The objective was to determine the immunological response of Litopenaeus vannamei using mannan-oligosaccharides (T1), garlic (T2) and a compound from plant extracts (T3) after being infected with Vibrio parahaemolyticus. Two bioassays were performed with duration of six (1x106 CFU) and fourteen (3x106 CFU) days in the Marine Sciences and Limnology Research Center, University of Costa Rica in 2011. Research used 120 shrimp for each experimental period, extracted from farms located in the Nicoya Peninsula. Weight gain and feed conversion were evaluated after product's dosage. After infection with V. parahaemolyticus, hemograms, coagulation, hemolymph's bacteriology and accumulated mortality analysis were made. Immunological parameters showed no statistical difference (P>0,05) between treatments in any period, however after six days, T1 showed 41,07 x105 hemocytes/ml, coagulation of 34,40 s and 4,44x103 CFU/ml. Throughout the fourteen day period, T2 obtained the best values (55,76x105 hemocytes/ ml, coagulation of 34,20 s and 15,4x103 CFU/ml). After 10 hours of inoculation, accumulated mortality presented fewer deaths in T1 and T3 (76,2%) at six days, whereas at 14 days was (93,2%) for T1. Weight gain and feed conver-sion presented statistical differences (P<0,05) only for the bioassay which lasted six days, where T2 showed a 54,3 g biomass, an increase in weight gain of 19,3% and feed conversion of 1,4.


Bovine aortic endothelial BAE-2 cells exposed to the peroxidizing agent, tert-butylhydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) or 2,4-nonadienal (NDE), suffered from disruption of cell membrane integrity and from reduction of mitochondrial dehydrogenase activity as assessed by fluorometry using ethidium homodimer and photometry using WST-1, respectively. The cells were protected from t-BuOOH-induced injury more markedly by L-ascorbic acid-2-O-phosphate (Asc2P) stably masked at the 2,3-enediol moiety, which is responsible for the antioxidant ability of L-ascorbic acid (Asc), than by Asc itself. In contrast, NDE-induced membrane disruption but not mitochondrial dysfunction was prevented by Asc2P, whereas Asc exhibited no prevention against both types of injury. The amount of intracellular Asc was 7.2- to 9.0-fold larger in Asc2P-administered BAE-2 cells, where the intact from Asc2P was not detected, than in Asc-administered cells as assessed by HPLC of cell extract with detection by coulometric ECD and UV. During transmembrane influx into the cell, Asc2P was concentrated as highly as 70- to 90-fold relative to the extracellular Asc2P concentration, whereas Asc was 8- to 13-fold concentrated as estimated based on an intracellular water content of 0.59 pL/cell determined by [14C]PEG/gas chromatography. Thus, Asc2P but not Asc is highly concentrated in the aqueous phase of the cell after prompt dephosphorylation, and may thereby render the cell more resistant to t-BuOOH-peroxidation assumedly via scavenging of intracellular reactive oxygen species than to peroxidation with the less hydrophilic agent NDE.


Objective: In this study we aimed to calculate the cost per patient in an emergency department by using the administrative, financial and medical data obtained from a university hospital in 2011. Material and Methods: All services invoiced as well as all revenue and expenditure documented by an Adult Emergency Service between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2011 were retrospectively examined by analysing the data obtained from the Hospital Information System and Revolving Fund Management. Cost per patient was calculated accordingly with a traditional cost analysis method. Results: It was calculated that the total expenditure of the Adult Emergency Service, including personnel salaries, was $2.236.909.28. Total revenue was $2.045.861.78, meaning that there was a loss of $191.047.49. Since the personnel salaries were paid from a central budget, a profit of $224.252.84 was revealed in a cost analysis from which these salaries were excluded. Personnel salaries constituted 46.15% of the total costs, and it was calculated that the average cost per patient that the social security agency paid to the hospital was $27.48. Cost per patient was $30.05 if the salaries of emergency service personnel were included and $24.47 if these salaries were excluded. Conclusion: Public hospitals are non-profit healthcare organisations; however they are also enterprises and should be considered accordingly. To achieve high-quality, uninterrupted services, the revenue/expenditure balance should show a profit, and in order to make a profit hospitals, and departments within hospitals, should conduct regular cost analyses. (JAEM 2013; 12: 71-5)


BACKGROUND
Oocyte competence for maturation and embryogenesis is associated with diameter in many mammals. We aimed to test whether this relationship exists in humans and to quantify its impact upon in vitro maturation (IVM).

METHODS
We used computer-assisted image analysis daily to measure average diameter, zona thickness and other parameters in oocytes. Immature oocytes originated from unstimulated patients with polycystic ovaries, and from stimulated patients undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). Some were cultured with meiosis activating sterol (FF-MAS). Matured oocytes were inseminated using ICSI and embryo development was monitored. In vivo matured oocytes were also measured.

RESULTS
Immature oocytes were smaller at collection than in vivo matured oocytes. Maturation was related to oocyte diameter and many oocytes grew in culture. FF-MAS stimulated growth in oocytes derived from ICSI patients, but only stimulated growth in PCO derived oocytes if they matured in vitro. Degenerating oocytes showed cytoplasmic shrinkage. Neither zona thickness, perivitelline space, nor the total diameter of the oocyte plus zona were informative regarding maturation capacity.

CONCLUSIONS
Immature oocytes grow during maturation culture. FF-MAS promotes oocyte growth in vitro. Oocytes from different sources have different growth profiles in vitro. Measuring oocytes in clinical IVM may provide additional non-invasive information that could potentially avoid the use of growing oocytes.


Shim describes unknown key-share attack on the server-specific MAKEP, and Siaw-Lynn Ng demonstrates further limitations of protocol. In the paper, we propose an improved version of server-specific MAKEP. The modified protocol not only overcomes the above attacks but also simplifies the protocol which proposed by Shim. Then, we analyze authentication of the improved protocol by extend theory of strand space. The analysis proved the correctness of the improved protocol.


Flammability experiments on silicone samples were conducted in anticipation of the Spacecraft Fire Experiment (Saffire). The sample geometry was chosen to match the NASA 6001 Test 1 specification, namely 5 cm wide by 30 cm tall. Four thicknesses of silicone (0.25, 0.36, 0.61 and 1.00 mm) were examined. Tests included traditional upward buoyant flame spread using Test 1 procedures, downward opposed-flow flame spread, horizontal and angled flame spread, and forced-flow upward and downward flame spread. In addition to these configurations, upward and downward tests were conducted in a chamber with varying oxygen concentrations. In the upward buoyant flame spread tests, the flame generally did not burn the entire sample. As thickness was increased, the flame spread distance decreased before flame extinguishment. For the thickest sample, ignition could not be achieved. In the downward tests, the two thinnest samples permitted the flame to burn the entire sample, but the spread rate was lower compared to the corresponding upward values. The other two thicknesses could not be ignited in the downward configuration. The increased flammability for downward spreading flames relative to upward ones is uncommon. The two thinnest samples also burned completely in the horizontal configuration, as well as at angles up to 75 degrees from the horizontal. Upward tests in air with an added forced flow were more flammable. The upward and downward flammability behavior was compared in atmospheres of varying oxygen concentration to determine a maximum oxygen concentration for each configuration. Complementary analyses using EDS, TGA, and SEM techniques suggest the importance of the silica layer deposited downstream onto the unburned sample surface.


Ultrasonic examinations of the pancreas and gallbladder are currently not performed after a barium UGI series until all of the barium has cleared the gastrointestinal tract (12-48 hours). By giving water one hour after a barium UGI series and scanning the patient in an upright position, using the stomach as an acoustic window, we have been successful in visualizing the pancreas in all 14 of the volunteers studied. Our visualization of the pancreas and gallbladder was as good after the UGI series as it was prior to the ingestion of barium in every case. The use of this technique can expedite the evaluation of patients in whom both upper abdominal ultrasonic and barium UGI series are indicated.


Hepatitis is swelling and inflammation of the liver. It is commonly caused by a viral infection. There are, however, other causes of hepatitis. These include autoimmune hepatitis and hepatitis that occurs as a secondary result of medications and chemical agents. This disease is characterized by fever, vomiting, nausea and jaundice. Various forms of hepatitis exist and they include; Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, F. Owing to the sad experience of wrong diagnosis of this case and wrong treatment which most times lead to death this study work aimed at determining the presence of hepatitis agents and the prevalence of hepatitis among residents of Umuaka Community in Njaba L.G.A of Imo State was carried out between the month of September and November, 2013. Hundred and twenty (120) subjects between the age range of 5-84 years were screened for Hepatitis, using immunochromatographic (IC) strips. Two forms of Hepatitis: HBV and HCV were tested for, in the study area. The overall prevalence of all forms of Hepatitis in the study area was 9.16%. The prevalence for HBV and HCV were 9.16% and 0.0% respectively. The distribution of hepatitis groups among males and females was variable. Hepatitis B virus was the most dominant group and occurred 6.4% among males and 11.0% among females. In the age group 5-14 years 3 subjects were infected with hepatitis B virus and 25-34 years, 4 subjects each, were infected with Hepatitis. Females were more infected in these age groups than males. This is because, the anatomical site of female genital organ allows for easy contact with the semen of an infected sex-partner. These findings imply that there is adverse level of prevalence of Hepatitis B virus in this study area. However, rural people should be educated on the need to abstain from unsafe sexual engagements and avoid sharing of shaving sticks, blades and needles.


This paper analyzes middle voice expressions in Pima Bajo, a Uto‐Aztecan language spoken in northwest Mexico. The analysis shows that the reflexives and middles differ in that in the latter there is no coreferential relation among the participants. It also shows that middles differ from reflexives in the semantic role of the subject participant: agent in reflexives and executor or patient in middles. Pragmatic factors condition the semantic role of executor.


Objective Describe tandem gait score performance in concussed elite athletes as compared to asymptomatic baselines. Design Within subjects, repeated measures. Setting United States Olympic Committee Sports Medicine Clinics Participants Six hundred forty-one elite athletes (291 women and 350 men, mean age 24.9±5.2 years) representing 23 Olympic sports participated in this study. Intervention The SCAT3 was administered during a preseason baseline and repeated as clinically indicated during initial evaluations and serially as part of a multimodal concussion management program. Outcome measures SCAT3 performance measures of concussed elite athletes were compared to baseline SCAT3 performance. Results Tandem gait performance was significantly better in concussed elite athletes than on athletes tested for healthy asymptomatic baselines (9.6 vs. 11.7, P<0.001), despite concussed athletes reporting significantly higher total number of symptoms (6.4 vs. 2.1, P<0.001) and symptom severity scores (13.1 vs. 3.4, P<0.001) during concussion recovery. Conclusions There is a paradoxical relationship between concussion status and tandem gait performance in elite athletes, with concussed athletes performing better on average than athletes evaluated for a baseline SCAT3 evaluation. Clinical Relevance Tandem gait performance is not impaired in athletes with symptoms of concussion. Intrinsic motivation to return to play may result in enhanced tandem gait performance in concussed athletes. Competing interests None.


Twenty Iraqi ducks hearts ( 10 male and 10 female ) have been  used for   demonstration  and illustration of heart's valves  and chambers  as well as  anatomical   and morphological site of view to explain what modifications had been take place for ducks heart  to perform  his normal life at the  circumstances  of  high  blood  pressure  and  pulse  rate. The heart  which has distinctly pointed  apex  was  built   in simple  manner located  in a transparent  taught  heart  pericardial  sac. It   was pyramidal in shape  externally  and  has a longitudinal  salcus  passing  to the  right  side, the  anterior of  the   heart  is  divided  into two  unequal  anterior  chamber  similar  to  those of mammalian  hear  .The heart valves are modified  in  order to  minimize  the  fraction  that occur as a result of  high  blood  pressure  and  pulse  rate  of  the  duck  heart , also  the  muscular  trabeculae   replace  the  chordate  tendineae  , which  were  present in the  mammalian    heart  in order to  minimize  the  fraction  resulting  from high  pulse  rate..


In the last three decades, legal delegation of monetary policy to independent central banks (CBI) has achieved the status of a global norm of good governance. The recent backlash against this independence is an important but understudied trend. Our article analyzes the potential for delegation reversals with a focus on Latin America where CBI was effective in maintaining price stability, but placed important policy constraints on governments. We theorize that, in the shadow of the global norm for CBI, the increasing distance in preferences between the government and the central bank, and the procedural hurdles to change the status quo, explain the intensity of challenges to the delegation contract or the delegated agent. An analysis of the frequency of irregular central bank leadership replacements, and instances of politicization and de-delegation show the plausibility of our argument. We also show that, in Latin America, reforms de-delegating monetary policy have been small, balancing the needs that justified delegation in the first place, but rolling back the most stringent constraints placed on financing the government.


At the beginning of this decade, acceptance of the quality system standard ISO 9000 by U.S. companies appeared uncertain. In 1992, a survey of midsize U.S. firms by consultants at Grant Thornton found that 48% had not heard of the quality system standard ISO 9000, and only 8% planned to become certified by the end of that year. The survey also revealed only 11% of those companies thought ISO 9000 would affect them much at all (Wall Street Journal, 1992). Four years later, a similar survey by these same consultants discovered that by the end of 1998, 52% of all midsize U.S. manufacturers planned to be ISO 9000 certified (Wall Street Journal, 1996). This unexpected turnaround in favor of ISO 9000 is not unique to the U.S. Worldwide, the number of ISO 9000 companies has grown from a mere handful in 1987 to an estimated 200,000 registered sites as of 1997 (Goodman, 1998). In fact, ISO 9000 is arguably the most influential standard of its kind in the world. This rapid acceptance of ISO 9000 suggests that many firms find that the standard is well written and worth observing, in spite of the fact that there is no compelling evidence that the standard is ultimately good or bad (Uzumeri, 1997). The theory implicit among practitioners that ISO 9000 can contribute to competitive advantage has attracted little interest from researchers. Yet many firms are increasingly questioning the link between ISO 9000 and business performance. Does the size of the firm affect the benefits obtained? Do firms that are committed to international markets or export extensively benefit more than firms competing domestically? (Brown et al., 1995). Does ISO 9000 registration really matter? The purpose of this research is to begin to establish an empirical answer to this question. While there has been much published work on various issues associated with ISO 9000, research in this area has lacked systematic measurement and multi-organization comparisons. The literature on ISO 9000 is overwhelmingly either prescriptive or descriptive, with studies that are speculative, anecdotal, and often based on the observation of only a single company (Ebrahimpour et al., 1997). This study will compare multiple, objective performance measures of 63 ISO companies to 63 non-ISO companies in the electronics industry. The results obtained from the research help to empirically clarify the value of the ISO 9000 quality system standard. ISO 9000: What It Is, Isn't, And Why Companies Pursue It According to ANSI/ISO/ASQC 9000-1-1994, the ISO 9000 standard is intended to provide a generic core quality system that can be applied to a broad range of industry and economic sectors. As a quality system standard, it is concerned about how quality is managed by a company but it does not directly address product quality (Jackson and Ashton, 1995). The ISO 9000 standard describes what elements quality systems should encompass but not how a specific organization should implement these elements. The standard intends for each organization to design and implement a quality system that works for its specific products, processes, and practices. The most comprehensive standard, ISO 9001, includes management responsibilities for the quality system, procedures for contract review, and procedures to control and verify product design. ISO 9002 differs only in that it does not address product design. Certification that an organization's quality system meets the requirements of the ISO standard is established by an independent third party selected by the organization. The time required for a firm to achieve certification of one of its sites could range from six months to two years, but is typically around one year. Depending on the size of the plant, the cost to prepare a site for ISO 9000 ranges from $15,000 to $1 million. The typical cost to prepare a medium sized plant for ISO 9001 is $250,000 (Peach, 1997; Uzumeri, 1997; Zuckerman, 1997). Because of the time, effort, and cost required to obtain ISO 9000 certification, along with the proposed organizational benefits, the decision to pursue ISO 9000 is most likely a strategic one made by the organization's top management team. …


This paper presents an assessment of the solution procedures available for the analysis of inelastic and/or large deflection structural behavior. A literature survey is given which summarized the contribution of other researchers in the analysis of structural problems exhibiting material nonlinearities and combined geometric-material nonlinearities. Attention is focused at evaluating the available computation and solution techniques. Each of the solution techniques is developed from a common equation of equilibrium in terms of pseudo forces. The solution procedures are applied to circular plates and shells of revolution in an attempt to compare and evaluate each with respect to computational accuracy, economy, and efficiency. Based on the numerical studies, observations and comments are made with regard to the accuracy and economy of each solution technique.


A special organic ligand, 4-carboxypyrazole (4-cpz), is chosen to synthesize a highly stable metal-organic framework (MOF) for selective sorption of light hydrocarbons. The new MOF, (H(3)O)[Zn(3)(OH)(4-cpz)3]·2(DEF)·H(2)O (FIR-51, DEF = N,N-diethylformamide), was synthesized solvothermally and shows unusual chemical stability. This compound exhibits high storage capacity for light hydrocarbons and high selectivity for C3 and C2 over methane at 273 and 294 K.


This paper briefly introduces and explores "optimal robust H~, control." The main idea is to obtain optimal guaranteeable H, performance given uncertainty about the plant's state space parameters. The uncertainty can be either time-varying or time-invariant; both cases are treated separately. An example is presented which illustrates properties of the optimal robust designs.


The desired speed will help the drivers control their driver behavior that could directly influences the traffic safety.This paper presents a basic definition of a driver's desired speed,and analyzes the effects of road geometer parameter,driver behavior and vehicle performance on the desired speed.By setting the familiar horizontal curve as the research environment,the generating process of the desired speed was described.Then,combined with the desired trajectory,the effect of driver's identification of vehicle dynamic on the desired speed was highlighted.Based on the vehicle dynamic theory,a desired speed model that consisted of the desired trajectory,the driver's experience and vehicle parameter was established and numerically analyzed.


The therapy of acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) is based on the clinical grade and ranges from ambulant therapy with anticoagulation, to thrombolysis, inferior vena cava (IVC) filtration, and catheter thrombectomy. In the absence of contraindications, initial treatment of APTE should consist of parenteral anticoagulation with unfractionated heparin. Long-term anticoagulation therapy, usually with warfarin, should be administered according to the individual risk profile of the patient. Thrombolytic therapy may be appropriate for patients with massive APTE with cardiac shock, syncope, etc. Similarly, thrombolysis has been reported to be effective in submassive APTE with right ventricular overload on echocardiography. IVC filters should be reserved for APTE with deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in which there are absolute contraindications to anticoagulation, recurrent thromboemboli despite therapeutic anticoagulation, and status after surgical thrombectomy. Relative indications for IVC filters that require individualized decision making include proximal DVT, especially with free-floating thrombi or in patients with limited cardiopulmonary reserve. For patients with massive APTE with contraindications to anticoagulation or in whom anticoagulation is uneffective, transcatheter aspiration with catheterization or fragmentation using a guidewire and rotating pig-tail catheter can be used. In addition, cardiopulmonary management such as supplemental oxygen, catecholamine administration, percutaneous cardiopulmonary support, etc. may be necessary for individual patients.


Bovine serum albumin (BSA) and anti‐BSA polyclonal antibody were used as model polypeptides to examine the movement of foreign proteins across the insect digestive system and their accumulation in hemolymph of fourth stadium tobacco budworms, Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Hydrateable meal pads were developed in these studies as a method for easily introducing compounds into the insect digestive system. When insects were allowed to feed continuously on hydrated meal pads containing 0.8 mg of anti‐BSA per gram diet, the level of antibody found in hemolymph was 2.4 ± 0.1 and 3.4 ± 0.1 µg ml−1 (average 1 SEM) after 8 and 16 h, respectively, as determined by enzyme‐linked immunosorbant assay (ELISA). Continuous feeding on hydrated meal pads containing the same concentration of BSA produced hemolymph concentrations of 1.5 ± 0.1 and 1.6 ± 0.1 µg ml−1 hemolymph at 8 and 16 h, respectively. Western blot analyses demonstrated that BSA and anti‐BSA both retained their primary and multimeric structure and that anti‐BSA maintained its antigenic activity in the meal pads and after movement from meal pads into the hemolymph. When 1 µg of anti‐BSA or BSA was injected into the hemocoel of fourth instars, the concentrations decreased with time and 120 min after injection were 20% and 0.6% of the original concentration, respectively. When added at the same concentration to plasma in vitro, the decrease was 81.5% and 57.5%, respectively, at 2 h. The accumulation of native anti‐BSA and BSA protein in insect hemolymph is the result of their rate of movement across the gut and their rate of turnover in hemolymph. Movement of anti‐BSA and BSA across the digestive system was also noted in Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Acheta domesticus (L.) (Orthoptera: Gryllidae), and Gromphadorhina portentosa (Schaum) (Blattaria: Blattellidae). Anti‐BSA and BSA were not detected in the hemolymph of Manduca sexta (L.) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) after feeding.


Abstract Sarcophaga kanoi Park, 1962, a widely distributed flesh fly in Southeast Asia, is important in forensic entomology. Notably, its mitochondrial genome could provide the unique and accurate molecular information in species identification which facilitate forensic practices in estimation of postmortem interval especially in putrefied cadaver cases. Thus, we sequenced and characterized the whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of S. kanoi for the first time, which was collected from Southern China in this study. The 15,319 bp mitogenome contained 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNA), 2 ribosomal RNA genes (rRNA), and a putative control region. The total nucleotide composition of this circular genome was 39.7% for A, 9.3% for G, 14.2% for C, and 36.8% for T. To better understand the genetic relationship, the phylogenetic analysis was constructed according to the 13 PCGs sequence of S. kanoi and other 11 species. The phylogenetic tree showed that the S. kanoi was placed in a sub-clade with S. similis. Our study updated the new genetic information for dipteran mitogenomes, which could broaden the background knowledge for forensic entomology, molecular genetics and developmental biology. It has the potential application on the species identification using genetic markers.


Under near-vacuum conditions, the fluid frictional dissipation or approximately the inverse of the quality factor of a microcantilever once the intrinsic dissipation can be neglected is proportional to the low pressure. We shall investigate the dynamic behavior of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices via the calculation of the quality factor or frictional damping forces resulting from surrounding gases. Here, we illustrated some specific examples relevant to the computation of the quality factor or dynamical friction for an oscillating microcantilever in air via measurements of the paper of Okada et al. (Okada, H., Itoh, T., and Suga, T., 2008, Wafer Level Sealing Characterization Method Using Si Micro Cantilevers," Sens. Actuators A, 147(2), pp. 359–364) considering the quality factors of the CM (a label for a microcantilever: 500 × 90 × 5 μm3 Si microcantilever (the measured resonance frequency: 23.7 kHz) and the paper of Kara et al. (Kara, V., Yakhot, V., and Ekinci, K. L., 2017, Generalized Knudsen Number for Unsteady Fluid Flow, Phys. Rev. Lett., 118(7), p. 074505) in rarefied gases regime. We present the corrected quality factor or dynamical friction over the whole range of the Knudsen number considering the CM part by Okada et al. Our new plot considering the quality factor which is proportional to the inverse of the dissipative friction parameter per unit length, pressure as well as the Knudsen number over the whole range should be useful to researchers in this field.


Although wingform is known to differ among individuals of the same species it is not known how intraspecific variation in wingtip shape is associated with flight performance. In this study, we have examined both among- and within-individual variation in wingtip shape in relation to changes in flight performance in the European Starling Sturnus vulgaris . We found that level flapping-flight speed and the ability to negotiate an aerial obstacle course were unrelated to wingtip shape. However, take-off parameters did vary with wingtip shape; birds with more rounded wingtips tended to take off from the ground at a steeper angle of ascent than those with relatively more pointed wingtips. The same relationships between wingtip morphology and flight were present in both the inter- and intra-individual experimental analyses. The evolutionary importance of this variation in take-off ability is discussed in terms of predator avoidance and enhancement of individual survival.


Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured for 72 hours in presence of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), phytohaemagglutinin/phorbolmyristate acetate (PHA/PMA), pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and in absence of these stimulators. The IL-2 concentrations of cultural supernatants were determined by an IL-2 dependent cell line. There was no IL-2 determined in absence of any mitogenic stimulators. Induction of IL-2 by PWM does not require the presence of PMA in contrast to stimulation by PHA/PMA, where PMA was found to be necessary for stimulation of production of IL-2. PHA/PMA induced IL-2 release shows only a weak maximum at 24 hours, whereas PWM induced IL-2 release was found to have a clear maximum at 48 hours. Stimulation by PWM enables comparative examination of DNA synthesis (lymphocyte transformation test) and IL-2 production in the same cell system using only one mitogen.


The material of the article reflects the current state of the problem of organization and provision of medical dental care to elderly citizens. The content analysis of normative and legal sources regulating the provision of medical care to certain categories of senior citizens was carried out. The peculiarities of legal phenomena and imperfection of legislative acts are revealed which determine the further research work in this field of knowledge.


This study aims to assess effectiveness and tolerance with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced gastric cancer in the period of 2018-2020. The study used the descriptive cross-sectional method to investigate 70 patients diagnosed with locally advanced gastric cancer, assigned to ECX/ECF or FLOT neoadjuvant chemotherapy regimens at Vietnam National Cancer Hospital. The results show that the partial response rates in the ECX/ECF and FLOT groups were 69.70% and 89.20%, respectively. There was no significant difference in the response level between the two groups (p = 0.716). 78.79% in the ECX/ECF group and 88.56% in the FLOT group underwent surgery. Neutropenia was an adverse event with the highest rate of grades 3 and 4 in both regimens (FLOT regimen was 10.81%, ECX/ECF regimen was 24.24%). There is a statistically significant difference in the incidence of events between the groups with prophylaxis and non-prophylaxis by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Taken together, there was no significant difference in the response level between the two groups; regarding the event of neutropenia, it could be controlled by prophylaxis in terms of benefits and risks for each patient.
Keywords:
Gastric cancer, effectiveness, safety, neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
References
[1] International Agency for Research on Cancer Global Cancer Observatory, 2020.[2] Ministry of Health, Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Stomach Cancer, 2020 (in Vietnamese).[3] K. Liu, G. Li, C. Fan, C. Zhou, J. Li, Adapted Choi response Criteria for Prediction of Clinical Outcome in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer Patients Following Preoperative Chemotherapy, Acta Radiologica, Vol. 53, No. 2, 2012, pp.127-34, https:// doi.org/10.1258/ar.2011.110273.[4] D. Cunningham, W. H. Allum, S. P. Stenning,J. N. Thompson, C. J. H. V. Velde, M. Nicolson,J. H. Scarffe, F. J. Lofts, S. J. Falk, T. J. Iveson,D. B. Smith, R. E. Langley, M. Verma, S. Weeden,Y. J. Chua, MAGIC Trial Participants. Perioperative Chemotherapy Versus Surgery Alone for Resectable Gastroesophageal Cancer, New England Journal of Medicine, Vol. 355, No.1, 2006, pp. 11-20, https://doi.org/10.1056/ NEJMoa055531.[5] S. E. A. Batran, N. Homann, C. Pauligk,T. O. Goetze, J. Meiler, S. Kasper, H. G. Koppet, et al., FLOT4-AIO Investigators, Perioperative Chemotherapy with Fluorouracil Plus Leucovorin, Oxaliplatin, and Docetaxel Versus Fluorouracil or Capecitabine Plus Cisplatin and Epirubicin for Locally Advanced, Resectable Gastric or Gastro-Oesophageal Junction Adenocarcinoma (FLOT4): A Randomised, Phase 2/3 Trial, Lancet, Vol. 393, No. 10184, 2019, pp. 1948-1957, https://doi.org/ 10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32557-1.[6] L. Sung, P. C. Nathan, S. M. Alibhai, G. A. Tomlinson, J. Beyene, Meta-analysis: Effect of Prophylactic Hematopoietic Colony-Stimulating Factors on Mortality and Outcomes of Infection, Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 147, No. 6, 2007, pp. 400-411, https://doi.org/10.7326/0003 - 4819 - 147 - 6-200709180 - 00010.


Introduction: The etiology of dermatoses involving genital areas could be venereal or on-venereal. These disorders are responsible for mental distress and guilt which can be minimized by appropriate diagnosis and information to the patients. Objectives: To assess the clinical pattern and prevalence of various non venereal genital dermatoses in a referral center. Materials and Methods: This was a hospital-based descriptive study involving patients with non-venereal diseases visiting outpatient clinics of Department of Dermatology. After informed consent, all the parameters were recorded in a proforma and analyzed. Results: Total of 70 patients with non-venereal genital dermatoses were included. Mean age of the patients was 33 years. Majority were male, married and had history of irregular use of contraceptives. Duration of symptoms ranged from one to 36 months with mean of four months. Total 19 types of non-venereal skin diseases were noted with major complaint of itching in genitalia in 22 (31.4%). Primary site of involvement/complaint was vulva in 19 (27.1%), scrotum in 17 (24.3%), groin in 18 (25.7%) and penile area in 14 (20.0%). The most common final dermatological diagnosis in majority was fungal infections and neurodermatitis in 12.9% each. Extramarital relationship was reported by 37 out of 70 patients (52.9%), while 31 patients correlated their symptoms with sexual exposure. Conclusions: Itching was the most common presenting complaint with infective etiology. The current study highlighted the relevance of addressing non-venereal genital dermatoses in order to avoid the general misconception that all genital lesions are sexually transmitted..


Synovial joints contain a film of lubricating fluid that is maintained by exchange between plasma and joint cavity. Fluid exchange is governed partly by capillary endothelium, but, due to the low hydraulic resistance of the fenestrations, interstitial resistance is important too. Each component contains a mesh work of fibrous elements, which makes "porosity" a more realistic model than traditional pores.


The ground-state energies of two interacting electrons, confined in a quantum dot (QD), are calculated. We have used the shifted 1/N expansion method to solve the relative part Hamiltonian of a QD presented in a uniform magnetic field. An energy expression for QD states in a magnetic field of arbitrary strength is given. The transitions in the angular momentum and spin of the QD ground state are also shown. Based on comparisons with the eigenenergies produced by various computational methods like: exact, Hartree–Fock (HF), local spin density approximation (LSDA), variational Monte Carlo (VMC) and diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) methods, the shifted expansion method gives very good results.


It is our great pleasure to welcome you to the 7th European Interactive Television Conference -- EuroITV2009. EuroITV2009 is a forum for professionals not only from Europe, but from all over the world who are interested in, work with and do research on all aspects of interactive television. This year the conference is held in the lively university town of Leuven, Belgium on 3, 4 and 5 June 2009. This annual conference features state-of-the-art academic as well as practitioner's work on different aspects of interactive television, e.g. IPTV, mobile TV, digital content production, entertainment computing, usability and user experience evaluation, and future technologies and systems. EuroITV2009 is the seventh edition of the EuroITV conference series, which started in 2003 and has since been growing steadily. The conference has been held twice in Brighton (UK), and subsequently in Aalborg (Denmark), Athens (Greece), Amsterdam (The Netherlands) and Salzburg (Austria).

The theme of the 7th European Interactive Television Conference is 'Networked Television.' Interactive television is becoming one piece in a bigger puzzle of different interconnected devices. This not only has technical implications, but also impacts users and television viewers. Viewers use their cell phones to send text messages to broadcasters, they use their PC to download movies that can then be watched on the big television screen, social networks are including TV content and iTV is including social network features, secondary screens can be used to control the content on television, etc. Instead of an age of device convergence, we see that in practice we're heading towards device divergence. The conference addresses how we should shift our focus from looking at iTV as a system that functions on itself, to iTV as part of a bigger set of networked devices and communities, and explores how this impacts users as well as technologies.

We received 91 full and short paper submissions, of which 36 (40%) were accepted and published in these main proceedings, next to numerous submissions in the other categories of which the accepted papers can be found in the adjunct proceedings. This resulted in a very diverse conference program, consisting of three keynote speakers, five tutorials, four workshops, 15 full and 21 short paper presentations, iTV in Industry presentations, poster and demo sessions, and a doctoral consortium attended by six PhD students. The academic and research papers are clustered around three tracks, addressing the multidisciplinary nature of iTV research: Human-Computer Interaction; Social, Media & Economic Studies; and Systems & Enabling Technologies. In the iTV in Industry section, interactive television topics are presented which are especially relevant to the industry concerning amongst others research and development, marketing, business cases, market insights, showcases, case studies, best practices and lessons learned. The conference also features an arts exhibition on the theme of networked television. This arts exhibition is being held for the first time in the EuroITV conference series.

The keynote speakers address different aspects of the conference theme 'Networked Television.' Jan Van Bogaert, senior strategy director at Alcatel-Lucent and Bell Labs Fellow, talks about how the connected home redefines the TV experience and argues that networked TVs will become the main interface to a whole new set of home based applications and content delivery mechanisms. Rich Ezekiel, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Yahoo!'s Connected TV group, explains that by combining the key attributes of the Internet, including openness, community and personalization with the power of television, it will be possible to create a revolutionary new Internet experience to allow consumers to access the relevant information and content to enhance their television watching experience. Mr. Ezekiel discusses why past efforts have been unsuccessful and why this Internet-connected TV ecosystem being created and nurtured today will become a technology accepted by millions of TV viewers globally. The third keynote presentation is given by Prof. Dr. Marc Hassenzahl, professor for "Ergonomics and User Experience in Design" at the Folkwang University in Essen, Germany and research manager at MediaCity, Abo Akademi University, Vaasa, Finland. He discusses current approaches and research into 'Experience' and their potential future application in the domain of iTV and crossmedia products, as they specifically aim at providing an entertaining, positive and enjoyable overall "experience" to its users.


Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are autoimmune diseases that have similar clinical and immunologic characteristics. To date, several shared SSc–RA genetic loci have been identified independently. The aim of the current study was to systematically search for new common SSc–RA loci through an interdisease meta–genome‐wide association (meta‐GWAS) strategy.


Purpose A laterally positioned flap (LPF) combined with a subepithelial connective tissue graft (SCTG) is one of the conventional approaches for resolving gingival recession defects, with the advantages of flap flexibility and extended coverage of the tissue graft. However, thus far, evidence is lacking for the use of this technique for the treatment of advanced gingival recession defects. This report discusses three Miller class III cases with interproximal bone loss and wide and deep defects treated with a combination procedure of a modified laterally positioned flap (mLPF) and SCTG. Methods mLPF combined with SCTG was performed for each case. The defect size and the degree of hypersensitivity at baseline and the final appointment in each case were documented. Results The three cases had a mean initial defect of 7.7±1.5 mm and a mean residual defect of 1.7±1 mm at the 6-, 3-, and 36-month follow-up, respectively, after the root coverage surgery. The symptom of hypersensitivity was improved, and the patients were satisfied with the clinical outcomes. Conclusions The results demonstrated that the combination of mLPF with SCTG is promising for treating these advanced cases with respect to obtaining the expected root coverage with the gingival tissue. Graphical Abstract


The objective of this study was to compare theintraoperative time, intraoperative blood loss and post operative pain between coblation tonsillectomy and cold tonsillectomy in the same patient. A prospective study was carried out on 34 patients whom underwent tonsillectomy. The patients with known bleeding disorder, history of unilateral peritonsillar abscess and unilateral tonsillar hypertrophy were excluded. Operations were done by a single surgeon using cold dissection tonsillectomy on one side while coblation tonsillectomy on the other. Intraoperative time, intraoperative blood loss and post operative pain during the first 3 days were compared between the two methods. Results showed that the intraoperative time was significantly shorter (p<0.001) and intraoperative blood loss was significantly lesser (p<0.001) in coblation tonsillectomy as compared to cold tonsillectomy. Post operative pain score was significantly less at 6 hours post operation (p<0.001) in coblationtonsillectomy as compared to cold tonsillectomy. However, there were no differences in the post operative pain scores on day 1, 2 and 3. In conclusion, coblation tonsillectomy does have superiority in improving intraoperative efficiency in terms of intraoperative time and bleeding compared to cold dissection tonsillectomy. The patient will benefit withminimal post operative pain in the immediate post surgery duration. However the probe used for coblation surgery is disposable and costly which makes it less choice by most of patients at government set-up(hospitals).


The main purpose of this study is to discover how often measurement and assessment techniques are used in renovated 6th and 7th social studies program. The study is a descriptive one and it is based on the model of survey. The questionnaire was used as data collection tool. SPSS Program was used in data analysis. At the result of the study, it was understood that teachers have used traditional measurement and assessment techniques more than alternative measurement and assessment techniques.


GROWTH AND V?ELFARE LOSSES FROM CARBON EMISSIONS RESTRICTIONS: A GENERAL EQUILIBRIUM ANALYSIS FOR EGYPT* This paper is an assessment for a particular country, Egypt, of the economic effects, under various conditions, of carbon emission restrictions. Like other work, it is an exemplification of some of the economic possibilities. However, it extends the domain of possibilities and suggests some issues that have not been considered in other studies. The model is used to assess the sensitivity of the results to alternative specifications: changes in the level of the restrictions, changes in timing of the restrictions, changes in the rate of discount of future welfare and the presence or absence of "alternative" technologies for power generation. Since greenhouse warming is a function of the accumulated stock of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, a more fundamental specification for the control of greenhouse warming than the limitation of annual emissions is analyzed: constraints on the accumulated emissions of carbon dioxide. The differences between the effects in the "short run" and in the "long run" and their welfare implications are also demonstrated. It is demonstrated clearly that, while annual emissions constraints have only a modest effect on long run economic growth rates, they have a substantial effect on the achieved levels of GDP and welfare. These results do not change very much even with backstop and unconventional technologies or change in discounting. Postponing the imposition of the constraints does have a significant effect, however, as does changing the form of the constraints to one on accumulated emissions. December 30,1991


We have investigated the steady-state behavior of a V-shape three-level system submitted to the radiative field and to the relaxation process. The coherence induced by simultaneous two-photon transition leads to a strong decrease of medium absorption. In this case, the peak of transparent spectrum is 7 times higher than that of saturant spectrum.


Aluminum nitride and silicon nitride have recently emerged as important nonlinear optical materials in integrated photonics respectively for their quadratic and cubic optical nonlinearity. A composite aluminum nitride and silicon nitride waveguide structure, if realized, will simulta-neously allow highly efficient second and third harmonic generation on the same chip platform and therefore assists 2f-3f self-referenced frequency combs. On-chip third harmonic generation, being a higher order nonlinear optics effect, is more demanding than second harmonic generation due to the large frequency difference between the fundamental and third harmonic frequencies which implies large change of refractive indices and more strigent requirements on phase matching. In this work we demonstrate high-efficiency third harmonic generation in a high Q composite aluminum nitride / silicon nitide ring cavity. By carefully engineering the microring resonator geometry of the bilayer structure to optimize the quality factor, mode volume and modal overlap of the optical fields, we report a maximum conversion efficiency of 180% W − 2 . This composite photonic chip design provides a solution for efficient frequency conversion over a large wavelength span, broadband comb generation and self-referenced frequency combs.


A pre-treatment methodology for clenbuterol hydrochloride (CLEN) isolation and enrichment in a complex matrix environment was developed through exploiting molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). CLEN-imprinted polymers were synthesized by the combined use of ally-β-cyclodextrin (ally-β-CD) and methacrylic acid (MAA), allyl-β-CD and acrylonitrile (AN), and allyl-β-CD and methyl methacrylate (MMA) as the binary functional monomers. MAA-linked allyl-β-CD MIPs (M-MAA) were characterized by Fourier transform-infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Based upon the results, M-MAA polymers generally proved to be an excellent selective extraction compared to its references: AN-linked allyl-β-CD MIPs (M-AN) and MMA-linked allyl-β-CD MIPs (M-MMA). M-MAA polymers were eventually chosen to run through a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) micro-column to enrich CLEN residues spiked in pig livers. A high recovery was achieved, ranging from 91.03% to 96.76% with relative standard deviation (RSD) ≤4.45%.


ABSTRACT. Orthoconic cephalopods from the Soom Shale Member (Ashgill) are exceptionally preserved and are colonized by lingulate brachiopods and cornulitids. Other fossils commonly associated with orthocones include myodocopid ostracodes and chitinozoans. Size distribution analysis of the brachiopods on one orthocone indicates that it was colonized in vivo. Four orthocone radulae are preserved extending the record of these structures 50 My back to the late Ordovician. Orthocone radula configuration is more similar to that of ammonoids and coleoids than to that of nautiloids.


The geometric relationships between the elements of a humanoid robot manipulator are defined by the kinematics of the robot. The synthesis of the kinematical model for this type of robots is presented in this work using the Conformal Geometric Algebra framework. Moreover, two controllers are developed, one for the position tracking problem using a error feedback controller and another using sliding modes for the position tracking problem in precense of perturbations. The stability analysis is carried out for both controllers, and their application to a humanoid robot arm, composed of 5 DOF is presented. By proposing the error feedback and Lyapunov functions in terms of geometric algebra, we are opening a new venue of research in control of manipulators which involves the use of geometric primitives like lines, circles, planes and spheres.


In this paper we propose a novel hardware caching technique, called switch directory, to reduce the communication latency in CC-NUMA multiprocessors. The main idea is to implement small fast directory caches in crossbar switches of the inter-connect medium to capture and store ownership information as the data flows from the memory module to the requesting processor. Using the stored information, the switch directory re-routes subsequent requests to dirty blocks directly to the owner cache, thus reducing the latency for home node processing such as slow DRAM directory access and coherence controller occupancies. The design and implementation details of a DiRectory Embedded Switch ARchitecture; DRESAR, are presented. We explore the performance benefits of switch directories by modeling DRESAR in a detailed execution driven simulator. Our results show that the switch directories can improve performance by up to 60% reduction in home node cache-to-cache transfers for several scientific applications and commercial workloads.


One of the applications of the prospect theory is the behavioral phenomenon of the negative elasticity of the individual labor supply. This paper argues that the negative elasticity of labor supply can be understood better with the help of the interpretation of the Slutsky equation with regard to the common consumption-leisure choice. The interpretation of the Slutsky equation corresponds to the empirical evidence that leisure is a net complement for an important part of consumption.


Ultrasonic vocalizations are among the oldest evolutionarily forms of animal communication. In order to study the communication patterns in an aversive social situation, we used a behavioral model in which one animal, the observer, is witnessing as his cagemate, the demonstrator, is experiencing a series of mild electrical foot shocks. We studied the effect of the foot shock experience on the observer and the influence of a warning sound (emitted shortly before the shock) on USV communication. These experiments revealed that such a warning seems to increase the arousal level, which differentiates the responses depending on previous experience. This can be identified by the emission of characteristic, short 22 kHz calls of a duration below 100 ms. Two rats emitted calls that overlapped in time. Analysis of these overlaps revealed that in 'warned' pairs with a naive observer, 22 kHz calls were mixed with 50 kHz calls. This fact, combined with a high fraction of very high-pitched 50 kHz calls (over 75 kHz), suggests the presence of the phenomenon of social buffering. Pure 22 kHz overlaps were mostly found in 'warned' pairs with an experienced observer, suggesting a possible fear contagion with distress sharing. The results show the importance of dividing 22 kHz calls into long and short categories.


This research aims to: studied the satisfaction level of graduate school students toward access on Graduate School website of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. This study used a quantitative research approach. The research sample consisted of 132 individuals including graduate and post graduate students of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University. The sample was obtained by simple random sampling. A questionnaire was used as a data collection method. The data were then analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The research results showed that: the sampling has knowledge and understand on computer in middle level. In the same time, satisfaction level of these students almost to access on Graduate School website of Suan Sunandha Rajabhat University in middle level. The sampling satisfaction to access the information from graduate school in middle level. But satisfaction on the public relation in high level. And satisfaction on academic data in high level. Moreover, other information such as web board or recommendation almost in middle level of the satisfaction. Conclude that in the holistic, almost of the samplings to access this website are in middle level.


BACKGROUND
Nebulised surfactant has the potential to deliver surfactant to the infant lung with the goal of avoiding endotracheal intubation and ventilation, ventilator-induced lung injury and bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD).

OBJECTIVES
To determine the effect of nebulised surfactant administration either as prophylaxis or treatment compared to placebo, no treatment or intratracheal surfactant administration on morbidity and mortality in preterm infants with, or at risk of, respiratory distress syndrome (RDS).

SEARCH METHODS
Searches were performed of CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library, January 2012), MEDLINE and PREMEDLINE (1950 to January 2012), EMBASE (1980 to January 2012) and CINAHL (1982 to January 2012), as well as proceedings of scientific meetings, clinical trial registries, Google Scholar and reference lists of identified studies. Expert informants and surfactant manufacturers were contacted.

SELECTION CRITERIA
Randomised, cluster-randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials of nebulised surfactant administration compared to placebo, no treatment, or other routes of administration (laryngeal, pharyngeal instillation of surfactant before the first breath, thin endotracheal catheter surfactant administration or intratracheal surfactant instillation) on morbidity and mortality in preterm infants at risk of RDS. We considered published, unpublished and ongoing trials.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS
Two review authors independently assessed studies for eligibility and quality, and extracted data.

MAIN RESULTS
No studies of prophylactic or early nebulised surfactant administration were found. A single small study of late rescue nebulised surfactant was included. The study is of moderate risk of bias. The study enrolled 32 preterm infants born < 36 weeks' gestation with RDS on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP). The study reported no significant difference between nebulised surfactant administration compared to no treatment groups in chronic lung disease (risk ratio (RR) 5.00; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.26 to 96.59) or other outcomes (oxygenation 1 to 12 hours after randomisation, need for mechanical ventilation, days of mechanical ventilation or continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) or days of supplemental oxygen). No side effects of the nebulised surfactant therapy or aerosol inhalation were reported.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS
There are insufficient data to support or refute the use of nebulised surfactant in clinical practice. Adequately powered trials are required to determine the effect of nebulised surfactant administration for prevention or early treatment of RDS in preterm infants. Nebulised surfactant administration should be limited to clinical trials.


Between November 1930 and March 1932, German-Jewish sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld (1868–1935) undertook a trip around the world, eventually visiting the United States (where he was greeted as the 'Dr. Einstein of sex'), Japan, China, Indonesia, India, the Philippines, Egypt, and Palestine. The resulting travel report, entitled Weltreise eines Sexualforschers (1933), is generally considered one of the foundational texts of the then-emerging discipline of sexual ethnology, and comprises the first non-Eurocentric, anti-colonialist critique of Asian cultures from a sexological perspective. Taking into account Hirschfeld's overarching design to dissolve close schemes of sexual, racial and cultural taxonomies, the study focuses on his assessment of China's religiously neutral, sober approach of sexual realities as 'a world-wide exception' intimately connected to its Confucian and Taoistic heritage, and resonating with the core premises of his Spinozian-inspired and Darwinian-based sexology. Notwithstanding his praise of Chinese sexual realism, however, Hirschfeld argued that China's sexual mores (Sitten) – like all other sexual mores to date – fail to suffice the criteria of a universally valid sexual morality (Sittlichkeit). While the binary schemes of sexual distribution on which sexual mores are preponderantly grounded misconstrue the complexities of individual sexualities and foster, as compensation, the escapism into the non-constraints of other-worldly utopias, Hirschfeld's postulation of potentially infinite, uniquely nuanced sexualities leads to a radical blueprint of intra-historic sexual emancipation.


Center: War poster encourages participation in civil defense efforts and shows family prepared for work. Foreword On October 24, 2000, Congress directed the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a theme study of the World War II home front. 1 The purpose of the study is to identify historic places that best represent the wartime mobilization that occurred in the United States and its territories and possessions between 1939 and 1945 to assist in identifying whether any of these places should be considered for potential inclusion in the National Park System. The task of identifying places that can tell the home front story is a challenging one. Thousands of factories, government office buildings, research laboratories, housing projects, military bases, United Service Organization (USO) canteens, day care centers, and schools were built or expanded during the war. Theaters in hundreds of communities across the nation sponsored War Bond drives and showed both terrifying news reels and uplifting and entertaining movies. Railroad and bus stations in large cities and small towns could barely contain the millions of men and women passing through them on their way to military service or new defense jobs. Other places represented less positive wartime stories: segregated housing and military bases, war relocation centers for persons of Japanese descent, prisons where conscientious objectors were held, and sites of racial conflict or labor/management confrontation. Some home front properties have already been recognized. A number are included in the National Park System. The Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park, in Richmond, California, was established in 2000 specifically to recognize the important wartime contributions of workers, including women and minorities, and ordinary citizens, who collected and saved and sacrificed on the home front. Others have been designated as National Historic Landmarks or listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Because World War II is still so recent, most home front properties have not yet been comprehensively surveyed or evaluated. In addition, many sites have been lost to demolition or destructive change, in part because no one knew they were important. While these facts have made the completion of this theme study more difficult, they have also underlined the urgent necessity of providing the historic contexts needed to identify and recognize these properties as quickly as possible.


Major histocompatibility complex (Mhc) gene products play an important role in the immune responses against pathogens and autoimmunity, disease resistance and transplantation. Non-human primates (NHPs) are increasingly being utilized as models to test the safety and efficacy of candidate vaccines. Mhc typing of NHPs is an important component of the vaccine trial studies and in the investigations of any associations between Mhc alleles and disease. Routine typing of primate Mhc alleles has been hampered by unavailability of well characterised immunological reagents. In this study, we have used PCR amplification and SSCP for screening polymorphisms in the primate DQA1 locus. Using this technique, 9 African primate species (36 individuals) were analyzed. Ten individuals showed three or four electrophoretic band patterns and the rest two-band patterns indicating this technique can be used to discriminate homozygous and heterozygous individuals prior to DNA sequencing. This method may also be used to screen primates for Mhc-DQA1 allelic polymorphism. However, practical application of this technique for routine typing of primate Mhc-DQA1 alleles depends on availability of adequate nucleotide sequence information.


A touring exhibition of historic, modern and contemporary photographs from the collection of Horsham Regional Art Gallery, selected by curator James McArdle. His selection included photographs from the 19th century, with an emphasis on photographs which are not what they seem. The exhibition was designed to make us 'read' photographs more precisely, and appreciate the art of the photographer. This exhibition celebrated the originality and diversity of Australian vision in image and text.


In the last two decades, underwater acoustic sensor networks have begun to be used for commercial and non-commercial purposes. In this paper, the focus will be on improving the monitoring performance system of oil pipelines. Linear wireless sensor networks are a model of underwater applications for which many solutions have been developed through several research studies in previous years for data collection research. In underwater environments, there are certain inherent limitations, like large propagation delays, high error rate, limited bandwidth capacity, and communication with short-range. Many deployment algorithms and routing algorithms have been used in this field. In this work a new hierarchical network model proposed with improvement to Smart Redirect or Jump algorithm (SRJ). This improved algorithm is used in an underwater linear wireless sensor network for data transfer to reduce the complexity in routing algorithm for relay nodes which boost delay in communication.  This work is implemented using OMNeT++ and MATLAB based on their integration. The results obtained based on throughput, energy consumption, and end to the end delay.


In this paper an architecture is described that implements motion estimation in image coding, using a block-matching algorithm and an exhaustive search method. The architecture, EST256, consists of 256 processor elements, deals with a search area of -8/+7 and performs 11 GOPS (subtraction, absolute value determination, accumulation and comparison). It is implemented with ES2 0.7 /spl mu/m double-metal-layer CMOS technology. This ASIC is cascadable to deal with bigger search areas.


A polyoxometalate-based coordination polymer with a [helix + interpenetration] double configuration feature, Na[Ag4(pyttz-I)2][H2PMo12O40] (POMCP-1), was isolated and structurally characterized. POMCP-1 exhibits a 3D structure with open 3D tunnels along the [10−1], [111] and [1−11] axes. The large void space in the single net induces the interpenetration of two identical 3D frameworks, resulting in the formation of a highly ordered two-fold interpenetrating aggregate. To the best of our knowledge, this represents the first example of two-fold interpenetrating POMCPs with helical channels. In particular, POMCP-1 was found to display efficient catalytic activities for the esterification reaction and the photodecomposition of Rhodamine-B.


ABSTRACT Third-party funding (TPF) has played a major role in international arbitration over the last decade. Despite uncertainties and continuing discussions on whether TPF should be regulated, Singapore and Hong Kong successively passed laws to legalize and regulate TPF, and both jurisdictions have become leading pioneers globally. This can be largely attributed to their competition with each other to be Asia's leading arbitration centre, and by regulating the use of TPF, they have moved closer to this goal. However, even though both wish to ensure the legality of TPF in international arbitration, their laws and the consequences of non-compliance differ dramatically in each jurisdiction. Moreover, although these two jurisdictions are leading arbitration centres, their laws on TPF have not yet been analysed thoroughly in the existing scholarship. This article aims to fill the gap, following the comparative law methodology and analysing the rules on TPF in Hong Kong and Singapore. It also aims to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of the laws adopted differently by the two jurisdictions and answer two important questions: (i) What laws could create better conditions for funders? and (ii) What can be done to improve those conditions?


Charge exchange between multicharged ions and background atomic and molecular gases represents one of the limitations to the attainment of high charge states in heavy ion sources, particularly containment sources. This work is an attempt to study systematically a particularly simple but in many respects representative class of such reactions, namely, charge transfer between atomic hydrogen and fully stripped heavy ions. Approximate cross sections for these processes in the low keV range of collision energies were obtained using a multistate Landau-Zener method. The energy and Z dependences of the cross sections are discussed.


In the field of computer-aided diagnosis (CADx), the investigators have encountered various diseases and normal anatomical structure patterns. Two major image patterns that are often targeted for extraction prior to further analyses are rounded and line objects. Here, the authors employed an enhanced Hough transform to extract both objects from the pre-defined image areas. This method can also be applied to the high frequency associated subbands of the wavelet domain where line objects are more distinct. Typically, rounded objects are associated with disease and need to be further analyzed. High intensity line objects are related to normal anatomical structures. Once the line objects are extracted and eliminated, a compensation process must be taken so that the modified pixels are filled by the gray value of the surrounding area. The authors used the ellipse extraction method to search for suspected lung nodules on chest radiographs. The line extraction method was used to detect the edge of ribs which can interfere with the final determination process analyzed by a convolution neural network (CNN). In this experiment, the authors found that the ellipse extraction method performed slightly better than the previous proposed profile matching method. The line removal technique, however, improved the performance of the convolution neural network by 4%. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) studies indicated that the convolution neural network can achieve a performance of Az=0.90 based on the authors' database when each suspected area was processed by the line removal technique.<<ETX>>


Abstract:As a repressed space that lies behind the national heartland and beyond the purview of the dominant ideological contestation between official and cinematic discourses over this heartland, Singapore's "inter-Asian hinterland" denotes the spaces where three key interrelations play out: geopolitical relations between Singapore and its regional neighbors; legal relations between Singaporean citizens and temporary nonresidents from these neighboring countries working in Singapore's low-wage labor industries; and racialized relations between Singapore's Chinese majority and the South and Southeast Asian minorities who are presumed by official multiracialist and Asian values rhetoric to locate their "uncontaminated" cultural heritage in these other countries. As two simultaneously gendered and racialized figures embodying these three relations, the female Indonesian domestic worker and the male Indian manual laborer are respectively the subject of imaginative narration in No Day Off (2006) and My Magic (2008), both directed by Chinese Singaporean auteur Eric Khoo. In these films, Khoo allegorizes these three relations to construct the inter-Asian hinterland as a counter-discursive space informed by a critical regionalism that undermines the supraracial, pan-Asianist ideology of the Singaporean heartland. Parodying aesthetics of documentary realism (namely its indexical relationship to social reality), Khoo develops his mockumentary syntax, which best characterizes his cross-cinematic imprint, by self-reflexively implicating the voyeuristic penetration of media surveillance into the lives of the socially marginal to comment on desensitized apathy toward the abuse of migrant workers and the disparities of inter-Asian labor migration in Singapore.


The bone mineral content of 109 excised lumbar vertebrae from 21 female subjects (aged 34 to 74 years) and 15 male subjects (aged 31 to 79 years) was determined with dual photon absorptiometry. It was correlated with the age, height, and weight of the subjects and with the body weight above each vertebra. No correlation was found between the bone mineral content and the lumbar spine score of Barnett and Nordin." The bone mineral content determined with dual photon absorptiometry was also correlated with the weight of fresh and ashed bone cubes removed from the interior of 40 of the aforementioned vertebrae selected at random. The bone mineral content decreased with increasing age and at a similar rate within the ages studied in both sexes. The findings indicated that pathologic demineralization in the elderly could be the result of low bone mineral content early in life, and more frequently so in female vertebrae.


It is shown that the use of transmitting and receiving antennas with circular polarization in bistatic meteor-based radio links restores the reciprocity of the propagation of radio waves in the meteor channel up to an undetermined value of the phase that depends on the magnitude of the Faraday effect in the ionosphere. It is necessary to use antennas with the same direction of rotation at both points in order to decrease this undetermined value of the phase.


Abstract : Dry etching of magnesium doped p-type aluminum gallium nitride grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) has been carried for the first time by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) system via the boron trichloride/chlorine (BCl3/Cl2) gas system with variations in chuck power, ICP power, chlorine (Cl2) ratio in Cl2/BCl3 and process pressure. Processed samples were cleaned by standard techniques, depths were measured, and etching rates and selectivity were calculated. Surface morphology of the etched samples was analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Etching rates were influenced by ICP power, and chuck power increased chlorine ratio in BCl3/Cl2 and process pressure. The increase in the etching rate is caused by an increased number of chloride radicals created by high inductive power and increased ion flux and thus, physical bombardment and chemical etching components are enhanced. In most cases, the selectivity with respect to the photo-resistance was higher than 1. AFM showed a smooth surface for the etched samples compared to the un-etched control sample. Roughness values increased initially, followed by a drop indicating the increased smoothness of the surface. Auger electron spectroscopic (AES) studies show that there is a reduction of intensity in the etched samples. Calculations indicated that the gallium/nitrogen decreased slightly in the etched sample, which indicated a very small percentage of nitrogen deficiency because of surface-induced damage by etching. This might give rise to changes in resistance and ohmic contact formation.


A method is described for the identification and quantitative determination of 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid hydrazide (DSH), the marker residue of nifursol metabolites in poultry (turkey, broiler) muscle and liver tissue. The method is based on the acid-catalysed hydrolysis of tissue-bound metabolites to free DSH and in situ derivatisation with 2-nitrobenzaldehyde to the corresponding nitrophenyl derivative NPDSH. A structural analogue of DSH, 4-hydroxy-3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid hydrazide (HBH) was synthesised to serve as an internal standard. The analytes were isolated from the matrix by liquid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. Determination was performed by LC-MS/MS with negative electrospray ionisation. The [M - H](+) ions of NPDSH and NPHBH at m/z 374 were fragmented by collision induced dissociation (CID) producing transition ions at m/z 182, 183 and 226. The transition ions at m/z 182 and 226 were selected for monitoring of NPDSH while the transition ion at m/z 183 was selected for NPHBH. The method has been validated according to the EU criteria of Commission Decision 2002/657/EC at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 microg kg(-1) in muscle and liver tissue. A decision limit (CC(alpha)) was obtained of 0.04 and 0.025 microg kg(-1) in muscle and liver, respectively. Similarly a detection capability (CC(beta)) was obtained of 0.10 and 0.05 microg kg(-1) in muscle and liver, respectively. The introduction of HBH as an internal standard did not lead to a significant improvement of the quantitative performance of the method. In fact for liver better performance characteristics were obtained when the IS was not taken into account. Nevertheless, as a qualitative marker for recovery, HBH could still be very useful in the analysis of unknown samples.


The isolation of V-factor (NAD)-independent, serovar C-1 of Avibacterium paragallinarum from growing layer hens with infectious coryza, is reported for the first time. Av. paragallinarum serovar C-1 isolates were PCR confirmed and shared a unique genetic profile. Isolation of Av. paragallinarum NAD-independent biovar, serotyping and genotyping of isolates at the avian diagnostic laboratories are discussed.


Fructans, raffinose family oligosaccharides (RFOs) and arabinoxylan oligosaccharides are the main non-digestible oligosaccharides derived from cereals. These non-digestible oligosaccharides are consumed worldwide. They are considered to be acceptable as part of the dietary fiber complex by jurisdictions in North America, Europe and Australia. Fructans and RFOs are naturally present in cereal grains, whereas arabinoxylan oligosaccharides are a product of the hydrolytic degradation of cereal arabinoxylans. This chapter explores the occurrence, synthesis, structures and potential health benefits of fructans and RFOs.


Limited data is hitherto available on the diversity and dispersal of parasitic mites of geckos in Indonesia. Here, we collected three species of geckos, namely Cosymbotus platyurus , Hemidactylus frenatus , and H. garnotii throughout Indonesia to study the distribution and diversity of its parasitic mites. We conducted detail morphological analysis of the mites using whole mount polyvinyl lactophenol and scanning electron microscope preparation. Three species of ectoparasite mites from genus Geckobia were identified in a total of 221 individuals out of 448 geckos collected from 25 sites in Indonesia. Two species were G. glebosum and G. bataviensis, and the other one was designated as Geckobia  sp 1. Based on our result, the three mites species were spread randomly and live sympatrically. The G. bataviensis mite showed the widest distribution, because it was found in almost all gecko collection sites, hence the most cosmopolitan mites. We also found that C. platyurus gecko had the lowest mite prevalence which might due to the fact that it has the least number of skin folds, an important site for mite protection. This result implies that further research on the relationship of anatomy of gecko skin with chelicera and claw structure of mites is necessary in the future.


ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the proportions and likelihood of children who receive confirmatory and follow-up blood lead testing within the recommended time frames after an initial capillary elevated blood lead level (EBLL) and confirmed EBLL, respectively, by individual and neighborhood-level sociodemographic characteristics. Design: We linked and used blood testing and sociodemographic characteristics data from a Pennsylvania birth cohort including children born between 2017 and 2018. Generalized linear mixed models were constructed to examine the associations between sociodemographic factors and having recommended confirmatory and follow-up testing. Setting: A population-based, retrospective cohort study. Participants: In this birth cohort, children who underwent at least 1 BLL test were followed up to 24 months of age. Children with a first unconfirmed (n = 6259) and confirmed BLL (n = 4213) ≥ 5 μg/dL were included in the analysis. Main Outcome Measure: Children had confirmatory and follow-up testing within the recommended time frames. Results: Of the children with unconfirmed and confirmed EBLLs, 3555 (56.8%) and 1298 (30.8%) received confirmatory and follow-up testing, respectively. The proportions of the 2 outcome measures were lower among children experiencing certain sociodemographic disadvantages. In the univariate analyses, lower initial BLLs, older age, non-Hispanic Blacks, lower maternal educational levels, maternal Medicaid, The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) enrollment, maternal smoking, and higher quartiles of neighborhood poverty and old housing were associated with lower odds of having confirmatory and follow-up testing. However, in multivariate models, children with lower initial BLLs, older age, maternal smoking, and non-Hispanic Blacks were significantly less likely to have confirmatory and follow-up testing. Conclusions: There were deficiencies in having recommended confirmatory and follow-up blood lead testing among children, especially those with sociodemographic disadvantages. Public health agencies and stakeholders should finetune policies to improve follow-up testing in conjunction with primary and secondary preventions for early detection and reduction of lead exposure among targeted children at risk of lead poisoning.


Thermal insulation of building envelopes has improved over the years. This means that building envelope have become more susceptible to defects, with an increased risk of moisture damage. The criteria for energy consumption have become more rigorous, but the shift should not lead to moisture problems. New knowledge about timber and wooden constructions is required in order to better meet these criteria. The purpose of this thesis has been to examine moisture levels in timber and external wooden walls during the construction and usage phases, as well as provide recommendations for good moisture safety.
The work is based on seven publications, listed in chronological order from the construction process, and covers timber stacks at sawmills, factory production of wall elements and roof trusses, transportation to the building site, assembly, as well as follow-up of finished houses and structures in the usage stage. Mainly three methods, field test, calculation and laboratory test, have been used for evaluation of moisture levels, temperature and mould growth.
The overall conclusion is that dry wooden structures and timber is required, which means that several minor adjustments need to be made to the construction practices, construction methods, products, materials, designs and structures currently being used, in order to achieve good moisture safety. In southern Sweden, there is a significant risk for mould growth on wooden studs in well-insulated north-facing external walls that lack external thermal insulation outside the wooden studs. In northern Sweden this risk is significantly lower or there is no risk at all. A small amount of rain that does not create running or dripping water on timber materials and which can dry out the same day should not lead to a risk of mould growth. In general, however, precipitation and material exposed to rain pose a high risk of mould growth. There is a risk of mould growth on timber surfaces that are exposed to an outdoor air in southern Sweden for more than a month, but not at all in the mountain areas or northernmost Sweden.
There also appears to be a major gap between product manufacturers, engineers and constructors with regard to ensuring overall functionality. For example, a large amount of products are not produced and tested to co-function or as part of a multi-component system in order to achieve an overall function, which means that not even the correct preconditions are generally available on the market in order to construct and assemble moisture safe.


A pilot test was conducted to evaluate effectiveness of a new group model for improving self-efficacy in the self-management of diabetes. Self-management is the main component to improving long-term diabetes outcomes. Patients need to have on average a level of self-efficacy of 7/10 in order to be successful in behavior change. The Lorig model of self-management has been tested among low-income and Hispanic populations with equal success in improving diabetes outcomes. In both of those studies, participants had a level of self-efficacy at or above 7.0. This study sought to identify people with low self-efficacy scores to participate in a new group model aimed at improving self-efficacy in self-management of diabetes. The study intervention involved a single group visit with a multidisciplinary team aimed at problem-solving barriers to behavior change. The aim was to measure pre- and post-intervention self-efficacy scores with a validated self-efficacy scale developed by Lorig and colleagues. Methods This was a pilot study using a pre-test/post-test design to see if the group intervention improved self-efficacy scores. The group meeting was held as a single session, facilitated by a behavioral health specialist. The session lasted 1.5 hours and followed self-efficacy theory and problem-solving techniques. Six questions were presented. Participants broke into diads, taking turns to listen and respond to each other. Then they would present their findings to the group. The final result was a self-management goal set by participants, with the study team providing support and recording goals into the diabetes registry. Results The study had 7 participants in two groups. The sample was drawn from one community health clinic serving uninsured, low-income populations. The study was limited to English-speaking participants. All participants were Caucasian. The average self-efficacy score before class was 5.65; the average after the class was 6.1. The average change was .45 (p < .10); however, sample size was small. Conclusions An improvement in self-efficacy was noted (p < .10), but it is not entirely clear whether this change is due to a change in group format or educational content. There was timely information and assistance to participants in setting self-management goals. Participants were able to receive answers to questions they raised when multiple different providers were present. The content of the group session was not focused on a particular didactic topic but rather worked participants through a problem-solving session about barriers they identified to achieving behavior change. The solutions were the results of the group discussion.


Gastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is a histologically distinct tumour derived from MALT acquired as a result of Helicobacter pylori infection. Eradication of H. pylori causes clinical regression of the lymphoma n 75 % of cases. In seeking to identify those cases resistant to this therapy, and in the interests of further understanding the biology of MALT lymphoma, genetic alterations of MALT lymphomas have been investigated. Three translocations, t(11;18)(q21; q21), t(1;14)(p22;q32) and t(14;18)(q32;q21) are specifically associated with MALT lymphoma and the genes involved have been identified. T(11;18) results in a chimeric fusion between the API2 and MALT1 genes and is specifically associated with gastric MALT lymphomas that do not respond to eradication of H. pylori. T(1; 14) and t(14; 18) deregulate bcl-10 and MALT1 expression respectively. These three chromosomal translocations that involve different genes appear to share common oncogenic properties by targeting the to target the same NFkappaB oncogenic pathway.


New strategies and solutions for eco-efficient energy use and material cycles, both technological and non-technological, will not only influence the ecological and the economic environment, but also the social environment. If the potential social impacts of such strategies and solutions are ignored, their successful implementation may be prevented by a lack of general public acceptance. Therefore new methods using transdisci/llinary approaches are needed to take the social dimension into account for decision-making and planning. The subjects therefore are the intended as well as the unintended, the positive as well as the negative impacts on the fulfilment of human needs and the cohabitation of human beings, with the accent lying on psychological, social and cultural needs. In order to include social compatibility in planning processes, a tool similar to the environmental impact assessment is being developed. In contrast to the subjective approach where methods of the empirical social sciences are used to estimate the acceptance of those directly affected, the method proposed here is based on a set of objective evaluation criteria (e.g. discrimination, education & training, impact on inhabited areas, income distribution, information1 communication, participation, transparency, risks for the population). Using the ABC-method known from business administration, different priorities are assigned to the chosen criteria and to the identified partial aspects of the object of assessment respectively. The results achieved in this way reflect the subjective assessment of the user, or the consensus of a user group. The tool is therefore suitable for use in participatory processes such as acceptance dialogues as means of visualizing different evaluations and standpoints of various interest groups, thus providing a common basis for discussion and solution finding. From the legal point of view a distinction must be made between a test of social compatibility, and the partic@atorypossihilities with which the public can advise or definitively decide on specific issues.


ABSTRACT Citizenship is a foundation for mental health recovery and community integration. Achievement of full citizenship in the community is curated by a person's social environment, including social connections and the support and capital offered by those connections. This article presents qualitative findings of community integration experiences of individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and details social environment elements they identified as critical to integration. Three primary themes were identified as contributing to achievement of citizenship among participants: (1) macrosocial interactions, described by a civic consciousness and receipt of positive social recognition; (2) microsocial interactions, including intimate relationships with family and friends; and (3) interactions at an intermediate level, fleeting relationships with passersby in public spaces. All three were underlain by the importance of social recognition of acts of giving. Individuals with SMI who were identified as successful in their path to citizenship indicated that their social environment played a major contributing factor in their success. The findings of this study suggest community-based interventions with this population should consider (1) supporting engagement at a macrolevel, including advocacy on nonmental health issues; (2) supporting the support and capital provided by families, friends, and providers and the ability of a person with SMI to support others; and (3) valuing and protecting shared public spaces and promoting small acts of civility as valuable counters to stigma-related microaggressions.


We report on seven years of attitudinal data using the Colorado Learning Attitudes about Science Survey from University Modeling Instruction (UMI) sections of introductory physics at Florida International University. This work expands upon previous studies that reported consistently positive attitude shifts in UMI courses; here, we disaggregate the data by gender and ethnicity to look for any disparities in the pattern of favorable shifts. We find that women and students from statistically underrepresented ethnic groups are equally supported on this attitudinal measure, and that this result holds even when interaction effects of gender and ethnicity are included. We conclude with suggestions for future work in UMI courses and for attitudinal equity investigations generally.


A wideband quasi-Yagi antenna utilising a microstrip-to-coplanar stripline balun is presented. The antenna is designed to be compact, directional and wideband so that it can be used to form a circular array for a microwave imaging system. The feeding structure of the antenna includes an ultra-wideband balun that is formed using a pair of microstrip to slotline transitions. The simulated and measured results of the proposed antenna indicate more than 70% fractional bandwidth with more than 10 dB return loss, more than 18 dB front-to-back ratio and around 4 dBi gain.


Single image super-resolution (SISR) is an image processing technique, and its main target is to reconstruct the high-quality or high-resolution (HR) image from the low-quality or lowresolution (LR) image. Currently, deep learning-based convolutional neural network (CNN) image super-resolution approaches achieved remarkable improvement over the previous approaches. Furthermore, earlier approaches used hand designed filter to upscale the LR image into HR image. The design architecture of such approaches is easy, but it introduces the extra unwanted pixels in the reconstructed image. To resolve these issues, we propose novel deep learning-based approach known as Lightweight deep CNN-based approach for Single Image Super-Resolution (LDCSIR). In this paper, we propose a new architecture which is inspired by ResNet with Inception blocks, which significantly drop the computational cost of the model and increase the processing time for reconstructing the HR image. Compared with the other state of the art methods, LDCSIR achieves better performance in terms of quantitively (PSNR/SSIM) and qualitatively.


Sirs, We read with interest the review article by Cunliffe and Scott, who propose a practical scheme for the monitoring of the main groups of drugs used in inflammatory bowel disease. However, although the authors considered the haematological, renal, hepatic and bone mineral side-effects of 5-aminosalicylates, thiopurines, methotrexate and corticosteroids, they did not consider pancreatic sideeffects. The risk of pancreatic toxicity amongst patients taking thiopurines is not negligible. Drug-induced pancreatitis has been reported in 3.25% of a group of such patients, which occurred during the first 5 weeks of treatment in all but one case. Pancreatitis is also an absolute contraindication to continued therapy and recurs with the re-introduction of either azathioprine or mercaptopurine. 4 As pancreatic enzyme levels are high in 8– 21% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease, and this increase is associated with more extensive and active disease, the monitoring of serum amylase and lipase may not be helpful in preventing pancreatic sideeffects, but the possibility of drug-induced pancreatitis in the presence of acute abdominal pain during treatment should at least have been mentioned.


Abstract The back squat is widely used in strength training programs. Alternatively, the belt squat has been gaining popularity since it loads the weight on the hips, as opposed to the shoulders and spine. The purpose of this study was to determine whether using a belt squat would result in less lumbar extensor activation while providing similar excitation of other prime mover and stabilizer musculature. Ten participants (9 males, 1 female; age 29.3 ± 4.9 years; body mass 96.2 ± 17.8 kg) who regularly trained both belt squats and back squats performed three sets of 5 repetitions with 100% bodyweight for each exercise. Peak and integrated muscle activity was calculated and normalized to a maximum voluntary isometric contraction. A one-way ANOVA (p < 0.05) was used to compare conditions. Belt squatting decreased lumbar erector impulse (45.4%) and peak (52.0%) activation as compared to the back squat. Belt squatting did not alter activation of the lower extremities except for a decrease in the gluteus maximus (35.2% impulse and 32.1% peak), gluteus medius (54.1% impulse and 55.2% peak). Furthermore, belt squatting reduced activation of the rectus abdominus (44.3% impulse; 31.1% peak), and external obliques (45.8% impulse; 53.7% peak) as compared to back squatting. Our results suggest belt squatting provides similar muscular demands for the quadriceps, hamstrings, and plantar flexors, but is less demanding of trunk stabilizers, and gluteual muscles. Belt squats may be a suitable alternative to back squats in order to avoid stressing low back or trunk musculature.


According to the traditional public finance literature any tax instrument other than the lump-sum tax is inherently distortionary because it alters relative prices. This paper revisits the case of the labor income tax and shows that its supposedly distortionary effects are the result of a stringent assumption about labor supply behavior. The conventional time allocation model generally assumes that taxpayers disregard the marginal benefits of taxation, received in the form of additional public goods, in their labor supply responses to the labor income tax. In line with previous literature stressing the importance of government spending for labor supply behavior, this paper generalizes the time allocation model by describing the behavior of taxpayers that consider both the marginal costs and the marginal benefits of the labor income tax. Under this (more general) framework the paper derives an efficient (undistorted) solution to the problem of determining the optimal amount of public goods, where taxpayers contribute to the public goods in accordance to their individual marginal benefits while the relative value of leisure remains equal to the pre-tax wage rate.


Defense Waste Processing Facility melter production data from three waste batches were analyzed using a lumped parameter approach which separates effects of melter feed, heater temperat ure, and power on melt rate under various modes of operation. A detailed distribution of power inputs and heat consumption pathways, as provided by the lumped parameter model, evaluated possible causes of melt rate reduction and other operational data. Theoretical aspects of the steady state analysis, as well as transient analysis, are presented.The lumped model complements the more detailed multi-dimensional computational models by providing boundary conditions for such models, and is the only practical way of predicting transients.


A robust contactless vital signs monitoring system using circularly polarized ultra-wideband (UWB) radar is presented. The design of the proposed UWB radar system is based on a time-expanded correlation architecture. The circularly polarized antenna array of the radar has an axial ratio bandwidth from 3 to 10 GHz. Use of circular polarization has demonstrated improved accuracy for vital signs monitoring.


We address the problem of learning a classifier from distributed data over a number of arbitrarily connected machines without exchange of the datapoints. Our purpose is to train a neural network at each machine as if the entire dataset was locally available. This is accomplished by taking advantage of the so called consensus algorithm for scalar values distributed over a network. We describe an abstract framework for consensus learning and we derive a distributed version for the multilayer feed forward neural networks with back-propagation and early stopping. Tests are performed and results show that with a careful selection of parameters our method performs like the non-distributed. The trade-off is that the total computational effort over all machines is larger.


The pharmacokinetics of ciprofloxacin excretion have been studied in 54 patients undergoing biliary and pancreatic operations with and without obstruction of the common bile duct. High concentrations were achieved in common duct bile within 20 minutes of intravenous injection and persisted for over 3 hours after 100 mg and for over 8 hours after 200 mg. The concentration of ciprofloxacin in the bile of functioning gall bladders was much greater than that in the common duct bile. Remarkably, it was identified in therapeutic concentrations in the bile of obstructed ducts. This and the rapid fall from initially high venous concentrations probably reflect diffusion from the circulation as a result of the exceptional tissue penetration. A unique feature of this study was the finding of clinically significant concentrations in the bile of obstructed ducts. Two patients developed wound infection and no side effects were observed. The broad spectrum antibiotic ciprofloxacin has potential as a useful agent for prophylaxis in biliary surgery maintaining biliary and venous concentrations in excess of the MIC90 for most biliary pathogens for more than 8 hours.