A basic protein of apparent molecular weight 15 kD, designated bSVSP15, was purified from bovine seminal vesicle secretion to homogeneity, employing affinity absorption to calmodulin-Sepharose and reverse-phase HPLC. Immunoblotting identified bSVSP15 in bovine seminal plasma and seminal vesicle secretion, but it was not present either in extracts of bovine ampulla, epididymis, and testis or in serum or follicular fluid. When added to cAMP phosphodiesterase, bSVSP15 inhibited the activation of enzymatic activity by calmodulin in a reversible manner. Immunoscreening of a lambda gt11 expression cDNA library from bovine seminal vesicle tissue yielded two positive clones, pSVS4 and pSVS5, which were characterized by sequencing. Both sequences are identical, except for the 3' region. Because the derived amino acid sequence comprises, with an identity of 81%, the amino-terminal 21 residues of bSVSP15, cDNA clones pSVS4 and pSVS5 represent bSVSP15-specific mRNAs. The mature protein bSVSP15 contains 101 residues and is preceded by 25 residues of a signal sequence, characteristic for secretory proteins. Northern analysis identified two bSVSP15-specific mRNAs of 900 bp and 1200 bp, respectively. Sequence comparison yielded high homologies to human C-type natriuretic peptide. We conclude from this result that bSVSP15 is identical with the hitherto unknown bovine C-type natriuretic peptide.


The margin of safety is the difference between the expected effect concentrations and the expected ambient concentrations. Two sources of variability, error in the test data and unknown information, necessitate a margin of safety. Inclusion of site-specific considerations can substantially reduce needed margins. The choice of the appropriate confidence level should be based on the importance of the decision and not on habit.


Working with the definition of mutual optimism as war due to inconsistent beliefs, we formalize the mutual optimism argument to test the theory's logical validity. We find that in the class of strategic situations where mutual optimism is a necessary condition for war—i.e., where war is known to be inefficient, war only occurs if both sides prefer it to a negotiated settlement, and on the eve of conflict war is self-evident—then there is no Bayesian-Nash equilibrium where wars are fought because of mutual optimism. The fundamental reason that mutual optimism cannot lead to war is that if both sides are willing to fight, each side should infer that they have either underestimated the strength of the opponent or overestimated their own strength. In either case, these inferences lead to a peaceful settlement of the dispute. We also show that this result extends to situations in which there is bounded rationality and/or noncommon priors.


Work-related musculo-skeletal disorders among the office workers are issues of
global concern as they account for over 40% of work place safety and health hazards.
In Nigeria, back pains and upper extremities disorder as well as eyes syndrome are
common epidemics among the office workers in the Nigerian Public Sector with
negative effects on the workers' output and the economy in general. The main
objective of this research is to investigate the cases of work related musculo-skeletal
disorders among the workers of Local Government offices in Katsina State of
Nigeria in relation to the nature of office facilities, nature of office ergonomic policy
and ergonomic awareness of the workers. Questionnaire approach was adopted based
on 5 Likert scales. Qualitative approach using structured-unobtrusive observation
was also adopted to support the findings of the questionnaire method. Thus, 250
questionnaires were distributed to 10 Local Governments out of 34 Local
Governments of the state using randomised cluster sampling. 218 questionnaires
were retrieved representing 86.55% mean response rate, while 210 were ready for the
analysis. From the survey of the workers' opinion and the observation of office
ergonomic risk factors, it was found that there is a prevalence of work related
musculo-skeletal disorders among the workers in Katsina State Local Government
offices based on the mean opinion of 3.38, poor office facilities based on the mean
opinion of 2.49, poor ergonomic policy based on the mean opinion of 2.35 and poor
ergonomic awareness based on the mean opinion of 2.48. Similarly, the result of
correlational analysis of the three elements of office ergonomic intervention (office
facilities, office ergonomic policy and office ergonomic awareness) shows positive
relationship of r=0.545, r=0.441 and r=0.44 respectively. It is therefore concluded
that in order to solve the problem of work related musculo-skeletal disorders among
the staff of Local Government offices in Katsina State of Nigeria, the three elements
of ergonomic intervention must be improved at once in order to achieve sustainable
office work environment for the overall productivity of workers.


Crystals of a novel uranyl carbonate, K2Ca3[(UO2)(CO3)3]2(H2O)6, were synthesized from an aqueous solution at room temperature. The crystal structure of K2Ca3[(UO2)(CO3)3]2(H2O)6, orthorhombic, space group Pnnm, a 17.015(2), b 18.048(2), c 18.394(2), V 5684.3(1), Z = 8, was solved by direct methods and refined by least-squares techniques on the basis of F2 for all unique reflections (|Fo| > 4sF) to an agreement index (R1) of 4.17% and a goodness-of-fit (S) of 0.882. The structure consists of uranyl hexagonal bipyramids that share three equatorial edges with carbonate triangles, resulting in uranyl tricarbonate clusters of composition [(UO2)(CO3)3]. As with all known uranyl tricarbonate phases, these clusters are not directly linked; rather, they are connected through bonds to lower-valence cations. The uranyl tricarbonate clusters in the structure of K2Ca3[(UO2)(CO3)3]2(H2O)6 are connected through bonds to K and Ca polyhedra. We contend that K2Ca3[(UO2)(CO3)3]2(H2O)6 could occur in nature on the basis of its ease and extent of formation under laboratory conditions.


Abstract Background In 2012, the Australian state of New South Wales passed legislation that reformed its workers' compensation system. Section 39 introduced a five-year limit on income replacement, with the first affected group having their benefits cease in December 2017. There is limited evidence on how this will affect their healthcare service use and where they will go for financial support. Methods Multiple data sources will be linked: administrate workers' compensation claims data from the State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA), universal health insurance data from the Medical Benefits Schedule (MBS) and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS), state hospital and emergency department data, and social welfare data from the Department of Social Services' Data Over Multiple Individual Occurrences (DOMINO). An estimated 4,125 injured workers had their benefits cease due to Section 39. These will form the exposure group who will be compared to 1) a similar group of workers' compensation claimants who have had at least two years of compensated time off work but whose benefits did not cease due to Section 39; and 2) a community comparison group drawn from state hospital and emergency department records. An accredited third party will link the data, which will be accessible only via secure virtual machine. Initial analyses will compare the prevalence and incidence of service use across groups in both the year before and year after benefit cessation; the community control will be assigned the median benefit cessation date in lieu of an actual date. To estimate the impact of benefit cessation due to Section 39, we will conduct time series analysis of the prevalence and incidence of service use. Discussion This study will provide much-needed evidence on the consequences of long-term benefit cessation, particularly on subsequent healthcare and welfare service use.


The global economic crisis makes it necessary to increase business competitiveness. Lean is a manufacturing philosophy that deserves the attention of employers and their employees, since its objectives are to increase productivity, reduce waste, and optimize available resources. The 5S method is a lean tool that can improve productivity by improving the organization of the workplace. A brief survey of the market showed that there are several organizations dedicated to training and sharing this type of knowledge but only a few of them have digital tools available. Therefore, the use of a digital serious game that helps to understand the 5S method can effectively support an alternative form of learning. This article proposes a serious game that aims to respond to this need. This practical approach encourages the player to learn by trial and error. Information displayed throughout the game enhances learning, without a cognitive overload for the player. The game's evaluation has shown that our approach is efficient and results in the learning of 5S concepts.


Abstract Scholars have long debated the positive and negative consequences of an aware public for the quality of governance in modern liberal democracies. This article extends this debate to the context of constitutional review by exploring how public awareness can limit the effective exercise of review by courts lacking strong public support. Incorporating aspects of both the legitimacy and separation of powers theories on judicial power, the author argues that public awareness weakens the efficacy of such unpopular courts by creating an electoral incentive for governments to defy adverse rulings, even when doing so may lead to punishment from other institutional stakeholders. The article develops a simple formal model that identifies how and under what conditions public awareness can influence an unpopular court's decision making. An analysis of rulings issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union finds support for the model's empirical implications.


In September 1994, the Wall Street Journal started the Annual Report and Earning Service. Firms participating in this service volunteer to provide on request, to any reader, their annual report and current quarterly information. The daily price quotations of such firms appear with a small symbol like the club in playing cards. We examine the utility of voluntarily disclosing this second-hand information to the public and seek to find the motivation for this disclosure. Our results show that most of the firms that joined this service had below-industry average performance, or at least were headed in that direction. Membership in the Annual Report and Earning Service brought some short-term benefits in the form of average excess returns, but the economic fundamentals reasserted, and most firms had significant below-average returns at the end of our sample period.


In modelling ionic crystals with the rigid-ion model under the adiabatic and harmonic approximations, the series involving the long-range Coulomb forces appear to be only conditionally convergent. The approach most commonly used to sum these series is the Ewald method, which separates them into two rapidly convergent parts in real and reciprocal space. Instead, the technique described here makes use of infinite sheets of charge to cancel effectively the long-range moments of these forces. The original series can then be rewritten in a form which rapidly converges, but still only in real space. The new method was tested by successfully duplicating Kellermann's model (1940) results, which made use of the Ewald method. The new technique is restricted to lattice dynamical problems as opposed to static problems but may be applied to any crystal lattice and incorporated into any lattice dynamical model which also makes use of the harmonic approximation.


Abstract OBJECTIVES Application of video-assisted thoracoscopy brought lung surgery into the minimally invasive era; the lack of tactile feedback using VATS, remains a disadvantage because surgeons are unable to locate lesions with a finger or device. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness, the applicability and the utility of intraoperative ultrasound (IU), for the localization of small ground-glass opacity (GGO) lesions in the parenchyma, as a guide in finding their margins in a deflated lung. MATERIALS AND METHODS We included 15 consecutive patients undergoing diagnostic resection of GGOs via VATS in the Thoracic Surgery Unit of the University of 'Luigi Vanvitelli' of Naples from November 2019 to December 2021. They were under general anaesthesia, when the lung had been collapsed, the probe was placed in the region where the target lesion was thought to reside on the basis of low-dose computed tomography scanning. GGO could be identified their sizes, echo levels and posterior echo was recorded by IU when the lung was completely deflated. RESULTS We conducted a retrospective single-centre study. All GGOs were identified by IU. The mean size and depth were 14.1 ± 0.5 and 4.8 ± 0.3 mm, respectively. Six (40%) lesions had hyperechoic patterns, 9 (60%) had mixed echogenicity where the hyperechoic patterns were irregularly mixed with hypoechoic patterns. The final diagnoses included 2 (15%) atypical adenomatous hyperplasia; 2 (15%) adenocarcinomas in situ; 3 (23%) minimally invasive adenocarcinomas and 6 (46%) invasive adenocarcinomas. CONCLUSIONS The results of our study showed that IU could safely and effectively detect GGOs.


Recently, Trust has been recognized as an important factor for Grid computing security. In this paper, we propose a trust model in Grid system. It consists of Application Domain (AD), Client Domain (CD), Resource Domain (RD), and Trust Manager (TM). TM controls the relationship between RD and CD depending on the trust level value of each client and classification of each resource. Performance criteria are makespan and utilization. We evaluated our trust model in six scheduling algorithms in nine scenarios. The simulation results show that the proposed trust model improves the performance in all scheduling algorithms.


Disasters are unpredictable and often result in mass casualties. Limited medical resources often affect the response to mass casualty incidents, undermining the ability of responders to adequately protect all of the casualties. Thus, the injuries of casualties are classified in hopes of fully utilizing medical resources efficiently in order to save the maximum possible number of people. However, as opinions on casualty prioritization are subjective, disagreements and disputes often arise regarding allocating medical resources. The present article focused on the 2015 explosion at Formosa Fun Coast, a recreational water park in Bali, New Taipei City, Taiwan as a way to explore the dilemma over the triage and resource allocation for casualties with burns over 90% and 50-60% of their bodies. The principles of utilitarianism and deontology in Western medicine were used to discuss the reasons and rationale behind the allocation of medical resources during this incident. Confucianism, a philosophical mindset that significantly influences Taiwanese society today, was then discussed to describe the "miracles" that happened during the incident, including the acquisition of assistance from the public and medical professionals. External supplies and professional help (social resources) were provided voluntarily after this incident, which had a profound impact on both the immediate response and the longer-term recovery efforts.


Direct plant regeneration from shoot tips and nodal explants of Wedelia calendulacea Less. was carried out in MS with different concentrations and combinations of BAP, Kn and NAA. Of the two explants nodal segments showed the best response towards the formation of multiple shoots in MS containing BAP (2.0 mg/l), Kn (1.0 mg/l) and NAA (0.5 mg/l). In this combination, the maximum number of shoots/explant obtained was 18.33 ± 0.72 from shoot tips and 26.64 ± 0.47 from nodal explants. Cent per cent root formation was obtained in MS with IBA (0.2 mg/l) within three weeks. The in vitro regenerated plantlets were successfully transplanted to soil for further growth and development.
Plant Tissue Cult. & Biotech. 30(2): 277-283, 2020 (December)


Design for intervention studies may combine longitudinal data collected from sampled locations over several survey rounds and cross-sectional data from other locations in the study area. In this case, modeling the impact of the intervention requires an approach that can accommodate both types of data, accounting for the dependence between individuals followed up over time. Inadequate modeling can mask intervention effects, with serious implications for policy making. In this paper we use data from a large-scale larviciding intervention for malaria control implemented in Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, collected over a period of almost 5 years. We apply a longitudinal Bayesian spatial model to the Dar es Salaam data, combining follow-up and cross-sectional data, treating the correlation in longitudinal observations separately, and controlling for potential confounders. An innovative feature of this modeling is the use of Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process to model random time effects. We contrast the results with other Bayesian modeling formulations, including cross-sectional approaches that consider individual-level random effects to account for subjects followed up in two or more surveys. The longitudinal modeling approach indicates that the intervention significantly reduced the prevalence of malaria infection in Dar es Salaam by 20% whereas the joint model did not suggest significance within the results. Our results suggest that the longitudinal model is to be preferred when longitudinal information is available at the individual level.


In 2008, the Indonesian Government implemented a revised village-level Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response (PDSR) program to gain a better understanding of both the magnitude and spatial distribution of H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) outbreaks in backyard poultry. To date, there has been considerable collection of data, but limited publically available analysis. This study utilizes data collected by the PDSR program between April 2008 and September 2010 for Java, Bali and the Lampung Province of Sumatra. The analysis employs hierarchical Bayesian occurrence models to quantify spatial and temporal dynamics in backyard HPAI infection reports at the District level in 90 day time periods, and relates the probability of HPAI occurrence to PDSR-reported village HPAI infection status and human and poultry density. The probability of infection in a District was assumed to be dependent on the status of the District in the previous 90 day time period, and described by either a colonization probability (the probability of HPAI infection in a District given there had not been infection in the previous 90 day time period) or a persistence probability (the probability of HPAI infection being maintained in the District from the previous to current 90 day period). Results suggest that the number of surveillance activities in a district had little relationship to outbreak occurrence probabilities, but human and poultry densities were found to have non-linear relationships to outbreak occurrence probabilities. We found significant spatial dependency among neighboring districts, indicating that there are latent spatial processes that are not captured by the covariates available for this study, but which nonetheless impact outbreak dynamics. The results of this work may help improve understanding of the seasonal nature of H5N1 in poultry and the potential role of poultry density in enabling endemicity to occur, as well as to assist the Government of Indonesia target scarce resources to regions and time periods when outbreaks of HPAI in poultry are most likely ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: firstname.lastname@example.com (M.L. Farnsworth). 167-5877/$ – see front matter. Published by Elsevier B.V. oi:10.1016/j.prevetmed.2011.07.008 to occur. Published by Elsevier B.V. Veterina M.L. Farnsworth et al. / Preventive


Due to a large number of converters in dc grids, the simulation speed using traditional electromagnetic simulation tools becomes very slow. An associated discrete circuit (ADC) switch model can improve the simulation efficiency greatly by avoiding the modification of system matrix during switching. However, existing ADC switches induce virtual power losses due to simulation errors during switching transients. The mechanism of the virtual power loss is analyzed, and a power loss model is established. An improved ADC switch model is designed by adding compensation sources to mitigate the simulation errors. Theoretical analyses are carried out to prove this improvement. A fast algorithm to obtain the initial values of the compensation sources is proposed by utilizing the complementary operation of IGBTs. The improved ADC switch provides fast simulation speed and high accuracy. The modeling is particularly suitable for investigating long term system dynamics of dc grids with multiple converters and fast converter transients at the same time.


Analysts' functions are divided into discovery and interpretation roles, but distinguishing between the two is nontrivial. We conjecture that analysts' interpretation skill can be gauged by their forecast revisions following material unanticipated news, in particular, following nonearnings 8-K reports, which arrive at the market unexpectedly. We establish that unanticipated 8-Ks are informative for analysts and find that analysts who are more likely to revise their forecasts following unanticipated 8-Ks provide more timely and accurate forecasts. We document a positive association between analysts' tendency to react to unanticipated 8-Ks and market reaction to their recommendation changes, suggesting investors prefer these analysts' opinions.


In this article, we introduce a high‐order accurate method for solving the two dimensional linear hyperbolic equation. We apply a compact finite difference approximation of fourth order for discretizing spatial derivatives of linear hyperbolic equation and collocation method for the time component. The resulted method is unconditionally stable and solves the two‐dimensional linear hyperbolic equation with high accuracy. In this technique, the solution is approximated by a polynomial at each grid point that its coefficients are determined by solving a linear system of equations. Numerical results show that the compact finite difference approximation of fourth order and collocation method give a very efficient approach for solving the two dimensional linear hyperbolic equation. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Numer Methods Partial Differential Eq, 2009


OBJECTIVE
To compare the levels of career satisfaction expressed by three professional groups working in dental health: dental therapists, dental hygienists and dental practitioners.

BASIC RESEARCH DESIGN
Level of career satisfaction was assessed using a ten point scale in three surveys. Postal surveys were conducted of all dental therapists and dental hygienists registered with the General Dental Council. Data for dental practitioners were collected as part of the British Dental Association Omnibus Survey 2000.

PARTICIPANTS
Data are reported for 227 dental therapists, 2,251 dental hygienists and 970 dental practitioners.

RESULTS
Significant differences were found between groups in the level of career satisfaction expressed. Dental practitioners were less likely to express high levels of satisfaction in comparison with the other two professional groups. Within each group characteristics of the respondents were associated with satisfaction levels. Younger dental therapists and dental hygienists expressed lower levels of career satisfaction. The level of career satisfaction expressed by dental practitioners was associated with gender, place of work (North vs South UK), year of qualification, size of practice and system of remuneration.

CONCLUSIONS
Dental practitioners express lower levels of job satisfaction in comparison to other groups of dental health care professionals. Job dissatisfaction among dental practitioners is related to a number of socio-demographic factors.


We draw attention on a simple relationship between incubation time and frequency of pitting which should hold if pitting is considered as a nucleation problem. Transient aspects are addressed and a clear distinction is introduced between the pit induction time θ in an evolving layer, and the incubation time in the quasi-steady layer. θ is the solution of an implicit equation. In a simple approximation, the possibility of occurrence of catastrophic nucleation or of a temperature with minimum resistance to pitting is identified.


An approach to business process reengineering (BPR) is presented and illustrated in this paper. The approach is based on Coloured Petri Nets (CPN) as a general tool for modeling, simulation and analysis of system processes. In realization of a BPR project there are two crucial phases in which the model AS-IS and the model TO-BE are created. This implies using the appropriate technique for business process modeling and analysis. How CPN can be used for this purpose is illustrated here on the example of operation production planning in a pharmaceutical company. The processes are described by use of concept of dependencies and coordination mechanism as well as by use of decomposition and specialization concepts. It is shown that CPN can handle these concept in an easily way. The produced net is hierarchical, stochastic coloured Petri net. Applying well-know software package Design/CPN, simulation and performance analysis have been performed.


This thesis analyzes the published commentary of editorial journalists regarding the division of Germany in twelve major newspapers of the Federal Republic of Germany in a period spanning from the
final years of division to the immediate aftermath of the unification of the two German states. The study tracks editorial advocacy in response to East German leader Erich Honecker's Bonn visit in 1987 coupled
with the intra-German policy efforts of the Social Democratic Party in opposition, which seemed to edge towards two-state neutralism; the wave of repression in the German Democratic Republic from late 1987 onward in the wake of Mikhail Gorbachev's reform programme, and the June 1989 visit of Mikhail
Gorbachev to Bonn. Journalistic commentators' propagation of a form of constitutional patriotism as a
Federal Republican identity will be examined. Responses to the East German Revolution as it developed in late 1989 are analyzed in detail, followed by an account of journalistic efforts to define the political-cultural parameters of united Germany between March 1990 and June 1991.
After four decades, the post-war division of Germany had acquired a degree of normalcy.
Journalistic commentators argued against any acceptance of division that also accepted the existence of the party-state dictatorship in the German Democratic Republic, insisting that the German Question was 'open' until self-determination for East Germans was realized. Nevertheless, throughout the period journalistic
commentators argued in unison against solutions to division which would alienate the Federal Republic from its western alliance or put its established socio-political order at risk. Contemporary journalism propagated an image of the Federal Republic that was thoroughly defined by its post-war internalization of
'Western' value norms. This was most evident during the East German Revolution and the immediate aftermath, ostensibly the moment of greatest uncertainty about Germany's future path, when commentators became champions of continuity within the western alliance.


Abstract This study explores Durkheim's theory of the society and the symbol and its relation to structuralists such as Saussure and Levi-Strauss. Durkheim asserts that a society is a state of "solidarity", which can only be grasped via symbolism. "Repressive laws", such as criminal laws, symbolize the traditional society constituted by similarities among people; while "restitutory laws", such as civil laws, symbolize the modern society constituted by differences. Durkheim traces the symbols back to religion, which divides the world into sacred and secular domains. Religion makes use of totems, as symbols, to exert force upon members of tribes. The dichotomies constructed by Saussure and Levi-Strauss respectively are influenced by Durkheim to a certain extent.


Action potential (AP) conduction depends on voltage-gated sodium channels, of which there are nine subtypes. The vagus nerve, comprised of sensory afferent fibers and efferent parasympathetic fibers, provides autonomic regulation of visceral organs, but the NaV1 subtypes involved in its AP conduction are poorly defined. We studied the A- and C-waves of electrically-stimulated compound action potentials (CAP) of the mouse and rat vagus nerves with and without NaV1 inhibitor administration: tetrodotoxin (TTX), PF-05089771 (mouse NaV1.7), ProTX-II (NaV1.7), ICA-121341 (NaV1.1, NaV1.3, NaV1.6), LSN-3049227 (NaV1.2, NaV1.6, NaV1.7) and A-803467 (NaV1.8). We show that TTX-sensitive NaV1 channels are essential for all vagal AP conduction. PF-05089771 but not ICA-121341 inhibited the mouse A-wave, which was abolished by LSN-3049227, suggesting roles for NaV1.7 and NaV1.2. The mouse C-wave was abolished by LSN-3049227 and a combination of PF-05089771 and ICA-121341, suggesting roles for NaV1.7 and NaV1.6. The rat A-wave was inhibited by ProTX-II, ICA-121341 and a combination of these inhibitors but only abolished by LSN-3049227, suggesting roles for NaV1.7, NaV1.6 and NaV1.2. The rat C-wave was abolished by LSN-3049227 and a combination of ProTX-II and ICA-121341, suggesting roles for NaV1.7 and NaV1.6. A-803467 also inhibited the mouse and rat CAP suggesting a cooperative role for the TTX-resistant NaV1.8. Overall, our data demonstrate that multiple NaV1 subtypes contribute to vagal CAPs, with NaV1.7 and NaV1.8 playing predominant roles and NaV1.6 and NaV1.2 contributing to a different extent based upon nerve fiber type and species. Inhibition of these NaV1 may impact autonomic regulation of visceral organs.


This work presents the (SNV) approach for feed-forward gas flow rate control, the considerations included in the design of a prototype, and the results of its evaluation using a bell prover. The SNV uses a pulse-width modulation approach to provide inexpensive feed-forward gas flow rate control in contrast to closed-loop systems with thermal mass flow sensors. Attempts for feed-forward digital control of gas flow rate with throttling is usually frustrated by the difficulty of precisely and repeatably locating a throttle body to the precision required. The SNV uses a statically machined transonic nozzle to provide a mass flow rate insensitive to back-pressure for the on portion of the switching cycle. The severe pressure drop usually associated with sonic flow is almost entirely recovered by using a converging-diverging nozzle instead of a plain orifice, so that excellent metering can be achieved with drops as low as 11%.
 Uncertainty in the actual delivered flow is found to be ±1% of full scale. Back-pressure insensitivity is found to be ±0.5% up to 88% of the supply pressure. The operator design predicted that operation would be possible up to 100Hz, but actual performance was limited to roughly 33Hz. Unexpected minor quadratic behavior in the valve calibration and a single errant data suggest that the degraded performance is due to migration of lubricant inside the assembly.


BACKGROUND
Cancer related anemia impairs patient functioning. Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion and erythropoietin (EPO) may relieve fatigue. Cost-effectiveness data have been requested.

PATIENTS AND METHODS
All transfusions administered at the Department of Oncology, University Hospital of North Norway (UNN) in 2005 were analysed, with a total of 118 patients entering the study. A cost of transfusion analysis was added and a sensitivity analysis conducted to clarify robustness. The 118 patients received 613 units of erythrocytes. In 6% of cases, the transfusion was the only cause of a hospital visit. One fourth of patients had bone marrow infiltration and two-thirds had undergone chemotherapy. The mean Hb levels of patients prior to and following transfusion were in the range 8.4-8.8 g/dl and 10.2-10.6 g/dl, respectively; one-third reached a non-anemic level (Hb > or = 11.0 g/dl). The median time interval between transfusions was three weeks and the annual cost was calculated at Euro 1,069/patient.

CONCLUSION
RBC-transfusion has a low cost.


Radiation in patients with diseases such as xeroderma pigmentosa (XP), systemic lupus erythematosus, and other connective diseases is a matter of concern because of higher incidence of toxicities. Here with, we are reporting a case of carcinoma esophagus with XP, who tolerated the treatment well with sufficiently prolonged palliation of symptoms, after treatment with external beam radiotherapy. This might be attributed to the different mechanisms of DNA damage and repair mechanisms for ultraviolet (UV) rays and X-rays. UV rays cause DNA damage by dimer formation whereas X-rays will cause single- or double-stranded breaks in DNA. The repair mechanisms for UV rays are nucleotide excision repair and translesion synthesis while for X-rays, they are base excision repair, homologous recombination, and nonhomologous end joining, and these repair mechanisms for X-rays are intact in a XP patient. Hence, they can be been treated with high dose of radiation, and they do tolerate the treatment well.


BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES
Enteric overabsorption of oxalate may lead to hyperoxaluria and subsequent acute oxalate nephritis (AON). AON related to chronic pancreatitis is a rare and poorly described condition precluding early recognition and treatment.

DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS
We collected the clinical characteristics, treatment, and renal outcome of 12 patients with chronic pancreatitis-associated AON followed in four French renal units.

RESULTS
Before AON, mild to moderate chronic kidney disease was present in all patients, diabetes mellitus in eight (insulin [n = 6]; oral antidiabetic drugs [n = 2]), and known chronic pancreatitis in only eight. At presentation, pancreas imaging showed gland atrophy/heterogeneity, Wirsung duct dilation, calcification, or pseudocyst. Renal findings consisted of rapidly progressive renal failure with tubulointerstitial profile. Acute modification of glomerular filtration preceded the AON (i.e., diarrhea and diuretics). Increase in urinary oxalate excretion was found in all tested patients and hypocalcemia in nine (<1.5 mmol/L in four patients). Renal biopsy showed diffuse crystal deposits, highly suggestive of oxalate crystals, with tubular necrosis and interstitial inflammatory cell infiltrates. Treatment consisted of pancreatic enzyme supplementation, oral calcium intake, and an oxalate-free diet in all patients and renal replacement therapy in five patients. After a median follow-up of 7 months, three of 12 patients reached end-stage renal disease.

CONCLUSION
AON is an under-recognized severe crystal-induced renal disease with features of tubulointerstitial nephritis that may occur in patients with a long history of chronic pancreatitis or reveal the pancreatic disease. Extrinsic triggering factors should be prevented.


A new species of the ptilodontid multituberculate genus Prochetodon (Mammalia, Allotheria) from the Paleocene Paskapoo Formation of Alberta, Canada, is described. Prochetodon speirsae sp. nov. is the oldest discovered species of the genus, extending the temporal range of Prochetodon earlier into the Paleocene. It exhibits a mosaic of primitive and derived dental features suggestive of a position phylogenetically intermediate between Ptilodus and Prochetodon. Newly discovered specimens from the late Paleocene Gao Mine locality are referred tentatively to Prochetodon foxi. The occurrence of a primitive form of Prochetodon in sediments of early Tiffanian age suggests the evolutionary history of the genus is more complex than previously appreciated. Prochetodon joins a number of well-documented, progressive mammalian taxa making their first appearance in the Western Interior of North America at higher latitudes, well before their first known occurrence in the United States, suggesting a possible origin and im...


The present study aims to isolate the unknown and known serotypes of Bacilllus thuringiensis (Bt) from natural objects in Kyrgyzstan. A total of 83 Bt strains were isolated from natural substrates, of which 30% were taken from the soil and litter samples, 69.7% from dead insects and about 0.3% from slugs. Serological examination revealed that such subspecies as var. thuringiensis (H-1), var. alesti (H-3), var. sotto (H-4a4b) and var. entomocidus (H-6) predominated in the upper horizon of soils in all climatic zones. In the dead insects such species as subsp. thuringiensis, subsp. galleria, subsp. sotto, subsp. kurstaki, subsp. Aizawai and subsp. Entomocidus dominated. A set of Bt strains isolated from insects and soil samples, selected from different ecosystems in Kyrgyzstan was molecular taxonomically characterized using the pycA gene as marker for phylogenetic reconstruction. Within the Bacillus cereus sensu lato species complex, all Kyrgyz isolates were shown to belong to the B. cereus subspecies thuringiensis. Most isolates were assigned to the lineage Bt tolworthi, with two isolates each belonging to the lineages Bt kurstaki and Bt sotto. A high degree of cry gene diversity was demonstrated in the set of Bt isolates, with several gene copies simultaneously present in a single strain; a particularly conspicuous trait was the frequent combination of Lepidopteran-specific cryI with Dipteran-specific cryIV genes in the same Bt isolate.


As a fundamental problem in machine learning, dataset shift induces a paradigm to learn and transfer knowledge under changing environment. Previous methods assume the changes are induced by covariate, which is less practical for complex real-world data. We consider the Generalized Label Shift (GLS), which provides an interpretable insight into the learning and transfer of desirable knowledge. Current GLS methods: 1) are not well-connected with the statistical learning theory; 2) usually assume the shifting conditional distributions will be matched with an implicit transformation, but its explicit modeling is unexplored. In this paper, we propose a conditional adaptation framework to deal with these challenges. From the perspective of learning theory, we prove that the generalization error of conditional adaptation is lower than previous covariate adaptation. Following the theoretical results, we propose the minimum uncertainty principle to learn conditional invariant transformation via discrepancy optimization. Specifically, we propose the \textit{conditional metric operator} on Hilbert space to characterize the distinctness of conditional distributions. For finite observations, we prove that the empirical estimation is always well-defined and will converge to underlying truth as sample size increases. The results of extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed model achieves competitive performance under different GLS scenarios.


The current debate about cloning is an example of difficult relations between science and ethics. As a rule, cloning humans is taken to be a severe infringement of human dignity, inasmuch as the natural individuality of humans is abrogated. Nonetheless it should be recognized that there is an infringement of human dignity neither in the identity of the genomes of two people, nor in the procedure of cloning itself. Cloning is not reprehensible in itself, but only in connection to human intentions. The debate on ethical problems of biology extends far beyond bioethics in the direction of an evironmental ethics. The point of departure of such a conception of ethics is often a going against nature argument. Those who think this way are confusing the empirical (biological states of affairs) with the normative, and commit the naturalistic fallacy : biology is expected to be not only an advisor but also a legislator in ethical affairs. Scientific facts must be acknowledged and taken into account in ethics, but always bearing in mind the (philosophical) fact that from an is no ought can be derived


Abstract Uptake by white clover (Trifolium repens L.) and by browntop (Agrostis tenuis Sibth.) of selenium applied at 1 oz per acre as sodium selenite to Atiamuri sand was studied in two pot experiments. In the experiment with white clover sodium selenite was applied (1) over the foliage mixed with superphosphate. (2) over the foliage in solution, (3) to {he soil in solution without touching the herbage. Selenium was taken in readily through the leaves, particularly from the solution, and distributed to stolons and roots. Uptake through the roots was much slower. In (3) the concentration of selenium was in the order: roots > stolons > nodules > leaves and petioles. Browntop was treated with sodium selenite in solution as in (2) and (3) for white clover, together with a control treatment. It showed little eviden~e of ability to absorb selenium through the leaves, but a very much Greater ability than white clover to absorb it through the roots.


The variable spectrum of applications largely depends upon silver physicochemical and biological properties which changes as the particles are decreased to nano-scale. This unique behavior is responsible for the larger use of silver in consumer product and industry. Since little information is available about toxicity to the organisms practically in the aquatic environment, the predication of possible environmental hazards and remedy are the hot topics of current research studies. Researchers are drawing more and more data from appropriate model organisms. Fish being aquatic organism is badly affected by Ag-NPs, so concern of potential risk to aquatic organism increases. The toxicity endpoints include growth and reproduction impairment, mortality and biochemical changes in both adult fish and embryos. Being a healthy food for human, the researchers try to know how Ag-NPs can affect the fish and its body when sizes decrease to nano-scale. Therefore, fish is extensively studied model in the toxicological studies. It examined some of these studies which address the adverse effects of Ag-NPs on biological systems of different fish group predicting the dose dependent toxicity. The organisms more acutely sensitive have lower LC50 values. All the studies also indicated that silver ions released from Ag-NPs surface contributes to toxicity. Therefore, it is suggested that emphasis should be placed on upcoming investigations for the evaluation of environmental impact of nano-silver in both in vitro and in vivo studies. The effect of long term exposure and bioaccumulation of silver through food web should be unmasked and discussed


Two field experiments were carried out at Toukh El- Aklam, Village, El-Sinbelaween Station, Dakahlia Governorate, during 1989 and 1990 seasons to study the effect of four nitrogen fertilizer levels (0, 30, 60 and 90 kg N/fad), three foliar application time (after 30, 50 and two equal halves at 30 and 50 days from planting (DFP) as well as four foliar treatments namely (foliar x, Irral, Aziplex and Sicotree Zn) on growth, yield and grain quality of maize. Experiment were laid out in split-split plot design with four replications. Results indicated that the interaction between nitrogen levels, times of spraying and nutrients foliar application was significant, the maximum plant height, ear height, stem diameter, leaf area ear length, ear diameter, number of grain/row, 100-grain weight, shelling percentage, grain yield/plant, grain yield/fad and grain protein percentage. However, the minimum number of days to 50 % tasseling and silking, were recorded under the combination of 90 kg N/fad, and spraying Irral at the rate of 300 g/fad after 50 days from planting. In conclusion, the desirable growth characters of maize can be achieved through nitrogen application at the rate of 90 kg N/fad, spraying foliar nutrients after 50 days from planting and foliar Irral at the rate of 300 g/fad under the environmental conditions of El-Sinbelaween Center, Dakahlia Governorate.


Abstract We solve a linear chance constrained portfolio optimization problem using Robust Optimization (RO) method wherein financial script/asset loss return distributions are considered as extreme valued. The objective function is a convex combination of portfolio's CVaR and expected value of loss return, subject to a set of randomly perturbed chance constraints with specified probability values. The robust deterministic counterpart of the model takes the form of Second Order Cone Programming (SOCP) problem. Results from extensive simulation runs show the efficacy of our proposed models, as it helps the investor to (i) utilize extensive simulation studies to draw insights into the effect of randomness in portfolio decision making process, (ii) incorporate different risk appetite scenarios to find the optimal solutions for the financial portfolio allocation problem and (iii) compare the risk and return profiles of the investments made in both deterministic as well as in uncertain and highly volatile financial markets.


Maraviroc is the first commercialized CCR5 inhibitor for HIV therapy. A new high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet method to quantify maraviroc concentrations in human plasma was developed and validated. The method is based on a protein precipitation procedure, with an acidic solution of acetonitrile (trifluoroacetic acid 0.1%) and quinoxaline as internal standard. The analytes were eluted using a gradient run in 15 minutes on an analytical C18 Luna column (150 mm × 4.6 mm ID) with a particle size of 5 μm. Maraviroc and internal standard were detected by UV at 193 nm and 352 nm, respectively. The calibration curve was linear up to 2500 ng/mL. The mean recovery of maraviroc was 96%. All validation data were in accordance with U.S. Food and Drug Administration requirements. The new high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet method reported here could be used routinely to monitor plasma concentrations of maraviroc in healthy volunteers and HIV-infected patients.


Malignant ethmoid and maxillary sinus tumors frequently involve the orbit. Orbital involvement is an important prognostic predictor of recurrence‐free, disease‐specific, and overall survival. Most authors agree that orbital preservation as opposed to orbital exenteration or clearance does not result in significant differences in local recurrence or actuarial survival. The eye can be safely preserved in most patients with ethmoid or maxillary sinus cancer invading the orbital wall, including malignancies that invade the orbital soft tissues with penetration through the periorbita provided that they can be completely dissected away from the orbital fat. Malposition of the globe and nonfunctional eyes frequently result when patients have not had adequate rigid reconstruction of the orbital floor, particularly if they have received postoperative radiotherapy. This underscores the importance of such reconstruction. Isolated defects following orbital exenteration may be reconstructed with a temporalis muscle flap. Microvascular free‐tissue transfer is the best option for repair of defects following orbital exenteration and total maxillectomy, although an obturator still has a role in selected patients. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008


It has been postulated that ascorbic acid may help to protect the retina from oxidative insult by light. To confirm this hypothesis, the authors compared light-damaged retinas of rats with or without ascorbate supplement by morphologic and morphometric studies at different time periods after light exposure. No dramatic morphologic differences were observed in the photoreceptor-retinal pigment epithelium complex between the two groups six hr after light exposure to 200 to 250-foot candles of visible light. Six to 13 days after 24 hr of exposure, the retina of rats that received ascorbate supplement showed significantly less severe damage than the retina of unsupplemented rats. The superior and temporal quadrants of the retina appeared to be most susceptible to the light damage when comparing rats with or without ascorbate supplement. These findings suggested that ascorbate ameliorates the photic injury in rat retina.


In Central Slovakia nearly 10 million tons (DW) of red and brown mud of alumina production is located in the pond. Despite the long-time research in the world (approx. 90 million tons of red mud from Al 2 O 3 production is generated in the world annually) and in Slovakia its effective utilization has not been achieved yet. We have suggested and experimentally verified the model for two-stage utilizing mud of aluminium oxide production in grey cast iron production. We have achieved partial replacement of limestone (slag forming additive) and reduction of abrasion of cupola furnace's refractory clay. A by-product of this process is pilot water-quenched cupola foundry slag (granulated slag). In this article the mineral structures of pilot slag are investigated and compared with the mineral structures of slags from standard production of grey cast iron. Pilot granulated slag and granulated slag from standard production of grey cast iron contain a very small proportion of mineral phase (crystal fraction). Air-cooled slag has a little bit higher proportion of the crystal fraction than granulated slag, however, the proportion of the mineral phase in the total slag volume is very small also in this case. We conclude from that differences in  mineral phase content of particular types of cupola slag shall not affect possible differences in characteristics of products with slag addition, e.g. in cement making or concrete production. Much more powerful effect on characteristics of products with cupola slag addition can be brought about by differences in chemical composition and in surface conditions depending on cooling, grinding and milling cupola slag.


Current limitations in the digital communications have sparked an interest in new ways to increase carrier frequencies and the actual information carrying bandwidth. The adoption of optical fibre technology as backbones and as core of the Internet has motivated similar interests within local area networks. Although the optical fibres would not replace completely the copper wired LAN, they will offer several desirable features that will make them attractive for general purposes. The fibre technology has grown rapidly since the discovery of the first low-loss fibres, as this has facilitated the development of faster and more efficient systems. This chapter investigates how light has been an integral part of human communication systems, and its evolution into optical fibres has provided the medium to overcome some of the limitations of the traditional copper wired systems. The chapter examines the niche of optical communications at various levels of the LAN, and concludes by exploring the strengths and weakness of possible topologies to support future optical LAN. It provides an overview on how optical fibre can be and are used in Ethernet and FDDI infrastructures.


The paper presents the research on biomass charcoal-Diesel oil mixture and its use as an alternative fuel for combustion in diesel engine. The employment of charcoal slurry fuel intends to reduce heavy fuel oil consumption and would reduce green house emissions into the atmosphere. In the investigation, wood chips were used for the production of charcoal that was successfully emulsified with Diesel oil. The paper investigates the formulation, emulsification, spray, and analysis of charcoal-diesel slurry. The results of the investigations in sprays of this fuel show the fuel, non-Newtonian fluid, is able to atomize well. It is demonstrated that the new emulsification process proposed in this paper is able to produce fuels from biomass charcoal and diesel, for vehicles operated on compression ignition system. The critical aspect of operation is the internal flow into the injector with the tendency to form deposits and wear in the injector.


The homeotic Abdominal-B (Abd-B) gene belongs to Bithorax complex and is regulated by four regulatory domains named iab-5, iab-6, iab-7 and iab-8, each of which is thought to be responsible for directing the expression of Abd-B in one of the abdominal segments from A5 to A8. It is assumed that male specific features of the adult cuticle in A5 is solely dependent on regulatory elements located in iab-5, while the regulatory elements in the iab-6 are both necessary and sufficient for the proper differentiation of the A6 cuticle. Unexpectedly, we found that this long held assumption is not correct. Instead, redundant tissue-specific enhancers located in the iab-5 domain are required for the proper activation of Abd-B not only in A5 but also in A6. Our study of deletions shows that the iab-5 initiator is essential for the functioning of the iab-5 enhancers in A5, as well as for the correct differentiation of A6. This requirement is circumvented by deletions that remove the initiator and most of the iab-5 regulatory domain sequences. While the remaining iab-5 enhancers are inactive in A5, they are activated in A6 and contribute to the differentiation of this segment. In this case, Abd-B stimulation by the iab-5 enhancers in A6 depends on the initiators in the iab-4 and iab-6 domains. Summary Statement In Drosophila, the segmental-specific expression of the homeotic gene Abdominal-B in the abdominal segments is regulated by autonomous regulatory domains. We demonstrated cooperation between these domains in activation of Abdominal-B.


Microbusiness decisions of marketing food crops depend on critical information in a rapidly changing supply chain environment. Because rural women deal with mostly perishable goods, the uses of cell phones have emerged as important communication tools in the supply chain particularly in decision-making and managing risk-taking. A variety of anecdotal evidence suggests that cell phones have leapfrogged the technology and seem to overcome transport deficits that were for centuries endemic to rural and remote areas which have been poor and underdeveloped. As with any new technology, cell phones provide opportunities as well as challenges. However, little is known about Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and the role Cell-phone Mediated Communication (CMC) play in the context of high demand of information that is critical to small-scale marketing of perishable goods. Consequently, what happens in this precarious business environment when women are confronted with risk-taking and decision-making? Do they use CMC to augment stakes or expedite the enterprise? This case describes field research investigations that were conducted in Tanzania from June 2008 to June 2009 to examine access to, and use of cell phones by women residing in rural villages and in a nearby urban center. Rural villages were considered critical in this study as key players in the wellbeing of traditional rural families.


Several devices have been developed for rapid motor or sensory median nerve conduction testing. We evaluated the validity and reliability of the Neurosentinel (NS) and NervePace (NP) electroneurometer for sensory and motor testing, respectively, compared with formal electrodiagnostic studies (EDS), and examined their potential role in workplace screening for carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Thirty-two working subjects without CTS were examined and tested with the NS, NP, and EDS, and retested one week later. Subjects were selected who did not have CTS, other hand or nerve problems, or jobs with significant ergonomic risks, in order to decrease the likelihood of changes over time in median nerve function. Mean correlations of NP and NS with EDS latencies ranged from r = 0.069 to r = 0.85, with somewhat better correlation for NS (sensory) than NP (motor). Test-retest reliability was greatest for motor EDS (r = 0.86 to 0.91) and similar for sensory EDS, NS, and NP (r = 0.72 to 0.79); mean results were very similar. Based on the observed relationship between NS or NP and EDS results, confidence intervals were calculated to represent the range of EDS results consistent with a single NS or NP measurement. These intervals ranged from +/- 0.3 milliseconds (ms) for NS to +/- 0.6 msec for NP, with similar ranges for change over time in an individual. The magnitude of these intervals for a single test or individual implies that the NS and NP are unlikely to identify individuals with CTS or to detect changes over time that are not accompanied by symptoms or signs. The screening devices are not likely to be useful in confirming early CTS, when single latency values may be normal, and detailed EDS may be necessary to detect nerve entrapment. Compared with EDS, these devices have moderate validity and similar reliability; they are probably most useful for cross-sectional or longitudinal studies of groups, but care must be taken in using them for pre-placement or surveillance tests of individual workers. False-positive results may lead to discrimination, inappropriate referrals and interventions; false-negative tests can result in inappropriate reassurance and missed opportunities for intervention.


Imatinib-treated chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients with acquired resistance commonly have detectable BCR-ABL kinase domain mutations. It is unclear whether patients who remain sensitive to imatinib also have a significant incidence of mutations. We evaluated 144 patients treated with imatinib for BCR-ABL kinase domain mutations by direct sequencing of 40 accelerated phase (AP), 64 late chronic phase (> or = 12 months from diagnosis, late-CP), and 40 early-CP patients. Mutations were detected in 27 patients at 17 different residues, 13 (33%) of 40 in AP, 14 (22%) of 64 in late-CP, and 0 of 40 in early-CP. Acquired resistance was evident in 24 (89%) of 27 patients with mutations. Twelve (92%) of 13 patients with mutations in the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) binding loop (P-loop) died (median survival of 4.5 months after the mutation was detected). In contrast, only 3 (21%) of 14 patients with mutations outside the P-loop died (median follow-up of 11 months). As the detection of mutations was strongly associated with imatinib resistance, we analyzed features that predicted for their detection. Patients who commenced imatinib more than 4 years from diagnosis had a significantly higher incidence of mutations (18 [41%] of 44) compared with those treated within 4 years (9 [9%] of 100), P <.0001. Lack of a major cytogenetic response (MCR) was also associated with a higher likelihood of detecting a mutation; 19 (38%) of 50 patients without a MCR had mutations compared with 8 (8.5%) of 94 with an MCR, P <.0001. In conclusion, the detection of kinase domain mutations using a direct sequencing technique was almost always associated with imatinib resistance, and patients with mutations in the P-loop had a particularly poor prognosis.


The drag reduction resulting from the addition of small amount of linear macromolecules has found various applications in many areas of the oil & gas industry; including well completion, workover, drilling operations, and hydraulic fracturing. Temperature is among the factors affecting the extent of drag reduction. Other factors include salinity, polymer type and concentration, molecular weight and distribution, solvent chemistry, pH, ionic strength, molecular conformation, flow geometry, and degree of mechanical shearing. Despite the widespread use of brine solutions as base fluids in fracturing the deep hot formations, the effects of temperature on the drag reduction characteristics of polymers have received the least attention. Most studies have considered the ambient temperature conditions. Therefore, the aim of the present study is to experimentally investigate the effect of temperature on the extent of drag reduction of polymers flowing in straight and coiled tubing. The most commonly used anionic polyacrylamides; Nalco ASP-820 is investigated. ASP-820 is a sulfonate containing a partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (PHPA). The pre-determined optimum concentration of ASP-820 polymer of 0.07 % (vol.) is used. A small flow loop with straight and coiled tubing sections is employed. To investigate the effect of temperature, tests are conducted with fresh water at 22, 38 and 55°C. It is found that ASP-820 polymer is a quite effective drag reducer in circular pipes. Drag reduction in the range of 30-80% is noticed. Drag reduction is more significant in straight tubing than in coiled tubing. Temperature shows a drastic effect on the drag reduction characteristics and its effect differs from straight to coiled tubing. Correlations to predict drag reduction at elevated temperature are developed. These results are presented and discussed in detail.


Abstract Small intermediate-depth earthquakes cluster in a volume about 20 km in diameter beneath Gold King, a landing strip on the northern flanks of the Alaska Range. These events, almost 600 km from the Aleutian trench, are the northern-most which can be identified as being associated with the Benioff zone extending inland from Cook Inlet west of Anchorage. First-motion observations of the Gold King events at local stations can be combined to determine a tensional axis dipping steeply to the north at an azimuth just west of north. This composite mechanism suggests that the slab is subjected to down-dip tensional forces, probably as a result of gravitational sinking.


Multilayer Insulation (MLI) blankets for MRI cryostats were experimentally tested and modeled. These blankets were tested using a high accuracy experimental apparatus that allows for set temperature boundary conditions that are not linked to liquid cryogen temperatures. Additional testing was also done on blanket performance when compressed. The experimental data was modeled and the results show good agreement. The model uses only design parameters to determine the thermal performance of the blanket. Using this model, a new blanket was designed, tested, and implemented in production.


This study aims to achieve an improved performance in the position control of a permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) driven single link arm, by compensating for load, friction and torque ripple effects. For this purpose, in the first part of the study, an EKF based algorithm is developed to estimate the model uncertainties, assuming a known load. This is used to determine friction effects in addition to the most dominant component of torque ripple. The estimate of model uncertainties is also used for the partial compensation of this term with a basic PD+ controller. Following this procedure, another EKF algorithm is developed to estimate the amplitude of the dominant torque harmonic to be used for the compensation of that ripple component with the PD+ controller, in addition to the compensation of friction and load. The experimental results demonstrate improved performance in the system response with the on-line estimation of the torque ripple with EKF.


Over the past decade, performance information has been widely available to citizens along with the expansion of e-government, which has magnified communications between citizens and government as well as citizen direct participation in government business. If citizens are informed more about government performance, citizen trust in government should improve. However, there is, in effect, little use of performance information by citizens, since availability to citizens is not very visible. To disseminate the results of performance measurement effectively, government should pay attention to the improvement of performance measurement systems and performance reporting systems with citizen-centered approaches. User-friendly reporting should not just simplify the multi-layers of performance measurement for improving performance itself. Rather, this chapter suggests applying different approaches to present complicated performance information to citizens. Performance reporting should be constructed in modernized, innovative, and user-focused ways to stimulate the use of performance information by external stakeholders, which can promote government accountability.


Analytical solutions for the steady‐state response of an infinite beam resting on a visco‐elastic foundation and subjected to a concentrated load moving with a constant velocity are developed in this paper. The beam responses investigated are deflection, bending moment, shear force and contact pressure. The mechanical resistance of the foundation is modeled using two parameters ks and ts — ks accounts for soil resistance due to compressive strains in the soil and ts accounts for the resistance due to shear strains. Since this model represents the ground behavior more accurately than the Winkler spring model, the developed solutions produce beam responses that are closer to reality than those obtained using the existing solutions for Winkler model. The dynamic beam responses depend on the damping present in the system and on the velocity of the moving load. Based on the study, dynamic amplification curves are developed for beam deflection. Such amplification curves for deflection, bending moment, shear force and contact pressure can be developed for any beam‐foundation system and can be used in design. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.


A high-sensitivity displacement sensor based on the integration of a dual polarization distributed Bragg reflector fiber laser with cantilever beam is demonstrated. The cantilever beam converts the displacement into a transverse force onto the fiber laser which results in a modulation in the fiber birefringence and hence the beat frequency of the laser. A sensitivity of 0.402 GHz/mm is implemented. The sensitivity dependence on the parameters of the transducer is investigated.


Estimates of dog population sizes are a prerequisite for delivering effective canine rabies control. However, dog population sizes are generally unknown in most rabies-endemic areas. Several approaches have been used to estimate dog populations but without rigorous evaluation. We compare post-vaccination transects, household surveys, and school-based surveys to determine which most precisely estimates dog population sizes. These methods were implemented across 28 districts in southeast Tanzania, in conjunction with mass dog vaccinations, covering a range of settings, livelihoods, and religious backgrounds. Transects were the most precise method, revealing highly variable patterns of dog ownership, with human/dog ratios ranging from 12.4:1 to 181.3:1 across districts. Both household and school-based surveys generated imprecise and, sometimes, inaccurate estimates, due to small sample sizes in relation to the heterogeneity in patterns of dog ownership. Transect data were subsequently used to develop a predictive model for estimating dog populations in districts lacking transect data. We predicted a dog population of 2,316,000 (95% CI 1,573,000–3,122,000) in Tanzania and an average human/dog ratio of 20.7:1. Our modelling approach has the potential to be applied to predicting dog population sizes in other areas where mass dog vaccinations are planned, given census and livelihood data. Furthermore, we recommend post-vaccination transects as a rapid and effective method to refine dog population estimates across large geographic areas and to guide dog vaccination programmes in settings with mostly free roaming dog populations.


This is the first of two lectures by Phil Green on "Sequence Assembly." Yeast and some of the bacterial genomes have already been completely sequenced. There is also a rapidly growing body of known human sequence. All this has been because of our ability to read DNA. This lecture discusses the shotgun strategy for rapid DNA sequencing, and begins discussion of sequence assembly algorithms (to be concluded in the next lecture). The method and importance of assigning error probabilities to each base are also discussed.


The bulb of a thermostatic expansion valve (TXV) is basically a temperature-pressure converter. It senses the temperature at the outlet of the evaporator, and the substance in the bulb (charge) generates the corresponding saturation pressure inside the bulb. The bulb is mounted on the evaporator outlet with a special mounting strap. The heat transfer is quite complex because it takes place both directly through the contact points between bulb and pipe and indirectly through the mounting strap The TXV has to react to temperature changes at the evaporator outlet. Therefore, the dynamic behavior of the valve (and thereby the whole refrigeration system) depends greatly on the heat transfer between the evaporator outlet tube and the charge in the bulb. In this paper a model for the overall heat transfer between the pipe and the charge is presented. Geometrical data and material properties have been kept as parameters in order to be able to see the effect of changes in those. Some of the parameters (e.g. thermal contact resistances) have been determined by a finite element model and a series of experiments. The model has been validated using test results obtained under different operating conditions and has been found to predict the time constant for the temperature development in the bulb within 1-10 %. Furthermore it has been found that app. 20% of the heat transfer takes place trough the mounting strap. The work is part of the development of a complete model for different types of charges for TXV's.


Abstract. With the advances of new proximal soil sensing technologies, soil properties can be inferred by a variety of sensors, each having its distinct level of accuracy. This measurement error affects subsequent modelling and therefore must be integrated when calibrating a spatial prediction model. This paper introduces a deep learning model for contextual digital soil mapping (DSM) using uncertain measurements of the soil property. The deep learning model, called the convolutional neural network (CNN), has the advantage that it uses as input a local representation of environmental covariates to leverage the spatial information contained in the vicinity of a location. Spatial non-linear relationships between measured soil properties and neighbouring covariate pixel values are found by optimizing an objective function, which can be weighted with respect to a measurement error of soil observations. In addition, a single model can be trained to predict a soil property at different soil depths. This method is tested in mapping top- and subsoil organic carbon using laboratory-analysed and spectroscopically inferred measurements. Results show that the CNN significantly increased prediction accuracy as indicated by the coefficient of determination and concordance correlation coefficient, when compared to a conventional DSM technique. Deeper soil layer prediction error decreased, while preserving the interrelation between soil property and depths. The tests conducted suggest that the CNN benefits from using local contextual information up to 260 to 360 m. We conclude that the CNN is a flexible, effective and promising model to predict soil properties at multiple depths while accounting for contextual covariate information and measurement error.


Humans, elephants, chimpanzees, and cetaceans show concern with the death of other members of their species and respond to death in particular ways. Science considers that these species are exceptions and that other mammal species show little or no reaction to the dead bodies of individuals of their species. Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu; Tayassuidae) are social animals that live in groups of 5–50 individuals maintaining close and complex social relationships. The collared peccary occupies many different environments and it is widely distributed from the south of North America to the north of Argentina. Their behavior is well studied, but we know little about their behavior toward the dead. We directly observed and filmed with a camera trap the reactions of a five-member herd of collared peccaries to the death of a herd member. We worked on a suburban forested area in the mountains of central Arizona. We found that the herd visited and spent time with the dead body for 10 days after the peccary died. The frequency of the visits declined until the cadaver was consumed by coyotes. Most of the videos showed two individuals visited the dead animal (44%), solitary records were also frequent (39%) and only 4% of the videos recorded three peccaries. Visits were more frequent during the night (64%). Peccaries do react to the death of a herd member by behaving in particular ways. Reactions include pushing at the dead individual, staring at it, biting it, and trying to pick it up by putting their snout under the corpse and pushing it up, and defending it from coyotes, among others. These levels of behavioral complexity for peccaries are beyond those known so far. The behaviors of this herd of peccaries resemble those of humans, cetaceans, chimpanzees, and elephants and show that these groups are not the only ones that react to death.


A new, non-destructive X-ray fluorescence technique for quantitative estimation of elemental content in biological tissues has been developed. Technical and instrumental characteristics of the ITRAX X-ray spectrometer have been evaluated in relation to the properties of biological samples, i.e., human hair fibers. Thus, attenuation variations of the fluorescent X-rays in the hair bulk mass were demonstrated by analysis of sulfur, calcium, and zinc in a virgin part near the root of one hair fiber with elliptical cross section. By rotation of the hair fiber and successive analyses made of the same part of the hair fiber, the results showed that concentrations of elements varied as functions of the diameter of the analyzed hair volume. Other sources of errors are also discussed. The ITRAX instrument allows for precise, fast, non-destructive, simultaneous, quantitative recording of the detected elements and trace elements down to levels of 1 ppm (microg/g). It was used for assessment of normal values of physiologically important elements present in hair in a cohort of normal, healthy Swedish, Caucasian individuals. The database constructed from data retrieved from a conceivably homogeneous ethnic set of individuals represents, to our knowledge, the first of its kind.


A scalable audio coder is proposed for maintaining uninterrupted service in dynamically changing ATM network environments. Performance requirements include seamless switching between bit rates, which would gracefully vary the perceived signal quality. The encoder is similar to the MPEG-1 Layer 3 (MP3) standard but differs significantly in that the MDCT coefficients are quantized in a layered manner. Four enhancement layers that progressively address residual quantization errors follow a perceptually optimized core layer with somewhat poor quantization resolution. Each layer generates its own independently decodable bit stream. Core layer bits appended with enhancement bits are packed into one frame. Signal quality gracefully varies from basic to transparent with the corresponding bit rates of 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128 kb/s at each layer. Subjective tests indicate that our codec performs equivalently to MP3 at 128 kb/s with a somewhat inferior performance at lower bit rates.


The life cycle of cancer, and solid tumours in particular, can be usefully simplified into two phases of the disease; the earlier phase where change in intracellular processes is required for carcinogenesis and the later phase, malignancy, where the continued development of the cancer relies on the support of extra-cellular processes. From this systems view of cancer and the failure modes of healthy biological processes associated with it, a three-vector portrayal of cellular dynamics is abstracted. This overarching framework for the direction of biosystem responses places the categorisation of disease at the extreme points of these vectors and provides an explanation for their cause. Furthermore, laboratory and clinical evidence suggests that a synergistic systems approach to disease management, based on the manipulation of these vectors, could lead to new paradigms in treatment.


The influence of biases on the learning dynamics of a two-layer neural network, a normalized soft-committee machine, is studied for on-line gradient descent learning. Within a statistical mechanics framework, numerical studies show that the inclusion of adjustable biases dramatically alters the learning dynamics found previously. The symmetric phase which has often been predominant in the original model all but disappears for a non-degenerate bias task. The extended model furthermore exhibits a much richer dynamical behavior, e.g. attractive suboptimal symmetric phases even for realizable cases and noiseless data.


Pressurized water reactor environments are known to reduce the fatigue life of austenitic stainless steel components when compared to air environments. Laboratory testing has provided a means of quantifying this, allowing conservative plant assessments to be made. The majority of this testing has been isothermal and carried out on membrane loaded hollow or solid specimens. The geometry and loading of laboratory test specimens is significantly different to that experienced on plant, where complex strain waveforms are generally out of phase with temperature changes, and significant through wall strain gradients may be present. To address the issue of realistic loading, a test facility has been developed which can simulate thermal shock loading on a tubular specimen.
 The capability of the test facility was presented at the PVP2016 conference [PVP2016-63161]. Since then the facility has evolved, with modifications made to the rig configuration and specimen geometry in order to maximize the strain amplitude from the thermal shock, including the adoption of an annular flow geometry. These modifications were designed to optimize both the heat transfer coefficient and the speed of cycling between hot and cold water in order to induce a thermal strain that can cause mechanical failure within practicable test durations. In order to calculate the magnitude of the thermal strain, detailed calculations were required both in terms of thermal hydraulics as well as stress analyses. The latest stress analysis has been combined with state of the art life prediction models to estimate the time for crack initiation.
 This paper presents the results of the latest stress analysis and life prediction, including the derivation of the heat transfer coefficient for an annular flow region. The life prediction method uses best estimate strain-temperature histories from elastic-plastic finite element analysis (FEA). Heat-specific material properties have been developed during accompanying tests within the same experimental programme, and have been applied to enable cyclic hardening to be taken into account. The comparison of the prediction to an on-going test is also discussed.


Books on hermeneutics are rarely as lucid and accessible as The Promise ofHermeneutics (EerdmanslPaternoster, 1999, $20.00/£14.99, pp. xii + 260, ISBN 0-8028-4635110-85364-900-6) by Roger Lundin, Clarence Walhout and Anthony Thiselton, a book which is a complete revision and expansion of their 1985 work, The Responsibility of Hermeneutics. Lundin and Walhout, both professors of English, write about hermeneutics in relation to literature generally, while Tony Thiselton concentrates on biblical hermeneutics. Lundin engagingly tells of Descartes who 'launched the tradition of living without tradition', which was all very well until 'the delight of autonomy gradually turn[ed] into the terror of abandonment' (although Lundin's admirable sketch of intellectual and literary history does not engage with the wider cultural and technological contexts of change). He contrasts an orphaned, self-creating modernity with the recovery of historicality and mediatedness in Gadamer, the value and necessity of whose proposals is Lundin's prime thesis. Walhout utilizes both Gadamer and Ricoeur to offer a more technical account of narrative hermeneutics. His concern is with the varying ways in which fictional narratives relate to reality. His underlying purpose seems to be to dispel lingering worries, especially in evangelical Christian minds, about the positive value of fiction and the need to engage constructively with it. Thiselton, in the longest (and, at times, hardest) essay, seeks to apply the insights of his co-authors to biblical texts, via a characteristic engagement with a host of philosophical, literary and hermeneutical thinkers and texts. An early and excellent discussion of readerresponse theories gives way to a discussion of Gadamer's erstwhile pupil Jauss, all towards the goal of articulating how speech-act theory enables an understanding of how life can be transformed by communicative action in relation to the biblical text. Those who seek a good general introduction to contemporary hermeneutics, where the authors' Christian self-understanding makes them steer a course between the Scylla of Enlightenment individualism and the Charybdis ofpostmodem pluralistindeterminacy, and also an accountof the difference such hermeneutics may make to biblical interpretation, will find an excellent resource here. WAL'ffiR MOBERLY, UNIVERSITY OF DURHAM A NUANCED FIRST NAIVETE


A new generation of practical, low-cost indoor robots is now using wide-angle cameras to aid navigation, but usually this is limited to position estimation via sparse feature-based SLAM. Such robots usually have little global sense of the dimensions, demarcation or identities of the rooms they are in, information which would be very useful to enable behaviour with much more high level intelligence. In this paper we show that we can augment an omni-directional SLAM pipeline with straightforward dense stereo estimation and simple and robust room model fitting to obtain rapid and reliable estimation of the global shape of typical rooms from short robot motions. We have tested our method extensively in real homes, offices and on synthetic data. We also give examples of how our method can extend to making composite maps of larger rooms, and detecting room transitions.


In recent years, it has been recognized that addition of small closely spaced and uniform dispersed discrete steel fibers in concrete substantially improve its static and dynamic properties. The addition of steel fibers from 0.5 to 2.0 percent by volume in concrete is found to impart superior strength characteristics i.e. compressive strength, flexural strength, shear strength, fatigue strength and impact resistance. Recently, the use of steel fibers has increased in flexural members and columns of concrete structures subjected to cyclic loadings such as bridge decks, highway roads, runways of airports, offshore platforms and buildings. It is necessary to obtain more information on the mechanical behaviour of steel fiber reinforced concrete under cyclic loading in attempting applications of SFRC in structural members. The present investigation was planned to study the plain and steel fiber reinforced concrete under cyclic loading. The basic parameters of the study were fiber contents expressed as volume fraction and stress levels expressed as a percentage of the maximum flexural strength. The fiber contents used were 0.5 and 1.0% by volume of concrete. The beams were tested at three stress levels i.e. 85%, 90%, and 95%. Straight mild steel fibers were used in the study with an aspect ratio of 70. The physical properties of the basic constituent material viz, cement, sand, coarse aggregate, steel fiber were obtained as per relevant Indian standard specification. The compressive strength of concrete was obtained at 28 days. The mix proportion used was 1: 1.52:1.88 by weight with a water-cement ratio of 0.47. In fresh state properties of SFRC, workability tests present were carried out with indicators of workability i.e, slump, compaction factor and inverted cone test. From the study, it was found that the addition of fibers to the concrete effects the cyclic loading life significantly under flexural cyclic loading. The variability in the cyclic loading life of specimen is quite large as expected in any cyclic loading test programme. The ultimate failure followed almost immediately after the first crack.


While many social theories and concepts have been used within the sustainable tourism literature to identify key elements, stakeholders, and relationships that are central to sustainable tourism development and the tourism–community relationship, there has been limited use of the social capital concept for examining the sociocultural dimension of sustainability, despite its growing appeal within the social sciences as an analytical tool. Based on ethnographic case study research within the mountain resort community of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, this paper adopts social capital as a heuristic device for examining tourism development's sociocultural sustainability. It explains the foundations of the social capital concept with networks, norms, and resources as key components, and the existence of bonding, bridging, and linking social capital. Findings suggest that mountain resort tourism has affected such social capital outcomes and sociocultural sustainability indicators as quality of life, community participation, and the associated notions of democracy, equity, and empowerment, in both positive and negative ways, leading to a spirit of community cooperation, friendliness, grass-roots initiatives and community action group development running alongside social exclusion, transience, and political powerlessness. These findings give empirical weight to using social capital as a guiding construct for the qualitative examination of socioculturally sustainable tourism.


Lean duplex stainless steels (LDSSs) with lower nickel and molybdenum are less susceptible to suffer spinodal decomposition than standard duplex stainless steels. It is the purpose of this work to study the effect of thermal embrittlement on the low cycle fatigue behaviour of 2 LDSSs with different Creq and Nieq. The correlation between the fatigue behaviour and the dislocation structure is attempted. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the dislocation microstructure. Additionally, STEM-EDS technique in conjunction with Vickers microhardness measurements was used to characterize the amplitude of the spinodal decomposition. The results show that the LDSS with lower Creq and Nieq values exhibits improved fatigue properties in the as received and aged conditions. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that with an adequate volume fraction of phases in LDSSs, the ageing treatment leads to an increase in strength without causing a great detriment in low cycle fatigue life.


Abstract The direct and indirect effects of fire on different life stages of amphibians are poorly understood and difficult to predict given interspecific variation in physiology and life history. We investigated how time-since-fire (TSF) of seasonal ponds embedded within Florida scrub habitat affected growth, development, and survival of larval Oak Toads (Anaxyrus quercicus). We selected 12 ponds at Archbold Biological Station on the southern Lake Wales Ridge, Florida: four burned within the last 4 mo, four burned 3–4 yr ago, and four burned 11 yr ago. We hatched and reared three clutches of Oak Toads in the laboratory for 2 wk and then sorted larvae into groups of 24 having equal representation from each clutch. We randomly assigned groups of larvae to 0.22-m3 mesh field enclosures in each pond (n = 2–3 enclosures per pond) and measured environmental variables that might contribute to observed amphibian responses including pH, temperature, and periphyton growth. After 15 d, when larvae began metamorphosing, mean survival was significantly higher in the most-recently burned ponds. The TSF did not have a significant effect on developmental stage or tadpole size, although Oak Toad larvae tended to develop faster in the most-recently burned ponds. Although all ponds were acidic (pH < 4.3), there was a trend toward higher pH in the more-recently burned ponds, and survival was significantly positively correlated with pH. Overall our results suggest that performance and recruitment of larval Oak Toads are higher in recently burned ponds.


Life in post-apartheid South Africa has created many new challenges for the nation's citizens as traditional village customs have clashed with newfound political freedom and slowly emerging economic opportunities. Maggie Messitt, currently a doctoral student in Ohio University's creative nonfiction writing program, offers a fascinating view of how two women and one man, representing three different generations from the rural village of Rooibok, grapple with these changes, in The Rainy Season: Three Lives in the New South Africa. The author calls this book an exercise in "immersion journalism" resulting from her living in Rooibok from 2003 to 2011. Remarkably, this twenty-something young white woman gained the trust of the three black villagers, despite the fact that two of them lived much of their lives under apartheid's racial yoke. This book is most notable for its sense of place and time that reveals the complexities behind such seemingly typical events as weddings, funerals, farming, and shopping. Casting a dark shadow over village life are the AIDS epidemic and a government that offered more hurdles than help for the three citizens. The book is comprised of chapters about life during the rainy season—spring, summer, and autumn—and within each chapter are alternating stories about Thoko Makwakwa, a middle-aged sangoma (healer) and owner of an illegal pub, Dankie Mathebula, a young man struggling with the death of a much beloved cousin while preparing for his university admission exams, and Regina Hlabane, an elderly weaver who cofounded the Mapusha weaving cooperative ten years before this book takes place. At times, the book's overly detailed descriptions dilute the entertaining and poignant dialogue. This is apparent in the several pages devoted to the funeral of Maduza (Dankie's cousin). However, much of the description of the land and customs has a captivating poetic resonance. Also included are a helpful glossary and a list of characters. While this fine memoir does not provide much historical or political context, it is a compelling personal portrayal that reveals the beautifully complicated lives of three villagers in modern South Africa. KARL HELICHER (April 20, 2015)


Background:
 As an occupational sub-group, career firefighters experience a disproportionately higher prevalence of cardiac events and risk factors than the general population. The pervasive nature of poor cardiovascular health (CVH) in this population might belie an occupational norm. Underestimation of poor health could be a barrier to the adoption of health-enhancing behaviors.

 Methods:
 Baseline data from a sample of 478 male firefighters from five different fire houses were used to examine the relationship between objective and perceived health. Objective CVH was defined as meeting the American Heart Association ideal recommendations for the following six, CVH metrics:
 tobacco use
 (non-smoker),
 body mass index
 (≤24.9 kg/m
 2
 ),
 physical activity
 (≥75 min/wk vigorous or ≥150 min/wk moderate activity),
 fruit and vegetable intake
 (≥4.5 cups/d),
 blood pressure
 (<120/80 mm Hg) and
 total lipids
 (<200 mg/dL). Firefighters rated their perceived health as excellent, average, fair or poor. The proportion of firefighters meeting the ideal status for each CVH metric, and total CVH metrics achieved, was generated. A chi-square test of independence examined differences between the binary ideal CVH metrics (0-3 versus 4-6 ideal CVH metrics) and perceived excellent/average health.

 Results:
 The mean age of the sample was 38.2 years (SD=9.9), 89% (413/478) were Caucasian, 73% (334/478) were married, 67% (290/478) had an annual income of at least $75,000, and 90% (410/478) had attended college. Three-quarters (76%; 225/478) of the sample met the ideal recommendations for tobacco use, 20% (93/478) for body mass index, 0% for physical activity, 36% (174/478) for fruit and vegetable intake, 39% (184/478) for blood pressure, and 88% (345/478) for lipids. Overall, none of the firefighters sampled had ideal status on all 6 CVH metrics considered. Ninety-two percent (426/478) of the sample rated their health as average to excellent, although only 10% (47/478) of the sample had ideal status for 4-6 of the CVH metrics; 90% (431/478) had ideal status for 0-3 metrics (X
 2
 = 4.54; p=.03).

 Conclusion:
 The CVH status of firefighters is poor, but firefighters with poor heart health inaccurately perceive their health as average or better. Addressing this misperception gap will be necessary to optimize responses to CVH interventions delivered to this population.


Objective: To evaluate different patterns of after-contraction (A-C) waves detected during urodynamic evaluation in women. Patients and Methods: 4,110 women were prospectively observed regarding the presence of A-C waves upon urodynamic evaluation. Intravenous pyelography and ultrasound were requested. Paired t test, χ2 test, Wilcoxon's rank sum test and correlation analysis were performed with a 95% significance level. Results: There were three distinguishing patterns of A-C: type I - detrusor contraction after the regular voiding phase, type II - detrusor contraction persisting after the flow rate had stopped, and type III - rebound of the detrusor contraction after the flow. A-C was observed in 13.9% of the women. Type I A-C wave patterns were present in 68 patients (11.8%), type II A-C wave patterns in 477 patients (83.2%), and type III A-C wave patterns in 28 patients (10.3%). Studies with intravenous pyelography and ultrasound very frequently showed bladder mucosa, muscle thickening or trabeculation. Secondary ureterectasis related to A-C waves was also observed. Additionally, watts factor, maximum flow rate, detrusor pressure and opening detrusor pressure were markedly elevated in patients with type III A-C, suggesting enhanced detrusor contraction in these A-C waves. Conclusion: A-C waves are a real urodynamic entity with different patterns of presentation and with clinical and morphological alterations.


Background & objectives: Stroke is third leading cause of death and disability in the most of human communities. Several experimental studies have shown that combination therapy with drugs that act via different mechanisms can produce amplified protective effects. We examined the effects of combination therapy with candesartan and alpha tocopherol against cerebral ischemia. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups (n=24): sham, control ischemic, candesartan treated (0.3 mg/kg), alpha tocopherol treated (30 mg/kg) and combined treated ischemic groups. Transient focal cerebral ischemia was induced by 90-min-long occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery followed by 24-h-long reperfusion. Neurological deficit score was evaluated at the end of the reperfusion period. Thereafter, the animals were randomly used for measurement of the infarct volumes and investigation of ischemic brain edema formation using a wet/dry method. Results: Induction of cerebral ischemia produced considerable brain infarction in conjunction with severely impaired motor functions and edema formation. Combined treatment with candesartan and alpha tocopherol significantly reduced the infarct volume and lowered the water content in the ischemic lesioned hemisphere. These effects on brain edema and oxidative stress biomarkers were significantly more than the monotherapy with candesartan. Conclusion: The combination therapy with candesartan and alpha tocopherol can noticeably decrease ischemic brain injury and attenuate edema formation likely via increasing the antioxidant activity.


Problem statement: Task scheduling is the main factor that determines the performance of any distributed system. Cloud computing comes with a paradigm of distributed datacenters. Each datacenter consists of physical machines that host virtual machines to execute customers' tasks. Resources allocation on the cloud is different from other paradigms and the mapping algorithms need to be adapted to the new characteristics. This study takes the problem of immediate task scheduling under an intercloud infrastructure using a genetic algorithm. An impatient task needs to be scheduled as soon as it enters the system taking into account the input and output files location and its QoS requirements. Approach: This study proposes an algorithm that can find a fast mapping using genetic algorithms with "exist if satisfy" condition to speed up the mapping process and ensures the respecting of all task deadlines. Cloudsim simulator was used to test the proposed algorithm with real datasets collected as a cloud benchmark. Mapping time and makespan are the performance metrics that are used to evaluate the proposed system. Results: The results show an improvement in the proposed system compared to MCT algorithm as illustrated throughout the study. Conclusion: Batch mapping via genetic algorithms with throughput as a fitness function can be used to map jobs to cloud resources.


Image blurring due to sensor motion can often be the limiting factor in the resolution of the picture and, hence, on our ability to detect targets. In a recent paper, we've proposed a method for the restoration of such images; good results have been obtained. In this paper we propose to quantitatively evaluate the effect of such a restoration process on automatic target acquisition. A method is derived to determine the probability of detection for targets which have been blurred by sensor motion. This method is then applied to restored and non-corrected pictures. The degree to which such real-time restoration is worthwhile is discussed.


Lattice changes in the PEP-II high energy ring have made the concept of driving four cavities with a single klystron an attractive option. This paper examines the topology from a RF feedback point of view. Sources of error are identified and their magnitudes are estimated. The effect on the performance of the longitudinal impedance reducing feedback loops is calculated using control theory and Mathematica.