The article deals with the process management's issues of digital transformation in companies. The emphasis is made on the consideration of program's projects as interrelated components with the features of emergency system, not as a weakly interconnected complex (linear set) of projects. Authors propose the organizational model of transformation's program management and the new approach to prioritizing projects based on the use of network analysis. The suggested method allows to evaluate the role of the project in the transformation program and its impact on the other projects, as well as its impact on the planned benefits of the program. It also allows to distribute resources between projects and to assess the risks of the program as a whole. The article focuses on the differences of medium-sized companies' management methods, on the one hand, from companies in small business, and on the other hand, from large companies. The application of the method was tested at a medium-sized poultry farm. The analysis of projects of the real program was made, the network model of the program was built, and the probability of projects' and the program at all success was estimated. The evaluation of the program indicators allowed the authors to make conclusions about priorities of separate projects. The proposed approach can be used in various companies, regardless of industry affiliation.


In previous work we presented a multi-robot strategy for routing missions in large scenarios where network connectivity must be explicitly preserved. This strategy is founded on the traversal of path trees in such a way that connectivity to a static control center is always maintained, while ensuring that any target that is reachable by a chain consisting of all robots is eventually visited. In this work we improve the strategy performance by extending its sequential one-task-at-a-time execution approach with concurrent execution of tasks. We demonstrate that the general problem is NP-hard and offer several heuristic approaches to tackle it. We study the improvements that these heuristics can offer in regard to several important variables like network range and clustering of targets, and finally compare their performance over the optimal solutions for small problem instances. In summary, we offer a complete characterization of the new concurrent capabilities of the CONNECTTREE strategy.


In an effort to increase the operational efficiency of highways,
South Korea has been increasing its design speed recently. However,
the use of higher design speed will also increase construction costs.
Moreover, increasing the design speed is expected to have an impact
on safety. Hence, there is a strong need to demonstrate that the
benefits outweigh the cost of having a higher design speed. This
study surveyed a sample of design engineers to determine their
awareness of the consequences of increasing design speed and their
assessment of the right design speed for an actual rural arterial.
In addition to the survey, a case study of three recently upgraded
highways was conducted to determine the changes in traffic
volumes, speeds, travel times, and safety.


Since its discovery, osteoclast-associated receptor (OSCAR) gene has been studied as a receptor protein. Our research is the first to identify and characterize a non-receptor form of OSCAR. While searching for proteins differentially expressed during bone remodeling, a clone of a non-receptor form of OSCAR gene (3D10) was isolated using representational difference analysis. 3D10 was found to be one of a non-receptor group of OSCAR. This group was found to have a non-spliced intron resulting in larger transcripts and proteins lacking a transmembrane domain. Comparisons were made in tissue distribution between the non-receptor and the membrane receptor forms of OSCAR using specific PCR primers and a rabbit polyclonal antibody that we synthesized. The non-receptor forms were found to be expressed in the lung, pancreas, spleen, kidneys and bone marrow, as well as in multinucleated cells and peripheral blood leukocytes. To determine potential binding partners, yeast two-hybrid screening was performed, which showed several potential binding proteins with multiple hits like URP2, PFAAP5 and BAT3. Interestingly, while 3D10 does not have a nuclear localization signal, two of its binding partners were nuclear proteins one of which is an apoptotic regulator (BAT3). 3D10 and some of its binding partners were studied using transfected cell lines with various constructs. Transfection studies using luciferase reporter plasmid for NF-κB binding sites and HEK 293 cells suggest that 3D10 down-regulates NF-κB-dependant inflammatory responses. In conclusion, 3D10 represents a novel non-receptor form of OSCAR which may be involved in the regulation of NF-κB-mediated inflammatory responses and apoptosis regulation.


Cryptocurrencies are hidden monies that are specifically created to be used as digital currencies while assuming the characteristics of real money. Barring the divergent opinions on whether permitted in Islamic law (that is/are halal) or forbidden in Islamic law (that is/are haram), and for which the swing tends to be in favor of its blockchain underlying technology permissibility in Islam, cryptocurrencies are undoubtedly indicating potential for relevance in the global trade, investment, and other contract settlements in some years to come. The potential of the blockchain technology is phenomenal with recent estimates suggesting it will be worth more than $20 trillion in just two years, which is more than the entire American economy. Since fortunes are made by those entrepreneurs and indeed savvy investors who have discerned its future potential earlier on, there exists some great temptation for people to jump on the blockchain bandwagon. Apparently the growing acceptability of digital fiat money as a result of technology development on one hand, and the failure of the paper money to mitigate inflation and other economic disequilibria since the disappearance of the gold standard on the other, various forms of cryptocurrencies including Bitcoins (referred to as the king) appear to roar toward wider recognition. However, an emerging phenomenon associated with cryptocurrency revolution is an observed significant fluctuation (the tide) in its value and thus a subject of discussion within Islamic finance community and beyond. In the midst of this also is the current agitation founded on some of the Islamic law (Sharīʿa) view on the necessity of asset-backed money, to be extended to the current cryptocurrency innovation for its transformation into a Sharīʿa compliant precious metal backed currency. The big question now which this chapter sought to provide the answer is, what are the implications of these developments to a more established and widening global phenomenon of Islamic finance and its development in Muslim world vis-a-vis aspirations for sustained economic development. The work finds that cryptocurrencies would generate three advantages over all forms of money including gold through: establishing a unified financial system through its standard decentralization, being rarer than gold and its significant mitigation of inflation. It is also noted that the prevalent foreign exchange risk resulting from the underlying activities (rather than the currency itself) is free from speculation (Gharar). It is, therefore, recommended that stakeholders in the Islamic Finance world should not be passive but be proactive in commencing processes to develop technical notes, standards, and operational guidelines to partake in the inevitable migration to cryptocurrencies.


A fibre optic digital speckle pattern interferometer is reported for mural painting diagnostics. As a result, the influence of flaws and cracks on fringe patterns, characterizing the displacement fields of mural paintings, has been visualized in real time also in an outdoor environment. Preliminary tests establish that this method, by its flexibility and compactness, allows one to overcome some drawbacks of existing conventional arrangements in non-destructive testing of artworks.


This article describes the growth of open data, open government and the means for transparency and accountability, but aims to reflect on the bottlenecks and actual practicality of opening data to the public domain by two governmental bodies. The Municiaplity of The Hague and The Province of South-Holland of The Netherlands are part of two research programmes called 'Government of the Future', whose main goals are to explore and establish knowledge on societal innovation by new applications and possibilities of long term effects of ICT's in the public sector. Part of these programmes are the themes of transparency and open data, which are viewed from the somewhat pragmatic and operational side of its applicability. The paper shows the development within the governmental bodies and captivates the 'readiness' for open data.


Background including a long-period fast illumination variation is commonly assumed to be foreground by mistake. To solve this problem, proposed is a semantic-based hierarchical Gaussian mixture model integrated with an illumination detection approach. First, autocorrelation-based features for broad identification of background lighting changes and foreground in short-term sequences are presented. Then, the hierarchical Gaussians representing different background illumination variations are maintained. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated using experiments on pedestrian detection in fast lighting change.


Recently, many papers have been published on the earthquake-related ionospheric anomalies. In particular, event studies and statistical studies on Ionospheric electrons using Ionosonde and GPS TEC (total electron content) indicate the pre-seismic anomalies. In Japan region, the previous statistical study during 1998-2010 shows that there is an increase anomaly 1-5 days before the earthquake with M>=6 D<=40 km. In this study, we performed statistical analysis on ionosonde data observed at Kokubunji (35.71N, 139.49E), Japan over 60 years of 1958 ~ 2017 in order to investigate the earthquake-related ionospheric anomalies. The ionosonde is operated by the National Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Japan. The studied parameters are NmF2, which indicates the maximum electron density in the F2 layer, hmF2, which shows the NmF2 altitude, and foEs which is the critical frequency of the Es layer. We select earthquakes occurred within 1000 km and 350 km radius from the ionosonde station, and M >= 6 and D <= 40 km. There are 352 and 148 earthquakes. Ionospheric anomalies are also induced by geomagnetic storm. Therefore, to remove the geomagnetic storm effects, we adopt the Dst index. We divided the values into some classes by onset time and intensity. For each class, we performed statistical processes to calculate duration of ionospheric anomalies triggered by a geomagnetic storm. We found these anomalies last about 1-3 days, and we remove the data based on results. To investigate the correlation between ionospheric anomalies and earthquakes, we perform the Superposed Epoch Analysis (SEA). We define the anomaly as 15 days backward median value ±1.5 IQR and an anomalous day has the anomaly with more than 10 hours. Then, we make up the binary time series data on the earthquake-related anomaly. We extract dataset 30 days before and after the earthquake day for the all selected earthquakes and perform SEA. To evaluate the statistical significance, we compute the random test. SEA results show that there is a significant positive anomalies 1-10 days before the earthquakes in NmF2 data. For hmF2 data, we can find there are no clear correlation. As for foEs, we need further investigation. For NmF2, we checked Molchan's Error Diagram (MED). From the results of MED, NmF2 may be precursor for earthquakes. The detailed will be given in the presentation. MIS04-08 Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2019


Indications, materials, technique and contraindications of diagnostic thoracoscopy are described. Examination of 67 thoracoscopies carried out in the past four years shows the technique studied to be the best available diagnostic tool in the field of pleural and peripheral lung diseases: neoplasia, pleuritis and bullous disease. Whether done under narcosis or local anaesthetic, the examination proved to be well tolerated, given the minimum, temporary damage caused to respiratory function. Complications were few and not lethal. A final diagnosis was achieved in the majority of cases. There were a number of false negatives in circumscribed neoplasia localised at points that could not be reached by the instrument, and in cases complicated by pleural adhesions, which prevent correct examination.


The project carried out in the past four years has focused on the area of biomass pyrolysis for the production of bio-oil, and the upgrading of bio-oil. In the beginning of the work, mixed metal oxide catalysts – sulfated/ zirconia-titania with different ZrO2 loading amounts were studied. One of the major parts of this work was to investigate the relationship between catalyst activity and catalyst properties, including surface area and surface acidity. Model reaction between acetic acid and ethanol was also carried out to test the catalyst activity. The investigation has shown the highest acetic acid conversion was obtained by using 60 wt% SO4 / ZrO2-TiO2. Furthermore, SO4 / ZrO2TiO2 was applied in bio-oil esterification. The result showed the bio-oil properties have been improved greatly. Following on from this work, biomass hydro-pyrolysis and catalytic cracking was studied since it is a possible approach for high grade bio-oil production thus enhancing the level of biomass conversion. 60 wt% SO4 / ZrO2-TiO2 was used in this study, as well as different H2 pressures ranging from ambient pressure to 20 bar. The result has shown the hydro-pyrolysis had many advantages over the conventional pyrolysis since a large amount of oxygen was removed from bio-oil in the form of water and COx. This would not only enhance the stability but also the high heating value of bio-oil. Moreover, hydrolysis residue and pure lignin were also tested as feedstock. The result showed the hydrolysis has potential to become the resource for phenolics production. Finally, ZrO2-modified TiO2 nanorod composites were synthesized using the hydrothermal synthesis approach. The synthesized materials were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM, Raman, IR, and XPS. It was found that both sizes and morphologies of ZrO2 particles significantly depended on the reaction temperatures and hydrothermal synthesis time. The highest conversion of levulinic acid to ethyl levulinate, 81.2%, was reached in at 110°C after 2h over a ZrO2-TiO2 nanorod composite. The synthesized composite as the catalyst showed the potential ability for bio-oil upgrading.


Atul Gawande, writer, and surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, US, is also chair of Lifebox, chosen as the BMJ's Christmas charity. Jane Feinmann asked him just what a BMJ reader donation means


ABSTRACT In light of extended stay-at-home periods during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, recent societal trends have revealed an increased use of online media to remain connected. Simultaneously, interests in at-home cooking and baking, particularly of "comfort foods" have increased. Because flour is a crucial component in many of these products, we analyze how the U.S. public, in social and online media spaces, references "flour" and its use. We also quantify the share of media mentions about flour that are devoted to flour-related food safety risks and/or risk mitigation. It was found that the volume of mentions about flour and its use fluctuate seasonally, often increasing ahead of the winter holiday season (November to December). Further, the volume of interest rapidly increased in March 2020 when stay-at-home orders were issued. The share of media devoted to flour-related food safety risks or associated illness was extremely small but generally corresponded with flour recall announcements or other public risk communications. Overall, the interest in flour and its use remains seasonal and predictably related to societal trends, such as increased baking at home during the holidays or 2020 stay-at-home orders. However, awareness of flour-related food safety risks seems largely absent on the basis of online media data collection and analysis, except in immediate reactions to flour recalls. This study suggests that more flour safety education programs may be desired to support consumers' informed decision making.


The recoil-less resonant scattering of y-rays by nuclei in a crystal will show diffraction effects. The crystal will in general scatter incident radiation by both nuclear (Mössbauer) and electronic (Rayleigh) processes and the effects due to interference between these two are of interest because they can give information about the phase of the Rayleigh scattering. In this paper, the theory developed by Moon (1961) for this interference has been derived in a different form so that allowance can be made for the effect of the energy dependence of the absorption near resonance. The various factors influencing the size of the interference effect for diffraction in pure iron of 57Fe y-rays are discussed. General confirmation of the theory has been obtained from experimental measurements of the scattering from natural and isotopically enriched iron specimens. Possible applications of the results to crystal diffraction studies are discussed.


The literature outlines that while many high school graduates enroll in higher education, less than 60% complete their degree within six years of enrollment (Kena, et al., 2014). There is also a need to better understand how secondary schools are influencing students' college readiness and persistence through degree completion (Johnson, 2008). Since college readiness is a complex topic, this investigation focuses specifically on knowledge for college as a key component of postsecondary preparedness. In this study, the postsecondary enrollment, persistence and degree completion of a specific graduate cohort are measured through a review of archival data. Rates of acquisition and sources of readiness in knowledge for college are measured through a graduate questionnaire. Through a model of practitioner inquiry, this study found that graduates enrolled in higher education at rates consistent with comparison groups, persisted at higher rates, and took longer than expected to complete degrees. The survey respondents reported varying degrees of readiness across seven components of knowledge for college, with the highest rating in Matriculation and the lowest in Postsecondary Costs. Teachers and school counselors were among the top three most influential groups on the acquisition of skills, while College Visits and Job Shadowing were found to be the most beneficial experiences.


DVB-H offers a new platform for IP-based services and contributes to universal access. There are many challenges of providing multimedia TV experience for DVB-H users anywhere anytime. One big challenge is due to the strict reception conditions and mobility. For example, when a mobile receiver enters a new cell with different transmission frequency, the receiver must accomplish a seamless handover process in order to continue the selected service without an interrupt. Furthermore, it is possible to build DVB-H services into existing DVB-T networks that provide even less possibilities to optimize the transmission for mobile use. This paper presents a novel handover approach to IP streams on a DVB-H network. We handover IP streams by switching between the DVB-H and the UMTS networks without doing any frequency scan. We have successfully tested the service handover approach. The validation has shown that there was no any packet loss during a handover process. The method also provides technology about efficient sharing of wireless network infrastructure with DVB-H, and makes it more feasible to include DVB-H services into existing DVB-T networks and can be used for reducing the time for changing a channel (zapping time)


We study the one-dimensional random motion X = X(t), t ≥ 0, which takes two different velocities with two different alternating intensities. The closed-form formulae for the density functions of X and for the moments of any order, as well as the distributions of the first passage times, are obtained. The limit behaviour of the moments is analysed under nonstandard Kac's scaling.


Economists have a long argue that political process such as democracy and corruption are important for economic growth. Our objective in this paper is to demonstrate that one of democracy's indirect posititive effects is its ability to mitigate the negative effect of corruption on economic growth. Although most democratic countries in our sample have a high level of corruption, the electoral mechanism inhibits leaders from engaging in acts of corruption that cause damage to economic performance and thus jeopardize their political survival. Utilizing a dynamic panel data approach for more than 40 countries over the period 20002011, the results show that in democratic countries, corruption has no significant effect on economic growth, while the non-democratic countries suffer the negative effects of corruption that retard economic growth.


High angular resolution observations of dense molecular cores show that these cores can be clumpier at smaller scales and that some of these clumps can also be unbound or transient. The use of chemical models of the evolution of the molecular gas provides a way to probe the physical properties of the clouds. We study the properties of the clump and interclump medium in the starless CS core in LDN 673 by carrying out a molecular line survey with the IRAM 30-m telescope towards two clumps and two interclump positions. We also observed the 1.2-mm continuum with the MAMBO-II bolometer at IRAM. The dust continuum map shows four condensations, three of them centrally peaked, coinciding with previously identified submillimetre sources. We confirm that the denser clump of the region, n ∼ 3.6 × 105 cm−3, is also the more chemically evolved, and it could still undergo further fragmentation. The interclump medium positions are denser than previously expected, likely n ∼ 1 × 103–1 × 104 cm−3 due to contamination, and are chemically young, similar to the gas in the lower density clump position. We argue that the density contrast between these positions and their general young chemical age would support the existence of transient clumps in the lower density material of the core. We were also able to find reasonable fits of the observationally derived chemical abundances to models of the chemistry of transient clumps.


The syndrome of uveitis-parotitis-polyneuritis, or Heerfordt's disease, is now well recognized as one of the manifestations of sarcoidosis or lymphogranulomatosis benigna. A number of cases of the syndrome have been described in which attention is drawn to the changes in the cerebrospinal fluid, but examination of these cases suggests that such changes, if present, are slight and of no diagnostic importance. Attention is here drawn to a case of Heerfordt's disease, with gross changes in the cerebrospinal fluid demanding major consideration in diagnosis. Moreover, the changes found, despite the very mildest indications of polyneuritis, strongly suggested a polyneuritis of the toxi-infective kind. CASE REPORT An upholsterer aged 17 was admitted to hospital on June 25, 1946, complaining of malaise, anorexia, frontal headache, and mistiness of vision for five days. His medical and family histories revealed nothing of note. Examination showed a well-developed youth, somewhat flushed, with a pyrexia of 100' F. (37.8' C.), the only finding on admission being a mild bilateral iridocyclitis. Both conjunctivae were markedly injected, the corneas hazy, and the pupils irregular, with a sluggish'light response. No synechiae or keratic precipitates were found. The remainder of his central nervous system, including his fundi, was normal. On June 28 he was found to have a right facial palsy of the lower motor neurone type, and it was noted that the knee-jerks, which had previously been present, were now absent. His temperature had settled, the eye condition remained unchanged, but his headache was less severe. On July 1 a slight but definite swelling, tender to palpation, affecting the pre-auricular portion -of the right parotid gland was noted. Examination of his central nervous system on this date showed bilateral facial paralysis of lower motor neurone type and complete absence of all deep reflexes in both arms and legs. There was lio weakness or wasting of the limb or trunk musculature. Abdominal reflexes were brisk and the plantar responses flexor. There was no loss of superficial or deep sensation. A blood count gave the following result: R.B.C., 5,200,000 per c.mm.; Hb, 106%; colour index, 1; white cells, 13,000 per c.mm. (polymorphs, 83%; eosinophils, 1%; lymphocytes, 12%; monocytes, 4%). The cerebrospinal fluid on July 1 was clear and under normal tension-cytology: W.B.C., 68 per c.mm. (lymphocytes, 96%; polymorphs, 4%), R.B.C., 7 per c.mm.; total protein, 220 mg. per 100 ml.; globulin, a heavy excess; glucose, 74 mg. per 100 ml.; chlorides, 620 mg. per 100 ml.; films, no tubercle or other organisms seen; culture, sterile; W.R., negative; Lange, 1111211000. On July 3 a tender swelling was noted in the left parotid region, similar to that on the right side. The blood W.R. and Kahn test were negative and x-ray examination of the chest revealed nothing abnormal. On July 8 the cerebrospinal fluid showed W.B.C., 60 per c.mm. (lymphocytes, 98%; polymorphs, 2%); total protein, 120 mg. per 100 ml.; globulin, a fair excess; glucose, 78 mg. per 100 ml.; chlorides, 650 mg. per 100 ml.; Lange, 1112344321; films, no tubercle or other organisms seen. The cerebrospinal fluid on July 17 showed W.B.C., no excess; total protein, 90 mg. per 100 ml.; globulin, a fair excess; glucose, 54 mg. per 100 ml.; chlorides, 700 mg. per 100 ml.; Lange, 0001111000. The patient's condition remained unchanged for about a week, and then gradually began to improve. The swelling of his face disappeared, and the deep reflexes returned. The bilateral facial paralysis likewise slowly improved, the left side more rapidly than the right. He was finally discharged home, completely recovered, on Aug. 23.


The application of the high-resolution methods of array processing to source localisation has led to a considerable improvement in results. By considering some conventions, these methods can be applied to the characterisation of straight lines in an image. It is proposed to associate a high-resolution method with a method that generates a signal out of an image. This approach permits, in particular, to estimate the parameter 'offset', that is, the intersection with the upper side of the image of the straight lines. The proposed approach is fast and efficient when compared with the well-known method 'extension of the Hough transform'.


The feasibility of a new method of quickly acquiring interstitial fluid (ISF) samples using a Lorentz-force actuated needle-free jet injector is demonstrated on ex vivo porcine tissue. The jet injector is used to first inject a small volume of physiological saline to breach the skin, and the back-drivability of the actuator is utilized to create a vacuum in the ampoule and collect ISF. Injection and extraction parameters are tested and optimized for minimal acquired sample dilution and extracted volume consistency. Using this method, we are able to collect a sample that contains up to 3.5% ISF in 3.1 s.


One of the reasons ICA (Independent Component Analysis) became so popular is that ICA is a promising tools for a lot of applications. One of the attractive applications is the biological data analysis. There are a lot of works on neurobiological data analysis such as EEG (Electroencephalography), fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and MEG (Magnetoencephalography), and they show interesting results. However, there still remain some problems to be solved. Many neurobiological data includes a large amount of noises, and also the number of independent components is unknown. These problems make it difficult to obtain good results by ICA algorithms. We discuss an approach to separate the data which contain additive noise without knowing the number of independent components. Our approach uses factor analysis as the preprocessing of the ICA algorithm, instead of PCA (Principal Component Analysis), which is the major preprocessing in many ICA algorithms. In the new preprocessing, the number of the sources and the amount of sensor noise are estimated. After the preprocessing, an ICA algorithm is used to estimate the separation matrix and mixing system. Through the experiments with MEG data and fMRI data, we show this approach is effective.


The protein cysteine residue is one of the amino acids most susceptible to oxidative modifications, frequently caused by oxidative stress. Several applications have enabled cysteine-targeted proteomics analysis with simultaneous detection and quantitation. In this study, we employed a quantitative approach using a set of iodoacetyl-based cysteine reactive isobaric tags (iodoTMT) and evaluated the transient cellular oxidation ratio of free and reversibly modified cysteine thiols under DTT and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatments. DTT treatment (1 mM for 5 min) reduced most cysteine thiols, irrespective of their cellular localizations. It also caused some unique oxidative shifts, including for peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX2), uroporphyrinogen decarboxylase (UROD), and thioredoxin (TXN), proteins reportedly affected by cellular reactive oxygen species production. Modest H2O2 treatment (50 μM for 5 min) did not cause global oxidations but instead had apparently reductive effects. Moreover, with H2O2, significant oxidative shifts were observed only in redox active proteins, like PRDX2, peroxiredoxin 1 (PRDX1), TXN, and glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Overall, our quantitative data illustrated both H2O2- and reduction-mediated cellular responses, whereby while redox homeostasis is maintained, highly reactive thiols can potentiate the specific, rapid cellular signaling to counteract acute redox stress.


AIM
The aim of the study was to compare Cistiquer, a new phytotherapeutic product developed for chronic bladder inflammatory diseases, and intra-vesical administration of gentamicin plus betametasone, in females with urethral syndrome.

METHODS
Between september 2013 and may 2014, 60 women with urethral syndrome and trigonitis were incuded in this study. Patients were randomly assigned to treatment with intra-vesical administration of betametasone 8 mg plus gentamicin 80 mg (group A), and oral administration of Cistiquer (group B) for 7 weeks. Before and after the therapeutic protocol, symptoms were assessed by three days voiding diary, the overactive bladder questionnaire short form and a ten points visual analogic scale adopted to assess the micturition discomfort. Histologic findings were assessed by the examination of specimens obtained by cold bladder biopsies of the bladder trigone at baseline in all the subjects.

RESULTS
The two groups had significant and comparable symptoms improvement. However, the score obtained from the visual analogic scale decreased significantly only in the group submitted to oral therapy. Furthermore, in the group treated with endovesical approach, higher drop out rate and higher incidence of urinary infection were observed.

CONCLUSION
Patients with urethral syndrome and trigonitis improved symptoms either with oral therapy with Cistiquer and with intra-vesical administration of gentamicin plus betametasone. However, treatment adherence resulted higher for patients treated by oral therapy and rate of adverse events resulted higher for those submitted to endovesical treatment.


Prompt home treatment of dangerous seizures or upsetting relapses can prevent the effects of prolonged seizures and offer patients and their families an alternative to emergency medical treatment. The choice of benzodiazepine and route of administration should be based on patients' clinical presentation and acceptance. The challenge for the practitioner is to select the patients for whom home use of benzodiazepines will be appropriate, safe, and cost-effective.


Abstract Scientific research has always been concerned with aspects of human health. There are several systems of medicines besides the globally accepted allopathy, which are based on compounds originating from natural products. Recent research has been centred around validation of the traditional knowledge on medicinal products. The traditional systems in India, China and forklore medicines in other parts of the world have indicated the potential of natural products consist of various chemical compounds that could be used as drugs. The search for drugs against five major dreadful diseases namely, cancer, AIDS, heart disease, diabetes and pulmonary disorders that attack the present day human from natural products has been in progress for some time. Microbes, plants and animals are the sources of natural products. In the past five decades, the research on bioactive chemicals from marine algae has been incited and several compounds with biological activity were isolated from algae. Generally, these are secondary metabolites produced for chemical defence against the biotic pressure of predators, consumers and epibionts. These potential drugs are now attracting considerable attention from the pharmaceutical industries due to the necessity of identifying substances that could be utilized for novel therapeutic purposes. Several compounds such as alginate, carrageenans, sulphated and halogenated polysachcharise and other derivatives have been shown to provide drugs that could be antiviral, anticancer and antimicrobial. The present account is on the potential of marine macro-algae for medicinally important products.


This article examines the origin and the context of the implementation project of community treatment according to the perspective of community and alternative mental health groups in Québec. The author presents results of a research on practices of these groups through a specific array that integrates the essential components of the community treatment model. The author examines six parameters characterizing devices, approaches and practices: 1) approach in supportive care and attention; 2) voluntary relation with the organization 3) the place of biomedical treatment; 4) flexibility in length and intensity of treatment; 5) the individual and collective dimension of supportive care; 6) and, participation as an active citizen.


: A number of conjugative plasmids of opportunistic E. coli with molecular weights of 23.6--81.8 megadaltons have been studied. On the basis of the data thus obtained conjugative F-like R-plastmids have been subdivided into 2 groups characterized by the unsuppressed or suppressed manifestation of their functions. Individual conjugative plasmids have been found to differ in their capacity for mobilizing non-conjugative SuSm plasmid for transfer, which indicates the possibility of using this test for characterization and classification of plasmids, identified in natural bacterial population.


The application of deep learning to pathology assumes the existence of digital whole slide images of pathology slides. However, slide digitization is bottlenecked by the high cost of precise motor stages in slide scanners that are needed for position information used for slide stitching. We propose GloFlow, a two-stage method for creating a whole slide image using optical flow-based image registration with global alignment using a computationally tractable graph-pruning approach. In the first stage, we train an optical flow predictor to predict pairwise translations between successive video frames to approximate a stitch. In the second stage, this approximate stitch is used to create a neighborhood graph to produce a corrected stitch. On a simulated dataset of video scans of WSIs, we find that our method outperforms known approaches to slide-stitching, and stitches WSIs resembling those produced by slide scanners.


For British children the Second World War was a terrifying time of deprivation, uprootings and separation. But, many also endured intense air raids or found themselves, shockingly, caught up in the action. "Young Voices" tells how British children across the globe lived in the days before and during the fighting. Meet nine-year-old Jean Greaves, whose father was taken by the Nazis for helping Jewish people; schoolboy Derek Bech who clung to a raft in heavy seas after his ship was torpedoed; baker's boy Ron Hurford in occupied Guernsey who stole German flour for his family; teenager and messenger Peter Izard who dodged a falling doodlebug; Manila internee Jacqueline Towell who couldn't walk for malnutrition; and many others who survived adversity and danger. Through the breathtaking stories of over one hundred contributors, Lyn Smith has written an extraordinary history of the war as seen through child's eyes.


Lateral inhibition resulting from a double-negative feedback loop underlies the assignment of different fates to cells in many developmental processes. Previous studies have shown that the presence of time delays in models of lateral inhibition can result in significant oscillatory transients before patterned steady states are reached. We study the impact of local feedback loops in a model of lateral inhibition based on the Notch signaling pathway, elucidating the roles of intracellular and intercellular delays in controlling the overall system behavior. The model exhibits both in-phase and out-of-phase oscillatory modes and oscillation death. Interactions between oscillatory modes can generate complex behaviors such as intermittent oscillations. Our results provide a framework for exploring the recent observation of transient Notch-pathway oscillations during fate assignment in vertebrate neurogenesis.


This study aimed at determining the effectiveness of the problem-based learning model on critical thingking skills and social sensitivity in social studies subjects at SDN 105 Baraka Kab. Enrekang. This research was a quantitative research using quasi experimental methods. The desigh used in this study was a  nonequivalent group pretest-posttest design. The population in this study were all students of SDN 105 Baraka,Enrekang Regency while the samples were students of class VA and VB at SDN 105 Baraka,Enrekang Regency . The research instrumens used were question sheets, questionnaires and observation sheets. The date analysis technique used was an analytical test which consisted of a normality and homogeneity test followed by hypothesis test. The results of this study indicate the effectiveness of the problem-based learning model on thinking skills and social sensitivity in social studies subjects was effectively used, judging by the results of the hypothesis testing using the independent sample t-test using SPSS version 21 seen in the sig column. (2-tailed) was the value of 0.007 < 0.05. In this study, a sample of 36 students was taken, so the value of degrees of freedom (dk) was = n-2 = 36-2 = 34 and the error rate was 5%. Because for the 2-sided test (0.05: 2 = 2.5%) it can be seen that the value of T-table = 2.032. T-count = 2.875 can be seen from the column Equal variances assusmed (homogeneous), it can be seen that the value of Tcount = 2.875. So it can be seen that Tcount > Ttable was 2.875 > 2.032 with a significance was 0.007 < 0.05. So it can be concluded that Ho is rejected and Ha is accepted (the use of problem-based learning models is effectively used for social studies learning in fifth grade students of SDN 105 Baraka.


Several non-traditional methodologies have existed on the fringes of the profession for almost two decades. Of late, however, these approaches are receiving a great deal of attention, motivated, in large part, by the impetus toward proficiency testing and the research findings in second language acquisition.

While the professional literature is featuring more and more descriptive articles on the non-traditional methodologies, either individually or collectively, what is needed is an assessment of how these methodologies address four major concerns in the profession today: 1) the provision of as stress-free a learning environment as possible; 2) the emerging role of silence in foreign language learning and teaching; 3) the role of grammar; and 4) the development of students' speaking skills. In the process of analyzing some of the salient features of the non-traditional methodologies and postulating how teachers can utilize their handling of the four concerns identified, what emerges is some perspective as to what the impact of the non-traditional methodologies upon the standard sequence can and should be.


UNLABELLED
Gel-filtration and immunodiffusion reveal most patients with disseminated cancer excrete 100 to 1000 mg/day of urine proteins, mol wt 10,000-60,000, which are distinct from known plasma proteins and cancer-related antigens. By gel-filtration and ion-exchange chromatography, 5 novel urinary glycoproteins have been isolated which are responsible for about 1/2 the mass of the "low molecular weight proteinuria" of patients with advanced cancer: BJC1 and BJC2 (patient B.J., chronic myelocytic leukemia); JBB5 (J.B., metastatic pancreatic carcinoma); EDC1 (E.D., acute myelocytic leukemia); HNC1beta (H.N., acute monocytic leukemia). Mol wts respectively are 29,000, 22,000, 55,000, 27,000 and 33,000, and carbohydrate contents respectively 61%, 23%, 23%, 27% and 40%. Attention to date has focussed on EDC1 and HNC1beta, because their urinary excretion directly reflects the course of the neoplastic disease. EDC1 and HNC1beta possess the same protein but different carbohydrate moieties. They are antigenically related to inter-alpha trypsin inhibitor, mol wt 160,000, which is one of the 6 antiproteolytic proteins in normal human plasma. EDC1 and HNC1beta both possess antitryptic activity. Specific radioimmunoassays (RIA) to these 2 glycoproteins were developed. Normal individuals (n = 210) excreted 0.3 +/- .02 (ave. +/- SE) mg EDC1 per g creatinine. In 18 non-neoplastic diseases (n = 75), urinary EDC1 was .5 +/- .06 mg/g creatinine. In disseminated cancer of 7 types (n = 81) (breast, ovary, colon, squamous of head-neck and lung; melanoma; acute myelocytic leukemia), ave. EDC1 excretion ranged from 10 to 190 mg/g creatinine. A significant increase (P less than .05) was found in the localized stage of squamous cancer of head-neck-lung, but only after regional or distant spread in the other types. Similar results were found with HNC1beta, urinary excretion of which averaged 1/10 that of EDC1. Effective chemotherapy in 5 patients with leukemia or solid tumors caused prompt disappearance of urinary EDC1; the glyco-protein reappeared in the urine several weeks before clinical relapse.

CONCLUSIONS
(i) EDC1- and HNC1beta-proteinuria is a useful indicator of some types of localized and most types of disseminated cancer; (ii) the degree of this proteinuria reflects the effectiveness of chemotherapy; (iii) the antiproteolytic property of EDC1 and HNC1beta suggests a relation between proteolysis and tumorigenesis.


Accessing the website through the Internet has introduced a new way of
advertising information to the users. The term "malvertising" comes from the word
malware and advertising. It is one type of attack that performs malware or scareware
injection into the online advertisements. The purpose of this study is to investigate
security awareness on malvertising attack among university students, propose an
anti-malvertising model to improve security awareness, and to evaluate the security
awareness of the proposed model. The data collection of the research starts with
preliminary study in understanding the malvertising issue. Then, survey
questionnaire is distributed to university students from two different local
universities (UTM, Kuala Lumpur and UMP, Pahang) from two different
backgrounds (IT related and non-IT related courses) to investigate current security
awareness on malvertising attack. The study proposes theoretical model on antimalvertising
and the security awareness will be analyzed through the survey. The
proposed model consists of protection, behavior and monitoring components,
identified as independent variables and the security awareness on the antimalvertising
will is identified as the dependent variable. The study had found that
more than half of the students are aware with the malvertising attack by practicing
protection measures, security behavior, and security monitoring that give positive
impact to the students' security awareness. This proposed theoretical model may be
beneficial for the students as a basis of reference for anti-malvertising exercise, while
promoting the security awareness among university students. Besides, the theoretical
model can be used as a reference for the researchers in this field as well as other
security practitioners in practicing the suitable components that constitute security
awareness for malvertising.


According to Dirac, and based on our space-like form of Bethe–Salpeter equation of bound state, we extend the definition of the space-like wavefunctions and derive out the spacelike form of Bethe–Salpeter equation for scatter state. The solution of the inhomogeneous term is also obtained in detail so as to clarify the significance of inhomogeneous space-like form of Bethe–Salpeter equation for scatter state. Moreover the translation method is finally discussed.


Purpose To investigate the predictive value of lactate for prognosis in critically ill patients with AUD. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed using data extracted from a freely accessible critical care database (MIMIC-III). We studied all patients with AUD from the database for whom lactate was available. The clinical outcomes were 30-day mortality. Analyses included LOWESS curve fitting, logistic multivariate regression model, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and subgroup analysis. Results A total of 1296 eligible critically ill patients with AUD were included and there were 223 non-survivors (17.2%). The non-survivors had a higher lactate than the survivors (p < 0.001). A nonlinear relationship between lactate and 30-day mortality was observed. Multivariate logistic regression indicated lactate could be an independent risk factors to predict the prognosis of critically ill patients with AUD. According to ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve predicted by lactate for 30-day mortality was 0.672 (95% CI, 0.634 to 0.711). Subgroup analysis did not find obvious interaction in most subgroups. Conclusion High lactate was associated with increased mortality in critically ill patients with AUD.


Mitomycin C, 20 mg/m2 day 1, and vinblastine, 0.15 mg/m2 days 1 and 21, were administered intravenously to 31 patients with refractory previously treated advanced breast cancer. Courses were repeated every six to eight weeks when adequate hematologic recovery permitted. Thirty of the 31 patients were evaluable; one had a complete response and 11 had a partial response. Four patients had stabilization of their disease. There was a 12/30 (40%) response rate with a median response duration of 127 days (range 69–412 days). Toxicity included moderate to severe myelosuppression, infections, hemorrhage, neurologic symptoms, pulmonary toxicity and mucositis. In previously treated patients with poor prognoses, the combination of mitomycin C and vinblastine appears to be a worthwhile secondary treatment for metastatic breast cancer.


A thesis submitted to MBA coordination office, college
Of business and economics, Addis Ababa university
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Degree of master of business administration in finance


Because the bioavailability of a trace metal, and consequently its toxicity, is dependent on the physical and chemical form of the metal, we have presented a detailed assessment of how speciation of copper would be expected to affect its toxicity. Principles of chemical speciation are applied to demonstrate that inorganic forms will be in constant proportion to each other and to free copper ion during the course of the titration of a sample of natural water with copper or in the various treatments in a toxicity test conducted at constant pH and alkalinity. Binding of copper to dissolved organic matter or to suspended particulate matter may render the copper nonbioavailable. We have considered a simple complexation model to describe the complexation of copper to soluble ligands. Naturally occurring dissolved organic matter is present at concentrations only slightly greater than that of copper. Consequently, titration of water with copper results in a nonlinear relationship between the concentration of copper present as free copper ion plus inorganic copper species. The effects of stability constant of the complex, concentration of ligand, and the total copper concentration are evaluated. We have related bioavailable copper to the concentration of free copper ion plus inorganic copper complexes, which is valid if the pH and alkalinity of the waters used to develop a criteria are not different. On the basis of limited field data for the complexation of copper in Narragansett Bay water, we do not expect that significant differences in water quality criteria (WQC) would result if the criteria were to be based on free copper ion plus inorganic copper complexes rather than total copper concentrations. We examined the effect of speciation of copper in different waters as related to empirical or theoretically calculated water effect ratios (WER). We show that, on the basis of sound chemical principles, it would be expected that the most sensitive organisms would have the greatest WER. This prediction is confirmed by the empirical observations available. For insensitive organisms, knowledge of the concentration of ligand is sufficient to reasonably predict the WER. However, for the more sensitive organisms that give higher WERs, it is necessary to measure or calculate the speciation of copper to predict the WER. Use of predicted WERs may replace use of empirically derived WERs as is now part of regulatory guidance for derivation of site-specific WQC, if correspondence has been demonstrated.


In this paper we design and implement a surveillance system based on an embedded system with multiple Pyroelectric Infrared sensors (PIR) to enhance the reliability. The sensing reliability of a PIR sensor decreases when the distance from the object has increased or the ambient temperature has risen. Our design integrates multiple sensors to construct a sensor group and count their states by using a majority voting mechanism (MVM). If over half the sensors in a sensor group sense a temperature change, the majority voting circuit sends a trigger signal to the surveillance system. On the other hand, the majority voting circuit does not send the trigger signal if fewer than half the sensors sense any temperature change. This method is helpful in decreasing the miss rate of a surveillance system because the majority compensates for sensing errors and thus enhances the reliability of a surveillance system in the monitoring area. Both the mathematical equation and the sensing experiment show that we improve the reliability.


A new generation of the Josephson digital circuits-rapid single flux quantum (RSFQ) devices-based on overdamped externally shunted high quality Nb-AlOx-Nb tunnel junctions have been designed, fabricated and experimentally investigated. All-refractory material 11-layer 5 mu m integrated technology has been successfully employed for the preparation of the RSFQ microcircuits. The T flip-flop has been demonstrated to operate properly up to clock frequencies of 100 GHz at 25% margins. The proper operation of the buffer stage for a one-directional SFQ pulse transmission at clock frequencies up to 125 GHz has been achieved. The possibilities to convert the information from the usual DC form to SFQ and vice versa have been demonstrated. An output signal in an SFQ/DC converter as high as 220 mu V has been measured. A new counter type A/D converter which includes a comparator and reversible binary counter with DC outputs has been fabricated and tested. The proposed ADC seems to be very promising for high-accuracy measurement of medium-bandwidth signals. The possibilities of creating a number of SFQ devices with outstanding parameters are discussed.


BACKGROUND
Many factors in tracheal intubation lead to postoperative sore throat from mucosal injury. Mometasone furoate spray is a moderate potency corticosteroid that prevents influx of inflammatory cells into the mucosa. The present study assessed the efficacy of this drug for reducing postoperative sore throat.

MATERIAL AND METHOD
A prospective, randomized, double blind, controlled study was completed Forty-two patients undergoing general surgery with general anesthesia were randomized into two groups, momethasone and NSS group sprayed at the endotracheal tube cuff vocal cords, epiglottis and pharynx at the time of tracheal intubation. All the patients were evaluated on the incidence and severity of the sore throat at first, sixth, and 24 hour after surgery.

RESULTS
The sore throat after tracheal intubation was significantly less severe after momethasone spray was used than after NSS was used at first, sixth and 24 hours after surgery. The incidences of sore throat in the momethasone group were also significantly fewer than in the SS group at sixth and 24 hour post operation (20% vs. 50% and 10% vs. 40%, respectively) but at the first hour that the incidence was not significantly different (40% vs. 75%). Number needed to treat at the first hour was 2.86, sixth hour was 3.33 and 24 hour was 3.33.

CONCLUSION
Application of mometasone spray reduces postoperative sore throat after tracheal intubation.


OBJECTIVE
To study the effect of calcium supplementation on absorption rate of zinc and iron by calcium metabolic balance study.

METHODS
A total of 80 students (12-17 years old) were selected randomly from 320 subjects who had been supplemented with calcium supplementation for one year. 10 boys and 10 girls were randomly selected from each calcium supplementation group to attend a 10-day metabolic balance study. Samples of foods, feces and urine were collected. Calcium, zinc and iron in samples were measured with ICP-AES.

RESULTS
There were significant differences of calcium intake, but were no differences of iron and zinc intake for 4 groups. The apparent absorption rate of calcium, iron and zinc in boys and girls were 69.4%, 12.5%, 29.9% and 46.4%, 20.9%, 35.3%, respectively. Absorption rates of iron were associated with pubertal stages. There were no significant differences of absorption of calcium, iron and zinc for 4 groups. Apparent absorption rates of calcium, iron and zinc seemed higher (75.3%, 23.2% and 36.4%) when the level of calcium intake were 600 - 800mg/d in boys.

CONCLUSION
There were no significant effects on absorption rate of iron and zinc when the level of calcium intake was 1400mg/d in 12-17 years old Chinese adolescents. Absorption rates of calcium, iron and zinc seemed higher when the level of calcium intake was 600 - 800mg/d in boys.


Objectives To examine whether polymorphisms in the RNA granule component tudor domain-containing protein 7 (TDRD7) gene are associated with susceptibility to age-related cataract (ARC) in a Han Chinese population. Methods Patients with ARC, and age-, sex- and ethnically-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled in the study. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the TDRD7 gene, rs1462091, rs11793735, rs10981985, rs2045732 and rs1462089, were genotyped using a SNaPshot® Multiplex Kit. Results The study included 271 control subjects and 218 patients with ARC. The rs10981985 SNP was associated with ARC in dominant (odds ratio [OR] 0.561, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.388, 0.809) and allele dose (OR 0.619, 95% CI 0.455, 0.841) genetic models. The rs10981985 A allele frequency was lower in patients with cortical ARC than in control subjects (OR 0.502, 95% CI 0.315, 0.801). The rs10981985 polymorphism was significantly associated with cortical ARC in a dominant genetic model (OR 0.431, 95% CI 0.251, 0.740). Conclusions The present study suggests that the rs10981985 G → A variant within the TDRD7 gene may protect against cortical ARC in a Han Chinese population.


BACKGROUND
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a rare neurological disease caused by the pathological accumulation of tau protein. The primary pathological features of CBD include progressive neurodegenerative processes resulting in remarkable frontoparietal and basal ganglia atrophy.

OBJECTIVE
Like in many other neurodegenerative disorders, there is still no effective disease-modifying drug therapy in CBD. Therefore, the development of new treatment methods is of great importance. In this study, we aimed to assess the stimulating effects of high-frequency DLPFC rTMS on the motor, cognitive and behavioral disturbances in four CBD patients.

METHODS
Four (three females, one male) CBD patients who had been diagnosed as CBD were enrolled in this study. Patients were evaluated before and after the rTMS procedure regarding the motor, neuropsychometric and behavioral tests. The results of statistical analysis of behavioral and neuropsychometric evaluation were assessed via SPSS 18.0 package program. Data are expressed as mean, standard deviation. Before and after values of the groups were compared with the Wilcoxon sign rank test, and p<0.05 was considered significant.

RESULTS
We have provided strong preliminary evidence that the improvement in clinical parameters was associated with the normalizations of the theta activity and glucose metabolism.

CONCLUSION
Our current results are consistent with some previous trials showing a strong association between DLPFC targeted rTMS and electrophysiological normalizations in the left DLPFC.


The restorative proctocolectomy is a surgical procedure performed from 30 years in patients with ulcerative colitis and familial adenomatous polyposis. The ileal pouch anastomosed with anal spincters replaces the function of the excised colon and enables the natural rout of intestinal contents. The most frequent postoperative complication is pouchitis, often lowering the estimation of the operation. Authors described the current opinions in ethiopathogenesis and treatment of this disease.


Introduction During traumatic brain injury (TBI) the proper functioning of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is an essential component of the neuroendocrine stress response. Growth hormone (GH) and testosterone (via the luteinizing hormone-testosterone axis) are two hormones under the influence of the HPA axis. Given the critical role that GH plays in body growth and metabolism and testosterone's important anabolic properties, this study aims to describe serum GH and testosterone levels in the acute period following TBI and to examine if differences in serum GH and testosterone levels exist between TBI patients with varying Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, Injury Severity Scores (ISS), and blood pressure (BP) values. Methods Serum GH and testosterone measurements were obtained from 97 patients during the first 11 days following TBI. Injury severity characteristics such as GCS, ISS and BP values were collected for each patient. Results During the acute period following TBI, GH levels initially decrease and then increase (p = .0004). Testosterone follows the same pattern (p < .0001). The comparison of mean GH and testosterone values within 24 hours of injury and over the 11 days following TBI between patients with different GCS, ISS, and BP values demonstrates that a statistically significant difference of serum hormone levels does not exist when patients are stratified using these parameters. Conclusions These preliminary data suggest that both GH and testosterone initially decrease and then increase in the acute period following TBI. Although there is an increase in GH and testosterone toward the end of the observation period, for at least the first week post-injury, somatotroph and gonadotroph suppression occurs in the majority of patients. The clinical importance of this suppressed hormonal function remains to be determined. Additionally, differences in injury severity measurements do not correlate with different patterns of GH and testosterone levels.


We report a case of excessive weight loss causing bilateral common peroneal nerve entrapment in a 60-year-old patient. The bilateral peroneal involvement suggested a systemic cause. Excessive weight loss during a relatively short period can cause changes in the tissues surrounding the common peroneal nerve and lead to its entrapment in the peroneal tunnel. Our patient underwent successful surgical decompression with significant improvement.


This paper investigates the secrecy outage performance of a multiple-input multiple-output and multi-antenna eavesdropper system. We consider a novel formulation for the secrecy outage probability, which is capable of quantifying reliability and secrecy separately, thus constituting a useful tool in the context of new scenarios with stringent requirements on reliability as the case of ultra-reliable low-latency communication. Our system considers a multi-antenna transmitter, Alice, that employs transmit antenna selection, a legitimate multi-antenna receiver, Bob, and a multi-antenna eavesdropper, Eve, where both employing maximal-ratio combining. For this system, exact and simpler asymptotic closed-form expressions for the conditional outage probability are provided. Moreover, for the case where channel state information is available at the three nodes, a numerical secure throughput maximization is carried out by considering quality-of-service and security constraints for an adaptive rate allocation scheme in an ON-OFF transmission. Our proposed closed-form expressions are validated via Monte Carlo simulations.


SUNDIALS is a suite of advanced computational codes for solving large-scale problems that can be modeled as a system of nonlinear algebraic equations, or as initial-value problems in ordinary differential or differential-algebraic equations. The basic versions of these codes are called KINSOL, CVODE, and IDA, respectively. The codes are written in ANSI standard C and are suitable for either serial or parallel machine environments. Common and notable features of these codes include inexact Newton-Krylov methods for solving large-scale nonlinear systems; linear multistep methods for time-dependent problems; a highly modular structure to allow incorporation of different preconditioning and/or linear solver methods; and clear interfaces allowing for users to provide their own data structures underneath the solvers. We describe the current capabilities of the codes, along with some of the algorithms and heuristics used to achieve efficiency and robustness. We also describe how the codes stem from previous and widely used Fortran 77 solvers, and how the codes have been augmented with forward and adjoint methods for carrying out first-order sensitivity analysis with respect to model parameters or initial conditions.


AMERICAN AND JAPANESE EXPATRIATE ADJUSTMENT: A PSYCHOANALYTIC CONTRIBUTION While a wide range of literature on expatriation and repatriation tends to focus on individual adjustment and human resource management systems, the issue of expatriation has not been sufficiently examined in the context of personal development, beyond professional or career development, nor the impact of the sociocultural context. A psychoanalytic approach can be useful in understanding personal and family adjustment as well as some cultural determinants of response to expatriation. Issues of dependency, separation and individuation, and autonomy and control may provide important insights into expatriation and reasons why, for example, Japanese and American expatriates differ in their response. 2


Abstract Background: Pulmonary aspergillosis may be the first presentation of chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and may occur during infancy. Imaging studies with plain chest radiographs and computed tomography may present a diagnostic challenge, and high index of suspicion is required for the diagnosis. Objective: Report a six-week-old boy with chronic granulomatous disease and invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, in who color Doppler sonography of the chest showed systemic arterial supply to the pulmonary lesions. Methods: Sonography of the chest using a high-frequency linear transducer was performed in a six-week-old infant with chronic granulomatous disease who presented with noisy breathing, cough, and low-grade fever, and his chest radiograph revealed multiple sites of pulmonary opacities. Results: The peripheral pulmonary nodules had low-resistant arterial supply derived from a systemic artery of the chest wall. The pulmonary lesion was later proven to be fungal infection. Similar imaging was detected in another two infants with the same disease. Conclusion: Systemic arterial supply could develop to feed peripheral pulmonary aspergillosis in an infant as young as six-week old who had underling CGD.


The author of the article uses an artwork as a visual source for the research. The painting Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by the great impressionist artist A. Renoir allows studying the scene from daily life in Paris in the last third of the 19th century.


The authors report on the design and synthesis of new semiconducting materials, based on a triphenylene core. In comparison with all previous reported triphenylene derivatives, these molecules have lower bandgap energies. 2,3,6,7,10,11-Hexakis(4-((E)-2-(5′-hexyl-2,2′-bithiophen-5-yl)vinyl)phenyl) triphenylene and 2,3,6,7,10,11-Hexakis(4-((E)-2-(5′-dodecyl-2,2′-bithiophen-5-yl)vinyl)phenyl)triphenylene have good solubility and are applicable to soluble processing for organic field effect transistor (OFET) and organic solar cell (OSC) fabrications. As far as we know, there are few reports on the application of π-extended triphenylene systems to OFET. The other molecule, 2,3,6,7,10,11-Hexakis((4-(5-dodecylthiophen-2-yl)phenyl)ethynyl)triphenylene, is a new discotic liquid crystalline (LC) semiconducting material. This molecule is readily soluble in common organic solvents to exhibit self-organizing long fiber structures with supramolecularly ordered columnar stacks that lie parallel to the substrate. The semiconducting properties of these molecules were quite promising for further designs of π-extended triphenylene derivatives.


Electric field distribution below 80 cm should be specified to test the RF immunity of the floor-standing equipment. To determine this specification, a model in which the equipment is set on an infinite ground plane was used. Calculations using the moment method show that the height pattern of the field below 80 cm is independent of frequency. The height pattern measured in a room is close to the calculated pattern in this model. Experiments show that a suitable electric field can be almost generated by arranging RF absorbers on the floor of a semianechoic chamber.<<ETX>>


OBJECTIVES
To assess parental perceptions of the importance of well-child care (WCC) in an inner-city clinic and to determine what type and format of information parents would like to obtain at WCC visits.

METHODS
A convenience sample of parents accompanying a child aged 12 years or younger attending an inner-city pediatric teaching clinic completed self-administered written surveys. Parents ranked the importance of WCC overall, as well as its various components, using Likert scales. Parents also responded to checklist-style questions to indicate selected topics they would like to receive more information about and the format of information they preferred (written, talking to the physician, or videotapes in the waiting room).

RESULTS
A total of 239 parents completed surveys. Overall they believed WCC was important (91% responded "extremely important" or "very important"). The individual WCC components ranked most important by parents were immunizations, growth and development issues, and the opportunity to discuss behavior or other concerns. The topics of information requested most frequently were how to help their child learn healthy eating habits (55%), how to help their child do well in school (53%), and how to keep their child safe outside of their home (49%). Written information was the format most frequently preferred (65%) by parents for receiving information.

CONCLUSIONS
Parents of inner-city children consider WCC important. They want to hear about child health-related issues and prefer a written format. This knowledge can guide health care providers and educators during WCC visits and while teaching.


This paper presents a general model of optimal water management for a transboundary aquifer under three different management approaches: cooperative, noncooperative, and myopic. Comparing the results from the approaches, we find the cooperative solution, where a single management plan is executed for all parts of the aquifer, results in the highest level of net social welfare, followed by the noncooperative and then the myopic. The trade‐offs we find for the higher levels of welfare are lower use levels in the earlier periods. We present a short discussion of factors that can increase the inefficiencies of the models and suggest directions for future research.


In order to investigate the effect of the height of application point of lateral loads and reinforcing steel bars in walls and columns in improving the seismic behavior of confined concrete block masonry walls, an experimental research program is conducted. A total of twelve one-half scale specimens are tested under repeated lateral loads. Specimens are tested to failure with increasing maximum lateral drifts while a vertical axial load was applied and maintained constant. The specimens adopted are two-dimensional (2D) hollow concrete block masonry walls with different parameters such as shear span ratio, inflection point and percent of reinforcement in confining columns and walls. Test results obtained for each specimen include cracking patterns, load-deflection curve, and strains in reinforcement and walls in critical locations. Analysis of test data showed that above parameters generate a considerable effect on the seismic performance of confined concrete block masonry walls.


Churches play a major role in providing social support to address health inequities within Black communities, in part by connecting members to key organizations and services. While public health has a history of disseminating interventions in faith communities, little work has explored the use of crowdsourcing to tailor interventions to the unique culture of each church community. Following Community Based Participatory Research principles, we partnered with two predominantly Black churches, and report on a series of three participatory design sessions with nine participants. We developed a novel storyboarding method to explore how crowdsourcing could promote health in these faith-based communities. Our findings characterize existing supports within the church community, and how church social structures impact member access to these supports. We further identify motivations to engage with a church-situated health application, and how these motivations translate to crowdsourcing tasks. Finally, we discuss considerations for public health crowdsourcing tasks.


Conducting undergraduate studies in the English language, while only a small minority of students speak English at home, poses many problems to learning in the South African context. This article explores how restrictive language policies may influence proper learning and impact negatively on the self-understanding of students. It also explores how multilingualism could help to reduce the continued reliance on English, without doing away with English in its entirety. This is especially relevant in light of English and other colonial languages still being perceived as "languages of power" (Stroud & Kerfoot, 2013, p. 403). Therefore, attention is given to the link between language and power, especially in light of languages often being used to implement, display and preserve power. Language use in the classroom, especially with regard to codeswitching (also called translanguaging), is discussed. Finally, it explores the success that was achieved during multilingual tutorial sessions. In the tutorials, students were encouraged to explore the course work in their native languages, thereby internalising it and getting a better understanding thereof.


Purpose Fixed-dose combinations of inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β2-agonists have proven to prevent and reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. The aim of this analysis was to explore the clinical consequences and direct health care costs of applying the findings of the PATHOS (An Investigation of the Past 10 Years Health Care for Primary Care Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) study to the Italian context. Patients and methods Effectiveness data from the PATHOS study, a population-based, retrospective, observational registry study conducted in Sweden, in terms of reduction in COPD and pneumonia-related hospitalizations, were considered, in order to estimate the differences in resource consumption between patients treated with budesonide/formoterol and fluticasone/salmeterol. The base case considers the average dosages of the two drugs reported in the PATHOS study and the actual public price in charges to the Italian National Health Service, while the difference in hospitalization rates reported in the PATHOS study was costed based on Italian real-world data. Results The PATHOS study demonstrated a significant reduction in COPD hospitalizations and pneumonia-related hospitalizations in patients treated with budesonide/formoterol versus fluticasone/salmeterol (−29.1% and −42%, respectively). In the base case, the treatment of a patient for 1 year with budesonide/formoterol led to a saving of €499.90 (€195.10 for drugs, €193.10 for COPD hospitalizations, and €111.70 for pneumonia hospitalizations) corresponding to a −27.6% difference compared with fluticasone/salmeterol treatment. Conclusion Treatment of COPD with budesonide/formoterol compared with fluticasone/salmeterol could lead to a reduction in direct health care costs, with relevant improvement in clinical outcomes.


There is a lack of research exploring dyad communication and knowledge management in the complex project context. The present study aims to narrow the identified gap by identifying the main barriers, considering both tacit and explicit knowledge. Besides, the influence of this dyad in project performance is investigated. This research explores the emergent literature on knowledge management and communication management in the complex project context by performing a mapping study. A sample of 116 article is in-depth analyzed through a combination of bibliometric and content analysis, using an axial coding process. The results point out that the main communication barriers are environmental and different priorities among team members. The study points the knowledge barriers, particularly the knowledge codification process and inadequate information technology. This study highlights the lack of more confirmatory research approaches, such as developing a relation between triad knowledge management, communication, and project performance. Besides, it points to the lack of studies on learning capabilities.


More than one‐third of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) continue to have seizures despite treatment with antiepileptic drugs, and many experience severe drug‐related side effects, illustrating the need for novel therapies. Selective expression of inhibitory Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) allows cell‐type‐specific reduction of neuronal excitability. In this study, we evaluated the effect of chemogenetic suppression of excitatory pyramidal and granule cell neurons of the sclerotic hippocampus in the intrahippocampal mouse model (IHKA) for temporal lobe epilepsy.


Distributions over strings and trees can be represented by probabilistic regular languages, which characterise many models in natural language processing. Recently, several datasets have become available which represent natural language phenomena as graphs, so it is natural to ask whether there is an equivalent of probabilistic regular languages for graphs. This paper presents regular graph languages, a formalism due to Courcelle (1991) that has not previously been studied in natural language processing. RGL is crucially a subfamily of both Hyperedge Replacement Languages (HRL), which can be made probabilistic; and Monadic Second Order Languages (MSOL), which are closed under intersection. We give an accessible introduction to Courcelle's proof that RGLs are in MSOL, providing clues about how RGL may relate to other recently introduced graph grammar formalisms.


Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood. The role of genetic factors in its etiology is strongly supported by family, adoption, and twin studies. Several investigations have reported associations between ADHD and both the 7-repeat allele of the 48 bp VNTR at the DRD4 gene and the 10-repeat allele of the 40 bp VNTR at the DAT1 gene, but the results have been inconsistent. A sample of 81 Brazilian ADHD children and adolescents and their parents were screened for these DRD4 and DAT1 VNTRs. An excess of the DRD4 7-repeat allele was observed when both ADHD probands and their parents were compared with an ethnically matched control sample (chi-square = 11.55, P = 0.03; chi-square = 12.17, P = 0.03, respectively). However, haplotype relative risk (HRR) analysis showed no preferential transmission of the DRD4 7-repeat allele. No evidence of association with the DAT1 polymorphism was detected by both approaches. Nevertheless, an interaction effect of both genes on ADHD hyperactive/impulsive dimension was observed (F = 4.68; P = 0.03). These results add to the group of studies that together suggest a small effect of these genes in the susceptibility to ADHD.


The present work aims to understand the influence of the asymmetries on the dynamics of the hollow rotor system. The study comprises the analytical study through the extended Lagrangian Hamiltonian approach and validation conducted with the simulation study through the bond graphs. This study involves an investigation of the dynamics of the hollow rotor system through two case studies. First case study considers a hollow rotor system with small asymmetry in stiffness while another study considers a hollow rotor system with asymmetry in mass. The lumped analysis involves the development of a mathematical model by considering the symmetry breaking of a hollow rotor caused by mass or stiffness. The study shows good agreement in simulation and analytical results.


The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between change in positive and negative symptoms over time during haloperidol treatment. Subjects were 178 acutely exacerbating chronic schizophrenia patients participating in a clinical trial of haloperidol. Positive and negative symptoms were measured by the positive and negative symptom clusters of the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale and by the Scales for the Assessment of Positive and Negative Symptoms. Hierarchical linear model analysis was used to estimate symptom-change trajectories of positive and negative symptoms over time in individual patients and to investigate the inter-relationship between these trajectories. Results indicate that positive and negative symptom-change trajectories over time were closely associated. This result did not depend on extrapyramidal side effects, depression, or the baseline balance of positive and negative symptoms. Thus, our study suggests that in acutely exacerbating schizophrenia patients, changes of positive and negative symptoms over time are related during the initial phase of the pharmacological treatment. This relationship may not extend to other treatment paradigms or beyond the initial phase of the treatment.


2/ Associate Professor of Natural Resource Policy and Management and of Urban and Regional Planning, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Abstract: The National Environmental Policy Act requires all agencies to develop techniques to insure appropriate consideration of all environmental amenities and values, including those presently unquantified, by all federal agencies in all their activities. These obviously include the values associated with the landscape and its visual resources. The visual resource, however, is inseparably intertwined with people's prior experiences and expectations, as well as nonvisual dimensions of experience; and its values include not only preferences but also cultural norms and ecological functions. Many valuable techniques have been developed for visual resource management, especially recent ones which move beyond traditional inventories of landscape characteristics and attempt to identify perceptual preferences; but much remains to be done. Comparative analysis of existing techniques in case studies would be fruitful, as well as more attention to (1) relationships between preferences, cultural norms and the landscape's ecological functions, (2) relationships between people's preferences and their knowledge and expectations of the landscape, (3) holistic approaches to landscape analysis and management, and (4) wider dissemination and use of existing methods within existing permissive statutes.


The purpose of this study is to describe the partnership of early childhood education between school families and the community. This type of research was a qualitative deskriptif approach. The research subjects were parents, educators and managers.  Data were collected through interviews, observation, and document study. The data were analyzed using the qualitative analysis techniques data collecting, data display and conclusion drawing. The results showed that the relationship of partnerships and cooperation between PAUD institutions and parents and the community of students can be achieved to the maximum and increase the role of parents of early childhood and the community in the implementation of early childhood education institution programs.


The objective of this paper is to suggest a robust optimal power flow (OPF) framework to perform locational marginal pricing under the scarcity of reactive power. The classical OPF models employed for market clearing either assume infinite reactive power support or make a fully independent representation of the reactive power load. In contrast, a potentially more accurate power flow model is adopted in this paper recognizing the dependence of the level of reactive power consumption on the level of active power consumption. The relationship is primarily modeled by employing the concept of power factor. In addition, there can be load requests with different power factors from the same location. The corresponding locational marginal prices (LMPs) are found to vary not only spatially but also according to power factors. Thus, a two-dimensional LMP variation is finally obtained. A consistent definition of financial transmission rights is also provided and the associated LMP decomposition scheme is described. The model proposed is studied on the IEEE 30-bus system and its distinctive features are noted down and discussed.


platform exists allowing investors the ability to trade on international markets from a single location. The twelve leading online investment programs (by trade volume) provide access to U.S. security exchanges only. A second, related problem is the lack of a fully automated investment portal availing itself of new technologies. Many of these technologies are utilized by leading security exchanges. The electronic communications network (ECN) provides a widely used example of important new technology. ECN's allow both institutional and individual investors a network with automatic matching of buy and sell orders, excising any third party. Currently, NASDAQ ECNs handle more than 40% of trade volume, a number expected to increase. These streamlined trades show evidence of reduced fees resulting from lowered transaction costs. Also with ECN's, we see initial signs of increased individual order matching speed. This evidence demonstrates the good chances for developing a global, fully automated trading system. The GoTrade team objective is to develop the initial design, simulate, and conduct analysis of an online trading system that provides global market access to any potential investor with an internet connection. The team plans to design a system that is secure, fully automated, and situated to optimize connectivity to global markets based upon expected user population distributions and current global internet infrastructure. To keep the project manageable, we limit our research to the NASDAQ, London, and Hong Kong Exchanges. We plan to build a model of our system in Arena and test the performance versus cost of various design alternatives. The factors most important to our system are performance and cost. This determination was made after survey elicitation, interviews with online investors, and consultations with our sponsor and technical advisors. The trade-off analysis associated with these measures will aid in determining the final system configuration.


A concise and factual abstract is required (of between 100-200 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself. Graphical abstract Although a graphical abstract is optional, its use is encouraged as it draws more attention to the online article. The graphical abstract should summarize the contents of the article in a concise, pictorial form designed to capture the attention of a wide readership. Graphical abstracts should be submitted as a separate file in the online submission system. Image size: Please provide an image with a minimum


OBJECTIVE
To compare structural properties of a plate-rod combination-bone construct (PRCbc) and interlocking nail-bone construct (ILNbc) by use of an experimentally induced gap fracture in canine tibiae.

SAMPLE POPULATION
12 paired canine tibiae.

PROCEDURE
Specimens were implanted with a plate-rod combination consisting of a 3.5-mm, limited-contact, dynamic-compression plate combined with an intramedullary rod or 6-mm interlocking nail. Ostectomy (removal of 10-mm segment) was performed. Paired constructs were loaded for bending, compression, or torsion measurements (4 constructs/group). Compliance was determined by fitting regression lines to the load-position curves at low (initial compliance) and high (terminal compliance) loads.

RESULTS
Bending compliances did not differ significantly between constructs. For the ILNbc, initial compliance was greater than terminal compliance in compression and torsion. Initial compliance and terminal compliance for the PRCbc were similar in compression and torsion. Initial compliance in compression and torsion was greater for the ILNbc, compared with initial compliance for the PRCbc. Maximum deformations in bending and compression were similar between constructs; however, maximum torsional angle was significantly greater for the ILNbc, compared with values for the PRCbc.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The study documented that for an experimentally induced gap fracture in canine tibiae, a plate-rod combination is a significantly less compliant fixation method in torsion and compression, compared with an interlocking nail. Considering the deleterious effects of torsional deformation on bone healing, a plate-rod combination may represent a biomechanically superior fixation method, compared with an interlocking nail, for the treatment of dogs with comminuted tibial diaphyseal fractures.


Recent developments have highlighted the "greying" of health care providers in Canada. Not only are there fewer physicians and nurses available to deliver care, but those who are working tend to be older. The effect of this on health care delivery remains to be seen, but the number of people who are there to provide care, and their ability to continue to work the long hours necessitated by the growing demands of an aging population, are predicted to diminish.1

This situation results from an unfortunate constellation of events beginning with the decision over a decade ago to reduce the number of training positions in Canadian medical schools. Since almost all provinces tie the number of postgraduate training positions to the undergraduate positions extant in that province, this produced a net drop in postgraduate training positions across the country. The practice of family medicine requires postgraduate training, and many provincial governments elected to perpetuate their family-medicine training positions, retaining either the numbers or their proportion from preceding years. This further curtailed training positions for surgical specialties.

While this was going on, licensing requirements at the provincial and Royal College level decreased the number of foreign medical graduates eligible for licensure and practice in Canada.

Also at the same time, decreased transfer payments from the federal government to the provincial governments for health care resulted in serious resource issues for many hospitals. Faced with rising costs and a fixed budget, many hospitals chose to reduce resources provided for elective medical and surgical treatment. This has prolonged waiting times for diagnostic and therapeutic interventions as well as intensified stress among physicians who have been trying to balance the increasing demand for care (brought on by the growing needs of patients and shrinking numbers of physicians) with scarcities in hospital resources.

The aggregate result has been dissatisfaction with surgical practice among those of us involved in day- to-day patient care, caused by frustration at our inability to provide the type of care we feel patients deserve. This dissatisfaction has been manifest in several ways, including migrations of physicians between provinces or to the USA. Surgeons with large elective practices have often closed them to new patients intermittently until the waiting list could be reduced; this antagonizes referring physicians and frustrates people who are seeking care. Medical students witnessing the frustrations of attending staff may (not surprisingly) find surgery an unattractive option if they think their entire professional life will be a series of setbacks combined with a dearth of professional fulfillment.

Provincial governments have recognized that one of our fundamental obstacles to delivering appropriate care is our inadequate number of younger physicians trained in this country. They therefore approved increases in medical school registrations. The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, in conjunction with provincial colleges, has begun to address the impediments to licensure that often prevent appropriately skilled physicians from practising in this country. But these initiatives are inadequate to address the current situation, which sees millions of people unable to access family physicians and further thousands of patients unable to obtain ready access to specialist care.

Several jurisdictions have attempted to address the immediate problem in various ways, including regionalization of care in an attempt to avoid duplication of resources, "hot-spot" funding to recruit and retain specialist physicians in certain specialties, and additional funding to address specific waiting-list issues.

What do all these initiatives mean for surgeons in Canada? In the short term, there is no relief in sight to address the current and continuing shortage of surgical specialists in this country. In the longer term, one can only hope that the current crisis in will result in a more comprehensive and cohesive program for the delivery of patient care.

Surgeons should be at the forefront of this discussion. The first problem has been addressed: there are more medical school training positions now than 10 years ago. We should nonetheless be engaged in ongoing discussions with the Royal College, universities and provincial colleges to ensure that our concerns are given appropriate weight when decisions are made. We must increase the number of training positions for specialists in surgery in Canada. Furthermore, we have to be certain the Royal College and provincial colleges have an appropriate mechanism for determining which immigrant physicians would be able to deliver care after appropriate refresher training and evaluation. I feel that much of the current unsatisfactory situation has developed because practising physicians were not consulted when policies about postgraduate training and hospital resource allocation were made. This error should not be repeated.

I would appreciate any comments, suggestions or ideas the readership may have about this important issue.

James P. Waddell, MD Coeditor


We used repeated sampling of the forest floor to determine if there was a net loss of Ca from organic horizons of Adirondack forest soils between 1930 and 2004. In 1984, we established 48 permanent plots in spruce-fir, northern hardwood, and pine stands located in areas sampled by Carl C. Heimburger in the early 1930s. Following Heimburger's protocols and analytical methods, we measured pH and dilute-HCl-extractable Ca in Oe and Oa horizons, and determined that there was a statistically significant decrease in Ca concentration during the 1932 to 1984 interval. In the 36 plots that we could locate in 2004, we again sampled organic horizons. During the >70-yr interval, HCl-extractable Ca concentrations in the Oe and Oa horizons decreased in each forest type (P < 0.05). We also measured NH 4 Cl-extractable Ca and Al in the 1984 and 2004 samples and found a significant decrease in Ca concentration in the pooled Oe horizons. High-elevation spruce-fir plots showed a Ca loss rate between 1984 and 2004 of 7.6 to 9.8 kg ha -1 yr -1 . This compares well with a 4-yr Ca cycling study conducted in an equivalent spruce-fir forest at Whiteface Mt. in the Adirondacks, which showed an annual forest floor Ca loss of 8.4 kg ha -1 yr -1 . Based on uptake and anion flux data from the Whiteface Mt. study, we estimated that about 25 to 30% of the 1984 to 2004 forest floor Ca loss in the spruce-fir plots is attributable to leaching driven by atmospheric SO 4 2- deposition.


Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is one of the most prevalent cancers diseases in the worldwide. Long noncoding RNAs (LncRNAs) have been indicated as a mediator acted in tumorigenesis of RCC. LINC00460 has been reported to participate in many kinds of malignancies and promotes cancer progressions. However, the mechanism of LINC00460 on RCC is yet to be investigated. This study aimed to explore the potential function and regulation mechanism of LINC00460 in RCC. We analysed the LINC00460 expression and the prognosis in RCC patients using Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) and The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) databases. LINC00460 level in normal renal cell line and RCC cell lines were examined by qRT-PCR. We study the effects of LINC00460 on proliferation, migration, invasion, apoptosis in RCC cells lines using a series of in vivo and in vitro experiments. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) analysis was applied to searching potential LINC00460 related signal pathway in RCC. We identified the significant up-regulated expression of LINC00460 both in RCC tissues and cell. RCC patients with elevated LINC00460 expression have shorter survival. Up-expression of LINC00460 promoted cell proliferation, invasion and migration, meanwhile down-regulation of LINC00460 exerted inhibitory effect on these activities. We crucially identified that LNC00460 promotes development of RCC by influencing the PI3K/AKT pathway. Knockdown of LNC00460 decreased the phosphorylation of AKT and mTOR. The key finding of our study showed that LINC00460 functions as an oncogene in RCC pathogenesis by mediating the PI3K/AKT.