into two groups each one contains (30) nurses as control group and study group. The study group was exposed to the health educational program while the control group was not exposed to the health educational program.
Results: The results of the study showed a clear positive effect of the program on the nurses' knowledge towards children pneumonia. The study results indicated that there are high significant differences for the study group between the pre-test and the post-test in the main aspects that have to do with the knowledge of nurses about children pneumonia.
Recommendations : The study recommended the design and construction of an educational program for the nursing staff , whereby through the program it is emphasized that they are directed and familiarized with how to deal with children pneumonia, encourage the nursing owners to participate in educational programs to cover their various needs related to failures and obstacles to their practices and establish cooperative relations between the Ministry of Health and Higher Education to prepare this program


PurposeThis paper adds to the growing body of research examining the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on the everyday lives of young people. It draws on theories of "digital intimacies" and "relationship maintenance" to argue that young people's reflections on COVID-19, physical distancing and online relationships expose larger gaps in sex, relationships and health education pedagogies.Design/methodology/approachFive semi-structured online focus groups were conducted with Canadian adolescents aged 16–19 probing their experiences of dating and platonic relationships during COVID-19. Narrative thematic analysis methods were used to develop themes outlining how physical distancing measures have affected young people's relationship norms, expectations and values.FindingsCOVID-19 physical distancing measures and school closures appeared to create the conditions for some young people to productively reflect on the labor involved in the maintenance of their relationships in relation to considerations of proximity, reciprocity and distance. This labor was particularly articulated by female participants, many of whom expressed that life disruptions caused by COVID-19 catalyzed learning about their own relationship needs, desires and boundaries.Research limitations/implicationsResults from this research are not widely generalizable, as each participant had a unique experience with COVID-19 physical distancing measures, schooling and in-person contact. Due to anonymity measures implemented, participant narratives cannot be confidently associated with demographic surveys that hampered the ability to offer an intersectional analysis of participant experience.Originality/valueDiscussions of relationship maintenance and digital intimacies elucidate the limitations of health education's tendency to construct adolescent relationships as existing along binaries of "healthy" and "unhealthy." Health education might benefit from more meaningful integration of these concepts.


In this study, we have assessed the effectiveness of the use of existing observing systems in the lower troposphere in the GEOS hybrid–4DEnVar data assimilation system through a set of observing system experiments. The results show that microwave radiances have a large impact in the Southern Hemisphere and Tropical ocean, but the large influence is mostly observed above 925 hPa and dissipates relatively quickly with longer forecast lead times. Conventional data information holds better in the forecast ranging from the surface to 100 hPa, depending on the field evaluated, in the Northern Hemisphere and lowest model levels in the Tropics. Infrared radiances collectively have much less impact in the lower troposphere. Removing surface observations has small but persistent impact on specific humidity in the upper atmosphere, but small or negligible impact on planetary boundary layer (PBL) height and temperature. The model responses to the incremental analysis update (IAU) forcing are also analyzed. In the IAU assimilation window, the physics responds strongly to the IAU forcing in the lower troposphere, and the changes of physics tendency in the lower troposphere and hydrodynamics tendency in the mid- and upper troposphere are viewed as beneficial to the reduction of state error covariance. In the subsequent forecast, the model tendencies continue to deviate further from the original free forecast with forecast lead times around 300–400 hPa, but physics tendency has showed signs of returning to its original free forecast mechanisms at 1-day forecast in the lower troposphere.


Objective: The aim of this study was to study mechanism, risk factors, and prognosis of patients with vertebral artery dissection (VAD) from acute cervical spine trauma (CST). Methods: A total of 149 consecutive patients were chosen from 2014 to 2019 from our institute data base, and their records were retrospectively studied. Morphology of fracture and subluxation were studied in detail with respect to the presence or absence of VAD. Results: Patients were divided in subsets of axial spine injury and subaxial spine injury. Subgroup and group analysis was performed and computerized tomography angiogram, MR angiogram and T1/T2 axial scans were studied to identify VAD, an incidence of 14.1% was found. Patients having infarcts in posterior circulation were also identified. Conclusion: There is a significant contribution of biomechanics of CST and evolution of VAD. This is an important consideration to prevent significant morbidity and mortality. Hence, a diagnostic algorithm which can be applied in any hospital setup is the need of the hour.


Abdominal aortic aneurysm repair by endovascular techniques have gained wide acceptance as a treatment option. A potential well-known complication of endovascular repair includes endoleak. Specifically, type II endoleak, which is described as retrograde flow into the aneurysm sac through collateral vessels, can occur in up to 30% of patients. Certain preoperative factors can predict which patients may develop type II endoleak. This article describes laparoscopic inferior mesenteric artery ligation prior to endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair as a viable treatment option in the prevention of type II endoleak.


Foreign body aspiration is the most frequent problem during childhood. It is among the most common reasons of unexpected childhood deaths. It is more frequent in children younger than 3 years of age, predominantly boys. Sudden onset of cough, wheezing and decreased breath sounds are the most common signs and symptoms of foreign body aspiration. Radiographical findings are not diagnostic, but the presence of unilateral obstructive emphysema or atelectasis is important clues. Careful and detailed history is essential not to cause delay in diagnosis. Treatment is very important for the aspirated tracheobronchial foreign bodies. Bronchoscopic procedure must be performed if there is a suspicion of foreign body aspiration. Routine preventive measures must be taught to caregivers in order to reduce the incidence.


Case history of a 29-years-old primigravida is reported, by whom in the 39th week of the pregnancy an acute caesarean section was performed for intrauterine fetal distress. On the 5th postoperative day symptoms of acute abdomen developed, with typical signs of an appendicitis. On emergency laparotomy a perforated processus vermiformis had been removed, displaying gangrenous inflammation. Histological examination of the removed tissue revealed deciduosis, involving all layers of the intestinal wall. The article is the first Hungarian report on deciduosis involving the appendix, and the first international paper reporting on an appendicectomy for deciduosis following caesarean section summarizes the origin, the signs and the therapeutical consequences of this rare diagnostic entity.


The oxygen content and the local oxygen arrangement of laser processed YBa2Cu3O7-δ (YBCO) thin films grown on LaAlO3 substrates have been probed by micro-Raman spectroscopy On these films, channels for easy vortex motion have been laser written (LW) into the bridge constrictions by heat-induced, partial depletion of oxygen from the laser-illuminated areas of these films. Raman microscopy has been used to investigate and characterize the oxygen content and structure of the laser written channels. Direct evidence for local micro-structural changes in the film during the LW process is presented and the heat affected zone, surrounding the channel borders, has been mapped.


The successful integration of proteins into bionanomaterials with specific and desired functions requires an accurate understanding of their material properties. Two such important properties are their mechanical stability and malleability. While single molecule manipulation techniques now routinely provide access to these, there is a need to move towards predictive tools that can rationally identify proteins with desired material properties. We provide a comprehensive review of the available experimental data on the single molecule characterisation of proteins using the atomic force microscope. We uncover a number of empirical relationships between the measured mechanical stability of a protein and its malleability, which provide a set of simple tools that might be employed to estimate properties of previously uncharacterised proteins.


This study was a longitudinal evaluation of the systemic mercury exposure levels. Thirty urine samples were collected from ten male and female undergraduate dental school students, distributed into three dependent groups: G1 (n = 10) - students before their first contact with silver amalgam; G2 (n = 10) the same group of students within 48 hours after their first occupational contact with silver amalgam; G3 (n = 10) the same group of students at the end of the course, three and a half years later. In this study, the cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy (CVAAS) was used for urine analysis. There was a significant statistical difference to ANOVA test between dependent groups GR1 x GR2 (p = 0,001218) and GR2 x GR3 (p = 0,012423). Handling dental amalgam offers a potential risk to increase mercury levels.


Fairness in AI and machine learning systems has become a fundamental problem in the accountability of AI systems. While the need for accountability of AI models is near ubiquitous, healthcare in particular is a challenging field where accountability of such systems takes upon additional importance, as decisions in healthcare can have life altering consequences. In this paper we present preliminary results on fairness in the context of classification parity in healthcare. We also present some exploratory methods to improve fairness and choosing appropriate classification algorithms in the context of healthcare.


The purpose of this study was to evaluate the mechanisms of age‐related decline of dopamine transporter (DAT) and dopamine D2‐like receptor (D2R) densities in the human striatum by focusing on regional difference. Methods: Positron emission tomography (PET) with [11C]CFT and [11C]raclopride for measuring DATs and D2Rs, respectively, was performed on 16 healthy volunteers ranging from 21 to 74 years in age. To evaluate in detail the regional difference within the striatum, in addition to the conventional region‐of‐interest‐based analysis, we created a parametric image that enabled us to visualize the regional decline rate on a voxel‐by‐voxel basis, mapping the slope of the regression line between the age and uptake index of each tracer. Results: The decreasing rates corresponded to 6.1, 5.5, and 5.6% per decade for DATs and 5.8, 4.9, and 4.8% per decade for D2Rs in the caudate nucleus, anterior putamen, and posterior putamen, respectively. The caudate nucleus for both DATs and D2Rs were the fastest among the striatum, and the regional difference of the decreasing rate for DATs was consistently associated with that for D2Rs. Meanwhile, previous histological studies have shown that age‐related cell loss in the substantia nigra is likely to preferentially affect its dorsomedial part, which projects to the caudate nucleus. Conclusions: These results suggested that neuronal cell loss in the substantia nigra may be associated with the age‐related DAT decline, and DAT decline may be associated functionally with age‐related D2R decline. Synapse 63:282–290, 2009. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Abstract : An overview evaluation of technologies through which coal may replace oil or gas as the primary fuel at Navy bases was performed. Four technologies for manufacturing and utilizing synthetic fuels were considered commercial. These were: low-Btu gas, medium-Btu gas, synthetic natural gas (SNG), and methyl fuel. These technologies were compared with boilers firing cleaned coal or Western coal and with boilers plus scrubbers firing high sulfur Eastern coal. the comparisons were made for a Navy base with a single central 250 x 1,000,000 Btu/hr boiler station, and for four other Navy base configurations with decentralized boilers. The clean coal firing technology led to lower costs than the synthetic fuel technologies in all cases. Medium-Btu gas offers lower costs than coal-fired boilers plus scrubbers in the most decentralized scenario. Fluidized bed combustion, judged to be a future technology, appears to be the lowest cost technology in central plants. Future environmental regulations may preclude burning cleaned or Western coals without SO2 removal. (Author)


The introduction of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags in supply chains engenders the need for incorporating and utilizing the additional generated data. It is generally assumed that these data, once generated, are complete and rife with necessary information for making decisions. The reality is, however, that these data are not error free. Common errors observed in these data include false positives and false negatives. Given that these data are among the set of primary inputs for decision-making purposes, the read-rate accuracy is of paramount importance for effectively managing supply chains incorporating such data. Although there are means by which the RFID tag read rate could be improved to a certain extent, the errors in read rate cannot be completely eliminated, and decision makers are left to deal with such data while managing the supply chain. We present and illustrate few algorithms that can be used to reduce false read rates. We consider models for filtering data that are already being gathered in RFID systems and utilize it to improve read-rate accuracy. We implement the proposed models and illustrate their performance.


OBJECTIVES
Systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) is a heterogeneous disease lacking highly effective treatment options. Here we tested if targeting both BAFF and ICOSL has superior efficacy than single target inhibition in the mouse arthritis and lupus models. We also generated AMG 570, an ICOSL and BAFF bispecific inhibitory molecule, for potential treatment of autoimmune diseases such as SLE.

METHODS
Murine BAFF/ICOSL bispecific, combination of BAFF and ICOSL inhibitors or single inhibitor was evaluated in the sheep red blood cell (SRBC) challenge model, mouse collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model, or NZB/NZW lupus models. AMG 570 was tested for human and cyno BAFF and ICOSL binding affinities by Kinexa A. AMG 570 dual target blocking activities was evaluated in human and cyno BAFF and ICOSL mediated B cell and T cell assay, respectively. Pharmacodynamics effect of AMG 570 was evaluated in cynomolgus monkey.

RESULTS
Treatment with murine ICOSL/BAFF bispecific or combination therapy was more efficacious than single ICOSL or BAFF inhibitor in mouse NZB/NZW lupus model. Dual ICOSL and BAFF inhibition was also more effective in the mouse collagen induced arthritis (CIA) model. AMG 570 was developed as the clinical bispecific lead. AMG 570 inhibits human and cynomolgus monkey ICOSL and BAFF. B cell reduction was observed after AMG 570 treatment in cynomolgus monkeys, consistent with the pharmacological effect of BAFF inhibition.

CONCLUSIONS
By targeting both ICOSL and BAFF, AMG 570 has the potential to achieve superior efficacy in treatment of autoimmune diseases such as SLE and rheumatoid arthritis.